Marc S

[quote name='Fred Leicester' timestamp='1493900706' post='3291652'] Get yourself one ordered, Marc ;-) [/quote] Ah, I'm already at "bass capacity, plus one" sadly Fred And I love all the basses I have so much, I can't bear to part with any of them either Oh the pain, the pain!

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1493837972' post='3291197'] Always good to keep a clear final assembly workspace (or 'dining room table' as I've heard my wife refer to it before....) [/quote] I genuinely laughed out loud when I read that There's no way on this earth I'd get away with using the dining room table for such things! lol

Well, that's a nice freebie I think these were made in the Matsumoko factory? Someone may know better, of course Yes, the truss-rod adjustment on these is at the heel of the neck. I think you'll find that's a replacement scratchplate - as I'm sure I've seen this model of bass with a cut-out at the heel, allowing easier adjustment without removing the neck or scratchplate... An old mate / colleague of mine (and incidentally, the 1st person to show me how to play some bass) used to have a Columbus Jazz. He loved it, and I recall it being rather nice. He bought himself a nice US Jazz, which he also liked. However, I recall him saying that the Columbus was not bad, in comparison, and great quality, given the relatively low cost of it I'd take a look at adapting that scratchplate (looking again, the shape of it is slightly "out" on the lower horn - so maybe it is a replacement) maybe consider giving access to the truss-rod. Perhaps get those frets dressed, and set the bass up nicely... maybe you'll want to keep it then? Nice freebie though in any case - very nice

Looks great Fred I played one just like it a few years back. It had a slimmer, narrower neck than most other P's And it was just awesome. It was also for sale at that time, and I needed to sell another before buying... ... I'm still sorely disappointed I let that one go! I'm jealous now lol

Oh my word! What utter loveliness

This is looking really, really gorgeous! Your work is so neat Jez, heck, even your workbench is tidier than anything I do Great progress, and as others have said, it looks nowt like a "budget bass" - looks like a top-end custom build

Not owned either a HB or a J&D, but enough BC members seem to like both, and heck, they're very reasonably priced... I must say, I do really like the look of the J&D Jazz, in surf green, with maple & blocks - looks amazing

I'm in several bands at the moment (and always seems to be the case!) With a recently formed band, in which I play double bass, and we play a bit of Bluegrass, Cajun, 30's / 40's Jazz and some blues.... We had named ourselves "The Soggy Mountain Boys" - as we all like "Oh Brother Where Art Thou?" and were trying to sound a bit like the music of that film. Another reason for the name, was the fact that 2 of us live one side of Caerphilly mountain, and the other 2 live the other side... and it's often raining in South Wales.... Unfortunately, there was already a band with that name, albeit in the US - we decided to find a new name. It took a while and there were several suggestions from each of us, but driving over said mountain, we were discussing how, in our advancing years, 3 of us had fairly recently discovered the merits of Whisky, I had an idea - and now we are called "The Old Grey Whisky Testers"

Congrats on the new role Sounds like you really enjoy what they do - so that makes it easier to learn new material But get cracking with it anyway! It is do-able, I've done it with cover bands I've depped for (mind you, I knew some of the covers beforehand) Best of luck with it

Wow, that does indeed look a stunner Paul Bet it sounds great too..... But is it your "ideal" bass? You seem to flit from one to another lol BTW. It looks even funkier on that zebra striped rug - funkay!

An excellent deal with Mike / alcytes. He even delivered to my door! We sat and had a good chat over a cuppa, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy / trade with him again Great BC member, and all round good guy Buy / trade / deal in complete confidence folks Cheers again Mike

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1493304595' post='3287323'] What's the KK like in a non-salsa situation? All the decent clips I've seen seem to fall into that bracket. [/quote] They are fine for other genres too. I bought mine from Happy Jack. He tells me that they are popular with Salsa players because at one time, the only bass available to Salsa bands in South America, was the Ampeg original on which the KK was based.... I've used mine for more folky, rootsy, bluesy stuff and it's great I recently added an additional pickup too. I had a Shadow preamp, with 2 piezo pickups (one for each side of the bridge) I replaced one of the Piezo's with a slap pickup (bought fairly cheply on ebay) and I really like the sound I get from that. It picks up more of the clicky / slap sounds when I'm playing that style. It's a great result for me too, as I've got a ready made backup pickup system - I can just revert to the KK fitted pickup if the battery in my Shadow preamp dies... The bridge fitted to the KK is unlike other EUB's, as there's a sort of metal bar around the bridge - I first thought this must be to protect the bridge. It actually does protect it when in the gigbag, but it's also part of the pickup system I'm really pleased with mine

[quote name='Tim Chapple' timestamp='1493302201' post='3287300'] ......the jazz pickup transforms it. I've heard a lot pf people are using the pbass pickup only - I've found that option lacking soundwise. Currently running both pickups with the tone rolled back just a little. [/quote] Both my fretted P's are now P/J's. I had the J pickups added by superb Cardiff luthier Dave Dearnaley I really like the tonal options a P/J arrangement gives you. As you say Tim, the J pickup can transform the sound you get. I usually set my amp flat first, then set the P pickup level, tweak the amp EQ, then dial in some J pickup to suit. I can't understand why all basses are not fitted with P/J pups I'd really like to try one of these P/J Mustangs. Thanks for posting your thoughs

