Obrienp

Surprised by that. Can’t say I have experienced lack of bottom end on a Jazz, compared to say a Precision. Maybe I have been lucky with mine (current one being a Maruszczyk Elwood 4a 32”) but perhaps your yardstick is a humbucker equipped bass?

Bandwidth (not my idea) played at Whitehall Farm in Burnham Thorpe (Nelson’s birthplace) yesterday evening. The place has a camp site, caravan site and glamping, so quite a few punters around. This was a return match after playing there earlier in the year for a classic car day. We knew what to expect, in that the band area is in the front of a converted barn and covered in dust. The audience are largely across the courtyard, where the bar and cafe are situated but about 20 clustered around us on hay bales. I knew things weren’t going to be great amongst us when the lead guitarist had a go at the rhythm guitarist during the set up. He can be pretty grumpy and doesn’t seem to have any filter. Things weren’t helped by the fact it was cold and getting colder (about 12 C when we finished) and we had to play from 6-9. Miraculously we managed to set up in less than an hour (it normally takes longer) but struggled to get the sound balance right. Just to add to the fun, bursitis in my left elbow, which has been coming and going for about a month, had decided to play up and I had a bit of a lump on my left elbow. During the gig this swelled to about the size of an egg. We had been asked to play a dance set, so it was relentlessly fast. Towards the end of set two my left forearm started to cramp up and this spread down to my hand, so much so that I had to play by sliding my index finger up and down the strings as they were all locked rigid. I am sure this was related to the bursitis. Lead guitarist had been giving me and the drummer dirty looks and telling us to speed up already but this triggered a real invective, not said directly to anybody’s face but it was obvious who it was directed at. I recovered a bit during the beer break but it was then back to another relentlessly fast final set. We ended with Gotta Get Out of This Place, which was one of the slower numbers but I was struggling to keep Chas Chandler’s bass riff going, which was made obvious by glances and gee-up gestures. At least the other band members showed concern for me. I came away wondering whether this degree of hassle is worth it for £60! However, the owners are lovely and made sure we got a free drink and our choice of food from the cafe. I probably should have baled at the end of set two but the punters were enjoying it and the show must go on. We did get plenty of positive feedback from the audience, so we can’t have been that slow! Gear wise: Guild Starfire 1 and custom made P/J shorty (long gig axe), Blackstar U700, 2 x LFSys Monzas, Peterson Strobostomp HD. Black suede desert boots (now beige from the dust).

We are waiting to hear what @funkle reckons about his, when it arrives. My personal experience of two Monzas, is that they are completely FRFR and it looks like the Goodwood has been designed with the same parameters, just less power handling. The Monzas reproduce exactly what you put into them with amazing projection and sensitivity. An added bonus is that you can hear yourself, even when close to the cab.

Which reminds me, I was going to do a NBD report on the Hartwood Satellite bass. I will get round to it soon, complete with photos but immediate impressions are favourable. The neck is really good for a budget bass: pretty well what Bass the World’s Gregor said. Good fret finishing, nice roast maple neck, heel wheel truss rod adjustment, even the laurel fret board is OK, although a little dry, which was easily fixed with a some lemon oil. I took it to my local luthier for a new bass inspection and he recut the nut, which was too high and did a few tweaks to truss rod and saddles. It plays great now. It balances OK on a strap, although mine are all grippy, so other mileage might be different. Certainly nothing like as bad as say a Squier Jaguar H. The pickup is a bit odd: less output on the bottom string but strong on the two middle strings (low mids centric like Gregor said). Slightly disappointing, so I have ordered a Tone Rider Duke. More to follow, when I have time to do the NBD report.

Nice but quite steep for what is not much more than an extra 2” on a G2220 neck and a modified body shape. Good to have another reasonably priced medium scale around though.

Ahhhh! I decided to take one for the team and just ordered a Hartwood Satellite from G4M. Couldn’t resist the GAS. I’ve gone for the blue (like the one Bass the World tested). They had a nearly new one for £30 off and I wondered if that was the bass that Bass the World tested. I was tempted, because Gregor said the frets were perfect but I decided to take a risk on this being a Hartwood feature (just jinxed myself) and to get the full 3 year warranty, so ordered a new one. I will let you know what I think of it in due course. I suspect I will end up changing some parts: I can’t resist tinkering with cheap basses. The bridge might not be a straightforward upgrade because it looks like it has only got a mounting screw at each corner, rather than the ubiquitous Fender 5 screw mounting. The pickup might just be swapped for a Tone Rider; possibly a Duke.

