ead

+1 for the 84s, I have them on my fretless Jazz.

Hi Joel I've been a subscriber for a number of years and agree with a lot of what has been raised above. My particular points would be around the photography and cheaper instruments.... I occasionally find reviews where some particular/unique feature is described and then there's no pic - can be a bit iritating! Without going over old ground (and I've speed read about 50% of the thread) how about looking at second hand instruments and giving three or so staff members a set budget to find the best instrument they can within certain criteria and then have a mini group test? I know it's a bit top gear but there have been a couple of topics on here where a bass had to be found within a budget etec etc thatr proved very popular with BCers. Hope that helps.

I picked up the bass aged 46 with fingers suffering from 30+ years of rugby dislocations, breaks etc. which limits what I can do a bit. Although decent theory from studying violin at school. I count myself very fortunate to have fallen into a band that I really enjoy playing with (I'm hoping that's a mutual thing) and we have have been together for nearly 5 years now. We play as many originals as we think we can get away with and some covers. Because of jobs, kids etc it's very much a hobby and we tend to rehearse 2 to 3 times a month and gig when we can. Can't beat it!

[quote name='aldude' timestamp='1341314751' post='1716734'] ......So I replaced it with a .145 and all was well........ [/quote] Is the Clifton bridge still safe to cross?

I've taken a punt on the SD STC-2P. Will report back...

Beautiful bass and a very interesting thread.

I think that is pretty much it. Heavy gauges reduce floppiness aka bad B string

I've also seen these on the interweb, does anybody have any love/experience/comments on the Seymour Duncan and Artec gear as they are more in line with what I was hoping to spend? http://www.thomann.de/gb/seymour_duncan_stc2p.htm http://www.thomann.de/gb/artec_se2a.htm

Thanks people. I'll check out the BTB, and the mwah-tron sounds cool paul 5. I see you are located in the sunny (?) NW...

Hi all you cognoscenti, I'm hoping you can assist me in my quest to find a simple way to turn a passive V/V/T style set up (with 2x J p/ups) on a BBN5 into something that is a bit more flexible than the passive 'tone' control. I did contemplate something like the ACG 02 but tbh it would be worth nearly twice as much as the bass and as my ACG is in build I'm watching the pennies! Ideally is there some kind of stacked knob tone control that I could install (presumably with a battery too) to give me some control rather than just the high cut I have atm? I've seen a few on the interweb but I'm a bit uncertain as to which would suit given that some of the descriptions are a bit unclear. Everything else on the bass is pretty much original, so nice Yamaha p/ups. All help and advice is, as ever. most welcome. Thanks in advance fellow BCers.

Wasn't thinking or purchasing, just curious really!

What are these basses, any info on them? Cheers. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1960s-Jedson-electric-fretless-bass-guitar-with-hard-case-/160830386241?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item25723cf041"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1960s-Jedson-electric-fretless-bass-guitar-with-hard-case-/160830386241?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item25723cf041[/url]

Just picked up a beautifully refinished and reasonably priced Yamaha BBN5 from jonsebass to try and get into 5ers. Looking forward to getting some quality time with the bass over the weekend [attachment=111857:BBN5 07.JPG]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1340957457' post='1711905'] .............. However I like the ACG EQ001 because it does something that the tone controls on my rig don't and probably more importantly because it allows you shape the tonal output of each pickup individually. [/quote] That's a much better way of putting it! I run my amp pretty flat as it's not that sophisticated and adjust on the bass as required.

Gauge wise, heavy = lower tension, lighter = higher tension. If you check this link and download the tension chart it will show you the relationships. [url="http://circlekstrings.com/store/Gauges_And_Tension.html"]http://circlekstring...nd_Tension.html[/url] If you assume that the tension across the strings on your bass is roughly equal (and I mean roughly) then to get the bottom E from your A string you'd have to loosen the string to the point of floppiness. i.e. the fatter E string has more tension to get the same note. I hope that makes sense and that I've not been too simplistic.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1340220228' post='1701386'] Fair enough. I have a lot of fretless basses - in my last band it was pretty much all I played and the ACG pre-amp was far more useful in getting me my sound than any pickup combination on its own. Other than that my favourite pickup for a fretless bass is the Lightwave optical system, but that's probably far too technical for you! [/quote] My first two fretless basses were a Yamaha P/J and a now a Fender Jazz bass (unitl my new build is ready). Once I took the plunge and added an ACG pre to the Jazz, the world changed somewhat! You can get the deep gloomy sound as well as bright and sparkly and all points inbetween. All with flats too. Alan is currently building me a Fretless with his latest ACG 03 pre that I am really looking forward to getting my hands on. Point being, I know that there are quite strident differences of opinion between the active and passive bass community, but the ACG filter bassed pre amps really are something else. If you have a chance you should at least try one.