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Can you make a Fretless sound less 'mwah'?

I may be totaly wrong I am only an amature but here is what I did .I wanted lowest action possible,no fret noise or no buzz or no mwah from 3 experimental basses I built myself,to try multiple things.I wanted the deep low sound of a plucked double bass lots of sustain and no mwah sitar sound.I have acomplished that this way.First,is technique,Finger and dynamics hand control is very important.I installed marker lines on all my basses.I used D Adderio black tape wounds.My fret board is perfectly straight and flat but radiused to 9.5 inches The nut is extremely low. Since the truss rod only gives releif between the 1st and 12 th fret I radius some fall off between the 11 th fret and heal end of the neck to stop any mwah from the higher register.I found this works perfectly.since fretless is an intonating instrument you need to train your ears to position your fingers to hit the notes cleanly.I tune the open strings normally, and set my intonation as close as I can on the 12th fret line.Any thing in the upper register is fine tuned by your ear.With lots of practice you can do it.It takes time to feel comfortable on fretless.I use the lines only as refrence points for finger position.I finally get to play an electric bass that sounds like a double bass.once I got a taste of fretless with the beauty of noisless slides and vibrato I never went back to fretted.

Janky-A Rigs of Doom

I found some more info on the cab, 150 lbs with the installed 100w amp. Active cabs have come a long way in 50 years.

Some info on the woofers from my testing:
7.1 ohm dcr
Fs 27hz
Qts seems similar to the Eminence Alpha 15 (qts 1.26) based on observed cone movement, so it's good for low power open cab usage.
Efficiency seem similar to the Alpha 15 when measured at 70hz and 40hz. The Alpha 15 plays higher into the midrange though.
Power handling at 41hz low E is around 21 watts or 13 volts assuming a nominal impedance of 8 ohms in free air use with a peak to peak cone movement around 11mm. Or 15 watts or 10 volts at 31hz low B. At 16hz for organ fans it's like 7or 8 volts. After p-p cone movement increases past11mm the distortion rises the mechanical limit around 15mm p-p.

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NBD or PBD Squier Mini P Bass

You did what I was thinking about doing to solve the 30in E string issue. Glad it worked!

Yes, I have heard the old Fender Mini P's and J's are string-thru, which would solve the E string issue !!
I also do this to my 32" scale basses (Squier Affinity Jaguar, Ibanez Mezzo 5, previous Warmoth Z bass @ 32" scale.... and soon-to-be completed Warmoth Z bass !! ). I can run a lot of standard scale strings without the wrap issue (not all, though). This new Z bass build, however, is a reverse 4-inline headstock, so the E string (or B string, if I so choose) will have a lot more length.

TapeWound Club~Anyone?

Hi awesome people of the Tapewound club!!!

So I have experience with Tapewound strings, specifically Labella, but I have a question for all of you with D'Addario Tapes.

If anybody has their tapewound set in a 5 string can you tell me if the Low B has a taper at the ball end?

I am looking for a set for my new Warwick Alien 6 and I could buy their 5 string set and then buy a separate .035 tapewound from their site, but I have the Alien with the 2 part bridge and you need a tapered B with that setup.

My other option would be getting a set of Labellas and then getting that Daddario on their own since the High C isn't going to get a majority of the playing time, but I'd like to keep it all under one brand if possible.

Thanks in advance!!!

Would it be worth it for me to put some alnico pickups in my Squier Sonic Precision?

Thanks! I don't really do it justice, but it's Ain't No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell. One of the legendary James Jamerson's greatest basslines!

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Oh shoot I should have known that one.

I knew it was familiar. I've worked on that one before...

MIssing church bass?

So this is where all the missing church bass goes? Everyone BUT the congregation hears it! Or it's fake news and indeed the church players are turned down too quiet to hear. 🤪 On a serious note, I wonder if there is a solution to this? I assume most normal size churches are in a somewhat residential setting?

Are you sure they didn't just want it lower? maybe he's playing a 4 string but the neighbors want a five string for the low "B".
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Double Bass Ibanez Upswing goes Five String UB805

Following this thread closely as I am currently waiting on (another) replacement UB805. This one coming directly from the factory...so I won't see it until mid September. :(

I was really falling in love with that bass. But there was an issue with the mount, and replacement had this unfortunate neck issue.

Pretty determined that one way or another, the next replacement will work out.

In the meantime, I'm considering a second hand Stagg. Hoping to see and hear it soon.

Any thoughts on how these two basses might compare with each other?
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Hipshot Masskicker/Kickass Bridge saddles maxed out?

A shim is much easier, quicker, & cheaper than a PLEK job and will be just as effective at solving the range adjustment problem with the bridge saddles. Unless the PLEK setup guy thinks it’s OK to mill off about 50% of your fret height, you’ll have the same problem after the PLEK; saddles at max height is still not high enough.

Where you need to shim the neck can be done without taking the neck off. Just loosen the strings off, loosen the neck screws, back the top two screws all the way out of the neck and tilt the neck out of the pocket. Put your shim in place and poke the top screws through the shim, then re-attach the neck. Unless the PLEK guy is less than 10 miles away, you can finish the neck shim and have the bass back in tune before you can drive there.

