Boodang

Also sounding like a stuck record but ..... Galli Synthesis flats (from bass direct) are low tension.

I run my jazz with traditional single coils and a series / parallel switch. In parallel you get the normal jazz sounds but in series it's a humbucker (with just one volume control as the other is bypassed / redundant at this point) and gives you a fatter sound with less highs. Quite versatile.

I bought 3 envelope filter pedals recently; the Seamoon Funk Machine is maybe a bit niche but the Solid Gold FX Supa Funk and the Mr Black Fwonkbeta are worth considering. I've reviewed them here on BC including some sound clips. The Supa Funk emphasises the 'vowel' type sounds and has some classic funk settings, the Fwonkbeta is massively thick and juicy but maybe not as versatile.

The point in your signal chain where you have defined your tone should be where the DI feed to FoH comes from. That might be from your amp but of course if, say for monitoring purposes, you want a different sound on stage to that out the PA then you're going to have to split your signal. I've now got to a stage where I get my tone from the pedal board, so the feed to the PA comes from there and my backline is just for monitoring.

My Squier VM jazz has no original hardware on it but I love the way it plays and the mods have turned it into something special. If you like the way your Affinity plays then go for it. I've never worried about resell value, it's all about the end result.

TC Electronic parametric eq's like the 1140 are neutral but don't get the spectradrive as that is very coloured.

Well, that tapping is jaw dropping!! As for strings, you could always put a 1/4 size double bass set on, although it would work out as an expensive way to do it.

Bass Direct... under the 'flat wound' sub-heading. I've done a separate BC thread on these strings in the 'misc' section. I use Obligato strings on my DB and they have a nylon core which makes them very flexible. I love the feel of these strings so when I came across the Galli Synthesis strings I was quite excited. They're really 'buttery' to play and not dull sounding. They take a few days to settle in tho. There's a clip in the thread as well.

I know not entirely the object of this thread but yes, you think flats on a bass guitar can be expensive, a set of strings on my DB are £200 to 300.

I sort of agree but... generally punters will go away after a gig saying 'that band sounded good/bad', they don't know why but they know. You might not get the credit you think you deserve by putting in the effort but so long as you get satisfaction from doing so then, perhaps, that's good enough.

If an ergonomic body is what you're after, how about a Kubicki? Always been interested in one but you rarely see them come up s/h.

I got a Grape Phaser recently to try it out and it's a must keep pedal for me. With its feedback 'color' circuit it's really funky. A great alternative to an envelope filter and one you can use more subtly as it doesn't sound like a drowning demented duck!

A semi rigid case like the protection racket would do fine for that.

SD Curlee... what a great blast from the past. Always thought they looked a bit like they were made of wood from left over crates and carved with a rusty pen knife. I think their rustic charm was why I always wanted one back in the day.

My latest strings, Galli Synthesis, have a multi strand nylon core, utterly impossible to clamp!

Strings are such an important thing! So it seems a shame to restrict which ones you can use.

Well, he doesn't show you the details of how the neck joint is engineered but yes, in essence something like that.

I have a headless bass with ABM hardware and I've been unsuccessful in clamping any Thomastik strings on it without them unraveling when tuned up. In fairness to Thomastik they're not the only ones that don't like being abused in this way. Unfortunately I believe that by going headless you're restricting the number of strings you can use. Most strings are not designed to be cut below the silk and then have the windings crushed! Consequently I'm using double ball end strings but the choice is limited. Worse thing I did was have a custom made as a headless.

I love barts and feel they have an organic tone. For my Sei bass I had a custom triple coil MM Bartolini made.... 2 live coils and a dummy coil for humcancelling, and the ability to switch series or parallel. Originally had an active preamp onboard but like the raw sound of the pickup so much I took it out. And I have an 8S P which sounds fantastic on my fretless.

I bought a protection racket case recently for my custom Sei as the foam had disintegrated from it's original flight case. I bought it as a temporary solution but it's so good I'm not going to bother to get the flight case refitted.

My 2 main basses are a Jazz and a custom Sei Flamboyant. The jazz neck starts to join the body at the 15th fret and the Sei at the 24th fret. In consequence the body on the Sei bass is about half that of the jazz and far more ergonomic to play. When you put the two side by side the jazz body looks unnecessarily large. I love the jazz but I might be tempted to get a smaller bodied version made without a cumbersome neck joint.

Slight update as I got a new sound out of the pedal. Was playing a root octave by repeatedly plucking with thumb and index, and it does a remarkable didgeridoo impression! Quite hypnotic. I'll do a sound clip of it soon.

Yep, same here... have gone full circle and now very much into my passive basses.

If I remember correctly, Schack guitars used to do a neck joint which was a 'tongue & groove' design, so it was held together by the tension of the strings. I could be imagining this but I always thought that this arrangement would make it easy to disassemble the bass by just releasing string tension. Not sure how well it would work though.

Actually the sustain is quite good. On most presets you could hold a note for at least a bar at a slow-ish tempo. The sounds are really good but the thing that's made me keep it is the addition of an expression pedal which really brings it alive.