Dood

10 hours ago, Bilbothebassplayer said:

That is a lovely looking bass. Having it built as part of the design is a great idea, I guess you can tilt it to give the lower strings room to breathe? or did you find that you play with a lighter touch because of the reduced distance below the string? 

 

I find when I play a bass with a ramp that I move through the string easier and can return my finger to a striking position quicker. because of the reduced distance underneath the string. 

Thank you! 

Yes absolutely, I can tilt it a little - my bass has a pretty heavy low string on it that needs a little space to move but the bass is designed with tap style in mind so the action is pretty low too. With that, yes, playing lighter means less chance of buzz, but not too much that the tone suffers. There's a balance to be had.

Absolutely the same here. I can definitely feel a slight height adjustment in the ramp the same as I can if the action has changed. There's definitely a sweet spot that feels right for me. - I have a couple of PJ basses with active EMG's in and I use the P style as a ramp when needed too, so the height of those are decided by feel rather than the optimal height of a standard passive P pickup (Active EMGs are interesting as they are best set as high as possible versus passive pickups that should have around 1/4" between the poles and strings). 

I appreciate it is less than helpful for those who might not hang on to their bass and want to retain a re-sale value; my ramps on my two Shuker basses (That Jon Shuker and I designed together) drop all the way in to the body, thus it is routed like a pickup. 

We chose really strong springs so the ramp doesnt flex and it can be adjusted for height and angle. I'm not sure what it is, but the wood itself doesnt sound clacky and hollow when you tap it either. 

17 hours ago, FretsOnFire said:

I took 2 guitar lessons about 12 years ago and found myself not enjoying the instrument to the point it put me off playing as all I was doing was practicing the F barre chord over and over and running up and down the fretboard doing finger strength exercises.

 

It was only when I spent my time playing songs that I wanted to play did I really fall in love with the instrument and it's been that way ever since.

 

If I could give my old self advice it would be to save time and don't take lessons but go your own way 

That's a fault with the teacher not 'reading the room'. Plenty of great musicians out there who are supplementing their income with "a bit of teaching", but have no teaching experience. I'm not surprised you were put off, where's the fun in endless exercises? 

As a teacher of many years (and successful students) I can offer the other side of the discussion. Now, I am very passionate (really Dan, Reeeeaaaallllly?) about eveything bass. I've made it my career and it is my life. Not one of my students has ever come away from lessons feeling that I have taken anything, anything away from them. That's not how teaching works. As Bilbo has so brilliantly put it, "A teacher gives you tools. How you use them is up to you."

On the subject of feeling that you can't be taught, well that can be down to your experiences of being taught. I have been very lucky to work in a wide range of settings including SEND students, ADHD, Autistic, behavioural 'needs', those suffering from Dementia and those 'incarcerated', mainstream school and private studio lessons. There's a difference between being an experienced teacher and an experienced musician. A good friend of mine is an A list, top-tier guitarist, but in his own words, he hates teaching 1-2-1 lessons and finds it frustrating and difficult. You can be "taught" by someone who isn't a best fit and if this happens on more than one occasion for example, this can embed a confirmation bias based on previous experiences. You might not have met the right teacher yet to suit you and, let's face it, we are all very different! 

They are brilliant, I'm a big fan of D'Addario and use these mostly too. All of my guitars have D'Addario strings, I really rate the XS coated for electrics.

(I do however grab the '2-pack' versions of the standard bass XL's as they are often cheaper, but prefer these and Pro Steels.)

20 hours ago, EBS_freak said:

Surely it's got to be Donna Lee?

Here's a review I shot a year or so ago for the Aguilar DB599 Compressor 

Good lord, who picked that thumbnail ... lol.. I look possessed! 

9 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

Mass produced basses are bound to have that, as black goes with everything and it would knock prices up to do something different.

 

Luthier-built basses are a bit different in that they're not coming off a production line. However, how do you do the pickup? Commercially available soapbars are black rectangles, which have been encapsulated in resin. Options: put them in the bass as they are, put them inside little wooden coffins and put those in the bass, make your own pickups. Mostly it's the first option, Jaydee I think went with the second, not sure about the third - Enfield perhaps? Going with the first option means you're routing out standard sized holes, and somewhere down the line if someone wants to change pickups, they can. Not sure if putting a veneer cover on a pickup would look OK - maybe I'll try some <Blue Peter> sticky back plastic</BP> on one of mine.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, I totally understand the "why" bit. I guess I have a "why must it be this way / how do we improve on this" mindset with pretty much everything. You should see the pile of product designs I've scribbed out on paper, never to see the light of day 🤣😂. 

I learned my very first bass line from start to finish on a bass that wasn't a bass:-

As a kid, we didn't have lots of money and, generally we had to figure out how to overcome problems without finanical support. I built my first bass effect pedals because I couldn't afford to buy them. My first "distortion preamp" for my bass and indeed later a whole bass head and cabinet I built from scratch. A massive 400W beast and a single 15" bass cab. An impressive sound for a teenager!

Anyway, there is reason for this preamble, honest. 

I really wanted a bass, I needed one, it actually pained me not having one, the draw to the instrument was pretty extraordinary when it took hold  and let's face it, 35+ years later the obsession hasn't dwindled one bit.

