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Showing content with the highest reputation on 14/09/19 in all areas

  1. I returned today, to one of my old, favoured bass places, Promenade Music in Morecambe. Used to go there every few weeks but hadn't been for 2 years. Anyway, Gary's still working there and is a great bloke for loads of friendly, knowledgable chat and a cup of tea. Had a hankering for another 4-stringer and after some discussion, we more or less narrowed it down to 3 basses. A Marleaux Consat Custom 4 (used), a Fender Flea Signature Active Jazz Bass, in Satin Inca Silver and a Musicman Stingray Special, in Chopper Blue. The Marleaux is a superb bass, with a classy, hand made feel and quality woods. The only part that didn't impress me was the pre amp, it just didn't seem to deliver, to my ears. I was a bit dubious about the Flea Jazz but I have to say, I think it is a great bass. I reckon Flea told Fender to take a JB and make as much like a Stingray as they could. And they've done a bloody good job, IMO. Very solid and resonant, really well built and a rather good pickup. The only changes I'd make would be a 3 band EQ, instead of 2 and a slightly wider string spacing at the bridge end. I would have been very happy to bring it home with me but as the title suggests, the winner was the Stingray Special. Now I already have a standard 2014, EBMM Stingray, with a single HB and 3 EQ, that I reckon is great. So why get this as well, other than the usual excuse of permanent GAS? To me, there enough differences between the 2 Stingrays to give enough of a different playing experience. The Special has a slightly different pickup, with Neodymium magnets and an 18 volt pre amp, to deliver even more bassy goodness. The gorgeous, roasted maple neck feels a tad narrower, with slightly more rounding off, of the rosewood fingerboard's edges and lovely stainless steel frets. The tuners are definitely nicer, with a more 3D ergonomic, comfy feel to them and the body is rounded at the neck heel to improve one's upper fret playing experience. Also, overall the bass is a little lighter. So does all this make the Special better than my old Stingray? Probably yes but I do so enjoy my older model, it's not going to be left on it's stand. I really like the Chopper Blue coloured body, with the pearloid white pickguard, black pickup and chrome hardware. This is a pretty bass and definitely feels like it's got all the iconic, classic aspects you have to have in a Stingray. Yet it's subtle improvements feel like a natural evolution, with no revolution needed, thankyou. I'd test driven this beauty through a rig very similar to my own and so am looking forward to the next band rehearsal. Specifications: Model: StingRay Special Size: 13-1/2" wide, 1-5/8" thick, 44-7/8" long (34.3 cm wide, 4.1 cm thick, 114.0 cm long) Body Wood: Select Hardwoods Body Finish: High gloss polyester Bridge: Vintage Music Man® top loaded chrome plated, steel bridge plate with vintage nickel plated steel saddles Scale Length: 34" (86.4 cm) Neck Radius: 11" (27.9 cm) Headstock Size: Only 8-3/4" (22.2 cm) long Frets: 22 - High profile, wide, Stainless Steel Neck Width: 1-5/8" (41.3 mm) at nut 2-1/2" (63.5 mm) at last fret Neck Wood: Select roasted maple neck Fingerboard: Fretted - Rosewood Neck Finish: Gunstock oil and hand-rubbed special wax blend Neck Colors: Standard – Natural with finished headstock Tuning Machines: Custom Music Man, lightweight with tapered string posts and ergonomic clover design Truss Rod: Adjustable wheel - no component or string removal Neck Attachment: 5 bolts - perfect alignment with no shifting; Sculpted neck joint allows smooth access to higher frets Electronic Shielding: black plated aluminum control cover Controls: 3-band active preamp with 18 volts of headroom; vol, treble, mid, bass Pickups: Standard - Single Humbucking with Neodymium magnets.
