NJE

I went many years playing solely five string basses. I found one I was comfortable with and then committed 100% and sold my four string basses so that I had to get used to it. A lot of people think it’s about the low notes and this was never really the case for me. Yes having a lower octave of some notes was handy like an Eb as I used to play a lot of soul stuff, but it was mostly about playing across the neck and not having to drop down to the first few frets to get an F,F#,G etc. The soul band I played with changed keys a lot and I found the 5 incredibly useful in that situation. A lot of the songs we played used open strings in the original key so it was only a tiny adjustment to change the key and still keep those nice low notes where they should be rather than go higher. Get one and play it exclusively for 3 months and see how you feel when the novelty of the new bass has worn off.

If you just want a traditional P bass with just a split coil that just has a 5th string then the options are a little restricted. i had a squier vintage modified precision v which was a great bass. It sounded like a P bass, fat and thuddy and the B string sounded the same. It lacked a little definition but it’s was a single pickup passive bass so I wasn’t expecting massive clarity from it like a Lakland or Dingwall. The American made precision v is another option, and there is Mike Lull who I believe will make a single pickup 5 string p. if your happy with a J pickup and active eq then you open up to loads more options. My first would be a Sire P5.

A friend of mine recently bought an early 1x15 combo, electric blue? Anyway it weighs a ton but sounds amazing and he paid £90 for it. It has a presence in the sound which I can’t really explain, maybe it’s the mythical ‘heft’ everyone talks about? Either way it’s a great amp for a silly amount of money and after years of moaning about Ashdown I genuinely don’t think they sound any better/worse than any of the high end amps I have used over the years. I also noticed a well respected producer using the same £90 combo as part of his studio recording set up with a mic on it which says a lot for the quality of the sound.

Yup I used to have issues with string life and would frequently need to ditch a new set after one hot long gig. I stopped using Rotos as they were by far the worst for lifespan. Slinky’s were good as they didn’t have windings and boiled up 2-3 times to give them a chunk of extra life when I was a poor student. the biggest revelation was Elixirs 15+ years ago. They feel superb and last me well over a year, and overall save me a lot compared to how many sets of slinky’s I would buy in a year. Notable mentions string wise; Dunlop superbrights last a surprising amount of time considering they are not marketed as a long life string and not coated. They lasted way longer than slinky’s but nowhere close to Elixirs. D’Addario NYXL strings were amazing. Again not marketed as a long life string but went on for about a year with no boiling etc, really blown away with them. I notice D’Addario have new long life strings coming in September and I can’t wait to try them. This is a bit naff and not the best look, but I started using sweatbands on hot gigs so that they caught a lot of what was hitting the bass. I managed to get some thin ones that didn’t look too bad and they worked a treat. long story short, gets some wrist bands and some D’Addarrios or Elixirs, job done.

Usually a couple of chromatic exercises and stretch each hand and fingers without a bass so that they feel loose. Nothing much more than that really but I’m only really playing soul/disco so it’s nothing that requires huge dexterity or speed.

I haven’t exhausted all coated strings but Elixirs always just felt right to me so I stopped searching. I tried and loved the NYXL’s and generally like D’Addario’s ethos, player points and recycling programme etc. so I will gladly give these a test to see if they can sway me on a more permanent basis.

Just spotted an advert for D’Addario’s new ‘X’ strings and I have to say I’m quite excited. I have a big issue with string life and struggled for years until I moved over to fully coated Elixir strings. Just over a year ago I got a set of D’Addario NYXL strings and was genuinely stunned at how well they lasted and kept their tone as they weren’t coated and they didn’t really advertise them as a ‘long life’ string. I will be really keen to get a set of these on a bass and see how well they do. If the NYXL’s are anything to go by, these could last me years 😄 and it’s always nice to explore alternatives to my default Elixirs. This is about all I can find at the moment: https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/29138-daddario-launches-xt-line-of-strings

#1 for me, but with a side order of 5. Say you respect the community and don’t want to be the guy that takes someone else’s gig. Say your always happy to dep, and say if anyone fancies a jam and wants to do something a little different musically on the side that could be fun. In my eyes there is no issue with gigging a couple of bands with different people.

I have had similar at soundcheck, everyone saying the booming feedback was the bass rig in the vocal mics. I turned down to the point I couldn’t hear my rig very well and the morons (also my band mates) trying to do the desk still said it was me. I kept saying calmly it was bad eq and too much gain on the desk and most likely the (quite deaf) guitarist vocal mic. The guitarist who was engineering asked us to fire up again and this time I muted the amp and turned down my bass and then stood with my hands in my pockets to make a point. When the shout of “the bass is too loud on stage” inevitably came I just waited for him to notice I wasn’t playing.....point well and truly made. In general I hate loud bands and don’t think there is any need for it, so I am normally the one wanting to drastically cut the bass volume and kick drum. Along with lead guitar tones that are often ridiculously louder than rhythm sounds, they are usually the two elements that can annoy punters and venues.

