Baloney Balderdash

On the other hand, to offer the opposite perspective, for the longest time, like several years, I pondered on acquiring a Bass VI like instrument, and frequently had periods where I would check YouTube videos featuring such instruments, and I did have a keen eye on the Harley Benton GuitarBass, which had a quite manageable price tag, and judging from reviews I read/watched supposedly being amazing value for the money, some people even being of the opinion that it was superior to the Squier Bass VI that costs slightly over double the money. I was really intrigued by this type of instrument, yet at the same time I wasn't sure I would actually also enjoy playing it, mainly because of the quite narrow, guitar like, string spacing, so I kept postponing the acquisition and used money on other music equipment instead, convincing myself that was money better spend. But then a couple of months back I found myself with a bit of extra unsuspected cash and finally at long last I decided to give the Harley Benton GuitarBass a shot, I could always send it back and get my money fully refunded if it turned out not to be for me. But as it turned out I quickly found myself immensely enjoying playing this instrument, and it has now become my preferred instrument of choice. Like as if this was just the absolute perfect instrument for me, as a bass player who original started out playing guitar, and had continued playing guitar on the sideline all along, and the sort of crossover/fusion guitar/bass, predominantly melodic riff based, playing style that I had developed (and which this instrument basically seems perfectly, as if made specifically, for) for a bass and drums duo I formed with a drummer friend of mine, using my 28,6" 4 string Ibanez Mikro Bass tuned to G standard tuning (which is also how I have the Harley Benton GuitarBass stringed up for and tuned as), as in 3 half steps above regular 4 string bass E standard tuning (or in the case of the GuitarBass 9 half steps bellow regular guitar tuning), that just had been waiting for me to discover it all along. Admittedly I did stumble over the strings with both my left and right hand fingers a lot to start with due to the tight spacing but relatively thick strings, and admittedly I still wouldn't mind the nut width just haven been a couple of mm wider, but I did quickly get used to the tight spacing, and while I still have to be mindful of how I fret the strings close to the nut if I need the string above or bellow to ring as well, not to mute them, but totally manageable with a bit of practice and consideration, and overall I have actually come to prefer the tighter guitar like string spacing (if only they would have made the nut a few mm wider, but I can totally live with that). Eventual read the post above this one by me where I sort of elaborate my love for this instrument.

6 string banjos meant to be tuned exactly like a guitar does exist you know, I know a guy who owns one.

Dropping a normal .105 string set down a full step to D equals tension wise pretty close to that of a .095 set in regular E standard tuning (or that is to be more precisely a gauge .095 - .075 - .055 - .040 set of strings tuned in regular E standard tuning matches the .107 balanced tension D'Addario EXL 170B set of strings, which is gauge .107 - .080 - .060 - .045, very closely when tuned one whole step down to D standard tuning). I would personally use a the EXL 170B, gauge .107 low E, balanced tension set for D standard tuning, but I happen to like the relatively thin gauge and low tension of a .095 set set of strings for regular E standard tuning. You can find out which strings would match tension wise to your current set and personal preferences in general by using this string tension calculator (this calculator uses D'Addario strings as the source (might vary a bit between different brands), and mind string gauge, "String Diameter", is typed in this way: For example .107 or .095 e.t.c, and the tuning, "Desired Note", with the octave number after the given note: For example low E string would be E1 and high G string would be G2 e.t.c) : https://wahiduddin.net/calc/calc_guitar_tension_from_size.htm If you don't know you can see the octave numbers of different notes here : https://pages.mtu.edu/~suits/notefreqs.html

I would think it's the same as with the Joyo pedals of identical names. That is the Analog Chorus being a Boss CE-2 clone, and the Classic Chorus also being all analog, but an Ibanez CS-9 clone, which by the way is the same as the current production Ibanez Mini Chorus.

Crispin Glover - "Clowny Clown Clown"

Cort are known for extremely high value for the money. Even their cheapest budget basses are genuinely great, so this ought to be awesome. Also I figure if Cort is good enough for a legend like Jeff Berlin, who got some seriously impressive bass chops, and who had Cort make his signature bass, which he actually do use as his main bass, then it ought to be good enough for your average gear snob hack of a bass player as well.

