cameltoe

I had never played flatwounds but bought a bass with a set of the Fender flats on. Lovely! Smooth, high enough tension to get my action lower than a gnats nadgers but not too stiff. Plenty of attack and punch with enough brightness not to sound 'dead' (as I always assumed flats sounded). I tried chromes before and hated them. Was like someone had strung my bass with wire coat hangers.

Never had any issues with my OBT in about 5 years of gigging, but last night it suddenly lost all output halfway through a gig. Luckily, I was DI'ing through a preamp pedal so my FOH signal was fine. I removed my pedals from the chain and plugged straight into the amp- nothing. Swapped outputs on the amp and cab- nothing. The power light was still on and fan still going and both preamp valves, at a quick glance, appeared to be glowing nicely. Play the rest of the set through the foldback. At the end of the gig, I try the amp again, and it works fine! This is more annoying than it just breaking. Any ideas what could be up? Worth mentioning I have just replaced the preamp valves back to a set of Philips ECC81's that I had previously had fitted in the amp for about 2 years but removed a couple months ago.

2x12 for me, having tried 10's and 15's I've now settled. A decent 2x12 with a loud head easily keeps up with the loudest drummer for me. In retrospect I probably should have gone for 2 1x12 cabs for more flexibility and I probably will do this in the future.

If it makes a difference to the validity of the story, Dave Gilmour does come to Cornwall quite a bit. Tim Renwick (great guitarist who used to play with Floyd and Clapton-check YouTube) lives about 5mins away from me in a village called Pentewan and Gilmour is known to frequent the village to visit Tim around summer and hang out in the Ship Inn.

[quote name='Christian Houmann' timestamp='1436597497' post='2819361'] From John [i][color=#444444]Regarding scale length, I'm afraid I don't offer alternatives on the vintage replica stuff as the jigs and templates are all made and vintage accurate.[/color][/i] [/quote] Awesome, thank you. I have to say, John has been very pleasant in all communication thus far and I'm really looking forward to getting the order in!

I'm soon to order a Bravewood (see other thread) and I believe building time can be a year. Which is why I'm pulling the trigger now! Financially, I'l be in a better position next year, but then I'll have to wait all over again! Sandberg are German, why is this taking the masters of efficiency so long?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1436436117' post='2818075'] Ah, then I misunderstood your post. You're probably right. I found that I had been subconsciously compensating for uneven tension across the strings, it actually takes a while to get used to the fact you don't have to do that any more - and that's when the BTs become easy and natural to play. [/quote] This right here. Try going back to something like Sunbeams after you've played BT's and you realise how all over the place they are in terms of feel. I used to love them though, so I must have been compensating in my technique.

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1436306490' post='2817013'] I've switched to these from DR Sunbeams as they were getting just too pricey. it took me a bit to get used to the feel of the BTs but I really really like them now. I'm also using BTs on six string. [/quote] This is exactly what I did, after the prices on Sunbeams went up. I like a low action, and I have to say the balanced tension are a great string for feel, and allow you to get a nice low action with minimal buzzing. They sound like regular XL nickels, (so not quite as warm as Sunbeams) but they do a great job of making the tension feel equal across all strings. I recently bought a set of Sunbeams, as I hadn't had any for a while, they lasted one rehearsal and came straight off. Just could not go back after trying the BT's! The Sunbeams are a low tension string anyway so I think this had something to do with it. Great price too. Do it!

[quote name='Christian Houmann' timestamp='1436274763' post='2816633'] Cool! I talked with John about 33 scale but he didn't do it [/quote] Was this because he didn't want to? I have to say, it's definitely a '57 reissue vibe I'm going for, so if he's unwilling then I totally get it. I've never had a 33" scale, but I want to know what my options are, as I'm having a bass built from scratch! In my uneducated opinion it should add to the playability of the instrument, I do find a standard length a bit of a stretch.

