OldGit

[quote name='bentdice' post='592635' date='Sep 8 2009, 07:30 AM']I'm saying that they are overpriced and, in terms of value for money, totally overrated.[/quote] Stylish though

[quote name='bentdice' post='592552' date='Sep 7 2009, 11:26 PM']I've just discovered this thread & was really surprised that Rickenbackers haven't had as much of a slagging as they have. It's not that their basses are bad (although it's definitely a Marmite love/hate thing), it's difficult to understand whether they are good enough to justify the price. A standard build 4003 currently retails for around £1,699 & there's a waiting list of up to 12 months to get one if you can't find a shop that hasn't coincidentally ordered the one you want on spec a year in advance. I just don't get it... On the other hand, if you try to sell something vaguely resembling a Rick on eBay they'll be on to you faster than a burning whippet - they need to spend less time on the internet protecting their patents & more time on the factory floor doing some graft if you ask me! B.[/quote] So are you saying that they are underpriced rather than overrated?

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='578008' date='Aug 23 2009, 02:40 AM']side LED's. What's the point? Front ones on the board do the same job and have better posing potential for the punters [/quote] ha ha YMMV but I never look a the front markers on my basses, well not when I'm playing them anyway. The side LED's are subtle but still let me know where I am starting a toon when I'm playing in the dark.. So my nomination, that I may have made before on this vry long lived thread, is front LEDs: totally useless unless you are Mark King or The Hamsters doing ZZ Top where the purpose seems to be for posing and getting the audience to go "ooooooooohhhhhh"

[quote name='Delberthot' post='592257' date='Sep 7 2009, 05:27 PM']I've just had the neck off and it ain't any clearer. The code on both neck and body is "PB 562". I can't see an actual date code. It has the large 'F' on the neck plate, the serial number is on the headstock and one rally weird thing is that the cap looks like nothing I've ever seen before - a slim plastic rectangle about 10mmx15mm. Anyway, we'll see what its like then when I gig it in a couple of weeks time[/quote] Oh well I guess you'll have to trust the s/n then I belive the F on the neck plate was a feature of the 80's ones and disapeared later.

Nice one ... Look at that though... Even in your own band's video you don't get any visuals when you are playing that little bass feature bit ... Typical eh? Oh well .. Hey, you should add th http:// bit to the www.myspace.com/loungeflymusic web address in the text description section. Then it will become a hot link and help pople get to your Myspace pages easily ....

[quote name='charic' post='590671' date='Sep 5 2009, 02:27 PM']Oh and I actually think I'm going to miss asking about progress reports because you get such a good feeling when you hear whats recently occurred. Not that I usually have to ask mind...[/quote] It's a bit like having a baby - months of expectation, a huge pain (in the wallet) as it arrives and then 6 or so weeks of people saying "ooooooh isn't it wonderful" and then it goes a bit quiet and you'll miss the expectation and the comments. I'd recommend booking a load of gigs or jam sessions or rehearsals for weeks 6-10 to help you recover

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='590571' date='Sep 5 2009, 12:49 PM']At a gig, drummer introduces me to his old bass-playing friend. We chat a little and friend leaves. Drummer says 'He's a proper bass player, five string and everything'. Yawn.[/quote] Now come on. A drummer who can count past 4? You're fibbin'

[quote name='Mikey R' post='589426' date='Sep 4 2009, 09:48 AM']Id recommend chocolate hobnobs.[/quote] +1

And take Jon some choccie biscuits ... Pick up day is a wonderful experience. All that expectation and antici..............pation finally resolved.

