T-Bay

Phantom of the opera is still one of my favourites and where they are at their most creative in many ways. I prefer Diannos voice so mostly listen to the first two albums but still love seventh son, they just got the feel spot on after a couple of albums that missed it for me. I can't help on technique but have looked at some myself and find my fingers and brain get tied up very quickly!

Thanks, I wouldn't trust myself to mess about with one I already have but this one has been well battered so I am sure I can do something to improve it and making a body from scratch seems the best way forward.

I have some second hand OBBM and they are superb, I also have a couple of no bull cables off eBay that are decent quality and come with a lifetime guarantee (if you believe such things) but if I was buying today it would be OBBM all the way.

Already sorted and being collected tomorrow, big thank you goes to the OP.

Cherry is up there on my list, I have a small supply of white oak that has been well seasoned so may do a light and dark sandwich. Just need to find the cherry or similar now. Then decide on a good backing wood. I want it to be as light as possible so need to investigate options. I have even had a mad idea about using some carbon fibre honeycomb as a core material as I happen to have a few sheets knocking around as you do but no idea what effect it would have on the sound.

I have been toying with the idea of building my own bass for a couple of months now, especially after seeing some on here. A kind donation of an old and very battered EB3 which will be on its way to me tomorrow has solidified the idea. I will cheat a bit and use the neck (of the fretboard at the very least but most likely all of it), tuners, pickups and some of the electrics. I love the sound and look of the SG but the neck dive combined with an arthritic shoulder don't make a good mix. The plan is to try and get as close as possible to the original sound but in a different shape whilst practicising my long dormant woodwork skills. First thing to do,is source some very nice wood. I want a mix of light and dark but also want the weight to be as low as possible. Any suggestions on possible timbers and suppliers would be gratefully received. I have some contacts for oak, lime and yew but they will be green so the timescale is too long for this one.

Yes please! I am happy to pay for shipping. I have been looking for a project.

Not on purpose but my 'what the hell, put a bid on as it's bound to go for far more' means another 4 string is heading my way as we speak.

I am new to this game having only been playing a few months but my experiences have not made Fender top of my wanted list. Knowing they have a reputation for being excellent I sought them out to have a go to set a benchmark. I have to admit I was disappointed by the build quality compared to the opposition. Sound is very variable but that could well be down to the set up and I don't have the experience to determine which it is. But the feel wasn't as good as others for the same or less money. Perhaps it's down to expectation and if you expect something to be superior it's easier to be disappointed than if you have no opinion at all. The one that really stood out was a Fender dimension which being their entry level bass you wouldn't expect to be amazing but it felt a lot cheaper than the basic Ibanez which was half the price and sound wise I preferred the Ibanez (but that's subjective). Neither sounded as good as the worn Aria I ended up buying for peanuts, or felt as good for that matter. Being such a beginner I am coming at this from a different angle to most of you very experienced folk but I have a background in engineering and from that point of view they were nothing to shout about. Then on the other hand you see someone play one that has obviously been around the world and back and it sounds superb, so has the quality dropped? Do they need to be bedded in? Or does it come down to what you play it through as much as the the bass itself? I don't know.......

Mud, lonely this Christmas.

Learned to play (well sort of), joined a band at work, played our first gig together. And all since September!

I have an applause for my daughter, plays very nice and was cheap enough (well under £100 2nd hand) and can be run through an amp if you ever want more volume.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1482064822' post='3197286'] It does - it's marvellous, and I make no apologies for endlessly going on about it :-D [/quote] Any info on where you get them/ cost? I did a search but can only find the homepage in Poland and links to people on hear singing their praises.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1482064172' post='3197278'] So Elixirs at £53 a set is a real bargain! [/quote] I guess it does, like everything it's relative. Bass strings look expensive to guitar players, 6 string sets look expensive to 4 string bassists and double bass look expensive to everyone apart from harp players perhaps!

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1482063509' post='3197270'] How much? [/quote] This much- http://www.gear4music.com/Woodwind-Brass-Strings/Pirastro-344020-The-Jazzer-3-4-Double-Bass-String-Set/1M9T?origin=product-ads&gclid=Cj0KEQiAhNnCBRCqkP6bvOjz_IwBEiQAMn_TMY5aWsJbe3iMjwFUINKTMkPU302LLsri_Jh110uw3fMaAl0b8P8HAQ

We had a practice session on Wednesday in the theatre we played yesterday and used the smoke machine from their store (our works do so know all the people). It's been used loads of times but we managed to set the alarm off with a couple of blasts. It has happened once before and no one has any clue as to why it's ok most of the time but always. We decided not to use it yesterday for obvious reasons!

