The Combo Club

[SoulReflection]

though his rates are usually lesser than Soul Reflection's!

Ya but, you only get what you pay for !

 

[SoulReflection]

Here's to a great New Years Eve and a greater New Year to all the great Combo crowd!!!​

 

[iagtrplyr]

??? I'm confused. What part of "I do already have a combo (EBS Drome 15)," with photos attached, means "he didn't have a bass combo."?
.

After spending pert near 20 min scrolling through pages of posts, I have figured out what happened and am now on bended knee begging G’Dog for forgiveness and the opportunity to kiss his CC ring.

Our friend, Mr Alien, requested not to be given a number until he had a new combo and like a dope I did just that. Yes, his EBS qualified him did membership and so my original decision to give the guy 269 was correct, and my taking him off the roll was wrong. I now see the error of my ways and am sorry.

So today I will reinstall Alien Guy and give him #272. He did display a combo with a pic and was interested in joining. Good enough for me and hopefully everyone else.

Now you may be wondering, “Is all this worth it?” I thought so a few years ago when this club was close to falling off the cliff of irrelevance, but now less so. For me, it’s become work I don’t need, especially in the co big year. I have going on and have made too many corrections this past year, meaning I’m just not able to focus on the job like I used to do.

With that, I’m stepping down at midnight tonight. I’ll post one more list with Alien aboard and then someone can do what I did back in 2028, I believe, run the club. I’ll still jump on like normal, but G’Dog’s post convinced me my reign is over. It’s been fun as heck but it’s tine for a new leader, Fearless or not.

Let me know who’s like to tackle the job. I’m down to 14 hrs...

 

[SoulReflection]

After spending pert near 20 min scrolling through pages of posts, I have figured out what happened and am now on bended knee begging G’Dog for forgiveness and the opportunity to kiss his CC ring.

Our friend, Mr Alien, requested not to be given a number until he had a new combo and like a dope I did just that. Yes, his EBS qualified him did membership and so my original decision to give the guy 269 was correct, and my taking him off the roll was wrong. I now see the error of my ways and am sorry.

So today I will reinstall Alien Guy and give him #272. He did display a combo with a pic and was interested in joining. Good enough for me and hopefully everyone else.

Now you may be wondering, “Is all this worth it?” I thought so a few years ago when this club was close to falling off the cliff of irrelevance, but now less so. For me, it’s become work I don’t need, especially in the co big year. I have going on and have made too many corrections this past year, meaning I’m just not able to focus on the job like I used to do.

With that, I’m stepping down at midnight tonight. I’ll post one more list with Alien aboard and then someone can do what I did back in 2028, I believe, run the club. I’ll still jump on like normal, but G’Dog’s post convinced me my reign is over. It’s been fun as heck but it’s tine for a new leader, Fearless or not.

Let me know who’s like to tackle the job. I’m down to 14 hrs...

Sorry to hear you are stepping down, Mike. You have done a fantastic job and to be congratulated. I thoroughly understand your position and hope you will enjoy just being a member, like I do.

 

[RodRy]

On an unrelated note, I restrung my Rogue this past week after breaking a G-string. It sounds better than ever and each string is truly balanced. I can't remember how long I kept the previous flats on, but I thought I'd get a little more time out of them, though the other three strings looked to be in perfect condition. While I'm glad I made the change, I'm curious how long you get out of a set of strings on your basses? Do you play flats or something else? I'm not gonna believe all the posts telling me players get five years out of a set. Or I just got a lesser-than-normal G because it never sounded balanced with the other strings. I also hear LaBella tends to have more G's break, or is that the same for all string manufacturers?

Sorry for all the Qs, but this is the best my bass has possibly ever sounded and I'm curious as to why. Anyone can ch9me in on this too, not just the doctor, though his rates are usually lesser than Soul Reflection's!

I have the same set of Pyramid Gold flats on my Shorty for around 20 years. I don't remember when I purchased the bass, and don't remember when I put the strings on, but I only had it for about 2 years when I put the Pyramids on it. The strings cost as much as the bass. That bass is out on the rack now, and I played it earlier this week. If anything, those flats sound better now than they did 10 years ago. Pics attached for those who wonder about such things.


