Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

[beans-on-toast]

Old basses make me think of Hamlet: Act V Scene I. But some still have life in them.

All the best to Ray.

I gravitate to flats. That’s what I cut my teeth on. So many of the songs that defined my character were recorded with flats. I figure that it wouldn’t hurt to adopt the same approach.

Besides, with flats I install them and tend to not change them.

 

[GwenOnBass]

The 79 is one of the string-through 'Rays, so

some flats work and others come up short (so to speak), and a lot of strings flat or round or mandelbrot just don't fit just don't fit just don't fit (see below) at all. The DR BBs that grace the 'Ray now are 38 inches ball end to winding and that's just about perfect. I believe I can use a 37 inch string with a quarter inch to spare.

We (my bass playing friends) did talk about everything bass back before the Internet was invented by Gal Aore's 3D body double who made a living fitting lenses at the View Finder factory.

What I notice for sure is my taste in what I like in a bass tone, whatever that is, apparently fine wine'd itself like your narrator. If and that's a big if a 37 inch string will work then that opens the possibility of .... changing a lot of strings haha

​

 

[the harp unstrung]

 

[beans-on-toast]

Just in time for spaghetti Tuesday.

 

[beans-on-toast]

The 79 is one of the string-through 'Rays, so

some flats work and others come up short (so to speak), and a lot of strings flat or round or mandelbrot just don't fit just don't fit just don't fit (see below) at all. The DR BBs that grace the 'Ray now are 38 inches ball end to winding and that's just about perfect. I believe I can use a 37 inch string with a quarter inch to spare.

We (my bass playing friends) did talk about everything bass back before the Internet was invented by Gal Aore's 3D body double who made a living fitting lenses at the View Finder factory.

What I notice for sure is my taste in what I like in a bass tone, whatever that is, apparently fine wine'd itself like your narrator. If and that's a big if a 37 inch string will work then that opens the possibility of .... changing a lot of strings haha

​

String availability is important when buying a bass with special requirements but nobody knows if they will be available years down the road.

I have a Cort short scale bass with Steinberger tuners. It an odd ball in that it requires double ball end strings. Thankfully the strings are available.

Hofner, Pyramid, and La Bella sell strings for the Hofner 500/1 but they don’t seem to be the same as the ones sold in the early 60’s.

 

[GwenOnBass]

Here's one who actually likes NSD (New Strings Day). It feels good to see a job done all clean and neat.

Those are Gotoh Res-O-Lite 350s on the Chowny. They replaced the stockers and are the only "upgrade" to the bass apart from the D'Addario tapes. The OEM tuning machines do stay in tune, even outside in the heat and humidity. The replacements, though, feel even better and the balance of the bass improved a bit. What was lost in the upgrade was a bit of the vintage vibe.

Yeah in these autumn years I find I prefer thud to the zing. The tapes are so much fun I don't want to play the rounds as much. They're so easy to bend!

 

[the harp unstrung]

Here's one who actually likes NSD (New Strings Day). It feels good to see a job done all clean and neat.

View attachment 3373949

Indeed!!

 

[beans-on-toast]

I find that a shaving brush does a really good job at getting dust out from hard to get at places. This includes under the strings, around the nut, around the tuners, as well as the bridge and pickup areas.


Chowny offers some interesting basses. I like the lines of the Retrovibe Volante.


Synthetic hair brush.

 

[GwenOnBass]

And that's a good eye to see the dust that is there!

And a very good point about the brush. A camel hair brush was always in my photo bag. Kept that brush pristine. You know, Leitz and all.

What I have at the ready is a supermarket makeup brush that sees no use. Perfect! Well seen.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Mr. Magoo ain't got nuthin on my vision.

The lens camel hair brush sounds expensive. These type of brushes are good to use though. Works on amps and recording equipment without changing dial settings as well.

Microfiber cloths were a game changer for detailing instruments. Especially good for wiping down the instrument neck after playing. Quality and effectiveness varies.

 

[GwenOnBass]

The child aspect of me watching Mr. Magoo in 62 found the cartoon to induce anxiety. Generally avoided that show. Had nightmares from watching Clutch Cargo. Most enjoyable children's show ever (to me) is The Magic Roundabout.

Seems there was always dust on the bottom edge of the television screen that a brush could have dealt with. Seeing that as a child, and doing something about that as an adult feels to me like negatively acquired behaviour.

 

[GonePlaid]

Here's one who actually likes NSD (New Strings Day). It feels good to see a job done all clean and neat.