Hello from just across the river Severn, in South Wales Nothing wrong with a bit of P bass GAS. I think every bass player should have a P bass in their collection I'm not familiar with that particular Aria. Although I played some old Aria's years back, and they always seemed great basses to me, and continue to have been highly rated by owners - so no reason to believe that the fretless acoustic Aria you like should be any different As for comments about acoustic basses. I owned an Ibanez electro-acoustic. It wasn't an expensive bass, but it was great quality, construction and sound, and felt lightweight & good to play. I didn't keep it only because my son loved it - and still does. Acoustic basses are great for playing along to CD's, records, MP3's, without needing an amp. If you have a quiet acoustic guitarist pal to jam with, you can usually hear the bass, but not with loud guitarists or several players... However, my old Ibanez sounded absolutely lovely through an amp - not quite like any other bass I've heard, other than a mates electro-acoustic. If you like the sound when amplified, even better. As I mentioned, they also tend to be very lightweight, despite being slightly more bulky than an electric bass guitar... Welcome to BC

Just adding a bit more here... lol But as I mentioned "playing a stadium" - I haven't done that, but I've played some outdoor gigs, in big wide open spaces... I once played a Festival with just a PJB 4x5 cabinet - again, I thought I'd be going through the PA, but on the day was asked to see if my amp could cope without being put through it... and it certainly did. Although the drummer wasn't particularly loud, we had keys, guitar, sax and a few vocals onstage, and it was a pretty big open space... Also, in my Elvis tribute backing band, we played a really big open space at a festival (Pontypool Park if you want to check it out) again, I wasn't put through the PA. Against said loud drummer, different loud guitarist and rather loud keys player. I used a Markbass CMD102 combo, with PJB 4x5 piranha cab, and again - it was more than loud enough.... When playing DB, I found the sound of 15" speakers to be rather "boomy", sometimes "muddy" and mostly with an ill-defined low end, so I sold my 1x15" as it was bigger & heavier than any of the other cabs I've used recently - and never sounded as good as a 4x5 or 2x10

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1493065606' post='3285390'] NJ asked how users of 1x12 cabinets managed "You know who you are".. Those users are either playing in bands that don't need brain cell scorching volumes, or if they do, know how to get a great tone out of kit without the onstage volume onslaught. The kit is chosen for it's job, not how cool it looks?..... *each to their own of course. [/quote] Exactly. I've done the whole punk thing, blasted out through large, heavy cabs,back in the early 80's, when I was younger and so was my back! Let alone 1x12's, I use 1x10's. Epifani 1x10's (sometimes one, combined with a Markbass 2x10) An odd combo, I know a 3x10! But it's small, compact, lightweight and works surprisingly well. Last month, I played a charity gig, on my EUB with a drummer and singer / guitarist. I was lead to believe we were all going through a large PA system and the gig was held in a quite large hall. As it was a freebie, we decided to all go in a single car - mine. So I had the 3 of us, small drum-kit, guitar, my EUB and small bass amp - TC550 head and a single Epifani 1x10 When we got there, the people running it clearly had just hired the PA and had no idea how to put my EUB through the PA and time was tight as it was over-running. So I thought I'd just try the TC head and 1x10 on its' own. Now said hall was big - we're talking 40 feet floor to ceiling! - and it was quite a long hall, full of people at that.... But guess what - the 1x10 on its' own was more than adequate. In fact, I had my volume a little over half way, and the guy who was trying to be sound engineer asked me to turn down! The PA was quite large, and loud, judging by the bands I'd heard on before & after us. OK, our drummer wasn't the loudest, but he had to hit harder than he usually would, as the sound guy didn't have time to mic him up either In another band, with a very loud drummer (ex session guy, who's done heavy rock & metal stuff too) my 3x10 rig has never not coped, and we've played some very large venues. In fact, in the Ramones tribute band I was once in, with an uber loud guitarist - my old Markbass 2x10 always coped - and that guitarist always insisted on being stupidly loud! With modern cabs and speakers, If 2x10's and even my 1x10 can cope - 1x12 or 2x12 is surely enough, unless you're playing a stadium. So I'll ask the OP this question - massive speaker cabs - why put your back / muscles / knees / shoulders through it? I could never haul the old fridge sized cabs I used to lug around - let alone get a DB and other band members in a hatchback car

[quote name='Bass_Guardian' timestamp='1493222456' post='3286691'] Having the choice is nice. It's like your local takeaway only having the one dish you usually order..... [/quote] Wise words indeed Bass_Guardian Ah, I feel better about owning several now - thanks for that

Having owned and played a couple of EUB's, DB's, an Ashbory and currently the owner of a Kala I must say, there's nothing quite like an acoustic DB. The Eminence was definitely the closest in feel and sound (with some EQ'ing) The KK is also a great bass, and does feel more like a DB than some EUB's (sounds good too, and not just for Salsa!) Re the Ashbory and Kala U-bass suggestions - both are valid choices for a very small, portable option. They approach the sound of a DB, but they aren't quite there. There are indeed similarities in the their sound, but I never found them to be quite as satisfying or quite as natural. In fact, I found the Ashbory very tricky to play. I certainly disliked the strings it came with, and I did try a different set of strings, but also disliked the feel of those, and somehow, I just couldn't get on with it... I get on better with the Kala, and prefer the sound it produces. The strings IMO are better and produce far less "drag" on the left hand, compared to the Ashbory. But again, they're overly chunky, and a little "sloppy". I may try some Aguillar Reds on it, as they're slimmer and have more tension, apparently. Yes, an Ashbory / U-bass is a nice suggestion, but it doesn't quite cut it, compared to an acoustic DB. I usually carry the Kala as spare - just in case a string breaks or I get a pickup problem, and the Kala is so small, it's easy to pop in the car boot. I sometimes plug it in to jam about before the gig starts, or during a break between sets, and it does usually require more fiddling around with EQ and levels to get it sounding more DB-like. But perhaps this is an unfair comparison, when side by side with the "real thing" I'd still suggest the OP tries one though - they can be fun