Rayman

I [i]reeeeeaaally[/i] want to like TCV, but from what I've heard so far I'm underwhelmed. I fealt the same about the recent band with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony and Satch, forget the name, forgot the album already it was so dull.

Funny....I thought the slapping wasn't as bad this year...maybe I'm just deaf. I love a bit of slap, when it's done tastefully within the context of the right song. The problem as I see it in situatuions like bassday or indeed any bass shop on a Saturday, is that chances are you're surrounded by bass players within earshot, and it brings out the showoff in you when you think you can impress people with your technique. I don't care what anyone here says, if they can slap well, the first thing they'll do when they think everyone's listening is show off, it's a natural thing for a musician/performer to want to do. Trouble is, a room full of showoffs is a total nightmare for the ears. I don't think complaining about the noise level is fair. There are so many basses and amps hooked up to try, and so many people to try them, what else are people going to do? The answer for me, is to have stands of basses out of the floor like yesterday, but to put ALL the amplifier stands into separate rooms out of earshot to most of us, so that the basses can be viewed in peace. Headphone amps could be the exception.

I had a brilliant day. I had the choice between Marcus Miller in London or my favorite session player Adam Nitti up close and personal in Manchester, and I'm glad I chose the latter. Adam was outstanding as usual, and I'm very grateful to Peter for lending me his Spector to enable me to take part in Adam's masterclass. I loved being a part of that, sitting there playing along with one of your favorite players, but a lot of the theory went over my head! Thanks also to Peter on behalf of a grateful Yolanda Charles for the batteries! Great seeing Steve (Tayste2000) jamming with Yolanda and Miles, and really great to see a clash of styles having some fun together, the funk goddess meets the rock monster. This is the control plate from my Kinal, which I had signed by Nathan East, Adam Nitti, Yolanda Charles and Stevie Williams, Stevie himself is one of my favorite players and I'm always disappointed he doesn't play more himself at Bassday.... No-one will ever see the signatures, as they're on the inside, but I'll know they're there, and maybe they'll give me some inspiration next time I play it. Nathan East was fantastic of course, and a really nice bloke too. Glad to hear there weren't too many slappers this year, but man, it was a loud one all the same. Congrats to Stevie, Gary, Pris and all involved, and roll on next year.

Yeah it's a good site Pete, I go on there quite a bit.

Depends how much he wants. If the price was right I'd still be interested, as long as the repair is good and the bass plays well. It looks like more than a crack from here, it looks like the headstock may have been off it completely as the crack goes all the way through, could be wrong though. Collectors are funny about stuff like this though, so be aware of it's re-sale value if you go off it like I did with my '78. Basses are made to be played not collected IMO, so as long as the price is sensible I'd be happy with it.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='653812' date='Nov 13 2009, 04:59 PM']Are you pleased with the Fender 400? Always wondered about Fender bass amps...[/quote] Very happy indeed. I wanted a Super Redhead, but this was the next best thing. I was worried about lack of bottom end, but I needn't have, it has punch, clarity and thump in spades. I do tend to back the horn off a bit, but I do like a fairly bright and punchy tone it has to be said. I reluctantly sold my Roland DB500 to help fund it, I loved that little amp, but I love the Fender more. The only issue is the crippling weight........

Saw her with Seasick Steve a few nights ago, great sound, and a very individual vocal style, very cool, and man, the girl can drink too. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ZdD4kh4-E"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60ZdD4kh4-E[/url]

As Victor Wooten points out in his latest DVD, the electric bass guitar is a fairly young instrument in the grand scheme of things, and techniques for playing it are still evolving, as are the instruments themselves. All power to Michael Manring for his compositions and approach to bass, might not be everyone's cup of tea, but surely he has to be admired for the creativity of the piece? However....[i]for me[/i], you can't beat a simple groove within a good song when all's said and done. One of my favorite albums for listening to when I'm driving is Steve Lawson's Grace and Gratitude, because it's relaxing, not because of it's amazing grooves, so I wouldn't play it at a party. I'd put Captain Manring in a similar pigeon hole, great music in the right situation, but as pointed out previously, if it doesn't work with your eyes closed and your ears open, it doesn't work at all. The visiual tricks can be annoying.

I've been doing some recording over the last few days, predominantly with the Fernandes, purely because the output of the Kinal is so massive that it was overloading the laptop, and I preferred the tone of the Fernandes for the techno style stuff we've been doing. I've got to say, it was totally fabulous. Very Jazz like in it's tone, lovely honk, nice Jaco style tone rolled back to the bridge pup, but it has a very nice low end thud too, it's a superb bass. Live, I use the Kinal mostly, but at home and in the studio, the Fernandes seems to be my first choice now.

Seasick Steve last night. I really wasn't arsed at all about going, but what a great night, thoroughly enjoyed the whole set, brilliant. Amy LaVere was outstanding on the upright bass, even after she had helped Steve and Co polish off various bottles of grog inc. wine and whisky, they were all totaly blotto by the end of the night, but what a brilliant gig it was. Steve's obviously a very talented player, and the man has a fantastic voice too.

Black Labels are great strings, I just find them very abrassive on my girlie soft digits. Have you tried wrapping a woollen hair scrunchie over the strings just above the nut? or a piece of sponge under the strings at the bridge? That'll dampen the tone, but will also take the sustain away too, it depends what you're after.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='648963' date='Nov 8 2009, 06:16 PM']It could be a Standard, Classic Vibe, Vintage Modified, Affinity or many other ranges, can you find out what type of Squier it is?[/quote] ...and that makes a big difference to whether you're getting a reasonable or a great bass.

Take your time....don't rush into buying anything.....and go to shop and try everything around your price range. An experienced bass player can take the chance on buying online etc because he/she knows what they're looking for, but for someone who's unsure what they want, buying before trying is more dangerous, you might end up with a bass you don't like. If there's a shop near you that you can get to to try stuff, do that before you do anything else. There's a lot of players here who can give you good advice on models and makes to look out for, but at the end of the day it's your choice, so take your time.

Congratulations mate, beautiful bass, and a beautiful missus too. Those P5s are absolutely outstanding. I had a go on Homer's P5 and was knocked out, loved it.

My most surreal moment was one night when I was walking home from a gig, suddenly, the sky turned bright green, and these giant ladybirds dressed as pantomime dames came running out of a side street, shouting "bananas, bananas" in Greek, while playing football with watermelons, and waving red and white striped chocolate flags with a picture of my face on them. That was pretty surreal.

The rule is..... it doesn't matter who made it or where it was made, if it feels, sounds and looks cool for you, it's your bass. Nothing wrong with Cort or Yamaha, nice basses. For rock and metal I would argue that Ibanez basses are really good, but you can't go wrong with a nice Jazz or Precision. If I was in your position, I'd be looking seriously at the Fernandes in a link above.

Heck no...you can play [i]any[/i] music on [i]any[/i] model of bass period.

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[quote name='dave_bass5' post='648591' date='Nov 8 2009, 10:22 AM']He's the drummer ;-)[/quote] Ha ha....OK.....I'm not a fan obviously.

Wasn't Tico Torres the bass player originally? Or have I got that wrong?