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Showing content with the highest reputation on 13/10/18 in Posts
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I own three Peavey B-Quad (original owner). Two 4 stringers fretted and one 5 string fretless. The two 4 stringers are 2 of the first 12 pre-production prototypes (Violet & Teal). I have a personal letter from Hartley Peavey stating so. These were on USA dealer tour at select Peavey dealers featuring Brian Bromberg himself giving a seminar/demo. It was a fantastic experience being able to sit just a few feet away from Brian as he just blew everyone away with his virtuosity. The 5 string fretless I have was custom made. It's one of the very last B-Quad made (see extended story below) I had to contact Brian to get permission for the changes (no fret lines, side dot markers placed were the frets usually are, and no "B" at the 12th position). Surprisingly he approved it! It's black, black hardware. If Darth Vader played bass this is the bass he would have. The pre-production prototypes have electronics and piezo bridge saddle pickups that were designed and hand built by Rick Turner, co-founder of Alembic. I don't know how long Turner continued to make the pre-amp for the B-Quads. I do know that he wasn't happy with the Peavey relationship at some point because I had to contact him for a piezo bridge saddle pickup replacement for one that failed. He had ONE in stock and kindly sent it to me for FREE (Thank you so much Rick!). The custom 5 string was a disaster. It took 18 months to arrive. I had to repeatedly complain and inquire "where's my bass?". It turned out that because of the above mentioned "custom" modifications, someone at Peavey thought it was a defect and had tossed in pile of other defective components. When it finally arrived, it had the wrong hardware (I originally ordered gold), and the batteries were dead. It had different electronics, different piezo bridge saddles, sounded way different, and I never really liked the way it felt. BUT - it sure looked cool. It always draws comments from the audience with the shiny fretless, almost glass-like black fingerboard. At the time I bought the first one I really had my heart set on a Modulus. The sales guy suggested I try more instruments including the B-Quads. I hadn't been playing for a while and was just getting back into the music scene. When he left I decided to try a B-Quad. To my surprise, my wife who was with me suddenly said "I like the way you play this one. You're playing things I've never heard you play before". I was stunned. Why? Because at Brian Bromberg's demo one of his pitch lines was "This instrument will bring out music in you that didn't know was there". I thought "holy s***! talk about taking the words right out of the horse's mouth!!" So I bought it. It was nearly a year later and the other B-Quad left behind from Bromberg's tour was still sitting there. I was surprised no one had bought it yet. The store manager knew I had bought the first one and caught me eyeing it again one day. So he said "give me a figure - take your time". So I thought about it and finally gave him a rather low-ball figure. He then showed me his calculator. My "bid" was $50 higher. He sold it to me for the lower price.5 points
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NOW SOLD. I bought this bass brand new very recently, but having played 5 strings for the last 20 years, I cannot settle back into playing a 4. The opportunity has arose to purchase another 5, so I am putting this up for sale. It's a great playing and modern sounding bass with a range of different tonal options from the pickups and pre-amp. It has not left the house and has barely been played. No marks and is in as new, mint condition. It comes with a brand new Spector hard case – once again as new. This is the manufacturers description: Carved European alder body with a USA figured maple top and a slice of Walnut NECK WOOD: 3pc Maple with Graphite Rods inside for additional strength FINGERBOARD: Rosewood, with mother of pearl Crown Inlays NUMBER OF FRETS: 24 SCALE LENGTH: 34" HARDWARE BRIDGE: Spector zinc brass alloy locking bridge, with intonation screws Brass Nut PICKUPS AND ELECTRONICS PICKUPS: EMG 35TW ACTIVE TONE CONTROLS: Spector TonePump +18db boost only, bass and treble CONTROLS : bridge pickup volume with push/pull function for single/dual coil selection, neck pickup volume with push/pull function for single/dual coil selection, treble boost and bass boost I am happy to accept Paypal. £1175.00 and £15 post and packing. No trades thank you; just interested in a straight sale.4 points
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4 points
