Rich

+1 for the [url="http://wiki.basschat.co.uk/info:buying:strings"]wiki[/url] Long time ago, I used Rotos. They were great until I had a dead G straight out of the pack. Bought another set from a different shop, same thing. So I changed to Elites instead, used them for ages until bugger me if the same thing didn't happen again 2 dead Gs. Wandered in the string wilderness for a bit (tried Labella Slappers, hated them) until I started using Status Hotwires. They were brilliant, but then I found Warwick Red Labels. Not to everybody's tastes, but they're as cheap as blazes and I love 'em. The .130 B in particular is superb.

I play exclusively headed basses, but that's purely because I haven't got any headless ones I wouldn't object to one, have played them and quite like them -- the balance and weight improvements are great -- but as Mr.White mentioned above, at first there's an uncanny feeling that you're further up the neck than usual, so you'll find yourself accidentally playing things a couple of tones sharp for a while But yes, deffo try before you buy.

At this exact precise moment, it's 'Operation:mindcrime' by Queensryche.

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='244361' date='Jul 21 2008, 12:14 PM']I change my pants every day and my strings probably every 2 months thats almost 15% if my calculations are right. I am also planning on changing my Gas provider (real Gas) that should get it down to a modest 12.5% if interest rates hold again next month.[/quote] Do you find your pants are more zingy after you've boiled them?

I boil mine in water with a tiny bit of washing up liquid as a de-greaser (only a tiny bit mind, cos it goes mental when it's boiled), pat them dry with a tea towel and then a quick wipe down with some surgical spirit.

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='240256' date='Jul 15 2008, 05:57 PM']but does this work the other way round? For example, do Jazzers occasionally realise it could be beneficial to look outside their genre and take influences from elsewhere, and so listen to a bit of rock/metal/thrash etc?[/quote] It certainly does. At one time, all I'd listen to was jazz, fusion, acid jazz, funk, etc. You get the idea. But now my listening tastes are a hell of a lot wider... my walkphone is currently playing host to the likes of AC-DC, RATM and Static-X, for example.

[quote name='OldGit' post='238849' date='Jul 13 2008, 11:41 PM']I play for free sometimes too, I even shell out to drive 200 miles to play for free if the craic or cause is right 'cos I love playing. Originals, covers, jam sessions, guest spots, whatever The fees I earn from the band (after tax and expenses) just off set the costs of doing charity and free gigs and it's not my main source of income.[/quote]Hear hear, ditto, +1, and so on. I'm in a band of 13 so it has to be a substantial payday to cover more than my diesel and strings, but I'll do it every time because I love playing. That's all the "justification" you're going to get from me, "moral" or otherwise.

I can't imagine that Nilsson's "You're Breaking My Heart, So F**k You" would go down all that well...

Off-topic alert: Stug, do you own the Challenger in your avatar pic? If so, I'm about to call you a very rude name, preceded by the words "you lucky" End of off-topic bit. Sorry.

[quote name='ARGH' post='234700' date='Jul 8 2008, 07:59 AM']Im gonna take 6 months out,mothball my gear,think about my options ... probably quit...take the money and run.[/quote]May I be the first to say "FFS don't do it, you WILL regret it in the long run"..? OK. [size=3][b]FFS don't do it, you WILL regret it in the long run.[/b][/size] [quote name='thisnameistaken' post='237006' date='Jul 11 2008, 01:19 AM']Because when music is a "profession", by definition it means you'll play any old sh*te for the money. "Professional" musicians suck the soul out of music, and should be collectively bludgeoned to death by amateurs like myself who aren't willing (note: "able" is not an issue) to play weddings every weekend spewing out whatever sh*te the unwashed masses are eager to consume. I can't believe people can be smug about playing sh*te for a living. I may not make a living playing bass, but at least when I pick up a bass it's not to make money out of it. I still do it for the right reasons.[/quote]Oh for god's sake, we're not going to get sucked into the old "covers vs. originals" thing are we? Personally I can't believe how self-righteous and holier-than-thou some people can be about the whole idea of playing weddings or other functions, assuming that it's a case of just cranking the handle and turning out another cover and spending the whole gig just waiting for buggering-off-home time. Maybe some of us actually[i] like [/i]playing covers to a big eager crowd? At one date a couple of years back, we spewed out sh*te to an unwashed mass of 3000 people... their reaction & enthusiasm was better than sex. OK so I'm not actually a pro, but you're talking about the sort of stuff I (and an awful lot of enthusiastic players like me) play. If I give you my address, perhaps you'd like to pop round and try to bludgeon me to death? ARGH, mate I'm sorry for going so off-piste but I couldn't let that pass.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='95834' date='Nov 28 2007, 11:07 PM']Played: Awful black Hondo II (with action like Clifton suspension bridge)[/quote]Actually the Clifton has got a very good action. Brunel liked it quite low y'see, with a tiny bit of fret buzz First owned/played: this 1964 Hofner Artist 2. Still got it, hope one day to do a decent restoration job and get it fully playable again:

OK, so why the deltic diesel then? Are you a trainspotter on the quiet?

[quote name='Mokl' post='233470' date='Jul 6 2008, 10:05 AM']Glad your bass is okay too; having been an active bass user for a long time I always try to make sure that I have a spare PP9 in my gig bag.[/quote]+1 Damn right, I take about 10 of the buggers to every gig. You can never have too much money, too many pants or too many spare Duracells

The Jacksons 'I Want You Back' and 'ABC'. Wonderful stuff!

I had 1x15 and 2x10 cabs up until a while ago, but swapped the 2x10 for another matching 1x15. I have to say that I far prefer the 2x1x15 sound now... it's more rounded, less peaky, smoother, better bottom end (as you'd expect, I suppose) and far less directional.

[quote name='lmbalcao' post='230250' date='Jul 1 2008, 02:21 AM']Does any one use this pedal?[/quote] I've got the Headrush 1. [quote]The delay is good?[/quote] Yes, very. You can choose between normal delay and 'tape echo' too, very flexible. [quote]Can the delay and the looper be used at the same time?[/quote] If the 2 is anything like the 1, no.

Korg DT7 brilliant thing

I've just looked up 'integrity' in my thesaurus... one of the synonyms given is 'righteousness'. Judging by some of the posts here, it looks like it might be missing a 'self-'...

[quote name='bassace' post='208335' date='May 28 2008, 07:54 PM']The sad thing about basses, particularly URBs is that the guy sitting four metres away gets a better sound than the player does. Otherwise GAS would never arise.[/quote]Hah! ain't that the truth? Just love the sound of my Shuke 5... the Status is good, but the Shuke is just [i]ohhhhhhh[/i]... The only other thing I've played that's done that is Kiwi's Smith 5 through my old Eden head. That was a marriage made in heaven.

19-20mm for me. I like 'em wide. Which is odd when you consider what stupid stumpy little fingers I have.

[quote name='ead' post='203460' date='May 21 2008, 08:16 AM']Have you considered the "well you've only got 2 feet why do you need 28 pairs of shoes" argument? I tried it once...won't make that mistake twice. [/quote]And I am told that "Well, why do you need 20 huge skirts when you can only squeeze your arse into one at a time?" is to be avoided too :lol:

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='200113' date='May 16 2008, 07:44 AM']Lakland Darryl Jones[/quote]Ah yes, there's another one. P-T-P's white DJ5 is brilliant.

CK's Celinder. Fabulous instrument.

[list] [*][u]Nemesis #1: bass-phobic venues[/u]. There's a venue in Bristol -- I won't name it, but if I say it's on Gloucester Road and the name rhymes with 'Bomb', folks will know where I mean -- which has problematic neighbours and, as a consequence, a real bass phobia. Turning one's backline up to anything remotely audible is met with a frown and a barked request to turn the bass down. I have played several gigs there without being able to hear a single note I've played all night. I would sympathise with them on the neighbour thing, were it not for the fact that the owner of the place is a sad arrogant twonk who seems to think he's running Carnegie Hall, not some jumped-up wine bar in a dodgy part of town. My least favourite venue to play, in the known universe. [*][u]Nemesis #2: audience apathy, despite the fact that you're playing your bollicks off[/u]. Corporate gigs can be the worst. We played the Royal Bank of Scotland's annual awards dinner in Brighton last year... we were on straight after the speeches, which were straight after dinner... so by the time we came on, they'd been sat on their arses for ages and all they seemed to want was to get trolleyed... and the bar was in an annex to the main hall. So we played to maybe a dozen people. Oh well, it was a good payday and RBS put us up at the Hilton, so we treated it as a rehearsal and I just kept telling myself "X hundred quid and a free weekend away, X hundred quid and a free weekend away...". And we emptied the hotel mini-bars. [/list]