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This is not a category where big $$$ are required for good results. An instrument with a solid top like my Guild sounds better than the cheap laminated Ibanez, but not massively so.

Hey, gang. We had a rough Christmas this year. My youngest son needed emergency care for respiratory trouble on Boxing Day, and I had serious digestive issues and pain all week. I finally went to Emerg on Friday morning, and it was a good thing that I did. During extensive testing, we found...

Aside from the fact that the prices are out of date. The other thing to note about that bass builder, is that it was for the ABZ only, which is the entry-level model in the Custom series. It’s the perfect option for anyone looking for a super-light instrument, as the lack of a fancy top, matte...

What’s the purpose of the extra toggle switch on the lower bout?

Lowendlobster’s disassembly photos showed that it’s a pretty big, fat coil. I’d be guessing that they’re up around 8K.

My go-to is to grab a hymnal for Christmas songs and traditional hymns. The Bass part of a traditional SATB arrangement usually contains beautiful contrapuntal lines that really enhance the tune. They’re mostly all quarter, half and whole notes, so they’re not a challenging read. Because...

At age 17 or 18, I started getting work as a hired gun. I was in the local union book, and often served as a backup when bands’ usual bassists were unavailable. That lead to work in musical theatre, etc. Although I never reached that level of proficiency, many of my idols were and still are...

Back in the ‘90’s, one of the magazines (Bass Player, maybe?) did a round table interview with a bunch of these guys in the same room. Sheldon, Mike Tobias, etc. IIRC, they even got into a few of the no-fly zones like tonewoods, bolt-on vs set neck, finishes, veneer tops, etc. Very informative...

I’ve spent time with Sheldon at a bass hang, and corresponded with him via email. I’m convinced that he is an effing genius in terms of industrial design and production, as well as a luthier. What’s really interesting about it, is that he is a genuinely nice guy- no airs or arrogance.

That’s an interesting point. I use very little drive- at most I’m occasionally looking for a little hair on the note. I’ve never given much thought to what happens if you go for a really filthy sound. That raises another question, though. If you’re pushing so much drive that a modeled SVT...

If you have one of the ones with a pre/post switch, hang on to it. IME, the post-only DI definitely causes strife with most experienced sound people. Even if I explain ahead of time that tweaking my stage volume is going to affect their feed, the moment I touch the Master volume, they clearly...

As you'd expect, a lot of the Stomp drive models are guitar-oriented. Guitarists have the opposite issue to us- too much low end makes their distorted tones sound flabby. The classic Tube Screamer overdrive is a huge favourite, specifically because it has a mid boost and bass cut baked in. Next...

That sounds interesting. What sort of dampening material are we talking about?

Lovely service today, although I was fighting feedback again on a crowded platform with my ABG during soundcheck. Moved a monitor, and set my amp off to one side, and all was fine.

Not knowing how tall you are, I'm not sure- is that a Rumble 200 with the extension cab, or a pair of Rumble 100's slaved together? Snappy Christmas getup, by the way. The poinsettia drew the colours of your shirt, strap and bass together rather nicely!

Been busy... I had a long gig coming up Saturday night, and wanted to try out my lightweight new shortie. If anyone's interested in what it took me to make the Gretsch Jet Club gig-ready, here's my list: Lower the action, adjust the neck relief, and intonate the bridge. Reshape the nut slots...

I tried the Gretsch (a Jet Club w/VVT controls, not the G2220) against a Player II Mustang PJ, the Bronco, the Sire, and a Hofner Contemporary Club. The Fender felt like quality and had a wider tonal range (it should at roughly triple the price of the Gretsch), but it was heavier than I was...

I've looked at a few G2220's over the while, but found the pickups a little honky and hard to dial in, at least with the factory D'Addario nickel rounds. There were 2 Streamliner Clubs at my dealer this week. Both sounded and felt very similar. The gloss finish on the necks didn't feel quite as...

Gig updates: played London’s Got Talent (amateur version in Ontario, Canada, not the UK!) with the children’s Gospel choir. In order to meet requirements, we had to bowdlerize their song into a short, two and a half-minute version, and again for a shorter one and a half minute reprise if they...

BTW, I know I'm late to the party, but the Eminence Special Design speaker in your Rumble isn't Neodymium. It's just a smallish Ceramic magnet on a lightweight stamped steel basket. The v3 100 is an excellent example of shedding weight through sensible materials choices- the walls of the...