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I don't quite understand why this video has generated so much opprobium. Someone has dared to suggest that open strings sound different to a fretted note; that playing in time is a good thing; that overcomplication is not necessarily a good thing and that money end of the fretboard is not a bad place to live in a band context. I can't remember what the fifth thing was, something about not changing the chord by playing the root at the start of each bar. I don't think any of that is bad advice for a beginner/early stage intermediate bassist. It may not chime with all the mega star bassists on here with their multi-million pound deals and globe-hopping tours but I recognise the sense in it.3 points
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There was a video on his Instagram page the other day playing a fodera and I thought it was one of those mock “shred” videos.3 points
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Much the same for Mark King. Obvs he's best known for his slap, but what seems to get overlooked is that his fingerstyle playing is quite breathtaking.2 points
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I think we have the answer then! The board is 7.25 at the top and probably at the bottom, thus appearing a bit looser, and the frets a bit tighter due to also being 7.25 Cor. I'm sticking to a one piece fretless neck - this stuff is too hard for my little brain 😁2 points
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I showed it some interesting local sights, have recorded a couple of short videos including a comparison with my Allen Eden Jazz. They will follow in a couple of hours once they are uploaded to Youtube.2 points
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Last night was the first of two nights at Oktoberfest at Rougemont Castle, Exeter. Full stage rig, lights, PA and sound engineer provided so just back line to load in which was a change. Sound was good on stage and out front but one of the guitarists was having issues from a crackling radio mic on his guitar which was fixed by going back to a good old cable. Over four hundred tickets had been sold so lots of lubricated punters but went down really well. We shared with an excellent oompah band who were great fun. Overnight security meant we could leave the back line and drums in situ so in theory we should just be able to plug in and play tonight. This evening is a sell out so no doubt it will be lively!2 points
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..........hang on a minute, did you write floutwounds ??? Everyone knows that only trainee prima donna guitarists can use these. Full on prima donna guitarists then move on to flouncewounds.2 points
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These make for a great drive pedal! This is a really good description of how this pedal works in drive mode, the AGS side. The Tone Hammer is a totally different animal. With the AGS off, it's just an uber clean EQ with gain boost. Very high quality, and the sweepable mids are fantastic. You know how everyone raves about the Sadowsky outboard preamp/DI pedal. I had one, until I got my Tone Hammer. The TH covered the Sadowsky thing VERY well. The low control has the same 40 hz setting with the AGS off, as does the 4k treble setting. The sweepable mids on the TH are just wonderful, though I do wish it would go up to about 2k. No big deal. The EQ on the TH is flat when it is engaged. When you also turn on the AGS, at the lowest setting, there is no hair on the notes at all. Again, NO hair at all unless your bass is just SUPER hot in terms of output. What does happen when you engage the AGS is that highs are immediately rolled off in a way that simulates a vintage tweeterless cabinet. So the tone gets warmer sounding off the bat, even though the lows and mids are still the same. The Treble control now acts more like a Presence knob does on the Sansamp stuff. It dials in grindy mids in the 2.5k region. Very slick. The lows are tightened up a bit as you boost them, so instead of getting really deep and boomy, they get fat and vintage. Again, still no hair on the notes because the AGS gain is fully counter clockwise. The mid control still allows you to cut/boost mids where you want them. Very slick. Vintage tones with no hair. As you add more AGS gain, the tone gets warmer until you get some hair, and then it starts overdriving. With the EQ flat, the overdrive tone is VERY mid-oriented such that it can sound a bit nasally and harsh. But remember, this is with the EQ flat, and most folks who are used to hearing a classic tube amp (think SVT for example) should note that an SVT is no where near flat. There's a mid scoop. So to get rid of that nasally midrange in the TH, you have to cut mids as you boost the gain. Setting the knob around 2-3 o'clock puts the mid control around the 750 hz mark, where you'll get some classic SVT'ish mid scoop going. Start cutting the mids there to get the tone you want. Cut to anywhere from 10 to 8 o'clock, and you can pretty much close your eyes and thing your running through the BDDI and not the Tone Hammer. The cool thing is that you aren't having to use a Blend knob at all to control that mid