dmccombe7

Nice bass Alembic1989. Wel worth the wait and worry. I've always had a thing for the USA Mockngbird as used by Neil Murray with Whitesnake. Great sounding bass and stunning looks. Do the Mockingbirds suffer from neckdive at all ? Dave

Well done and panic OFF. Look forward to seeing the pics. Enjoy and have fun. Dave

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1492645205' post='3282026'] You are right, and although I might come across as being a bit impatient, the opposite is true, this has been going on for a very long time, I've not said too much in the past and just accepted it because they are all good guys, but I take your point that they have different ideas from me, so I guess it really is time to call it a day. [/quote] Rather than quit should you not lay your cards on the table and discuss your expectations with them in full especially as you point out they are all good guys. Maybe all they need is that little kick in the ass to motivate otherwise they will be looking at taking on a new bass player and starting from scratch again. By sound of it you've virtually made your mind up so nothing to lose and that way you have at least given these "good guys" the opportunity to buck up their ideas and get on with whats needed in a working band. Dave

[quote name='thebrig' timestamp='1492510208' post='3280764'] It's the failure to go away and learn the basic structure of the song that frustrates me the most, if there is say, an 8 bar intro followed by verse/chorus, verse/chorus, then a solo, then verse/chorus, outro, why is that so hard to get right? I'm not looking for everyone to play their parts exactly as the original, I just want them to get the structure right, the original recording is the basis of the whole band getting all the parts in the right places, even if it was an original song we wrote ourselves, we would still have a structure that we all agree to work from. [/quote] Yep for me that is the basic requirement for every member when they come into rehearsals. What i find is that the members that weren't keen on a particular song don't make the effort for that song but on the other hand the songs they specifically like or picked they will put the effort in. The band i'm in at the moment i've not selected any of the set list as its all new style of music for me and i took the attitude that because i didn't know the original musicians or majority of the songs i wanted to put in the extra effort to the point i'm the one laying down the original structure for the rest of the band and we then tweek that into what works for us. Its never gonna be perfect in most bands but you try to accept certain levels and work around that issue for a good end result without falling out with each other. Dave

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1492528511' post='3280968'] Well, I've been and done it now... Just pressed the trigger on a Marcus Miller 5 [url="https://m.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v7_swamp_ash_5_nt.htm?ref=msg_a_2"]https://m.thomann.de...htm?ref=msg_a_2[/url] Thhe Overwater can wait until I'm more certain that it's what I want. Assuming I can't get one used and Dave's isn't coming my way anytime soon, £3k is too much in my world to pay out and find it's in the Marketplace in no time at a great loss. So the Sire will do me as a starter. I also ordered some Shaller Lightweight tuners to make it look smoother. Thanks all for your imput. It makes interesting reading. [/quote] A wise choice. I hate driving to London area to let people try my bass. Worse when i'm not even selling it. That Marcus Miller 5er is a good price and looks really nice. Probably more practical too and you'll get more use from it i would think. 6 stringers can be quite heavy and sore on the neck muscles if using a full gig or rehearsal for that matter. Good luck with the new bass and let us all know your opinion on it. If you are ever heading up this way Grangur let me know and you can drop in and try out my odd collection of basses. All the best Dave

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1492522670' post='3280903'] Dear Dave, I've been GASsing for a fretless Overwater 5 or maybe 6 fretless. And you have a truly beautiful bass I'd love to try. I don't suppose you fancy moving slightly closer to the M25 sort of area do you? [/quote] I can send it down for a few weeks to let you try it or i'll just bring it down. Its only 800 miles round trip Seriously they are fantastic basses. Not cheap but being an hours drive from Chris at Overwater it was easy for me to visit and try one. I don't class myself as a fretless bass and i don't use them enough to be as good as i should be. I guess i just like my 4 strings fretted as they are a bit more practical for what i need. Surely there must be someone nearer you with one that would let you try it out. Or even a local bass shop. Would have thought Essex is virtually London for us Scots Well to be honest anything South of Watford is London Dave

[quote name='Mastodon2' timestamp='1492450954' post='3280372'] He can play unlined with no issues, but says he prefers lines because he is a "visual" player in that he relies less on muscle memory and visualises a lot of patterns on the board. That's fair justification I think, it's just whatever works for the individual. He does say that he thinks new fretless players should start out with lined, just to help their eyes program their muscle memory. It's just a suggestion though, we're all free to make our own choices. Personally I prefer unlined but have not yet owned a fretless bass, but I've played a few, never spent any real time on them yet. I will be getting one at some point and haven't decided which way I'd go. Those Ibanez lines on the side of the fretboard look great. I also like the lines where they have a tiny bit of each fret line on the board for a centimentre or so, to make it look almost unlined but still having a visual reference on board. If Alain Caron likes a little pointer here and there then I wouldn't feel to ashamed to have them either! [/quote] My Overwater 6er fretless has the additional markers between G & C strings from 12th fret up and it seems like a great idea but when playing i find you can't actually see those markers unless you tilt the bass upwards a bit which isn't practical playing live. I'm no expert on fretless and this bass was me getting back into playing in bands again after 20yr gap and i wanted to tax myself a bit. It was also a 50th pressie from my wife so wanted something quite special. [attachment=243295:LindavidOverwaterB#E442C6.jpg] I've had lined and unlined fretless basses over the years but never really found the lined version (WAL bass) really helped that much. If you only have one bass and its a fretless and you play it often enough you get used to getting it right very quickly. I've used them in rock, prog and jazz-rock bands over the years. Some like it some don't. If you feel "safer" with lines then go for it. Have to say i do like the Ibanez idea of 1cm lined on edge of the neck. Dave

