Fat Rich

Join Basschat, it's free. (Apart from all the gear you'll end up buying)

[quote name='Mook' timestamp='1382173386' post='2248846'] I would have freaked at the drummer for stopping.....its different if its a jazz gig but its horrible soloing with no beat behind you. Even if the drummer just kept the bass drum going that would help a huge amount. You can just build up a simple groove then......put some basslines from other songs into your solo, that help if your stuck for ideas. I used to throw in Groove is in the heart....it got me out of some sticky situations. I'd definitely recommend soloing with a beat behind you though. [/quote] It's this, if the drummer had just cut the volume a bit but carried on playing your solo would have worked fine. Him stopping killed the song

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1382134299' post='2248650'] Frankie Howerd used to do something similar. ...sorry. [/quote]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1382047070' post='2247377'] If I were a small boutique bass maker, like fodera, or even small scale like Letts or something, I would team up with a local shop for each territory and let them do the customer facing side, they get a few instruments in stock for folk to try and so on. the public get to try your stuff, they're happy. the retailer gets a cut and a sale, they are happy, the builder gets to do less talking to the unwashed public - they are happy. [/quote] Dunno, it's another layer of communication that could go wrong. If the order goes through a dealer and the customer doesn't get the bass they wanted, chances are the dealer and the builder will blame each other and it's the customer who loses out. I've ordered a few custom Status basses over the last couple of decades and it's good to go up to the factory and talk through the design with the guys who are going to make it, select the actual piece of wood and agree the position of the grain by placing the templates. I wanted a narrower string spacing at the nut and Rob Green made some while I was there so I could choose the one that felt best, likewise the spacing at the bridge. Talked to their carbon fibre guy to find out whether what I wanted was possible, talked to the paint guy to get make sure what I wanted would give a good result, talked to Rob about modifying the electrics. If I'd gone through a dealer they're unlikely to know what is possible and what isn't and might say "no" because it's easier for everyone and more profitable.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1381910240' post='2245155'] Watched this for the first time last night. Don't know if it's usually like this, but is this really what passes for 'real' live music?.... That John something or other guy with the arty haircut writhing on the floor with emotion, whilst singing in a style that made him sound like he had a kazoo stuck in his windpipe... and what was the deal with that woman shouting random notes whilst playing air guitar, accompanied by a bloke playing a box?... utter pants... Rob [/quote] Have to say it was a particularly challenging show last night I always record it so I can fast forward through the stuff I'm not interested in, last night it was most of it. But every now and then I find something I really didn't expect to enjoy so it's worth the effort.

My MIJ was a fiver a few years ago, I've converted it back to a 4 string again now. Low B was pretty good but it went off the edge of the neck as you went up the dusty end. String spacing was a little tight but felt OK, EMG Jazz pickups with the battery in half the hole left by the split P pickup. Standard neck coped fine with the extra tension of another string. [url="http://s751.photobucket.com/user/richardmatthews_photos/media/forum%20stuff/FrankensteinPbass.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68wJIQbCtlI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68wJIQbCtlI[/url]

[quote name='plumbob' timestamp='1381672480' post='2242043'] Meet my new hero Dave !!! Dont get the wrong idea about this guy , he does know what he is doing , I just think he sometimes loses the will to live with some of the repairs he has to do , bloody hilarious !!! Check out some of the China ebay repais and fretless conversions ! [media]http://youtu.be/GdhCeD9R5qM[/media] [/quote] If that's an example of someone who knows what he's doing then there's no way I'm letting anyone near one of my basses. Not impressed with him scratching the body with the loose strings, and damaging the finish when he whipped the cut ends of the strings out of the back of the bridge without lifting them clear of the back of the body. General lack of care, approximate tuning by ear. I wouldn't have sprayed that quantity of stuff on the fingerboard either but maybe I'm being too fussy. He did nothing I can't do for free in half the time. Not impressed

[quote name='Bo0tsy' timestamp='1380901859' post='2232228'] Well I love my Warwick Corvette $$ Ltd Edition - Maybe I'm biased but to me it looks great, is easy to play and has a lovely growly tone. The workmanship and finish is surperb. No blingy gold hardware in sight either [/quote] Fair enough, just had a look at the Warwick website and most seem to have chrome or black hardware. Maybe it's time I tried a few more!