Fender flats on the Jazz have been there since 2019, and they sound great.

Brite Flats have been on my Carvin for about 5 years, and they show no signs of needing to be replaced.

Of course, with 11 (?) basses, I don't put many hours on each one per year (don't think the Warwick has been played in all of 2021), so my strings don't get changed very often.

 

[RodRy]

I never change my bass strings (or rarely would be more accurate) here’s what James Jamerson thought:

Jamerson used La Bella heavy-gauge (.052–.110) flatwound strings which were never replaced, unless a string broke. He did not particularly take care of the instrument, as he stated: "The dirt keeps the funk".

So I’m “keeping the funk.” Lol.

I’ve never broken a bass string either.

I really want to try some tapewound strings so I may be changing strings soon. The Fender 58s maybe? The Labellas of which I love their flats and the Rotos in short scale only have 65-115s I think and my bass was factory set up with 45-90s so I’m afraid of throwing it all out of kilter. Any thoughts anyone?

Have New Years @iagtrplyr and to all my friends here at the combo club.
I appreciate all of you…

Yeah, I have not broken a bass string since the 90s when I played in a metal band. I don't remember what string it was, but I just chugged along on the other 3 strings until the song was over. Didn't sound as good, but got us through the last minute or so.

Now I don't have the hand strength to scare my strings at all.

 

[Flamingo21]

I haven't broken a string since 1981, when violin ceased to be my main instrument.

 

[iagtrplyr]

Sorry to hear you are stepping down, Mike. You have done a fantastic job and to be congratulated. I thoroughly understand your position and hope you will enjoy just being a member, like I do.

Thanks so much, Soul Reflection, much appreciated. That's exactly what I plan to do; enjoy being a member without the work. My next six months are gonna be crazy and I don't want to foul up any more inductees.

Speaking of, here's my final roster now including MrUsefulAlien, as he should have been properly added. My apologies to him and his family. And that, ladies and gents, is my final apology for TalkBass 2021. I'll probably begin anew tomorrow sometime. @72 members...not too bad being I began this venture as the club's first new member for two or three years at #51. I have every confidence that our new FL will make it an even better club! Thanks to all of you who've supported our efforts here and for keeping us always on the first few pages of TB. Please continue stopping by, even if no one is taking new members or being the loudest cheerleader for a great club. Maybe membership rolls have gone the way of large battery-operated calculators, who knows?

Happy New Year to all. 2022 promises to be whatever you want it to be...just take the first step forward to making it happen and let the rest take care of itself.

