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I'm rather hoping I'm not the only Talking Heads fan here. I've always been fond of their unique approach to pop/rock/funk and Byrne's unconventional style/lyrics. Tina Weymouth is a big part of that, also. The simplest of basslines that fit in perfectly with everything else. Two great examples (and both great tunes)

That's astonishingly well-crafted and meticulously detailed, a genuinely jaw-droppoing level of craftsmanship. It's also really, really ugly.

Had a good time Friday evening, on our way on holiday, we stayed overnight with my cousin. Nothing unusual, maybe, but I was in bands with him in the 60s and early 70s (the latter being our age now!). Unfortunately we usually only meet nowadays at family funerals...... He still gigs occasionally, and has a collection of rather nice guitars, including a mint Gretsch White Falcon and various Taylors and Martins, and an acoustic bass guitar. So while our wives were yapping away in one room, we were happily jamming through 50+ years of music memories. Great stuff! Anyone else done this? Malcolm

If anyone is interested in how these are with flats, I've put some Chromes on and I doubt I'll be able to take them off now. Even with rounds I found all pickup positions very usable, but with the flats I've managed to make the neck pickup sound closer to a P Bass, whilst backing off the bass and treble a touch. Doesn't sound as P like as my Fender P, but it's passable and great in the mix. Great slap sound too with both pickups on. Very happy bunny

Yes Stop Making Sense was an amazing experience for me too but this is the concert I would like to invent a time machine for. At 49.05 they play the best version of Born Under Punches ever, I can listen to that for days.

Everytime I see one of these Stingrays I can see the money falling out of my account. I daren't try one as I know the outcome. Oh, go on then.

Late to the party, but so's Discreet so that's OK. I do this for fun. The money's nice and I do expect to be paid, but enjoying myself is way more important than the money. [Cue lengthy and tangential posts by pro musician Basschatters explaining why I'm undermining their market and need to change my attitude.] In the OP's situation my only real questions would be: Am I still enjoying playing this music with these bandmates? If I devoted this particular time & effort to finding another band and then playing that music with those bandmates, would it be likely to be more fun? If my limited career as a gigging musician has taught me anything, it's that every band has issues, every band has problems, every band has a list of reasons to make me want to throw my toys out of the pram and flounce. Which makes flouncing a less attractive option, since I know what I'll be walking into next ...

done

@OP You thought you were joining a band but it now turns out it's a floating cast of musos backing up a couple of troubadors. Shame they didn't make that clear to you, whether through cöck-up, conspiracy or carelessness, who knows? Anyhow, keep taking the gigs and the money, and use the opportunity to do a bit of networking (maybe steal the drummer) while looking for the full time band. Keep working with these guys until you don't need them anymore then very politely give them the Spanish while leaving a hook in them in case they need you again. So, rather then them using you, you're using them. Frontmen, eh? You can't live with them and you can't kill them, gut them, wrap them in chicken wire, tie some weights to them and throw them off the back of a boat.

I'm Carlo, currently living in a Florida swamp by way of NYC and more recently China. I've been playing bass since 1962 and started building basses in earnest in 2010 after exiting furniture design and returning from Asia. I had quit playing in the early 80s, keeping only a 1960 EBO and a '77 StingRay. Picked it up again around 2002 and have since acquired too many basses. Here's my 1965 UK Vox Phantom and one of the clones I built a few years back. I owned a Crucianelli Vox version in the early '70s. Sad to say, it didn't hold a candle to the original. I've also owned a number of British sports cars and Triumph motorcycles which definitely were instrumental in forming a DIY attitude!

Well Lurks, I have indeed decided to get back on me bike....! We adopted an 11 month old boy back in March and needless to say have struggled to find the time for the comp..I think the brain forgets what it was like first time round (or at least mine does !!).. Anyhow, I've got some basics done,under the working title of "Hazy Sunday on the moon " !!

