3below

Two non musical events. At uni, a friend had crash, hit in back of head by AA book of road from rear parcel shelf. Not good. Many years later I had crash. Spare starter motor in back of VW estate, by seat bases, so well out of way (not). It went out of back side window, ended up well away from car. To this day I thank whoever, no one else hit by it or me. Surprise, surprise I always lash kit down these days.

Showing my age, Route 66, so simple, so powerful, is just a great song.

Met Nick today, good chat about kit. Bought Em 3015 from him. An excellent guy, and he will go the extra mile. Best regards. Francis.

I thought I was doing well with the £130 Warwick rockbass corvettes (TI flats cost £50 on the 5er, worth nearly 1/2 the bass). However now seriously undertaken in the low zone. Nice basses are nice, but I veer to the Robin Trower philosphy, if it gets nicked, stolen, broken, whatever I want to be able to replace it easily (and in my case affordably).

In a similar but related scenario. I had a BF Big One, loud with Peavey tour 700, about 500W to 600W into Big One. Yes I know Watts does not equal loudness, I am a Physicist / Engineer in day job. I always felt I wanted a Crown/QSC 2KW power amp with Big One, low, loud and clean. Moving on, courtesy of Rasta (excellent chap) I came by a BF Dubster. The second 3015LF makes a noticeable difference. Yes the amp gives more power - 700W at 4 ohms, but the whole setup just seems to give more. Has stopped feeling the need for 2KW power amp. Incidentally, Alex's website states Dubster lacks treble, I do not find this so, seems to have plenty of twang and clank if I need it. Two Eminence 3015LFs or 3015 in correct cab - bass players dream.

Started aged 13/14, real cheap crap bass bought Gibbo EB2 by 15 from gigs failed A levels spectacularly but played 4 nights per week aged 16 to 19 peak playing period aged 19 to 27 career intervenes dabble to age 46, bolloxed wrist, for while thought was all over, however start again now playing and am much better now than I was then, more 'musical' less technique lol currently aged nearly 54, so 40 years experience and still learning biggest problem is memory, have never been good at remembering complex chord structures in songs greatest laugh, can afford expensive kit but best bang per buck, warwick rockbass corvette £130, nuts good for the money. Biggest regret(s) - Hiwatts, Marshalls, Acoustic 370 etc amps owned, many good basses as well, if kept, what an investment. Hindsight, perfect and useless.

4 ~ 5mm just fine, but I am a hard hitter on strings and double bass playing has made this more so. I also find that as you lower the strings at a certain point the tone just drops off. In my youth, when low action was aim of the game, my Fender precision was just amazing. Have never got a bass that low since but am no longer bothered.

My previous Barefaced Big one with Peavey Tour 700.... loud, very loud. Now with Barefaced Dubster I can make walls shake in hall with 1000+ bodies. Can also make the concrete floor vibrate 2 or 3 m away from speaker. Seems adequate, but the Crown XTi 4000 is calling As an afterthought, the tone is superb with any bass I have used so far.

Depends what you want to do. I have an ancient EKO (34 yrs with me?), built like a b.. s...house. Low acoustic volume compared to upmarket kit, but has proved indestructible. The plus is, when fitted with a Jazz bass pick up in sound hole . The negative - try finding a case. Final plus, when they turn up, excellent prices If you want to amp up, buy cheap and see what you think. For nice acoustic tones either dig deep in wallet or get lucky with cheapy.

Basses of my youth, before we could afford Antoria copies, before getting the real thing. About the same quality as my first Kay (Woolies plywood 1" thick body, plywood neck - not bad surprsingly). There is [b]much[/b] better value elsewhere!

The alternative take. Rockbass Corvettes at silly money £130. Quality, playability and sound seem second to none, dare I say it every bit as good as my G&L (and any other USA bass I have owned from the 3 major players). Absolute bargains to be had in hard times.

Just seen these on the bay [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Jazz-Bass-pickups-/120936987755?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c2867fc6b#ht_500wt_951"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Jazz-Bass-pickups-/120936987755?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c2867fc6b#ht_500wt_951[/url] could be worth watching? nothing to do with me in anyway btw.

Strings spot on, well packed and arrived safe and sound. Many thanks and great communication. Thanks Francis.

Did not in the end, found a set of emgs on here for £50 ish. My take with wilkin sons was, same construction and design goals as vintage Fender, they make good value kit, got to be worth a try..

Be careful when buying Wilkinson Vintage J's on internet at that price - what I got was the lower price version with ceramic magnets not alnico slugs despite being advertised as Vintage J's - returned but was annoying. Do not remember seller sadly.

Beg or borrow and try a different pickup system. I use a Schaller on my db. Can get immense volume with no feedback (but I might just be lucky).

£820 hmm, I will stick to ebay Chinese Warwick Rockbasses at £130 or so. No danger of overpayment lol, quite the opposite

looks nice for current bid anyway £16. You never know though ???

Excellent - strings arrived next day as promised, super communication. Many thanks John.

Good low b must be the key, tone and tension. Must be achievable with readily available strings at sensible prices. Must work with all 3 flavours - flat, round and inbetweenies. I find Rockbass Corvettes are outstandingly good value. Avoid neck dive at all costs please and keep the weight down. What about the 35" or 36" 5er? Must be within the bound of possible to make one body and neck that can deal with 3" scale difference by bridge position. The dots on neck are just cnc program depending on production run. I can live with less than 2 octaves on the longer scale version.

String spacing with right hand is still causing some entertainment for my band. Plus my inability to remember where notes are. I am surprised how much the slightly closer string spacing has thrown me. Reality is I need to practice, not more, but actually do some