    5 points
  2. Its going to be 1972 everywhere in the UK by the time he gets here
    5 points
  3. Hi Basschatters Up for sale is my main instrument from the last 10 years, and only reluctant sale given the "One in - One out" principle as I'm concentrating on fretless in the future. This is one of Mike Lull's earlier creations with a sn. of 479. I guess it's around 20 years old, and brought to Denmark from Ney York by a professional danish bass player, of whom I previously bought another of these basses. For those familiar with these basses, the age can also be detected by a slightly larger head than the current models. We all love our instruments but this one is simply the best of the three M5V I have had over the years, hence the one that stayed the longst. A "pick up and play" instrument commented by all those who have admired, and wanted to try it in the time I have had it. Spec: Beautiful and rare Burgundy Mist finish with very minimal scrathes and marks. None on the front Alder body is my best guess, irrespectively that there is a bit of Ash bark/growl in the sound when recorded. Graphite reinforced Maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Frets recently polished and no signs of wear 35" scale 21 fret neck with 12" fretboard radius. String spacing neck saddle 9,5 mm and 19 mm at bridge which can be adjusted (sideways) if preferred. Weight around 4.3. kg Mike's special wounded Seymour Duncan PU's and 3 band Aguilar pre-amp with passive by pull of volume, and 2 mid frequencies (400/800) No passive tone pot. THE SPECIAL FEATURE: Instead of balance it's fitted with a rotary swith given you: Front PU alone - like an old Fender Telecaster bass with the single coil PU. Both in parallel - Everything you want with a Jazz Sound. Rear PU alone - Pure Jaco Both in series - Powerful almost Musicman type of sound This is as close to a classic vibe modern build "Working man's do all instrument" as you can get, hence why it's been my go to bass for 10 years. And as you can see from the last photo, a small guy like me, 1,82m & 75kg don't have any issues playing a 35" scale bass (Photo from our rehearsal room and not a prison cell :0)) Price including shipping to main Europe and a Mike Lull gigbag. (Will be professional packed for damage free shipping) 20/09/2019: Taste is a subjective matter, but as the yanks are sayin' "Tort goes with everything". Like the tough decision every man faces, blond or brunette? You'd be the judge on that one (spare high quality three layer pickguard from Chandler in the US for one of my previous M5V's - will be part of the package free of charge) Kind Regards Thomas
    4 points
  4. I thought this was another 'show us your rig' thread......😇
    4 points
  5. Basically, doffing one's kecks and flaunting one's trouser trout is something that a tiny minority of male singer / front-men were wont to do back in the late 60's - early '70s. Indeed, among big-name performers I can think only of Mr Mr Pop and Mr Jim Morrison who embraced this approach, though lesser or local luminaries will doubtless have followed suit in homage or in imitation. (As an aside, it should be noted that Mr Fee Waybill of The Tubes was accustomed to wear a fake penis, this peeping coyly from his shorts). We should remember that the 1960's was a decade where going 'sky-clad' was very much a thing among young people, in part because to do so symbolised a rejection of bourgeois values. Nowadays, of course, young radicals never take their clothes off, for fear of triggering other young people. Indeed, it would seem that today's adolescents and young adults consider sexual intercourse to be a hate crime. But I digress. Going butt-nekkid in front of an audience is something that almost never happens these days and in olden times it was pretty much only the singer who did it*. Back then the rest of the band customarily remained fully clothed (though I am open to correction) possibly for aesthetic reasons though - more likely - to accentuate the singer's nudity. Nobody attended a Doors or a Stooges concert in the hope that Ray Manzarek or James Williamson would haul his winkle out and in the event that other band-members had brogged off I would have expected both Mr Pop and The Lizard King to have given them a swift punch up the throat. To be honest, most audiences today would be surprised if the singer took off his clothes but bewildered if the bass player did so. 'Why has the chap with the big guitar dropped his strides?' they'd cry. 'It just doesn't make any sense'. * Apart from the dancer Stacia out of Hawkwind
    4 points
  6. And finally ready to return: Machine heads refitted and nut lowered ( @Sibob may want to tweak them when he resets it but it is at a level where those tweaks should be pretty minor). Because the nut / nut slot is lower, I've chiselled a dropaway angle behind it to ensure the strings have a clear run to the machine heads: It'll be in Monday's post back to @Sibob . No doubt we'll all find out if it's done the trick or not soon
    4 points
  7. A few bands ago, in a trio-plus-vocalist, I was teamed with a very good drummer who was also very inventive. We did "Sultans of Swing" - the original, of course, has keys and a second guitar as well as the lead guitar. After we'd rehearsed it a few times, rather than upping things when the first solo came round, the drummer dropped back. I realised what he was doing and followed him, so we were really underplaying below the first solo which suddenly didn't sound empty. The second solo got full tilt boogie which worked well, but probably wouldn't have without that alternative dynamic on the first one. It wouldn't work on a guitar solo using searing distortion, but fitted nicely with the slightly overdriven Knofler tone.
    3 points
  8. A conflict of interest will occur sometime in the future, it’s what happens when musicians play in more than one band.
