Fat Rich

Pretty sure they always match, so you'd probably only want to put black blocks with black binding. However it's your bass, it's non standard anyway so you can do whatever you like!

[quote name='OutSpoon' timestamp='1341502044' post='1720149'] Definitely not stickers... that is cheap - so is the idea of putting a 'new' neck on it.. I think that would also change the sound and the feel.. dots just don't look right for me - and as it's a '78 neck; it [i]should[/i] have blocks anyways. So in theory I am making it [i]correct. :-) [/i] [/quote] Exactly this, a new fingerboard makes it less interesting to a collector, putting blocks back on it may even increase the value a little although it'll be obvious they're not the originals. Can't see any harm in doing it, it's already a bitsa bass and 78s and particularly 83s aren't really so collectable.....yet. But not black blocks

Thought the first album was pretty OK throwaway pop but everything I've heard from them since has been dismal. I thought they might have turned into a pretty decent band but it seems not.

You're probably more likely to notice an improvement changing pickups on a cheaper bass than an expensive one, however played on it's own you might struggle to hear a difference. On the other hand it you have a number of basses and one sounds weak compared with the others, a hotter pickup may well fix the problem and be worth the money.

You spent 5 minutes playing it before sharing it with us? How dare you! Japanese Fender basses are almost always great, really good value for money too.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1341478243' post='1719533'] You'll have to change all the others too. Minor third becomes a 4th, third becomes a 5th, fourth becomes a 6th, fifth becomes a 7th will all be very confusing.... [/quote] Be interesting to hear what people play when they see 8va on the page

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1341476702' post='1719486'] Fixed [/quote] Was going to put that but then thought in terms of intervals rather than chromatics, decided it was called octave for a reason.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1341451211' post='1719372'] I have come to the conclusion that judicious use of playing the root / octave on the bass is the sexiest sound in the world. [/quote] +8.

He had an instructional video out many years ago, some useful stuff on how he uses intervals and chromatic approaches that really helped get me started as a bass player. It doesn't seem to be available any more unless you can find one second hand. Plus he's on the Jaco Pastorius video too. Edit: Youtube to the rescue: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpq-BVXcBo0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpq-BVXcBo0[/url]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1341341804' post='1717431'] I know its boring but playing scales helps alot here IMO, once they are in your head you can start at a note in your head or hum then sing the scale from there, count the intervals if thats what your after and there you go, la de dar de dar la de dar, and down, bum bum bum bum bum bum bum berrrr...... those who can should be able to enjoy those I cant do all the scales but its a start. [/quote] Nothing wrong with doing it this way but it doesn't really take much longer to just learn the intervals outright.

Interval training is one of the most important things you can do in music, it makes working out songs, improvising and working with other musicians so much easier. Get stuck into some ear training, you'll be amazed how quickly it'll improve your playing.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1341302423' post='1716469'] Good point. My take on the bad reputation of slap is that it's because of all those light-speed slap exhibitionists that favour speed over musicality. But even that isn't really 'wrong' if you really like it. In the context of a good song, it can work wonders - like most things really - but on its own . . . . . well, a 10 second burst might be OK but anything more is bordering on the inconsiderate. [/quote] Exactly, it was new and exciting in the seventies, people like Mark King raised the bar for technique in the early eighties, it all sounded a bit tired by the late eighties because it was everywhere. Also quite a lot of slap players can only play the same old patterns in E or A and rely on open strings, triplets and speed to cover it up. Someone like Marcus Miller or Victor Wooten can slap any bassline cleanly, at any speed and in any key without using any of the tired old slapping tricks at all.... and make it sound good. If you're going to play a slap bassline I'd suggest trying to be as melodic as you would be with any other technique, then add a few slappy tricks on top for effect.

I play so many bum notes it's difficult to tell what key I'm in.

Apart from the intro, for some reason it reminds me of this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkWjf9DhlnA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YkWjf9DhlnA[/url]

My Marcus Miller Jazz does exactly the same thing, the windings are damaged and the neck pickup needs rewinding. Yours may have got damaged when it was pulled apart to be resprayed, it's very easy to catch the windings with the black plastic pickup cover when you take them off. If you're feeling brave try removing the 4 screws that hold the pickup down, very carefully lift the black cover off and see if you can see any straggly windings or if there's a bad connection where the windings meet the cable. It might also be a bad connection under the control panel, 3 screws off and look at where the wire joins the neck pickup pot, but I suspect it's the pickup that's faulty. I'm going to send my damaged pickup to Wizard for rewinding, apparently he turns them around quickly and cheaply [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/[/url] although there may be other repairers people here could recommend. Good luck!

