RhysP

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1343858745' post='1756600'] You need to realise you're just a soft Englishman living in Wales, not a tough Welshman living in England like me. [/quote]

[quote name='christhammer666' timestamp='1343854183' post='1756480'] please stick with me this may take a while!!!!!!! since starting to play bass nearly 17 years ago with periods of months at a time with no practice i really feel my time is running out. i was diagnosed with severe depression 6 years ago and for years i have found any excuse not to practise.ill be in work thinking ill try to learn some theory or go over some songs for the recording project im part of,soon as im home ill find any excuse not to bother (something i wanna watch on tele or some other piss poor excuse) it gets to the point i think imay as well just sell my bass and give up i dont think i play for 2 hours a month.the guy im in the project with has the patience of a saint i want to play loads, i have the time just my oomp has left me for the first time in ages i got a tab book out tonight and learned a song and quite enjoyed it i just know it will be ages before i do it again any ideas [/quote] I feel exactly the same as you - I've been depressive since my mid teens (I'm 47 now). I used to be really obsessive about playing, I've spent thousands on gear over the years but now I rarely pick up a bass & I just don't enjoy it like I used to. I've tried all the usual stuff to rekindle my interest: new gear, getting involved in different musical projects etc. but nothing makes a difference for very long. I'm middle aged, I work six days a week, I'm in constant pain from a back injury & I have carer responsibilities for my parents - by the time I've done all that I don't have the energy or the enthusiasm for doing anything other than having a cup of tea & going to bed. I used to blame my depression for my lack of enthusiasm & drive but I'm honestly starting to believe it's just that I'm not into playing very much anymore - maybe you're the same.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1343830275' post='1755922'] If it was good enough for Boz Burrell, it's good enough for me. [/quote] Boz Burrell only used a fretless with Bad Company, and his intonation on their stuff is pretty iffy ( not just my opinion, he's said so himself). When he was with Crimson he used a fretted fender jazz bass, and the last time I saw him (when I was on the same bill as him at a festival in 1989) he was using a fretted Warwick Thumb 6 string. I've also seen pictures of him using Stingrays, and much later on Lakland basses - all of which were fretted.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1343807958' post='1755396'] Ouch - I would certainly drop EBS an email, this is not good a advertisement for them. New Old Stock is as good as New in terms of lifespan before giving you any issues. [/quote] I thought about contacting EBS direct, but I didn't want to cause anyone at the UK distributors any trouble. Then I read your reply & contacted them anyway.......

So, they want to pick the acts, produce & market the acts & release the product on their own label? Sounds a lot like what Simon Cowell does to me. They should also have chosen a slightly less emotive word than "Crusade" for the name of their glorified "battle of the bands" contest IMO.....

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1343798232' post='1755310'] I can't for the life of me play a fretless. I try but my intonation is... non-existent. Never tried one with lines though... [/quote] Lines don't make that much difference to be honest. I've been playing a fretless with lines for years & my intonation still stinks. The key with fretless seems to be play it a lot (which I don't) - if you leave it alone for a while your intonation goes to hell again.

You don't mention where you are. If you let us know where you are maybe somebody local to you could have a look at it for you before you do anything drastic.

Damp them with your left hand.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1343753869' post='1754688'] Find a retired tech... most amps faults we've had have been £35 and simple fixes... for him..!! A write-off for the likes of me.. [/quote] I had an ask around & I've been recommended an amp tech. I've sent him an email so now I'll just have to wait & see what happens.

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1343747551' post='1754557'] ...the fix in itself could be a relatively simple job (I remember getting some advice on repeatedly inserting a jack in and out of the effects loop or headphone socket and it fixed a similar problem, saved me virtually binning a good amp as I had no funds to fix) [/quote] Now you mention it, I think the problem only started when I used the "Tuner Out" socket a few weeks ago. Might be worth f***ing about with that for a bit - I can't make it any worse.......

[quote name='Sandmann' timestamp='1343748992' post='1754591'] i´d recommend that you contact the technical service department of ebs, at least here in Germany they have a great customer service and are very helpful. maybe it is just a minor fault. [/quote] I contacted the UK distributor who say that there is only a one year warranty on the amp (despite the EBS website saying two), and that as it was bought as "New old stock" the warranty would not be valid anyway (which again is not what EBS told me when I registered the amp after buying it but there you go....). The figures they quoted me for repairing the amp are far more than I can afford to pay (£75 per hour + parts + VAT + courier both ways), and would end up costing more than the poxy thing cost in the first place.

My EBS Gorm combo has crapped out on me & I have neither the time or the money to try & get it repaired. The cabinet, speaker & tweeter all appear to be fine so I was going to put it up for sale for "spares or repair". The amp does work, but the sound is quite distorted at low levels, especially on lower notes & the gain control doesn't seem to work as it should as the clip light doesn't come on until it's almost at full. Also even with the master volume turned completely off there is still a low level intermittent distorted signal coming through the speaker. I have absolutely no idea what sort of price I could realistically ask for it in this condition - anyone have any idea?

It has to be Peregrine "Kettledrum" Henderson for me - probably wouldn't be playing if it wasn't for him.

[quote name='debwilliams' timestamp='1343645401' post='1752960'] Ooooooh, what might you be getting rid of Rhys? Just wondering if I could help in any way... [/quote] Zon Legacy Elite fretless four string (the one on the right of my avatar) - £1500 & it's yours.....

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1343646200' post='1752981'] If you play your "fretted" repertoire on a fretless, but play it just as you would on a fretted, you may be surprised! [/quote] I do that & I far prefer the sound of my fretted basses to be honest.

I'm actually about to do the opposite - I'm probably getting rid of my fretless because I just cannot seem to get away from all the cliches inherent to the instrument & I'm just really bored of that sound.

I have a slightly different approach to the ones already mentioned - if I can't play something after about 10 minutes I just give up & don't bother with it ever again.

Try a normal battery, not a rechargable one.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1343549691' post='1751856'] I often buy from this site. Does not do DR's though. [url="http://www.lordofthestrings.com/"]http://www.lordofthestrings.com/[/url] [/quote] Thanks for this link - I've been looking everywhere for somewhere that does Dean Markley Blue Steels that didn't involve ordering from the USA.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1343134959' post='1745808'] I've got an EBS Gorm 350et 1x15 combo if you're interested..... [/quote] Ignore this - it crapped out on me this afternoon.

Your frets are wearing down after three months? What are they made of - butter?

I'll delete my post if you like, then you can just wait until all of the Stingray lovers come along & tell you what you REALLY want to hear.