chris_b

For a brief period, about 20 years ago, Stewart used to bring his amps (can't remember if they were production or prototype models) to our jam night to check them out on a gig and raise a bit of Session interest.

There is a similar thread over on Talkbass, and Letts and Eddie are posting!!

. . . . so he's had a tough time and as a result hasn't finished @EddieG's bass, and hasn't refunded the payments and is not abiding by court judgements, but he's still making basses for sale on Reverb!!! There doesn't seem to be any way to give Letts the benefit of the doubt. He actually has been able to make basses during this period, so choose your description, fantasist, con man, scammer, thief. . . . or maybe all of them.

If you have a bass and rig that you've used for "years and years" and you change one link in that chain, as you've discovered, you'll get a totally different sound. That was to be expected. The cab was probably limiting the sound of the amp. With it gone, you're hearing what the amp actually sounds like. If you want a 60's "dull thud out of a modern lightweight neo cab, buy a bass and amp that gets that sound and the cab will faithfully reproduce it. Maybe buy a 60's preamp pedal. I get a pretty good 60's sound out of a Mike Lull PJ5, with flats and foam, an Aguilar TH500 and 2 Barefaced 112 cabs.

I don't know if this has been posted before. . . . if so it's worth posting twice. . . . with the fabulously funky James Gadson on drums and wonderfully effective bass line played by Melvin Dunlap . . .

There are also threads about similar instances of customers experiencing difficulties and his "behaviour" on Talkbass.

How do you manage that? I've been on Talkbass since 2007, have 742 pages of likes, PM'ed with people from 4 continents and haven't managed to upset anyone!! I've also been a member of Ozbass for a few years.

It's like a big family. You can put up with most of them, as long as you don't have to meet too often, except for a couple of cousins, who you would rather not see ever again, and a mad uncle or two.

Hmmmm. . . . another technique I can't do. The list is getting longer!

I played a Long Horn bass for awhile in the late 60's and know 2 people who use them now. I was disappointed to find out they don't make a 5 string version.

Which models?

The band provides the backline, but on our jam night everyone brings their own bass, guitar and drum sticks. Since Covid some bring their own mics. Anyone who turns up wanting to "borrow" a bass doesn't get to play. Everyone gets 2 songs and then the running order depends on who has turned up. For some reason we get a lot of drummers. The band leader is the final arbiter of who plays with whom, when and for how long.

Duplicate post!!!

I am house bassist for a well attended Jam night, now in 24th year. And many nights I never get back on stage after my opening slot is done. Anyone who tuns up can play. . . . even the people who don't know one end of their instrument from the other. We've had a 10 man drum troupe, Didgeridoo, unaccompanied violin, banjo player and one guy who sang sea shanties and recited poetry. Another regular is a 70+ year old who shouts (like a punk Rex Harrison) his way through 60's pop songs. They all get their slot and if they come back, they can do it all again. If you put restrictions on who can play it's not a jam night.

The best strings for a bass depends on the bass and the sound you are after. I've got flats on a PJ5 and the tone is always on the money. I also have flats on a "reasonably priced" Jazz bass but that's only because the rounds sounded a bit thin. Flats can beef up any bass. I also have a Jazz bass with the twangiest rounds I could find. They all sound great.

I have back issues and I'm checking out 6 and 7lb basses. I wouldn't be tempted to buy a bass that was heavy enough to cause any more damage.

Buy the best gear you can find. The stuff that just fits, feels right, looks good and sounds like a million dollars. If it's expensive or cheap, just buy it. . . . be happy, and know you're sounding good.

What kind of gigs do you play? If you're playing at places where you are fearing for your and your basses safety, I would recommend not doing those gigs in the first place. The cost of replacing my Mike Lull is about £4000. It has been one of my main gigging basses for 12 years. IMO there is no point in owning instruments if you're not going to gig them.

I also ran into that brick wall!!

Everyone makes mistakes. I was at a Victor Wooten bass clinic and he said that on gigs he made mistakes all the time. He even made a few on that night! I could get £250 from Harry Hill for some of mine, but it's how you get out of them that counts.

On some of my gigs it should have been the Laurel and Hardy theme tune.

I've got a Bass Centre price list and a Warwick Thumb was over £1000 in 1989.

My first Wal, a 5 string mk2, cost £750. That was in 2002 and I had watched the price drop week on week until I couldn't resist any longer. A few months later I bought a mk 3 Wal for £1100. Crazy prices.

There always was a lot of "joining the club". SVT/810's was/is a club, as is any Ampeg, many of the guys using Fodera basses are running Aguilar rigs. Back in the day owning a Fender Precision was a sign that you'd made it. Owning the more expensive Jazz meant you had a "deal"!! You'd see the bands on Ready Steady Go for the first time, with their Hofners and Watkins, and by the second appearance they were playing Fenders, Ricks and Epiphones. When you got a "deal" the first thing you did was, head to the music shop and buy new gear, because you'd made it.

Good basses were never cheap. I bought my Fender Precision in 1969 on a deal for £95, but the retail price in the UK was £120. That's about £2400 at today's value. In 1969 a cheap bass was generally unplayable crap. Since the advent of CNC machines, and Asian labour, good basses can be had for a few hundred pounds.