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You could face a dilemma here between keeping your favorites and the ones that work best for your live playing use. You may be able to reach that compromise with keeping just two, though.

If you or someone you know is good with woodworking, you could build a stand that doubled as a speaker cover (a bit larger than the cab and lined with foam) with a snap on lid and carry handles. They could even use a frame and flake board or something like that to also keep the weight way down...

This seller saying he has another buyer with a higher offer could be total BS. It’s already making you more likely to keep it regardless of the flaws to avoid losing it in a competitive bidding war, but you can’t sell something that you already sold and no longer own. It’s either your bass now...

That’s a great observation. The production quality of the later Pink Floyd recordings is nothing short of amazing. The pixie dust or whatever they sprinkle over the final mix and mastering makes a huge difference. I’ve listened to music I didn’t like all that much, but if it’s a great recording...

I think you actually answered your own question. It’s popularity. More radio hits and commercial exposure. I think it’s that simple. More people across the planet have heard Pink Floyd than have heard Rush. It’s not the number of albums or even being able to sellout a stadium. And let’s not...

I guess you don’t get out much. Because both fretless and left handed basses aren’t in as much demand, your local store or what you see advertised locally may have a more limited selection, but both come in all kinds of colors, finishes, etc…

I love both the Levy padded garment and carving leather straps. The carving leather one is the top of the line, but the next couple grades down are still excellent straps. As you go up in price they use a higher quality leather and are even softer and more comfortable. Get at least a 3" wide...

I don’t know how indicative TalkBass is of the entire bass community. The old tobacco bursts are a bit dated to some people, but then (like torti pickguards) that’s also part of the appeal. There are so many types of burst using multiple colors that have a more modern look, and some variation of...

Playing bass can be a thankless job. When someone remarks on how good the band sounded, that means you did your job well. Occasionally, you get some comments on liking the bass parts, but the majority of people are more into the front instruments. I suppose drummers have similar experiences.

I use a tuner to get it initially set. Then I ask the keyboard player (or main guitar player if there isn’t a keyboard) to play a couple notes to match with and adjust the tuning if needed. I’ve played with a lot of house pianos and most are pretty good, but not exact. The same goes for a guitar...

I guess they used the fretted dot convention. I wish it was consistent, and it mostly is but there are always exceptions. If you have multiple fretless basses that aren’t consistent, it might be worth using the decal fret dots to cover the “wrong” ones and reposition them to the places you want...

Yes, and that puts the string contact itself right on the fret, which is why when you use your finger on a fretless it needs to be on the “fret”.

S.O.S. - Same Old Sh*t

Well, that’s totally different. On an unlined fretless almost all have the dots where your fingers should be placed for those “frets”. Lined necks almost always have the dots in the middle of the fret just like the dot markers on fretted fingerboards are. A filled in fretted to fretless...

Double check your intonation. The midway harmonic should be the same pitch as the string and your finger placement there. If everything is in tune just behind the markers, your intonation is likely off and your open strings will be out of tune. Open strings are very important on a fretless...

It's surprising that anyone could build even a really crappy bass and sell it for $30. The production cost with labor and materials and shipping would have to have a wholesale price of about half that. If it does happen, you might see them in WalMart or on eBay, but not in any music stores. It...

I now regret selling lots of items over the years. There were times where I wasn’t using something and sold it and then along came the perfect opportunity for that exact item and I had to find another one for sale. But, I wouldn’t ever contact anyone asking them to return an item after a sale...

They always looked so real to me. I guess that was the idea. I had just assumed they were empty cabs, but that would be an extra truckload to take to every show, so using a fasade definitely makes more sense.

The audience sees the rigs on the stage. That’s why some bands (like Kiss going a bit over the top) would have walls of speaker cabinets (most of which I assume were either not hooked up or just empty cabinets). And when I see a big act, I’m always curious about what type of rig they’re playing...

The value of vintage gear depends totally on the condition it’s in. With no serial number or anything to identify it as authentic and the obvious damage to it, that hurts the value substantially. In this case, maybe even a whole decimal point. Maybe I’m way off, but I think it’d actually be...

The bolts and inserts that I found are small enough and work the best are usually in metric sizes, which was actually easier for me than matching fractional or non-metric sizes and threads, so once you decide on the color and head shape of the bolt, finding matching inserts is very straight...

