Marty Forrer

I use a Deuce bridge and it's marvelous. I will never go back. It is way more stable than a maple bridge, it has adjustable pressure on the wing pickup(s) to get the best sound, the wooden part is easily replaceable should the need arise, and it just looks so darn cool. It will never fall over if you're an energetic rockabilly player with very low tension strings.

Pay attention to the left hand. Thumb should be anchored in the back of the neck and the elbow should be high enough that the fingers are pretty much at 90 degrees to the stings. Less than right-angles can cause dodgy intonation and damage to the finger joints down the track. Ask me how I know.....

I no longer have my BB605, but I've just bought a mint used BB435 in sunburst. Hope it arrives in time for my gig on Friday.

This 2013 Chinese made Squier with DiMarzio UltraJazz pickups and Hipshot Ultralite tuners is my #1. I have owned over the decades, US Fenders, Yamaha TRBs and BBNs, a Wal (hated it), a Pedulla Rapture (got stolen), a Manne, several Stingrays and a Bacchus, but this lowly old Squier just has a magic feel to it that only the Pedulla had.

After decades of playing basses of every shape I have come to the conclusion the Fender Jazz shape is absolutely the best for me. It snuggles into my body like a comfy old slipper. No matter how far I stray away I inevitably come back to the Jazz body shape.

I did the same, marked the frets on the rule then ground them out. Works a treat and cost me nothing as I already had the rule.

There's one of those for sale here at the moment. I'd look at it, but the seller won't ship it. Plus I need another amp like a hole in the head.

I built my 600 watt 2x12 cab with 12mm ply and have had no resonance problems at all. I braced all the large panels, glued and screwed using PVA, and it weighs 18kg with the neo speakers. Using 15mm ply would have added a few kg, and using 18mm was out of the question for an old fart like me, and certainly not necessary.

Do not use regular velcro. Dual Loc is the industrial strength equivalent of velcro and will hold 15kg. I have a Krivo which looks almost identical to that Armstrong, and with Dual Loc it has never budged.

Gypsy bands from Serbia, Romania and nearby countries often use a bass like this. I believe they still make them. I played one once, back in the 90s. It was a bit weird.

Another point is that piezo pickups like a minimum 1 meg ohm load. Many bass guitar amps have an impedance much less than this because magnetic pickups don't care. Not sure about Markbass, but my Acoustic Image Clarus head has 1 meg and 10 meg inputs. My Genzler Magellan head has a 1 meg input. Both sound great with a piezo. Also I agree with Downunderwonder, sounds like the room has those annoying troublespots. An amp with a semi-parametric eq section would allow you to find that frequency and dial it out. Now I think about it, I once had two Markbass heads and they sounded OK for bass guitar, but I got rid of them because I'm a doubler and couldn't get a decent double bass sound from them. Just my experience.

I've had valve heads and don't like them for double bass. I don't even like valve preamps. I find they are not clean enough for my taste. Being in the music industry I have been able to own or try many different brands of amp, and my go to is the Genzler Magellan. I have a back up Acoustic Image too, but the Genzler has more "heft". Of the valve amps I had, the Ampeg PF50T was the best for double bass.

I have a 600w 212 cab, but for most venues I'll bring my 400w 210. Running a Magellan 800w head so I have to be judicious, but I have yet to have the master past 10 oçlock at any gig.

My vote is for Genzler Magellan. One of the few class D heads that have the "heft" of the class A/B amps. Being as I'm in the industry I have had access to, or owned, most amps out there. My search is over.

I built my own 2x12 and it is great! It weighs 18kg and has tiltback handle and recessed wheels as well as side handles. Drivers are Gallien Krueger Neo 12s @ 300w each. No crossover or horn (I always turn them off anyway). I made the outside dimensions the same as a Barefaced SuperTwin and the port size I just winged it. It handles a low B string perfectly, so I guess I lucked in. Material was 1/2" Oukume ply with Duratex coating. Since these pics I changed to Speakon connectors.

