EMG456

That is a nice example. It has both the original Steinberger style bridge and the contoured neck/ body joint with the graphite going all the way, none of which you would get on a new Status.

Or just get a fretless with a two octave neck! I suspect that's why I have never noticed this before. Really interesting thread about one of my favourite Jaco tunes. Thanks for posting. Now away to checkout Black Crow for non standard tunings!

In which case, you must keep striving. Some luthiers don't push action adjustments for basses very far simply because most players don't demand it. So if it's not right, take it back and have them look at it again. Do take note though that the lowest of actions can only be achieved when all aspects of a neck are perfect. It must be straight after truss rod tension is applied, the fingerboard must be fastidiously levelled and the frets must be dressed to perfection. If one luthier can't get it, you may need to go to a different one. Lighter gauge strings will help simply because they are under less tension and so are easier to fret but remember that the lighter the strings and the lower the action, the softer you must play before the dreaded clank/ buzz appears. It's not easy- you'll need to work at it but players like MK prove that it is a viable approach. Best of luck - I hope you can get something sorted out.

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1489433049' post='3256906'] Sadly, there is no easy trick to be able to play like your bass heroes....other than practice and practice some more. I'm sure the likes of Mark King could play really well on a crap bass with a poor setup. That's not to say setup is not important...it is. But you may be overlooking the fact that you're already there setup wise...this observation is based on your other threads where you say your luthier has already setup and addressed the frets on your bass. By all means take it to another luthier, but don't expect miracles. [/quote] This is exactly right. Back in the dim and very distant past when I was starting out, I obsessed with a low action for my first good bass - a Rick 4001. I've always been quite hands on when it comes to understanding how things work and I fettled that bass endlessly but still couldn't get the action I (thought) I wanted without a lot of fret buzz. I took it to a local shop which was run by a pro bass player to see what he thought could be done. He played it and announced that it was one of the best set up basses he had ever played! "What about the buzzing?", I asked. "Well," he said - "can you hear it buzzing just now?" I couldn't. He explained that the problem was me and my technique or indeed, the lack of it. He could make the bass buzz if he wanted by hitting the notes harder or not by playing with a lighter touch. It was a sobering but excellent lesson to have. I have since set up all my basses with exactly that sort of action and it has stood me in good stead. I believe that players like Mark King use a similar type of action but they tend to be unconstrained as to what type of sound they use and it usually is a full range, bright sound. Players who prefer a more traditional bass tone or who are constrained by having to provide a particular sound to suit record producers or band leaders/ musical directors may well be forced into higher actions on their basses just to eliminate the possibility of rogue fret buzz/ clank creeping in.

Ah, the black and red Washburns - Force 4?

Flats just aren't my thing. You don't get the mwah without having the higher frequencies available. Flats don't go as high as rounds. You can take away frequencies using tone shaping but you can't put back frequencies that aren't there in the first place. That said, a lot of people are using flats again, something I never thought I would see after the '70s. There will be less wear using flats but again, I don't think that should be your main criterion. If you remove the laquer from your fingerboard, you will get a warmer tone. Ed

Looks like a nice idea to me - fretted and fretless at the same time - superb. And a very reasonable price.

Very nice - I have one of these in the original white but like what you've done. It's really similar to what I did to my old Aria - build diary here [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/234069-1977-aria-rescue/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/234069-1977-aria-rescue/[/url] Are '70s sanded finishes coming back into fashion? It's been a while! Ed

Well known fundamental design flaw in the BBOT bridge. (runs for cover)

Many moons ago, someone told me that you should treat a fretless fingerboard as a consumable - like a set of strings. They do wear out eventually, just like frets do but they can be sanded flat again a few times and in the extreme, most wooden basses can relatively easily have the fingerboard replaced. As to your specific question, I have an Antoria Precision bass which I bought new in 1978. It has a lovely maple fingerboard which was gloss lacquered from new. Now it's never been the only bass for me but it was my only fretless for a while. The fingerboard held up well for years but I had to get it refinished about 4 years ago as the finish had worn through in several places. It's actually better now than it was new after the work and I imagine it will last as long as I will need it! Roundwound strings will mark it more than flatwounds but that's the sound and feel I like and that beats any concerns about wear and tear - it's a musical instrument designed to be played so play it and have it maintained as required. The lacquered board will give you a slightly brighter, clearer sound than an unfinished board and more sustain therefore longer mwah if that's your thing. Also can be a bit "clacky" if you're not too consistent with your picking techniques. Unfinished, definitely more subdued, "warmer"? I like both equally well. But always roundwound stainless steel strings for me. Jaco's Jazz Bass of doom always had an epoxy lacquered fingerboard if that's any help - like or loathe seems to be the fashion here! Hope that's useful. Ed

