dmccombe7

I'm a fan of earlier Kiss and i like Gene Simmons more as a showman than a technical bassist so maybe a bit biased. He's a Rock bassist so being technically brilliant isn't really what its all about. I would think that if Gene Simmons was endorsing your bass there would be significant sales mainly because Kiss have a lot of fans whether you personally like them or not they are one helluva business. Think there are too many bassists out there with Signature basses that a standard bass would have suffice. The one that comes to mind is Roger Glover with his Vigier. I'm a fan of his but the standard Excess bass is virtually the same as far as i know. Cliff Burton from Metalica had a signature Aria or he used an Aria and the company eventually made a Cliff Burton bass so not sure if that counts. Think the Adam Clayton signature bass is the odd one for me too. Not sure it brings anything to the table and it looks daft too.

Up until Bowie bands including Sweet for me were just good songs on the radio that stood out from the usual mundane stuff on Radio 1. Bowie was probably the first band that i bought albums and really took an active interest in him, the band and most important the music. Rush was the stepping stone from popular music to a more Prog style rock music. The musicianship on those albums from 2112 was superior to mainstream rock on the radio and created a whole new world to indulge in. Dave

Altho i mention influences like Beatles, Sweet and Bowie i think i'll stick with Rush having the most effect on my musical direction over the years. Dave

Have to say i even had the plastic Beatles guitar and the plastic Beatles wig at 4yrs old and i have photos to prove it somewhere Think that was probably the only record that touched me up until my early teens to be fair. I do remember my Mother playing some great songs ranging from Themes from Greek Islands, Tijuana Sound of Brass to Elvis and Lynn Anderson and even The Platters albums. Then i found Glam Rock and all down hill from there Dave

Have to say i saw them years ago in early 80's i think it was at Heathery Bar in Wishaw and they were ok but having bought The Road of Bones album i was totally blown away. Everything about that album speaks quality from the songwriting to musicianship to the production. Has to be up there in my top 10 albums of all time. Dave

Almost every amp i've ever used the EQ started at mid-point flat and only ever moved 1 notch (anywhere between 11 and 1 o'clock) either way to adjust for room acoustics. it doesn't seem to matter what cabs or amps or even bass for that matter. That little tweak is always enough to compensate. Dave Having just posted this and re-read it why the hell have i been buying loads of gear to get that perfect sound ???

Oddly enough the Beatles All My Loving EP was my first ever record for my birthday. It came out in 63 but i think it was my 4th birthday in 64 when i got it. I would have been 4 yrs old and still have it. That was my only Beatles record tho. Dave

I think Trevor Bolder only used 2 fingers on Jean Genie. Obviously others have pointed out Geddy uses his fingers on both up and down stroke like a pick I only use 2 fingers for galloping styles and altho i can cope easily enough with the occasional song i don't think i could do it all night like Steve Harris.

I stated Rush earlier but having read some of the more recent comments i would have to add that it was Rush since my bass playing days in 76ish and have continued to enjoy them longer than any other band. The first band to influence me was probably Sweet with Teenage Rampage and then their various hit singles Then at 13 i heard Bowie and became a Bowie fan for few years. Those Bowie albums from the 70's have remained imprinted in my brain ever since and still listen to them to this day. They will never fade. Dave

Altho Rush is "My Band" as described by OP initial post i would also agree that some albums like DSOTM and Trick of the Tail and 2112 created a world you could get lost in. For many many years Genesis Seconds Out was my fav album even after i started to dislike them when they became more a pop band and the songs weren't my thing any more. Probably still is but this is another thread to be talked about. Dave

When i was first learning bass after the initial knowing where the notes on the bass were and a year of lessons i came across several Jazz bassists incl Jaco. I was listening to Weather Report and Mahavishnu styles simply because i had never heard bass played like that before and it intrigued me. I used that style to my advantage and was able to use some of it in Rock and Prog bands i played with at the time. I wasn't a fan of the music to be honest but the bass playing on those kind of albums was way beyond the standard bassists i had previously been listening to. So for me i wasn't a big fan of the music but there were so many great bass parts to learn and that in itself made it interesting for me. Like most Jazz / Fusion style of music i find that sometimes it works and other times it just sounds like an ego trip to me with no musicality (is that an actual word ? ) Back then Jaco was the bassist that others tried to emulate even in professional circles and because of that he has to be one of the most influential bassists at that time. Things have move on since those days with people like Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller, Mark King, Victor Wooten, Steve Bailey and they have all been influential to many bassists during their peak periods. That how bass playing develops thru time. Poeple push boundaries and others take up the mantle to try and push it further. At one time bass was either a walkng bass or 4 notes to a bar just as a basic rhythm section. Now it is being used as a lead intrument. Maybe we should be classing bass as Progressive Dave

