Leaderboard

Been looking for a nice Stingray for a while but was unsure which colour to go for. As a Runrig fan I noticed Rory MacDonald plays a Translucent Teal one so have been looking for one in that colour as it looks great. Finally found one this week in great condition and had it delivered today. Got it from Classic & Cool Guitars, great service. And it looks as good as I was expecting. Pain to photograph to show the actual colour though.

Happy new bass day. After having a particular crap time at the moment, I decided to treat myself. I've had my eye (ears) on the EMG gzr pickups for a while and for some reason after all the basses I've had, I've been gassing over a P/PJ bass. I saw this beauty in stock and took a punt. First impressions, I thought the box was empty it's that light. Came set up real nice, fretboard is gorgeous. Had a quick headphone jam whilst setting up a new preset in the stomp. I am very happy! Nice clank with the p pickups, lovely mid fart with the jazz, together a lovely clanky fart! Sounds great haha. Oh it's all black like my soul so very suitable.

Well, despite having a Sandberg TT4 already bought and awaiting pickup from chez @DoubleOhStephan, I finally crumbled and bought the bass that first started me looking at Sandbergs in the first place. After all, there it was at The Bass Gallery just hanging there taunting me, day in, day out! I get the feeling that this one is going to be the sitting in the corner looking pretty bass and the one yet to be picked up is going to be the workhorse. Anyway I cannot believe the quality of this thing, I could wax lyrical for several days just about the quality of the knobs, of which there are three!

Yes but it was Stu Sutcliffe. Pete was better known as the Yorkshire Ripper🙁

It's pretty! Blurb: 5 Chambered red cedar body (makes it light as anything!); Carved swamp ash top; Maple Neck with rosewood fretboard; 38mm nut width (jazz stylee) Graphtech nut; Seymour Duncan Quarter-Pounder SPB P Bass & J Bass pickups; Controls: Volume, Tone, 4-way selector (1=neck pup 2=both in series 3= both in parallel 4=bridge pup); Hi Gloss finish to body; Satin finish to neck. Schaller straplocks as standard.

I havn't had time for one of these for a while now, but thought what the hell, I'll see what I can bash together, and ended up quite liking it. So here it is, all slightly less then one and a half minutes of it. For the voting page: I just looked at the pic and played what I saw, chanelling the Datsuns (the band, I mean) to get there: Adrenalin, speed, everything blasting along full throttle until... mechanical failure. Nothing very technical about this one, bolted together and messed about with a nice Groove Monkee beat, then thrashed around on my Ibanez RGIB6 baritone until I had a riff I like, double tracked that with the (I dont' deserve it) PRS Custom 24, pounded out the bass on my newly acquired Sandberg Forty Eight and then a bit of lead with the PRS again. Amplitube for all the guitar noises, very quick mix with some Maserati plugins thrown in to try and un-muddy it a bit.

Well I'm not at all convinced that in 1961 anyone was very interested in retaining George's guitar skills ... he was a thoroughly mediocre guitarist right up to the late 60s as all the primary source material makes clear. He was essential as a Beatle and an old school friend of Macca's, but most of the decent lead guitar work until 1969 was played by the band's best guitarist. That was, of course, Paul McCartney. Lennon was indeed arrogant, and that may have been one of the reasons why he didn't pick up Stu's bass and save Paul from having to buy a left-handed model. Far more to the point is that Lennon was absolutely not a bass player. He just about cut it on rhythm guitar and he had great vocals, plus he was a natural frontman (not a high-value attribute in the all-studio band that they became after Rubber Soul). Mr. Solid holding the rhythm section together he was NOT. *************************** As to being "under appreciated", well there's bass players and there's everyone else. For everyone else there: Awards and honours McCartney receiving the 2010 Gershwin Prize from US President Barack Obama Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Paul McCartney 1971: Academy Award winner (as a member of the Beatles) 18-time Grammy Award winner: Nine as a member of the Beatles Six as a solo artist Two as a member of Wings One as part of a joint collaboration Two-time inductee – Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Class of 1988 as a member of the Beatles Class of 1999 as a solo artist 1965: Member of the Order of the British Empire[444][445] 1988: Honorary Doctor of the University degree from University of Sussex[446] 1997: Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for services to music[447] 2000: Fellowship into the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors[448] 2008: BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music 2008: Honorary Doctor of Music degree from Yale University[449] 2010: Gershwin Prize for his contributions to popular music[450] 2010: Kennedy Center Honors[451] 2012: Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame[452] 2012: Légion d'Honneur for his services to music[453] 2012: MusiCares Person of the Year 2015: 4148 McCartney, asteroid named after him by the (International Astronomical Union's Minor Planet Center)[454] 2017: Appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music[455][456] If that's being under appreciated then I'll have a slice of that please. ****************************************************************** It's also worth bearing in mind that Macca hit his peak (very roughly) about 50 years ago, in the period around 1971. For comparison, in 1971 the songwriter/musician who had peaked 50 years earlier (c. 1921) was Irving Berlin. In 1971 there were plenty of people who remembered Irving Berlin, loved his songs and respected his talent ... but people didn't talk about him all the time. Why should they?

