elom

[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.

I use a single AE112 with a Little Mark 2 and it's more than adequate for all the venues we've played so far. So although another would make for a phenomenal rig I dont really [i]need[/i] it. As I'm trying to save for a new bass I could only make you an insulting offer so I wont insult you!

Whoever gets these will not be disappointed.

elom

[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.

Our drummer has an electric kit and it doesn't have the same presence as an acoustic on stage [i]but...[/i]

We can squeeze into smaller venues which otherwise couldn't accommodate a 5 piece band and having that overall control on the volume is a huge bonus (especially for reassuring a landlord concerned about the neighbours).

It has helped us get gigs that we wouldn't have got with an acoustic kit so for that reason it gets my vote.

The big bonus for our drummer is ease of transport, set up time and the fact that he can easily practice at home.

[quote name='OldGit' post='287305' date='Sep 19 2008, 02:15 PM']Get a copy of this absolutely excellent book/ebook on how to do it, and then how to get booked back.
It will be the best £15 you've ever spent on anything to do with your playing, no question.

[url="http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm"]http://www.gig-getter.co.uk/indextest.htm[/url]

Don't be put off by the marketing. Oh and the Web advice is a bit crap but the "personal approach" to pubs bit is right on the money.[/quote]

Can't recommend this highly enough. Helped me no end when I was starting out getting gigs - in fact there is a quote from me on the web site as one of the satisfied punters.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='287400' date='Sep 19 2008, 04:02 PM']+1 on the first answer about getting a CD and some sort of website. lemonrock.co.uk is a good one if you don't have your own. better than myspace for cover bands, I reckon.[/quote]

lemonrock is brilliant for cover bands. We have been contacted by a number of pubs who have found us via lemonrock plus the gig diary is available as a feed for your web site. It's also a great place to find the gigging pubs in your area.

The only Cornish gig we have played was at the Lifeboat Inn in St Ives, nice pub and a good gig. Ask for Jon. Also, we played at the Creek's End Inn in Kingsbridge last weekend and they were asking if we knew of any other bands. It's one of our favourite venues and maybe not too far from you, depending on where in Cornwall you are.

I wont be at the bash but I'll take a ticket If I win can you ask Adrian to bring it back to Exeter for me!

[font="Tahoma"]Although I'm very happy with my main bass, I have been thinking what I would want if I went down the custom route.

It would be a Les Paul shape but slightly smaller with a pencil thin neck modelled on my Performer. Probably a pair of humbucking barts. The colour would be trans-blue, with the grain making a subtle tiger stripe.

I think I'll give this a bit more thought. I can feel an invitation to tender coming on![/font]

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='288812' date='Sep 21 2008, 10:00 PM']Oh yes. [/quote]

The fact that I automatically read that in a 'Churchill the Dog' voice is a worrying sign!

Best of luck mate. I was trying to sell just such a combo + cab over the past few weeks but ended up having to ebay. The credit crunch has made a big dent in used prices. Nice rig though and looks in excellent condition.

[quote name='RaNoFuNkY' post='283794' date='Sep 14 2008, 05:49 PM']Nice one lads, muchos gracias[/quote]

Welcome to Exeter matey - my Mrs works at the Uni. Make sure you come along to Manson's South West Guitar show next month - it's at the leisure centre.

Surely this is the one for you...

Radiohead's Creep would be a nice easy one to start on.