[quote name='Davo-London' timestamp='1436278993' post='2816668'] Had you thought of other tweaks? [list] [*]Could do a 50-57 headstock (lighter - reducing neck dive) [*]Vintage bridge (cos they're better) [*]You sure you want ash/maple? That maybe rather nice but might be a bit trebly? [*]Gotoh - Res-o-lite machine heads? (Cos they reduce neck dive) [/list] Just thinking ... Davo [/quote] Hi Davo, The Gotohs are definitely on my list. I bought a set of GBR640's to combat neck dive on my Roadworn P and they did a cracking job. Headstock- hadn't thought about a smaller headstock, if I was going to go this way, I'd be tempted to go for a reverse. Just because I grew up listening to grunge. Ash-maple. Interesting. I've never had an Ash bodied bass, I am aware they can be brighter sounding, but it's the grain I'm after. I've always been happy with Alder, so would be fine to go for Alder if a suitably light-weight, grainy piece of wood can be found. Maple is a definite though, I just love maple necks. I will discuss this with John. Vintage bridge- again, I've always been happy with the bent bit of tin with threaded saddles. Hadn't considered a two-saddle vintage jobbie.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1436258629' post='2816408'] I made an interesting discover, if you scroll through the pictures, at the end there are a couple of pics of a Fender Precision! [/quote] You made it that far?

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1436167912' post='2815421'] That is stunning... [/quote] That's a stock image of an AV '57 reissue. I'm hoping to replicate that with a light relic finish. Nothing too over the top, just enough to ensure I'm not afraid to take it out and play it.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1435954461' post='2814027'] Maybe have a chat with Limelight too... [/quote] I thought about this, and although I love the way limelights look, I'm limited for choice as they use off the shelf parts. I did enquire with Mark at Limelight if he could supply a slimmer P neck, but you are kinda stuck with standard allparts jazz or precision necks. I would want 7.25" radius too. Limelights do look truly brilliant, and I have heard nothing but good things. I feel there is something a bit more special in having a bass crafted for me from scratch from raw materials. Who knows, I may hate it! I've done the 'play it first' thing, but I would like the bass in my head to be built, and it's a bass I'm unlikely to ever find unless I spec it.

Have long lusted after a custom 'Fender', having had nothing feel as good on me as a P bass in my playing years. Bravewood instruments look fantastic to my eyes, John is local to me, and seems to have a love for vintage fenders. Which is what lead me to him- the best feeling P basses I've owned have been vintage reissues. It's something about the deep contours, or the neck, or the way they feel played-in. I'm hopefully going for a light-relic lookalike of this: [IMG]http://ksmguitars.com/BassBridgePackage/American_Vintage_57_Precision_Bass/0190115801_frt_wlg_001.jpg[/IMG] Excited already! Am specifying a slimmer neck, with a 40-41mm nut (haven't finalised details yet) and a very light body. I am toying with the idea of throwing a 33" scale into the mix- I believe (rightly or wrongly) that this may feel more comfortable to play. I have no issues really with a 34" scale, but when you are ordering custom your mind does wonder.... Whether John would be open to this is another matter, I probably wouldn't be if I was making vintage correct fenders! Anyway, just here really to say it's finally gonna happen and I'm excited, now I just have to find a way of breaking the news to Mrs Cameltoe. Might wait til the deposit goes down before I do that!

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1433426842' post='2790984'] ive got a 2004 (i think) MIM '57 reissue and apart from seeming to have back to front tuning pegs (a funny quirk) it sounds and feels as good as any american jazz i have played. mexican fenders really have caught up in quality of workmanship [/quote] That would be the vintage-correct reverse tuners!

I would love another G&L, but I want a lightweight one. I had a 1993 USA L2000. Was great, but is anybody else suspicious of micro tilt? To me it's almost like saying 'we've probably cocked this up, so here's another adjustment you can make to sort it out'. The best basses I've owned have never needed any adjustment to neck angle.

There have been some crazy cheap USA stingrays on here in recent months. I just think if you're taking a chance on the most cost effective model, the Sterling SUB, most agree the preamp and possibly pickup will need work. For that money, you could then buy a USA Sub. Add just another 100-200 and you're in the ball park of some Stingrays that have popped up here. That's what I'd do!

Definitely something to pass the time. There will be a lot of sitting around, not feeling like you can go anywhere. Oh, and surely 1000 brown M&M's should be no.1 on the request list?