spinynorman

Never said this out loud to anyone, but for years I mentally read Epiphone as E-pif-onnee. Like it's a greek godess.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1331049791' post='1566860'] So glad the OP has discovered a new world of music joy! I'm a huge fan. I especially love Meddle and Ummagumma. Never dreamt that one day i'd be able to stumble through the bass line to Money - but I'm learning that right now If I had to be critical though, I'm not a big fan of the Wall. Mainly because the lyrics annoy me. 'We don't need no education...' all very well for them to say that, but they all got a bloody good education didn't they? But I digress....(as usual!) [/quote] Never thought I'd be an apologist for Floyd, but I think you've misinterpreted that lyric.

[quote name='radansey' timestamp='1331141296' post='1568407'] Hmm, starting to have second thoughts The pre-amp is generic?? Any cop?? [/quote] The stock pre-amp on that Rebop5 would be the Spector Tonepump. Anyone who loves Spectors will tell you there's nothing wrong with it. It's 2-band (treble and bass) and conventional wisdom was that it is boost only, but I've seen some discussion that it is actually cut/boost. There are also people who don't like them and replace them with something else, such as one of the Aguilars. I did that and couldn't tell the difference. I still couldn't find a setting I was happy with. So I took the preamp out altogether and wired the EMG HZs passive and that was much better. Some people may think that says more about me than it does about the preamp. Personally I wouldn't let the preamp stand in your way if you like the rest of the bass. You said you didn't like the neck. That would be the deal breaker for me - the neck was the best thing about it.

When I point the flash at the opposite wall I just get a picture of the wall. (Compact camera, no separate flash, is the f-stop what stops the door hitting the basses?)

USB disk and SD card gone. Many lovely, rare and collectable items still to go.

I only have Black. Even my natural Ripper was black when I bought it.

Haven't liked Pink Floyd since the guy on our corridor at Uni who would go for a bath leaving "Careful with that Axe Eugene" on endless repeat at full volume. It was a long time ago.

Places we play, people in the audience take it in turns to breathe. If more than two people inhale at once it creates a vacuum. I spend a lot of my time trying not to clout anyone round the ear with my headstock. It is much safer if I stand still.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1331032260' post='1566472'] I used to get some huge thrills playing in bands, these days it's rare. I get good feelings quite often, and once in a while, a deeper thrill. It happens more often live, but while I used to love rehearsing, these days, it's not so much 'fun'. It could be over-familiarity with the material, the higher (probably TOO high) standards I set myself, or just getting older .. The best times for me are either working on a new song, or performing live. What about you? [/quote] I know what you mean, it's something that's been bothering me too. When we started out we linked up with a younger metal band and did joint gigs in a local pub, with a lot of people we knew in the crowd. We'd end up playing standing on the tables, one gig we put the two bands together at the end and did Paranoid. Complete chaos, but I'd go home from those gigs too wired to sleep and spent most of Sunday cleaning beer off the equipment. Problem was we couldn't make that work on our own in other places. Ten years on, after some personnel changes and a massive rethink of the material, we have a number of venues we get repeat bookings from, there's a wide enough range of material to appeal to most pub audiences and it all seems to be going pretty well. Except that it's very routine and polite. I come home and go to bed, and I can't remember when I last cleaned anything off the gear. We still play "Jumping Jack Flash" though, albeit a Johnny Winter inspired version. As Keef said, you'd have to be a really miserable sod not to enjoy playing that.

I paid about £450 to import a plain wood Rebop 5 from the US several years ago. It was made sometime between 2002-2004. They're not as pretty as the new ones, but had one of the best necks I've ever played. I didn't like the pre-amp, but I did like the EMG HZs wired passive, which is what I settled on after trying another pre-amp and not liking that either. I sold it, for about £400, because I didn't need the 5, but I'd be very tempted by a similar vintage Rebop 4. Some good advice above being careful, because of the too good to be true price, although other reasons might be a perception by the seller that it's inferior to the nicer looking modern ones, which it isn't, and confusion due to the range of Spector prices now, since they've been building in China.

I just pushed "I don't really practice much, but I'm in a band that plays live." back into the lead. When I do practice, it's either a new song or making sure I haven't forgotten what to do at the next gig. I don't count band rehearsals as practice, they're gigs without an audience, or maybe gigs are rehearsal with an audience.

I had a Mag 300 head + 2x10 and 1x15, which never had a problem being heard against large drum kit, guitar and keys. Often I only used 1 of the cabs. My daughter's ex-boyfriend had a Mag 300 2x10 combo, playing in a metal band with 2 guitars, he was ok being heard as well. One mistake I made at first was cranking up the bass on the eq and rolling off the treble. That does make it distort and disappear in the mix. Don't overdo the bass and bring the treble and mid up, then you'll be heard.

