casapete

Mike sold me his Boss Micro BR recorder. He kept me well informed of when it would be despatched etc. Arrived exactly when promised, and as described by him. Great bloke!

I sold my Sterling due to the neck shape-just could n't get on with the slim design after years of playing Stingrays and Precisions. I'm the same with guitars too - need to have big necks for me to get on with them. Would love a Jazz, but the skinny necks always a deal breaker for me. Guess its just what you get used to.

Nice bass! There's a pic of a very similar model to yours in Tony Bacon's 'The Gibson Les Paul Book' on page 63. The pickups dont appear to have the Bartolini logo on them but everything else seems the same (apart from the colour.) According to the book this would make yours an early (pre production?) Gibson Les Paul Deluxe bass. Introduced in 1992,this was the middle of the 3 model range, the others being the basic Special Bass and the top of the line Standard. The spec list claims it would have had 'Les Paul' on the truss rod cover,but the pictured model is like yours with just a plain cover. Gibson serial numbers sometimes don't always correspond to years of production - I had a Les Paul Heritage 80 guitar ( a ltd edition supposed to have been made during 1980) but featured a 1981 serial number! Cheers. Pete.

[quote name='BigAlonBass' post='715194' date='Jan 16 2010, 08:57 PM']Nice one-Here's hoping! [/quote] Had a word with the tech who did the job. As he remembers it was a chip on the circuit board that was the wrong type. He replaced it and substituted the right one and voila!- battery consumption significantly reduced. He stressed that this only was necessary on the first batch of Precision Lytes, as Fender corrected this oversight on later models. He seems to think now it would be around £40 to do the job, but I'm sure it was more like £20 when I had it done-as i say it was late 90's though! Sorry cant be any more specific,but hope this helps. Cheers Pete.

There's a review of the Markbass MoMark 800 modular rig in the February edition of 'Guitarist' mag.

Antones Guitars in Hull,East Yorkshire. - owner Tony is extremely knowledgeable regarding vintage basses,amps and guitars. He has a lot of trade connections if you are after anything specific, along with good friendly advice. ( www.antonesguitars.com ) Cheers Pete.

Your Ampeg head should be giving out its full 350 watts output into your cabinet, assuming the 6x10 is 4 ohms which I believe they are. (Into an 8 ohm cab the head would only put out around 200 watts). The Ampeg 6x10 cabs are pretty good/loud, so if this is n't loud enough then it looks like you may need a new amp head/rig. Better still get the rest of them to play at a more realistic level-easier on your wallet and ears too.

Just found a copy of Baker Street in Eb which I think is the original key on the track. Intro chords are - Ab(with Bb bass), E(with Gb bass) and Gb(with Ab bass) Looks strange but works! (some chords are 11ths?) Sax intro chords are - Eb / Eb Gb with Bb bass / Eb / Eb with Gb bass / Db / Bbm / Ab / Ab7 / .............then into the verse starting on Bb Hope this helps! Cheers Pete.

[quote name='BigAlonBass' post='714624' date='Jan 16 2010, 10:03 AM']What mod? Tell me now! I love mine, but I can't afford another Mortgage to keep replacing the batteries! [/quote] Sorry, cant remember exactly what the mod entailed (as maybe 10 years ago!),but seem to remember it was fairly easy job. The tech said it was a small component that needed replacing,and blamed Fender for being cheapskates with their specs because it would only be only marginally more cost to use the better part(s). If I can track down the invoice it may say what the mod was on there-will PM you if I find it! Cheers.

[quote name='iconic' post='712704' date='Jan 14 2010, 04:13 PM']these two are good fun, 'poppy' as can be but great basslines too.....Wham seem have a lot of good basslines...anyone know who played bass for them? [/quote] Deon Estus played bass with Wham & George Michael solo stuff (as well as many other artists)

OMG, no!

Like - Musicmans (men?) -esp. Rays Fender Precisions & variants Dan Armstrongs Danelectro Longhorns (anybody got one they want to sell?) Ampeg (the proper ones) Gallien Krueger (esp. 800RB) Mesa Boogie Dislike - Ugly stuff (step forward Warwick,Spector,Status,Overwater etc etc) Pointy headstocks (Ibanez,ESP etc) Skinny narrow necks that make playing the damned thing even harder. Abused gear - todays crap is tomorrows vintage so take care of it.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='710155' date='Jan 12 2010, 04:13 PM']Heh! I know the feeling, Sarah. I'm just about to do another string order with Status for six four string sets and a couple of five string sets. I use the DR Fatbeams on my other basses and they're getting expensive - Two sets at a time comes to over £60 usually! At least you have the satisfaction of being better than those ego-maniac guitarists! How're you getting along with your lovely Edge Pro, btw? Rich.[/quote] Hey Rich, You can currently get DR Fatbeams at a good price from www.stringsandbeyond.com I've just ordered 3 of the Marcus Miller medium 4 string sets and even with postage from the USA its worked out to around £51. Thanks to james on here for the heads up on these. Cheers Pete.

