fatback

[quote name='PerryJ' post='865951' date='Jun 13 2010, 02:13 PM']I've been watching that one on e-bay. My trouble is location, I'm in North London and the bass is in Bradford.[/quote] Went for £355.

Thanks for all the great advice guys. Really helpful:)

I played a passive Wal Pro for years in the 90s. Beautifully made instrument, but /ducks and dons tin hat/ I never really liked it. Maybe the neck was too clunky for me after a Jazz. It was heavy too. Lovely sound though, and recorded wonderfully. A personal thing, a bass, innit?

Just bought a nice old Westone Thunder 1a from Nick. Lovely bloke to deal with, great communications, bass better than described, lightning fast delivery to the ends of the known world, and what packaging! If i had children and wanted to post them, I'd get Nick to do the packaging. I've seen Egyptian Mummies less carefully wrapped. Thanks, Nick. Pleasure doing business with ya.

Thanks Janmaat. That's exactly what I'll do. I had scoured all the db threads here, but mostly discussion about choosing between tlaminate and carved was on cost grounds, whereas i was more worried about practicality. Where I live, the nearest regular Jazz is 2 hrs away, and anyhow lord knows if i'll ever hit that standard. So i'm reckoning on starting with some bluegrass and country, maybe busking a bit for a laugh, and then getting some slapping together for a bit of rockabilly. Not too healthy an agenda for a quality instrument Sounds like if I got a better instrument in time, i could pimp the old one with a rockabilly setup and feel happy throwing it around. Now I'm all excited.

[quote name='fatgoogle' post='870723' date='Jun 18 2010, 12:54 PM']Ive got a hybrid, carved spruce top, solid maple back and laminate maple sides. And it sounds outstanding. My teacher was very impressed when i turned up with after replacing my awful antoni bass. Ive had no problems with changes in temperature, as we had quite a cold winter for once, and the sun is out know and its withstanding it all great. BTW i used to live in donegal, Convoy near letterkenny.[/quote] I'm probly just fussing too much But the whole db thing is a bit daunting. Wish i didn't like the sound so much. As for Donegal, love the place, but there aren't too many DBs and not many players either, I think. Best hope is to get an experienced player in Dublin to help me find a bass. Might have that sorted.

Best of luck and have a ball! We did our first gig, and my first for nearly 2 years, last week. Had a mighty blast and got a couple more gigs out of it. Gigging's a reminder of what it's all about

My old '68 Jazz, if i could find it. Never, never, never should have sold that lovely thing.

If you're me, the L-plates will never come off welcome to BC, Sam. Awfy nice and helpful bunch of folks here. You'll like it.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='870414' date='Jun 18 2010, 12:22 AM']TBH I think the setup and the strings are the main thing - get those right and most basses will sound good. Of course, like any acoustic instrument, when you spend more money you can hear what you're paying for and I can totally understand why a great bassist (or intermediate / aspiring great bassist) would want a beautifully voiced carved bass. But for me, I would be doing it a disservice, and doing it a fair amount of damage in the mean time. It's best that I have a used ply bass that's already had the finish scraped off on every bout. The sound is still impressive to me - I don't really know any better. [/quote] Do you have all ply or ply with carved top? Am I right a carved top is vulnerable too?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='870371' date='Jun 17 2010, 11:21 PM']I'm certainly no expert, but... I bought a ply bass because I decided it would be a fair while before I'd be making any beautiful noises with a double bass, and I was intending to use it for busking and playing old soul/rocksteady tunes more than jazz or whatever. So I thought if it sounds fairly good and I'm not going to wince every time I crack it on a door jamb or scrape it on a flag stone then that's what I need. Humidity is less of an issue for ply basses apparently. Carved basses - from what I've heard - can and do crack with heartbreaking regularity, especially if they aren't kept moist enough. But it's the bass drying out that is the biggest worry - winter is when the damage happens.[/quote] That settles it. Ply for me. I can't be bothered being precious about an instrument. It's why I never buy pristine bass guitars I'm not sure about low humidity - I have a feeling my house gets very very dry, but without measuring I can't be sure. Winters here can be dry with north and north west prevailing. I think I'm a ply kind of guy I guess there's good ply and bad ply too...