FL


TalkBass Combo Club Membership List

as of 12.31.21


01) ChefKen

02) Modulusman

03) Vmabus

04) Firewalz

05) spanndrew

06) shawshank72

07) gfaulkner

08) ack

09) Dustin Owens

10) Relsom


11) EoganDubh

12) cchorney

13) NickDG

14) Big Hoss

15) Ajcsk8r

16) Basshappi

17) Lesfunk

18) Squierbassjake

19) lo-freq

20) PetersReviews


21) Jughead6

22) bordinco90

23) mikeyjm2

24) KickingBass

25) jmverdugo

26) Toddbass65

27) Floridabway

28) elkkid2

29) 1954bassman

30) Woodyng2


31) Doublesixes

32) Steve88

33) mccartneyman

34) CL400Peavey

35) Datsgor

36) Linin

37) bmc

38) yahboy

39) outoftune

40) KramerDon


41) heynorm

42) Bobby Bass

43) KeithAlanK

44) Photobassist

45) rtslinger

46) Thumpinshelton

47) Razman

48) ticol07

49) alaskaleftybass

50) Srvmojo


51) iagtrplyr

52) ubernator

53) Fishyfishfish

54) JakobT

55) thabassmon

56) Gaolee

57) G-Dog

58) RumbleMan3

59) Luciferiad

60) eric_B


61) TrevorG

62) SoulReflection

63) theduke1

64) Moody Tuner

65) Giffro

66) Doctor Intrepid

67) Drgonzonm

68) GonePlaid

69) BradE

70) Amoodymule


71) Jeremy Jones

72) Ghostinthemach

73) ScottTunes

74) BazzaBass

75) Biguglyman

76) Dr. Cheese

77) Bob Clayton

78) NathOBX

79) Bass V

80) Five String


81) Gremson

82) Morrighan

83) Zon6c-f

84) rodl2005

85) Nancy1234

86) Shadven

87) twinjet

88) Michael B

89) Vickerekes

90) Beendown139


91) Relayer71

92) basst scho

93) itsmesantiago

94) Smith357

95) Russell L

96) Cropduster

97) Haxel

98) Devon Bustard

100) Stumbo


101) Daniel Piper

102) adk teleman

103) Davidus1

104) J-Mags

105) Karlson541

106) Kohanmike

107) JimmyM

108) DanGR

109) LeonD

110) Bluzlvr


111) Maggysbass

112) Corbusier

113) Pontiac Thrasher

114) Hieronymous

115) Samniner

116) ICODA

117) Lowdownthump

118) Sifi2112

119) PSPookie

120) CosmicRay


121) Count Bassie

122) Rob Nelson

123) BlacknWhite

124) Clark Word

125) the harp unstrung

126) bhendrix

127) staurosjohn

128) BulbousMoses

129) Peter Mathews

130) mr zee


131) west al

132) jmhaslip

133) expatmuso

134) Steve Costa

135) instrumentalist

136) chupacerveza

137) Keger Jupit

138) JDPsma

139) Ricardo Rodriguez

140) redstrand


141) bordinco90

142) DrMole

143) wraub

144) Cracker7

145) MatchFive

146) Tuffluck

147) sneha1965

148) LoveJackBruce

149) TheBass

150) EoganDubh


151) loopee

152) slapshot

153) Tad

154) aproud1

155) TerribleTim68

156) Greywoulf

157) Polish Thunder

158) Fermata

159) Basspopper

160) Cyborg


161) gigetto

162) Bassist30

163) Lowandfat

164) AHaze

165) lizardking837

166) iriegnome

167) RodRy

168) Mr40mm

169) jt62

170) scottm


171) shadven

172) EatS1stBassist

173) Adjectives

174) Haunted House

175) Orpheus55

176) minronnee

177) Chowney Guitars

178) Protagonist

179) Ryco

180) Lunatique


181) Big Benner

182) Slingy

183) Balog

184) Obrad Lacarac

185) GMC

186) Thom Fioriglio

187) dch0719

188) Downlowsince81

189) devnulljp

190) Bruiser Stone


191) otp57

192) Mvf

193) 4StringDave

194) JamasC

195) alanloomis1980

196) Recon1342

197) Liko

198) swink

199) FrenchBassQC

200) onefitter


201) Roccobass

202) Rob112

203) Gilead

204) Dave814

205) Free Bassing

206) Danthion

207) Kvastskaft

208) SunByrne

209) Spencejm

210) FARBass


211) nuage420b

212) WestyBassBob

213) ProbablyTooLoud

214) Aaron Houts

215) Jeremy Crockett

216) Miles_ONeal

217) themickster

218) 1uca5x

219) BrusselsBass

220) Sindicado


221) Mikeoso

222) Michael Simpson

223) donahue

224) KaraQ

225) edr

226) casbonano

227) Frank Vozak

228) TK4261

229) Yogi Bear

230) BigAndyA


231) 68Tele-Bass

232) Chrome Dome

233) Deenah

234) Low Down Brown

235) jazzbass_5

236) Jmlee

237) Hummergeist

238) Black Out Jazz

239) Michael Favata

240) YellowLabs


241) RichBass55

242) LastJaguar

243) Pocket4

244) HotWater84

245) entoo

246) Lowbrow

247) Slaphound

248) TimBosby

249) 099451057947

250) Lowendchamp


251) Eddie Jones

252) RSey716

253) keith rosier

254) acbluesguy

255) MrLenny1

256) JeezyMcNuggles

257) R2Bass

258) Jeff7bass

259) Gideon 2010

260) PanosI


261) FalloutNo1

262) Darrell Vachon

263) ToddOfThunder

264) Ampslut

265) MikeSpector

266) outoftune

267) Luftkopf

268) KaiTheShisno

269) John Paul S

270) Chicken Wing


271) MadJack

272) MrUsefulAlien

 

[RodRy]

With that, I’m stepping down at midnight tonight. I’ll post one more list with Alien aboard and then someone can do what I did back in 2028, I believe, run the club. I’ll still jump on like normal, but G’Dog’s post convinced me my reign is over. It’s been fun as heck but it’s tine for a new leader, Fearless or not.