Looks like I'm free for this now! 😊 Got A couple of sets of 5 String Dean Markley Helix strings that I've never opened that the raffle is welcome to. Might have a couple of things for the For Sale table, but not sure yet. Attendee list 1) Cetera - Spector NS2 & Legend 4X, Dingwall NG2, Epiphone Vintage Pro Thunderbird, Yamaha BB3000, GK800RB head, Genz Benz Neox212 cab, Tech-21 Dug DP3X preamp/pedal 2) Ezbass - Maruszczyk Elwood L 4 string fretted (J pickups), Maruszczyk Elwood L 4 string fretless (MM pickup), Rickenbacker 4003s, Rob Allen MB2 fretless, Phil Jones Flightcase + PB300 3) Happy Jack - AliKat DB #004, Mike Lull 54P, all I need to play a doubling gig (that evening) on those two instruments 4) BlueJay - Eminence Upright (left-handed), loads of camera equipment 5) obbm - Fender Precisions, Sadowsky HPJ, Bergantino NV115, Handbox WB100 and if room Quilter BB800 + BF One10 + Nate Mendel for sale/trade  6) Nancy Johnson (Paul) - The Big One, rack (GED/poweramp), possibly the dUg DP3x. A bass. 7) MacDaddy - Shuker bass(es), Snapdragon Folding bass, Flattley Bass Poison Ivy. 8 ) prowla (Paul) - Maybe a Ric or two and fakers, maybe a couple of Statii, maybe J- & P-basses. Probably a Markbass amp & cab and a pedalboard with some FX. 9) Stingray5 - Old faithful Stingray5; Tune SWV4-BB bass; Eden EC180 1x15 combo. (I also have a gig that evening so may leave the Eden in the car but happy to bring it in if anyone asks). 10) TrevorR - Wal Pro II E, Wal Mk 1 Custom, Aria SB700, MarkBass LMII and Traveler 2x10, pedalboard. 11) TheGreek - Mesa M Pulse 600 head/ Powerhouse 1x15 cab and The Psilos bass built by Andyjr1515 12) JapanAxe (Graeme) - most of the stuff in my signature! 13) Wolverinebass (Andy) - Maybe some Wounded Paw effects/signature preamp and a bass. 14) Silverfoxnik (Nik) - Roscoe Beck 5, Gibson Thunderbird, BC Rich Eagle, plus my Ampeg V4BH Rig 15) Paul The Drums of the Junkyard Dogs, with kit. 16) Frank Blank (Frankè Blanké) Rob Allen Mouse, AER Basic Performer, Fender Modern Player with modded fretless neck, Ibanez SRC6/SR500, cake. 17) Ordep - Noble Preamp, Modulus Jazz, Fodera Monarch New Std, Amp, pedalboard depending on the day’s mood. 18) ChunkyMunky - Yamaha BB1025X, SWR Redhead combo  19) Jabba the Gut - TC Electronic RH450, RS112 and some own build basses 20) Thestick - Vanderkley cabs, Aguilar ag700 head, selection of basses 21) Mr & Mrs Hamster - Tea, coffee & cake! Might bring a couple of basses too 22) bassace - usual double basses etc. 23) OutSpoon (Steve) - Fodera Monarch Standard Classic, Sandberg California VS5, Maybe a '94 Stingray? TC 208 combo or PJ Double4? 24) Walman - BF Super12T, FPPR Status S1 (yes that one ), Genz Benz Streamliner, Helix Floor, and a load of EBS pedals for sale 25) musicbassman - planning to come, sorry I've nothing of great interest to bring with me, just some respect for all you guys bringing your treasured possessions to display. 26) Kebabkid - Sire Marcus Miller V7 (4 string), Roland Bass Cube 120XL, Zoom B3 & EBS Octabass 27) Graham (still tentative at the moment) - Lakland DJ5, G&L USA SB2, Yamaha TRB1005J, EBS HD350, EBS Neo 2x12, EBS Microbass II, EHX Big Muff Bass Deluxe, Joyo Orange Juice 28) NickD - Maruszczyk Jake 5P+, Maruszczyk Elwood L5A, Markbass 121H, Zoom B3, Bass Soul Food, EHX Freeze, Mooer Tender Octaver, Ebow.

No need to say,if there wasn't Neil,there wouldn't be navarone

Info from the man himself: http://www.smithbassforums.com/showthread.php?s=9c378f5b2737d1f2378ffc114a3e7b45&t=2

Welcome Zapdady. You needn't worry. We all know the answer to that one... GAS. Some of the great bassists have started out in the horn section too. Have fun. PS: Do you tune down to E flat?

Hosco body, Wilkinson pickups and tuners. Chinese bits make up the rest.

Good evening, ZD , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. I suppose we should really leave you to find out for yourself, but, to avoid future disappointment, and further expense, on your part, I feel duty-bound to disclose that you'll never get the trumpet sound you're striving for, even with all those pedals. Sorry to have to break it to you like that, but I think it's the kindest, in the long run. ...

