Scoop

Shakey - the Biog of Neil Young. A hero of mine. And a certifiable nutter. In a good way.

Me: 47 years old with 33 years playing behind me, gigging since I was 17 (sh*t... am I really that old?) It doesn't feel possible because I'm still about 19 on the inside. Very eclectic musical tastes ranging from Tom Petty to James Brown but if anyone mentions Miles Davis, Jon Gomm, Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, Primus, The Who, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell or King's X then they have my undivided attention. Just about the only thing I don't listen to much these days is metal, which is weird (or perhaps not so) as I used to be a journalist writing for Kerrang about a billion years ago. The aforementioned King's X being the one notable exception. As a player I'd describe myself as meat and potatoes. I do the job with as little fuss and fluster as I can manage. I CANNOT slap. While I enjoy listening to slap players it's simply not something that I have ever wanted to attempt. I mainly play 4 strings although I do have one five and one 12. Fingerstyle mainly although it wasn't always that way and I played with a pick for years, reverting back to mainly fingerstyle only about three years ago. I also sing reasonably well but cannot play bass competantly and sing at the same time. I need to USB an outboard brain to achieve that. Backing vox, yes. But I simplify my basslines quite a bit to manage it. I also play riddum guitar and have about 200 gigs under my belt as a guitarist though I have never attempted to play a solo in my life, not even in home practice. I can read music, but slowly, and get very confused when there are lots of sharps and flats and my theory is rudimentary to say the least. Yeah, sums me up just about.

My gig last night was..... Cancelled!! Yay!! It was a depping gig for a band that I really don't like that much musically. I agreed to dep for them, initially, a couple of years ago coz they had a really great drummer. That guy's now left the band and I hate to turn them down coz they're nice guys but their music just doesn't inspire me. It was nice to put my feet up after dashing back from the NW bass Bash instead.

welcome. There are lots of good fivers out there for less than £500 and both the Warwick Corvette and the FNA can be found for less than that regularly enough in the forum's market place. Despite your initial "wrath incurring" previous post you'll actually find this a really friendly and helpful resource and information forum. I have no idea of the context of your previous post but as a *relative newbie myself* (I've been registered a while but lurk rather than actively posting too much) I wouldn't read too much into it. As I say, friendly place.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='158712' date='Mar 16 2008, 11:58 PM']It'd be really useful, if anyone's got time, to have some names/details put next to the photos so we can follow things a bit easier from down here in the 'sarf'![/quote] hehe - I hadn't previously met anyone who attended there today. Since I got home I've identified people who were there by matching the gear I saw to their sigs. I met loads of people, obviously, but they were introduced as Tom Dick and Harry (so to speak) not "Bassist_67" "LowDownPhunkster" and "SLAP!" so it's really really hard to match everyone up. I had a great time though - some excellent gear to play with and some very very talented players in there. The highlights for me were, I think, listening to Dave slap the beejessus out of my Roscoe SKB3005, the look on people's faces when I fired up the 12string through the Omni and playing the ACG and then meeting the bloke who built it. That ACG took my breath away and I'm so bloody impressed that I've just sent a set of specs off to Alan and asked him for a build quote. Top marks to the organisers and heartfelt thanks to everyone who attended. Good to meet you and thanks for letting me play with your stuff. Dave (aka Scoop - scruffy scouser with beanie hat for those who can't place me)

sadly, healey passed away withi the last 24 hours from cancer. He was only 41 years old. [url="http://www.canada.com/globaltv/globalshows/et_story.html?id=96dd979b-604d-4b10-bffb-ad126fed902c"]http://www.canada.com/globaltv/globalshows...fb-ad126fed902c[/url] Bloody shame.

There's a fair chance I may show my extremely ugly mug at this wee bash. If anyone would like to try out any of my gear [the 12string perhaps?] then just gimme a whistle and I'll load it up.

I've got the KSD '60s style 4 string, bought direct from Bernie Goodfellow and with the EBS pre-amp (which he also imports) fitted by Bernie's shop. With a decent set up and with my preferred DR Black Beauty 45-105s I don't think I could ask for anything more from a Jazz style bass. The KSDs seem to suffer from a degree of snobbery - no; they're not actually made by Ken Smith. Are they good basses? Hell yes. Are they better than the equivalent Fenders in their price bracket? Tough call. In standard spec I'd say maybe. Are they better than Fenders which cost a similar inflated price as a KSD with the EBS fitted? Absolutely! The KSD / EBS set up is the best Jazz I've heard. And I've owned Sadowsky and Celinder in the past. Build quality is lower than the more esoteric brands obviously (tho not by a huge amount), but value for money is outstanding - and the EBS pre-amp is a real winner. The truth is - paying £3000 for a Citron or Celinder or £650 for a Goodfellow / EBS modded KSD is a no brainer. The KSD, in strenuous lab conditions, will sound worse, in gig conditons no one will be able to tell where the £2400 difference is justified.

In decades past I was employed by their label to be their freelance marketing consultant - this may explain why they never made it huge - stunning band. Always have been, always will be. Sigh. And they're not even paying me to say it anymore.

[quote name='bass_in_ya_face' post='58297' date='Sep 10 2007, 04:57 PM']I tihnk you'll find that was 'Music For Chameleons' by Gary Numan....Pino Palladino was playing with him about that time, not sure if it was him playing[/quote] nah, wasn't Music for Chameleons, was it? I thought it was Mick Karn & Japan. Well whaddya know! learn summat new every day.