visog

Probably the first sort of bass single-cut I saw. Alphonso Johnson played one for a while.

It more than just 'lazy journalism', it's approaching cynical. How long until there's an implication that Basschat is BGM's online forum simply by association. (I bet the column won't feature much of the many 'why I don;t buy BGM anymore' threads.) I think it would be better, if it must be done, to feature Talkbass and other online communities with full credit to the OP's who in effect are becoming music journalists for others' profit.

Well Chris Squire and Paul McCartney have got on with them for the last 50 years!?

Sorry - re-read your OP and you cited Steve Severin also.... Great music, bad technique....! For great examples of killer plec technique, refer to Chris Squire, Bobby Vega and some guy called Paul McCartney.

"Plectrum playing... all upstrokes" No... although quite common... For some reason Steve Severin comes to mind -some great lines but from a technical point of view, all over the place. All up-strokes is simply a placation of bad technique. Alternate picking is the way to go with a focus on consistent tone. Just put the time in and get on with it...

Here's a Ken Smith beaut' just in at Bass Direct... if you want to try one out... The demo is awful BTW... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc_66DokP5M

I haven't played a Ken Smith but I have a Status. I suggest you try them out in person. Sometimes, the thing you lust after pales when played, and the thing you've never considered blossoms. The map is not the territory. The web view is not the bass in your hands.

[quote name='hellothere' timestamp='1427258721' post='2727959'] Thinking of buying from their online site [url="http://rguitars.co.uk/"]http://rguitars.co.uk/[/url] Anyone heard of them? Had any experience using them? [/quote] Richard presumably?

None more fusion....

If you're commissioning one, then consider Bernie Goodfellow's GB Spitfires or Overwater.

I did post twice but I don't know how? Or how to remove it. AFAIK the Ibanez Artcore is available in a 5.

That is gorgeous.... like the Les Paul vibe about it. How di't sound?

Apparently it's a custom-made Artcore and like John Patitucci's Yamaha is a 'one off' and not likely to be a production. http://www.talkbass.com/threads/thundercats-new-ibanez-6-string.984240/page-2

Loving the new wave of semi-acoustic sixes... with their whumpy arch-top attack... Here's John Patitucci with a Yamaha one: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrW8QdWZbxY#t=39"]https://www.youtube....rW8QdWZbxY#t=39[/url] And here's Thundercat (disappointingly actually called Steven) tearing it up on an Ibanez one, especially around 2:10: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrW8QdWZbxY#t=39"]https://www.youtube....rW8QdWZbxY#t=39[/url] Both look similar kinds of models competing for the same market space... love to know how much? Details anyone? Or what about other makers with similar models?

Loving the new wave of semi-acoustic sixes... with the whumpy arch-top attack... Here's John Patitucci with a Yamaha one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrW8QdWZbxY#t=39 And here's Thundercat (disappointingly actually called Steven) tearing it up on an Ibanez one, especially around 2:10: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrW8QdWZbxY#t=39 Both look similar kinds of models competing for the same market space... love to know how much? Details anyone? Or what about other makers in this space?

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1425385610' post='2706708'] It's been updated! [/quote] So it has!... Still coming to terms with the Merlin! The design looks better than the Warwick and the Ibanez SC's, but the Foderas have it. In contrast Bernie's super-J Spitfire looks better than most other basses period! IMHO

Actually it's vary rare to get the dots these days I believe. (I'm not a studio musician.) The only times you do are for shows (Lloyd Webber etc), gigs with strings or orchestras, and for top-level studio recordings (say for Barbara Streisand, etc.). For Elton, I don't know but his music director the guitarist Davey Johnstone probably expects you to arrive pretty much with the set under your fingers with rehearsals for honing the arrangements and breaks. And his current bass player is Matt Bissonette who's no slouch. For Pino I'd imagine you pay him for his groove, tone and approach. I don't even know if he can read music - I don't think he can but other BC'ers will advise. I once read Stu Hamm's hilarious account of auditioning for Allan Holdsworth - Stu was asked to prepare from a CD which had drummer Chad Wackerman on it but on the day of the rehearsal, AH's other drummer Gary Husband was in town so they ended up blasting through the material he recorded and Stu Hamm was lost. AH wrote the chords out and poor Stu had to hack through by counting the changes: Cb+6/9, 2, 3, 4.. etc. He didn't get the gig.

Difficult to say what's more cynical: [list] [*]AC's variety of endorsed models or, [*]Warwick's outragoues using up of John Entwistle Buzzard/Explorer parts in a supposed separate model? [/list]

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1425668394' post='2709630'] I'm at Brixton [/quote] You're avoiding the issue

I'll pass.. don't want to call your baby ugly but it's got bad tone, bad intonation and substitutes good song-writing for rather studied 'weirdness'.

Hostile/punative venues... Potential audiences stay at home now... massive cultural change over last 20 years - look at the rise in super-market alcohol sales and correlate to pubs closing. When audiences do appear, they generally don't want bands any more - only tunes they recognise are 'classics'/featured in films/featured in X-Factor/Radio which leads me to my next point... Guitar-driven bands old fashioned in this era of Urban/R&B which has been the dominant style form for a little while now.

Isn't 'GuitarChat' down there in the lower forums somewhere? *looks down nose*

That is gorgeous... Is it available in our universe and if so, how many of our earth pounds?

Hi Basschat, Please use your awesome bass recognition skills on this handsome instrument JP is holding but doesn't actually play in this video disappointingly. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDxriM8vgm4"]https://www.youtube....h?v=zDxriM8vgm4[/url] It's a beaut! He used to play Ken Smith and Yamaha. Kinda looks like the latter? visog

Man that's horrid... but each to his own... Didn't Warwick to a 'Katana' named model too? Rather have the Warwick...