[quote name='fusionbassist1' post='589157' date='Sep 3 2009, 09:52 PM']Is the Bass Gallery near t'Albert Hall then?[/quote] Compared to North Wales yes .... It's about 10 stops on the tube, Kensington to Camden Town. I'd go the day after, before heading home. Allow about an hour to walk/tube/walk and then about a month to try the gear

[quote name='Delberthot' post='589342' date='Sep 4 2009, 07:43 AM']I tried that website and it just gives me the generic info rather than a close date of manufacture. As a former multiple Musicman owner I think its pretty strange that there isn't a similar site to the one that you can access through the EB forums that gives all the information about the different models, changes etc given the popularity and simply the name 'Fender'.[/quote] I guess Stingrays and such are less "run of the mill" production line basses and the info was recorded better. For Fenders I think it's all way too complex to do. Too many years, models, specials etc and no one making notes from 1954... The neck end number will 05 (that's the code for a Precision), a number that is the week and year. So my CAR '57 has 5 31 89, even though the s/n says 84-88 on Guitar Dater. However the s/n (which is also on the neck, of course) may have been applied to the neck a long time before the neck was finished. Whole bass completion dates are all esitmates anyway as batches of necks can sit on racks for months before they are made into whole basses. Same with pot dates and bodies...

[quote name='Delberthot' post='589139' date='Sep 3 2009, 09:36 PM']Glad I spotted this thread - I've just received a bass that I bought on Ebay and was a bit curious of the colour. It looks like mine is a '57 RI E series in CAR but my one has the rosewood fretboard. I'm not sure if you can date the pots like on the US models but when I'm changing the strings I'll probably whip the neck off and check the date on it - the previous owner reckoned 1985. If I like it I could be back in touch to see about getting the matching maple one :brow:[/quote] Oh yes you certainly should have a pair. It's only natural The 57 has a maple fretboard and a single ply scratch plate .. That's the key differences... When you get the neck off look for the model number too. PB62 or PB57 plus Ex for export, D for domestic, usually. You can date them from the s/n on the Guitar Dater website [url="http://www.guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx"]http://www.guitardaterproject.org/fender.aspx[/url]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='589278' date='Sep 3 2009, 11:48 PM']I will be picking it up Saturday 19th September! [/quote] Which September?

[quote name='funkyveed' post='566439' date='Aug 12 2009, 01:04 AM']Hi, im new to this site and still trying to figure it out! i might be interested in your japanese P basses, can you tell me the years they were made? Thanks![/quote] There's a white 62 RI for sale on here Not mine Stll have the red 57 RI and the real red 79 USA ones for sale should you be tempted... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=59551&view=findpost&p=588982"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=588982[/url]

Oh I think a trip to The Gallery is called for

[quote name='alexclaber' post='588853' date='Sep 3 2009, 05:04 PM']Well I hope to house that deeper info on the site for those who want to learn more. I too like giant techy manuals, am just concerned that those who most need to read them are those that are least likely to! Alex[/quote] Ah 'tis ever thus .. If you want me to have a peruse/proof/sense check of your manual I'll be happy to. I've done a few technical docs and things before ..

[quote name='thebeat' post='588023' date='Sep 2 2009, 09:43 PM']I must admit to actually quite liking Hold Your Head Up when i was a biker and mostly into cock rock...and if i'm really honest i may even have sang along to God Gave...,on occasion...but it was almost 30 yrs ago and I was drunk a lot then. Furthermore, some of my biker mates were in a pub band and called themselves Talon they used to cover Argent and others of their ilk and i may have even done a bit of Quo type headbanging to their version...it was more seeing the diminutive bass player and the posing drummer that caused me mirth...you got to admit that Jim Rodford does look demented and the drummer looks like he would eat himself if he was chocolate. Saying all that, it [i][b]is[/b][/i], a [i][b]very[/b][/i] cheesy song. And yes, Russ Ballard did indeed write Since You've Been Gone but Rainbow were a lot better looking than Argent and had cooler songs like Kill the King... much better band in my opinion[/quote] I guess that's what you get if you over light the rhythm section in a TV studio

[quote name='bolov' post='587324' date='Sep 2 2009, 11:36 AM']Hi Thanks for such a really useful thread ! we are a function band looking to get well paid weddings / functions in our area (south west) We are struggling for google rank after a recent re design and change of hosting. I have tried a google addwords campaign that seems to have helped ?????? but the increase in traffic could be for other reasons. If you could have a quick squizz I would be very grateful. [url="http://www.limitedcompanyband.co.uk"]www.limitedcompany.co.uk[/url] Thanks Owen[/quote] Owen, Do you have site stats/analytics on your current site? If you don't then you should install Google Analytics or [url="http://www.statcounter.com/"]http://www.statcounter.com/[/url] (both free). Analytics are great for seeing what's happening with your site, how the search stuff is working, what people do on your site etc. If you don't have them now then please add them before you make the changes so that you can track the effect of any changes

