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Spencer Dryden, for the most part, with a very different approach to 'rock' drumming. Superb inventive notions of rhythm and sound. RIP, a great loss.

Mexico City to York. For a Vigier (and a funeral, but that would spoil the story)

Ooh ooh, a 3 string 4 stringer Jazz Precision! Where do I buy one?

Thinking about it, I also bought my first two basses there - A Columbus Charvel copy and then a Hohner Jack Professional while I was at college.

I wonder did Janek pay to licence the Gran Turismo image.

Goitre Get You Into My Life - The Beatles

How Casady got that tone out of a shortscale Starfire strung with flats is beyond me. So much authoritative bark and grind. I know his Starfires were modded, but apparently they were still passive and just had a few extra tweaks here and there. I think Jack Casady is overlooked as a bassist, both for locking into grooves and for harmonic knowledge and creativity. John Entwistle did many things, but grooves weren't in his musical vocabulary at all, and he's never as harmonically inventive either. Jack's playing on the song Crown of Creation is amazing. Stomping along through the versus, adding chugging triplets here and there, through to the eerie outro with long held notes on the verge of feedback. Jack's playing sort of lopes along, through all the Airplane stuff. Interestingly as their drummer(s?) always seemed quite light-footed and skimpy, rather than pounding out a robust rhythmic grid for Jack to lock into.

I've used joinmyband successfully. Err and unsuccessfully. But if you take the rough with the smooth mostly a happy experience.

@Richard R isn’t that missing a tuning key? You’d best buy one … 😈

Maybe you'll find something to your liking in one of the excellent Fat Bass Tone demos: https://www.youtube.com/@FatBassTone/videos Just check out any of the ones featuring the blue Ibanez SR. Also, the usual follow-up for anyone asking about MK1 replacements: in MK1-equipped basses, it's usually the preamp that's the weak link, not the pickups. See this recent Space 5 owner's post on Talkbass: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/cort-artisan-space-5-my-experience-one-year-later.1670985/

Tremendous response. Thanks so much for such detail. I think I can now blame you for what is likely to be my next purchase. It sounds just the kind of bass I'll love. Will keep you informed. In the promo photos, the black one looks more than tasty to me. 'Dear Santa ...'

Not a bass, but I flew to the US to buy a guitar once!

The Wart Song - Culture Club

The very place! Small world my friend.

Hey all, I'm returning to my bass after a while away trying to organise my life...I'm 60+ and looking to play covers etc - no aspirations for fame and fortune!! How do you all find bands/musicians to play with? I'm on BandMate and BandFriend but nothing seems to be resonating at the mo. Any recommendations or thoughts ?

An interesting question. I knew I couldn't afford a 'year of birth' bass. I already had the Squier 40th P as my first 'proper' precision (I won't count the kit), and wanted a more 'authentic' vintage experience. I looked at the Squier CV, then the Fender Vintera. Each step up brought a bit more, as well as ramping the cost. But because a lot of my work was delayed through Covid I had a very good year with some big contracts finishing. I could afford it, so I looked around for a chance to try the AVII. A Strings in Treforest had one in stock and their price was the best I could find in the UK, they are fairly local to me and a great place to go. They let me play with it for ages, it sounded great, and I liked it, but the action was a bit high for me and too much neck relief. Their tech took it away for twenty to thirty minutes and set it up for me. After that, it felt great. Retrospectively, it doesn't sound dramatically different to the Squire 40th; basically both have a great vintage sound. The neck on the Squier with its satin finish is nicer to play. But it is a real experience to play and I do love gigging it. The one thing is the clay dots disappear into the amber varnish and rosewood board under some stage lights, which can be disorienting. My partner has a vinyl cutter and made me loads of tiny 1/16" dots I put over them, and they work brilliantly - I haven't rubbed any off yet either, although they are removable. Sound: One day I set up my home rig tweaked it for a good, natural sound and did a lot of A/B tests, and I was sceptical the AVII would sound particularly distinctive. Actually, it sounded incredible, which I felt validated my first impressions. Finish: it was (and still is) immaculate, lots of lovely case candy. The attention to detail is great. A steel sheet under the pickguard, not foil. Vintage style electrics. Lots of modern makers marks. Mimicing but not faking 60s style e.g. dated 2022 but in the vintage style. Reverse tuners, hootenany button, thumb rest, bridge and pup covers. Feel: The C neck is big, but not baseball-bat chunky. It is not super light, but neither is it very heavy, and it balances well. The very glossy neck is a bit sticky, and I fight the urge to flat it a bit. It's hard to express, but to me it feels special and it inspires me to play my best, but it's not as easy to play as my Flea Jazz, the Performer or the Hohner B2 - which are three of the easiest playing instruments I've ever played. Looks: it looks like a nice instrument, but I think relatively few people would realise it is in the early 60s style; at a distance it's only the style of the sunburst that marks it out as such. The G&G hardshell case was listed at about £300, so knock that off the price (£1,925) and it felt like a steal compared to anything from the custom shop. The cases are now £389(!!!) and the basses are £2,179 and don't include a case... so not such a deal. Long and short, I gig it a lot, but it's not the bass I choose when I want an easy time of it. I hope I'm able to put some honest wear on it while I am still able to gig it.

Aye. Ready to go

After a very long break.... (9 years!) I can see that my previous post wasn't very clear. So, here we go... I sold my 1980 Fender Jazz but kept my 1983 Double Eagle bodied custom Jazz (Schecter/DiMarzio/Schaller) which I still have and enjoy. I recently bought a G&L Tribute LB 100 which I'm getting to grips with as a modern P bass. Currently playing through an Ampeg BA 112 for home use but thinking of adding something more gig ready. Any ideas or recommendations?

... featuring the Invisible Drummer.

I'll be fitting that Friday hopefully (when Mr Trav sends to me).

Aesthetically I prefer the one Pino is holding.

I like Markbass gear but found their cabs to have a high end roll off, still sounded great though. But put a Markbass amp through an uncoloured cab such as Barefaced or LFSys and imo the amps then really shine.