Let me know who’s like to tackle the job. I’m down to 14 hrs...

Ugh. Gutting news.
We could do like the Mediocre Bassist Club and just all have the same number.

Mike, I think you did a fantastic job over your years as Fearless Leader. You have lead us through good times and bad, into and out of turmoil, and given us a sense of friendly comradery which few places on the internet can match. The growth of the club, and continued high level of communications here are a tribute to the vision you had when you stepped up.

 

[Flamingo21]

Thanks, iagtrplyr. Much appreciated.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

That’s just one more reason to respect the hell out of Sir Paul right. His transition between the Hofner and the Ric was as smooth as butter. Like. No big deal. Like. Yes. Big deal. The Rics necks always seemed comparable to a Gibson LP in that the action was so even and low and light to the touch. But both uncomfortable for me to play. I need to be able to dig in. But maybe that’s because my technique isn’t great. But both are heavy and just feel strange in my hands.
I have to agree wit the Fearless Leader about @MadJack dilemma. A 50 year old paper cone speaker is gonna be tough to keep alive. Maybe if you really loved it you could get it re-conned. The paper becomes brittle over time and the rubber around it disintegrates. Just an age thing. And theirs lots of new replacement speakers that are great for reasonable prices. Just my opinion for what it’s worth.

How well a speaker ages depends on a lot of things - whether it's used, heat, humidity, silverfish, etc. But if you abuse it (full volume, use other than intended), an old speaker is far more likely to go south. I have some 50 year old speakers that still sound great - but they're well within their specs in how they're used.

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I never change my bass strings (or rarely would be more accurate) here’s what James Jamerson thought:

Jamerson used La Bella heavy-gauge (.052–.110) flatwound strings which were never replaced, unless a string broke. He did not particularly take care of the instrument, as he stated: "The dirt keeps the funk".

So I’m “keeping the funk.” Lol.

I’ve never broken a bass string either.

So far, my EBCFs have given me no reason to change them. I took them off a couple of times to try something else, but my Thunderbirds just love these strings. The oldest set is several years old. Nowhere near Jamerson, I'm sure, butthey still sound great.

I really want to try some tapewound strings so I may be changing strings soon. The Fender 58s maybe? The Labellas of which I love their flats and the Rotos in short scale only have 65-115s I think and my bass was factory set up with 45-90s so I’m afraid of throwing it all out of kilter. Any thoughts anyone?

Alas, none pertinent.

Have New Years @iagtrplyr and to all my friends here at the combo club.
I appreciate all of you…

Ditto!

 

[Miles_ONeal]

I haven't broken a string since 1981, when violin ceased to be my main instrument.

Now I really want to see you getting bass notes out of a violin...

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

After spending pert near 20 min scrolling through pages of posts, I have figured out what happened and am now on bended knee begging G’Dog for forgiveness and the opportunity to kiss his CC ring.


Our friend, Mr Alien, requested not to be given a number until he had a new combo and like a dope I did just that. Yes, his EBS qualified him did membership and so my original decision to give the guy 269 was correct, and my taking him off the roll was wrong. I now see the error of my ways and am sorry.

So today I will reinstall Alien Guy and give him #272. He did display a combo with a pic and was interested in joining. Good enough for me and hopefully everyone else.

Now you may be wondering, “Is all this worth it?” I thought so a few years ago when this club was close to falling off the cliff of irrelevance, but now less so. For me, it’s become work I don’t need, especially in the co big year. I have going on and have made too many corrections this past year, meaning I’m just not able to focus on the job like I used to do.