[quote name='fatgoogle' post='870140' date='Jun 17 2010, 07:14 PM']If your near wexford you can try mine out if you want. I play jazz and classical on the same bass, with the same setup.[/quote] I really appreciate the offer, thanks. Alas, I'm in Donegal. Not quite the furthest away i could be, but getting there Steevedie reckons slap and piz can be ok on the same bass, so that's one doubt laid to rest, although I imagine that the higher tension of the jazz setup would make for some painful slapping?. What about humidity and carved basses? And the business of suitability for outdoor playing / busking? I'd probably prefer to trade off quality a bit in exchange for less worry and hassle. Maybe I should agonise less and just go and buy the thing

[quote name='hubrad' post='869952' date='Jun 17 2010, 03:21 PM']I wouldn't particularly recommend mail ordering a DB, although some do. I'd play it first.[/quote] Depends on where you live Also, a real noob to db, like me, wouldn't know a good DB from a hole in the ground. Guess I wouldn't be alone in depending on the great advice here and then hoping for the best.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='869922' date='Jun 17 2010, 02:42 PM']As they say on Talk Bass, no pic no bass ;-)[/quote] I [i]want [/i] it to be real, therefore it [i]shall[/i] be real

Hi all, Trying to think through the big leap to DB, do I have to choose immediately between Rockabilly and Jazz/blues directions? First, is it best to learn Jazz style first? Second, a little research suggests that rockabilly db has different strings, different bridge height and maybe adjustable bridge, for starters. Is that right? Should I leave the rockabilly side until down the road a bit and then get a second db? I also noticed a comment here that if you mean to busk you should go laminated with the bass? Related to that, is changing humidity a big deal problem? I live by the sea, and it gets pretty damp Thanks for your thoughts. Starting DB is such a big step, i'd like to feel I'm getting off on the right foot.

Hugely informative thread - thanks to all

[quote name='Legion' post='869248' date='Jun 16 2010, 05:14 PM']I think they meant to point you here [url="http://www.bassic-bits.co.uk/"]OBBM[/url][/quote] Just got some leads from dave obbm, and they're spot on and very reasonable. Highly recommended.

[quote name='funkle' post='869203' date='Jun 16 2010, 04:28 PM']I got one from Proaudiostar. No problems, and it's done a fair few gigs. Pete[/quote] Thanks, good to know. It's a big saving. Just noticed your sig. great memories of living in 'Embra'.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='869112' date='Jun 16 2010, 02:54 PM']By 'vintage' I think they mean voiced in the vintage stylee. You get boost or cut at pre-specified points. The RH is semi-parametric - you can select the frequencies you want to boost ot cut.[/quote] Mmm. Makes me think I might get a B stock one in from the US. Proaudiostar seem good, and the price difference inc. footswitch is £380 even with postage. I can get VAT back if they charge me that, and I don't think import tax would be too much. Downside is the cost of returning it if it has a prob.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='869060' date='Jun 16 2010, 02:25 PM']You also get a much more versatile EQ with the RH450, and the fact it 'looks' a little more polished with the red LEDs, etc. I it were me, Id pick the RH450 time and time again. The features work really well.[/quote] Ah. I didn't check the EQ. TC call the Classic's EQ 'vintage', whatever that means and don't say anything more. Does that mean they're passive and the RH450s are true EQ? But it doesn't look like the RH450's are parametric (or are they?). If they were, that would matter to me. I might well need parametric for feedback control if I bite the bullet and get an upright. Not bothered about the look; or at least i'm not willing to pay that much for it Thanks for your help. Big decision for me

Classic vs RH450, am I right the only differences are the built in tuner and the 3 presets? Tubetone and compressor seem the same. I'm asking because the price difference at Thomann is now 985 euro vs 639 euro, and that's before you ad 170 euro for the rh450 footswitch. Altogether a gobsmacking £430 sterling extra for the presets with footswitch. My main reason for wanting the 450 in the first place is so i don't have to carry valve and compressor pedals. So if the two models are the same in that department... Or would I regret not having the bells n whistles? Help, girls and boys! Decision time looming.

[quote name='Doddy' post='854132' date='Jun 1 2010, 09:16 PM']There are a load of cool transcriptions of basslines by guys like 'Duck' Dunn,Jerry Jemmott, Rocco Prestia and others here..... [url="http://pagesperso-orange.fr/freebasspart.pv24/Bass_Players.htm"]http://pagesperso-orange.fr/freebasspart.p...ass_Players.htm[/url][/quote] Wow, what a resource. Thanks for the link

Any suggestions about which is the best soft for doing chord charts with just the occasional sections notated? Will this one do it?

[quote name='machinehead' post='860570' date='Jun 8 2010, 12:03 AM']I have a Markbass 121P and it is a decent and loud combo for rehearsals and small pubs. Weighs about 29 lbs. I also have a Barefaced Midget and LM II amp. The Midget and LM II weighs in at about 26 lbs so it's lighter than the 121P. It's also easier to carry due to the shape. The big difference is in the sound, with the Midget sounding much bigger, louder and deeper than the 121P. Both are decent rigs but the Midget would be easily the better of the two. And since you already own a LM 3............ Frank.[/quote] Very interesting to hear this. I'm contemplating a Midget with an LMII or RH450 but was a wee bit worried about the 'bigness' or otherwise of the sound. Reassuring.