Dr.Dave

[quote name='Rich' post='305960' date='Oct 14 2008, 07:40 AM'] Also...Absolutely +1. It's a [b]bass guitar[/b], folks. Hyphenate it if you want, do anything with it, but it's not just called a 'bass'. That's just our friendly colloquial name for it [/quote] You hyphenate your bass guitars if you want , mate . I've just polished mine but what you do in your own time's your business !!!

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='305913' date='Oct 14 2008, 12:03 AM']But isn't a double bass really a bass viol (just as our basses are bass guitars)?[/quote] I would think so. Wiki says it's true so it must be !!!!!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='305709' date='Oct 13 2008, 07:04 PM']I think I've said this before, but the bass is not a guitar. It's closest relative is the double bass. Leo Fender designed the electric bass to be a more portable alternative for double bass players. The 'guitar' like shape is just there for convenience [/quote] The instrument that most of us play around these parts is a bass guitar. You're correct about Leo considering the transportation problems of double bassists , he also designed the instrument so guitar players would be able to play it and get more work. The guitar like shape is there so it can be played more or less horizontally on a sitting players lap , or in the same position hung on a strap if the player stands (like a guitar). Lest's be right about it - what we had here at the start was to all intents and purposes a bass version of a telecaster . As I understand it most double bass players hated it and got really snobby about it , and the MU was forced to list both 'bass player' and 'fender bass player' , even when bass guitarists used non Fender bass guitars. Obviously over time , and considering it's popularity , bass guitars became known as 'basses'. It's slang. If you say to me 'I play bass' I can reply 'Bass what? Bass trombone , bass clarinet? What? I don't think we need to disassociate ourselves from guitar players out of pride in our own instruments in ways like this. You just have to get to know the average guitarists personality to appreciate the real difference!

I've always been intrigued by these so interested to read other's comments. Thunderhead's experiences go a way to confirming my initial assessment that they might cause more issues than they solve but if the Mk3 has sorted that - maybe worth a look. So - in line with the thread title - has anyone any experience of fitting these to other basses?

A build diary's a thread detailing a bass being built - for the entertainment and possible education of the thread's viewers. Why divide those diaries up? Pro / Am / Passive / Active /Green /Blue - where would it end? No need fix a problem that doesn't exist. That's just an answer.

It's one of my oft quoted mantras - stolen from a Pat Travers interview I read. Buy the instrument that feels right when you play it. Anything else can be sorted with a screwdriver , a soldering iron and a spray gun. I'd also go along with what other have said. If you have very fixed and clear ideas for a bass to suit your requirements but such an animal doesn't exist off the peg - talk to a respected luthier. Be careful though. Your idea of x body + y neck + z guts = perfection may not add up at all once it's in your hands. BTW - Bass Ferret makes a good point. You don't have to twiddle a knob just because it exists. Maybe it makes more sense to have a control available but under/un used than it does to not have it available.

It's been done before in small ways - in the 'wanted' forum - but maybe someone should start a dedicated 'pickguard exchange' thread there. Not that it's ideal in this case where Jamesemt hasn't got one to swap. There are many companies , like WD , bassparts resource , axesrus - dozens - that sell replacement pickguards but the issue of holes lining up seems a very real one from reading posts here. Being a 'fettler' to some extent it's never bothered me. I've filled them and drilled new ones where required. Obviously many folks don't want to do that. There's a pinned , very useful ,list of spare part suppliers in the repairs forum - might be a good place to start.

Well I was having kittens until I read past the first few words of your post! You go on to talk about experimenting before you contact Wizard , maybe that's the wrong way round. I found them very affable folks to talk to and think using their advice as a start point could prove more valuable - partic re pup balance. I like Bnt's stack knob suggestion too.

We're going out with Limehouse Lizzy for a few dates in and around North Yorks next year. Looking forward to that one. Can't recall the venues but I know the town hall in Masham is one of them.

Stick some chequered knobs on it - very 'Wayne'!

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='303798' date='Oct 10 2008, 01:07 PM']Aksherly, much as I don't do the star/celeb thang, JMcC is someone I'd really like to have a pint with. [/quote] You sound like me - my thought exactly. Here's the bass out of interest. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=27892"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=27892[/url]

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='303786' date='Oct 10 2008, 12:47 PM']The first gig I went to was Gillan at the Glasgow Apollo. The bassist was John McCoy. I remember looking up at this guy on stage; he looked about ten feet tall and ten feet wide (he's still a big bloke!). And the sound of his bass was utterly thunderous. It totally captivated me, blew my mind, shook my soul, however you want to describe it. I remember thinking, "I have no idea who you are, I have no idea what you're doing, but I'm going to learn to do that." Two weeks later I use part of (most of!) my college grant to buy my first bass guitar (a 2nd hand short scale tobacco sunburst thingy :wub: ). I borrowed someone else's homemade cabinet, and I modified an old hifi stereo amplifier, and started learning. Nearly thirty years later I'm not much better :blush: and still learning every day, and still hopelessly in love with the sound and the feel and the "aura" of the bass guitar. [/quote] Did you see his bass for sale in the Ebay links forum here? Only a week or 2 back. Would it have been the magic tour? That's where I saw him - character and presence , while still a support player to a 'star'. Consumate professional. That was the night I decided I would never - never - stand in the shadows on stage.