Another update from Mike. He has been working on the neck. 3 piece maple with ebony 'stringers'. Waiting for the glue to do what it does

I’d rather watch Little Mix than either of them 😁

Yep, my GAS has receded to the realms of daft fantasy stuff, especially on the amp front - I have all I'll ever need (and for me, the very very best) for gigging with the Stomp/Walkabout/Barefaced kit, the only things on the amp front I'd change for would be a pair of Walkabout Scout and extension cab, but only in a nice colour. And that's only because I'd put them in the corner of the room like furniture... 😐 Bass-wise, I'm pretty much good, too, gigs depending. There's three bands starting up again after lockdown, two of which are reboots of previous ones, so we'll see which way they progress...again, any new basses would be for the looks, not the sound - after yonks of experimenting and learning, I know how to make most basses sound like me... I'm very shallow these days... 🙁😀

I like slappers. I'll get me coat.

Am I the only person who plays bass and generally hates slap? I think it can sound good when used sparingly (like Billy Gould or Tim Commerford) but I hate songs which are just slaps and pops all the way through. I really dislike songs which weren't slapped covered by a bassist who plays slap all the way through. I don't even like Primus. Am I on my own with this?

Carol Kaye... Take this opportunity to post something from her huge discography..

Lovely. Can't beat a Sandberg.

Just joined the club... More here...

I remember having a Barron Knights skit of Boney M's "Rivers of Babylon" on 7" single when I was a kid. I seem to remember the lyrics started off: There's a dentist in Birmingham He fixed my crown And as I slept He filled my mouth with iron......

If he was right handed I think he would be far more appreciated as a bassist.

I'll be honest, Id rather watch Davie 504 than Scott Devine. Scotts lessons are really boring (I tried them for a couple of months) his very rare videos where he talks about metal bassists contain a lot of what can only be described as bollocks and some say he has never finished a sentence without saying "holding down the low end" at least 8 times.

I think it might be a dental term - I've heard people talk about a major scale and polish 🙂

Jello Biafra and the guys from Ministry:

I left it a bit late to start this month so it's rough as bejaysus but I'll live with it. The pic made me think of the classic TV show Kick Start and, from there, the other great theme tunes of youth TV programming from my childhood. I've gone for a TV theme tune of sorts. This is the show where things go wrong, though, so any chord progressions and melody must be wrong too. Curse my childless loins for not having actual children to exploit for vocals, so the tightest pants available were donned. I do apologise. As ever, Pearl Export drums into the cheapest mics and pre-amp Behringer sell. Hamer Chaparral bass and Bacchus Empire guitar into an Eleven. Vocals too, actually. Synthesis via Reason.

Oasis may have been inspired by the Beatles, amongst others, but their bass lines are nothing to write home about

OMG DMc... You have really upset the bass police now!!! A Bass player who plays Solo! Tasteful compositions, & adds some Slap!!! "Not Normal INIT" LOL 😂

IMO McCartney is one of the bassists that pushed the instrument to another level but probably doesn't get the credit for it. Just play some of his lines to see how modern some of them feel.

Probably because the Beatles were insanely popular. I think some people regard popularity as un cool and its more street cred to admire more left field musicians. Just my take. Hence the number of people who brag about not liking the Beatles. There are a lot of bands I don't like but I don't make a point of stating the fact. Paul was a great bassist in my ears.