I've been thinking about this a lot since my recent gig at a talent show. My small pedalboard consists of a power supply, Turbo Tuner, Diamond BCP-1 running on 18V, and an fDeck HPF preamp into a JDI. It's worth roughly twice as much as the used Fender Rumble 100 I used for that date...

I bought my first 100 v3 because I needed a super-light amp for casual, low-volume gigs. The 200 never made the list at the time, because I didn't need the extra volume or the added weight. I was auditioning basses at my local dealer yesterday, and plugged into a 200. I normally don't look...

I have one of those. Canadian winters being what they are, I find it better to keep the weight of my load down this time of year- bending down and wrestling to get a small-wheeled cart over lumps of ice, etc., can be harder on my back than simply carrying a nice, lightweight item like my Rumble...

This cracks me up. I have a huge, beautiful musicians stool with all sorts of adjustments, footrest, etc. Trouble is, it’s so heavy that hauling and setting up is too much for my back! I’ll have to look into the one in your picture- it looks a lot lighter.

First time playing for worship at my home church in about a month yesterday- a sinus infection and chronic back trouble have been keeping me away. My wife has been listening to me play for over 40 years now, so it was nice to have her compliment me on the tone of my little Guild ABG. Speaking...

This was one of the things that appealed to me about the Jet Club over the Hofner today. With the factory rounds, the Hofner had some odd overtones that were hard to dial out without a tone control, and it didn't seem to respond as much to how I addressed the string. The single coils on the...

Joined the Gretsch family again! My first and only Gretsch up until today, was a 1964 Country Gentleman- the Chet Atkins guitar w/painted f-holes, and a padded black vinyl back protector that fastened w/snaps. Amazing what $275 could buy you in the late '70's... This time, it's a Streamliner...

Another Dingwall long-scale nickel user here. The good news, is that you can use a wider range of aftermarket strings on an SJ or SP, because of the slightly shorter scale. The bad news, is that the gauges won’t be optimized for fanned frets. Buying singles in order to get exactly the right...

Received a humility/coveting lesson last weekend. I recently started playing for the London Kids Community Gospel Choir. The choirmaster is a dynamo, and the choir has come a long way in just a couple of years. I found my sound for these guys (and relief for my aching back) with a...

Exactly. They’ve been around long enough, that there are a number of other options now. I prefer La Bella CB-40BE’s, which are cheaper and have a little more tension. I believe others have had good results with the new Aquila copper spirals, and Magma and other classical string makers offer...

Just an FYI: I ended up cutting a small wooden block to sit inside the body down at the end, and drilled a small hole through the centre, where the end pin would screw into it. Then I removed the neck pickup, fished a guitar string up from the end of the body, strung it through the hole in the...

Me too. Not only that, but I still look like me. It's been one of the great disappointments of my life.

I love Sansamp stuff- for guitar as well as bass. Ironically, the only one I really dislike is the VT. But the I was never a big SVT guy. More of a B-15 fan…

I never sing on the gig. Although I enjoy singing and sight-reading conventional notation in amateur choirs, I know that my bass playing is a far more valuable asset than my voice. Especially given my very narrow voice range. Maybe that’s why I don’t begrudge our vocalists their key change...

Another vote for the Guild Jumbo Junior here. Bought it as a couch bass, but it gets almost as much stage time as my fancy Dingwall 5-string. Very comfortable to play and easy to transport, but that’s not the big draw: it’s the plugged-in tone, which is much more complex and interesting than...

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a totally blonde EB like that before. It’s an interesting look!

I've been having some back trouble lately, and that coincided with a new gig backing a youth Gospel choir- rehearsals and concerts all over the place, often at a distance and a few flights of stairs away from the parking lot. So, I bought a Fender Rumble 100, modded the cab to tighten up the...

Are they a buy-once deal for you, or do you replace them when they stop sealing? I periodically wash my foams under warm running water, with a touch of dish soap or shampoo on my finger. It helps to remove wax buildup and soften them up again. Still, they have a fixed lifespan. Even if they...

Yup. Most likely the voice coil rubbing. If it's a first-gen 4-Ohm version like mine, I doubt that you can order a re-cone kit for it- it was a custom build. Contact Duke, as he's the expert. I know that he banked a percentage of the custom order from Eminence to use as maintenance spares...

Me, too. It’s particularly odd, given that you’re tuned down a whole tone. Like many Canadians, I’m not careful enough about controlling the humidity in my house, especially in the winter. As a result, my ABZ usually needs a tweak when the heat comes on in late fall, and again in the spring...