Old Horse Murphy

[quote name='jakesbass' post='190331' date='May 2 2008, 10:07 AM']And he also wrote quite a bit of their material. A very talented guy. He is also a lovely guitar player.[/quote] I saw (ages ago now) an "In the Round" episode on BBC3 with Gouldman, Neil Finn and Roddy Frame all playing acoustics and singing some of their more popular songs. Towards the end, they played a few numbers together and did a fantastic version of I'm not in Love. I can't find this programme anywhere and I'd love to see it again.

[quote name='SMART' post='190325' date='May 2 2008, 10:01 AM']Well, I thank you! My Friday morning is now complete! Ciao Ian[/quote] You're more than welcome. A great player who is very underrated.

Graham Gouldman

[quote name='Jase' post='184498' date='Apr 24 2008, 01:34 PM']Yeah, it's good to end the odd number like that but EVERY track gets a little boring [/quote] +1,000,000!!!

Our drummer thinks that every song needs to end with him playing his cymbals to fade. On too many occasions to count, our first song has ended with me whispering through gritted teeth "If you do that again I'm going to shove your sticks up your arse". On more than one occasion too it has resulted in the biggest laugh of the night. Fortunately our drummer is smaller than me and also a very tolerant guy (unlike me).

I get really bad pickup buzz at our rehearsal stusios because they've fitted cheap dimmer switches in all the rooms!! No idea why you'd need a dimmer switch in a small room with 5 sweaty men, but then I was brought up proper like....

[quote name='OldGit' post='183619' date='Apr 23 2008, 11:17 AM']Knees, ears? You are just a wreck, Nick ... best let me break this bass in for you ... I like playing dah blooose [/quote] You're first reserve...how's that?

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='183585' date='Apr 23 2008, 10:37 AM']Oh yes, Jon was cutting back the finish while I was there last week. He's particularly impressed with the rich colour of those blue tints. The pics really don't do it justice.[/quote] My knees have just buckled....

[quote name='OldGit' post='183576' date='Apr 23 2008, 10:30 AM']I saw a PJ precision recently where the J pup was the same colour as the bass body .. It looked a bit more "right" than a normal black bridge pup .. As you are going to a lot of trouble to getyhe trad two knob look how about getting a matched blue wood cover for your bridge pickup? Just an idea OG[/quote] That's certainly an idea Si. I'll give Jon a call and see what he thinks. To be honest, I don't actually mind the P/J pickup. For some reason though I prefer just the 2 knobs (weird eh?)

Some more pics from Jon. The body has finally been stained and it's come out better than I ever dreamed it would!! I think this is going to look great with the rosewood fingerboard and pearloid block markers. I'm now going with EMG's but still with spilt pots (Vol/Vol and Tone/Tone) for the P and J Pickups. Unfortunately, he's going to have to get these built especially, but it's worth the wait as I really want the P bass to have the classic 2 knob look rather than 3. Jon reckons it will be completed in the next few weeks, but I'm not so sure myself....

[quote name='martthebass' post='180753' date='Apr 19 2008, 10:27 PM']Glad you're happy Nick - they look well together. How does the Jazz sound? Know how you feel - I was down to one bass this week (for all of 4 days and an odd number of hours). Now back up to 2 - the Ray and the P. Still the honeymoon period, but cant for the life of me think why I sold my last Ray - I hope this one stays for a few years. Hope I don't get tempted to blow what cash I have left thru another Warwick or Lakland phase [/quote] The Jazz sounds great Mart. I must admit though, the Lakland JO pickups sounded a lot louder and bassier, but for whatever reason I just don't seem to be able to get on with Laklands (they just feel a bit too clinical to me whereas Fenders feel a bit more earthy and "lived in"). I think the build quality of Laklands is generally better and I know a number of guys who swear by them, but I just don't get the same buzz. I can't wait to get my hands on the Shuker now and hopefully this trio will do me for a fair while yet.

[quote name='tombboy' post='180714' date='Apr 19 2008, 09:17 PM']I take it you play the 'Ray sitting down? Where are the straphooks man? [/quote] Jeez I knew someone would be eagle eyed enough to spot that!! I "borrowed them" for the Jazz as I didn't have any spare straplock buttons- all sorted now though!

2007 was a funny year for me. It was a good year, but a funny one as far as GAS went. In 2006, I had a load of gear stolen and all I was left with was my trusty Stingray (ex-demo model bought for £650!! Absolutely mint). So, basically I had to start again with my collection. I must've got through at least 10 basses and 3 amp set ups in the never-ending quest to find "the" bass for me. At one stage I had 6 basses, which for me was way too many to justify. Sitting down in a reflective mood in January led me to the conclusion that I reckon I need 3 basses to cover all of the styles of music I was ever likely to play. So over the last few months, a "cull" resulted in me cutting down to 2 basses at the moment and one due imminently.... After talking to Si (Old Git) I decided to commission Jon Shuker to build me a 5 string P Bass with P/J active EMG pickups. This is due to be with me shortly. Due to hearing problems, I moved my 76 P-Bass on (a sad day) and with the money I made from that, I bought Richardd's Fender Custom Shop 64 Closet Classic Jazz bass (in Burgundy mist!!). This is one of the best, easiest basses I've ever picked up. Not everyone's cup of tea but I'm comfortable with my own sexuality so I don't mind being seen in public with it!! So, at the end of the journey so far I have my Stingray which was under my nose all the time, the Jazz bass and the impending Shuker 5 String. I treated the Stingray to a smoke coloured mirrored plate recently and took all the chrome appendages off the Jazz bass and I'm a happy man. I dread to think how much money, how many miles it has cost me over the last year, but I've met some fantastic people and it's kept me out of trouble!! And here they are; my crocks of gold at the end of the rainbow. 4 less than I started the year with, but enough sounds and charisma between them to satisfy me for years to come