I generaly only buy if i think its a fair price or lower. I generally wouldn't quibble with someone on BC and if its a fair price i'll pay what they are looking for. I've had guys offer me a reduction after showing interest or they've offered me a discount to cover fuel cost because i've travelled a fair bit. I've never met someone when buying with the intention of trying to barter them down a bit. If i agree to buy i will pay what was agreed. With regards selling i'm usually happy getting what i paid if its 2nd hand and try to aim new items at approx 2/3 to 3/4 of the original price depending on demand for the item. Dave

Such sad news. He gave Prog music a whole new dimension with his wonderful guitar work. First heard him on UK album In The Dead Of Night. Was blown away by the musicianship of all involved on that album. Then again on Bruford album One Of A Kind with Jeff Berlin on bass. What an inspiration to so many guitarists. Dave

Think the difference there is that you have 3 virtuoso bassists and looks like 2 keyboard players to smooth out the boring bits. This is more like a bass workshop for these 3. It kinda suits their style a bit more than the OP's posted band. To be honest i couldn't sit through a full concert of either of the bands no matter how famous the bassists are. Dave

Don't fancy the gigs tho Watched some of their live vids and a wee bit samey for me. Dave

Welcome Dave Not a Greek from Lancashire via Dubai. Jings i'm confused with all that You do still play bass and its not a front for being guitard by any chance Dave

Welcome back from me in Biggar area. Dave

Welcome to BC. Like you i started with a Columbus J bass and my mate still has it too. Its been defretted and then fretted over the years buts still looks and sounds good. I have a few Greek relatives thru wife's side of the family that live in Xanthi area. Dave

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1488620253' post='3250471'] Forgot about this. Anyway. Paul Pryor is the name you are looking for. [/quote] Chears EBS Freak. The guy was pretty exceptional on the night. Even some friends that were not bass players commented on how good he was. Dave

I drove down from Glasgow area to Bass Direct as i was interested in a reasonable quality 5 string. Had a few ideas of which ones. Got there Mark welcomed me in and we talked a bit. Told him what i was looking for and what i was looking to try. Can't remember the other guy that works with him but they brought me the basses i wanted and sugested a few others in same price range. I liked the Dingwall and they brought me both Combustion and NG2. Tried all thru Phil Jones headphone amp and then Mark suggested we move to a proper bass rig for the ones i liked the feel off. I went for the NG2 and i was not pressured into anything, all quite relaxed. My wife was with me too and she was made welcome and comfortable while she waited on me messing around with basses. I could have asked to try any bass and they would have brought it down to me. Had a wander round to look at many of the more extreme or expensive basses as we don't normally see them in the flesh especially up here in Scotland where all you get is Fender or Fender with occasional Epi. Recently Guitar Guitar Glasgow have opened their bass basement and have some nice not overly priced basses so we are getting there. I've dealt with Mark over phone on several occasions and always pleasant and helpful. I just wanted to try the actual basses out and made a day out of the drive down. Was a long day tho but well worth it if you like basses Dave

[quote name='Triumphman' timestamp='1492179096' post='3278506'] Even with flat cable? [/quote] The clamp will fold over to hold flat cable. By flat cable i'm assuming you mean 2 cores like the low voltage type (see attached image) or do you mean speaker cable style. [attachment=243093:cable.jpg] If so the clamp will still shut tight on the outer sheath with use of long nose pliers if available or standard pliers. Dave

Set yourself a time limit on any band you join. If your not satisfied with them after that time period - move on. If they're not gig ready in that time - move on. If they don't all pull their own weight by that time - move on Max time limit for me is 1 year mainly because i allow for playing in original bands where i'm starting from scratch. Also like to allow enough time to gel with a band and to see if they are all still nice guys well after you join and its not a case of them making the extra effort because they are desperate for a bassist. Dave

Fantastic line up. Few really good ones too, Tom Petty, Moody Blues. Styx (well almost), Willie Nelson (WOW), Frampton, Steve Miller Jings the list of acts from all eras that i like is unimaginable in one venue too. Brilliant. You are lucky. Assume the weather is usually not an issue for you Blue. Dave

Are Ampeg amps as reliable as i originally thought they were.? My Ampeg is booked in for repair next week. Nothing from pre-amp but power amp working. Tried all the usual jack socket tests and no joy. Had the amp 2 years and not really had any issues before. Its a 2nd hand US 1993 era which i had the mains transformer changed from 110V to 230V. Just curious. ? Dave

That's why i'd rather pick up myself even if it means a long drive or meet half way if poss. Obviously coming from abroad its not practical. I'm still waiting to see where the bass is actually hung up. Does the tracking show it as being picked up at all. If not then i would be very suspect that there is no bass to begin with no matter how nice the sender says he is. Modern tracking is usually pretty good as every change of location or vehicle is scanned and recorded. Dave

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1492189241' post='3278613'] Let's be clear: people who play in a band but through laziness (or ego) can't be bothered to learn the arrangements should be lured to a deserted warehouse and shot in the face. [color=#faebd7].[/color] [/quote] No strong feelings there then Dave

Well done. Have fun enjoy and smile for the pic. Pulling a face is very unprofessional so just do it anyway Dave

Is it a well known courier as tracking info remaining unchanged is a bit unusual these days with modern scanning techniques. Not saying it doesn't happen but quite rare. Is the tracking number genuine. was the item picked up from sender and where does it sit at moment. ? Dave