scoop. Just scoop the mids as deep as you like to get the tone you're after, and then adjust the Treble (which now more like a Presence, remember?) to get the amount of cut you want. Then, dial up the bass if you want it fat and deep, or cut it back to keep a thinner tone. Very slick, and way cool. Here's another trick about the TH that I use a good bit. I'll scoop the mids ALL the way out around 750 hz for a rock tone. With the Bass/Treble boosted to around 2 o'clock, this is very similar to the "Fat Tube" setting from the BDDI manual. But the cool trick is instead to cut treble and bass back. I'll set bass to 11 or maybe 10 o'clock, and cut treble all the way back to 8 or 9 o'clock. The result is a very warm, lower-mid dominant tone (because the upper mids and lows are cut back so far), with a subtle, understated top end. It's very B15'ish and sounds awesome with a P bass or jazz with flats. At this point, if you want more depth, rather than boosting the bass, you move the mid frequency knob clockwise, which pools out upper mids and articulation. If you want more of that, then you move the knob counter clockwise to bring those upper mids back into the tone. The highs and lows stay the same, so it's an easy way to adjust your tone on the gig to get more/less articulation in the mix. These are just a few examples of what the Tone Hammer can do. I'm a huge fan of it obviously, but I came from being a BDDI user for quite a while, and I just never could bond with the new VT pedal. I still love and have a deep respect for the BDDI, and while I don't use one myself much anymore, I know I can always make it work. The Para Driver I wouldn't bother with myself. A lot of folks around here have slammed the Tone Hammer because you can't use the AGS like a second channel, where you can engage/disengage overdrive at will without causing volume differences. I guess I can understand that, but really that's not the Aguilar'sdesign intent. Instead, think of it more as a single channel tone shaper, that will "hammer" (pardon the pun) your tone into a wide variety of directions. It just takes a little time playing with the controls to figure out what does what. I still learn new things about it all the time. It's not that it's complicated, but rather that the AGS circuit ties in very closely to the mid control, so changing the mids affects the overdrive tone, and the more gain you add, the more the low end tightens up to prevent things from getting muddy2 points
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2 points
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I managed to get a new Peavey 210TVX for a good price (must be last one in the country surely?) to replace the vanderkley. Only had it since yesterday but It sounds nice and clear - and very loud - so it looks like the vanderkley might be for sale. Not a bad rig for just over £400 all in.2 points
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Depends on what bass you’re playing really, and what DB sound you’re after (jazz and bluegrass DB are very different tones). Either way, I think it’s less about EQ and more about playing style. I’ve also found that the tiniest bit of reverb can add to a DB feel.2 points
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It's one of the BBs from that era, don't recall the numbering convention but something like a BB6042 points
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The numbers do seem to contradict but the electrical energy input can be stored by the power supply such that when demanded by say a loud low note it is used for a short period of time for that note. So the power out does not exceed the power in over the long time, only in short bursts due to being stored by large capacitors which are continually recharged waiting for the next loud passage. Using a water analogy, you could fill a large water tank via a dripping tap and then when full, release all the water very quickly in 1 go. And then repeat.2 points
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2 points
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Hi folks Up for sale is my USA 2002 Fender Jazz, almost mint condition as mostly played at home and only gigged once or twice. Body and neck are basically flawless barring a smallish ding on the back of the upper wing (see pic). No buckle rash. Ash body with translucent Sunset Orange finish & nice attractive grain. 20 frets, weight is 4.7kg. All original, no changes to any of the electronics or hardware, except the black scratch plate which is an after market. I have the original white scratch plate if preferred. Also the original Fender documentation and tool kit is present. Currently sporting a set of DR fat beams. Prefer collection from Harpenden or Cambridge areas as I don't have a spare case to sell with it, may be able to arrange a meet somewhere not to far from those locations or in between! If in doubt give me a shout! Trials welcome, tea and bics provided. For sale only unless you have a midnight blue rick 4003 to trade !! Cheers Tom1 point
