Leaderboard

Reverends are really cool. As a big Mike Watt fan, I'd love to get a Wattplower one day! Has anyone used one?

A lovely Jazzer just popped up over at BB https://bassbros.co.uk/product/1965-fender-jazz-bass-2/

To me, @ChrisDev (as well as @tomread) writes the song including repeats etc. I also like the key signatures, as they turn my head to the right direction from the start. @Bilbo, your score is more like, as you said, a road to somewhere. Chris' charts are compact and economical. [I was trained classically (piano, ages 5 - 18), and after that I went to play bass to a jazz and popular music school (found my instrument!) for four important years. I can read and play somewhat nowadays, but am far from an expert, because I make my living from technical R&D stuff (an engineer). I got tired of working strange hours, and so little money. I'm just a player, while you both are musicians.] I play in few bands (5 to 12 players), and the need for notes and arrangements is important. I do not remember every song by heart: one of the bands played 118 different songs last spring. There were maybe dozen gigs only. Quick changes in set lists also require the ability to read. All in all, I love your work and cordially thank you for your effort in helping this bass playing community to play lots of different music.

More progress: ALL BUILD PICS NOW IN POST DATE 01/11/2025

Too pricy for me, i think.

Absolutely not. I wish I had had those when I was learning to read music.

I think it is in this case, Chris. The point I was making is that, because I do a lot of transcribing where the details change on every chorus, I get out of the habit of using the repeats and codas etc. and I often don't even consider it, even when it would be helpful. As a result, some of my charts are 10 pages long which is ridiculous!

Unless it says Rickenbacker. In this eventuality I suggest you move on and look at something else

No such reason makes it worth learning slap

We had our final rehearsal before Rebellion Festival - we're playing on Sunday twice... I was a bit worried before that we lacked practice, and this would result in sloppy, missed or messed up changes (we have quite a lot!), or songs would be started at dirge-like pace when they're meant to be punkfunk stompers. However, if it goes like last night we'll have no problem at all; Knockout stopped on 3 as it should, there was distinct variation between the funky chorus, punk verse and funkabilly middle 8. All 9 changes in Reaper were perfect, Conspiracy had a millisecond tight ending, and I'd managed to download the filthiest bass tone from Line6 which worked surprisingly well with my Parker bass. However, after some solo fiddling this morning (Keep your filthy minds out of the gutter!) I've decided to use my Sandberg through a tube driven Aguilar sound with a spot of reverb and chorus which clanks'n'danks like a Sherman tank dragging a chain over a steel pontoon bridge. I'll probably change my mind again though!

A little update to my board which is mostly for fretless. A new addition is the Fender Bassman Driver which just adds a bit of grit. It's an awesome pedal and is perfect to cut through at certain points. The pedalboard is tight for space and not sure what I'm going to do when I get my hands on a MXR Bass Synth pedal. From right to left. 1. TC Electronic Tuner 2. Boss OC5 Octave 3. Fender Bassman Driver 4. Harley Benton CH5 Chorus (Best chorus I've ever had) 5. Walrus Audio Slo Reverb 6. Mooer Ambience A7 Reverb 7. Ampeg Opto Compressor 8. Sansamp BDDI v2 Preamp

Sorry, no pics as I was still setting up until three (as in the three in 1,2,3,4). The Rebbels had a very good gig at my local Legion, in front of all my friends. People that have seen us many times said we had the sound we ever have, although we had to run without on stage monitoring, due to feedback problems. Legion in the next Village next Saturday.

Some promoters are morons. We were playing a well known pub chain and the manager had to fight his way across the heaving dance floor to tell us he wanted us to play more danceable music!!! The dance floor was full, so we carried on with the set and everyone had a great night. . . . and we didn’t get rebooked!

In my old punk covers band The Daves we played a local venue where we went down amazingly. Unfortunately a lady and her husband that we knew had come to see us, she was very drunk and started a fight with him, yelling at him very loudly in the middle of the pub. When he left she started yelling at anyone who made eye contact she would fight them too. Her broad German accent made the behaviour even more noticeable in rural Watford. We could hardly say we didn’t know her as she had a Daves tee shirt on. No matter how many times we tried to get gigs they were always fully booked…..