Man I feel so lazy after reading this thread. Our guitarist wanted to play it one practice and knew the song to the extent I could hum most of it, so I just took the roots notes and stuck in a few walking bits and little runs and away we go... I don’t think I have ever listened to the original all the way through 😬. I genuinely admire you dedication to get it spot on, I would do the same for other songs but this with load drums and distorted guitar I figured no one would ever be able to hear if I was playing it record correct or not.

Amazing, I have played the vast majority of those with various soul/disco bands too and they are all top tunes for getting people moving. I just noticed you said second set, how long do you guys play for?? I have known one of the bands I play with only need that many songs for 2x45 min sets 😄. Mind you we do tend to extend some classic short soul songs, another chorus here and there.

Try any soul/Motown stuff in Eb. I used my 5 string more for a big soul/disco band than any other genre, purely because the band moved the keys around so much. I could really use the B string then to give the songs some oomph in the lower keys.

There was a mega-thread on these over on talkbass and loads of modifications and pickups etc. I remember one guy swapping the pickup out for a Nordstrand and he then swapped it back because it made no massive difference, so I would suggest leaving the pickup alone but get some decent pots and wiring. I had one in white and miss it like mad but I never seem to find them secondhand in decent condition. I planned modifications but never bothered as I just liked it the way it was, big wide strap sorted the slight neck dive and I just put some trusty Elixirs on it. I think I had a 125 or 130 on the B string, not heavy by any means and it sounded good. I would say don’t expect miracles from the B string, it’s a P bass at the end of the day, it’s never going to be super defined and tight, just enjoy it for that P bass sound.

God I bought them a decade ago, I want to say 15 or 20db.

I guess it depends what you want to achieve as to whether they work or not. I hate the ringing I used to get after seeing bands or practicing with a loud drummer. I also used to get headaches after prolonged practices at full volume, which then made me feel awful the following day. I started using earplugs with a certain level of dB reduction and all that went away, so I guess for what I wanted to achieve they work wonders.

I watched the video and there were no major signs of ‘snake oil’ for me, perhaps I wasn’t listening very well. I thought the knob thing made sense, perhaps the plastic knobs insulating the circuit etc. It’s an 18v circuit perhaps they had some issues getting it really quiet? I have played some seriously expensive basses with some well know preamps that made a ton of noise, so maybe there is something to it. Its still nowhere near the level of some of the complete b*llocks I have read on here.

A mate of mine (drummer) was working for a really nice couple and it came up that the wife sang and did music. My friend makes all the right noises “good for her” etc. and then proceeds to chat about his band and gigs and says he’s busy at the moment and out playing a lot. later on he was chatting to the husband who was a lovely guy by all accounts, and he asks “so does your wife sing in bands and get out playing much”. He says “yeah she’s done some bits in Europe and America”. My friend asks “so who does she sing with then” to which the husband replies “have you ever heard of Sade?......my wife is Sade”.

This looks interesting, roasted maple neck, PJ pickups with concentric pots and not the usual Jazz neck profile you normally get on PJ offerings: https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/fender-limited-edition-american-pro-precision-bass-daphne-blue

A proper Sting signatures 50s precision, roadworn like his with contours not slab body, but without the stupid block inlay signature. Make that in Mexico for about a grand Fender and you have sold one straight away.

Well I don’t know about anyone else but all I have ever really wanted from Fender is decent build quality and some interesting colours, not just black and sh*t-burst.....so on that note, well done Fender and yes please to this....

Yup he has used a whole host of stuff in the studio, he used to use a modified classic vibe precision with J pickup, he uses another blue classic vibe precision in a recent video, numerous sterlings and stingrays in the studio as well as the old cheap Carlo Robelli? Musicman-esque bass. there was an interview somewhere where he said he only owned one bass, the fender jazz he plays live, and that jack Stratton in Vulfpeck struggled mixing it which is why he recorded with jacks basses and anything else around.

Over the years I have found that people have two attitudes to rehearsals. Some people think that rehearsals are there for everyone to learn the parts, fiddle with sounds, go over structures etc and generally learn it at practice. luckily my attitude as well as the other folks in my better bands have always Been that rehearsals are to sort out intros and endings and vocal harmonies etc. It might be worth having some kind of chat to make sure you all have the same concept of what rehearsals are for, basically learn the chords, structures, solos and get your sounds sorted at home because only a small amount of fiddling around at rehearsal will be tolerated. There is a more blunt solution too...if you get to a song that the keys player hasn’t got a sound for it or doesn’t know the parts for it, give it one go through and just say “not everyone’s got that one, that’s homework let’s move on to the next one”. A little bit of subtle shaming works well sometimes.

Of all the cases bags I have had, for a rigid case I would go SKB and for a decent protective gig bag it has to be a Mono

This is just down the road and I knew about it far too late to organise childcare 😫. I love the fact that Andrew Levy was playing a Squier, I really wanted one of those PJ Squiers so this has convinced me they must be a decent buy.