    3 points
  9. Genzler Magellan 800 amp for sale. 800 watts into 4ohms, 400 watts into 8ohms. There is a switchable output of 2.7ohms that will allow three 8 ohm cabs to be connected to produce 800 watts. Clean channel, dirt channel and A,B contours controlled by footswitch included. The amp is pristine and comes with a Genzler carry bag. New, this package would cost north of £800. Offered at £550.
    2 points
  10. DeArmond Starfire II hollowbody bass with upgraded Fred Hammon Darkstar pickups! Beautiful shortscale with nice binding on body and neck. This is by all means a tone monster. Very good condition, low action and yeah: awesome sound. The Darkstar BiSonic pickups are very rare and almost never for sale used. Curtis Novak also makes these kind of pickups and they sell for about 250 - 300 euros each! Comes with a Epiphone JC hardcase, which fits perfectly. £745 / €840 including safe shipping within most of the EU/UK. TRADED
    2 points
  11. Hartke LH1000 head A big powerful beast of a head. Not much else to say about it really! It's no looker, as you can see, having clocked up a few gigs, but it's in perfect working order. The Gator rack bag I've been carrying it in of late is included - see photos. It's a great head, but I'm not gigging a whole lot these days, so don't really need it anymore. I'm based in Liverpool - you're welcome to come and give it a try.
    2 points
  12. Just listening to Lemon Jelly’s excellent album Lost Horizons for the first time in many years, so good. Several tracks are joyous, not an epithet I can attribute to much music I listen to...
    2 points
  13. I did a few dep gigs for a blues singer a few years ago. He was well into his 50s, short and very overweight. Imagine my horror when halfway through the encore, he appeared from the rear of the stage totally nude. Not a pretty sight, though surprisingly, the ladies in the audience loved it.
    2 points
  14. You make an excellent point, Mr W. I am sure that various bass players have disrobed before an audience. It's just that advancing years have taken their toll and I can't remember much before last Tuesday.
    2 points
  15. Ashdown cab small, light - one hand lift, (even for me and I’ll never see 66 again) ☹️ which sounds really good. In very good condition, with just the odd mark but nothing major. One ten inch Dual Concentric 250w RMS Woofer, which handles the Lows and Mids + a really nice tweeter, which is very subtle and can be set to either off / low or high - which then gives the cab a nice Hi - Fi voicing, if required, so although primarily bass cabs they are also ideal for keyboards, Guitar or even vocals etc 👍. The recessed metal top handles are great making lifting and carrying a doddle - one journey load / unload Bass, MB200 & leads in Gig Bag on my back and a cab in each hand - Fab 😃👍👍 - now, if only I had a Gig 😂😂!! Combined Speakon and 1/4” Jack Input and link - Life saver !! Here are those nice Specs. we all love so much 😃👍👍... Dimensions - 46 cm High x 32.5 cm Wide x 33.5 cm Deep Weight - 11,5 kg Power Rating - 250w RMS Tweeter - a nice sounding one 👍👍 I can post out to the UK Mainland which would cost £18.00 via Parcelforce 48 if you are too far away to collect, or if not - feel free to nip around for a good try out.
    2 points
  16. I've seen the Chilli Peppers during their only a sock phase... I've also played a gig in naught but a codpiece fashioned from a heavy duty rubber glove... But the band that does much more than take the biscuit is Rockbitch. I've never seen a few thousand bikers, patch club members and Hell's Angels look so scared!
    2 points
  17. Let’s not forget the young lady who used to dance in the buff at old Hawkwind gigs. Her name was Stacia.
    2 points
  18. I've learned loads of songs over the last six months. I find Ultimate guitar easy because it allows you to quickly change between versions (some songs have eight or more tabs, they can't ALL be right). There are several types, the best are pretty accurate and give an idea of the rhythm. Some just give you little more than a set of riffs and a few are people 'interpretation'. Many have minor mistakes, most have bad fingering choices, and a proportion are just totally wrong. At the moment we are trying to build a setlist of about 40 songs, so lots of playing songs on YouTube and trying to sight read the tab (it can be done and makes me even more convinced I'm dyslexic when it come to the dots!) The worst songs are the really complex ones that don't have a clear bass-melody to stick in your head. For complex ones I find Troy's bass covers on youtube are good: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQPqVw7y59QuPZdQ6QkuXKQ You can slow down 50% and play along to the sub-bass to learn hard bits 🙂 I find there are two separate things to learn, which rarely go at the same speed: learning the technical bits and learning the song, ideally you want to be good enough so that if dropped in at a random point you can join in quickly (i.e. if you get lost playing with others you can recover and make it seem like you put in a jazzy little fill...)
