BottomEndian

[quote name='cetera' post='430409' date='Mar 10 2009, 12:56 PM']Spector do the Euro in a 35". Check out the Euro4LX-EX....[/quote] Then check out the price... That's a world away from the Schecter! For that sort of money, Overwater could probably do you one at 38" scale. And yep, like Ferret says, 34" is plenty enough for tuning low. It just depends on how you like the strings to feel, and whether the bridge and nut can cope with the heavier gauges you'll need on a 34". I personally prefer the feel of a .130 on my 35" to the feel of a .135 or .140 on a 34". But remember that [b]a lot[/b] of the feel depends on the neck construction. In my incredibly limited experience, expensive high-end 34" basses have B-strings that feel as good as or better than cheaper 35" basses. I just can't afford a decent 34" 5-string, so I've plumped for a cheaper 35". Of course, that's all just IMHO and YMMV.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='430344' date='Mar 10 2009, 12:16 PM']Also peavey make 35" scale basses such as the grind and cirrus basses, don't know if the 4 string models are 35" though.[/quote] They are indeed.

[quote name='leonshelley01' post='430170' date='Mar 10 2009, 10:10 AM']I believe the Ibanez BTB range are also 35" scale which should do the job.[/quote] They are indeed. I got my BTB 5-string a couple of weeks ago, and I can't put it down. The neck is just lovely to play -- although it's wide (across the strings), it's extremely slender (through the neck, fingers to thumb). Certainly don't rule out a 5er with a slim neck. The BTB775 is similar in terms of neck comfort to my Hondo P-copy -- kind of like the extra fretboard width is made up for by the slimness. Having said that, I imagine a 4-string BTB would have an even sexier neck, and it should be relatively easy to set up for B-E-A-D. But, in many ways, above all this is the tone. The BTB range (from the BTB470 up) has the Bart MK2 pups and EQ, which you might find a little dark, smooth and polite-sounding. [b]EXTREMELY[/b] loud, but quite polite. You might get more grunt out of something like the [url="http://www.espguitars.com/basses_f.html"]ESP LTD F-series[/url] (if you can bear pointy basses), but that's only a guess. I haven't tried them.

I'm getting faintly terrified about how loud the Vintage is going to be. And +1 on the pictures.

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' post='426682' date='Mar 5 2009, 09:09 PM']Are you tuning it in 5ths?[/quote] Not yet. It'll probably end up in any number of crazy tunings in the future, but I'm sticking with standard for the moment. I've kind of gone back to basics recently, learning fingerstyle and a decent left-hand technique (until now I've been all pick, with a left hand inherited from years of shoddy guitar playing). If it did go in fifths, I'd have to really think hard about string gauges and notes across the five strings. Maybe A-E-B-F#-C#, running probably 135 or 140 up to maybe a 30 or 25 on the C#. Smells like a custom set to me.

[quote name='Ballie' post='425642' date='Mar 4 2009, 11:43 PM']Spector make a 35" 4 stringer. Look around their site to find it as I'm not entirely sure which one.[/quote] If they did, they don't any more. All their 4-strings are 34", although their 5s and 6s are 35". Their (US) price list gives you the scale lengths: [url="http://www.spectorbass.com/pricelist.html"]http://www.spectorbass.com/pricelist.html[/url] Anyway, as an update to this thread, I've ended up jumping on a bargain Ibanez BTB775PB (the whole BTB range is 35" scale). Yes, it's a 5-string, which I originally said I didn't want, but it turns out that I find the BTB 5-string neck really comfortable. Strange how a few weeks of mulling it over can end up with you going for something completely different to what you started out looking for. And I love it. Thick, meaty bottom end, and the B string feels responsive and sweet at 130-gauge. In fact, I love it so much that I might be tempted to get one of the BTB 4-strings as well at some point.

