Simon C

I take 2 - usually a fretted and a fretless. If I don’t need the fretless then I take my fretted short-scale as a spare to the main fretted one. A couple of times people have asked me what the difference (other than the colour) is. I have both basses plugged in to a switch on my pedal board. I also change the compressor settings, but that is quick. So a bass change is quick and non faffy. I do need to balance the volume of the basses in sound check as the fretted bass has higher output than the fretless - other than carrying more kit that’s about the closest I get to a faff. For Jam Night I only take the shortscale, but as there are 4 or 5 other bass players there I assume we’d just offer each other use of our basses in the event of one breaking mid gig. So yeah, I’m a have a spare man.

I think I've navigated Christmas successfully. The only music thing I was given was a book with Green Day bass scores. I'll claim immunity under the “Educational purchases, ie tutorial books, lessons, anything that furthers your playing is permitted” allowance on the basis that I've only ever played “ Basket Case” and "American idiot“, that I played both from chord sheets (and didn’t play as per the score, so it has already educated me) and that I didn’t tune down for “ Basket Case". Here's a picture of "Basket Case“ score ( just to show it does exist and in case anyone wants to take it to a judicial review 😁). I'm confident about the next week😜

That’s some going Gary. 5 basses in a year. That’s more than I’ve bought in my life (3 I think). If I add in keyboards, pianos, guitars, drum kits (multiple cymbals counting as 1 kit) and a cahon I think my life time instrument purchases just about manage to double your 2023 acquisitions (and 5 of them were for my kids). I think I’ll store your 2023 story up to relate to my missus when a new bass adorns the remaining hanger over the piano. Top job.

Things to do 1) Drop it in to conversation with anyone who might otherwise demand a full public enquiry when kit unexpectedly appears next year 2) Ask the 2023 gear abstinence thread if you can either join retrospectively or be made an honorary member for the rest of the year - I think you might boost the number who are still “in” by 50% 3 ) When you’ve done both of the above, do a bit of accounting and carry forward the budget to next year

Best: a set of strings. Worst: the same set of strings I’m still in the gear abstinence thread. Unlike some of the naughty people above who joined and are now owning up to a music store and a half of gear purchases (we know who you are )😜 They (I.e the strings not the naughty people, who I’m sure a fine upstanding people in real life) were much closer to “worst” than ”best”. They pretty much made my fretless unplayable. They will get a reprieve on my short scale at some point. Only 2.5 weeks to go.

Only one month to go ( how exciting 😁), albeit a difficult one if your family buy you music gear (mine do). I managed to get through the SE Bass Bash in November unscathed. The raffle was an obvious banana skin that I planned for in advance - hand a strip’s worth of money over but politely refuse said strip (I bet you didn’t know that went on at bass bashes matron) - a shame as there were some good prizes.

I grew up not far from Penistone. I drive through it most times I go to see my parents. I’d never noticed the school kid giggle potential until 5 minutes ago. 😂

Another good night at McCafferty’s in Epsom. We played better last month but I think the songs we played are all ones we can use again. As usual most of the other bands were good. I managed to plug into a guitar amp. It sounded a bit farty on stage, but apparently sounded ok out front and sounds ok in the video.

Yes a great day. Thanks to everyone involved in arranging it and making it a fun day. I thought I’d share this, not because it’s me playing Betsy, but because of what she did to my bass face: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Czk-VZiBxAQ/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ== I’ve been trying to smile for years whilst playing bass. Job done.

I’ll have my Sire V7 fretless with me (it’s lined with a coated ebony board). I’ve recently done a bit of set up on it (much improved sound), tried new strings, had a lesson to improve vibrato, and a play with the preamp (aka uneducated faffing). So you are welcome to listen to me boring (ahem….enthusing) you with my lack of knowledge and even greater lack of playing skill, or you can have a play, or both.

Our set seemed to go down well at last night’s Jam Night - the crowd joining in and plenty of good comments. We had 2 or 3 new bands turned up, including one from one of the local sixth form colleges for whom it was only their 2nd time playing live. It’s good to see kids performing live and looking like they are enjoying it. Which is more than can be said for me in this one - I was having to concentrate too much on the bass line, so forgot to provide much in the way of backing vocals and didn’t manage to smile once😃😃😃. https://youtu.be/n_CpuEX8P3g?si=2NKuvaoqPktgdt8q

I think the EHB1000S sounds pretty uninspiring in passive mode. To my ear using the active EQ improves the sound considerably, to the extent that I'd say it sounds good and makes me want to play the instrument. However, if between us we have moved the argument from "Which pick-ups should I install in place of the dark/ dull / woolly (insert your own adjective) Barts?" to "Does the bass sound best in passive or active" then I think we've probably done the bank balance of fellow players a favour 🙂 .