Thanks for all the advice folks. Really appreciated. I’ll give @Happy Jack’s warm up routine a go next gig. In the meantime I am applying ice and hoping it improves before the gig. I’m used to having an aching left hand, left shoulder blade and back after a long gig but this was a new one on me. Things don’t get easier with age! 😏

Reviving this topic to ask if anybody has any tips to get rid of fretting arm elbow bursitis? The scenario: yesterday I played for about 5 hours guitar and bass at a jam session the Norfolk Blue Society put on at a local fete. Not a huge number of folks turned up, so I played pretty well non-stop for 5 hours out of the 6 we were there. To show how desperate we were, I actually sang for 30 minutes of the time I wasn’t playing 😱. Anyway, back to the topic: within a couple of hours of finishing, I noticed that my left elbow (I’m right handed) was sensitive to the touch. After another hour or so, a distinct bump had developed just below my elbow and the whole area around my elbow was hot to the touch: classic bursitis symptoms. I didn’t bash it, so I can only assume that the bursitis had been caused by playing for so long. I played guitar for about half of the session, the rest of the time was spent on my very light Greco medium scale bass (ideal for long gigs). I don’t play guitar very much these days and arthritis in the base of my left thumb means that my technique is probably not ideal. Anybody had this; any tips for recovery and is it OK to go on playing in the meantime? I have a gig coming up in 5 days.

I think I would start with one of the new Squier Broncos as the modding platform though. It seems a shame to be doing this to a genuine old Musicmaster but then, in the 70s and 80s it was probably cheap and unloved.

At first I thought the pickups were aligned “by eye”, rather than measurement but then I thought, was it to make the pole pieces more centred on the strings, given the narrow string spacing of the standard bridge? In which case, it was entirely successful!

Yes, exactly and the asking price is so good. I absolutely do not need another bass and I already have 3 medium scale basses but the GAS is strong! Must resist! Somebody buy one and give it a crap review please! 🙄

New medium scale bass on the block: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Hartwood-Satellite-Bass-Guitar-White/6DVL. The price is very reasonable at £199 and Bass the World think it is good value: Personally I would have preferred a 38mm nut and 19mm bridge spacing to the 40mm and 20mm but at this price the bridge is easily fixed and 40mm is manageable for both P and Jazz bass fans.

That looks as though it has a lot going for it. It says it is contoured but the body looks pretty slabby to me in the pics. Good modding platform though and a compromise nut width of 40mm might please both the P and J bass communities.

Looking at the Sire website, I think that is just for the mint paint finish (my least favourite). I think the flamed maple top variants are more attractive and still bound.

Thanks for stepping in and with a pic. “Contour” was the term I was desperately searching for and just couldn’t retrieve from my age addled memory! Your pic also shows what I was referring to as a belly bulge in that the body is actually a bit thicker right where you would expect a belly cut. It looks a bit odd but it works with the way the bass lies against the body on a strap. For some reason I can’t post pics at the moment, unless the file size is less than 44K! Do we have a personal attachment limit? Sorry for the off-topic question.

Yes, I had an Aerodyne too and had the same issue. Ditto with the Gretsch Junior Jet and I have it with the Guild Starfire (but I have found a fix for that). I don’t notice it so much with the U5 as it has a bit of an arm chamfer and there is one on the the back opposite it, which makes the bass tilt slightly against the body, making less of an acute angle under the arm. It actually has a belly bulge rather than cut but it works for some reason. Also the body size is reduced proportionately to the scale, which puts the edge in a different place on the arm. That said, I don’t use it for a full gig: I tend to use it for a few songs that require fretless, so I can’t really say whether it would get uncomfortable but I have been rehearsing with some folks where I use it exclusively, so I might be able to comment after a full gig with them. If it is uncomfortable, I will apply the fix I use with the Starfire: stick on foam edging designed to stop toddlers injuring themselves bashing into tables. It works a treat and the adhesive is not meant to damage the finish (we’ll see about that). I wish I had known about it when I had the Aerodyne. I think @Casapete gigs with one and might be able to say how it is over an extended period.

@fretmeister’s post reminded me of your question. Has anybody mentioned the Sire U5 shortie? It’s a P/J. I have the fretless version, which I really love and I think it sounds really good. The fretted version comes in at just under £400 at Thomann. It has a lovely rolled fretboard and quiet (very little hum) pickups. It is a Jazz style neck (38mm nut) which might not suit all and the headstock shape is a bit odd. I reckon it is very well made for the price and looks good. Whether it sounds like your take on a full scale Fender P bass, only you can tell but I would recommend you check it out. It’s a lot cheaper than Sandberg and Maruszczyks, so less of an expensive mistake.

Wow! What a rig! Having a Messa as a standby for a Messa is pretty amazing. I aspire to own one.

I bet! I would love to need that much umph behind me but most of the gigs I play, one LFSys Monza is all I need (11Kg). Occasionally I use the second Monza, when I want a bit more. My back loves me now 😀 and both kidneys are intact.

@Leonard Smalls wireless is the answer; honest. Forgot it at my last two gigs and trod the cable out twice.

Yes, you would think they would do a 500, or 600 watt head. They have a Peavey 600 watt head in the same stable.