doctor_of_the_bass

[quote name='Rich' post='633427' date='Oct 22 2009, 01:50 PM']Think you'll find it's [i]his[/i] old Jaydee, mate :lol:[/quote] Right! But *it was mine.....mwahaha!!! Look, I had hair back then...you could say its the Return of the Handsome Rugged Man! Can't believe I bought it ten years ago. The good old days of Yahoo Clubs and the Webdigest eh Rich! Hey, that means we have known each other for 120 months! * incredible bass - not just because it was Mark's bass but the build quality/playability/tone was amazing.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='633944' date='Oct 22 2009, 10:26 PM']Looks like the orchestral tour I took to Belgium in the summer! Seriously, yes there are some great people here. Hats off to some true ladies and gents.[/quote] Looks more like the moderation team following the yearly AGM!!! Heheh! Actually this place is a haven of goodwill and of course `BASSNESS'. I'm personally proud to be here and there is a very real feeling of `family' - long may it continue!

[quote name='gazhowe' post='633329' date='Oct 22 2009, 12:05 PM']Cheers Rich, I haven't figured out the best use of the mid control yet in a live situation (playing rock and pop covers) and I guess these things just take time. Any tips you could share would be gratefully received. Regards Gaz[/quote] Hi Gaz! Lovely bass btw! EQ of course is a personal thing but from experience of owning an SII with the 3 band EQ back in '93 playing rock, I used to favour the mid taken out for rockier stuff, then I'd boost it as and when required, for example, `All Right Now' by Free benefitted from a mid boost! Cheers Nick

[quote name='metaltime' post='633349' date='Oct 22 2009, 12:33 PM']That is some top Doc.[/quote] Cheers - mine is going to look similar but the facings I've chosen are more burled and almost red in colour! Nasty! Nick

Can we keep away from the `religion' aspect here - we each have our own personal views on the subject - at the end of the day, there are good people and dodgy people out there - these guys organising the BOTB appear to be the latter type!! Personally, I would not get involved as it does appear dubious. Otherwise, register your songs with MCPS and the PRS, then you will retain your rights to the material etc. Get a manager and good lawyer! Nick

[quote name='metaltime' post='633321' date='Oct 22 2009, 11:53 AM'] [/quote] correct!

Like I said before! THEY SHOULD HAVE GONE TO SPECSAVERS!!!!!!!! I can believe what Ped is experiencing here - its called `a lack of basic competence' which seems to be gripping industry and members of the general public for some unknown reason!

[quote name='crez5150' post='633286' date='Oct 22 2009, 11:24 AM']I had the chance to try several o them when they were at the build stage. Bloody awful basses.[/quote] I did a crazy deal and got mine for £600!! The LEDs were cool, but that was about all! Stank of play doh!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='633179' date='Oct 22 2009, 09:15 AM']I think a lot of us want that one special instrument that's both personal to us and unique. I've done two custom orders in the past and ended up selling both of them, as they ended up being not exactly what I wanted. Not the fault of the luthier, just that bit of doubt in my mind. So I guess I try to live by the "try before you buy" mantra. Yes, I have a couple of unique custom instruments now, but they were either bought as stock basses (in the case of two of the Status basses) or as mint used instruments (in the case of the other Status instruments and my ACG.) In certain cases, off the peg instruments are great. I wouldn't change my Am.Std Jazz for the world. It's literally the best Jazz I've ever played by a long margin and that includes some excellent Sadowskys as well. So custom instruments can be wonderful, personal things, but be prepared for a little shaded disappointment if you don't quite gel with what you ordered. Rich.[/quote] Hallo I spent about three hours late last night discussing my new E Basses Valiant bass with Ian Hancock (the man who builds these) and it will be based on this bass (which is owned by Nigel Clutterbuck) The nice thing is, its going to be a personalised custom so I already know how its going to play like etc and the wood combinations have already been `tried and tested' on other basses Ian has built so it should give me what I want; the core body wood will be some really old mahogany (recycled from a load of school benches!), a flamed maple accent layer, then a burr elm top. Neck construction will be maple with mahogany stringers, graphite rods etc and a bound birdseye maple board. The main `custom' aspects will be the pickup spacing and neck profile - so in a way, its not a total one-off custom bass but it will be based on the Valiant model with requisite `tweaks' - bit like a bespoke bass! Can't wait! Nick (just to point out that I am no longer part of E Basses but just a willing non-paid helper outer at shows etc!!! - this post is in no way an advert etc although I did co-design the Valiant shape which is very sexy I think!!)

[quote name='WonderHorse' post='633208' date='Oct 22 2009, 09:40 AM']Sorry I couldn't make it yesterday Nick. I'll be sure to pop in soon though as I need a new set of strings. What do you guys stock?[/quote] No probs! Technically I'm not part of the shop business (I just rent space there!) and as such, this is not advertising but they have Rotos, Elites etc. I'm not there today! Cheers Nick

[quote name='crez5150' post='633214' date='Oct 22 2009, 09:55 AM']Think it was more to do with those crappy Fenders he played for about a month![/quote] Did you have one? I did.....it was rubbish! (#38 of 42). Sad eh?

Try `My New Career' by Japan! Mick Karn at his best!