I think the pick ups are BH2s not MK1s. I assumed they are humbuckers, but I'm not sure where I got the info from. This link says they are BH2s: https://www.ibanez.com/eu/products/detail/ehb1000s_1p_02.html

There’s been a fair bit of chat on this thread, other sites and in video reviews about the different pick ups available for these basses. I’m posting this one so people can hear what is achievable with the stock Bartolinis. This is the EHB1000S, so the shortscale. The on-board eq is active, a bit of bass boost, low mids boosted a bit, treble boost most (but not all), the way. The pick up blend is centered. I’ve some compression on, but really just to clean up my playing. I have a bit of drive on from my Spectradrive - not much, but enough to get the top end just breaking up. The eq on the Spectradrive is set flat. So not too much processing after the instrument, though the drive is undoubtedly contributing to the sound. if you want to avoid listening to me talking, the playing starts at about 1:45. And in case you don’t listen to me, the reason it’s not the full song is I was struggling with an RSI at the time I recorded it. I’ve posted this as I think it may be a useful contribution - hopefully I don’t unintentionally send us off topic.

@Velarian I see you are located in West Yorkshire. I grew up there. Do you think our lack of purchases may have more to with our fabled deep pockets and short arms rather than will power? (Short arms aren’t great on a bass player).

3rd quarter gone and I’m still in. I nearly fell off the waggon as I had a Saturday with no one around and was planning a trip to the Bass Gallery in London. But I didn‘t go. I am enjoying using and experimenting with all the kit I do have. I even had a fretless lesson the other day. So just Christmas to navigate now. Ooh, and the SE Bass Bash. Is anyone else still in?

I’m a “hope to be there”. It’s on the calendar but there are a couple of health issues with a family member, that may intervene. I’ve added my gear in the list below. It was pretty much a copy paste from last year as I’m still going strong on the 2023 gear abstinence thread 😀. So only a looper pedal and a page turner to add (I got those for Christmas so prior to the abstinence thread). Hopefully I’ll be able to come along and generate some GAS for the New Year sales. 1. @cetera - Charvel 3B, ESP Surveyor '87, Fender FSR PJ Precision, Hamer Impact, Italia Imola, Spector NS2, Spector Euro, Spector EuroX (Spectorbird), Spector Pulse II, Spector Dimension 4HP, Gallien Krueger 400RB & Legacy800 heads, GenzBenz Neox 2x12 cab 2. @TheGreek - All short scale this year - a @Jabba_the_gut scale 5er, Mini Ray, Short scale P bass 3. @Harlequin74 - Zoot Performer, Status Shark, Spector QV4 , Markbass TTE501 and Matching CAB. Maybe the Lehle Basswitch… 4. @Frank Blank - @Jabba_the_gut short scale fretted and fretless, JMJ Mustang, QSC K12.2, Grace Design Alix 5. @TrevorR - Mk 1 Wal, Wal Pro IIE, Aria SB700, Frankenjazz, pedals and MarkBass LMII & Traveler 2x10 6. @bnt - travelling light, probably a couple of pedals such as T-Rex Diva Drive, Orange KongPressor 7. @bass_dinger - 1999 Washburn XB500, 1994 Washburn XB500, Washburn XB925 in zebrawood, Washburn XB925 in bits, Boulder Creek 5 string (likely to be for sale), SWR Workingmans 12. 8. @greentext- 2008 Spector NS4-H2, 2015 Sandberg VS4, 2000 Trace Elliot T-Bass, my pedalboard and my tin of picks 😈 9. @prowla - Probably a couple of Rickenbackers and some interesting oddities. Amp-wise a Markbass EVO and a 1x12 (last year I bought some others to try and never switched them on, as the EVO sounded spot-on). 10. @SuperSeagull - Status S2, Feline P Bass, Modded Fender Lyte, Flea Jazz, MB Combo 11. @Merton - various short and medium scale ACGs, Zoots and Conway basses, Barefaced cabs, modern Trace Elliot amps 12. @MacDaddy - Shuker (probably no3), Snapdragon Folding Bass, possibly a Rob Allen Mouse. 13. @neilp - matching pair of fretted and fretless 1980 Aria SB1000s, possibly my fretless Wal mk1, Ashdown ABM500/Ampeg 4x10, Tech 21 Bass Fly Rig 14. @NickD - Strunal Schonbach 5 String DB, and whatever else I can shoehorn in the car around it... hopefully a MD CMD121 H, Zoom B6, and maybe a Maruszczyk Jake and a Shuker Series 2. 15. @WalMan - converted Wal Pro, Zon Legacy Elite, Status S2, G&L L2500 fretless, McMillen 12Step & DSI MoPho, Two Notes Bass Revolt, Trondheim Audio SkarBassOne, BackBeat2 (and my BackBeat1 will probably be available for sale). 16. Darkglass Microtubes500 and one of the Barefaced cabs. All depends how late I leave and what will fit in the new car 🚙 😁 16. @Smanth - With my small, light, battery powered gear (mostly) ... IBBY-Ibanez GSRM25 5 str sub short scale, 'ELIMA - Kala California 5 str fretless ubass, QUINN- HB 5 Str Fretless, MOD Dwarf based pedalboard, Boss Dual Cube Bass LX. (Also some toys to sell) 17. @Jean-Luc Pickguard - NS Design CR5M, Squier Bass VI, Roland MicroCube Bass RX and some pedals. 18. @tauzero - the basses that @TheGreek made me buy (handmade 6-string headless, Pedulla 6 fretless), Roland GR-55, one or two Seis, anything else that occurs to me, Mrs Zero (probably) 19. @Stingray5 - EBMM Stingray 5, a trio of Tunes i.e. TWB-6, TWB-4z, SWV4-BB, Boss GT-6B, Eden EC180 combo. 20. @rumblefish - Reverend Rumblefish, GB basses, Mesa Walkabout amp, Vanderkley 112 MNT. 21. @Paul S - might be space for a shorty? If not never mind. I have nothing of interest 22. @bassace97 - Musicman stingray basses, Fender Mustang bass, Pedalboard and my Mesa TT800 + SL112 cabs 23. @BillyBass - Reverend Decision P, Gallien-Krueger Fusion S1200 and Barefaced Midget 24. @silverfoxnik - some basses and noise amplifying boxes. 25. @Simon C : G&L L2000 Tribute, Sire V7 Fretless, Ibanez EHB1000S Headless Shortscale. Various pedals (switch, tuner, Hypergravity compressor, Laney 85 Bass Octave, Bass Clone Chorus, Spectradrive, Ditto+ looper pedal and a Bluetooth page turner). Carlsboro Colt Keyboard Amp.