Tried quite a few and not liked any of them, haven't tried them all though. Didn't like the neck, the finish on the neck, the way they hang, they often seem to have blingy gold hardware. And the Warwick "Sound of Wood" just isn't my cup of tea. But then I don't like Stingrays either, but do like 70s Fenders and headed Status 5 strings

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1380782221' post='2230377'] I was in a dodgy metal band when I was 14 and we played some real dives and inappropriate sized venues. The Standard in Walthamstow springs to mind.. All black painted walls with an enormous ramp the went out into the "crowd". It had the smallest back stage room I've ever seen with the grottiest sofa in all existence... [/quote] We used to look forward to playing The Standard in the late 80s / early 90s, it was a cut above our usual gigs! But then we were a bit rubbish.

Also people building a custom instrument might want custom string spacing. I prefer the very slightly tighter spacing on my 70s Jazz (due to the neck bindings reducing the width of the nut) than the more standard 60 reissues. But the main reason is probably money. It's one less process they need to do, and one less thing that could go wrong and result in the neck being returned.

I picked up one of those pointy 80s basses by the neck and jabbed myself in the Gentleman's Area with the sharp top horn of the bass. Almost lifted myself off the ground in fact. Edit: Looking at the shape of the bass in the ZZ Top picture it was probably the lower horn.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1380663422' post='2228788'] What are they supposed to file them down to? [/quote] They'd have to put them on a body, string 'em up, file them to what they think the customer might want, take them off. Then fill the neck bolt holes so the customer doesn't complain they're getting a second hand neck. Looking at the way the nut is filed on my old Fenders, I reckon we should be glad Fender don't do it.

I think Basschat needs to be a bit careful, ultimately if a luthier or guitar company gets a bad reputation through us it can result in loss of income or maybe even jobs, plus all the stress of watching it happen in what feels like slow motion and a feeling that there's nothing you can do to stop the momentum of The Internet. One bad thread could ultimately result in someone not being able to pay their rent or feed their family, maybe that's part of the reason so many of these guys get so defensive and sometimes abusive. Having said that, there comes a point when the disappointed buyer has no choice and has to go public and name and shame, Shockwave seems to have given these custom builders plenty of time and plenty of warning before going public. But I think naming and shaming has to be a last resort, and be aware that posting these things on the internet can have serious consequences.

I've noticed this when doing setups that require slackening strings to get to the truss or bridge pieces, they're definitely brighter but it really doesn't last long.

Some people put clear nail varnish over the poles to stop the scratchy noises, one of mine had thick goooey silver paint which looked horrible.

I think they're definitely here to stay, but I don't think they'll ever become mainstream. More traditional designs seem to appeal more to most players and probably always will.

He had a tuition video out in the late 80s or early 90s, well worth a look if you can get hold of it. It's probably the DVD I've [s]nicked[/s] learned most from.

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1380298923' post='2223521'] [/quote] Rob and his team are building some great looking basses at the moment.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1380366187' post='2224309'] it was a few years ago.im sure it was you that i saw in gloucester. with a soul band. your bass playing was smokin. my sister said" where the f*** did he come from." [/quote] No wasn't me, I was playing in an indie / rock band at that time. My playing is lukewarm at best, never smokin'

I've got some of mine hung up in my office / studio so I can look at them and imagine all the wonderful music I'll make when I get round to practicing and actually become a competent player.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1380363533' post='2224245'] American guitars were relatively easy to get (compared to the 50s and early 60s and as long as you had the money) since the mid 60s in the UK so no one was rushing to buy them because of that. It was purely that everyone wanted a nice shiny guitar in those days. [/quote] Ah, OK. I vaguely remember that things were pretty grim in the 70s and people were really proud when they got something shiny and new. Now there sometimes seems to be a backlash against glossy new stuff, a few players choosing basic instruments and making them look like they've worked hard.

Yeah, a couple of times many years ago. Pub gigs to largely disinterested punters, not stadiums full of fans!

[quote name='Johngh' timestamp='1380356519' post='2224134'] Jon Shuker, it would be affordable, and the built quality is second to non [/quote] Or to save money go on his bass building course and make one yourself.