Think its to do with that thing which always comes up with selling guitars - 'the earlier ones were so much better'. I believe this is sometimes true, but as in the case with Musicman often not! IMO their basses have been fairly consistent throughout,with new models still maintaining high standards of finish&quality etc. Certain periods have probably seen better/prettier woods being used,but this is mostly down to availability and cost - the same factors affecting all manufacturers. There will always be subtle variations which make some instruments more or less appealing to some - 'one mans meat' etc. My favourite Stingray was a 2001 model, again IMO a nicer instrument than a 1979 model I'd previously owned. Older BCers will probably remember the mid 70's period as being not the best period for Fender instruments, and yet now they are fetching 'vintage' prices - its all down to rarity/desirability/fashion and a lot of snake oil!

Seeing Macca playing 'Paperback Writer' on TV was a defining moment for me. After that it was my brother coming home with 'Motown Chartbusters Vol.3' (the one with the silver cover) .With not a bum track on the album, it made me realise that bass was my destiny (although I still can't play those tunes right over 40 years later!) Liking Motown was not common for lads when I was at school-all my mates were into Sabbath, Deep Purple and Floyd etc. However I stuck with it,and it still remains my main influence along with lots of other great soul music (never did get into prog/metal etc.)

Have seen them on sale for anywhere between £150 and £275,depending on condition etc. Also whether 4 or 6ohms too - think the 4 model is more popular.

Generally I'm not a big fan of TE stuff. Bit sterile/mid heavy for me - have recently used some of the newer (made by Peavey) range and an earlier combo and wasn't wild about either. However!.......used to own an early AH500 watt head (2x250w with the GP11 preamp section) which was a superb amp. Built like a tank,loud and a bit warmer sounding than other TE's I've tried. My amp tech said at the time "well built British amp - I can keep it going for as long as you want". Wish I'd listened to him and hung on to it now.

[quote name='basshead56' post='700825' date='Jan 4 2010, 07:20 PM']Finally some lurve for the P-Lyte! I had two, still have one (greensparkle, gold hardware). Love them. The one I still have is the proper japanese one, from 1986 Incredibly lightweight, lovely neck (like a Gibson SG guitar neck at the nut!-very thin and super-fast) It doesn´t sound like a common-or-garden Precision, given the PJ pup config and active pre, but they do have a very versatille range. Records very well and has a lot of bite live too (I like to use the P pup on half and the J bout 3/4 up roll back the tone a little and play with a pick-like a little T-Bird ) You can get close to nearly any bass sound you want (though action, string choice and a million other things are factors in this) Never noticed any neck dive in mine. My only complaint about the P Lyte, and I´m [u]sure[/u] some others will have had the same problem at some point (I know 4 other guys in this boat): The really dodgy input jack on the bass. Horrible. incredibly cheap and always come loose! Replace the factory one and your on the pigs back! I tried an American-made Deluxe version of this bass (has a Humbucker in the bridge) and it didnt hold a candle to the MIJ ones! Buy a decent second hand japanese Lyte and you WILL NOT REGRET IT!!! [/quote] +1 on the dodgy jack socket- forgot about that! My Deluxe was a Japanese model with rear humbucker and 5th control knob for panning between the pickups,but as you say the standard Japanese model was better IMO. Think they made a USA model using the same style/layout but it was it called a Lyte? Think it may have been a 'jazz' something or other?

I've had a couple of Precision Lytes,a standard in Arctic White (or was it maybe Frost white?) and a deluxe in natural. The standard was actually the better of the two,but both were fine instruments and both active - did they make passive ones? Pros - nice and light, very fast slim jazz style neck, active controls good, price, overall modern 'jazz' sound. Cons - Slight neck dive, not really a Precision sounding bass, they eat batteries. I had a small mod done to the electrics which stopped this Duracell habit! (Just remember to remove the jack when not in use too.) If you can get one for a good price then go for it. Japanese Fenders are generally becoming more sought after these days. Cheers Pete.

[quote name='Doddy' post='698136' date='Jan 1 2010, 05:26 PM']Yes-because a drop tuner gives you notes that were previously unavailable-a capo takes away notes that were previously available. I don't really see the need for a capo on bass,but then again,I don't for guitar either- I've never used one and neither do most of the guitarists I play with.[/quote] Personally dont see the need for capo on bass,but then again why not? For guitar though it's a godsend-enables songs to be performed in keys which would not usually sound great without certain chord inversions and open tunings that would be otherwise unavailable. Lots of famous players would never have made great recordings without the use of them - my faves include James Taylor,Keith Richard, Ry Cooder etc etc.

[quote name='Jigster' post='698567' date='Jan 2 2010, 10:00 AM']basic isn't always bad - [/quote] hey- basic is never bad!

Check first! Marshall made 120 watt 4x12 cabs which could be used for both bass and guitar - they were designated seperate model numbers on the rear panel. The cabs were known as models 1982A and 1982B, and contained 'heavy duty' Celestion G12 speakers. Many variations of the G12 speaker were being made available, and Marshall did not always increase the power capacity of their cabinets at the same time as Celestion improved the spec of their speakers - for a while Marshall claimed a capacity of 120 watts for one of their 4x12's when in fact the cabinet could handle in the region of 320 watts. I think all the 4x12's were only available in 16 ohm format - as previous post mentions,this was to marry up a pair of cabs to valve heads thus giving an ideal load of 8 ohms. 16 ohm cabs not therefore great to use alone with a transistor head! Hope this helps! Pete.

There is the Hartke A100S combo on sale at Reverb stores at the moment for £229 in their sale. 100 watts,15" speaker,graphic,cd input/headphone output etc etc. You could do a lot worse for the dosh!