Most of the modulation effect models in those Zoom units are genuinely great, the emulation of the legendary Boss CE-1 chorus being no exception. A Zoom MS-70CDR though would allow for using up to 6 effects per patch, versus the just 4 of the MS-60B. Also I strongly recommend getting the unofficial 3rd party "Zoom Effect Manager" firmware hack program that allows you to pick between all those same generation Zoom digital effect models from a list and load any combination you might desire into your Zoom unit (works for Zoom G1(X)on, Zoom B1(X)on, MS-50G, MS-60B and MS-70CDR).

And what brand and model is it? I can't quite decipher what it says on the headstock. But yes, no doubt whatsoever that this is the bass in that video, well not this exact unit, but an identical one, exact same model, just in white finish, symmetrical, sort of Gibson Les Paul Junior guitar like body, but with somewhat rounder and slimmer shaped horns compared to a Les Paul Junior guitar, reverse neck P and regular orientation bridge P pickups, 4 pots/control knobs, chunky gold bridge, and though it is hard to see for sure the headstock seems to match too, at very least a 2+2 construction, just like this one. Spot on! Can't possibly be any other bass model.

Doesn't bother me at all, I even kind of like it, the way that it's straight lines makes it look like a pattern done on purpose (edit!!!: I actually wrote this before I read your comment regarding you actually being told so by the shop). But it's your bass of course, not mine, so entirely up to you if you can live with it, but from the other posts in this thread though I understand that there would be a pretty big chance the replacement would look the same, and it might not be quite as good a player as this one, so chances are you are gonna end worse off having it replaced, which leads me to think the best advice to you would be to either learn to live with the imperfect finish of this one, or get your money back and forget about a replacement new bass this time. So the real question you'd have to ask yourself in this case I guess is: Do you dislike it so much that you'd rather have no bass at all, but your money back, or do you think you can learn to love it the way it is?

With how you describe the batteries going really hot and melted the battery holder it sounds to me like a short circuit has happened somewhere. Could have happened anywhere in the circuit, but could be as simple as an exposed "+" wire touching an exposed "-" wire somewhere, which should be a simple fix, however from what you describe you should probably prepare yourself for the quite likely possibility that the whole preamp is done for and needs complete replacement, and hope that it didn't also affect the pickups, so that the wax potting and possibly insulating layer of the coil wire also partially melted, in which case the pickups as well would be done for. And if this is indeed the case then potentially, in worst case scenario, it could mean a more or less complete replacement of all the electronics, including the pickups, but let's hope you were lucky and replacing a couple of wires will be all needed to fix it.

Not all bridges are made absolutely 100% perfectly equal, that goes even for otherwise high end same model bridges as well. And a lot of factors that can cause this. Also the bridge on those basses are not exactly high tech, which is fully intentional and part of the overall aesthetics of that bass, which probably does increase the risk of something like this happening. Just one of those things that can happen and one have to accept and learn to live with. It's not the end of the world, just use Loctite. Or you could swap out the stock bridge for a more high tech modern bridge with screws that locks the saddles in place once adjusted and totally ruin the aesthetics of the bass, your choice.

The last 4 digits in that stamp says 2101, so my guess is they are in fact from 2101, that is from the future, the second year of the next century to be exact, which is to say (minus) -79 years old.

Cool. You got the technical specs for the custom wound P pickup, and would you mind sharing it in that case? Just out of pure curiosity.

In that case I don't understand what this argument is about, to me it looked like you had a problem and was objecting with/over me me using the term "most common". And both I am pretty certain, that is both percentage of all all 4 string bass models and percentage of 4 string basses sold, you might have a point specifically with 4 string short scale basses sold though, I wouldn't know that for sure, but my best guess is that 19mm string spacing at bridge in this specific context would actually still be most common. Regardless overall and as general notion claiming that 19mm string spacing at the bridge on 4 string basses being most common would still be correct however, which is what I actually intended it to read as (and honestly I don't think I gave an impression of otherwise being the case either in my original reply).

