Count Bassy

I was the one who started the previous thread on this subject. I ended up buying the Dunlop ones, which I now have fitted all three of my basses. The main reason for this choice was that I didn't like the peg sticking out the end of the schallers, and tha fact that even if the C clip fails the strap will still not come off while its attached to the bass. My only complaint with then is that the 'C' clip method of securing them to the strap does not allow for different strap thicknesses, whereas those with a nut fitting obviously do. Apart from that I've found them brilliant, and as someone has mentioned you can still use non straplocked straps (which I believe is also true for the schallers). As well as securing the straps straplocks (except Grolsh ones) also allow for very quick changing around of straps. Clive.

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='57702' date='Sep 9 2007, 12:44 PM']I'd love to wife + kids + 20 years too late...say no [/quote] Nevr too late - I was 49 when I first played the bass in a band (and in public). Of course I wish I'd started earlier, but I didn't, and I'm just glad I've started now. Clive.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='46444' date='Aug 16 2007, 02:27 PM']Don't luthiers/manufacturers normally go to great lengths to screen cavities from the pup magnets... so someone starts fitting magnets to hold screened cavity covers on [/quote] Noise problems are caused by moving/changing Electric/Magnetic fields, such as mains hum, and switching noise from lighting etc. A static field from a fixed magnet should not cause a problem. Clive.

Its not a case of being under the thumb or doing what your told. It's a case of whats best for the common good of the family. After all family comes first, and if that isn't your veiw then would you get married in the first place? As several people have said, its all about compromise and negotiation.

[quote name='Sharkfinger' post='42790' date='Aug 8 2007, 10:33 AM']Shame I've only just come back to this thread, as I've just hit the button on a eBay purchase of a Mex Urge. £370 including postage to UK. I'm sure it will be £400+ once the govenment have hand their pound of flesh! As I'm London based, I'm not sure it would've have worked out. With my luck, however, they probably only wanted about £20 just to get rid of it. Damn my impetuousness! [/quote] Shark, I presume you've now got this one. How's it going, how are you getting on with the 32" scale? Clive.

[quote name='The Funk' post='45749' date='Aug 15 2007, 12:54 PM']Van Morrison - Dancing In The Moonlight. Not the note for note but utterly rubbish cover by whatever-they-were-called.[/quote] In which case I'm sure that it is also has many fine qualities, but not quite as many as tha Thin Lizzy song of the same name. Clive

[quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='45442' date='Aug 14 2007, 09:01 PM']Songs that we're always asked to play, or play anyway cos they're so popular...: Mustang Sally (in A, which feels wrong to me) Sweet Home Alabama Brown Eyed Girl Twist & Shout La Bamba Dancing In The Moonlight Sweet Home Alabama is fun to play but the rest suck pretty badly, having been playing them for 12 years or so now. My pet hate is at weddings/functions of ANY kind, where the band is packing up and trying to get out, and the punters congregate around the doorway. They see you coming, but don't move. Can they not see me struggling with an EBS bass cabinet? Honestly... STu[/quote] You can't really blame the audience for wanting to hear these songs, they are all cracking tunes in their own way (I presume we're talking Thin Lizzy Dancing in the moonlight, not the other one), and are popular for a reason! But a bands enthusiasm for any song is likely to wane after 12 years! You've got remember that the vast majority of the audience have no idea how a band works, or the work that goes into learning each song. Most of them probably think that playing a different song is no more difficult than changing channel on the telly. Personally I would prefer not to do requests, and on no account attempt anything you've not fully rehearsed. And +1 for the pet hate. It's just so nice when someone asks 'do you want a hand carrying anything, mate?'. Clive.

