Beedster

Loving it as well

I'm genuinely interested in knowing how keeping strings at tension would predispose the bass to courier or temperature damage? I've bought a lot of basses (!), and from some serious/knowledgable dealers in UK and US, and never had one delivered with string tension reduced. I've bought a few on BC however that have! I wonder who's in the right?

There is a school of thought that suggests you do not loosen the tension on the neck. I must admit I’ve never understood why anyone would, the neck is designed to be under tension after all, and in this context I’ve heard - anecdotally - of this issue with the truss rod before. I’m not an expert however, so don’t take my word. Hope you get it sorted either way. C

I’m very sorry to hear about what must still be an extraordinarily painful loss. I hope the new role helps you Barrie. C

Sorry to hear that you experienced a tragedy last year Barrie, hope this new venture goes some way towards healing. I’m sure I speak for many here when I say please keep us all posted and let us know if you need anything we can give. Chris

All valid points

I agree to a point, but there is value in learning even skills you know you will never use because doing so often improves those skills you do use. Learning slap has made me more aware of note to note consistency in volume and tone for example, and better at regulating that playing FS.

Only my own

That was a very interesting read and a perspective I hadn't considered, many thanks, it never does any harm to be reminded of how good things are here occasionally, especially given our media are so busy trying to do the opposite! This problem still remains however.....

It’s a fair point

Absolutely mate, despite the best efforts of UPS! Many thanks. C

Hey folks I never thought I'd see the day....... Anyway, I've never really used slap live, but we're moving into Chili Pepper territory and I think I'm going to have to take both my technique and tone shaping a little more seriously. I don't use any FX live, and never have, so I'm a little wary of getting into such a GAS inducing thing, but the main difference between the slap tone I produce at home at relatively low volumes and the tone I produce in a live situation is the significant inconsistency in volume levels in the latter. Certainly technique is a big factor, certainly the fact that the bass is also sitting in a mix with the rest of the band who are also at times a bit up and down in volume is a factor, but I'd like to at try some compression, if only to see if it makes life easier, and/or until I get my technique a little better. I'd prefer a rack unit to be honest, there's enough stuff on the floor without me adding to it. I'd be happy to listen to any other thoughts on FX for slap (please don't waste your time commenting on technique, I'm along way off where I want to be but am working on it, or EQ, which I'm on top of). Cheers Chris

I don’t like the look of it, to me it begs the question “what went wrong with the body/neck that led to the hardware being removed”. The crack might be part of the story, but as above, it might seem a good shout but it will be cheaper in the long run to buy a 30th Anniversary bass when it comes up, which they do quite frequently

I found the Rics filled the space in a three piece - and without FX- in a way that my Precisions and even my Modulus Flea didn’t. There’s an almost sub-bass quality to a good Ric played through a big tube amp that I’ve never found with even the best active basses (Wal, Modulus, Sadowsky etc). Its lows are organic and visceral, as opposed to what always feels synthetic and forced with an active bass. Player and instrument it could well be, always felt really at home with my 4003FL and my C64, both strung with flats, and never had to touch EQ to get thunderous tone.

There's almost need of a conspiracy theory.......

Given how cheap some older series Mesa gear was being sold at New Year, I was hoping to hear something around now about new prices on their new range......

Well now's your chance Ped. All joking aside, wonder if the seller has inadvertently added a zero?

All fair points Chris, although I suspect the 400+ cost a lot to distribute compared to the WD-800. Given the respect for the Walkabout, it's a shame for a company that does try to bring both quality and innovation to all of its products that this appears to have gone nowhere.