Dom in Dorset

I used to have a budget short scale acoustic that was louder than my Ibanez. the downside was unneven tone and response when plugged in. It had a clanky acoustic sound that could cut through anything. The best good tone/good volume acoustic bass that I've tried is an Eko: www.nevadamusic.co.uk/.../sc1111.aspx a natural finish version of the one on this page.

despite the lack of truss rod it looks far too stylish to be a Tonika! Check out some of the delights here: [url="http://www.junkguitars.com/pictures.html"]http://www.junkguitars.com/pictures.html[/url]

I drool over Godin solid body basses too. I haven't actually left any drool on that one thogh.

I drool over Godin acoustics. This one is over your budget but there may be others : [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/godin-a4-sa-fretless-synth-access-bass-guitar-natural--49726"]http://www.dv247.com/guitars/godin-a4-sa-f...-natural--49726[/url] I made myself a shallow body acoustic fretless inspired by Godin and it's my most used bass. Also are you so sure about wanting to play fretless that you'd get you nice familiar jazz de-fretted? I'd think about getting a cheap fretless to see how I got on.

these guys have washburn necks : [url="http://www.brandoniguitars.co.uk/necks.asp"]http://www.brandoniguitars.co.uk/necks.asp[/url] Note: I have never dealt with them , know nothing about them.

62 P bass, autographed by leo fender, owned by Dave Pegg, looks nice too. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300429183131&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT#ht_723wt_948"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...IT#ht_723wt_948[/url]

It sounds like the only part you can save is the body! Have a look at this : [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CH-GUITARS_Necks_W0QQ_fsubZ11QQ_sidZ55431421QQ_trksidZp4634Q2ec0Q2em322"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CH-GUITARS_Necks_...634Q2ec0Q2em322[/url] i've bough loads of stuff from them, their service is great. i suspect that their pick ups aren't much better than the ones on your no name , but the necks are good, bodies look good. I've also had bridges, machines etc, all good.

what are the white dots next to the pots for? Beautiful bass, love the T birdesque headstock.

The Ibanez isn't that loud unplugged. I had a cheap nasty no name with a smaller body that was a bit louder but very clunky. I've tried an Eko that was fairly loud. Many years ago (10?) I tried some in a shop in Brighton. They had about 5 acoustics, two Fenders (not the Kingma) stood out from the rest (acoustics were still a bit of a rarity then) one was natural finish , the other black. The black one was significantly louder. The heavy finish must have had an influence.

I must admit I'd go for the Fender if I had the cash , i've not tried one but on paper it looks good. The ibanez looks and sounds great but it does require a bit more work to play.

5 strings, 6 pick ups, the man is a genious. I always play Big Bottom and Tonight I'm Gonna Rock you (Tonight) at sound checks. I'm mostly in the folk world ,it always gets a laugh from the sound man.

I've got an Ibanez AEB 8E? it's the cheapset one they do it's about £199 these days , it's great. They do loads of other models ,my experience with their cheapie leads me to think that their top end models must be pretty good. [url="http://www.ibanez.com/AcousticGuitars/Series-aeb"]http://www.ibanez.com/AcousticGuitars/Series-aeb[/url]

She'll need someone in the band who can remind her to breath every now and then.

In my experience quality kit takes less fiddling to get a good sound in the studio.

I think this rule applies to many things , not just bass : every degree of improvement requires a larger amount of money than the previous one. ie - you spend increasing amounts of money chasing ever smaller improvements, but if you've just got to have that perfect "whatever" you'll find a way of paying for it. My most used rig: 300W Laney Combo (£200 second hand) , Home made acoustic fretless (£150 ish)

acoustics are great to leave around the place to pick up now and then to get a bit of extra practice, just pick it up and play.

I did it using ordinary pliers, I warmed the frets up first with a hot bit of metal (some say use a soldering iron) they popped out quite easily, no significan damage to the board. If you do the suger glue coating , do it out side wear a mask. The fumes are noxious X 10.

I've done a couple of de-frets , the first I filled with super glue and wood dust , the second I glued in strips of veneer. the second one is far neater , i've also put a super glue coating on it , four layers, cut it back and polished it with T cut. I haven't played on it yet.

for many years I only had one bass- Hohner Steinberger 5 string stick. after a few years lay off from bass I'm back and more interested in different types of bass, tones, pick up combos etc. I now own three and i'm building a fourth. Having realised that the Hohner wasn't the bass for me I'm determinned to play the field before I settle down with one (maybe two) (or three) basses again.

his stuff does look great, if I was spending that kind of money I would want to call in and try the bass in person.

I've bought stuff from this guy before, nothing but praise for him. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/No15-Alder-2-1kg-jazz-bass-electric-Guitar-body_W0QQitemZ140390049801QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item20afe62809"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/No15-Alder-2-1kg-jaz...=item20afe62809[/url]

I'm always impressed with Ibanez stuff, I don't know what this one is like but it's £135 new [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Ibanez-GSR180-Bass-Guitar-Black/7TI"]http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/...uitar-Black/7TI[/url] It's got Jazz style pick ups, I don't know if they do a P bass model (I think JJ Brunell's sound is done with a P bass)

[url="http://www.myspace.com/backbeforebreakfast"]http://www.myspace.com/backbeforebreakfast[/url] - I seem to have been lost in the mix, but this is one of my bands. [url="http://www.myspace.com/4greenangels"]http://www.myspace.com/4greenangels[/url] - I joined this band last year , love it. A ll recordings feature the previous bassist on upright bass. I play acoustic fretless in this band. [url="http://www.myspace.com/dominicallanbagpipes"]http://www.myspace.com/dominicallanbagpipes[/url] - what i do when I'm not playing bass.

Hi John, I'm just thinking some packets of strings, leeds, stands and a few cheap basses, they aren't a high end specialist. i'll talk to the guy on thursday, lert you know. I'm not involved in the acoustic night anymore, it's still going but I'm not (politics) There is a new music night at the Castle on friday nights, I'm not always there but one of my bands are semi regulars there.

I've got nothing on that day, are you still interested in some sort of trade stand from a (semi) local music shop?