Happy Jack

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1448297494' post='2914247'] Usually, friends in other bands recommendations. [/quote] Yup, either this or (more commonly in my limited experience) someone in the band "has a mate with a studio" or a mate "who's an engineer and can get us a really good deal". Speaking purely for myself, I would always go with someone I know personally and trust, rather than with the "best" studio and a bunch of strangers.

Don't mean to be controversial, but if you plan to start with reading TAB rather than actually reading music 'properly' then I'd advise you to start with a 4-string. Trying to play a 4-string TAB on a 5-string bass can get very confusing! If I had my time over again, I like to think that I would take the trouble to learn to read music 'properly'. Trouble is, if I had my time over again I suspect I'd just do the same things all over again ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HofnerCustom-Shop-Gold-Label-Berlin-Violin-Bass-Handmade-at-Hofner-Germany-/151893189433?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276 Take away the price tag and you're looking at a rather tacky take on a vintage classic. And don't forget to boast about the "flame maple back and sides" which can't be seen through the solid finish. At that price there's a greater than 50% uplift over the price of a stock, handmade-in-Germany Hofner 500/1. How does that work anyway? The German Hofners are still handmade, always have been, which is why they're so dear to start with. How do you then charge a premium price for a handmade Custom Shop version?

To do that you'll need to replace the existing strap buttons, and whatever you use will not look right on a violin bass. Does he like lager? If so, buy him a case of Grolsch. Swing-top bottles, natch.

Here's my tip ... buy this book: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Art-Country-Bass-Electric/dp/0793569923/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1448040241&sr=8-1&keywords=Lost+Art+of+Country+Bass Excellent piece of work.

[quote name='Paulhauser' timestamp='1448032579' post='2912530'] This B string issue is world in it own, so many opinions and variables, the best bet is to make your own opinion by trying basses. [/quote] My thinking too, though I have to say that I am happiest with a 35" scale. My old Alleva-Coppolo KBP5 had a very wide, very flat neck on a 34" scale, and I was perfectly happy with the low B until the first time I played a Mike Lull. The Lull has (I suspect) a lower-mass neck but a 35" scale, and with the same strings as the A/C (and the same person playing it, natch) the Lull's low B is noticeably less flobbadob.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1448032667' post='2912535'] Are you making fun of me because of my signature??? [/quote] Do you know, I hadn't even read your signature until you pointed that out! So ... how's the treatment coming along? Off the medication yet?

Then you realise that people like Zoom make all-in-one devices that do everything you want, all in one neat little box. With an LCD panel and everything. So you buy that too. But then you find that the Zoom's tuner is a bit wibbly-wobbly so you keep the Zoom but add your dedicated pedal tuner. Actually, the Zoom's Octaver ain't that great, so then you add your dedicated Octaver too. Then ... then .. then .. And finally, you start looking for a larger pedal board.

Depends on other factors of course, but the reality is that I'm running the DB through a Fishman preamp before the signal reaches the Bigshot so I can do a fair bit of level matching up front. If memory serves, the amount of DIM can also be tweaked. It's been a while since I last tinkered with it.

I use one of these: http://www.radialeng.com/bigshotio.php

Whereabouts in the country are you?

May I refer you to Post #84? [quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1446572259' post='2900473'] I think a lot of Basschatters are under the impression that Basschat is now a huge concern, with thousands of enthusiastic members who are potential buyers of their basses. The various statistics in the public domain do tend to give that impression. BUT Actually spending time on Basschat, seeing who is posting what and where, gives a very different flavour as far as I'm concerned. I suspect that there are no more than a few hundred truly [i][b]active [/b][/i]Members and a helluva lot of dormant user names. If you think you're reaching a potential market of many thousands of active bass players with money in their pocket, then prepare to be disappointed. [/quote]

Jumping into anything new at the very top end is asking for trouble. It's your dosh and you'll do what you want, but I think you'll get better results by taking easier steps. For well under half your budget you could have your pick of pre-owned fivers, and spend a month or two seeing whether or not you actually like them. Getting back to your original question, where are you coming from in terms of go-to basses? Are you a Precision player or a Warwick sort of guy? Does 19mm string spacing matter to you? Are you hung up on weight issues? Do you want an active bass with more controls than Concorde or do you do everything at the amp? Etc. Etc. Etc.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1447942821' post='2911695'] I bought a "high end" replacement power cable for my Glockenklang earlier on in the week... [/quote] Not sure they yet make oxygen-free earplugs, but probably worth checking.

Is this a 4-string Android or a 5-string?

Out of all the Warwick basses I've played, the only one I've ever really lusted after was one I played two years ago at the Warwick showroom in Manhattan. That was a German-made Jack Bruce signature Fretless, with a price tag so outrageous that I wasn't tempted even for a millisecond. But bloody hell, what a bass!

They all play in bands with two bassists ...

There's nowt wrong with foam earplugs or even cotton wool if what you want is simply to protect your eardrums. On the other hand, if you want to protect your eardrums AND still be able to listen properly to what's going on, without deadening or muffling the sound, then you need proper earplugs such as ER17s. If you want to protect your eardrums AND still be able to listen properly to what's going on AND to hear as clearly as if you weren't wearing any protection at all, then you need top-of-the-range filter plugs such as ER15s or ER20s.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1447884052' post='2911299'] Ooh, sickburn. [/quote] That's a small village just south of Edinburgh, right?

If you're going string-through then you need to check that the LaBellas will actually reach the nut before the silks start. Mark where the nut touches the string you currently have (Tippex is good) and take the string off, measure it carefully from ball-end to mark, then ask your chosen string supplier to confirm the precise length of the LaBella from ball-end to silk. Obviously you shouldn't have a problem ... they make these strings to fit the basses! The fact is, I have several times found the first 1/4" of the silks on one or more strings on the "wrong" side of the nut.

Also worth a mention are La Bella FL Deep Talkin' and Status Graphite Half-rounds. La Bella FLs are bloody expensive and not always easy to obtain, but they do sound wonderful. I started using them when I bought my first proper vintage Precision, on advice from Basschatters who know this stuff inside out ... Clarky, Beedster, and Wateroftyne. They're not so good on longer scale basses like the 35" Mike Lulls I play now. The Status Half-rounds offer a genuine compromise between the feel of flats and the snarl of good rounds on a P. I converted to Lakland Joe Osborn strings when I started playing 35" scale since all Lakland 5-strings are 35" AFAIK. Those Osborns then turned out to be re-packaged GHS strings, which takes you back to Essential Tension's post up at the top. The fact that they fit 35" scale so well also means that they are excellent for string-through-body on a 34" scale bass.

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1447780318' post='2910321'] I'm pretty sure that in my local WH SMith they sell Guns 'n' Ammo. The magazine, not the actual things. [/quote] Well it's quite normal to put ammo in a magazine. Sorry ...