CameronJ

A big +1 from me. I’ve got some serious learning to do.

Ha! I know what you mean but the finish really did look amazing in person. Photos don’t do it justice.

What amp are you using and what are your settings? Also, what bass? Most amps will have an audible “noise floor” which means a little bit of hiss is inevitable, depending on how high you have the amp turned up. Boosting treble on an active preamp (on the amp itself or on a bass) will often add to the hiss. If using a traditional Jazz bass, soloing either the neck pickup or the bridge pickup on their own will introduce hum. Noise cancelling jazz pickups avoid this issue. If your bass is poorly shielded then it can be susceptible to picking up electrical noise from dimmer switches etc. Using an overdriven sound (whether from a pedal or the amp itself) that can contribute massively to the overall noise/hiss level of the amp, even when nothing is being played. If you have a pedalboard the number of potential causes of noise can multiply very quickly!

The SBL room was in the corner next to Darkglass/Bass Direct. To be fair, if it hadn’t been for my reliance on the event leaflet with its schedule and map, I may not have found it either. I met Etta on Saturday, along with Vicky O’Neon who was a legend and a bit of a beast on drums! Hadn’t heard of Etta before the weekend but to be fair I’m not really the kind of person to keep up with the latest names in the industry...

I have a BTB33 Volo, although I’m on the verge of selling it (for no other reason than GAS for something completely different.) Strung E-C as Ibanez intended, upgraded with an Aguilar OBP3 preamp and a Gotoh drop tuner on the E string. Veeery fast and smooth to play, thanks in part to Martin’s setup at @thebassgallery!

Saw this stunner towards the end of the day...£6k! Worth it though - the paint flips from lilac to gold on a sandblasted walnut top!! Should’ve got more pics really but the Wenge neck was a dream too. Preamp chargeable via USB with a 500 hour run time (no 9v battery option). Never seen anything like it.

A few minutes with some tools - this is by far the most practical option. I’m much too lazy and bought a Strymon Ojai R30, which was specifically designed to slot under the Nano/Metro boards. Unlike the “standard” Ojai it’s a couple of mm thinner, offers voltage switching and has all power sockets on one side which is much more practical when dealing with the kinds of narrow mounting areas we have under our boards.

Yep, just got home after having attended both days. Arrived quite late yesterday and missed all the workshops/seminars but got in a couple of hours worth of gear-drooling. Spent some time with Alan Cringean of ACG who was an absolute gent and had some glorious basses on display. I had the pleasure of playing a lovely red P-Retro 5 string which I fell a little bit in love with. Just before closing time I got chatting to Scott Devine who asked if I was coming to the pub afterwards. The answer, obviously, was yes. So off we all went (many of the show’s exhibitors, SBL faculty as well as ordinary folk like myself) to The Albion. On arrival it transpired that the pub were hosting a LBGS jam night, kicked off by Dave Marks who had to promptly leave for a gig after playing the opening number. Before long one of the guys I’d gotten chatting to earlier in the day started spreading a rumour that I wanted to sing. I soon had a small rabble of folk peer-pressuring me to get on stage! To be fair there was a distinct shortage of vocalists so after putting it off a bit I obliged. Got to close the evening with a bit of Never Too Much followed by a blagged rendition of Superstition. It was great fun and I got to meet some great musicians! When the pub kicked us out many of us trawled to the Hilton for another bevvy. Got chatting to Thomas Eich who was happy to talk shop, clearing up a few questions I had re: the Tecamp/Eich split. I didn’t stay long though as I wanted to get to the show a bit earlier today so as to sit in on a couple of workshops. So today I saw the Scott Devine workshop followed by Rich Brown who was incredible. Wanted to stay for Henrik Linder but got caught up in a wild goose chase looking for John East! In the end I never did find him, much to my dismay. Spent some time at the Aguilar stand, wincing at the prices of their pedals. Also, wincing at their ludicrous signal path: Filter Twin > Chorusaurus > Octamizer > Agro > TLC Compressor > Grape Phaser. I was gagging to tear their board apart and reorder the whole lot . To be honest I was mainly there to try the new Grape Phaser but it was borderline impossible to tell if it was any good or not because there was too much ambient noise and I felt like the TH500/SL112x2 setup wasn’t able to cut through it with any real clarity. It may have been wise for Aguilar to do what many of the other exhibitors were doing and provide a couple of Phil Jones headphone amps. Towards the end of today I had a chat with Nick Smith (haven’t seen him in about 10 years) with whom I lamented the absence of several British companies. The likes of Barefaced and Alpher Instruments, amongst others. Bit of a shame not to see them at LBGS to be honest. All in all though, a great weekend was had. I met some lovely people and saw some great playing. I was a first-timer and it wasn’t the mad slap fest I had anticipated, though of course there were moments of it. I’d happily go again next year.

...for now 😈

This. The THR10 is a guitar amp primarily but can handle some bass duties. The Microcube will be a better choice if you’re mainly using it for bass. Also check out the Phil Jones Double Four and Markbass Micromark 801.

I’d hope for at least this: However in most cases I suspect that the reality is this:

@JohnR you are a legend, thanks for that!

Did you go directly through MTD themselves?

Anderson is a beast. The bassist is always great too!

I own an Ibanez BTB and an MTD Kingston. They’re both very good and I’d buy instruments from both companies again without hesitation. Overall though, the MTD wins for me. You have to play one to understand - I just love the neck profile with a passion and it makes me want to play it all the time.

How so?

Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about this bass! I have to say I predict greatness too - if not from you then at least from the bass itself

Wow, those prices have rocketed up! I believe it’s possible to use a standard 3 way switch. May require a bit of moddin but I’m sure I’ve seen it done before.

Haha, I had a 1025x! And I did love the tone with a passion. I think I want something with a slightly different look though. If snickers comes through I may end up with a custom build of some sort. Watch this space...

Good work @Al Krow. I’m still itching to try out some flats myself. The recent addition of LaBella Black Nylon Tapewounds to my Sandberg Electra VS4 has made an already great bass even more fun to play! Hypothetically speaking, if I went for this Model T 5er then it would be the ideal candidate for the flat treatment.

I think you’re talking about Nik West. Phenomenal bassist! edit: maybe not!

Oh man, that sounds great. Looking forward to the pics! And maybe even a sound clip or two? I’ve been lusting for a 5 string Precision myself of late...

It’s kinda growing on me

Make of this what you will: https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F382376747528

There are a few on eBay and gumtree for reasonable prices at the moment.