casapete

Or if you lose your bottle opener.....

To be fair though, didn’t the good 80’s stuff decline during the decade? Most of your great list does still have a late 70’s feel to it ( except Green Onions, obv.) 😄

Whilst I agree with you in principal, you can’t get away from the fact that it’s usually the done thing to have a bass that is right for the gig, both sonically and visually. Maybe it would be fun to start a thread called ‘ Most inappropriate bass’ , or ‘This bass is at the wrong gig’ ? 😀

I’m liking that too. Not sure about 3 strings though, probably 1 or 2 more than needed on that beauty....🤣

Some good news and some bad for me, so I’ll start with the bad. A large hotel near me has closed it’s doors for good following the Covid outbreak. Whilst it was probably struggling before that, like many businesses on the edge it was enough to push them over. I’ve played at many functions and weddings there over the last 40+ years so very sad to see it go. It was also my only gig still booked for 2020 - I’ve played there every New Years Eve for some years with friends, so gutted that it’s ended. Am sure it won’t be the only casualty either. On a brighter note, I have a provisional gig booked for July with my acoustic duo. It’s an outside gig with appropriate social distancing, so looking forward to it. The only proviso is that the weather is good, if it rains then that will be my only remaining gig of the year down the plug hole. Fingers crossed. 🙂

I've been missing gigging, which is my work! 28 gigs down so far, with no sign of anything improving for the rest of 2020. The first few weeks of the lockdown were a nice change for me, but as the time has gone on I'm getting more twitchy being at home. Practicing along with some stuff my band recorded on our gigs so as not to lose it and forget everything, but TBH I'm a live player really - it's all about doing gigs all over the UK and also the travel and camaradarie for me.

Just measured the interior of my shaped G4M one. The dimensions are - Body cavity length (end pin to neck support) - 50cms Neck support length - 36cms Headstock cavity length - 33cms My Dano Longhorn is 30.5" scale length and fits in fine, but your Mustang may be a tad longer? Hope this helps.

Unfortunately grand-mama popped her clogs a while back now so I can't verify with her, but I can safely say either 1964 or 1965. She was the first person we knew to go abroad for her holidays, hard to imagine now. I was mad on the Stones and Beatles so she thought it would be suitable, bless her. Carried it as hand luggage on the plane home, without a case for it! Made by Roca in Valencia, it still plays okay despite only being 1/2 size. When I took it to school I was amazed how big everyone else's guitars were!

Here's my first ever instrument, brought back for me from Spain by my Grandma. Pictured with my mandolin and uke bass so you can get the scale.

I had exactly the same model, even down to the missing scratchplate! Sold it a couple of years ago for a good profit on the £30 it cost me in the early 80's. ☺️

Cough....😉

Marshall 18 watt valve guitar combo I bought in the mid 70’s for £45. Best amp I’ve ever heard, will be with me till I shuffle off. My grandma bought me a small Spanish guitar back from her holidays in Spain c.1965 which I learned to play on and still have. Also I’ve still got a full sized unbranded Spanish guitar I got from a lad at school in 1969. Think it was part of a swap deal with a small Antoria combo that needed repair but would have been worth a fair bit today.

Gibson Firebird in the background I think. Machine heads on the Dano definitely not original, look like 70’s Schallers maybe?

Great Eric Burdon documentary on BBC iPlayer if you haven’t seen it. He doesn’t speak too fondly of Alan Price mind......

Great pic! Unusual mod on the Dano, John Birch modified so many basses back then. I’ve had a few Longhorns and really like them. Still got one, a late 90’s Korean model and it's one of those basses I can’t see me parting with. Sorry for the thread derail!

You still got the Dano?

This ^^^ Hate to see cable being coiled up the way my mum used to do her washing line! Quality cables well looked after should last for years. ( I'm sure I'll have cables in my gig bag that are older than some of the people on this site ) 😁

The Laney should do the job, although personally I’d go for a Fender Rumble 15 or 25. Really light but sound great. Like the Laney, both feature the all important headphone jack and also input for hooking up an auxiliary device such as phone/ tablet so they can silently jam along with their favourite tunes.😊

The plexiglass DA basses were not the same as the wooden bodied jobs, despite a similar outline. These were known as DA London model, and had a sliding pickup mounted on rails along with a chunky mahogany body and set in neck and also a different bridge/tailpiece arrangement. I always fancied one of these for some reason, getting quite rare nowadays though. Also wanted a JJ Longhorn like you had! Missed buying one in the 90’s, just after I got hooked on Longhorns. Have had a few Danos and liked them all. There was a Dynelectron for sale recently, think they were around in the 70s after the Danos finished production and before the Korean reissues. Never tried one but they look okay.

I always fancied an Aerodyne, thought they looked great and usually fairly lightweight. I tried the P-bass version and loved it, except for the fact my forearm didn’t feel great resting on the bound body. If it hadn’t been for that I’d have bought it - nice blue finish and great neck. I believe the Jazz Aerodynes have a more contoured body which is more comfortable. Also seem to remember a lot of people who bought the original Aerodynes often replaced the pickups as the standard ones were considered a bit average, although this may have been sorted now? Great basses nevertheless, and usual Japanese high quality.

Two for one on this classic tune by Emmylou Harris - the piano solo by Glen Hardin is just perfect, followed by the pedal steel of Hank De Vito. Pure class.

Interesting bit of trivia about this song - When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song) as the UK new number one, the band members began by tearing up pictures of Travolta and Newton-John to emphasise the fact that the pair - who had spent a total of 16 weeks out of the preceding 22 at the top of the charts - had been deposed. Geldof mimed the saxophone part on a candelabra, a jest he explained in his autobiography Is That It?: "The Musicians' Union had forbidden me to play saxophone on the video, as obviously I hadn't done so on the record. But I saw a candelabra on the piano at the shoot and I put a mouthpiece in the central candle holder and played it. The impact of video came home when during the next few British gigs kids pulled out candelabras from nowhere and began playing them during the sax solo in 'Rat Trap'".[6]

Reminds me of a bloke I sold an old Hofner to a few years ago. He said he was a 'dealer', and when I asked him was it just in guitars, he replied - 'No mate, I do all the middle aged bloke stuff - cameras, watches and motorbikes as well as guitars'. 😂 ( As I was probably pushing 60 at the time, I can only guess he was trying to flatter me for a better price)

The Covid pandemic has really made me wonder about having so many instruments generally, as well as how many basses. There's no doubt I could manage with one for everything - it has to be light as possible, well made / reliable and plays and sounds to my liking. Hence I could flog everything but my favourite Precision Lyte. However, I can never sell my 63 P-bass, so that makes it two without even considering the heartbreak of losing my Dano, Washburn acoustic/electric and a few more. That, combined with the market causing prices to be low, means they're all staying where they are. 😊