Started with a Schaller 471-8 Functionally great, but a little overdesigned, e.g. the gronky coarse adjustment is aesthetically challenged compared to a TOM solution. Unnecessary if the saddle carriers are properly located. Four saddle (12 string ) prototype using pieces from my standard 4 string bridge/tailpiece and some .020 aluminium in situ with prototo (misdrilled) tailpiece. Then it got ugly... more Al, more butchered bridge parts and Francis, the Talking Mule. Essential for developing my 5s, 8s, 12s, and now, 10-15s. Only way to find out what pickup sounds how where. In this case ThunderBucker Fiver pups. Also helps in finding balance points and strap button locations. Now with TrembleNO™, the aspirational whanger system. Amazing what odd bits you can find in a drawer to screw into an untapped hole in .020 Next: Bring up the Body.

The specs and even the shape of the thing suggest to me that it’s aimed squarely at guitarists. I suspect this won’t do a great job with bass at all...

Tomorow i will go to a profesional car painter to paint it. Here you can compare the size with my 40" scale p-bass and the 34" scale vig cobra

That's where you're going wrong - you're meant to film yourself playing bass

I might bring a Rickenfaker along, with a real Ric TRC, just to see if folks can tell the difference...

Remain In Light and Fear Of Music were the peak, IMO. There was a time there where they were the best band in the world. The Stop Making Sense reading of 'Heaven' will be played at my funeral.

Leeds for gigs but York for culture, history, lack of yobs and general niceness

Thanks for that. I larfed. (Mainly because it worries me to think I may never be able to buy a "dumb" telly ever again.)

It was, but a bit of zoot suit going on there too, I think DB had his creative roots in '50's & '60's small-town Americana

Hi, Si Only just caught up with this bit of the changeover. Now I understand why @jebroad manfully stepped into the breach! Huge thanks for sorting the previous bashes and best wishes for your next big adventure!

Yesterday I found myself thinking about the 'What do you think about when you're playing thread' and wondering if Ritalin might help me keep my mind on the job in hand!

Thank you. Talking Heads were one of my favourite acts of the eighties. Their hits are like milestones in my memory as they accompanied major steps forward in my development upon leaving home for good. For example; the Gate Theatre at the head of O'Connell Street in Dublin showed the film Stop Making Sense every weekend for what seemed like months when it came out. People would attend and behave as if the Heads were performing live for them. I went once myself and found lots of people were going each weekend. That was a life affirming experience for an early twenties lad such as me. I liked Tom Tom Club too but I felt it was a distraction from the main Talking Heads vibe. It also felt like the two bands co-existed on an uneasy basis. That one film was a masterpiece in its simplicity. From the minute it started you were in the audience. The complete lack of narration and visual prompts made the experience even more real. It was the next best thing to being there and in some way it was better because of the choice camera shots. I'd imagine it was not nearly as easy to make as it was to watch. I'd like to see it in the cinema again but the feelings of oneness with everyone and the consequent buzz can never be recaptured. I'll probably end up buying it on Blu-ray or DVD audio.

I bet you know who killed J R Ewing and all. Let's not blame any of the Scots for destroying Dr Who when we all know who really killed the Dr. Seen leaving the scene of the crime having cleared the way for former associate Chris Evans to step up. The ginger one had lost interest by the time Ms Piper had done the deed and we then got a perky young Scot who could charm the knickers off a washing line at thirty paces. I really liked Christopher 'Eck and all. But I'm not bitter about it all.

Stop Making Sense is excellent.

I watched Stop Making Sense last Sunday and it was so damn good I watched it again today. I dislike concert films usually but Talking Heads are so damn good. Tina Weymouth is an excellent bassist, just like you say, simple bass lines that serve the song, height of the art as far as I’m concerned.

tom tom club were awesome

Netflix would be a better option... Lots of great shows to get into and only £7.99 subscription. I rarely ever watch 'actual' TV.

Thanks Andy. The covers are a great finishing touch on my P-Bass project.

Don't get hung up on the through neck. I own a Streamer Stage 1, it's nothing like any Yamaha I've owned. Not in feel, sound or playability. Same with the Spector it sounds and feels like a Spector. All great, all different. BB3000 or BB1200s that's the fight. The quality of the early Japanese Yamaha basses is remarkable.

That's a huge inside view of your development process. Thanks. Multi course individually adjustable saddles must be basic to how well the bass plays above the twelfth. Nice metalwork. I especially like the test bed body. I suppose you will make a newer body derived from the findings above? PS; in the UK you'd risk an arrest for indecent behaviour if you were seen playing with your whanger in public.