Yes, as I specifically pointed out in the post you quote me for you are pointing out the basses that are not statistically representative, the exceptions, that doesn't proof anything and not how statistics work, as I wrote: "If you don't believe me then try to look up the specs of 100 (to get a reasonably actual statistically valid number) random current production 4 string bass models, distributed about equally over different brands/manufactures, without deliberately going for those you already know got a different string spacing than 19mm at the bridge (to avoid coloring the statistics subjectively), and do the statistics yourself." Those you pointed out doesn't even make up a very high percentage compared to the entire market, especially not when some of the models by some of those brands you mention even actually does also feature 19mm string spacing at bridge. And that Ibanez number is even just totally made up, all their current production short scale 4 string bass models features 19mm string spacing at bridge, including the Mikro Bass (the other 2 models being the Talman TMB30 and the EHB1000S), and non of those are even just remotely Fender clones. You forgot Danelectro by the way with 16.5mm string spacing at bridge.

I actually pointed that out specifically in both my recent posts on that subject in this thread. But yes, you are of course perfectly right.

It means exactly what it says. By far most of all 4 string bass models on the market, including short scale models, will have 19mm string spacing at the bridge. It has simply more or less become a standard (though yes, there are plenty of exceptions, they just don't make up the majority). I suppose that could possibly, at least partially, be explained by how it will fit with most common standard pickups and after market/3rd party bridges, and also I guess it is just what most people are familiar with. And if your bass collection doesn't happen to reflect that then that just means it is not statistically representative. If you don't believe me then try to look up the specs of 100 (to get a reasonably actual statistically valid number) random current production 4 string bass models, distributed about equally over different brands/manufactures, without deliberately going for those you already know got a different string spacing than 19mm at the bridge (to avoid coloring the statistics subjectively), and do the statistics yourself.

Danelectro, like for example the Longhorn bass is 16.5mm string spacing at the bridge. And I think, but not 100% sure either, that Höfner is 15mm, not 14mm, as said though I might be wrong. The most common string spacing at bridge for 4 string basses, including short scale basses, is 19mm. (Edit!!!: *Doh!* That message was ages old, but I guess at least then we got that settled)

It does sound like a classic case of a neck that needs some relief, and that it is buzzing specifically on the first 3 frets suggests to me that it might even have a slight back bow, and I bet if you figure out how to adjust those dual truss rods properly, which unfortunately I can't help you with, and give the neck a proper amount of relief, not only will the fret buzz on the first 3 frets disappear, but also you will be able to lower the action considerably, still without fret buzz. 4mm action at 12th fret would be unplayable to me, and is to be considered really high action, and as far as I am concerned not reasonably high, but rather unreasonably high action. I personally prefer just ever so slightly bellow 2mm at 12th fret low E string and about 1.5mm high G string at 12th fret (which is a bit bellow the guideline measurements that Fender recommends in their official setup guide). An instrument at that price point ought have good enough fret work to handle that if it has otherwise been adjusted and set up correctly, my dirt cheap budget Ibanez Mikro Bass and Harley Benton GuitarBass, that costed merely a small fraction of what a Rickenbacker bass costs (in fact almost a 10th of the price, or said in another way nearly a 1000% cheaper) can without issues, and if I really wanted, which I don't though, I am even sure I could go even lower on the Harley Benton without issues. Otherwise is simply in no possible way whatsoever acceptable as far as I am concerned with an instrument at that price point, it is in fact straight out outrageous and absolutely unacceptable, heck, in my opinion 4mm action at 12th fret and still having fret buzz issues would not be acceptable even on the cheapest budget bass on the market, if otherwise correctly adjusted and set up, and a fully valid reason to send it right back and get a replacement or your money back. But as said I am quite certain that if just you can manage to set a proper neck relief you will be able to lower the action considerably without having any fret buzz issues. If not though send it back. Unfortunately in that case it would not be the first time that I have heard Rickenbacker selling steaming turds at premium prices, they seem to have a serious quality control issue, to such a point that you'd have a better chance getting a proper instrument buying a 1000% cheaper Harley Benton, which I am sure you can see is simply absolutely entirely unacceptable, and in fact straight out outrageous. Really people should stop rewarding Rickenbacker for spewing out crap till they got their act together, unfortunately they will have no reason to as long as enough people are still eager to buy their crap at the premium rip off prices they have the indecency to continue to ask for their inferior low quality outdated products. All they really got going for them is their legacy, but still they chose to take a giant steaming dump on it, pee their customers up their backs, and then laugh all the way to the bank. Well that, and then of course sue whoever dare to offer better quality clone alternatives to their products into oblivion (as far as I am concerned a better use of all those expensive top tier lawyer money would be to ensure that their own products was of a proper high quality worth the actual money they ask for them, or if they absolutely insist on not improving the quality of their production then at least match their prices more realistically to the actual quality level of it, so people would have less incentive to chose to buy those clone alternatives instead of their original products in the first place). Not acceptable behaviour that should be rewarded in my book at least. I apologize for the wall of text rant, and as said your bass is probably perfectly fine once you have managed to figure out how to adjust the overly complicated outdated and highly impractical user hostile adjustment mechanisms on it correctly. Have the nut slots been cut to the correct depth? In any case I really do hope you manage to get your bass into properly playable condition. And at least Rickenbacker basses still got 2 things going for them that are actually not all that bad at all, one might even claim astonishing, and at very least indisputably very unique to them, which is their looks and their tone. So congratulations.