I genuinely don’t get why someone would hate slap. It’s like saying you hate drums with toms or you hate the violin played without a bow, or even just like saying “I hate the sound of a picked bass“. It’s all about the musical context. Bass is part of the rhythm section & playing a good slap part that fits nicely with the drums is a thing of beauty. Yes, there’s many YouTube videos that sound like someone playing bedsprings with chopsticks, but there’s a lot of great stuff out there too. All I can say is stop being a musical snob & open your mind.

Here it is, my new Zoot Jazz Maniac, exactly nine months after I confirmed my choice of Fraylin pups and chrome finish on the hardware. I knew it would be a long wait for it to be built, but I never expected to be still be lockdown when it arrived! So I was never able to visit Mike Walsh to see the bass under construction, or to collect it in person. I am indebted to itu for first suggesting Zoot in a long list of builders he posted here last June, that I explored during the first lockdown before settling on this Jazz Maniac.

I have been listening to The Beatles a lot recently, and it got me thinking, just how unappreciated Paul is to my generation (I'm 36). As a song writer he is massively revered, but as a bass player he is incredible. What he was playing in the 60's is just out of this world, and I rarely see him given much love for it. I'm wondering how this has come to be, any thoughts?

I’ve just bought 2 simply wonderful, Spector basses. I decided upon a Euro Bolt 4, and a Euro LX 4. Both have Aguilar pickups, one with the OPB-2 preamp and one with a Tone Pump preamp. I’m completely and utterly enamoured with them both. They’ve had a basic set up, and need my preferred strings put on them, plus a small nut adjustment, but I’ve recorded with them, and they have blown me away. Stunning to play, and I just can’t believe I’ve not been down this route before. So happy, and Bass Direct have been fantastic helping me to get these incredible instruments ☺️

In the words of Lemmy, “Don’t try and dance to this one. You’ll f**k your legs up”.

I don't see those as being in any way mutually exclusive. He received LOTS of acclaim for what he did with bass guitar both at the time, and in the ten years or so after. I can well remember him winning loads of readers' awards in NME and Melody Maker in those days, and many other bass players referencing his influence on them. But that was a very long time ago. You don't hear endless praise for most bassists of the 60s and 70s because the misguided young people of today for some reason prefer their own musicians. 😉

Obnoxious ego driven slap bass playing. Me no like.

Thank you for the info and links. That's a great looking greyhound We're rehoming a 4 year old female greyhound from the local branch of The Greyhound Trust. She's quite small apparently, about 26kg, quiet and a bit shy. She has to be neutered and given 10 days recovery, but hopefully she'll be with us just after Easter Bank Holiday.

Unfinished Sweet by Alice Cooper - featuring the great Dennis Dunaway:

I worked with a bunch of young hairy bikers back in the late 70s early 80s. They were into Quo, the Stones, AC/DC, Motorhead.......and Madness.

I ended up buying this bass, in my ongoing efforts to find a (very cheap) Stingray-esque thing that I actually enjoy playing. The work is much neater than it looked on the advert to be fair. Active circuit is very sweet, with some very useable tones. As a bass (given that it was something like 90 quid from Thomann) - nice playable neck. Frets needed a bit of a tidy, but was the work of 10 minutes with a file. Finish is neat, will be interesting to see how it stands up. Touch neck heavy - and tuners (and bridge) are clearly on budget, but doing the job currently.

I really like what he's doing here. I never doubted his advanced skills. Not trad slap but brilliantly done anyway and he's not doing all that 'slapp' challenge stuff.

My interest in chart music was aroused when I was aroused... ...and slowly developed the vague notion that "Penderecki", "Xenakis" and "my book on Flemish Renaissance music" maybe were not the greatest of pick-up lines.

Lovely bass! Love my Zoot. So much so that I’ve just ordered a second one 😱🤪 Agree with @TheGreek that we’re spoilt for choice thesedays - Zoot, ACG, Shuker, Nernie Goodfellow, Status, Alpher, RIM, etc etc.

Better with Ebony fretboard....fretboard and body core thicknessed.... body core is 2.6cm. So we will end up just over 4cm. Will be chambering the core, so weight will not be any issue. Next step, trussrod/graphite rods, fretboard and a million other things 😂

I always found that, if a bass was meant to be used for its acoustic qualities, it would need a soundboard similar in size to an upright. I’m yet to hear an “acoustic bass” that doesn’t sound like a cardboard box with rubber bands on...

I’d be checking out the Wilcock short scales https://www.wilcocklondon.com