Stub Mandrel

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermally_modified_wood#Characteristics_of_thermally_modified_wood My view is that it's being used for primarily for its aesthetic properties, nothing new or wrong in that. As for other properties, my guess is the supposed benefits and limitations pretty much balance out. But in some ways it's rather like the way that highly-figured exotic timbers beloved of boutique instrument makers just happen to be the very best tonewoods... Who knows this could be next for super strong hollow bodies or reinforcing laminations in necks: https://www.sciencealert.com/new-super-wood-stronger-than-steel

Apparently they work OK, most of the PCB is voltage multipliers to get up to about 48V, which is OK, if not as high as would be ideal. That's what I'm interested in, if anyone has already worked out what levels work. Clearly the signal will need to be boosted considerably to overdrive the valves, then reduced. It would possibly be best placed in the line level effect loop as well. I haven't got time for much experiementation at the moment...

No, if you are a serious customer they come up to you and say I can do that for you at £XXX; I got 10% off a Squier without asking and offered 30% off an Ashdown acoustic (I had observed that the strings on it sounded fairly bright but were heavily tarnished = it had been on display a long time but rarely tried out, if ever!)

I've got one of these to play with: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6J1-Valve-Pre-amp-Tube-PreAmplifier-Board-Bass-on-Musical-Fidelity-X10-D-Circuit/152894986169?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 Has anyone else had a play with one of these? What sort of level of signal do your need to get them to clip? Do they work well daisy chained? Just for clarity I want this "to provide post-amp Bile flavor of music to enjoy!"

Well from my limited experience, the main difference is that the 5 feels quite different and makes you play with a very different left hand technique. Surprisingly easy to come up with different inversions or positions that use the low string but I think the e-string sounds brighter and better for E to A than the B string, so i don't entirely buy the 'across the neck' argument although I nearly always play across rather than up and down. Don't notice a big difference with muting except you can't use your thumb on the e-string. Some problems with jumping up the neck and across and mistaking the A for the D string because my brain is saying 'third string down'!

And I thought only Gibson could produce a bass in such an absolutely obnoxious colour...

There will be a Midlands Bass Bash again next spring, last May was my first one and it was great to meet so many kindred spirits.

I learnt on long scale basses starting about '84. About a year in I visited a recording studio 'somewhere in Wales' and spent an afternoon jamming on a Fender Mustang bass. Last year, maybe 33 years on, I tried out a Jaguar short-scale and WHAM there was that easy, relaxed playability which had become a sort of half-remembered myth in my memory. I don't feel that sound-wise they are inferior in any way. Watch out as some ss basses are different, I know not why, someone gave me a go of their Gibson EB2 a few weeks ago and it wasn't to my liking (but they love it), felt like a baseball bat to me... I still love playing my long scale basses, in fact the thing I like best is how they ALL feel different which affects how and what I play on them.

Sex on Fire and Use Somebody. Apparently they are 'expected' by audiences. Doesn't stop them being boring dirges that sound as if they might go somewhere in a minute but never do.

Or buy in a shop. They can only monitor online prices or display prices when a rep calls in the shop

Carol 'Humility' Kaye on Bass Tab versus Sight Reading:

I'd suggest getting in touch with one or more of the builders who show their wares on this site. The only issue would be if the through neck means you can't raise the bridge by about 2mm to compensate. If Jaco Pasatorius can go the other way by pulling his frets off and painting over the result with epoxy paint...

Is there an 'illustrated history of Trace Elliot' anywhere?

Ha! I can read rhythms, but I can't do pitch. Not for the life of me and not for want of trying. Started a very basic online course. First exercise, fine. Second one, diagram showing which notes are which and told to 'now learn these' 😫 Don't know what the blockage is, I've discovered I can sight-read tab if the music isn't too fast. Lots of famous bass players started on trumpet - Flea for one.

I've spoken to a few dealers. Most have got out of Gibson because of the MOQ requirements and Fender are almost as bad. One said he and most of the other dealers he knows buy in modest quantities from Thomann, Normans, Gear4Music etc. who are willing to discount enough for the dealers to have prices not too far from online ones. But the likes of Ibanez somehow manage to make quality guitars that dealers can sell price-matching the net...

Many decades ago I split my 50W Sounds Shitty bass combo in two - a little head and a 'monitor wedge'. I lived in a shared house and some evil cretin broke in and stole it, my pink Hohner strat (I can never live it down...) and my mate's LP copy.

Back when I didn't need to watch the calories, I used to have a penchant for banana flavour Dunn's River Nourishment. The downside being that it turns your wee bright fluorescent yellow!

My art teacher was adamant that there is no such colour as brown. That bass is a dull orange with a darker, more reddish-orange border.

I found originals much easier. No-one can tell you you're wrong 🙂

For us, practice is what we do at home on our own. Rehearsal is bringing it all together and polishing the result. If there's more than minor problems with a song we park it and take home rather than waste time on it. I reckon 2-3 hours a week is good; not wasted as its part of the point of being in a band, but important to keep adding new material; not just recycling stuff. Issue for us has been uncertainty about personnel (now sorted with new guitarist/vocals) but we've also made the songlist much more contemporary so starting again in many ways. But the 'new line up' went through eight songs last week, all new to at least some of us and they all went OK, now need polishing. Hardest thing is when we practice different versions 'Rebel Rebel goes round once after the final lyric' - 'No listen to this it's a fade' - both right.... Biggest issue for me is we always practice at Pirate (or a couple of 'unpluggeds') and the one gig we've done had supplied backline. I desperately want us to have a couple of 'full dress rehearsals' with our own gear - fortunately an engineer has been found to help us balance our sound. A band of competent players with a great sound will do better than a bunch of musos obsessed with their individual tone and volume!

Don't forget to use snake oil on your roasted maple neck...

Nice. Those little white lines make a BIG difference! Have you had a serious go at playing it?

I'm sure they will, a band with a good pedigree. Past members included Rick Wakeman, Sandy Denny and Don Airey.

Some off the shelf fretlesses are built like that (I came across an Ashdown acoustic that was like this). Perhaps the poor soul who ordered it had learnt on one like that, or a defretted bass.