[quote name='cytania' post='424220' date='Mar 3 2009, 03:32 PM']I see plenty of bass players at gigs whose little and middle fingers appear superglued together. Alot of the time you can get away without needing to use your little finger but the truth is it's independence and strength develop with practise. Playing boogie lines and passing note runs where you need a finger in each fret will force the little chap into action.[/quote] Yep, those superglued fingers have been part of my shoddy technique for quite some time. But I'm forcing the little fella to do some work these days, and I think it's already paying off in terms of strength. [quote name='Ballie' post='424627' date='Mar 3 2009, 10:43 PM']You don't want the action to be so high you have to force the string against the fret. Maybe adopt a lighter playing touch to allow lower action without buzz, and turn up the amp a little. That'll get you started with a good sound, and allow better playability of the bass. You shouldn't need to use much pressure to hold the string down, so stick your left thumb on the back of the neck, crank your bass up higher on the strap and then tell me you can't do it! Makes the world of difference having the bass at a comfortable height.[/quote] The action's already pretty low and the bass is pretty high up, so it's not that I need much pressure. It's just that the little finger's knuckle can't easily "roll" down onto the string in the first place. Well, not without twisting my whole left hand round, so my thumb pokes its ugly head back over the top of the neck. It's just going to be practice, practice, practice, until it's got the strength [i]and[/i] flexibility to pull it off. [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='424663' date='Mar 3 2009, 11:31 PM']That finger "roll" thing is something I do probably too much, and it's a habit I'm trying to get out of. When doing a lot of gigs I found my skin would sometimes split where I'd been fretting with the knuckle (I suppose it can't callous the same way a finger tip does because it's a joint) and it's painful when you forget there's a split and you stick a bass string in there, believe me![/quote] Yeah, I used to get that on guitar. Believe me, it's even more painful when you double-stop a fourth on the two thinnest strings, and glissando up the neck. You get a 9-gauge E string ploughing through your knuckle like cheesewire. Combined with badly dressed frets on a cheap guitar, I've had blood dripping off my guitar neck before. And that was on the first song of a 45-minute set. That was a lesson in re-voicing chords on the fly. Thanks for the advice, guys. I plough ever onwards.

I'm living a strange double life at the moment. I've only played bass with a pick until very recently, and I'd just shifted my shoddy left hand technique over from guitar. You know, hooked-over thumb, the lot. So I'm reasonably competent playing like that, but I've hit a wall in terms of my progression. I'm going back to basics now, both to learn fingerstyle right hand and to improve my left hand technique. I'm using Ed Friedland's good ol' Hal Leonard Bass Method, and I've hit my first problem within the first ten pages. Dispiriting or what... He introduces the concept of the "finger roll", which is a fancy name for when you want to play, for example, a G on the 3rd fret of the E-string, followed by a C on the 3rd fret of the A-string. You fret the E-string with the tip/pad of your finger, then "roll" your finger down to flatten the knuckle area onto the A-string. That's fine with index, middle and ring fingers. My problem is my little finger. I just can't roll with it at all. It can't fret firmly on the knuckle part. My old self would just use my ring finger to fret one of the notes, but I'm determined to get this sorted. Is this just a strength thing? Will the little chap firm up with use? :brow: I'm sure I'll be back here time and time again with acres of technique questions as I work through the book...

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='422506' date='Mar 1 2009, 06:15 PM']i've used 130's at times, can't remember wether they were flatwounds or not, but shouldn't make a difference. string guages are not something i seem to be able to commit to memory, don't even know what guage are on now...[/quote] Well, as luck would have it, I found a spare set of D'Addarios with a 135-gauge B as I was clearing out a cupboard. A quick check, and indeed it fits in with no problem. And that's a full-thickness, untapered roundwound 135 with clumsy, lumpen ends. Looks were very deceptive with these bridges. So I should have no problem with a 130 flat. Problem solved. If only everything on Basschat was this simple. Just as an aside, looking at the Shuker website, their monorails look quite different to the Ibanez ones. The Shuker bridges seem to have the ball-end visible at the back of the bridge, kind of in a similar position to where they'd be on a standard bridge. If you look at [url="http://resources.ibanez.com/resourceservicehost/images/Ibanez/web/insets/zoom/BTB676PBAM_bartolini_pus.jpg"]this picture[/url] of the Ibanez monorails, you can see how the ball-end is kind of seated deep down inside the bridge. It's almost semi-strung-through, which is where I thought the problem might lie.

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='422338' date='Mar 1 2009, 01:03 PM']i've used quite a few sets of flatwounds on my Shuker, which i believe has the same monorail bridges as the BTB and i've never had trouble with fitting.[/quote] Awesome. What's the thickest gauge you've got on?