View attachment 3373949
Those are Gotoh Res-O-Lite 350s on the Chowny. They replaced the stockers and are the only "upgrade" to the bass apart from the D'Addario tapes. The OEM tuning machines do stay in tune, even outside in the heat and humidity. The replacements, though, feel even better and the balance of the bass improved a bit. What was lost in the upgrade was a bit of the vintage vibe.

Yeah in these autumn years I find I prefer thud to the zing. The tapes are so much fun I don't want to play the rounds as much. They're so easy to bend!

I knew absolutely nothing about Chowny 'til reading your posts. They look to be pretty nice. I think you're gonna really enjoy the D'Ad tapes on it. I use them on my Ibanez semi-hollow AGB 200 for UB situations(since I don't play uprights).

 

[GwenOnBass]

May we call it evolution rather than age? Because the tone I began to crave as I gave serious thought to my first new bass in decades is that British Invasion thud. That's the sound - the Chas Chandler Rivoli tone. From all I could see, Chowny made every effort to nail that tone. Enough so that Scott Whitley used a Chowny when he toured with The Animals. That I could have my own in blue burst sealed the decision.

Came stock with D'Addario rounds. Likely we all agree that most factory stock strings are placeholders. I rather liked the combo of the semi-hollowbody and rounds but not enough to keep them for longer than the week it took for me to put the tapes on.

The biggest challenge for me in moving to a semi-hollowbody as my daily player is how to hold it comfortably. All [small f] fender-shaped basses pretty much hang the same way in relation to my body. Not so much a semi-hollowbody.

Liking the tapes enough to consider tapes for My 'Ray. Apostasy! Heretic! Burn the witch!
[I hate that but hate drowning a great deal more. Hard pass.]

 

[GonePlaid]

May we call it evolution rather than age? Because the tone I began to crave as I gave serious thought to my first new bass in decades is that British Invasion thud. That's the sound - the Chas Chandler Rivoli tone. From all I could see, Chowny made every effort to nail that tone. Enough so that Scott Whitley used a Chowny when he toured with The Animals. That I could have my own in blue burst sealed the decision.

Came stock with D'Addario rounds. Likely we all agree that most factory stock strings are placeholders. I rather liked the combo of the semi-hollowbody and rounds but not enough to keep them for longer than the week it took for me to put the tapes on.

The biggest challenge for me in moving to a semi-hollowbody as my daily player is how to hold it comfortably. All [small f] fender-shaped basses pretty much hang the same way in relation to my body. Not so much a semi-hollowbody.

Liking the tapes enough to consider tapes for My 'Ray. Apostasy! Heretic! Burn the witch!
[I hate that but hate drowning a great deal more. Hard pass.]

I used to have D'Ad tapes on my(gasp)Thunderbird. Liked 'em but wrong tone for what I do now.

 

[GwenOnBass]

I used to have D'Ad tapes on my(gasp)Thunderbird. Liked 'em but wrong tone for what I do now.

You just showcased We Gotta Get Out of This Place with your Thunderbird and Rumble (?) ... what changed?

 

[GonePlaid]

You just showcased We Gotta Get Out of This Place with your Thunderbird and Rumble (?) ... what changed?

Mostly the fact that it has Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats on it.

 

[mikeoso]

I use only tapewounds on all my basses. But then...

 

[beans-on-toast]

Has anyone ever had an outer tape break and unwind at the bridge end?

I’ve had this happen in the 60’s. The tapes were very thin. The strings would still play alright. Not sure if playing with a pick brought on the problem. Later with black plastic tape wounds I had a problem at the tuner end, that’s not a big deal.

Never had a problem at the bridge saddle.

I had a uke that I played with nylons. They were stretchy like wet spaghetti and hard to keep in tune.

 

[GwenOnBass]

The tapes are a first for me and have been on the semi-hollowbody now for only eight months. Seen nothing to indicate the strings are any different than the day they went on. No pick to speak of. Have many, mastered none.

"Only eight months" sounds strange to me with regularly played rounds. My (possibly flawed) recollection is I changed strings about once a month when I was hooked on Rotosounds, and about three months for the Super Rounds. The Dean Markleys felt quite the deal, as they lasted at least three times as long.

That's mostly how I came to associate the native Stingray howl - rounds, a touch of treble and a touch of bass. Two band EQ .... <scrim smack>

I feel more sensitive to string stiffness since. Me like-ee less bridge cable. Somewhere I learned (maybe) to let the amp carry the load instead of digging in hard. Except that I sometimes do ....

 

[beans-on-toast]

Any feedback issues with the semi-hollow at high volume levels?

I wouldn’t expect any with a modern pickup. With vintage pickups, I find that candle wax melted onto the bottom of the metal cover damps vibrations and prevents feedback.