Green Alsatian

These are the tools I use with each setup, be it on bass or guitar. I bought them through StewMac and eBay for the most part: Screwdriver set (one of my fave tools!) - [url="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Screwdrivers/Guitar_Tech_Screwdriver_Set.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=11116"]http://www.stewmac.c...xst=3&xsr=11116[/url] Action Guage (I use the imperial version) - [url="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Straightedges/String_Action_Gauge.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=8598"]http://www.stewmac.c...&xst=3&xsr=8598[/url] Radius Guages - [url="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Special_tools_for_Neck,_fingerboard/Radius_Gauges.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=251"]http://www.stewmac.c...1&xst=3&xsr=251[/url] Feeler Guages (for neck relief) - [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LASER-TOOLS-FEELER-GAUGE-SET-32-BLADE-IMP-METRIC-GUAGE-WITH-BRASS-BLADE-2481-/161246555430?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item258b0b2d26"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item258b0b2d26[/url] Hex Keys (I have metric & imperial) - http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Wrenches/Ball-End_Hex_Keys.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=11531 Nut files - [url="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Files/Gauged_Nut_Slotting_Files_for_Bass.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=7332"]http://www.stewmac.c...&xst=3&xsr=7332[/url] Capo (to help with setting neck relief) - [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Guitar-Capo-Clamp-for-Electric-and-Acoustic-Guitar-Quick-Trigger-Release-Pick-/251484098188?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&var=&hash=item3a8d9ece8c"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item3a8d9ece8c[/url] ESP Multispanner - [url="http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tools/Wrenches/ESP_Multi_Spanner.html?actn=100101&xst=3&xsr=66118"]http://www.stewmac.c...xst=3&xsr=66118[/url]

He mentions in the vid description that he's using the Boss OC-2.

Beaten to it by UglyDog (steps aside!)

When I saw him with the Blockheads in December, he was playing his 'Faith & Grace' bass by JKG: http://youtu.be/8MvLXe2BfVA I'd love to see him and Wilko together live.

No problem! Yes - the earlier models were more like the Epiphone Viola bass with standard controls rather than the on/off switches. Here's a pic of mine:

I had the HB Beatbass about 5 years ago and found it to be well-made, looked really nice and most importantly, played sounded good too. I've also had the Hofner Ignition (the cheapest model) and out of the two, I'd probably go for the Beatbass again if I was getting another bass of that type. For looks, I preferred the looks and styling of the Hofner, but for controls and sound, I preferred having a tone control on the HB (2 x volume 1 x tone) over the pickup switching on the Hofner. I found the output on the Hofner to be quite low, even after adjusting pickup height. In comparison, the HB had much hotter pickups. I couldn't say how they compare to the German made Hofners as I've never been near one and know that the Ignition Hofner uses different pickups, whereas the more expensive Contemporary uses the same pickups on the German models. That said, the Beatbass has now been redesigned for the Hofner-style switching and at £110 (I paid £99 for mine at the time), well worth it, especially when restrung with flats or black nylons.

White pearloid works very well on black - especially if it's got a slight cream tint to the pearloid bits. Goes well with the maple fretboard.

I acquired an Eastwood Hi-Flyer a few weeks ago on eBay for £127. It's a 30.5" scale with two P90 pickups, Volume and Tone controls. Soundwise, the neck pickup gives a clearer rendition of the mudbucker (if a little more polite) and the bridge pickup was a big surprise - I was expecting something overly trebly-souding, but it's actually a bit of a monster. Both pickups gives a sort of scooped jazz tone, but more balanced than you'd hear on the likes of the Epiphone EB-3. One thing I noticed, is that it had been wired (at the factory) with the pickups out of phase, so with both pickups on, it was a nasty nasal sound, so I rewired the neck pickup, sorting the problem. It's sounding particularly nice sporting a set of GHS Boomers flatwounds. http://www.eastwoodguitars.co.uk/Bass/hi-flyer/hiflyerBass_frm.htm

Absolutely fantastic call! At the end of 'The Rocker' on the UK Tour 1975 live album, Phil says his guitar (the P-bass) keeps going out of tune and that his Rickenbacker recently broke.

I was at the Liverpool gig and the bass was most certainly set to 'strangle'. Glorious. Amusingly, Dave Greenfield cocked up the first verse of Golden Brown, Baz carried on singing and said something like, "Yes, this is f***in' live"! Dave jumped straight back in and they had a fool about with the end of the song with JJ singing his backing vocal in a cod cockney accent. They got an ovation for that! A smashing gig - the first half an hour was songs machine-gunned at the crowd, including a few I'd never seen them play live - 'Midnight Summer Dream', being one of my faves. Probably the longest Stranglers gig, when I looked at the clock afterwards, but it flew by. Jet only did a few songs for the first encore, but the crowd gave him a fitting welcome. I can well understand him not wanting to play longer - he's got to look after himself, but he was impeccable for the songs he played on, including Genetix. More!