I've just got hold of an Ibanez BTB775, and I'm interested in trying out some flatwounds on it at some point. Just a couple of limiting factors here: [list] [*]35" scale length, so the strings need to be extra-long. [*]Monorail bridges: these don't look like they'd be able to take a 130-gauge B-string wound at full thickness to the ball-end. They come installed with a taperwound 130, and the E-string at 105 looks like pretty much the limit for these bridges. You'd maybe get a 110 in it. [/list] So, first question: Anybody here ever put flats on their monorail-bridged 5-string? If so, what were they? Failing that, the second question: Anybody know of an extra-long scale 5-string flatwound set with a taperwound B? The only one I've found is the Sadowsky SBF45BXL. Third question: Anyone tried the Sadowsky SBF45BXL set?

Take a look at this, from D'Addario's website: [url="http://www.tothestage.com/upload/BassArticle2_1803.pdf"]http://www.tothestage.com/upload/BassArticle2_1803.pdf[/url] Pages 3 & 4 give you a method to determine which of the D'Addario string lengths you'll need. It involves measuring from the nut [b]all the way to the ball end[/b]. Chances are you'll have at least an inch between the ball end and the string passing over the saddle, even if it doesn't string through the body, so you're looking at your scale length [b]plus at least an inch[/b]. So, the bad news is that you'll very probably be looking at a measurement over 36", pushing you into the realm of "Super Long". Bummer for your current set. Unless you can live with the rattle, it's no good for you. Still, there are many, many guys who'd be quite chuffed to need something in "Super Long" size. :brow:

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='414423' date='Feb 19 2009, 03:57 PM']To clarify; I did ask Alex if there might have been a cab or two available for attendees of the NE bash to try but Alex is trying his best to complete orders for people asap so it would be unrealistic to expect him to drop paid work to let a few greedy Geordies paw over his cabs. [/quote] Well, the first Vintage off the production line is destined for my greasy paws, so the next time there's a NE bash after this one, I'll do my best to make it available to those who still haven't experienced Barefaced by then. Let's spread the love. But not too much, eh warwick?

[quote name='alexclaber' post='414405' date='Feb 19 2009, 03:49 PM']No, it's coming as in going to stay part of the line-up, whilst I think I might completely drop the 2x12" cabs - why use two twelves when you can use one fifteen and save weight and cost? It isn't going to be at the NE Bass Bash though![/quote] Ah, I'm with you now. I almost had a special moment in my pants. [quote name='warwickhunt' post='414387' date='Feb 19 2009, 03:39 PM']Hmmm! Have I used a colloquialism unheard of out of the NE? To 'tap' someone = to politely make a request or to ask a favour of.[/quote] I understood you perfectly, but I'm a fellow NE-er (although I live 20 metres [i]south[/i] of the Tyne...). I think the vast majority of the denizens of the interwebs would understand "I've already tapped Alex" to mean that you had... (how can I put this politely and delicately?) ...ploughed him.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='414358' date='Feb 19 2009, 03:26 PM'][quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='414345' date='Feb 19 2009, 03:12 PM'] Is the Vintage still coming though?[/quote] It'll be far too much fun with valve amps to not make it available! [/quote] Aaaargghhh! Gutted I can't make it over to the bash, and I'm only 30 miles away. Is it actually going to be ready for 1st March?

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='413588' date='Feb 18 2009, 08:26 PM']Would you walk into a car dealership and accept the price in the window of a used car or accept your first insurance quote? You’re a mug if you do…[/quote] Er, that'd be me officially classed a mug, then. I always just renew my insurance (never compare quotes) when that time rolls around, and the last time I bought a used car, I paid the price on the window. I completely accept that I'm one of the least savvy people to have ever walked the earth.

[quote name='hubrad' post='413189' date='Feb 18 2009, 03:58 PM']If you build up a relationship with a shop they are more likely to do give you some recognition.[/quote] +1 I only give discounts (and always on [i]my[/i] terms, never when it's asked for ) when I know those people are going to be coming back for more. [quote name='hubrad' post='413189' date='Feb 18 2009, 03:58 PM']The worst thing to offer is Amex card - costs us both a mint![/quote] +1 and an "amen" to that. My heart sinks when I see that little blue & white square... and it's getting much more common now that Lloyds TSB are offering an Amex credit card.