With that, I’m stepping down at midnight tonight. I’ll post one more list with Alien aboard and then someone can do what I did back in 2028, I believe, run the club. I’ll still jump on like normal, but G’Dog’s post convinced me my reign is over. It’s been fun as heck but it’s tine for a new leader, Fearless or not.

Let me know who’s like to tackle the job. I’m down to 14 hrs...

Thank you for reviving this club! We all appreciate it! You have earned your retirement. Hopefully someone will step up (not me).

 

[Miles_ONeal]

Thank you for reviving this club! We all appreciate it! You have earned your retirement. Hopefully someone will step up (not me).

Has someone stepped up yet?

Survey says ...

Yes! Or maybe someone tripped and got tagged before they could get back up. But one way or another, I feel a new year coming.

 

[SoulReflection]

Has someone stepped up yet?

Survey says ...

Yes! Or maybe someone tripped and got tagged before they could get back up. But one way or another, I feel a new year coming.

They all can't fit through the door at the same time so it's wide open for you .

 

[Miles_ONeal]

They all can't fit through the door at the same time so it's wide open for you .

In their tweens, my wife and one of her friends friend got stuck trying to run through a door at the same time when my wife's brother was chasing them with a snake. I so wish someone had gotten a photo of that.

 

[swink]

Still trying to figure out why you didn't answer the door. Was it the scythe?

.....but since someone stole the clubhouse door last week....

The puzzle pieces are falling together....

 

[MadJack]

MadJack, you had me at the Ashdown! Welcome to the Combo Club, our latest member, and friend. You will be known now and forever as member #271. With that comes lovely door prizes, but since someone stole the clubhouse door last week I can only offer you a hearty, "Welcome to the Party!"

If it was me, I'd skip running your bass through a speaker that's almost as old as the rest of us and, IMHO, irreplaceable. Hell, I'd strum lightly with my guitar too! The low frequencies would be too much for the driver to handle, especially if you turned it up a bit. Now that's only one musician's opinion to another; you do what you want to do. Let's see if anyone else chimes in with an opinion.

Either way, glad to have you aboard. We can always use another Floridain. Enjoy!

Fearless Leader

You did got me motivated to test the Jensen. Previously I did a visual inspection and repaired a couple small tears, to make sure they didn't get any worse. It's back in the cab. I removed the stock leader from it (it needed to be done), cleaned the tabs, made a leader to hook it up to some of my other amps.

It works great! I started with my little 2 watt Fender Greta, sounded beautiful. Moved up to my MonoPrice/Stage Right 5 watt amp. All good. I then tried it with my homemade 5F1 Champ. WOW! It sounded phenomenal! There's something about a vintage speaker with a vintage (even a copy) circuit. I finally took it to my 6G2 Brownface Princeton. Holy smokes! That was a sweet sound. A sweet tone you can only get from a big speaker! Rich, full and harmonic. The Weber 12A125A sounds fantastic in this amp, but the C15-PS put the amps tone to the next level!

The C15 will stay in the amp while I get it working, but I do plan on replacing it. I'm looking at a Weber 15F150B, with a British "Blue" cone. I'll give it a try with the bass then.

As for the Ashdown, it was sort of a let down. Stock it wasn't as loud as and full sounding as a 30 watt 8" bass combo should be. It was a nice warm sound, but lacked low end. At best it was a mid-bass tone. The speaker broke up way too soon and didn't have much sensitivity. They gave up too much by going with such an inexpensive, light weight speaker. The FaitalPRO gave it all the tone and volume it should have had in the beginning. As for the constructed with Poplar ply, I didn't see any when I had it open. All I saw was some sort of engineered wood product, with a finer grain and lighter than MDF. It is a great sounding practice combo now. It could record from the speaker now and sound fantastic. At the price it goes for now and the quality you are paying for, it really needs a better speaker, even if it adds to the weight.

 

[biguglyman]

Dante probably proscribed a place in Hell for bassists who put flats on a StingRay, and I took the chance. By some other chance, Combo Club all-nite laundromat and silent movie theater patron @biguglyman just swapped out Low Tension Flats for Brite Flats.

For the full story, check here:
LaBella LTF's v GHS Brite Flats