Bilbo

I wasn't expecting much more than £1k so these prices are a bit of a surprise. It hasn't been gigged (actually, I did one tune with it about 6 years ago) and is basically mint. It has been in it's case for over a year without coming out! I am thinking of selling it so I can get a decent electro-acoustic guitar I want but, at these prices, I could get TWO new guitars!!

I have a vintage sunburst ES175 I am thinking of selling and need to get a valuation. I bought it new in 2002-ish for £1500 but they appear to be up to £4k new and £2500 second hand. It's not making sense to me. Has anyone got any ideas on what it's all about?

I had an audition for a band in London when I was about 23. The band were playing a tune as I set up. When I was ready, the guitarist said he would show me the chords. I said 'it's in C, isn't it'? He replied 'we don't do any of that muso sh*t'. I thought 'twat' and learned it the hard way. I get that people can do this without theory just as people can speak without knowing grammar but I just find that the more tools you have the better. Playing music without understanding the building blocks is like fixing a car with a butter knife and some chewing gum. Yes, it can work but why the hell would you? :-D

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1476007688' post='3150342'] Just to address this... my band plays jazz and of course it's mostly improvised. [b]Most gigs are busy as hell and full of people dancing and having a great time.[/b] [/quote] Can't be a Jazz gig then.....

I recommend that you don't learn theory and don't learn to read. That way, I will continue to get the gigs you won't get called for. Seriously, I gig weekly with some of the world's greatest players and COULD NOT DO IT without theory and reading. If a player like John Etheridge puts a piece of coffee stained paper in front of you, you need to make it into something musical WITHOUT ANY REHEARSAL. You need to be ready.

Happy to let people play it. It's a plank of wood.

Another Evah Pirazzi Weich fan here

Learn to read music and relax.

Squire and Martin Brierly (Greenslade - Cactus Choir) both have great growly Rickenbacker sounds that I love in context but would not seek to mimic. Percy Jones, Jimmy Johnson, Anthony Jackson and a hundred Fodera players all have great 'don't go there' tones.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1473234576' post='3128124'] I'll put you name in the case - sorted!! Cheers. [/quote] Now it's all about timing!!

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1469383395' post='3097881'] What on earth would you do with that? *remembers* Mahavishnu covers? [/quote] Drool. Just drool :-D

Real live people = 5000 at a classical gig with fireworks at Stow on the Wold (I played in a seven piece Jazz band as a support act). I also did the National Lottery Live to 18 million viewers in 1994. It was live but we were miming to a recording we had done two hours earlier.

It is a really interesting point to consider. The fact is that to become a solid, credible act in any genre is bloody hard work but, to my mind, to become a top notch Jazz player it is even harder and you can easily see why a lot of people question whether it is worth it. I put on some of Europe's best players on at an event in Felixstowe and the audiences are generally pretty poor. I think we have to collectively accept that, sometimes, the music itself is the only reward.

Steve Berry is a great teacher and player.

I think his work is the most sophisticated Prog out there. Olias, Animation and Song of Seven are genius and his contribution to Yes was, for me, THE defining element. Anderson IS prog rock.

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1472846551' post='3124821'] I still havn't managed to work out what band you were in - and chance of a hint or two [/quote] http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OO3XfZ2TTOg

I was a Harris fan back in my NWOBHM days. Loved the first three lps then moved on. Saw them in 1981 w. D'iannio (if that's how to spell it) and again with the air raid siren.

A musician is someone who makes music. The rest is adjectives, one of these being 'a bad musician'. The tools are irrelevant, the skill set irrelevant, the methods irrelevant. The only defining characteristic is the presence of a person and the creation of music. I struggle with some elements of this, DJs being my main blindspot, but, in the end, I am not in charge so it's not my call. Human being who makes music, end of.

Yes - at 16, I ha not yet got my first bass but I remember a friend's older brother playing me 'Close To The Edge' and Greenslade's 'Time and Tide' and me borrowing them and playing them again and again and again like you do at that age. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBmUX74aME0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJdSAbigy4w

Didn't rate that Richard Bona thing at all.

A walking bass line normally covers it.

Hobbyist with a professional attitude For the record, 35 years have taught me that there is no irrefutable link between a musician's ability and their status as professional or otherwise. I know a lot of people who are great musicians who have other jobs and I know a lot of pros who are making a living from music because they are great hustlers not great players.

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1470938106' post='3109515'] Celebrity was their Korean made model, nice for the money. I loved their acoustic basses. Assuming that's what you're looking at? [/quote] No. Gassing for a steel strung acoustic. I swapped an Adamas for my Acoustic Image set up but I miss it.

Massive difference in price but has anyone got an opinion?

You use what you need to make music. You use what you can to make music. You use what is available to you to make music. Either way, it is the music that matters.