4 Strings

Good ole Hartke 3500, go for a song secondhand, but has a fan. I would recommend them without reserve (apart from the fan). I must admit I never notice the fan, apart from if practicing at home and I switch it off!

Just use one ear to monitor you bass and one open to the gig. Its not ideal (but then neither is the situation!) but you'll get some of your bass and can have your own control of how much etc. The in-ear phones leak so if really needed you can pop in the other one. Can't you even fit in a little 1x12 and lift it up?

Well, thought I'd report back on what happened. The space is used as a church which, perhaps is why all this came about as the drums were in a totally enclosed booth (complete with lid) a fan and an air con unit. The main problem was trying to get a click track to the drummer along with monitoring (as all he will hear are deafening drums in there!). The sound guys failed at this. The in-ear mix was split in two so we couldn't have our own mix. This and the bass sounding like a *art out of the PA, which was not a particularly powerful system, was the end. Took an hour to get this far, but it was with much relief that the decision was made to go with backline. Didn't relieve the poor drummer though who had to make do with just an in-ear click, deafening drums and watching the singers jaw movements in order to keep up with where we were in the gig. Rather smelled too. We got through it ok but a gig the following evening with a pro theatre sound guy and normal foldback and backline was like a breath of fresh air. Conclusion for me, in-ear might be fine for pantos etc but for something needing more of a performance it didn't work. Giving sound men total control instead of having a great performance is, for me even as a punter, an easy choice.

[quote name='Stuee' post='1101451' date='Jan 24 2011, 09:55 PM']I can tell you from experience that in-ear-monitoring (without an amp) in a live situation (or any for that matter) SUCKS for bass. There are so many things about it that I dislike anyway (some down to personal preference, some practicality, some vibe-related, + the fear of being deafened), but the main thing that is more specific to bass is that without an amp or decent monitor you can't [b]feel[/b] anything, and we all know you have to feel bass, not just hear it. One thing you could do, if the engineer is up for it, is augment your in-ears by having a sub unit on stage with you. This won't interfere with any live mic's but it should at least let you feel a little of what you're doing. Worth talking to him about it anyway.[/quote] Exactly my feelings. I want to feel the drums too. I hope there will be compromise (the singer/leader/keyboard player is up for it, but then he would be). Guitar feedback for shipwreck endings are going to be fun. Its a small venue which will run perfectly well with backline and maybe some reinforcement for the bass drum. If I was the sound man I couldn't help but turn the front of house off and watch the band grooving out to the sound of plectrums on strings!

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1101434' date='Jan 24 2011, 09:46 PM']Absolutely great for vocals. Not so great for bass if you're used to conductive hearing through your body! It's going to work better for a toppier sound, so it depends on your tone. Those things like the Tecamp Pleasure Pump are quite an interesting solution.[/quote] I'm not going to google for that.

Used to have Kimono My House years ago. Wish I still did. Must admit, I thought they were Aussies.

Now I can appreciate in- ear monitoring for vocals but has anyone had to play with in-ear monitoring instead of using backline amps? I have such a gig on Friday. Is this sound man control gone mad? I can't imagine rocking out to my own little headphone world. Guitars certainly won't be getting any feedback! What's next, taking headphones to watch too, doing away with the whole amps thing altogether and enjoying a perfect mix? Upon argument we've been asked to give it a try before using our backline. Drums are behind shields so we'll still need 'phones for those. Rather than completely miked up kit and sending a signal back to us I'm hoping to be able to just remove the screens. Anyone else had to play like this?

[quote name='henry norton' post='1090297' date='Jan 15 2011, 12:04 PM']+1 on that, or moreover, a manufacturer like Fender would want a buyer to think the woods used in their expensive (US) ranges are sooo much better than the woods used in bulk by indifferent factory workers churning out Squiers in China. Same as someone who spends 3 grand on a multi laminated custom thru neck will want to 'hear' a big difference between that and the 200 quid production bass they used to play. It's mostly in the mind - mostly.......[/quote] Totally agree, but let's not forget that even US made Fenders are mass produced and, while based on an inspired and classic design, do not receive the same attention as the bespoke luthiers. Not sure the typical Mexican worker in the US factory is any less indifferent than a factory worker anywhere else in the world.

[quote name='squire' post='1081805' date='Jan 8 2011, 09:07 AM'][/quote] Wow, perfect. You got any more pics for us to drool over?

Always have boiled strings, still do, once a year. Never throw away old strings. I thought that the heating process may have put back some of the elasticity to the steel which helped bring them back to life (as well as degreasing them). Works fine but, as other have said, not like real new strings and they go off after a shorter while. Me? I just boil them up again. (Actually, bit less poor now, for my prime bass just one boil and then replacement.) I also found that they seem to be a little more brittle, whether that's the destressing/stressing process of taking them off and putting them on or the heat I don't know. Can't remember the last time a string broke though. Never had any rust appear either, but slowly lose the binding.