I'm not typically much of an overdrive user but I do think every bassist should have something to hand to add that drive if you need it. The other week, I found my old Digitech Bass Driver in my spare room cupboard whilst I was cleaning it out. Bloody hell, that thing is the worst pedal I have ever heard and mercifully, it crapped out after about five minutes. I haven't checked since to see if it was just a bad battery. An old friend of mine in America very kindly saw a Facebook post of mine and offered to send me his Darkglass B3K free of charge since he had upgraded to a B7K. I've been getting grips with it this week and it's a really impressive bit of kit. It makes a really rich and natural sound. I prefer a mild helping of grit rather than full on distortion but there is plenty of both on hand. I've found it reacts better to my passive Cort Rithimic than my active Bogart Blackstone though I'll readily admit I need to spend a lot more time playing with it to learn how to really use it (and I should also plug it into my PJB Big Head some time, to see what it's like through headphones and a modelled preamp). My brother came round with his Yamaha Attitude bass the other day. It's modded with Lace Sensor pickups and sounds absolutely riotous. A rock-monster bass if there ever was one. It took the sound of the Darkglass to a new level.

If they can't remaster the album because the original tapes are too fragile, then they should give Jason another crack at it. Sit him down with an Alembic and let him re-record it. The fans would love it and it would finally be the 'justice for Jason' we have all wanted. It's a shame that the band collectively pushed Jason out, and then took over a decade from that point to really honour his legacy. He brought a level of precision to the bass playing that Cliff just didn't have. Cliff is held up as sacred by the Metallica hardcore because of his untimely death but in reality, I have never found his loose, fuzzy bass sound to be very satisfying or effective. I hate to prescribe what a bassist should do but in the instance of Metallica, having a solid pick-player was the perfect tonic to lock everything together both on record and on stage.

Yes, fantastic - he did bass solos live as well. The original thread was intended only to give a sample of what would have been listed in the Melody Maker in the Uk and my own recollections - I realised there are several important additions - AND remember I was talking late 60s:- John McVie - Fleetwood Mac John Entwhistle - whilst his playing in the mid 60s was undoubtedly influential, in 68/69 IMO he hadn't reached his 'typewriter style' peak - that I think occurred in the early 70s (Who's Next for example). Some of you clearly started playing earlier in the 60s by the influences mentioned - but I'm still surprised people in the late 60s (unless they were major soul fans) would be turned on by the orchestral pop of Motown, bass playing wise - that's not to put it down - I've learned all of those songs but generally going backwards from 70s soul/funk/jazz/disco influences. For instance, Ain't No Mountain High Enough in the late 60s - great fantastic bass part but really??? Unless you were in a function band or soul band? For me, Nutbush City Limits was a more likely thing to learn at that time (I still play that now in a band I dep with). If you are talking late 60s orchestral (and there were a lot of unsung fine bass players around) how about Alan Spenner on the original soundtrack of Jesus Christ Superstar? People have mentioned Jet Harris - he was very much early 60s but how about the subsequent Cliff and The Shadows bassists, Brian Locking and the phenomenally good John Rostill - he played on the Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt - a very nice bass part which I always felt had Jack Bruce influence - but this was out of era (64 - thus mono usually, not 16 track, and pre Marshall, unduly twangy guitars). However Mr Rostill was part of Tom Jones' celebrated Las Vegas band which was said to have been s**t hot (by none other than Elvis) in - the late 60s - orchestral player by then!!

I've had consistently good service from UPS, too. Of course that doesn't mean I'll always have good service from them, or from any other company. The way that delivery services are run is fatally flawed, mainly due to financial and management issues. Pretty much a microcosm of UK plc, unfortunately. And the upcoming 'national mental aberration' in March 2019 is surely going to be no help in this, or indeed anything else.

I lost faith in couriers earlier in the year when then cracked my SC3. What annoys me more is now they charge you to do a job - pick up and deliver a parcel in the same condition as it was picked up - a job any of us could do, but if they dont manage to do that job - either by non delivery or arriving damaged - you dont get anything back unless you have paid extra to insure it!! and then theres a million caviates to try and stop a pay out. In what other job are you allowed not to do what youve been paid for and then only allow rectification in the form of compensation by the client having to take out their own insurance policy against you not doing your job??!! drives me crazy.

It's really easy to misread that!

Ha! I might raise you another Shuker.. 😂

Here my GF (goat friend)is helping me Just glued the maple fretboard layer and the side view