LITTLEWING

I'm normally okay with that. My problem EVERY freakin' time is the guitar stand coming with me when I lift my bass to start a set....

Damn fine instruments. I picked up a 'Legend' budget end cream jazz on Gumtree for £60, set it up just right, chucked a pair of Wilkinsons on it and Wilkinson bridge, did the series/parallel mod and gig with it all the time. Does what it says on the tin perfectly well for me and sounds awesome on phone recordings at gigs. Got a mint pickguard coming as I write this too as it happens. (confession - I had to sand off the Legend logo as it felt a bit 'eeewww' and put a F*nd*r vinyl on to make it feel better)...I know...but we've all done it.

Don't laugh, but sitting chillin today, the missus got Alexa to play some Abba stuff. My ears (as per usual) automatically hooked onto the bass and I was amazed how inventive and just dead right it is to every song. Some of the little riffs and fills are exactly what any aspiring player should give an ear hole to. Instead of young'uns slapping the shite out of their basses, it would give them invaluable tips on chord structures and the 'right' notes to compliment a song by listening to other genres and give people like Carol Kaye, Mo Foster and James Jameson half hour an evening before bed.

Each to their own, but I still don't understand it. Might as well tow it behind your car for a mile or two and then rub it down with wire wool and T Cut. A real honest old guitar is dripping with mojo and every bump and scratch has a story to tell. Still, just like plastic surgeons, there's always a customer who loves getting rid of money. Oh, must go, just got to pick up my Porsche. Got a guy to put rust patches, holes and fade the paint and crush both front wings in. I'll be proud as anything driving that down the road just as it is.......oh yeah.......

Nice bouncy fluent playing, but is it just me that is reaching for my toolkit to get rid of that freakin annoying rattle on every string???? Aaagh!!!!!!!

'A band is only as good as it's drummer' is SO true. My first serious band was in the late 70's and we were lucky enough to have the 16 year old guy who went on to play in Wang Chung (Dance Hall Days etc). He made us sound good even then. I've played with a few reasonable tub thumpers and it's really frustrating when one simply can't cut it and you're all confined as to what songs are going to sound okay. My latest band's guy is so bloody perfect and it's making me play tighter with him and for the first time ever the two of us are a near perfect machine supplying the concrete floor for the keys, guitar and (amazing) female vocals to stand on. It's a beautiful feeling leaving rehearsals and gigs with a huge grin on our faces.

I can also vouch for these lovely people. I've emailed a few times with queries about really quite trivial things and they've always had the time for a very friendly and quick response. Great to know there are some people that give that feelgood factor in this day and age.

I've had it in both hands a few times where one of the fingers will just cramp right over and I had to quickly employ a thumb to finish the number. I think it's partly down to dehydration. Drink loads of water during the day prior to a gig and don't drink alcohol before or while playing (I know, sorry!!) as it's well known to suck all the sugars out of the body and dehydrate you that way. It may well be also tensing up too much when digging in so try to play with relaxed fingers. Thinking about it, I've also felt it coming on when my playing hand arm is draped over the edge of the bass body too hard affecting things that way. I have tried the banana trick and I think it certainly helps to boost the system up. All I know is, it's an embarrassing state of affairs standing there like a silly billy trying to undo the stuck down digit while the others are rocking on!!

Play along to every genre of music even if you don't like it, learn where 3rds and 5ths are in major and minor chords on every fret, use a metronome once a month and record yourself. Don't feel you have to use all your fingers like the other guys - Jamerson used just one. Never assume you're okay, stay humble - every day's a school day.

Wire it in series. You won't look back. BIG sound.

OLP passive Stingray - great neck but a very bland and sleep inducing sound. Westone Thunder 1 - same as above. Yamaha RBX's - embarrassing looks and sound. Squier VM 5 string Jazz - a definitive case of try before you buy. (Bought it new blind online) Buzzy frets and horrid rubber band elephant fart B string. LTD B series of some description - let's just say I nearly cried, quietly rocking in a corner.

Yep. With a Jazz neck. Very near the Holy Grail.

Okay, had the cab apart and found the crossover circuit board cracked in two places probably due to abuse in it's past. Obviously this isn't sending a signal to the tweeter, so not knowing if the tweeter is even blown due to overloading without the correct frequency, I took the whole thing out and wired the 15" speaker direct from the input jack. FWIW, to my ears it doesn't seem to sound any different but at least I know all is well and doing what it should when my amp is plugged in.