Double Bass I need to fit a 3/4 upright bass in a 2-door Jeep Wrangler with two people.

I had an '87 2-door Jeep, the back seat was tiny. I do not think that has improved with newer models.

Is the double bass you are renting going to be in a cushioned bass bag? If so, that will help.

I'd suggest 1 of 3 methods... I don't know if I would do method 1 or 2 if the double bass is not in a cushioned bag because the bag will help protect the instrument, plus it will have hand-hold straps that you can use with accessory straps or bungee chords to strap the instrument in.

1) Put the back seat down flat, and put the double bass body flat on its back resting on the back of that little seat, with the neck hanging out the back of the Jeep... Then strap or bungee chord it to the roll bars so the double bass doesn't move and it stays there safe. Don't forget to put a red-flag on the part of the neck that is hanging out, and pray that no driver tailgates.

2) Put the double bass standing up in the back seat, with the neck up in the air, and strap or bungee chord it to the roll bars so it won't move, and pray for no low-hanging trees or low-hanging structures and for no heavy winds.

3) Uber or Lyft a van or an SUV and fit the instrument properly and safely inside. Cushion it with pillows and blankets so it doesn't get damaged while on the road. This is definitely what I would do with a double bass I was renting and that I did not know if I wanted to buy.

Best of luck with this!
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Double Bass Breaking News NEW EDB-2 VAP From Headway

Hello all!
I read all the posts in this thread several times in deciding to buy the Headway VAP. Thanks for all your informative comments!

I have had it for about a week now, plugging a Krivo p/u and an Audio-Technica 35 condenser mic into it. It sounds amazing. However, on 2 occasions now, I have found that the audio turns off when there is a loop connected to the send/return jacks. The first time it happened was when I first connected a second loop to the channel 2 TRS loop. Unplug the loop, and it works fine. Again yesterday, I was rehearsing, both effects loops in use, took a break to eat lunch so switched to standby, and, when I returned, the channel 1 audio was gone. After flipping all the switches, it finally came back. Has anyone else experienced this? Is there a particular sequence of switches that must be engaged before plugging in the effects loops? I need this to work for a live performance board, leaving everything plugged in and just switching on the power before playing, so I’m hoping to not have to faf about with some finicky setup. TIA.

VST ( virtual sound technology)

You might certainly ask. I certainly would miss the Akai UniBass if it stopped working. I have a shelf of treasures that no longer work or can be repaired within reason.
I had my Unibass repaired once, and fortunately it's still working. I hope it never breaks again.
I love those big, heavy boxes.

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Allparts vs Mighty Mite Fretless Neck

2026 revisit to this topic:

Are the Mighty Mite fretless necks now available a relatively new product? The ebony looks real, not like ebanol version available years ago, and they even have a nitro finish option

Curious to know if the truss rod nuts are 4mm like previous MM necks (Squier spec, as opposed to 3/16 Fender spec). And just curious in general how these fretless necks are. They look good, and have some nice options.

Awful set list is better than not playing at all

Can take or leave the setlist, but there's NO way I'd ever get in another girlfriend/ boyfriend band for any amount of money. Somebody in the crowd will hit on her, she'll see him eyeing that little number at the bar, and It's On. Or they were in an argument on the way to the job.

No thanks. Uh-huh. I've learned to not smoke in a
Funny you should mention this.

The girl who initiated this project...
We used to play together circa 2010. We met when we were both hired on a different guy's project, her as a vocalist and me as a bassist. Following that, we formed a band and played our own songs, plus some heavily adapted covers. It was actually sounding pretty good and we hired a guitar player and drummer, started gigging and recording, etc.

Then, she started dating this guitarist/producer guy from New-York. All of a sudden, the dude was present at every one of our rehearsals and always intervening. Plus, he had that habit that I've always absolutely hated: whenever I'd leave the room to go to the bathroom or anything, I'd come back to find him playing my instrument without having asked.
Without surprise, years later, I learned that he'd been pushing her to fire me as a bassist all along... OUT OF MY OWN PROJECT !
The band broke down over this (and other band members' personal issues).

There is actually a history of such behavior from her. So, ironically, I'm approaching this a lot more relaxed. I'm only an unpaid hired hand and I don't especially like the material. I don't have any marbles invested in this thing. The worst that can happen is I learn those songs for nothing. But, no time spent learning new bass lines is lost time!
So, I'm going in without much expectations, except for an occasion to get back out there and possibly have fun. :)
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Backup bass head

Acoustic stuff is solid and very reasonably priced. 299 for this head. Reviews included.
Acoustic B300HD 300W Bass Amp Head | Guitar Center
I bought one of these used at Guitar Center for $175 and it sounds great. I have it paired with an Ampeg B410HLF cab..and a Catalinbread SFT preamp pedal and EHX Big green russian muff and Behringer sf300 super fuzz and it's great for stoner/doom metal!!!

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