elom

This might be worth a look [url="http://www.icmp.uk.com/courses/bass.aspx"]http://www.icmp.uk.com/courses/bass.aspx[/url] No personal experience but read good things

I got a Stuart Clayton (who he?) book for 1p (It's actually very good Stuart! - teaches me all the basics that I should have learnt years ago - I know what the strings are called now...)

If you're after a kit can I suggest [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/layla_bassguitar_kit_pstyle.htm"]this from Thomann[/url]. And at £78 it's about half the price. Perfectly ok P-Bass, plus you get to carve out the headstock which is a nice touch. I bought and made/assembled one about 18 months back and it was a useful experience. For someone like me who is fairly technically inept I was able to practice set-ups etc on this bass without worrying about causing any damage. I'm now comfortable setting a bass up but this kit was a useful stepping stone for me. It was my backup bass for about 12 months and was perfectly serviceable. Recommended. (and yes, it does have an instruction manual with it!)

Great gig in my home village. A few f*** ups but we covered them up ok. I love it when people dance, makes me know I've done a good job! Picked up a birthday booking too, so a good night.

Mid Devon reporting in for the role call

[quote name='Bassassin' post='326770' date='Nov 11 2008, 02:20 PM']I do like these. I know the name but don't think I've ever encountered any before. Very interesting creatures - whereabouts were they from? Jon.[/quote] The company was originally from Maryland but folded in the 70s when the founder died. The name and rights have recently been bought and a new Micro-Fret company has started making the guitars again. There is more at [url="http://www.microfrets.com"]www.microfrets.com[/url] but no basses as yet - think I might drop them a line!

[quote name='yorick' post='325576' date='Nov 9 2008, 10:47 PM']The best way to clean your fret board is with a lint free cloth and lemon oil.[/quote] What exactly is a lint free cloth please?

I have a friend (well an internet acquaintance) who is an enthusiastic guitar collector. I noticed an unusual bass in the background on one of his photos which he told me was a Micro-Fret. He sent me some photos (and gave his permission for me to post them here). I don't know much about the company but these were made in the mid 60s and I just imagine them being used on the 'surf' music scene! The green one is a Rendezvous and the others are Signatures. Enjoy!

[quote name='uzzell' post='324955' date='Nov 8 2008, 07:48 PM']Yeah did spot this one but i was wondering what the deal is on postage. What i mean is did it arrive in a playable state straight away? I've never liked buying stuff off the net but to get it at that price is really good.[/quote] The postage is £8 and it was playable straight out of the box. I was impressed, especially for that sort of money.

I don't know what your budget is but if you are looking to not part with much cash I'd recommend the [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbb30bk_akustikbass.htm"]Harley Benton HBB30[/url]. At £115 it's great value and sounds just fine. I wanted a cheap acoustic to leave in the living room so I can just pick it up for a couple of minutes here and there and not worry if it gets jumped on by the kids.

This is the only headless I've ever hankered after. Can't find any of the buggers mind you... [attachment=15565:AXB50BK.jpg]

I think that there is a danger of confusing the art of musicianship and the art of performance. Both are very valid but different. Having watched Kris' video there is not much to disagree with. A good musician is conscious of context and understands that it is the overall piece that is important, not just our contribution. Having a wide range of skills and techniques means that you have more choices but choosing wisely is what makes the difference. Personally as something of a plodder I wish that I had a few more choices!

I was only able to get there for a couple of hours early on the Saturday so missed the bass workshop sessions. Still, got to listen to Stuart Clayton on the GB stand - he's not bad I suppose . I liked his comment to one punter "Sure I play like this at exhibitions but we've all still got to play Mustang Sally at the weekend". Also got to meet and have a quick chat with JJ Burnel (got a poster signed for a mate who's a massive fan) and meeting Jim Marshall was cool. Not a lot of bass stuff but still worth a visit.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='315682' date='Oct 27 2008, 11:52 AM']Did anybody see the FretKing guitar version of this bass at Exeter? That was really nice. Lies.[/quote] I was there with my guitarist and he spent 10 mins playing it. Seemed to like it. I quite like the styling of this bass (so that makes 1 of us) but I wouldn't pay that sort of money for it.