2 reasons. I was a couple of years behind most of my mates that were learning guitar and I figured I'd make my own niche rather than try and catch up. The other was the fantastic noise I was hearing on Slade records - turned out to be Jim Lea's overdriven counter melodys. The guy was Slade's 'lead' player in my opinion - which has got stronger the more I've learned. They're probably in the wrong order - can't quite decide. I do know I set out to be a musician competent enough to play with his peers in front of an audience - that was my real goal - and bass seemed to present itself as the best medium to allow me to do that at the time. Maybe , with hindsight , the first reason above had something to do with me wanting to be a team player rather than a soloist. Then again , the second reason turns that statement round again to a large extent. To this day my hero's have been songs rather than instruments.

[quote name='neepheid' post='303738' date='Oct 10 2008, 11:52 AM']Isn't every tribute band "the best in the country" if you listen to what they say? [/quote] Ours is - except nobody listens! I don't know 'Hells Bells' but however brilliant they pale into the background when compared to Humberside's AC DC trib band , the best named trib band on the planet. Would you believe 'Highway to Hull'. I've never seen them but I just want to shake their hands!!

[quote name='JimBobTTD' post='300685' date='Oct 6 2008, 05:49 PM']All my basses were acquired on the cheap.[/quote] Good boy! What's too much? Well , if you're short on readies you can do a gig with a £150 squier. Above that is luxury. I gig lots and earn a few quid so I consider those luxuries a reward , an investment in my pleasure and that of my audience. Having said that - it would have to be something really spesh to go above a grand , most likely a birth year Fender. That would be several grand so is way out of what I'd be prepared to spend. If all my kit was stolen I'd be happy to have £400 to spend on a gigging bass and bank the rest of the insurance money. Having said that !!!.... if I'd put a few k into a 61 Fender ( or 2 or 3) I wouldn't be shitting bricks looking at the stock market and seeing my retirement get further away right now!

I defy anyone over the age of 30 to listen to Donald Fagan's Nightfly album and not be whisked back to a time when a young man's hopes and dreams had still to be crushed by the reality of 'life'. Long been my fave album , and although I was a SD fan before I heard it I've become a bigger one since. Interesting , musical ,mature , jazz based sheer bloody class. Yes , they can be a tad bland - too much filler on many of the albums - and a touch too much cleverness at times. Worth it though for the moments of quality round every bend.

You're obviously not keen to do it but I had a similar problem with Schallers I fitted to a Fender. I just put 2 wraps of insulating tape round each machine for a more snug fit.Invisible. Been on 20 years and countless gigs now - no issues and never goes out of tune or anything. Just my 10 penneth.

Best bit. I get to have (at least) as good a night out as my audience doing something I love but I go home richer while they go home poorer. Worst Bit My desire (and ability) to carry 2 tons of wooden boxes up a fire escape in the pissing February rain has decreased by a factor of 7 trillion percent....... ......and counting!

Well , Ah'll go to t'foot of our stairs !!! 'ello mate. Precision fan like your good self should love my new flowery thing!! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=24037"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=24037[/url] Best move I ever made was having that Badass orginal off you. Miles better on my '73.

In general agreement with most of you. I think it's a bitsa. The jack socket is different to my Telebass too. Having said that , the 2 most sensible things you could do to a bass like this (if that be your want) is change the bridge and add a J pup. If you want something 'vintage' to chuck around the bar of the Dog and Vomit of a Friday this could be it and ,maybe, at the right price.

That's banging , mate. Top nick too. Giz it !!!!!

I'm in 2 bands - same 3 people. Dr Blue is a rocky blues band that plays pubs , blues festivals etc - often with an added harmonica player. Think we're coming up 10 years late next year - or is it 7000 years?! ZZ Eliminator is a ZZ Top trib that plays bigger pubs/clubs. Been doing that about 2 years. Quite often Dr B supports Eliminator so we don't have to pay anybody else! We're based around Wakefield , West Yorks. We're not young - apart from the guitar player but only because it's his surname! We're not pro - though I'm sure we could earn a decent living if we were prepared to forego the safety net of mid-life normality! These days we play , maybe , twice a week on average , though we did much more than that up until the last year or two. Lots of reasons for that , the main one being we choose not to. Drummer Martyn's work has changed which we have to take into account and I like to spend time on my boat of a weekend.

OD's in Wakefield. Scene of our band forming 7 years ago and my former second home. A shadow of itself these days sadly but we still had a belter. 2nd night running I've taken the 54P reish out. Good fun. Basic sound and hardly a refined instrument to play but I love it. Just rung round the band as we're off out for some lunch this aft. Drummer's knackered , Guitarists arm is locked , my knee's playing up and my shoulder's frozen !!! Still , I'm the baby of the only band around seeking sponsorship from Sanatogen !!

The bridge looks gone , it has mods , and the crack you've noticed which would certainly be a worry to buy unseen. So - it's not an 'original' , and never could be because of the Jazz routing. It's not likely to be a great player without new bridge and that body sorting out (unless it is just paint). It is interesting though - and I was/am a big fan of John McCoy. Wouldn't have a clue how to price this one. If it stays mid hundreds I might be tempted. Own a vintage celebs bass and swallow the problems etc. Doubt it will though.