    2 points
  19. Last year my girlfriend gave me a rather fetching pair of tiger skin pants as a joke present. I play guitar in a glam punk band and wear a tiger skin suit. She dared me to wear them for a gig, not being able to resist a challenge I went for it. I'd also taken to running to keep fit and the thought of my impending exposure made me keep to my exercise regime in order to look my best. At the gig I played most of the set fully clothed and when the singer and I left the stage to change for the encore I stripped to my underpants and walked back on stage to shocked gasps (and some laughter) from the audience. The encore was only two songs but when almost naked it did seem to last an eternity and once I'd smashed my guitar (it's a special one that I can smash and rebuild) I felt very exposed. I can't say I would do it again but it's certainly something I can tell the grandchildren.
    2 points
  20. A number of the Phil Jones amps are dual input. A cheaper option which may be "good enough" could be to use a decent 2 channel mixer in front of the amp to save yourself the cost of a new rig?
    2 points
  21. I’m thinking of tasking @Jabba_the_gut to build his basses with a tit chamfer, I’m sure it would be a money spinner.
    2 points
  22. I don't mind either way though if I was ordering my dream fretless I'd probably have lines at the edges only, Alain Caron style. Overall, my preference is for lines as I like them for a very quick visual reference though I can do without. My first fretless was unlined. A large part of the game for me is the feel of each fretless bass. Even on a lined bass, you'll soon play without even really considering the lines as your innate sense of muscle memory and intonation takes over. Once your hands are 'tuned in', you're ready to motor. I certainly don't subscribe to the stuffy attitude that unlined is superior despite having first learned that way (I even had a lovely unlined fretless Alembic Epic years ago). Gary Willis plays with lines and I've never met an internet critic that could play like he does.
    2 points
  23. Another reason to play flats ...
    2 points
  24. So right. When we started out the drummer was in another band. We got a great offer to support a well known band, playing early. But he had a gig with his covers band the same evening. Now we would have been on at 7:30 - 8, his covers band would have started at 9:30. It was a 30min drive between venues. But the other band refused to set everything up, saying they all needed to be there for that, so we didn’t get to do the gig. Now there is the argument that he was in the covers band long before we formed, so in reality it was us diluting the covers band, and not long after he did leave as he couldn’t stay in 2 regular gigging bands full time.
    2 points
  25. What would be amazing is five toneprints. Any you want, any combination. Swoon.
    2 points
  26. Hope I love them. Never had one and there’s one incoming! 😆
    2 points
  27. Also, Lionize - who are protege's of Clutch - have a new album coming out soon with Jean-Paul Gaster on drums. If I could play with any drummer it'd be him - he's such an expressive player, with so much groove
    2 points
  28. It's a less sophisticated unit than the FI that lets a bassist, who doesn't want to have to spend hours and days deep diving into PC editing, get some very usable sounds quickly. Where the FI wins: overall more capable and more tweak-able synth engine midi enabled ability to provide 99 presets Where the SY-1 wins: flawless tracking all the way down to a low B (and not requiring a staccato / muted style to avoid glitching) immediacy of dials (no need for an app/midi/PC) to access some great synth sounds £175 vs £329 (new) arpeggiator polyphonic straightforward parallel loop capability ability to use an expression pedal smaller footprint So for me it was a no-brainer in going for the SY-1, which I'm loving, and I'm not missing my FI at all. For others, the pros / cons may push them to getting an FI.
    2 points
  29. I loaned the little vtbass to a mate who has a full ampeg rig, complete with 8x10 fridge. His response was “it rocks!”. I will take that as a vote of approval.
    2 points
  30. Don’t forget the dressing up in a French maid’s outfit with roller skates...
    2 points
  31. From what I can see, at £500 it makes you significantly poorer, but marginally taller.
    2 points
  32. My Fantastic Musicman Sabre Classic is up for sale,not using it, and it needs to be used!It's in wonderful unmarked condition,colour is called Sledge,a lovely silver grey metallic,maple on the neck is stunning!comes with the Musicman case. Pictures tell the story,these are getting harder to find now,plenty of demos on youtube,Cheers,Julian.
    1 point
  33. We played a street festival today. It was our acoustic act. Not a great crowd, but you know what, Our stage looked great, we looked great, the weather was fantatic 75° sunny clear skys with a nice breeze off the lake. We had a blast playing and singing we were really tight today. So much fun. We have another outdoor event tomorrow 4:00 -7:00. Blue
    1 point
  34. I saw them in Bristol a good few years ago - that was an eye-opener! They asked for volunteers for 'special' treatment in the dressing room after the gig.... I seem to recall Dave Coverdale showing off a boner during a Whitesnake gig in the late 70s.
