JoeEvans

If I understand you correctly, you mainly need the bridge a little higher on the E string, is that right? How does the action feel on each string? Is there much rattle on the other strings? Are there signs of wear on the fingerboard - lengthways grooves? What type of strings are on it? How do they feel in terms of tension?

I owned one bass guitar only for thirty years or so, then started coming on here for some double bass info. In the last year I've bought two bass guitars, thanks to the amazing wisdom of this forum which has taught me that buying more and more basses is an entirely normal activity.

You could do a lot worse that a Trace Elliot Elf combo. For recording I find that I get batter sounds by recording clean and straight in, then using virtual amps within Logic. But for noodling by yourself, rehearsals and small gigs, the Elf is pretty perfect (allowing for personal taste obviously). I say small gigs - I would personally take mine to any size gig, run a DI out to the PA and get whatever extra stage volume I might need from the monitors. I can't see the point of big backline.

My understanding is that you get the best sound if there's a solid connection on both sides so a shim made of something hard like wood or sax reed might be better than cork.

I'll see what I can do, I'm meant to be doing some recording for someone soon so might be able to get something.

This is my recently acquired ACG Border Revier SS4 (bought here from reggieboomboom). I wasn't going to write about it but I couldn't resist the headline... It's a really superb instrument. I'd never heard of ACG until I saw it advertised, but it reached me at a vulnerable moment. Last year I'd decided to get a small-bodied headless bass with the idea that it would be easy to take places and get out around the house, being so compact. So I picked up an Ibanez Axstar, which was unexpectedly excellent - really good ergonomics, big sound. But I was struggling with the narrow string spacing and skinny neck, and when I saw the ACG I thought 'what the heck...' The ACG is short scale; the neck is chunky but extremely playable. The back is slightly asymmetric, like many ACG necks, which makes a subtle but definite difference. Zero crown so totally flat frets. The fretboard is acrylic-impregnated American Sycamore, with a really lovely and unusual colour and figuring. The body shape gives great access all the way up (not that I spend much time up the dusty end). The body ergonomics are superb - it sits on the lap perfectly, hangs perfectly, feels completely comfortable under the right wrist. The finish is super-smooth. It's a chunky wee monkey - it feels very solid, heavy for its size, but being small, it's still actually quite light, if that makes sense... It has one of ACG's filter-based pre-amps, with a stacked volume / pickup selector then a tone control for each pickup. The tone controls are actually low pass filters, with (as I understand it) a touch of resonance on the frequencies a little lower than the filter level. The sound is superb - fat, punchy, and very versatile with loads of different sounds available. All in all it's an awesome bass, certainly the best quality bass I've ever owned and probably the best I've ever played. I'm also now really sold on small basses. Playing this one makes me wonder what all the extra timber is for on normal basses. Pics are from Reverb from a previous sale.

I would maybe try for a very clean sound on the amp that sounds good for the double bass, then a pedal that makes the bass guitar sound good - some kind of preamp or amp simulator.

What amp are you using?

To be fair I've played other Tokai basses over the years that weren't as nice as mine. My sense is that quality and detailing wasn't consistent over the years, so there's more variation than there might be with a company like Ibanez or Yamaha. I think I'd want try try a Tokai before buying.

I have an 80s Tokai jazz, lined fretless. It's a superb instrument, certainly up there with US Fenders. The original pickups were a bit dull though, Bartolinis made a big difference. Possibly also worth upgrading the bridge although I haven't bothered.

Just sold two monitors to Patrick, he was really easy to deal with, a pleasure doing business.

Recently bought an ACG Border Reiver (Amazing bass!) from reggieboomboom. I paid by bank transfer and the bass was shipped well packaged up. It was exactly as described and Reggie was helpful in answering my questions. Thanks!

I feel.like the ideal solution here long-term is going to be to beef up the PA, get yourself the IEMs and don't use a bass-specific amp or cab on stage at all. Does the PA already have a decent sub?

We are not worthy! We are not worthy!

The Weichs will definitely help. When you're playing up near the open notes, the nut height makes more of a difference than the action. People talk about getting it so that you can just about slide a business card under the string next to the nut, but I found that the right height varied string to string. Taking the slot a little deeper - maybe only 0.5mm or 1mm on the E and A strings - made an immediately noticeable improvement in ease of playing. I found it very important to practice playing more on the tips of the fingers of the left hand, so that the end joint of the finger is coming up and away from the fingerboard not lying flat on it. Try hooking your fingertips onto the top of a door frame and putting some weight on, and you can see straight away how much more strength your fingers have like that.

Is it primarily the left hand that you find hard work, or both hands, or the whole physical experience - shoulders, back, legs?

I've never tried that - it doesn't sound especially likely but worth a go! I think I'd be working with a wide, very sharp chisel and a piece of plywood, cut to the right size and chamfered at the edges, with sandpaper wrapped around it.

I think I'd be inclined to clean out the socket on the body and get it to as smooth and flat a finish as possible on all faces, even if that means making the socket a mm or two bigger all round. Then trim back the neck on all the areas that will contact the body, again aiming for smooth, flat mating surfaces, even though the block will end up a few mm small. Then glue veneer of appropriate thickness onto the mating surfaces on the neck, to leave it a few mm too fat in all dimensions. Glue on the veneer so that the grain runs the same way as in the neck. Then you can plane or sand back the neck block until you get a perfect fit with the socket. I would personally use an epoxy glue to fit the veneers to the neck, for maximum strength, then a conventional hide glue when you fit the neck back to the body. You'd need to get all the PVA off to get good adhesion for hide glue. I wouldn't bother with screws myself. A good glue job is much stronger and if the glue job isn't good you're doomed in the long run anyway. I'd glue a bit in to fill the v-shaped gap.

When I bought my current DB from the Double Bass Room it was really interesting to see a room full of basses of different ages all together. They're so lacking in standardisation compared to violins! Different heights, depths, widths, shapes, colours and of course sounds. I'm not really convinced that they fit neatly into 3/4 and 4/4; it's more like a spectrum. My choice was mostly down to the sound (with an eye for condition obviously) and I came away with an instrument that's getting into 4/4 territory for height, but perhaps on the slender side in terms of width and depth compared to some 4/4s. I guess most people choose for similar reasons - which bass sounds the best to the buyer's ear? As for convenience, any double bass is a massive pain in the derrière to move around and I don't think a few inches here or there make much difference...

What are you guys doing with your basses to get them so filthy?

Best thing would be a small, decent quality active PA speaker with a frequency response that goes down to maybe 40hz. Best option will depend heavily on budget!

Ouch, that doesn't sound ideal... Hope it gets better soon.

To my mind the problem regarding cost of living isn't that it makes it harder to make music - it's cheaper and easier than at any time in history to record an album and make a video. The problem is that so many people are struggling financially that it's harder than ever to get an audience out, especially for ticketed events as opposed to pubs. Venues are closing down, audiences are falling and you can't make up for the low fees by selling self-published CDs any more. It's live music that's suffering, not music within digital media.

Is the focus of the pain and swelling around one side of the fingernail? You can get infections down there which result in swelling. If so maybe rub neat tea tree oil (super-strong anti-bacterial) into the edges of the nail. In due course it will open up and release all the pus, which isn't that nice but feels a lot better... A visit to the GP would be good if nothing changes soon. I don't think a German bow would help much, the forefinger does a fair bit of work there too. Pizzicato can't be much fun either I would think?