EssentialTension

I use flatwounds of one kind or another and I only ever change them if I get a new bass or if I want to try a different string. No strings get thrown away they just move between storage box and bass as and when I fancy it.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1423057892' post='2680101'] I spotted some music stands so I'm out. [/quote] I think I spotted a stool as well. What is the matter with these people?

All other things being equal, thinner strings will have less tension. Of course, all other things are not equal if you change manufacturer or model and the construction is different. I have never used DR strings so I can't comment on them. Thomastik Jazz Flats and Jazz Rounds are low tension and high compliance. Flats are JF344 for long scale. Rounds are JR344. As always with this kind of thing you have to try to find out what you like. It's not a cheap business.

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1422977307' post='2679067'] That looks a hell of a lot easier and more intuitive than the AD-1 preamp I had (with all those presets etc and multiple buttons/sliders to grapple with)! [/quote] Yep, you got it right.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1422958816' post='2678746'] Right - what's the difference in spec between the CTP-2 and -4? Is it one of these two? [url="http://www.takamine.com/electronics/pre-amps/#ct4-dx"]http://www.takamine....re-amps/#ct4-dx[/url] [url="http://www.takamine.com/electronics/pre-amps/#ct4Bbii"]http://www.takamine....e-amps/#ct4Bbii[/url] [/quote] The CTP-2 has the tube in it and costs a lot more. Mine is the CT-4BII like this: I had an exchange of emails with Takamine about which preamp to get and I can't now recall why I settled on the CT-4BII except it being simple. I still have the AD-1.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1422399542' post='2672319'] Man does "pig in sh*t" impression [/quote] Looking good.

[quote name='toneknob' timestamp='1422271530' post='2670437'] ... Regarding B-10s - I hope I'm not out of order posting this and will delete if required - in my homework I discovered this on eBay, [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271741958638"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/271741958638[/url] - am I right in thinking that the AD-1 preamp is digital and tubeless - thus making this guitar a B-10? [/quote] Yes, B10 had the AD-1 preamp. TB10 has the CTP-2 Cool Tube preamp. However, my B10 now has the much easier to use CTB4 preamp.

I have a Takamine B10 which was the predecessor of the TB10 - although the only difference is the preamp and I have changed that anyway. The Takamine does not sound exactly like an upright bass although nor does it sound quite like a fretless bass guitar. It is kind of in the middle with a sound of its own. I think the best alternatives are also pricey (e.g. Rob Allen) and I suspect an ordinary fretless acoustic bass guitar might well sound very good but not quite like the TB10. Second hand TB10s do occasionally appear on BC - that's how I got mine.

'Keep the volume down because we don't have a licence.'

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1422860111' post='2677540'] 'You aren't tall enough to play bass.' [/quote] [quote name='seashell' timestamp='1422879772' post='2677768'] 'You remind me of Suzi Quatro' [/quote] These could be from the same conversation.

If it's not what you want then leave. Shallow has nothing to do with it.

[quote name='Stompbox' timestamp='1422875013' post='2677704'] But it has to be "just so" for each individual ... [/quote] I'm more 'that will do' than 'just so'.

'You aren't tall enough to play bass.'

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1422822344' post='2677234'] "Why don't you play properly - y'know, slap bass?" [/quote] That must be slap on a five string.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1422809724' post='2677002'] I've been told that a lot of shows specifically ask for a Fender bass. [/quote] Often, during the sixties and into the seventies, especially in the US, the electric bass was known as and even credited as the Fender bass.

Punter: My friend plays bass. He's a proper bass player. Me: Proper? Punter, Yes, five strings.

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1422803644' post='2676908'] ... Do you ever stray away from building a certain body shape because it feels wrong to use someone else's design? [/quote] I don't build basses but on the general issue of artists and others borrowing or stealing or copying ideas from others ..... ... it's both the norm, it's how art operates, and it's morally and aesthetically right to do it. The great artists all did it.