    1 point
  35. FWIW their last (imo) fully realised and wholly listenable album Quadrophenia was released 46 years ago
    1 point
  36. Some updates in my Warehouse! 😅
    1 point
  37. Yup! I pretty much only play 5ers these days. Both Woody and I were a little blown away (see his initial review immediately after getting the pedal earlier in this thread) by its ability to track tightly down to a low B. My FI didn't come close in terms of tracking ability. I'm sure being fully polyphonic really helps give this its edge with tracking.
    1 point
  38. @razor5cl - you mentioned you'd tried a 735A at a store, was that the main Yammy store in central London? I'm guessing you're still loving it compared to your Ibby Talman, although I have to 'fess to being a big Ibby fan, particularly of their SR Premium range. @TRBboy - the only caveat about the Yammy store is that they just have a couple of pretty basic combos to play through and there is the whole noise and buzz of other folk in a music store. So IMO it will give you just a taster of tonal palette, but you if you take your usual strap you can at least assess how they feel to wear and how comfortable the necks are to play etc. My BB 1025 is very noticeably better than it sounded in the store, so whatever you're hearing in the store you should treat as a kind a base case!
    1 point
  39. hi there. new member. been playing bass for about 2 years, so still a novice. play in a couple of outfits in derby and Nottingham. one doing 60's, 70's and Oasis covers and the other more 80's/90's more obscure indie covers. play a Fender P bass but am interested in getting hold of a Sandberg. this seems a really cool forum so looking forward to being involved.
    1 point
  40. Tony Butler will be joining us on Sunday 22nd at the Chowny stand at the UK Guitar Show at 11:00 for a meet and greet if you're a Big Country or Tony Butler fan. Then at 13:15-14:00 he will be doing a talk in the Tone Zone where he will talk about his new signature bass among other subjects (interviewed by Joel McIver from Bass Guitar Magazine) Please come and say Hi.
    1 point
  41. 1 point
  42. The new Subhumans album, Crisis Point.
    1 point
  43. And onto the fretting of @Sibob 's neck. One of the wiser investments in recent years has been a pair of proper fret tang-cutting pliers: There are many ways of fretting, but what works for me is: Cut the tangs and length Check the slot clearance and depth Lightly triangular file the top of the slot Run a small bead of titebond along the tang Hammer one side, then the other side, then the middle Wipe off the squeezeout Clamp a radius block over the newly hammered fret Move to next fret You get into a routine, but it's still a bit of a tedious job, so time for a coffee with 12 done and 9 to go: What was nice about the way the frets came out is that the tang-slot filling, done when the neck was made, survived on all frets, so one less job Once the frets are all in, they will be left overnight for the glue to fully harden and then the ends clipped and the bevels filed. Then it is just a case of levelling, re-crowning where necessary and polishing up. Finally, the fretboard will be polished back up, the nut lowered and refitted (remember, the nut fretboard end is now 0.7mm lower than it used to be) and then it should be able to go back to Si.
    1 point
  44. So got mine yesterday, since all music stores were out of stock I ordered from Bassbudhda in Denmark. Decent price, good service BTW. I tend to favour small specialist shops where I can (like BassDirect, Bassmatters etc) so good to have an addition to the mix. Anyway, what a genuinely excellent buy. I am amazed at the tracking and the simplicity of the Neuro app/tweaking as well as the small footprint. Can it replace an FI? No, but it is a very welcome addition to the synth pedal family and between the FI and C4 I cannot think of a synth sound I could not get. Well done Source Audio....... !!
    1 point
  45. Any musician worth his salt and with time on his hands is often in more than one band. Just remember the rule re: booking clashes.... "First in the diary".
    1 point
  46. I prefer the sound of a 6x10” to a 8x10”, it’s just a bit less ‘rumbly’.
    1 point
  47. Hey guys, I was just stumbling the forums and saw this thread! For those interested in what the P/J actually sounds like, I've done a demo video! I bought the one from Bass Direct! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQoAiS_WuVI&frags=pl%2Cwn I agree that some Alembics are an acquired taste and there a few questionable designs, however, there are some extremely pretty ones out there! Jazzyvee has some extremely nice basses as do some of my other Alembic pals! Anyway, if you watch the video, I hope you like it, cheers!
    1 point
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