Twincam, I think what you may be missing about the Plek system and also what has not been mentioned by anyone on this thread is the inherent inconsistencies in a wooden neck. In general, whether you like a fingerboard which is perfectly straight or you prefer varying amounts of relief, in both cases it is ideal for every fret to be the same height above the fingerboard. As has been stated, traditionally this has been achieved by levelling the frets with the neck straight. When the strings are then put on and tuned to tension, the neck is pulled into a forward bow which can then be corrected by applying tension to the back of the neck using the truss rod. The problem is that whilst the truss rod can broadly compensate for the tension applied by the strings, it cannot *exactly* compensate due to various factors - the strings exert their pull at a point above the surface of the neck, the truss rod at a point buried inside the neck; the strings pull from the bridge to the headstock at an angle which varies depending on how far the neck has already been pulled forward; the truss rod pulls from usually around the nut to a point usually not as far as the end of the fingerboard etc. etc. Add in the fact that one piece of wood is likely to have varying stiffness, strength and density along its length and you can see that in precise terms, the amount of bend caused by these competing tensions is likely to vary along the length of the neck. Indeed, very few necks can be returned to absolute perfect straightness after all the tensions are applied and many necks tend to take on a mild s-bend shape with the truss rod seeming to apply more back bow down towards the first 7 or so frets and nothing at all at the top end of the fingerboard thus giving the classic "ski jump" at the top five or six frets. And this is of course assuming that the fingerboard was in fact perfectly straight to begin with - many are not. What the Plek machine can do is measure the exact profile of the fingerboard *while* it is under string and truss rod tension. When the strings are then removed for the fret levelling, the machine knows exactly how much material to remove from every fret to make them completely level with each other *when the neck is once again under tension*. On a beautifully constructed neck, using high quality and well chosen woods, carefully fretted and dressed by a master luthier, the end result is likely to be very similar. But all necks are not like that, all woods are not like that and indeed, all luthiers are not like that. I have only one bass which has a Plek setup and I would say that it is equal to the best I have tried. Cheers Ed

My trusty Briefcase is going into "protection" mode - that is it shuts itself down. Could be power transistors, main board fault- any number of obscure things. The tech I asked to fix it has been in touch with a guy from Phil Jones in the states but the outcome of that has not been satisfactory as far as I am concerned, leaving me with a list of possible fixes at may expense, none of which are guaranteed to be successful. Alan at Synergy tells me that they will stand by the product and their guy knows the ins and outs of the amp so he wants to get it right for me. I see that as my best option so I'm going to send it down to them next week. As electronics get more and more sophisticated and specialised, I suspect that this is what we will have to put up with for the future. Keep me posted as to your outcome and I'll do likewise. Cheers Ed

Just noticed this post. I know... I should log in more often but life gets in the way. Am in a similar situation with my Breifcase which has started playing up after about ten years of utter reliability. Did you find anyone closer? My local tech in Hamilton has identified possible strategies for repair but as the fault on mine is intermittent, there are no guarantees so it seems I'll be sending it down to Synergy. Certain fairly well known valve amp builders in Glasgow were worse than useless. Cheers Ed

Excellent, chaps - that's what I needed to know. Ta.

Hi all. I've been involved in home recording on and off since the advent of the first portastudios - I know, i'm that old! I haven't done much for the past 10 years or so but am just about to get moving again. My question for you - is it still standard practise to use a bit of external compression/ limiting before going into the audio interface or do today's 24 bit interfaces have enough headroom that we can avoid that and still get good signal/ noise ratio without any danger of clipping? Up to now I've always recorded stuff into the desk with an old Drawmer compressor inserted on the channel and then sent to the interface input. I've just bought a MOTU Ultralite interface and it looks as if I might be able to just go straight into that and apply dynamics later - is that how most folks work now? I'm sounding like such a relic I'm making myself laugh here! Cheers Ed

Another vote for the Boss LS-2. It will do exactly what you want and lots of other applications too. A very useful little box.

Just bought a virtually brand new Genz Benz Shuttle Max 12.2 from John. Communications were exemplary - candid and honest- and gave me confidence to proceed. Super easy transaction and swift delivery. Highly recommended.

As we get older, our worn out bodies tend to have less 'headroom' to push beyond our normal levels of effort. Happened to me at the weekend. A combination of slightly higher action than I normally use on a recently restored bass, slightly dead strings and the excitement of playing with a good drummer (we are usually a three piece acoustic folky outfit) meant I overcooked it about two thirds of the way through the night. My right hand middle finger decided to snap shut and not come back again. Finished the song using my thumb. Then lots of hydration, up the volume on the amp and lay back in terms of both strength of hits and general busyness of playing got me back on track within a couple of songs. Do not be afraid of lighter strings/ lighter touch- contrary to popular misconceptions, your tone will be every bit as strong as before and possibly even more alive. Also try experimenting with strap height if you are playing standing up. The angles we hold our limbs at can have quite an effect on the circulation and a little adjustment could have a big impact. Hope you find a way.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1459932540' post='3020883'] Original recording of Mustang Sally was probably cut using Pre CBS Fenders by the way [/quote] Which at the time were expensive, aspirational and cutting edge instruments. Oh, and they were generally brand new and very shiny but that's a different thread altogether!

How did I miss this when it happened? I'm in a state of shock. One of my major influences during my formative years as a player. I guess tonight I'll be digging out the Musicman... RIP Louis - one of a kind.

Not that I'm last minute or anything, but just got my ticket! See y'all Sunday.

Amazing that 35 years on all the same old prejudices are still around. For anyone who has never played one, a Steinberger L series bass is probably just about the zenith in bass guitar design. Ned Steinberger took a step back and designed out almost every functional shortcoming that the "traditional" bass guitar had. Poor physical balance, uneven tonal response, dead spots, inaccurate and unstable tuning, sensitivity to climatic changes - all gone in one fell swoop. As a secondary benefit, these are about the most compact full scale basses you will find. Oh, and no shortcomings on the sound either, in fact the Steinberger has the uncanny ability to be heard clearly in a mix even when the actual level is way down. I like all sorts of basses and am in the fortunate position of owning a selection of excellent instruments that I enjoy playing but if the dreaded house fire was to occur and I only had time to save one of them, it would be my trusty old L2. It's been with me for over 35 years and is quite frankly, the only bass I really *need*. Oh, and while I'm at it, the Chapman Stick is a pretty cool instrument as well. Check out some Kevin Keith stuff for bass-centric but also properly funky two handed Stick playing - like this! [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkgoF_orWuI[/media]