[quote name='fatwull' timestamp='1422798275' post='2676829'] I sold it on here and got £800 for it and the lad was well happy. Sounds like times have changed, must be a lot of bands that look perfect in every way.... I must really be out of touch with reality after 25 years away from gigging [/quote] If a shop were selling a used Bongo for £800 they'd have to allow for profit and VAT and general overheads like rent/wages, so giving you £500 (i.e. about 2/3rds) on a trade-in would be about normal. You can expect less if it's going to take longer to sell. I'd actually say times haven't really changed much and they are much the same as they always were, i.e. four string Fenders (or similar) are the norm and certain basses (e.g. coffee tables and pointy things) don't look right in e.g. a C&W band.

[quote name='fatwull' timestamp='1422722411' post='2676078'] Just imagined Mark King being told "sorry mate, we don't like that slappin stuff" [/quote] That would have a been a big relief for many of us - and he is a very good fingerstyle player.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1422731634' post='2676282'] I can't remember which series it was but there was actually a range of Planet Waves cables that were notorious for falling out really easily ... [/quote] I had a couple of those Planet Waves cables; they were a total waste of time and money and I threw them away.

[quote name='fatwull' timestamp='1422721455' post='2676056'] Visited Kennys music in Dundee when i was home last and took in my Musicman Bongo 4 to be checked over before selling. I was looking for a decent second hand 5 string after buying a cheap one and liking the extra string, now they don't have many 5 stringers in the shop and he started telling me how 5 stringers were not as fashionable as 4 stringers these days and not as common so that's how they don't stock them, i thought that comment was a bit silly considering how many 5's are on here. He also started on about what he would give me for the bongo if i traded it in..£4-500 which they will try on you anyway, then he started on about how guitars that look different are hard to sell and even said he knows people who have had to change their guitar as the rest of the band didn't like the look of it which really put me off the guy as personally i think that is just crap. Has anyone experienced this problem of "sorry mate, your sh*t hot but that guitar just doesn't look good enough for our band"....... [/quote] Five strings have never been as fashionable as four strings and have always sold many less items. I'd say the guy was correct. In a shop, around £400-£500 trade on a Bongo sounds about normal to me; if anything a good deal. You'd perhaps get more selling it privately but it's definitely a buyer's market just now. I'd say the guy was correct. Guitars that look different are harder to sell and harder to resell. Most people want a Fender or a Gibson or a clone of those styles. I'd say the guy was correct. Bands have images and the kind of guitar or bass is part of that image. You may think it's crap, however I don't think it's crap. Besides which I'd say the guy was correct whether or not you think it's crap. I've never been asked to change a bass myself but then I would either try hard to turn up with something suitable or I wouldn't be interested in the band in the first place. I do try to use a different instrument for a different band. Otherwise not much point having different instruments.

[quote name='The fasting showman' timestamp='1422702796' post='2675765'] Are they similar to the pickups in your Lakland? Probably a good reference then for what a big single coil sounds like. I always thing P90s sound great in Gibsons. [/quote] They are similar and - to the OP - Hanson (who make Lakland pickups) do various pickups in various shells and I think you can have the single-coil Chisonics in MM type housings. You can also hear Chisonics at the Lakland website. Again there is a cost.

[quote name='Osiris' timestamp='1422699419' post='2675711'] Errr, oh yeah, I guess the 2 halves of a P pickup do make a humbucker! To be fair, I'm no expert on these things so apologies for the confusion or apparent contradiction. When I said that I've yet to find a humbucker that I actually like, I had in mind those pickups that have 2 adjacent coils in a single enclosure like the MM style domino. Hope that helps. [/quote] OK, I wasn't trying to cause trouble; it's a common misconception.

[quote name='The fasting showman' timestamp='1422701289' post='2675742'] ... A massive single coil pickup like a Darkstar but in a MM case could be good...no forget that, gonna cost way too much! ... [/quote] Other than cost, this might work well. I don't know whether the MM case fits but even with a bit of routing could soudn excellent and be still saleable. Bisonic/Darkstar style pickups are available from Curtis Novak.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1422662094' post='2675514'] He might mean the '51 style pickup. [/quote] Indeed he might but it doesn't read that way with the mention of reversal of the '[size=4][font=Calibri]P configuration with the bridge side of the pickup covering the E and A strings and the neck half of the pup covering the D & G'. strings.[/font][/size]