[quote name='derrenleepoole' timestamp='1340797908' post='1709686'] My friend made a comment when he listened to it that this is more a paradox of overtones rather than fundamentals. Probably a lot easier to hear and judge if we we're listening to it using a pure sine wave instead. [/quote] Exactly, all other sounds are made up of overtones and since a tritone above is the same note as a tritone below it's all about identifying the fundamental to determine which octave it is. Which is why we're all getting different results.

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1340667527' post='1707996'] Had another listen on PC speakers (slightly better quality than my laptop ) And, guess what? I still think the first two ascending and last two descending...sounds so obvious. But as no one else is hearing it, I am preparing my face for the egg that is obviously going to be heading my way [/quote] I agree, tried whistling along and I'm even more sure.

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1340692927' post='1708073'] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq4NZEtNTAo[/media] GROOVE.......................... Where did he get that from? [/quote] Story goes that Norm saw a Jaco Pastorius gig and came up with a line in a similar style, a great bassline as is "What a Waste". I've always liked this one from Sir Horace Gentleman, has a sort of turned around inside out feel to it: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoCNQTuQkc0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoCNQTuQkc0[/url]

Most bass players rest their thumb on the neck pickup or the bridge pickup, or somewhere in between. Time to do some experimenting: Rest your thumb on the bridge pickup, play gently, play hard (really dig in but not so much you hurt yourself) Rest your thumb on the neck pickup, play gently, play hard again Rest your thumb on the end of the neck (like you were doing before), again play gently, play hard. You'll probably find you get a much tighter punchier sound at the bridge pickup and can play really hard without too many rattles. You'll probably find with your thumb on the end of the neck you get a big woolly sound but have to play very gently to lose the rattles. Totally different sounds depending where you play, different string tension, different amounts of energy going in the string. Use this to get different sounds out of your bass to suit the song before you start fiddling with tone settings. You'll find a sweet spot where you get the sound and control you want for most of your playing, you may need to adjust your arm position and the angle of your bass to get comfortable. A mirror may help, you might look all twisted up without realising it. It may feel a little achy at first as you use your muscles in a different way, but if it persists you need to look into further, maybe with a lesson or two. Good luck!

45 to 135, usually Ernie Ball Slinkys, DR Hi Beams / Fat Beams or Status Hotwires depending on the sound I'm after. 35" Scale length and graphite neck makes the heavyish low B as punchy and usable as the other strings in my experience. I have got a set of 40 to 120 which I bought by accident, feels too sloppy and the low B sounds too indistinct. It draws attention to itself, really feels like the bottom has dropped out of the song.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1339854085' post='1695432'] Only available via the web..? [/quote] Waddle people do to get a bad pun in?

Looks like it fits the bill.

[b] You are a real musician when...[/b] you can no longer get car insurance or a mortgage.

Closest match I could find, it's probably the earlier version of the Series 1 Artist (it also shows the carbon rods in the neck): [url="http://www.statii.com/status_cats/catalogues/17/left%20side.jpg"]http://www.statii.com/status_cats/catalogues/17/left%20side.jpg[/url] there are more catalogues on that page so you may find a better match. Yours is probably a bit older (93 or 94 is my guess) as it has the bevelled edges rather than the rounded shape that came later. Also, I reckon someone has sanded off the black paint that would have been on the front of the neck where it joins the body. Value wise, the wooden necked Status basses don't fetch the same money as the graphite ones, I reckon between £400 and £500. There were a few people on the Statii forum who are starting to rave about the wooden necked Status basses so they may start to go up in value as they weren't made for very long.

[quote name='bigsmokebass' timestamp='1338997466' post='1682169'] same here but £35 on eBay for a 5 set, doesn't seem bad all in all but if they are bland as you say, seems pointless having them just because they last forever. ........ [/quote] Some may argue that bland or characterless strings are better because they let the character of the bass come through..... it's all down to personal taste. The only way is to try lots of different types of string, it's an expensive business though.