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' post='413147' date='Feb 18 2009, 03:28 PM']Either you like the bass enough to pay £500 for it, or you don't.[/quote] Exactly. I'm a retailer (although not in the music sector), and there's little that irks me more than customers saying, "And what sort of discount can you give me on that price?" They usually end up on the end of a blank stare and an enquiry (polite, of course ) as to why they should get a discount. I have yet to hear a logical response. It's a truly sh*tty time to be in retail, and if you like the shop and want them to carry on trading, they need all the profit margin they can scrape together at the moment. I doubt the margin is huge on basses (or at least on big brand basses -- boutique basses probably have a bit more margin on them), so 10% off the retail price could be a [i]huge[/i] whack off their actual profit. Also, prices are rising at the moment, and they could already have absorbed a cost rise on that product to remain competitive. That's assuming the price is actually competitive -- there'll be small retailers who can't stay competitive because of the economies of scale. Even when they're more expensive than the competition, if you like the shop, if they give you good service, and if they know their stuff, go with them when you can. Of course, they could be so desperate for sales at the moment that they'd give you the discount to secure the sale, but I couldn't honestly put another retailer in that position. This is the time to play nice, or there'll be a lot less choice around this time next year.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='411884' date='Feb 17 2009, 12:31 PM']Also anyone remember that warwick bass which was tuned C#F#BE or something? If that doesn't have a long scale then i guess i'm some sort of austrailian donkey.[/quote] That'd be the Warwick Vampyre Dark Lord. Designed for F#BEA, but only 35". It achieved the F# by using a string set running .085 to .175.

[quote name='pete.young' post='411483' date='Feb 16 2009, 08:55 PM']Are there any 35" 4-string basses?[/quote] I was wondering exactly the same thing recently. I ended up with the following list of budget 35" 4-stringers: Peavey Cirrus BXP ESP LTD F Series Ibanez BTB range HK / Woodo (or whatever name's on the headstock) 4-stringers But like 6stringbassist says, a good 34" can have a beautiful B. Every bass is different, and some 34"s have that magic combination of factors that gives a clear, powerful B. In my (limited) experience, they tend to cost more.

[quote name='Zach' post='410645' date='Feb 16 2009, 12:00 AM']Just to throw a bit of crazy out there, why don't we tune in 5ths?[/quote] [quote name='Matty' post='410651' date='Feb 16 2009, 12:12 AM']Its tuned in fourths because on a double bass, the stretches would be near impossible for the music being produced at the time. I have a 4 string tuned to BEAD and a four string tuned CGDA and both are great fun to play and both have their uses.[/quote] Indeed, fifths make scales an absolute swine, and if you're playing anything you haven't written specifically for fifths tuning, chances are you'll be up and down the neck like an erotic massage. But to expand on what Matty said, it has its uses -- the range it opens up is awesome. Just as a little example, if you think about major chords, in standard tuning you've got, say, A major: G:--6-- (note = C#) D:--7-- (note = A) A:--7-- (note = E) E:--5-- (note = A) which is a reasonably open voicing, but the major third at the top can sound a bit dense if you're actually playing all the notes together. If you tune C-G-D-A, you've got a really open chord at your fingertips: A:--12-- (note = A) D:--11-- (note = C#) G:--9--- (note = E) C:--9--- (note = A) You're covering two octaves in a three-fret spread, which leaves plenty of space for the notes to "breathe". And if you're writing your own riffs, you end up naturally falling into intervals and patterns that sound unlike anyone else. In summary, brilliant for creativity, painful for walking lines. And fifths feel pretty natural if you've been playing a drop tuning for a while -- you just extend that feel across all the strings, rather than just the low two. (I know fifths have had their own thread, but this felt like a more appropriate place to throw this in at the moment.)

Here's some feedback from a seller's perspective: Dave PM's me on Thursday night to say he's interested in my Boss PS-3. Two PMs later, the money's in my Paypal account, and I'm a very happy bunny. I send it on Friday, and he lets me know when it turns up on his doorstep the next day. Superb! Great guy to deal with. Swift, pleasant, easy communications. A jewel in Basschat's crown. I'm this happy ---->

Please leave me some feedback in here if you've had any dealings with me. Or even just if you love me deeply and want to share that with the world. Thanks!

[quote name='alexclaber' post='407594' date='Feb 12 2009, 01:51 PM']I first read that as 'carnage'![/quote] Canage, carnage... when it's 1kW, it's the same thing. I doubt earplugs will cut the mustard. For the love of god, wear building-site-grade ear defenders and a hazmat suit.