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1481979107' post='3196718'] Newport. The bass drum was overwhelming and I couldn't hear the bass at all, it was just a wall of bass. Mind you, as I said I was within jumping distance of the stage so maybe that is why, but Placebo sounded fine and their bass was a lot clearer (so much so my GAS for an explorer tipped over and I have one coming next week!) I liked Minor Victories, but my wife hated them and went and sat down. Mind you she is not a fan of that sort of thing. [/quote] Different strokes and all that, if the sound was bad that wouldn't help. I was very impressed, my only complaint was that they were on long enough!

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1481844789' post='3195728'] I was going to start a topic of this the other day. I went to see placebo on Monday night, and they had support from a group called minor victories. The bass player was on the side of the stage in front of me, and obviously as it was the support there weren't too many people in front. So the drumming starts and the bass drum goes right through you as do the other drums. The bass player is standing there with a rather nice Jaguar bass, so i thought 'Nice bass, I wonder what that sounds like'. Then he started playing, and turns out, I was none the wiser. Pretty well couldn't hear him. [/quote] which venue? I saw them at Manchester on Monday the 6th and was very impressed with the sound of the bass coming through. I did think the drums bordered on being 'boomy' at times but nothing major and certainly didn't drown out the bass where I was. I was in a seat direct in line with the stage so would be interested to hear if the sound was significantly different to the standing area. They seemed pretty spot on to me, Placebo were also well set up (but you would expect that). I was very impressed with Minor Victories and will make a point of seeing more of them.

I started playing in the middle of September, we started a band at work in the middle of October (other guys are all experienced), yesterday was our first gig (our works do). I expected to be nervous but wasn't at all (the clueless not knowing what to expect?). We ended up going on half an hour early as the other things on didn't run to time so we also finished the set early and having not been playing long together long we had nothing in reserve so just played the same ones again which no one seemed to mind. I absolutely loved every minute and would have happily played through again. The buzz I got was amazing and everyone had a great time so all good. I missed a few notes but had practised enough that I could come back in no problem or just improvise for a couple of seconds and then back in and no one noticed. We were really tight and had a lot of fun on stage. I need more time to be able to interact with the crowd at the same as playing. I could do a bit but had to concentrate on playing most of the time. Strangely the song I enjoyed most was Slade merry Christmas everybody. The walking bassline sounded really good in the big space and everyone knows it so was singing along. We did it as the last song and got loads of our colleagues up on stage to sing along. Brilliant night all round and we are now planning to do another social in a few months after requests.

All you need to do is take a classic song S L O W it down, then S L O W it down some more, put a stupid dance beat drum machine track behind and you are on a guaranteed hit. Or so it seems with some of the rubbish that passes for the charts these days.

[quote name='funkgod' timestamp='1481750695' post='3194915'] "Hello kind seller, i want to bye your bass to me, it is what i am perfect looking for for my son. What is your full asking price to me, i pay this price so you know i am serious for it. i want this to be sent right away to my son so i can send a collector. i can not collect this item i work off shore on an oil rig so i order from there. so you know i am real i am prepaired to pay rightaway by paypal only when you have the money in your account you can send the item to my son for his birthday he is looking forward to getting this item. give me your paypal address and i pay today. take this item off ebay now and i will take it" Bla Bla Bla.... Yea right, how does the paypall scam work ? if it shows up in your account ? can they call it back once sent ? i had a few selling when i have sold basses on ebay, but gumtree seems really bad [/quote] Yup, a guy on a motoring forum I use lost a camera worth £700 that way. He posted it to an address in Nottingham and that was the last he saw of it. Person who's net the. Only claimed the account was hacked so PayPal claimed it back. I think the scammer here is PayPal as much as anyone as the seller did nothing wrong but they don't care. What do you pay the fee for after all. It was painful to read the stress the guy went through over a couple of weeks as he desperately needed the money.

I would pay serious money to see Rage against the machine do it.

I saw the same in Manchester last week, I find it a bit tragic, crap video, appalling sound. What is the point?

I am new to this whole game but it seems everyone loves someone who can sort the technical stuff out and fix things when needed so do that as well as playing bass and hoping not to cock up too much. First proper outing Friday so time will tell.

I thought it looked familiar! There isn't much room in there at all. I can see why you are a bit concerned. Why can't you have the function room?