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£22 delivered, tiny, and it sounds pretty damn good. Downside? Not that versatile. But that's all. If you just need the occasional quacking from your bass and don't want to spend much, or take up too much space on your board, I think this is a pretty good one. On bass it works very well, it doesn't lose the low end or get extreme... it's very easy to get a good fast 'wah' out of this with bass. I haven't found a *good* demo online... but if you listen to RHCP's 21st Century, it's easy to get that kind of sound: On guitar... I love it for leads where it smoothens the attack. Like this: It's not going to replace my Soundblox BEF, but it's a pretty cool little pedal. A lot of the cheaper envelope filters get too honky or lose all low end... not this one! You don't get a lot of different sounds, you can't do down-sweeps, you can't make the sweep time change a lot... but what it does it does well.1 point
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Hello! New here. I’m based in Brussels but originally from Milan. I used to play / destroy basses in a couple of punk band back in the late 90s early 00s and I must admit: I never really learned how to proper play the instrument…but I had a really good time! I quit that long time ago and move to Photography to keep myself busy on my spare time. Last year I decide to get myself a bass again and I ended up with an AVRI 63 Fender Precision to treat myself with something better compared to what I was used to play. Basschat threads helped me a lot on my research and final decision: THANK YOU! Time to practice now 🙂 Thanks for having me here, Giulio1 point
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1 point
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Faith No More's 'The Real Thing'. I don't hear mention of Billy Gould nearly as much as I should on this forum, really upfront bass on a lot of the tracks on this album.1 point
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I was told by an upright player years ago that the grease from the nose is unique and a fantastic lubricant when playing! Could be a load of rubbish but he said it with conviction 😎🤔1 point
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the look on Chuck's face when he first hears Yoko's input at 1:19 is worth a look. Macca having Linda in Wings looks almost sensible at the side of Yoko doing vocals, what was Lennon thinking?1 point
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One of our regular pubs, not too heaving because of the weather, but not empty either. Almost didn't happen because the guitarists baby was taken to A&E so we called it off, and then it was ok, so it was back on. Just long enough for the drummer to get drunk (it takes very little time). So timing was all over the place, although mainly way too fast. Still, I wanted to do it as I had the ashdown CTM100, and it was its first outing. I did have to turn it a long way up to get to the right volume, although when setting up one of the guys in the crowd said it was too loud, but I just told him he was a crazy man, as there was no such thing! The gig went ok, I enjoyed the amp, it can sound rather nice cranked up!1 point
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I have used nose grease in the past - you're not alone These days I use Finger Ease - much more hygienic Finger Ease Guitar String Lubricant Spray https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0002GW3Y8/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_iUFWBbF8NCK831 point
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Yup neurohub, which for me only makes sense if you have at least a couple of SA pedals (I have the Manta too). So I agree with you, just get your 2 or 3 fav AS drives sorted and just use those. Simple is good!1 point
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I'm very surprised to hear that... I mean, it's possible that the MB800 is louder all other things being equal, I don't know... but I'm surprised it can be that much louder that you'd notice a big difference. Unlike a lot of amps out there... the Mesa keeps on giving, the volume knob continues to work. You may need to use it at 1 o'clock as opposed to 11 o'clock on another amp... but that means nothing: you can still turn it and get louder while the second amp will probably have nothing left once you reach the 1 o'clock position. The operation of the master volume on the Mesa is a lot more sensible than in many others out there, and clearly designed to be useful, not to impress people in the shop "look, I barely moved the knob and it's so loud, imagine how much louder it'll get when I turn it all the way!" Another thing is, it depends a lot how you use the adjustable HPF / voicing / bass controls. They have the ability together to make your bass go from Woody Allen to Dwayne Johnson... and everything in between. I used to use a pair of BB2 in the past too. They're good but they're not magic. If you think you're running flat out with a single one, I think you are simply reaching the limits of what a single BB2 can achieve (and be damn loud too), and you're probably treading dangerous territory where you must be close to damaging the speaker... the Mesa has enough power in store to obliterate a BB2 if the controls are not use carefully.1 point