Not been to a gig for ages and have got 2 in 3 days coming up next month. Feeder at the Great Hall at Exeter Uni and then McFly at Plymouth Pavilions. The McFly gig is my daughter's birthday present. It's her first gig and she's so excited. I don't mind McFly - honest guitar pop. It could be much worse, it could be the Jonas Brothers!

I drive an M reg Fiat Cinquecento so I would say each of my basses is worth more than my car with the exception of my Harley Benton which is worth about the same!

Well it was all the fault of [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=27747&hl="]this thread[/url]. It planted the seed and before long I'd convinced myself that a custom build would be a fitting tribute to celebrate/commiserate my 40 years on the planet next year. There are many fine luthiers to choose from but in the end I went with Ben from [url="http://www.crimsonguitars.com/"]Crimson Guitars[/url]. If you have a look at his site you'll see that he makes some stunning instruments and from the first phone call I knew that this was the kind of guy that I wanted to deal with. I went out to see him about 10 days ago and spent a very enjoyable few hours talking designs, specs, woods etc This is what we came up with: 4 string Basic design is from his PAF guitar model which is a Les Paulish shape - exactly what I was after The neck will be modeled on the very thin round profile of my Fender Performer 33" neck (to aid the balance given the small light body) black hardware (gotoh bridge/tuners) blue stained pinstripe through multi-laminate neck rosewood board blue stained figured pear-wood bookmatched top spalted beech back through neck design. comfort carves and all access neck joint.. through body stringing 2 Wizard humbucker pickups I am really excited about this. In particular I knew the look I wanted in terms of the wood but was struggling to describe it very well. We found it on a piece of pear wood which I am so pleased with. Not a wood I'd ever considered but I think it looks the business. Anyway this is going to be a slow build because I don't actually want to collect it until my birthday next June - even though Ben said he could get it finished as early as January if I wanted. At least now it gives me a reason to look forward to turning 40! Anyhoo, here are some pics of the outlines etc taken from his [url="http://www.crimsonguitars.com/diary.html"]Workshop Diary[/url] I'll keep you posted as it progresses.

Good stuff, plus you have possibly the most brilliant band name in world history ever!

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='305201' date='Oct 13 2008, 08:43 AM']Ah. Air bass. So much cooler than air guitar. Welcome to BC. [/quote] I always play air bass with an air plectrum yet I only ever play fingerstyle normally - curiouser and curioser

[quote name='Rich' post='305226' date='Oct 13 2008, 09:27 AM']Alarmingly, I completely blanked in the last tune...just going into the 1st bridge, I suddenly realised that I had completely forgotten how it went... fumbled around for a couple of bars until I reached a bit I could remember. Then the 2nd bridge came along and nope, still can't remember it. [color="#FF0000"]Embarrassed[/color]? You have [i]no[/i] idea... Of course, I can do it now...[/quote] Funny you should say that. We played a gig in the next village to me on Saturday - great crowd, all going for it. First set was a stormer, so was the second. Then we got to "Bohemian Like You" - not a difficult song and one we've been playing since our first ever gig 18 months ago. I completely forgot how to play it - absolutely completely. I looked to the guitarist but my brain would not compute. I flubbed around for the whole track not playing a single correct note. And at the end of the song the dancing crowd whooped and applauded having not noticed a thing! It knocked the stuffing out of me a bit and although I remembered all the rest of our songs I didn't enjoy it as much as usual. Ironically, we launched into a version of Chelsea Dagger at the end (which we are 'looking at' but have never even rehearsed) and of course that was perfect! I'm annoyed at myself. I'm not a great bassist but I know my job and I do a competent job so to screw up like that on a song we've played so often is pretty poor. The landlord was happy though and booked us up for next year at an increased rate! Oh well, on to the next one...

Too much is when you spend money on a bass that you should be spending on essential things. No matter how fantastic the bass, if you're missing your mortgage payments etc. then you've got things a bit wrong. As has been said before there are loads of decent cheap basses out there nowadays, you don't need to spend thousands. If you've got the disposables though, fair enough.

[quote name='ped' post='289971' date='Sep 23 2008, 02:02 PM']I LOVED V for Vendetta[/quote] Me too!

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='293673' date='Sep 27 2008, 11:13 PM']I have seen them with a bass player hidden in the wings. Must still be doing it even though they have gone guitar and lost their USP.[/quote] Not very well hidden then... On the JR show I'm pretty sure that the keyboard player to the singer's left was playing the basslines.