gary mac

What a brilliant effort

I've had this book for a few weeks now and thought it was about time to write a little review. I have to say that it is very impressive and is the sort of information that I wished I had taken on board much earlier in life. Of course there were books on theory, back in the seventies when I started playing but I found them difficult (at the time) to comprehend and just not user friendly. The colour system is a very useful tool and for a beginner an ideal way for visualising and getting to know the fret board. For me, the sections covering modes and scales were of particular interest. I've been playing in bands for years, but without much knowledge of theory. Of course I've been using scales and modes but for the most part, not knowing why and instead relying on my ears and experience to know what works and what doesn't. The relevant chapters give a concise, easily understandable insight in to this subject. The book is ideal to dip in and out of, which is the way I approached it. Mostly I read it with my bass to hand, as for me, this helped to make sense of and to absorb the information. All in all I thoroughly recommend this as a worthwhile purchase. Great for beginners and even experienced players who just want a better understanding of music theory. Alex is a Basschat affiliate and therefore forum members get a discount. Details in the link below:

This thread could get messy but I won't be here to see it for a while, as mrs mac is dragging me out shopping

That's a beauty.

No it was a different model Mick.

Wouldn't go as far as saying that I hated it but after lusting after an Alembic for years, I finally purchased one at the Bass Centre in Wapping. Within a few days I knew that it wasn't for me, persevered with it for a few weeks and finally phoned the Bass Centre, who were very understanding and said they would be happy to exchange it. A few days later I was back up there and a couple of hours later left with a very lovely P Deluxe, which I still have. Still miss that shop

Had the pleasure of meeting Jon today. I trusted him so much, that I didn't even worry about checking the gig bag over, prior to handing over my cash Highly recommended as a top chap to deal with.

Like you say, it's fairly obvious why that band struggle.

Footloose is a good one to play. A bass line to have fun with.

Oh dear. This is the sort of thing that put me off years ago.

Been suffering post gig hangover today. Gigging tonight as well, so I know that tomorrow will be a write off. Still enjoy it though but next year, the plan is not to do two gig weekends.

The buzzing pole pieces is a fairly common, annoying problem. Nail varnish carefully applied to the top surface of the pole pieces can help, as can using the same type of foil used for shielding the cavity, fixed to the bottom of the pick up, so that it covers the base of the pole pieces and then solder an earth cable from the foil to a grounding point.

For a couple of years or so, Warwick used a truss rod that turned in the reverse direction.

If you can gain access to the innards and get your Serivisol sprayed inside the pot, that would be worth a try.

None but they do look cool 😀

Shared on FB yesterday. Really feel for you and hope that you get everything back.

If you're happy to look inside the amp and assuming that you're aware of the risk involved around capacitors etc. then it's worth checking the soldering to the areas that the valves are seated in. The heat generated and vibration can cause the solder to fail, it's not always obvious until a very close inspection. Admittedly it tends to be more common with Fender amps but still worth checking.

Cool looking P bass

Actually I haven't but do know plenty who have, plus the guvnor is a bassist, so he must be alright. You could make contact and see how it pans out, if you don't feel that you get the right answers or the price doesn't suit, then move on.

Check out Watford valves,

That does look much more pleasing Trevor. So you want to make your Wal sound like an old P bass, that's exactly why I've ended up selling my Wals Having said that, I must admit to having Wal GAS once again

I've owned a Super P and Super P/J, both were superbly built and extremely comfortable on the shoulder. Loved the fanned frets and after initial trepidation, was delighted to find that they just felt right and natural. The P/J in particular was a spectacular instrument, it was built for the Namm show and was the one featured in BGM a few years back. The only problem and this was really more down to my technique, was that when using a plectrum, the pickup angle and positioning made it difficult to play in my usual style. When playing finger style or with thumb it wasn't an issue and perhaps with some adjusting of my technique, I could have overcome the problem. Also, I always made it sound like a P bass and so, given that I've pretty much always played P bass style instruments, I just decided to stick with Fender and G&L, which suit my pick technique. Couldn't just have them sitting around for home noodling so they were sold.

Yes Trevor was a class act.

Just back from checking out Alan's site. Knew I shouldn't have looked, now I want a custom build

Think this is going to be a thing of beauty, looking forward to seeing the documented progress and of course, the finished job. Being a P bass chap, I need to visit Alan's site to check out the RetroB shape.