I can imagine it’s not something one forgets in a hurry.

Another fun Jam Night at McCafferty’s in Epsom. The drummer (Paul) is a regular but it was the first time we’d played with him. It was the first time the singer (Vicky) had been with us since May. The 1 fingered salute was in the 1st song, so I assume it wasn’t aimed at us 😀. (It’s the 1st time I’ve used the Vimeo editor, so please excuse the rather uninspiring transitions and text). And I do agree with @Cat Burrito a few pages back about musicians arriving late and disappearing early. Apart from it not being supportive of fellow musicians, they are missing out on some cracking entertainment.

Thanks for posting the video. It’s good to see footage of people playing. And good to hear pubs in my hometown are putting on live music.

I play in a venue with a small stage. I use a short scale headless at that venue. It’s not quite the same as your situation in that we do have a stage, but it does mean the stage is less cramped and I can face the audience directly (rather than having to stand at a funny angle). And, very importantly, I don’t need to worry about wacking the singer on the back of the head.

I read the stuff above about contributing to society. I think the Jam Night I go to does that. Bands and punters all mixed in together having a laugh, a sing, a few drinks a laugh and maybe a dance. The format makes it so easy to do, because if you aren’t playing then you are one of the punters. Everyone seems to have a smile on their face - a proper “feel-good” night. This is us playing basket case.

A “cacophony”? A “mix”? A “compression”?

I was a Newbie last time, so don’t have the main hall for comparison. I think part of the problem was the choices we then made in setting up. In some part that may have been me getting there shortly after @Hamster and @cetera and making the 1st choice of room. I originally set up in the refectory as it was one of the bigger rooms. Then it started pissing it down and was really noisy on the roof, so I moved to one of the smaller rooms. A lot of us ended up in the smaller rooms. Maybe we’d have been better off making more us of the hall where you set up @prowla and the refectory - it didn’t rain all day and I’m fairly confident it would have been easier to hear kit in the refectory than it proved to be in the 2 smaller rooms.

My end Q2 report: I took the fretless in for the “how to spend the Guitar Guitar voucher I was given for my birthday” set-up. The guitar tech said it was well set up, so just try different strings. The cobalt strings didn’t work for me, as they had too much friction for slides - so the chromes are back on it. I liked the sound though so they’ll get on my shortscale some time this year - so I think this just counts as an early replacement string buy. I bought a new watch as suggested by @neepheid somewhere on page 8 of this thread. I gave the Lego a miss though Neepheid 😊. I tried out a few Fenders from both the US and Mexico (not really doing it for me) and a Yamaha BB434. The Yamaha did do it for me, but I’d still pick my G&L L2K over it, so I don’t think it is an imminent risk. One of the inputs has gone on my audio interface but unless I start recording bass or keys and vocals in the same take I don’t need 2 inputs, so can’t justify that on replacement of broken gear. I’ve just been told I will get a bonus in July. It isn’t enough for a new Ferrari or even a Fodera, but it will cover a number of the other boutique bass makers. I haven’t really thought of anything I “need” skiing or cycling wise so the bonus is the risk. Maybe I’ll just bank it, do a bit of research (whilst still enjoying my existing gear) and decide whether to order it in early January. For dramatic effect I could even join the 2024 gear abstinence thread then exit early doors with a picture 😀. Summary: The new strings will get used this year Watch bought; Lego declined Bonus a likely problem but a plan to deal with it. Who else is still in?