Frank, I've been told (by my darling wife) that if I get a USA one the Mex will have to go, so I'll get in touch if that happens. The Mex one seems to be a fine bass, although I've not a vast experience of other basses to compare it with. I just fancy a USA one for the extra flexibilty. The one on E-bay ticked all the boxes for me, except on the price, hence my original question. I don't mind paying the going rate for one, but I've no idea what that might be. To be honest, part of the problem buying a USA one is that my playing standard and frequency don't really justify one. If I do go for one it would be as an indulgence / late 50th birthday present from my aforementioned wife. The other problem with having too good an instrument is that when you get it out people can expect better things than you can deliver and you end up looking a bit of a twat. I don't have a problem with the medium scale because that's all I've ever known. I have problems when trying a long scale, both in terms of the finger stretch and the arm reach (although that depends on how you wear it), and of course because the frets aren't quite where you'd expect. Clive.

Ped, Thanks - problem solved! I was looking around for some sort of switch like that, but under "My controls"/"my assistant" etc. rather than the obvious place. Clive.

I've taken the plunge and bought some Dunlops. Initial thoughts are that they can be very tight on the strap or very loose depending on the thickness, whereas schallers screw up tight irrespective. Ho Hum. Clive

Recently my Basschat has started showing threads with the opening post and a list of reply headings, rather than the old form of having the full texts of the replies shown. This means that you have to keep opening new pages to see the reply contents, rather than simply scrolling up and down. Is this something I've done, or has this been chnaged by Basschh central control? If the latter, is there anyway I can go back to the old method? as I don't like the new one as much. Many Thanks, Clive.

Evening all, I'm looking to buy a Fender urge Mk1 (with the 32" scale), USA built, so with the 3 pickups, and the higher hardware spec than the Mexican urge (which I have one of already). The problem is, with them being relatively rare, its hard to get an idea of what would be a fair price. Of course it all depends on condition etc, and how badly I want it, but if I was after a Precision or a Jazz I could look on E-bay and see what they went for, but this is not easy with a rarer model. A week or so ago there was one on with a £650 starting price, and it didn't attract any bids, which I suppose means that £650 is a bit much, or that no-one else likes them?. Anyone got any ideas? Thanks Clive.

I'm a little concerned by how many people seem to have seen their friends having sex!

Oooh, aren't we all being bitchy today!! Besides, with a neck of those dimensions a nice light wood like pine sounds like a good idea. Can you imagine the weight if it was made of Wenge or something? Not something that would interest me though, and you have to ask why he's selling it, unless its a commercial venture? Clive

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='34121' date='Jul 19 2007, 02:10 PM']landing make 32" scale basses although you don't hear much about them and i only know one person who has one[/quote] Landing were one of the ones I was considering, but at that sort of price I was reluctant to buy without being able to try first. They certainly look nice (in a classic way) and I like the small head (Fenders always seem too big for me), and they have a variety of pick up configs, including three pickups. I ended up buying, possibly as an interim fix, a second hand Mexican urge 1. Not exactly what I was after, but a lot cheaper, and I'm reasonably happy with it (apart from a tendency to neck dive). What does the person you know of think of it ? Have you had a opportunity to try it? Clive

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='36314' date='Jul 24 2007, 11:57 AM']Well here we go. I kept a list when I asked some while back of all the shortscale basses that were available and here is the reply.....happy researching[/quote] Thanks for a brilliant list. I too was starting a list, but nothing like yours! The only one I can add from mine is the Burns Marguee at 32". A bit of a funny looker, and only 20 frets, but 3 pickups. Might be nice to try. Clive

[quote name='bnt' post='36192' date='Jul 23 2007, 11:23 PM']What about the Status KingBass? With the "bendwell" option it's one fret shorter, making it about 32.1" (by my calculations). Mark King is quite a little chap who plays fast, so the short scale works for him.[/quote] I play medium scale (a home built 31.5", and, recently, Mexican Fender urge 1 (32")). The KingBass with bendwell would tick all the boxes for me. Right scale, headless, narrowish string spacing. Only problem (for me) is the price. As far as I can see the only tangible advantage of a 34" scale is the range of choice available, both in the instruments and the strings etc. Apart from that I can see no point in persevering with a 34" if you'd prefer a 32". Yes the tone might be slightly different, but who's to say which is best?. Besides there are so many other factors that affect tone besides the scale length! Go for the scale you feel comfortable with. Clive.