I assume washable means you are able to wash it off, not that it is water proof/resistant, not many people actually wash glue, except for when trying to get it off somewhere where it is unwanted. If it is water based then there is a big chance it will also dissolve in water once it is dry, as that is how it works as a glue in the first place, being water based. What that means is that the active ingredient, the actual active adhesive/gluing agent dissolves in water, which is what makes it fluent and useable/applicable, then once it is out of its air and water tight flask and has been applied to a surface the water will start to evaporates again which in turn will cause the adhesive/gluing agent to bond as it gradually dries and cures accordingly, which though also means that water is likely to be able to dissolve the gluing agent once again if applied after the curing/bonding process has taken place, unless some kind of more complex chemical process is going on in the bonding/curing process, which might be totally possible, and will be in some cases, though not most commonly, and obviously not the case here either from what you tell happened when applying water. And the same applies to water based colors. To sum up: It being able to dissolve in water is what makes it actually work as a glue or a color, and that is exactly what water based means.

It might be due to the paint you used being water based, meaning that it will dissolve in water, and at least you ought to have checked up on the glue you used weren't before you went to great length applying several layers. Not that I personally couldn't have done the exact same mistake, in fact chances are I would, as I constantly find myself doing haphazard hack handyman jobs, because I often start on stuff rather impulsively wanting to have something fixed as quick as possible and therefor end up using less than ideal tools and materials, whatever is available at that point in time, and fail to check properly up on things first to make sure I do it properly, and have in fact ended up ruining a couple of instruments that way. Just saying.

You need to smoke ganja, man! That be the only way! No great reggae musician ever did not not smoke weed. And to be honest seriously, unless you need to remember a lot of complicated stuff that'll expose a constant stress factor and pull you out of it you do play better when your stoned/high, much much easier to get into flow and 100% be in the music.

