JoeEvans

I used an ART Tube MP preamp with my double bass, along with a clip-on mic. I tried various set-ups and I felt that the ART added a subtle warmth and presence to the sound. So now I'm thinking, maybe a valve preamp pedal / DI for use with bass guitar? Can anyone recommend a simple pedal for a warm, rich, more or less clean sound? Basic EQ will do fine. DI out needed.

I love my ACG Border Reiver for many reasons; one reason is that with a small body, medium scale and no head, it's light, but being made of a decent chunk of swamp ash, it feels dense and solid. So best of both worlds. I don't really like the feel of full-size basses that are too light - they feel somehow flimsy.

I did a double bass gig with it sat on a pile of books once - stripped thread on the end-pin screw. I switched to a wooden end pin after that, more secure and I think it sounds a bit better too.

Yikes! It does seem that wiring failure is the main risk factor, judging by people's comments so far.

If you've got the budget for a real Stingray, buy an ACG 5-string. I promise you won't regret it! Or at a lower price point, try a Reverend.

Has anyone had a bass failure during a gig that wasn't a broken string or a dead battery? I'm curious as to what the possible failure modes might be.

One bass is enough for me... If anything apart from a broken string or flat battery is likely to happen, bring a different bass...

Come back with a report when you've played it plugged in, I'm intrigued by these basses.

To be fair, it's extremely sensible to keep a spreadsheet with serial numbers, purchase prices and where instruments were purchased, just for insurance / theft recovery purposes. So as you add new purchases to the list you're going to end up with a full record anyway. Now that I think about it I ought to start doing it myself really...

I would have to rephrase the question - why would you keep track of everything you've owned?

Love the colours,I would keep that colour for the plate even if you upgrade to a nicer one...

To clarify, and to avoid getting bogged down in my eccentric opinions about time signatures, the feel I'm after is disco, but triplets - basically like Knock on Wood by Ami Stewart. https://youtu.be/XKuJUxGntRI?si=KcntLEJGExpq118A

So the 6/8, 12/8 and 4/4 shuffle would all have an accent on the first beat of each triplet, in other words...

If I transcribed 'The way you make me feel' three times, in 6/8, 12/8 and 4/4 with triplets, then gave the transcriptions to three different sets of musicians, you wouldn't be able to tell which group was playing which version. They're just different ways of writing out the same thing. I see this in practice in Irish traditional music - slides are conventionally written out in 12/8 and jigs in 6/8, but there's no difference between them for the listener because it's the dances that are different not the tunes.

I also just thought of Michael Jackson's 'The way you make me feel'.

It's so consistently in triplets that you could score it out in 6/8, so counts as 6/8 for my sinister purposes... It would actually come out a bit neater on the page if you wrote it out in 6/8 or 12/8, the 4/4 renditions are covered in triplet indicators.

Anyone got any suggestions for disco / funk / soul tunes in 6/8? I can only think of Stevie Wonder's 'Higher Ground' but I'm sure there's loads of others... EDIT - 12/8 would also be fine, or 4/4 that could be characterised as 12/8. It's the triplets that are important!

I find the concept of relic basses bizarre and annoying, and many of them look awful. But I actually wouldn't mind owning one because I like the look of battered old instruments. Consistency isn't really my strong point...

Reverend basses are pretty much universally liked and should be in your budget.