So, I took a hacksaw to my student-sized acoustic guitar and cut the nut for 4 strings. Unfortunately I was unable to drill the bridge to suit the spacing of four strings at that end, but still I had to conquer and overcome lol.. 

I learned Another One Bites The Dust by Queen as my first full song, start to finish, note perfect on an acoustic guitar with four wonky strings. I still have the guitar with it's battle scars!

- unpopular opinion: I've always thought that plain pickups on basses aren't that elegant. Beautiful bass tops with eye catching curves only to have a pair of plain black rectangles front and centre. But, that is what we have gotten used to seeing and that's what we are mostly stuck with.

I do like to see pickup covers that have been colour matched, or with matching wood shells for example. I even like to see pickups hidden in ramps, but then we have the same problem again where most ramps are big squares with no thought to the instrument aesthetic. Originally, I'd planned to completely encase the pickups on my Shuker basses with a (flip-paint) colour matched shell, not unlike the bonnet of a car, hiding away the innards but still looking like it belongs. Maybe the next one... 

Oh and don;t get me started on pickup tangs lol.. I like that EMG (and Dimarzio) offer split coil models with no tang offering a flat surface for those who like to perch their thumb on "top".

I SO want this too. I want a split coil pickup in a radiused shell, encompassing the full width of a standard spilt-coil arrangement. The radius would match the radius of the neck by design and would totally do away with the need for a separate ramp in my case. Even Billy Sheehan used* epoxy and lots of sanding to create a ramped top to his split coil pickups, whereas I feel sure that a wide radiused ramp with the P coils encolded in it would be a great solution and, far more elegant.

*Yup, I am aware of the Dimarzio Relentless pickups, they do look smart. 

14 hours ago, ped said:

Hi James I just wanted to say I love your playing - I have two EPs by Noya Rao. Excellent stuff 

I'm supposed to be getting ready for work, but I'm hooked on the first track. Love the vibes too. Think I'm gonna need to hear more @James Wiltshire

On 23/01/2025 at 22:16, petecarlton said:

Presumably, it's going Norwhere?

Ha ha!! Yes!

Then and now..

So many laughs.

I have very fond memories of hearty belly laughs with Nick and the odd cheeky selfie when we met up.

I’ll miss his light that he brought in to any and every space.

Rest in peace mate. 

Just now, Dood said:

I know its a small detail, but I wish Fender would bring back the early 70's headstock with the full size (Gotoh shape) tuning keys. I wanna see a nice TV script decal too, I really have no idea why they thought the new shape looks better?

Perfect...

I know its a small detail, but I wish Fender would bring back the early 70's headstock with the full size (Gotoh shape) tuning keys. I wanna see a nice TV script decal too, I really have no idea why they thought the newer shape looks better?

I have a '68 Super Bass, I can attest to it's extraordinary tone! My ole P bass sounds wonderful through it. I had no idea they were fetching such prices until I looked them up, not that mine is going anywhere mind  

Sire goes headless

I'm not there in person, but my fellow staff members from Bass Gear Magazine are, so I'm looking forward to seeing some pics appearing in my inbox of kit I'll need to get my lil paws on for my usual in-depth video reviews! 

Keep an eye on our Facebook page for posts too.

If Tricky can't help, I'd recommend https://www.noisyhammer.com who have built cabinets and kit for well-knowns as well as doing custom, boutique and even interesting upcycling projects. I've also noted that recently they have brought a luthier in for instrument servicing and building too. Tell 'em I sent you as they're local to me. 

For 32nd note percussive phrases, I like to incorporate second and third fingers on my right hand too. 

For example, Thumb, LH, Pop Index, Pop Middle. Played slowly, to practice, each can be played on the beats 1, E & A in a sixteenth note phrase. Up to tempo its sounds really cool.

Aside from the Left Hand percussive slap, Dirk Lance (ex-Incubus) replaced it with a palm slap from his right hand. Coincidentally, this was covered in a Scott's Bass Lessons Instagram post recently, though I remember getting exicted about that sound when the album SCIENCE came out in, I guess, the late 90's. 

Turning triplets in to straight 16ths and incorporating the 4 note groupings above, it's possible to create some really crazy 'odd timings' without even thinking about it.

(Thumb, LH, Pop) + (Thumb LH Pop1 Pop2) would give me a fun 7 beat phrase for example. Very tech metal / prog! 

6 minutes ago, acidbass said:

@Dood have you had to reduce the input gain of the QC significantly to ensure the signal isn't hitting the compressor too hard?  I have reduced the input threshold of the 1176 hugely to ensure it doesn't overcompress, but think maybe a pad on the QC input itself might be a more appropriate way to gain stage (particularly with active basses)

I do as a matter of course! I'm using EMGs on all my basses with the QC and the input gain definitely needs pulling back even as a starting point. Check the input level meters to see what's coming in to QC. I also keep an eye on the output level meters too, (hence the hard limit at the end of the chain).

I do have one issue with the QC with regard to this, a post maybe for another day, but I wish that QC had an analogue "line driver" at the output to make up for lost gain in the DSP path by staying "in the green" when gain staging. 

Oh! I forgot to add! I can't wait until nDSP bring the Cory Wong plugin over to QC. I love the SSL desk preamp and "4th position compressor" (in parallel mode). In fact, the sound I want to use 90% of the time is the Cory Wong plug-in. It's brilliant for fundamental bass tone.