[quote name='WonderHorse' post='631406' date='Oct 20 2009, 03:10 PM']I've never been in there. The one time I went it was shut. I'll pop in when I get chance, at the minute I'm without transport, but I live across from the Hospital and have a day off tomorrow so I might pop in. Shall I walk in and ask for the Bass doctor?[/quote] Just ask for Nick!! I'm teaching from around 3:30 so if you pop in at around 3:00 I should be there (if not then take one of my cards and send me a nasty txt message)! They are a bit low on bass gear at present due to a change in the ownership of the shop but if you need any strings etc they can help.

Plus he sold more JayDees, Statii, Alembics, Pangborns and Trace Elliot than anyone else! I recall my first serious bass rig, a Trace AH250 head with a 4 x 10 cabinet (and later, an additional 1 x 15 and Brite Box!) back in 87 when I was 16 - my parents never gave me pocket money and I was never ever spoilt as a kid but Dad promised me that if I did well in my O levels I would get something bass related! The local shop `Music Village' where I worked as the Saturday boy stocked some awesome bass gear back then, including Trace and I had the choice between a brand new MusicMan StingRay with a Laney 4 x 10 combo (which was a good amp) or a Trace rig....! I will never forget the day I got in late from school and the entire house was dark, except for this weird glow coming from the front room and there it was, the AH250 sat atop the 4 x 10 with the UV light on! The sound was incredible - I had my Fender Precision and an Aria Cat active - the Aria had one of those `bass or treble' active knobs and I used to attempt the L42 stuff with that until around mid '88 when I got my first JayDee! Thanks Mum and Dad for all their help (even though it was always `turn that bl++dy thing down' whilst they were trying to enjoy `Bergerac' downstairs!) and to Mark for the influence! Sad eh? Nick

Some good suggestions - try `Ku Ku Kurama' on the `No Parlez' album by Paul Young - Pino is a good influence for any fretless player. You'd like that tune Marcus as its mostly slapped! When playing fretted bass, make sure your left hand fingertips are just behind the fret(s) in question - this will help your intonation when you play fretless! Nick

[quote name='jakesbass' post='631946' date='Oct 20 2009, 11:22 PM']I have no problem with the skill involved and hats off for that, for me there's very little music in it. Thats not to say he isn't a good musician, but the public face does very little for me.[/quote] I can see where you are coming from - its more like a drum solo on bass guitar but he made it accesible for most normal `non musos' who (don't forget its 25 years ago!) were like `wow thats a bit flash - blimey, thats someone playing a bass guitar - hows he doing that?!'. Yes, Stan Clarke was doing a similar thing perhaps as were other players but Mark popularised bass guitar, whereas the other greats were more underground if you see what I mean. He is a very melodic player too - listen to the live version of `Foundation and Empire' - he did some fingerstyle runs that would rival Pastorius in terms of content!

[quote name='crez5150' post='631938' date='Oct 20 2009, 11:15 PM']It's also his Birthday today!!!! Happy Birthday Mark! Jay[/quote] Oh yes, blimey! Happy 51st Mark!

[quote name='tombboy' post='631838' date='Oct 20 2009, 09:36 PM'] [/quote] That's my old Jaydee he's using! Mark was an extremely gifted youngster, taking up drums at the age of 9 (he is one hell of a drummer) and was also a fantastic guitar player. This fact is often overlooked so combining his very percussive upbringing with a talent on 6 string meant that his phenomenal bass playing was perhaps a foregone conclusion with very little real effort required as he'd learnt his craft on those other instruments. He happened to take slap/pull to the next plateau (read level heheh!) and his speed is incredible - theres only one other person I've seen play like that but he's just imitating the King (wheres' that mirror?!!!) - seriously he put bass on the map for many thousands of fledgling bass cadets back in the day. He gets a bad press sometimes and I think thats pretty bad considering his talent. To have sold nearly 40 million albums is a testament to him and the rest of the band. Nick

[quote name='WonderHorse' post='631305' date='Oct 20 2009, 01:31 PM']I am Indeed. I moved here from Yorkshrie two years ago and this is the first band I've joined since I moved. We're playing with Fuel for the Fire.[/quote] Nice one! If you are ever in Live Music on Lincoln Road, ask for me as teach down there! Cheers! Nick

[quote name='WonderHorse' post='631185' date='Oct 20 2009, 10:56 AM']So we have our first gig in Peterborough at the Met Lounge on Friday November 6. The band is called [url="http://www.myspace.com/empiregb"]Empire[/url] The guys advertised for a bassist thorugh this site so I know there's a few folk on here from P'boro. If you could make it that would be cool. Tickets are £4 advanced only.[/quote] There are quite a few Peterborians here, Muppet, thedontcarebear, geoff, charic (Ramsey!), ogri, some bloke with too many basses and an ego etc etc. Are you local too? Nick (The Master!)

Perhaps Fender should call them the `Marmite' range.....you either love 'em or hate 'em! For those who don't like them, the answer is simple - don't buy one! Heheh! N x

[quote name='Duarte' post='630950' date='Oct 19 2009, 11:32 PM']I really don't understand why someone would buy a bass that has been beaten up a bit, considering they cost more and don't look genuine. I just don't see it...[/quote] I love buying basses (as you might just have guessed!) - there's nothing like a brand spanking new bass! However, I also love the idea of a relic as you are not worried about it gaining more dinks if you see what I mean! They do look and feel like an old vintage bass, for a fifth of the price. Have you played one?