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Me too - on some of the photos. The only thing....and it might be an optical illusion...is that on a number of them I've looked at, I reckon that the FRETS might be a tighter radius than the board. Doesn't it look the same to you? But bear in mind I have astigmatism and varifocals. Which is another reason you might want to disregard my comments...1 point
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From the perspective of someone starting out in a band context, surely none of this is controversial stuff? Anyhow, she's a working musician, a Berklee graduate and member of staff, and now she's a bass player you've all heard of, for better or worse!1 point
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Those mustang necks aren't a good gauge The board on my P is still pretty thick, and it's def. radiused top and bottom - I wouldn't want to steam/clamp/glue this board back on if the bottom was flat - it'd be quite a pig to do I reckon. Looking at the end grain I'd say it's cut bottom first (concave) out of a rectangular piece, then mounted, then the top carved to match. Then again, I'm getting well out of my depth on this now!!! 😁1 point
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1 point
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I finally gigged the amp at open mic night on Thursday. We are the house band and do do half hour stints at the beginning of the night. Firstly someone told me that they could hear my bass clearly for the first time. This may have been that we had a really good overall sound but although I was no louder that normal (to me anyway) it just seemed effort less. I think therextra headroom I had seemed to help me punch through better that I had before. Of course their is always a honeymoon period with a new piece of kit, and time will tell. but so far I am happy with the purchase. A few other things. The line level output from the DI is very hot. Luckily it can be switched to line level and the sound person was happy with that. The master volume control has multiple clicks as you turn it. Very helpful but at one point there is a noticeable jump. Not a big deal but one to be aware of when doing quiet acoustic work. Al;though the position of the volume control is no indication of power, it was on the t8 o'clock position all night once I found my level. As . with nearly all user manuals these days, there was almost no information and the operation of the Clip light is strange. It seems to be independent of the Gain control. I am starting to think that the pickups on my Aerodyne* are very hot as the peak as high as my active Greg Bennet when the Pad is not engaged. I am still nut sure about the onboard compressor. It seems more of a limiter to me and I did use my Marshall ED1 (modified for bass) in front of it. I don't no if there is an HPF in the amp but the low end was tight and controlled all night and I really enjoyed playing a lot. I was using a borrowed 1x12 with tweeter cab, kindly loaned to me by Stevie of this Parish while miy1x12 is having some work done to it. There is more low end on my cab so I will report back once I have tried the amp and cab together. Nest week I will try a few more things and report back. *A set of Di Marzio's DP126 (DP122 and DP123) recently purchased from DOOD will soon be going in there.1 point
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I used rounds for decades, discovered flats, enjoyed them immensely, but after about ten years I'm now back with rounds. Obviously they aren't as slick, but I counter this by playing for hours every day and thus have developed huge pads of hard skin on my fingers. The issue I get at sweaty gigs is my left hand sticking to the back of the neck, but found that judicious use of a Scotchbrite pad makes the neck silky and satiny smooth. Next!1 point
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Here's a pic of my de-fretted, Taiwan made lightweight photoflame BBG4AII. This is a really nice bass.1 point
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So this turned up today - Literally, its previous owner drove down from Bristol to bring it to me, which was nice. Obviously, as can be seen from the picture it is an Ashdown CTM100, and equally obviously as I got it today, I don't know really what it is like. A few initial impressions, it isn't as heavy as I thought it would be, its a shame it has jack sockets for the speakers instead of the speakons on the CTM300. and mostly, WTF is going on with the power switches. So it has a green button which is lit all the time, but switched on if it is up, and a red button, which isn't lit, but is on if it is down. I am sure that isn't normal. Anyway, will play around the house with it, but won't really find out what it is like there, but I have a gig at one of the regular pubs on friday, and I know what my amp sounds like there, so I will take this along and see what I can get out of it1 point
