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msb
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Everything posted by msb
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I first noticed the Yamaha Samurai shape while watching the Guess Who on tv in the mid 60’s. And it stuck. And every once in a while I’d go looking around the internet for one , but I really didn’t want to bother with global shipping. So I guess it was inevitable , when one popped up in Toronto for a reasonable price I jumped. A friend in the US had owned one and described it as a Jazz on steroids , and regretted letting it go . It’s the ultimate Japanese surf bass. It’s a bit like an upside down Ric , I’m ok with that , I love Rics. I got it! The Unicorn was on our local online buy&sell . I dawdled and a friend snagged it , and then he picked up another headless bass and offered it to me. This time I didn’t hesitate. It’s quite surprising. A lovely bass , and I’m ready if I get a call for some 80’s new wave stuff. I normally play old school blues and roots music , these are guilty pleasures , and I really love them both.
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I got the Bass VI bug , and then picked up a Gretsch baritone because I was having too much fun. Just the regular CV Squier , at first I found the strings too floppy but put on the heavier Fender VI set and have no complaints , pleasantly surprised by the build quality at the price.- 105 replies
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- fender bass vi
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Our most popular local buy&sell is kijiji , and after missing out on a Squier Bass VI I started coming down with the gas , and shortly after found a slightly used one at L&M (the major music retailer here in Canada) . It’s the current Classic Vibe version , my only complaint was the lower strings being a bit too floppy , I heard Fender had put out a stiffer Bass VI set. Made a world of difference , had to slightly file the nut at the E string and re-intonate. Huge improvement. I love it. I mostly do blues and roots gigs so this was not likely to become a gigging instrument , just a guilty pleasure. Next thing I knew I was loading up a pedalboard for it. My wife noted I was spending a lot of time goofing around on the VI. And thought it was money well spent. And then a Gretsch Baritone popped up on kijiji and this time I managed to snag it . The slightly older 5265T model with the Bigsby. Black sparkle finish! Again Herself approved. I see both as very unique instruments , chords on the lower position on the VI will often get too muddy , they positively ring out on the baritone. I can manage to play the VI fingerstyle , but the Gretsch is just a little tighter , it’s going to take some time. Gotta say the VI and the bari have been an interesting rabbit hole to go down. Simple fun .
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After buying a Bass VI as a guilty pleasure I thought it might be nice to have a little reverb and tremolo , so I picked up a Fender TreVerb. Then a friend suggested a little gain might be nice , and things began to snowball. My gigs are mostly old school blues and roots music , but this has become an enjoyable goof around.
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The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!
msb replied to Baloney Balderdash's topic in Bass Guitars
Many people slope their pickups like that for a more even response . Rather than following the fretboard radius , the G string in considerably thinner , so the signal is weaker , and the E is much thicker , so some drop pickup under the E and raise the G . That’s a lot of extra winding ! -
I play every weekend so I keep my gig stuff completely separate . I have a modular rig , so most mid sized rooms I just need one 8 ohm cab , if I’m outdoors or in a larger venue I bring two. Bergantino amp & cabs. Easily the best stage sound I’ve ever had. Never been happier. I had been a longtime GK user , and also love Mesa and Aguilar gear , but I became a Berg guy.
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The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!
msb replied to Baloney Balderdash's topic in Bass Guitars
I like their short scales. Danos , due to the Masonite construction , are seriously lightweight. They sound great , and they’re really fun to play. They do have that single coil hum. And some have a little neck dive. While they’re not expensive prices have risen , and used prices around here reflect that. There were not many original Danos that made it to Nova Scotia other than the ones branded Silvertone. But there are tons of reissues around here. And a ton of Longhorn players around. -
The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!
msb replied to Baloney Balderdash's topic in Bass Guitars
The Longhorn sounds a little deeper, the DC sounds slightly thinner, something that can easily be touched up at the amp. The shortscale DC has a two octave neck , the earlier long scale DCs did not. Between the bridge placement and number of frets is easy to tell them apart. I also have a short scale single cutaway U2 “Dolphin Nose”. It isn’t as deep as the Longhorn either. My Longhorn is one of the early reissues from the Shinko factory in Korea. They began making them in 98 . My Dolphin is a later Chinese model , and the DC is recent Korean. They say the first reissues were the best made , but my Chinese bass seems fine. Both the Dolphin and the DC have the bridge placement about 1/3 of the way in , so they’re considerably longer than the Longhorn -
The Short Scale Bass Appreciation Society!