If it's active, turn everything flat. Might be distorting the signal in E and low B.

Anyone happen to know if the speaker in a VX115 cab comes off of the crossover? Thing is, the horn in mine doesn't work and I just wondered if the 15" sounds the same with or without the crossover? I'm not a huge tweeter fan anyway, so I was looking at wiring up the speaker direct from the jack socket but if there's nothing from the crossover to the speaker anyway, then it saves me the hassle. Then again I might even just get another horn and learn to like the sound for the odd pop on some funk toons, Thomann does the exact Hartke unit for under £30 apparently.

Anyone happen to know if the speaker in a VX115 cab comes off of the crossover? Thing is, the horn in mine doesn't work and I just wondered if the 15" sounds the same with or without the crossover? I'm not a huge tweeter fan anyway, so I was looking at wiring up the speaker direct from the jack socket but if there's nothing from the crossover to the speaker anyway, then it saves me the hassle. Then again I might even just get another horn and learn to like the sound for the odd pop on some funk toons, Thomann does the exact Hartke unit for under £30 apparently.

I have to admit I've never felt happier with my strings and the whole sweet tone thing since I dropped from 45-105's to 40-100's. If you're not over the moon with the change, then go halfway with 45-65-80-100 to keep the thin side balanced.

I'm not at all sure about hanging my basses on wall hangers or best storing them in cases any more. I have kept two cheapie 'go to' guitars on the wall for a couple of years and my other two giggers in their cases. Lately, the two on the wall have both developed the dreaded 'ski jump' at the last frets above the neck joint even though they're never in direct sunlight or near a radiator. The radiator in the 'music room' is only half on at this time of year to keep all the gear from getting cold and tarnished or damp. My case bound basses are still absolutely bang on despite varying temperatures over the year and only require the usual rod tweak as they move a little in summer and winter. Anybody else come across this wall hanging thing or Is it coincidence or is there some scientific gravity reason?

I can only add to weird sounds by saying a cheapy old combo ( I bought for quieter rehearsals) speaker was buzzing/rattling on low notes. I removed the 12" speaker and after a bit of detective work discovered the yellow concertina bit that surrounds the voice coil should have a nice continuous bead of glue around around it and one small section wasn't stuck fast and was vibrating. A squirt of gorilla glue and for good measure a bead of wood glue around the rest of the 360 degrees sorted it completely.

Okay, I've got a feeling I'm going to answer my own question as I write this, but I've always played with the guitar's volume right up full. I've been buying and selling amps and combo's for yonks (what the hell are yonks anyway?) in pursuit of that 'live gig' d.i. clear vibe as all my ears hear from my backline rig, big or small, when in full flight is a burpy farty sound and not the nice clear fat notes I'm after. (Although it mysteriously sounds quite good again without the rest of band in the sound waves). I'm quite aware of the potential of the volume control as I also play lead and rhythm guitar and am perfectly aware of the dramatic difference between clean-ish chords turned down a quarter and whacking it up full to crunch to take a solo. So, what SHOULD I be doing with a bass guitar's volume control? Does anybody play anything less than full up? I've never actually tried it out as rehearsal time is precious and live is too dodgy to fart about.

I'm starting with this one....

I imagine I might have changed my mind if I had an active 'Ray and got an incredible sound but I'm just saying take a look at how many people USED to play one and moved on to other fine marques. Apart from the one or two mentioned, I haven't seen one being played on telly or live for ages. There must be a reason. Flea only used one because he once got them for free and The Chillies wouldn't be the same without that growl. Bernard Edwards started with one but moved on, John Deacon had one but moved on. Gail Ann Dorsey made Bowie's band sound phenomenal but then slipped into a Jazz. They really are great basses and sound brilliant but dare I say they somehow get a tad boring. Bit like a Telecaster guitar. Great, but they only do the one thing. Just sayin'.

None. Who's the last one you saw anywhere with one? Get an active Jazz. Can't go wrong. I had a passive 'Ray and it simply didn't fit sonically anywhere in our varied 50 odd covers sets except maybe two funk numbers.

Brasso and kitchen roll.

Go for a set of Roto's 40-125's for a cheap trial. I only play fours nowadays but after playing 40-100's for a while, I picked up a spare indoors with 45-105's and hated it!