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Haha - will do. Don’t worry about making a space for it just yet!1 point
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The picture also has a 70s vintage porno film colour tint quality about it. Not that I've seen any, of course. Tone is very subjective. For me getting a decent tone out of an old Trace Elliot is easy - eq flat, pre-shape one engaged, adjust the balance for boominess depending upon the room - job done.1 point
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That's the only one i know off where the bass is so clear and prominent. You could try Blizzard of Oz albums Diary of a Madman with Bob Daisley on bass. Couple of songs i really like from that era with Bob are S.A.T.O. and Crazy Train If i can think of anymore i'll let you know. Standard tuning on Crazy Train if i remember right. Not sure about S.A.T.O. Music on Ultimate Guitar if it helps too Bass Tip :- Crazy Train verse count 5 beats on the A before doing the little run down. Have fun. Dave1 point
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would have gone for £52 if I hadn't bid it up to £99.99 - apologies if you were the multi-bid winner who was out on the town last night and wanted to make sure that you won it, but you were probably prepared to pay £200 for it so you are just glad you got a bargain If a 52 came along I'd be interested in that1 point
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If not the worst, then it's at least his weakest song that has got the most acclaim. However, it doesn't bother me at all if people like any song by a Beatle more than I do since I've been a Beatles fan for a long time. If you tried to pick out the worst song any of them did after the band broke up, though, that would be difficult. Because there have been many lackluster songs to choose from. But as a band I think they were great.1 point
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1 point
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😂 ah yes, ebony is pretty special. Saying that, the maple HH feels lovely too. They’re all lovely aren’t they 😁1 point
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From what was, up to that point, a good series, I felt this was a lame episode, merely done as filler. However, there were some little nuggets of information that were interesting, but not nearly enough. I’m hoping for a return to form tonight (there is another one isn’t there?). For my own tastes, I would’ve liked to have seen Manu Katché, Vinnie Colaiuta, Stewart Copeland and Steve Jordan in the list, but that’s just me.1 point
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1 point
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"Nicks was angry that Buckingham smirked while she delivered a speech...". Children. They are like bloody children. Although TBH I wouldn't mind if they never played another smegging note. I've always detested their music. My idea of hell is being stuck on a desert island where the only available music is Fleetwood Mac and the Stones.1 point
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1 point
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Great stuff I like how you've done this..I'll have to have a go at soloing over it now..giant steps has always been very challenging for me ..does your bassline follow the chord roots ?1 point
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I've owned several Thunderbirds over the years including Gibsons, Epiphones and Grecos (and a Cataldo Fenderbird). In my humble opinion, the finest of them all is the current Epiphone vintage Pro. There are a couple of minor signs giving away it's relatively low cost, but in terms of playability and tone, it's marvellous. And the build quality is excellent. I don't see it as 'just a copy', but if it is, I'm happy to play the hell out of it and proudly say I play an Epiphone. Just as you are with your Mike Lull copy 😉 Putting a Gibson truss rod cover on my Epiphone would be doing it a disservice. Bear in mind that I've never really got on with the Thunderbird Gibson put out from the 80s onward. It was always too dark and rumbly for me. And what happened to all that glorious chrome? Of course, to many people that model is the definitive Thunderbird so it's all swings and roundabouts.1 point
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Fantastic review, thanks! I've always been impressed with Jeff Genzler's products and still own his fantastic GB Neox212 cab which to my mind is the best value 2x12 on the market.1 point