Rush since 1976 its the only band i've followed and bought all their albums. 2112 was so different from anything else i had listened to and since that point they matured into the amazing musicians they still are. Dave

Good advice Yank. I'd agree 100% with that. I can remember when i started you either had a Fender Precision, Jazz or a Rik. bass with either a Marshall or Sound City amp and cab or possibly an H/H which was cheaper if i remember right. Wasnt until late 70's early 80's that Peavey and other amps started to appear in our local shop. I loved my Peavey MkIV head and Marshal 4x12 stack but bloomin heavy to cart around. Young and naive in them days. Dave

When i bought my little Markbass 121 amp with ext cab i thought my sound was pretty same as my other rigs incl my Berg set up. I played at first gigs with band and it was such a great tone and volume loud enough that PA guy decided to leave bass on its own without PA support in a venue that held 200 people. The sound out front during set up was pretty impressive for a lightweight small rig. (Glam Rock covers band) I also used it with a Prog band and it just cut right thru the mix with keys, gtr and drums far better than my Ampeg, Bergantino or GK1001 rbii amp. On its own at home i found it either sounded a little thin or close to my other cabs yet when in a band set up it was quite noticeably full, rounded and clear and all with virtually flat settings using a Jazz bass. The guys in both bands commented how good it sounded from where they were standing. Just goes to show you don't need a massive cab and heavy amp to impress others..............maybe its just to impress ourselves Dave

Might be best to check with Marshall that it will do same job but cant see why not.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marshall-PEDL-91003-Pedal-Two-Button/dp/B00KMVYREC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1511641756&sr=8-3&keywords=marshall+pedl I believe this one does the same job with twin LED's PEDL91003. I checked the schematic and its virtually same item Dave

£30 buys a new one on-line

Looks like you've won a watch there then.

Looking at your pedal i reckon the red wire should go to the centre pin on the left hand switch next to the blue wire. You can see there's been solder on that centre pin. I'm guessing there's only 1 led on your switch looking at the pic above. I can't see an LED on any of the images i've seen on line for this pedal and the way the LED strip has been secured with gaffa tape would suggest its been added as a modification.. Oddly enough the schematic i did find shows the LED's in parallel with the cabling to the amp whereas your led is in series. Hopefully someone on BC who knows about these things can clarify. Dave

Do you know what they were selling for before Black Friday. I mean know personally from checking last week rather than what they said they had reduced it from for Black Friday sale. Dave

I've found much the same as mentioned above. Once i'm thru a PA its down to FOH engineer altho he should be setting up my PA channel as close the my on stage sound as possible. I've tried lots of basses over the years and when i hear audience recordings or VID clips of band i really don't hear that much difference in my tone from each bass. The only time its noticed is when i switch from a straight clean bass sound on my Roland to one i've set up to sound like a Rik thru a slightly overdriven Ampeg rig using preset 2x15 cab that gives a little flap when pushed hard. I came across this setting purely by accident. It was original just set up as a good old fashioned Rik sound to emulate Glenn Hughes when he played his with Deep Purple and i noted how it sounded slightly overdriven and the speaker flap was an accidental find that i like. So for me i prefer to be more happy with the feel of the bass than the backline sound if going thru a PA. Its nice to have a good backline sound tho as sometimes the backline is all you will hear if monitors aren't great on stage. Dave

Does it look similar to this one inside

My last drummer used a metronome style unit that either beeped or a small flashing led to get his initial timing right for a song. He would set it against the original recording and note down tempo. When it came to rehearsals he would check his notes and set the pedal to get tempo right. Only used it at initial rehearsals and it certainly stopped others complaining that he was too slow or too fast for a particular song. He was extremely disciplined drummer too with many years experience. He was playing in 4 different bands from Rock covers, Blues covers, Function wedding band and funk / blues style rock covers with me so quite a varied repertoire. And he was a genuine nice guy with his own transport. Think i've just described the perfect drummer Dave