Conan

What a coincidence! I am thinking of doing the same, and watched [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=115gvPzHMqw"]this[/url] yesterday. All ten parts!! Fascinating. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=115gvPzHMqw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=115gvPzHMqw[/url]

That Vigier with the metal board still sounds pretty 'warm' to me!

I wish Fender did a maple neck with no inlays at all. [i]That[/i] would be classy.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1346854589' post='1794075'] you shouldn't hear the difference on the 12th fret harmonic, to intonate properly you need to be using a cromatic tuner so you can set it as close as possible to the root with just one or two cents of offset. [/quote] Really? I've always done it with the fretted/harmonic 12th fret method... Have I been doing it wrong?

Well it apparently worked for Jaco... it will also protect the board from wear. Does it actually make the sound less warm? Are there different grades of "epoxy"? Some harder than others?

I can see the value of getting rid of the amplification, especially as you can still record the bass DI. However, surely a US P is better for recording with than a Squier? For what you would get for the P second hand, you might pay nearly that for a new Squier.... I would hang on to the P if I were you.

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1346832960' post='1793669'] I'm happy to have a look at your bass for you (I'm also in Bristol). I'm on holiday this week so it'll have to be sometime next week. Dave [/quote] Basschat to the rescue!!

If you have no money, and can't make contact with a fellow BC member in the South West, then you could probably do a reasonable set-up on the bass yourself. It's not difficult, and only very basic tools are needed. Have a search through the repairs and technical issues section of this forum and the answers should be there for you. I'd do it myself but there is the small matter of about 400 miles between us! As others have said though, I don't think there is such a thing as a rubbish Spector.

Mmmmmm.... [attachment=117486:20120904084449-4106.jpg] Not sure where the pile of spare pickups came from though....

[quote name='BandVibe' timestamp='1346717060' post='1792434'] [b][size=5][font=comic sans ms, cursive]Talented musicians in the 20-45 age group.... [/font][/size][/b] [/quote] Bugger. I'm 46. Probably not very talented either...

DR lo-riders are designed to need quite a high tension anyway - so the difference may be very small...

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1346349885' post='1788222'] They have to be a brand that makes extra long scale strings[/quote] Dunno about Carvin, but Rotosound, LaBella and D'addario do extra-long strings (36").

To my ears, it's an improvement on both original songs...

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1346586755' post='1790806']you could send the original pickguard to Howard the Bass Doc and he will make you a top quality replacement[/quote] Yep! I've recently done just that and he made me a very nice BWB one for my GL Jazz. I believe he also has stocks of "non-pepperoni" tortoiseshell... Excellent prices and service from Howard too. He de mayan.

After nearly two years of writing and rehearsing our original material, my latest band - [b][i]The Sour Dogs [/i][/b]- are (just about) ready for our first gig!! It's at the Bridge Hotel in Newcastle on Saturday September 29th. The material contains elements of country rock, surf, Americana, rock 'n' roll and good ol' pop. Mostly originals, but with half a dozen covers (in our own style) thrown in to bulk up the set. Would be great to see some North East Basschatters (and their friends, families, lovers, pimps, drug-dealers...) there!

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1346685277' post='1791901']Be fussy.... Do a good job on Facebook... Don't play loud! People hate loud gigs.... ... say no if you suspect the gig isn't worth the effort. [/quote] Some good advice there (genre dependant possibly), but the key word is the last one. Make an effort. Word soon gets round when a band does things differently.

[quote name='LeftyBiskit' timestamp='1346533637' post='1790397']....you cant polish a turd[/quote] No, but you [i]can[/i] roll it in glitter!

[quote name='bassist_lewis' timestamp='1346667444' post='1791604']... bass players shouldn't use the same tone for all songs/gigs. Does anyone agree that you should you change your tone for every song? Lee Sklar gets annoyed when he sees bass players fiddling with the controls on their bass. [/quote] I think there is a big difference between not using the same tone for [i]all [/i]songs, and changing tone for [i]every[/i] song! Totally depends on the band and situation doesn't it? If you play covers from a wide range of different bands/genres then you will probably have to change tones and even basses to a certain extent if you are the kind of player who wants to get everything "just so". Say, for example your band plays "Hysteria" by Muse, followed by "New World Man" by Rush, then Queen's "Another one bites the dust". Would you play all three with the same tone? That's not to say that you couldn't manage the whole set with just a P bass of course... but that depends far more on the bass player than the rest of the band or the audience. I think Sklar's comment says more about him than it does about bass players. What a silly thing to say. As we all know, different venues and stages often necessitate a bit of a tweak with tone just so that you can be heard at all... and if you don't get it right straight away (or if more people come in for example) then further "twiddles" may be needed. Personally, I do like to make changes to my tone for different songs or song sections. That may include (as others have said) moving hand positions, using fingernails or a pick, palm damping, harmonics, changes of EQ or pickup combinations. Frankly, I don't see that it is anyone else's business as long as it sounds good withing the context of the band and/or song!

Great news! Good to be reminded that not everyone is a b@stard!

[quote name='Evil Undead' timestamp='1346438480' post='1789329'] Well so far we have no power, and it's raining. [/quote] Oh well. Enjoy the beer than! Every cloud...

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1346435039' post='1789271']Beer festivals ted to be populated by folk as passionate about beer as you are about music. They want to enjoy themselves and will - likely as not - step in and stop any odd trouble makers in their tracks. [/quote] This. I've played quite a few beer festivals and have always found them to be great audiences if you're on early.... go on late and a lot of them will be rather "subdued"

Nothing to add to what Musky said! But a guide budget would be useful. I've bought basses on here for less than £100.

Sorry if this sounds simplistic or patronising, but what strings are you using? The ones that came with the bass? If you changed them, what did you put on? After trying a number of different pickup manufacturers and models, I've found that a decent set of strings (and making sure you have the right gauge for you and your bass) makes a huge difference to the tone and playability. That said, I do tend to find Barts a bit on the "polite" side... Have you tried Wizards? There are several different styles within their J range (64s, 74s, 84s and Hammers) and they will even wind to your personal preferences (assuming you know what they are!). [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url] As others have said, all of the pickups named above will offer a significant upgrade over the stock ones (Duncan designed if I recall) - but differences between them are largely down to compatibility and your own ears. But I would seriously pay some attention to the strings first! Cheaper too...

As the previous owner of the above-mentioned bass, I also have no idea what brand of strings they are! I cleaned them with meths as they were very dead when I bought the bass two months ago, which brightened them up significantly - but they are pretty worn looking... They felt a bit smooth for Rotos (to my fingers anyway!). I am not familiar with any brands that use blue/green/turquoise silks, but at least you can eliminate several brands by the fact that they have silks at all (therefore not DRs) and the companies that use certain other colours... Sorry, that's not much help is it? I'd be putting new strings on anyway! Extra-long though, as I found out to my cost when I tried a set of La Bella HRS

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1346243984' post='1786901']...insulting people, spitting at the audience, betraying his friends, letting people down..showed his pubic hair to the people from the record company...[/quote] Classy.