[quote name='bolov' post='587324' date='Sep 2 2009, 11:36 AM']I have tried a google addwords campaign that seems to have helped ?????? but the increase in traffic could be for other reasons.[/quote] Just a word on Google Adwords, AKA "Pay Per Click" or PPC PPC adverts are the paid for listings that appear on Google at the top and side of the normal listings. Normal, free listings are called "natural" search results in SEO terminology. Google wedding band for examples - see the problem down the left side - "wedding band" means "wedding ring" in US English .... PPC can be really brilliant for companies. I was on a geek weekend recently where one delegate had a £3 million per annum budget for Google adwords marketing but a company turn over of hundreds of millions. However for function bands it's not the best way to spend your marketing budget. Working out the best key phrases you should pay for to maximise the effectiveness of PPC is the same as doing that for your site so, once your site is optimised you should score well on the free stuff anyway. So why pay for it? "Natural" search results can work much better for you if you do a few things to help out - sort your site SEO, obviously, but also take advantage of the sites that already know how to use Google well .. [url="http://www.gig-guide.co.uk/pages/wedding-bands-list.php/Avon/1/2/1/1"]Gig-Guide[/url] is a prime example. Search for "wedding band yourtown" and see who's there on page one - Gig guide .. So list with them. Also any other listings sites and agencies that come up on page one when you do that search. They will work hard to stay on page one and you can ride that wave Also... - get reviewed on places like [url="http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews68590.html"]Review Centre,[/url], make sure your [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szupbnMY5Xk"]Youtube[/url] video text stuff links back to your website, - get listed on as many of the wedding listing sites as you can. Some charge just £10 per year for a listing. You could spend that in a day on PPC and still not get any interested parties. We advertise on a few wedding band listing sites such as [url="http://www.weddingservices4u.co.uk/asp_Somerset2/SomersetWeddingCeilidhBands.asp"]Wedding Services 4U[/url] (horrible site design but, by George, it brings in the enquiries.) They are cheap and, of course, anyone that clicks through from there is looking for a band for a wedding in our genre and geographical area (as we only advertise on wedding sites that differentiate their bands well). Thus we are very likely to get a call from there if they like what we do. PPC can bring in hundreds of visitors, each costing you money, but maybe they are your mates clicking on your PPC link to find your band site, or the singer in your rivals clicking on it to cost you money and annoy you. The measure of whether PPC is working is not the traffic flow you get but the number of enquiries it generates.

[quote name='Bassmonster' post='587871' date='Sep 2 2009, 07:57 PM']Great thread, i've been tasked with sorting the bands myspace page out, stumbled accross this type of [url="http://www.myspace.com/burnthesunset"]style[/url], this appears to be some kind of custom coding as far as i can tell, now how can i get mine to look like it, or do i need to be some kind of HTML ninja[/quote] Ah Myspace. Absolutely brilliant for originals bands on a budget building a following, etc ... Sadly more or less useless for function bands as the brides' mums don't "get" Myspace and you can't tune a Myspace for their kind of search they way you can a normal site. There are some Myspace experts on the forum. Post a new thread and see who pops up. Most of the stuff about communicating well, using the right pictures and video, tuning your youtube for search and link back, etc, etc apply but the search stuff and layouts are a whole diffrent ball game. Love the Burn The Sunset tour video on that link you gave specially the "Band hair tossing in sync" bit at about 3 minutes in It's not them but it's very funny..

If you are not sure then you should try as many as you can. Even the same model, make and year will vary. Then buy used. If you buy a new Squier Jazz for £250 and decide you don't like Jazzes you've instantly lost a big chink of money. If you spend £250 on a used Jazz on here and you don't like it you've only lost the postage 'cos they will generally re-sell for what you paid for it.