Once again, Thanks for your on going thoughts and ideas. I've transfered my leather strap to the urge and it does help a lot! It still dives, but tends to work its way down rather than slide all the way in one move, so a distinct improvement. Nice idea to remove a tuner or two. I'll give it a go. Toasted, It's more of a dull turquoise rather than purple. From the photo's I thought it looked like it needed a clean, especially round the knobs and the pickups, but actually it was OK. I think it may have been some shadows in the photos. I'll keep you informed of the progress. Clive.

Thanks for your thoughts. I'm not sure if hanging a wieght off the strap/peg would be a suitable permanent solution, but would certainly allow me to see how much weight would be required, and hence if there was a resonable change of concealing it within the body. Getting the balance of a bass right would seem to be a fairly basic requirement, and a fairly easy thing to adjust at the design stage, so how come so many companies, even big names like Fender manage to get it wrong? After all, love them or hate them, they've probably made and sold more basses than anyone else. Perhaps Stu Hamm likes neck dive? Clive

Greetings all. I have recently aquired a Mexican Fender Urge (mk 1) (it was on E-bay from Johnny Roadhouse Music - you might have seen it). To be honest I probably paid over the odds for it, but then its a 32" scale, which is hard to find these days, so I'm not too worried about that. Generally I am very pleased with it, and will probably be on the look out for a USA one (with the P pickup as well as the two J ones) - any one got one for sale? (there was one on Ebay a few weeks earlier, but it was a long way away and the bloke wouldn't ship it, and it would have been a days round trip, etc etc). But, getting to the point at last, it does suffer from neck dive, especially with a webbing type (i.e. slippery) strap; largely due to the relatively small body on it. A leather strap does help, but it still tends to dive if I've got both hands off and jigging around a bit. I've seen postings here where someone put a bit of an extension on the top horn, but I was wondering about adding some weight to the back end. There's some space in control cavity, and I was thinking of forming a chunk of lead to put in there to adjust the balance. I even thought of hollowing out a bit of the body from inside the control cavity and filling it with something heavy. I'm a big bloke so an extra pound or so on the weight won't bother me. Has anyone tried anything like this? If so with what results. I suppose an alternative would be to replace the the machines with light weights, but how much difference would this make? I even thought about (but not for long) converting it to a 2 + 2, and lopping 3 inches off the head. Anyone got any ideas/thoughts? As a totally separate issue, how do the Mexican pickups compare with the USA ones? Would any improvement be worth the expense? opinions please! Clive.

Thanks for all your thoughts folks! I was enquiring in a music shop and the bloke said that for schallers you pulled teh release knob, but for Dunlops you pushed them. His point was that you'd be more likely to push a Dunlop by accident and release it, rather than pull a Schaller. His argument may have been swayed by the fact that he had Schallers, but not Dunlop, in his shop. Any thoughts on that point? Clive

I have a 4" wide, 1/8 " thick, length of pig skin (I believe), bought off Loughborough market circa 1975 (cut off the skin in front of me). Doubled the end up for extra strength round the holes. Suits me, and matches the "Earthy" look of the bass. Clive

No takers for Dunlop then? Clive

26 years old strings? Is that all? I built my bass in 1975, and it had Selmer flat wounds on for about 18 months, when one broke. I then went out and bought a set of rotosound medium scale round wound 'Swing bass', (mid/late 1977 I guess) and they are still on there today, so I reckon they're 30 years old. Mind, you I've got to be honest, it spent most of those thirty years in the attic, and they've only been played in anger for the first two years and the last two years. Also I bought another set of the same about 3 months ago, but haven't got round to fitting them yet. (Why would I want to do that, the current strings are just nicely run in!!) Any advance on 30? Clive

Wow, I'd only heard of Schaller and Dunlop. I'm glad I asked the question! Clive