Woodwind

Did Trevor Horn play the fretted parts? I'd always thought that was the case, but not really based on much.

I'm in the process of booking dates around the UK to tie in with my next album release, due in late April. It was tricky booking shows last year and it's proving even harder now. The loss over the last few years of many venues that catered for the music I'm involved with has certainly had a big effect. Getting back into EU countries to play some shows is now a complete pipe dream as well. However I not overly pessimistic about this. I've just had to accept the reality of playing live less. I had mused with the idea of joining a band or ensemble to satisfy my desire to play live as much as possible, but realised I'd rather concentrate even more on my own music and make those fewer shows even better.

I've been at a few auctions at Christie's and they are testosterone fuelled pugnacious affairs. Big male egos behind the hammer and swaggering in the room. Horrible environment. (I'm well aware not all auctions and auctioneers are like this though) This is very refreshing. As you say a charismatic auctioneer. A relaxed vibe, where everyone seems to be enjoying proceedings and blimey aren't the prices soaring! Over half a million after fees for that one a few minutes back!

It looks so great and I can only imagine how brilliant it sounds. What sort of bands are you/have you used it in?

Strangely compelling viewing I have to say.

Need some videos or sound clips of this amazing bass!

Maybe not quite what was intended by the OP, but the band Dream Themes strike me as a concept group. "Pub covers" band who only play TV theme tunes. Seen them a couple of times over the years and the crowd always goes bonkers.

Good start, nice one! JazzyJ! I don't want 2024 to be a complete repetition of 2023, which although not bad per se, very much had the feeling of a "new normal", so different types of gigs and different ways to present my music. I will have to do everything I can to build on the successes and progress to feel like things have a momentum again, as they did pre-pandemic.

Thanks for all the pointers. I'll be fitting Gotoh 350s as They are only 40grams each. I'll machine some delrin bushings at work . I Won't be maintaining the old school tuner look, but not worried about that. However this is now a slow burn project as I have the mastering for my next release to pay for. I'll update the thread with pictures as and when it all comes together.

First edition Sterling Ray34. I'm sure Musicman tuners from the same period will be a little bit lighter, but the newer special ones are definitely lighter.

Well I couldn't wait until I have access to decent scales at the weekend so used the kitchen scales just now. Current tuners are 84grams each, so a total of 336grams. The bass balances better with only 3 tuners on so at a minimum I need a saving of at least 84 grams. A set of Gotoh 640s would come in at 248grams (from their published weight), which is 88grams lighter. I might have a look at ways to get some extra weight off the headstock as well...

It's something I've been meaning to do for years. Glad to hear you really benefitted from it. Ultralights are definitely on my radar as well.

My goodness me! Thanks for the heads up on the CBT01 itu! 35.3 grams each for those. £200plus a set Gotoh 640 61.8g each £105+10 from Thomman. I'll pull out one of my existing tuners at the weekend and see how much it weighs to gauge whether going the carbon route is necessary.

Done various searches here, but haven't found anything definitive. As part of the 2024 refresh of my instrument I'm looking to get as much load off my left arm as possible and want to get the neck on my stingray sitting neutrally - currently it has very slow neck dive. I'd like to fit the very lightest tuners I can. Gotoh resolites seem to the the lightest, but don't really know where to source these in the uk - couple of sets show up on eBay.uk I'm not super worried about retaining the clover leaf look and have no problem machining bushings from aluminium, titanium or delrin at work so I'd like to hear from Basschatters who have fitted light weight tuners. Cheers

Apologies if this would be better suited to the repairs section - Mods please move it if you deem it so. Has anyone on Basschat fitted a Lusithand NFP preamp in their stingray? If so what were/are your experiences? I'm potentially looking to fit one in the new year in a bid to refresh my instrument (and my approach to it).

Absolutely some idiosyncratic technique going on. Having had a jazz style bass as my first learner bass 25 years ago my hand never got accidentally close the to the knobs ever. I don't really even understand how this could happen. It's not something I'd even thought about until reading your post.

This is good to know! Thank you. I was worried they would move quite slowly

Thank you all for the replies Lots to ponder

I thought I'd benefit from bouncing this off the collective minds here. I'm going to have to sell off some instruments. My main bass - a de-fretted Sterling Ray34 will be first to go. Being fretless I can see it will have less appeal and potentially not command as much money, so I wondered whether it would be worth having it refretted? I understand that the money it will cost to do this will basically be the same as the increase in money I could potentially charge for the instrument, but would it become easier to sell as a result? Your thoughts would be most welcome. Cheers, Thomas

I know this lesson is tomorrow, but I would find any excuse to cancel and then start a new hunt for a teacher based on all the suggestions here. If you're local to Glasgow there must be many great teachers around. I have had lessons with a teacher who at times only had one amp (his second amp was on a tour bus or venue etc etc) and guess what, he wasn't the one playing during my lesson. Actually that's not quite true - if I was struggling with something he used my bass to demonstrate (or his bass unplugged) and could accompany me on piano. So don't be put off by one amp per se, but my guess is this teacher you found may well ending playing more than you in your lesson. And yes as nearly everyone has said, reading notation is nothing but a good thing so a teacher who can help with this is your primary goal. Good luck 😎

Not a dense question at all! Yes I'm sure your current audiologist will be able to do this, but there are plenty of other places dotted around the country. The ACS site has a dealer finder - https://www.acscustom.com/uk/how-to-buy/how-to-buy-uk I was fortunate to get my last set through the Musicians Hearing Service scheme as all my income at the time came from music related activities. https://www.musicianshearingservices.co.uk/what-we-do/musicians-hearing-health-scheme/ This time round I'm going to the ACS London office. Have a good peruse of the ACS site as there are options your audiologist may not be aware of. For example you can have the plugs linked with a cord (very, very useful) and with my next set I'll have them made with the left and right plugs in different, contrasting colours; so in a rush, on a darkened stage with intermittent colourful lighting I will be able to instantly tell which is which.

Hope my tone doesn't come across as too overbearing, but make sure having ACS's on your list means making a call and booking an appointment for Impressions tomorrow 😀 It can take a few weeks for the plugs to be made and there will be a delay in getting an impression appointment. I know the £150+ depending on what options you go for is a bit of a hit, but you will not think about it again after you have used them a few times.

Just in the process of refreshing my hearing protection set up. Booked in for new impressions of my ears for another set of ACS Custom plugs. I anticipate having the 17db filters in these and I'll have the 20db ones on hand from my previous set. Ordered some new non-custom reusable 20db plugs for use at work, which I'll put in as I arrive at the workshop and then augment with my over-ear defenders when the really noisy machines start. Ideally I'd like some new over-ear defenders too as I've never been convinced by the protection offered by the 3M ones I have despite their claims and reviews (I feel the protection drops off at the higher frequencies, which is the inverse of what you want). As stated above there is no price too high for all this

Love the trash can drum kit!!!!!!!

Excellent topic! I didn't know Knower, but will be exploring their back catalogue off the back of this. @leroybasslines absolutely superb playing in your video!