msb replied to Baloney Balderdash's topic in Bass Guitars
A Dano Longhorn was my first shortscale , and at first I did not care for the short scale . It eventually became my preference. Danos are weird little things , they were by design about as cheap as could possibly be made at the time. But they were playable , and many of the cheaper instruments of the time were not. They have the wooden popsicle stick bridge. And most people that are accustomed to Fender style instruments simply don’t get it. Truth is the wooden bridge sounds better , it gives things a nice woody thump , and there is a sweet spot for it where the intonation and action is fine. The body is made from Masonite , a space age tone wood. The pickups were simply a bar magnet wrapped in wire and shoved into a lipstick tube. Genius! My first Dano was a Longhorn , and now , almost twenty four years later I still can’t decide if it’s cool as heck , or butt ugly. I’m ok with that. For the first time the DC bass was finally available as a short scale and I immediately ordered one. Took forever to arrive. I wish it had the traditional wooden bridge , but I like it! -
I’m in the house band that has done the Sunday jam at the local blues dive for the last twenty five years. Most of the players that come up are regulars (we’ve been at it for quite a while) and it’s pretty much an old school blues jam. Most everyone is an experienced player. We still have fresh faces turn up, and there’s always young ones that get the interest and become regular. And every once in a while someone will sit in and completely drop the ball. Every Sunday will range from a little hell to absolute wonder. That’s the nature of it.
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And a recent deal , A Ganz amp. About the size of a pedal , it’s a tiny 400 watt amp designed by a pedal steel player , although much of his sales are from bass players. You’ll need a preamp/ front end with it. They’re made by Jay Ganz in New Jersey, I’ve seen several of these up for sale locally. And that’s surprised me as these are fairly rare and exotic. This was passed on to a fellow bassist , he hasn’t been using it so it might wind up with a steel player we know.
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I think I’m pretty much gas free , I really have everything I need , and yet I still scour kijiji , which is an online local buy and sell. And sometimes a really good deal will get the best of me. I’ve been known to message friends when I see something they’re after. Most recent finds were a SWR Headlite amp , and. Gretsch baritone. Already have a Bass VI so the baritone was just going a little further down that rabbit hole. I’ve been tuning it AtoA.
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Interesting , I’m an older player , and was a Pbass guy for years . Now I seem to play just about anything but a Pbass despite still owning three of them.
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I just set up an account today too !
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The last time I did some adjustments on the SG I flipped the bass upside down and the saddles fell out. And , of course , I managed to switch the D&G saddles so things didn’t quite line up when I was trying to set the relief. It didn’t take long to identify the issue and put the saddles in the right spots. I have four basses with three points and this was my first issue. I’ve always been able to set things to suit my playing style. I suppose I prefer medium low rather than real low. I normally play with a fairly light touch but I want to be able to play fairly hard without any buzzes. I grew up adjusting Fender bridges , and took the simple design for granted. And it’s funny , I use Danelectro basses with the popsicle stick bridge a lot , there is a spot where they will intonate!
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I love this little DC Jr ! I was going to change the bridge , but haven’t gotten around to it. I was able to quickly set the three point exactly where I wanted things , but I do like the look of the Hipshot drop in replacement. I thought the Jr might fit in my SG case , but it does not.
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This might be the year I break down and get a Monique, I’ve been threatening to do so for a while now. I mostly play mid sized rooms and often am not in the PA so I have to fill the room. I’ve been using a Bergantino rig , a little Forte head and two HDN cabs , a 112 & 210 , we’re not loud so I often just use a single cab.
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I’ve had this for about twenty years now , and keep fairly fresh rounds on it. I’m mostly a flatwound thumper , but this has such a gorgeous top end.
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Here’s me , mostly playing old school blues and roots music.
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I’m a retired commercial photographer , but have been part of the local gigging scene here in Nova Scotia since the mid 70’s . I was an old Pbass guy that appreciates a nice Ric , and over the years acquired the usual classic stuff , I mostly use shortscales now and have almost a dozen of them. I tend to gig with Danelectros , but my favourites these days seem to be Gibsons. I don’t understand just how that happened , but I’m ok with it. I generally gig with a Bergantino rig. I use a Forte with a couple of HDN cabs , a 210 and 112 and have a recently serviced GenzBenz Streamliner as a backup. I have two practice rigs , the main one is a Phil Jones C2 with a GK MB200 , my other is an Ampeg 210AV driven by a SWR Headlite . For rehearsals that aren’t too loud I have a classic little GK MB150 combo. I‘m kinda nerdy about amps and basses and still manage to gig every week , I generally just play here in Halifax. Being retired I manage to enjoy the time playing.