Every new bass needs a good setup to suit the purchaser's tastes. When I was selling basses I would ask the buyer what sort of setup they preferred. It only takes ten to fifteen minutes if you have the right tool on hand and know what you are doing. For my go to bass, a MIJ Jazz with a P neck, I put 14 thousandths relief in the neck, 22 thousandths under the strings at first fret, and string height of 3/32" under the E at 17th fret, and 1/16" under the G.

Yes, I have been down this path. I have tried quite a few valve heads, also class D with valve preamp sections. I find that valves are too warm for me. They are fabulous for bass guitar, but I like the clean tone of class D for double bass. If I was still playing rockabilly I would use valves, but these days it's mostly jazz so I want it as clean as possible.

I have gone from having four or five on hand to having just one that does everything. My go to is a MIJ Fender Jazz with matching headstock, block markers, Hipshot Ultralites, Hipshot Kickass, Seymour Duncan Apollos, series/parallel switch, Dunlop straplocks and TI Jazz Flats. I no longer have the urge to play 5 and 6 strings, active basses, or anything that's not a Jazz shape. The Jazz just fits into my body like an old slipper, so comfortable. The series switch gets me a roaring P tone from the Apollos, and they are dead quiet in parallel.

My reply to another thread made me wonder, why oh why do bassplayers have this obsession with cutting through? Got to admit, I was in this situation too until a couple of years ago. I use a wireless and always go out front to set my level and the desk levels (I run the PA too). One gig I decided to cut my bass volume as an experiment, and epiphany! The overall band sound, and in particular the vocals, drastically improved. This got me to thinking about listening to records, and I realised that in 75% of cases the bass was just audible. It was there for sure, but non-musicians could not hum along to the bassline. My conclusion: bass needs to make bums on seats twitch, but does not need to become another instrument for the punters to listen to. Since adopting this approach my band's sound and following have improved greatly. By lifting my cab off the floor I can hear myself fine, and my bandmates have become much more concious of making their sound fit the song. Food for thought.

The punchiest sound I've ever heard was from Aguilar 12s. However, I personally don't like too much punch in my tone.

I built a 2x12 with tiltback castors and handle, plus side handles. With GK Neo speakers it weighs 18kg, is rated at 600 watts RMS and projects a low B string like crazy. It's the third cab I've built, the first two were Greenboy Fearfuls.

I bought a Bassmax and sold it after two days. Bought a single Zac Vic Victor and still have it some years later. Much better than the Bassmax. I think it was cheaper too. BTW, the pressure on any piezo pickup determines the sound. Too tight and sounds wrong and feeds back. Too loose and the guts drop out. Experimentation is the key.

I met Jeff in 96 or 97. Had a play on his Palladium (sp?) and it was set up for the lightest touch imaginable. I could not play it without a lot of clanking, and I'm not a hard player. I played a Rhythmic in a store recently and to tell the truth I thought the Peavey was better, but that's just me. Incidentally, Jeff is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet. I organised some SWR amplification for his tour (New Zealand) and saw two concerts and organised a workshop. Not only is he an absolute monster player, I was gob-smacked at the power and control of his playing, but he is a hell of a teacher too.

After having all common speaker sizes, including PJB 5", I find 12" suits me best.

I have owned a Wal, a Pedulla Rapture, various Yamahas, Ibanez and Peavey Cirrus, several Fender Ps and Js. The Jazz I have at present is the best of all, and it's a mongrel. I built it from parts... MIM body, Fender neck with blocks and binding (70s reissue?), Hipshot Kickass bridge and Ultralight tuners, SD Apollo pickups with CTS pots, Orange Drop cap, Puretone 4 contact socket, push/pull series/parallel pot, Dunlop flushmount straplocks and black pearloid pickguard I made. It fits me like an old comfy slipper, balances perfectly on the strap and sounds amazing, especially in series mode. It's my voice of doom through a GenzBenz Streamliner 600 and a GK Neo 2x12. I will never part with it.