Lightweight tuners and a better quality output jack are upgrades you won’t regret. Taking just a small amount of weight off the headstock helps almost any bass for ergonomics and a good quality or locking jack helps a lot in getting a great connection and not accidentally coming unplugged...

It seems doable, but might take some effort modifying the pickups. The only concern I would have is easily qgetting the same volume levels for all four strings. That may not be a problem, though, because in a set of bridge and neck pickups, one is usually slightly hotter than the other to...

It was very obvious watching the video that most of the “violinists” were definitely not in sync at all with what they were supposed to be playing. They weren’t even close, but most people would never catch that. You occasionally see out of sync playing on music videos when whoever edited it...

Just be careful if you choose to do it yourself. There’s a good amount of strings tension between the neck and the bridge. Remove too much strength between them and you could hear a cracking noise that wouldn’t be good. There’s some engineering that goes into chambering a body to sonically...

You know what’s funny? Every photo you showed was a record made into a clock. Great vinyl recordings are a joy to listen to, so don’t get me wrong, but analog clocks (especially kitschy ones) are as much or even more obsolete than LP’s in not great condition. I also didn’t notice anyone using...

There were always just Records to me, too, but I don’t have any issues with people referring to them as vinyl. How’s that any different than referring to music on tape or digital? it just describes the medium it was released as. I actually had a bunch of 78 rpm records many years back. I think...

You can’t just lump vinyl records all together. Many we’re made cheaply and some were made with genuine precision. The ones from record clubs or bargain stores just weren’t very good pressings. You got what you paid for. Ones from actual record stores were better quality, but it still varied a...

Assumptions can get you in trouble. Shielding is more about materials and construction than just size of the materials used. Lots of plastic or rubber insulation or fiber will separate the wires more, but not isolate noise due to electro-magnetic interference or even imply alone that the wire...

Common logic would be that having multiple basses and splitting up time playing them means that you won’t get as good as if you had one that you totally dedicated yourself to. I don’t buy that. Everything you learn is transferable even when it involves fretted, fretless, upright, etc…...

It’s probably full of dust and crud blocking the output flow. Every time I pick up a used amp, I open it up and use some canned air to blow out any dust, and remove a lot of the crud with q-tips. I always try just water first, but smoke and sticky stuff comes off better with alcohol. I also use...

I’ve had to use several different OS’s over the years at work, home, etc… I’ve been pretty much totally Mac for quite a while now (but with Windows also running under Parallels) I actually find Windows Explorer to not be as easy for me to use as the Mac Finder. I can find what I want using...

I went to Macs years ago and never regretted it. I do suggest putting Parallels on it and installing Windows 10 as a virtual machine, so you can still run any Windows software where there either isn’t a Mac version of it or so you can run older Windows software. For example, I have a copy of...

It’s definitely clickbait. Unless you’re recording and mixing yourself or running the front of house PA while playing, your tone is very much being determined by someone else. The old advice for picking studios and technicians is to listen to other music they released. If you like the tone...

I think most posts are hitting this right on the head. If you have a controlled temperature and humidity environment like a studio, then leaving the basses and guitars out is fine. They’ll also stay in tune almost forever. I keep my environment very steady and the only time I need to tune is...

I hadn't really thought about the Myers-Briggs personality types in a long time, but yes, it does seem to fit that.

All professions, hobbies, etc… have lingo that helps them communicate to each other, but only gets puzzling looks from anyone not in that group. I agree that musicians talking to each other about music is fine, but to a non-musician it’s a foreign language.

It is a stereotype that introverted, anti-social, or nerdy types gravitate to the Arts, whether that’s art, music, theater, etc… There could be a kernel of truth there in that people who tend to not express themselves well verbally or in social situations would likely find non-verbal ways to...

I learned years ago that if you want to have a big outside party, then invite all of your neighbors. Those who choose not to come are not as likely to call the police or complain unless it does run really late or is excessively loud.

It happens to me a lot. Not too long ago I was listening to some Charlie Mingus albums. I was totally floored with how progressive that music was back in the 50’s with multiple time signatures, dissonance, and some of the most incredible horn, bass, and other instrument solos that I never knew...