I bought a Harley Benton GuitarBass (pretty much a Fender Bass VI clone, but with a fixed TOM style bridge, and a much larger (flatter), almost 14" (350mm), fretboard radius) recently, a few months back, and I absolutely love it. Has become my main instrument of choice. Unbelievably high quality for the money. I have it strung with custom made Newtone nickle plated hex steel core roundwound guitar strings, gauge .080 - .060 - .045 - .034 - .027 - 020 (these gauges chosen for a close approximation to perfectly balanced tension across the strings, which I personally prefer), tuned to G1 standard tuning, as in G1 - C2 - F2 - A#2 - D3 - G3, that is 9 half steps below regular guitar E2 standard tuning, or 3 half steps above regular bass E1 standard tuning. Which I personally found to give the perfect balance between still being able to go deep enough to fill out the role/sonic space of a bass instrument, but exactly tuned high enough so that you pretty much can do complex chords at it's entire range without it getting unreasonably muddy. This is an instrument that really shines for melodic work, being less unwieldy and bombastic, as well as having a wider frequency span/range (except for 6 string bass of course), than a bass, but sounding way more substantial, full and rich than a guitar, and the true single coil, and by the way genuinely great sounding, pickups of this particular instrument, combined with the thicker strings compared to a guitar (thicker strings will have a wider dynamic response/range, as well as they will also respond much better and more naturally to more percussive playing/expressions), results in it having an extremely wide dynamic and expressive range, being unusually sensitive, but very naturally/directly responsive, to your picking dynamics and playing in general, making it amazingly articulate and really allowing for some incredibly detailed nuances that would otherwise be lost if played on a regular bass or guitar, which is one of the main reasons why I love playing this instrument so much, that it really does seem to sound exactly the way you play it, as if there is a very direct and natural correlation between your hand/finger movements and then what actually comes out, down to the tiniest details. That is of course unless you apply heavy distortion or compression, though I've found that a very subtle compression with a low compression rate (I have mine set to 2.5:1, and I would suggest not going any higher, that is 2 to 2.5 ought to work optimally), just the right, relatively high, threshold, and just long enough attack time to let the full transient of the attack through, as well as some light dynamical and touch sensitive overdrive, and ideally in the order: low gain touch sensitive dynamic overdrive -> subtle light compression, so that the overdrive pedal gets the absolute full dynamic range of the instrument to work with, actually can enhance this aspect/quality (the natural sensitivity and direct dynamic response to your picking) even further, How this works more specifically is the overdrive enhancing the effect of the bite of the attack gradually increasing the harder you pick, while the compression enhances the effect of the snap of the attack gradually getting more and more prominent the harder you pick. Typical true single coil pickups will react dynamically to how much force you apply to your picking, not only in terms of volume, but also in terms of tone, such that softer picking will have less high frequency content, making it sound more mellow, but then with more and more high frequency content gradually being added the harder you pick, making it sound gradually more and more aggressive the harder you pick, an effect which is much much less apparent and not having anywhere near the same range of expression either with your typical humbucker pickup, which predominantly will just react in terms of volume to your picking, but this too again with a much more narrow dynamic range compared to your typical true single coil pickup, overall making humbucker pickups in general sound much more compressed and much much less naturally and directly responding to your picking strength and technique/style. But while I do really think melodic work is where this sort of instrument really shines and works at its absolute optimal potential, it can of course be used for more traditional bass like lines, or chord strumming, like you would a guitar, as well. Though with the reservation that one should keep in mind that fast complex strumming patterns of full chords really does not tend work out very well on this instrument, whereas arpeggios/finger picking chords on the other hand works even extremely well. Here's how my Harley Benton GuitarBass looks (including some artistic PhotoShop shenanigans):

Being 6'4" my 28.6" scale Ibanez Mikro Bass must look like I am playing an ukuele. Luckily my new favorite is a 30" scale, that with a big body that has its bridge placed like it would typically be on a guitar, that is a good deal in on the body from the edge, and 6 inline tuners headstock (it's a Fender Bass VI clone), it is actually as big as most regular 34" scale basses would be. Even if frankly I couldn't care less, I mean Stanley Clarke is probably even taller than me, and definitely got a lot larger hands, still his prefered electric bass is a 30" scale, and he seems to be doing a lot better than just regularly great. And I am sure there are huge guys who play 24.75" Gibson scale guitars too and are doing great doing so. Also plenty of famous rock stars that looks terribly ridiculous regardless of what instrument they happen to play. If looks was that important to me I would have become a model, not a musician. Last I checked you don't hear music with your eyes.

Depends, sometimes just 24.75", but can go all the way up to 34" when in the right mood.