I think that's it 100% 👍

Adam and the Anus

Pretty much what @Woodinblack said. He mainly used the 62 sunburst Jazz that he bought as a teenager, but he also had a red jazz bass, a 50s precision and a fretless P bass. Towards the end of Zeppelin he had an 8 string Hagström and an Alembic. Post Zep, he generally used Manson basses, although I have seen him playing a more recent sunburst Fender Jazz. https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-10-most-famous-bass-guitars-of-led-zeppelins-john-paul-jones Now that's a bit of a sore point! A couple of us have been on about that for ages, and it is one thing that is definitely stopping us getting more of the top gigs on the circuit. A guitar player that I play with in another band, also plays in a Police / Sting tribute who are very busy - basically some of the bigger places we play are some of the smaller gigs that they do. When they got a pretty serious agent behind them, the first thing he did was get some high quality promo videos done, which led to them getting bigger and better gigs. If you search on YouTube (and I would rather you didn't), you get all sorts of cr*p come up, mostly with a different singer and before I was in the band. The best of a bad lot is probably this clip that a punter did on a phone at the excellent Cluny in Newcastle (not too bad for a video on a mobile). This was the first gig that Didge (keys player) did with us, but he's hardly featured on the clip for some reason.

Yup. A very busy music pub. Apparently we were so loud they got their entertainment licence revoked by the local authority. So really nobody got asked back. That was back in 1993 iirc.

Guy Pratt's "My Bass and Other Animals" is very amusing. EDIT: If you prefer audiobooks, then he reads that one himself and does a great job. Quite nice to hear it in his voice when a particular anecdote brings back happy memories.

Firstly, forget about tone that comes with experience. Agree with everyone else really, purchase the bass that feels right and comfortable and easy to play and not by what it says on the headstock.

UK Subs on Friday evening at Wacken. I was intending to watch Papa Roach but given the swamp in front of the stage and how far back I was I decided to see who else was on and stuck with them. I enjoyed it more than Papa Roach to be honest even though I don't know any of their stuff.

An important piece of the puzzle hath arrived... Existing screw holes lined up and the screws went in good and tight - like I never sold the previous bridge in the first place... Now I can see about setting the neck the appropriate amount into the body - I suspect it'll need to go back towards the bridge a few mm. Might as well do it now whilst the neck pocket is comically oversized anyway...

If you read that quickly, the “do’s” become bigger and the “nots” disappear entirely

I've only just spotted this thread, and I bloody well wish I hadn't. GAS is back with a bang. That sunburst 5-string... ohhhhh lordy. I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I want this bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass I do not need another bass arrrrrgh

A genuine bargain for a brand new Electra for anyone interested

I was recording with my Fatfish 32 recently. Sounded fantastic. Pretty much only using the front pickup. Warm and woody.

Next gig for Hurtsfall is Twisted Firestarter at Rebellion in Manchester on 14th August. This is the Infest warm-up party and in previous years has been extremely popular. I played last year's event with my other band and there were still people queuing to get in after the first band had finished playing, so if you are going to this and hope to see us play I suggest that you get to the venue before the doors open.

Buy a bigger board. Obvs.

Muse-> musk ruined them, just like Elon would

But... is it good for metal?

I found that removing the pickguard, then fitting the control plate, and then re-fitting the pickguard usually works. It took me a while to figure this method out though, as in the past I've ended up sanding the pickguard to get it, and the control panel, to fit snugly.

first gig done last night used both Mark Bass cabs and boy, did it shift the air Amazing Next gig will try my Ashdown RM410 cab

I hadn't been on BC for a while, but caught up on some stuff yesterday, including this thread. You guys inspired me to take my Sandberg out tonight, and what a joy it is to play! Hadn't gigged it for quite a while, but will try to more now. Definitely got plenty of thump and authority out of it, sounded absolutely monster! 😎👌❤️

Must be a new signature prototype - Greg Norton, formerly of Husher Du:

Personally, i take them out and use masking tape to affix them to the inside of the pickup cover, then put the covers back in the case/storage.