Time for some Half Man Half Biscuit - Neil Crossley's used his white Rick throughout HMHB's career - some clank, some thump and other tones. There are a lot of smashing basslines from Neil. http://youtu.be/clAkwIpUdoM http://youtu.be/djIXYW9X3Qg

I think the thread needs more Foxton. [media]http://youtu.be/Hc2ZIQ-xp7o[/media] And an interesting one - check out Barry Adamson's modified Rick (with a Peavey T-40 in the neck position) on Magazine's 'Definitive Gaze' (an ace tune!) [media]http://youtu.be/KtI_EVA9zYI[/media]

Clank! http://youtu.be/fjQB0wgLc6c

If you can find one, the Ibanez SR300 DXF sounds like it would meet your requirements. I had one a couple of years ago - bought it for £150 and sold it for that a few months later. (there was one on here for sale for £150 also). Mine was very light in weight and had a lined fingerboard, P/J config (reverse P) and a two-band EQ, which made for a wide array of tones. I did try it with chorus and an octave pedal (you have to with a fretless) and it was capable of a Pino-esque vibe, if he ever injected both of his hands with anaesthetic. The one I had was candy apple red and for some reason the body of text from the auction is here, along with my pics: [url="http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ibanez-soundgear-sr-300-dxf-fretless-218739699"]http://www.worthpoin...tless-218739699[/url] Oh, and welcome to Basschat!

I added a split-P at the bridge of the Westfield B1000 I had. I don't have any measurements as I positioned it by eye - but ensured that the poles lined up with the strings. There are pics in this thread: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210027-the-double-p-pickup-bass-thread/page__st__30__p__2119736#entry2119736

Thanks for posting that one - led me to this, which I've just watched. Ace! [media]http://youtu.be/sUMLKi747SU[/media]

I was in a comedy band of guitar/voc, keys/voc and bass/voc swapping instruments for certain songs. My two mates both being very charismatic and gifted with gab. We'd plan and rehearse our bits in between songs - if it made us laugh, it was a start and we'd see what went down well, making a point of never repeating a gag unless we'd written it into the song intro/outro. Most of our in-between song stuff was improvised, reacting to the audience or something one of us had one. The best ever audience participation we had was in a small cafe/bar just before Christmas 2012 and the crowd quickly picked up on the chorus of one of our songs and as my mate on vocals would often find himself in the crowd (often down to his undies - one of our songs was called 'Pants Too Tight'), my other mate and I downed tools and descended to join in. Proper atmosphere of a 70s/80s Top of the Pops special, minus the 'Yewtree Interest'! Funnily enough, that was my last gig as I was out of action for the last one in the summer - it's the 10th anniversary of our first gig tomorrow.

First, get yourself a window seat in the office. Then, get some mirrors set up and angled so you only need look out the window to browse the gallery. That way, you don't actually need to go in there and risk temptation. You can then just buy online from the website. ....... I'm sure there's a flaw in my idea but I can't think what.

Roy Wood's Jazz bass was modified so - a single coil covering the E&A strings and a single coil covering the D&G strings, each with separate outputs. You can hear it on The Move's 'Message From The Country' album - sounds a bit weird, but works. Here's a pic of said bass - you can see Rick Price playing it in the video to Wizzard's 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday'.

Tell him about YouTube - he'll never need to leave the house again.

If you're asking about the new(ish) Squire Vintage Modified PJ (see below), I have one and can offer some thoughts on it. [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/squier/basses/precision-bass/vintage-modified-precision-bass-pj-rosewood-fingerboard-3-color-sunburst/"]http://www.fender.com/en-GB/squier/basses/precision-bass/vintage-modified-precision-bass-pj-rosewood-fingerboard-3-color-sunburst/[/url] The J pickup at the bridge isn't a split coil, just a regular single coil that looks like a DiMarzio, so you will still hear the 60Hz hum from it. I think Squier did this as it was a common mod in the late 70s. It's certainly not as hot as a DiMarzio. The pickups themselves, I find are rather nice-sounding and haven't felt any compulsion to change them, although some prefer the 'Duncan Designed' pickups on older VM models. To my ears, on this one, the P sounds like a P should and the J sounds like it should. They both have ceramic magnets, so they offer a brighter sound than an Alnico magnet, but you still have the tone control to roll off the highs. Together, the PJ configuration offers the scoop that you get with both pickups on full on a Jazz, but not as cutting. With both pickups on full, you will cut through more than the P pickup would alone. You also have the option to lower very slightly, the volume on either the P or J to give you either the burly sound of the P with a little more definition, or the growly J with a little more body. The addition of a J makes a big difference to the sound of a P-bass. As for the rest of the bass, it's really light in comparison to other P-style basses I've owned. The neck isn't too thick in width (41mm) or too chunky from front to back - feels nice. No issues with the fit and finish are fine on mine (I went for the sunburst, but there's a metallic blue and a Candy Apple Red version) and the hardware feels solid - the tuners do what they should and the bridge is one of the higher-mass affairs. Very good for £246! Here's a demo from GAK: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__WDTFc3QD8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__WDTFc3QD8[/url]

Merriment all around, folks! I've just arrived back home after some pints and have prematurely declared war on the nuts and raisins. Those delicious bastards get everything they deserve, and so should you lot!

That's just boss!

Without these fellows, their bands just wouldn't sound the same: Ringo Starr (The Beatles) Jet Black (The Stranglers) Stewart Copeland (The Police) I'd also add the late Charley Charles from The Blockheads. His drumming on the first three albums added real character to the songs. Could anyone else imagine 'Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part 3)' with a different beat?

As with others, in no particular order, my favourite 10 bassmen: 1. Norman Watt-Roy (The Blockheads) 2. JJ Burnel (The Stranglers) 3. Bruce Foxton (The Jam) 4. Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) 5. Mark 'Bedders' Bedford (Madness) 6. Colin Moulding (XTC) 7. Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy) 8. Dennis Dunaway (Alice Cooper) 9. Paul McCartney (The Beatles, Wings, on his tod) 10. James Jamerson (Motown) I could probably have stretched another 10 easily but it's the fellows above that I played along to when I was learning.