Speakers can make the biggest difference to your sound of all the components in your sound train. I'm behind the times, I'm sure, but I'm enjoying my Hartke 2.5 more than ever, not comfortable with anything else.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1081691' date='Jan 8 2011, 12:14 AM']Can't you ask for the serial number?[/quote] Yes, I've now got a 'phone no., but, to be honest, I wasn't going to bother if it clearly isn't a made in US. This will be the second, another owner stated clearly in an ad that it was US made, then when it came to it it was Mexican. Some people get a little odd when challenged about where their guitar was made. (And, to be frank, I feel a little anal about it, but the price difference is marked) My little Google session seemed to show Arctic White being a Mexican colour and Olympic White being American (Olympic being a little more creamy than Arctic) Is that Olympic or Arctic in your little signature pic?

I'm interested in a Fender Jazz for a bargain price, Arctic White, owner says US made. However, a Google search came up with loads of Mexican Jazzes that colour but not MIA. Is there anyone who knows about colours etc can let me know if Arcti White is a US made colour? All else I know i a rosewood fingerboard. Its a bit of a journey to find an MZ serial no. (Nothing against Mexican basses, a blind test in a shop resulted in one being favoured, but this one wouldn't be a bargain if Mexican) thanks

Playing days over? Really? No chance of a return? I've had so many expected retirements but, at 51 I'm playing more now than ever before. Buy your sexy model for the bedroom but don't let go of a good gigging bass, you never know.

Such a great finish and colour in those earlier pics great stuff. Just a little thing, did you mask off the dates and stamps in the neck pocket? Be a shame to lose that little bit of history. No idea how you get the finish so flat and shiny no doubt lots of elbow grease but very skilfully done.

I know they're cheap and so may be poo-pooed but Hartke give hi-fi type sound from their XL range. A 4.5XL, complete with 5" and ports etc go s/h for not much more than £100. Check one out. If you're going extreme the amp matters, of course, and the leads/connectors.

Depends what you want to do with it, modern sound from retro looks, modern sound with modern power, retro sound etc?

So, it matters if you have a back or shoulder problem, no surprise there, and for others a pound or two matters not. I'm very fortunate in that I don't suffer from any physical problems and I sympathise with those that do, but very pleased they carry on with suitable equipment. So does this mean those who immediately ask 'how heavy' as soon as an old P comes up for sale have a back problem? If so, it explains all. I note that our late hero in Detroit used a tall stool (sounds rather smelly!) to play for his long, daily sessions, but seemed to have a strap on too.

There's a lovely '70s Fender P for sale within these pages and, despite it being an absolute beauty, much seems to be being made of it being slightly heavier than average. There may be lighter weight Precisions, but surely this isn't a heavy item. Do people find Ps so heavy that they need to find one based on a slight variation in its weight? My old Jaydee is solid mahogany, that's heavier than a P but never a problem unless i'm on the 3rd day of a mega-rehearsal. This seems to be a rather recent phenomena that for almost any bass for sale, especially old Precisions, the first question regards its weight. Why is this? Surely none of them are THAT heavy? I have two '70s Fenders, apparently typically heavy, if you did an A-B test one is lighter than the other, just mean its a little more neck heavy but nothing to stop the enjoyment of using it. Am I the only one who finds this a rather unnecessary obsession or have people genuinely been harmed by one Precision but not another?

Use plenty of different tones, but even those are from different finger/thumb styles (find I'm dampening with my palm more and more) and so are a variation on a theme and so I've never had the need nor desire to buy a pedal. Have a P with flats on for a Motown tribute. So far in over 30 years of playing I've always needed to sound like a bass guitar or, more recently with said tribute, an upright. Although I always feel a little pang of disappointment if I go to see a band and pedals are there for the bass player that's not to say effects are a bad thing, love to see creativity going on and actually always interested to see what they do with them. Tempted by the Jazz with built in Korg for sale on here, but have no use for it. Have a Hipshot, does that count?

Funky, wound round style! Lovely brass pieces in the latter half. Precision pickups but sounds active. Very nice guitar playing too.

No and Yes from me. Anything's possible but whether its a good idea or not... A nice looking fretless jap Fender Jazz just went for £300 in the dreaded ebay. My advice would be to get a proper fretless, they tend to be excellent value if you want one. My worry about replacing frets would be cleaning the filler from the slot while trying to retain the original slot width so the replaced frets are a good fit.

Swing bass for me, 30s were my standard set for many years. They used to do select-a-guage, don't know if they still do.