It was a fretless Stingray, and I don't think any amps were involved - I remember reading a BP interview with Flea around the time that came out, and he talked about it, and that he went straight into the desk. In that isolated track, you can definitely hear that characteristic Stingray "thwp" when Flea hits his dead notes. I don't think it was as quick as they suggested though, because they didn't have much to work with - a basic arrangement, chords, drums and a vocal track, so Flea and Navarro had to work out the parts on the fly in the studio. Knowing Navarro, he was probably at the studio long after Flea had left, doing overdubs and fiddling with reverbs and delays. Most of the rest of the album was Lance Morrison, a prolific LA session player, on bass, but Chris Chaney played with her live for quite some time.

Depending on your budget, you could possibly get a multi FX that can do it all in one go, inc amp sims/cab etc. The Zoom's/Helix stuff have GK sims in them, as well as multiple chours pedals.

Hélas, there is no right out of the box control plate for these Japanese Jazz Basses except being sure it's coming from one of these basses. Before buying ask for the dimensions if they are not stated or put a very specific request here (with the dimensions) : https://www.basschat.co.uk/forum/22-items-wanted/

He sure was, I believe he and Rob used to buy lots of things off Ebay and make basses. I tried about 3 or 4 of his basses at The Gallery but nothing that I really wanted. I would love to have owned his black Fender Japan Power Jazz bass he played on some of the Simple Minds stuff. I would love to know what happened to it along with his natural Stingray. This is what Rob posted on Facebook back when John passed. "I’m sorry to say my dad passed away on May 14th 2023. He was an amazing man - genuine, charming and an utterly uplifting presence and it’s really heartbreaking that we won’t get to hang again. He burned brightly and departed elegantly, leaving a deep impression on all he met. John Giblin was also an incredible bassist and I wanted to use this post to pay a small tribute as he played an enormous part in influencing my playing, but his compassion and his character overshadow his music. He spent a lot of time looking after his good friend John Martyn in his final years. Kate Bush has some lovely words to say about John - “Everyone loved John. He was a really beautiful man in every sense of the word. Everybody wanted to work with him because he was such a great talent and everyone wanted to be his friend because he was such a wonderful person. I loved John so very much. He was one of my very dearest and closest friends for over forty years. We were always there for each other. He was very special. I loved working with him, not just because he was such an extraordinary musician but because he was always huge amounts of fun. We would often laugh so much that we had to just give in to it and sit and roar with laughter for a while. He loved to be pushed in a musical context, and it was really exciting to feel him cross that line and find incredibly gorgeous musical phrases that were only there for him. He would really sing. It was such a joy and an inspiration to see where he could take it. We’ve all lost a great man, an unmatchable musician and I’ve lost my very special friend. My world will never be the same again without him.” I only met John in later life but we instantly hit it off. Our views on music and all else were strangely aligned. He remains the only person I totally trusted on matters of bass tone and we enjoyed rummaging through ebay instruments even on our last chat. His style was rooted in soul and pop and he always had impeccable time and a real melodic ear, taking influence from Eberhard Weber as much as Jamerson and Jaco, he acheived the holy grail of establishing a unique voice whilst nailing all the attributes of a tasteful, grounding bass role. Phil Collins would rely on him to make a solid soulful rhythm section, while John Martyn would bring out a fluid and bluesy style coming more from his jazz influences. Peter Gabriel allowed John to stretch out melodically and Babooshka would never have been the masterpiece that it is without the beautiful fretless parts he imparted. Meanwhile check out the unique way he uses a delay pedal to bring a rhythmic excitement on Ghostdancing (live) with Simple Minds or his distinctive tone with british fusion pioneers Brand X. I made a little playlist of some of my favourite tracks. It’s by no means exhaustive, as he was a first call sessioneer for so many top artists. He wasn’t inclined to fill out a PPL form either so many of his works are quite difficult to identify! https://tinyurl.com/29a5d7xy I’m sure I missed some gems, so do let me know... Miss you dad"

Some of the best lines in the world are simple and just delivered well. And if you can do that then all listeners and musicians and virtuosos will applaud you. That's the joy of it, it doesn't matter how good you are you can still do something epic.

You've got 10 pedals. . . . . . ?

Or... Space Cowboy.pdf