Clearing out the attic, some stuff I've been hoarding for no good reason that might be some use to someone. PM if interested. Realistic (Tandy) 4 channel mic mixer, which has 1/4" jack or phono socket inputs on each channel and L&R channel 1/4" jack outputs. Stereo or mono mixing switch. Requires 9V battery. Postage also £5. Speedtouch USB ADSL modem. Not wireless or ethernet or anything, just a USB connection to the unit, which plugs into the broadband line. Postage £4. Hitachi MP3CD player. Plays normal audio CDs, and also MP3 CDs, including RW. Includes charger and wired remote, but no headphones. Postage £5. Wired earpiece for mobile phone. Came with an old Blackberry, unused, has mini jack, clip and inline remote. £2 to post. Car charger for Plantronics Voyager 520 bluetooth headset. Unused. £2 to post.

[quote name='andy67' timestamp='1330691800' post='1561657'] Looking at the bids ... possibly some one counter bidding for the seller? [/quote] Even if that was so, surely the genuine bidders would be out way before it got that high, unless that is actually what it's worth to someone.

Guitar shops frighten me to death. I'm sure if I go in some hotshot salesman will rush out and bully me into buying something I don't want. This is irrational, as whenever I have ventured into a guitar shop, I've found it hard to get anyone to sell me something I do want, or take any notice of me at all. My relationship with basses is also irrational. I have an MIJ Precision that is the perfect go-to bass, works in every situation, light, easy to play, yet I don't love it. Several perfectly good basses have gone back on eBay after two gigs because they didn't sound quite right, yet I spent 9 months battling with the sound of my black Ripper before I traced the problem and fixed it. Something about it felt right, even when it sounded terrible. Which is a long way of saying I don't know.

[quote name='MelP' timestamp='1330607254' post='1560216'] Thanks for that tip - looks good. I don't particularly want to stay with Epiphone and I'm happy to pay something like £500 for the right one. Do Fender or Ibanez make any short scale basses? Just seen this on ebay, 15 miles from where I live - 1964 Gibson EB-0 with an extra pick up added. Would this be a good thing to bid for? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200719981800?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648#ht_500wt_1390"]http://www.ebay.co.u...8#ht_500wt_1390[/url] Thanks. Paul. [/quote] Recently on eBay there's been an Orville (ie Gibson Japan) EB3, sold for about £400 incl shipping from Spain, and a Greco EB3 with a Dimarzio Model One in the neck position, sold for £213. Both seemed like good prices to me, so the stuff is out there. Search for "(EB3, EB0, SG) bass" on eBay and see what comes up.

Either my perspective is seriously distorted by age or the guy in the yellow suit is doing his best to stay out of jail.

Here's two tracks that define "under-rated bass player" for me. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz47XGsi2e0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq3NwCHm-4U

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1328694876' post='1531139'] The thing about 'Mustang Sally' is... everyone seems to do the Commitments version, which is crap IMHO. The 1965 Wilson Pickett original is in a different key, different tempo, has an entirely different bass line, and is [i]well groovy[/i]. And of course, no-one sings it like Mr Pickett... Edit: The very first pic that shows before you hit 'Play'... see who that is on guitar? [/quote] When people get sniffy about Mustang Sally, I assume they haven't heard this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TYWYDqr-TA&feature=related or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8M_3JTwtPg&feature=related

It looks like the Endsleigh insurance only covers instruments. I've been insuring a minimal amount of gear with Musicguard mostly because it works out cheaper to get PLI included on that policy than to buy it from them stand-alone. I can't envisage a situation where the MG policy for the instruments would pay out. Has anyone found a cheaper way to get PLI?

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1330473458' post='1558210'] er, isn't the band 'Tangerine Dream' and the album entitled Kaleidoscope? what do I know [/quote] No, definitely the other way round. Eventually they had to change the name, because of the American Kaleidoscope. Unfortunately they settled on "Fairfield Parlour", which really didn't help. The story, from Peter's point of view at least, is here http://www.chelsearecords.co.uk/kal.html

But it's back, to everyone's delight http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120867321569 He's improved some of the spelling, but not the punctuation. And it's still finished in a type of lacker.

A few doors down the road from us when I was about 15 lived the lead singer of a psychedelic pop band called Kaleidoscope. I thought they were ok at the time and bought their first LP, "Tangerine Dream", but in time that style of music started to wear a bit thin, and I traded it in with a load of other stuff at a second hand record shop. So now look what it would have been worth if I'd kept it. With 7 days to go. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/190645960364

There was an Italia in the studio last time we recorded. I had a try and wasn't impressed with it. Too much bling and not enough substance.

[quote name='deanbean502' timestamp='1329648520' post='1545210'] Buying of here is the easy bit, wait until you want to sell something. [/quote] It would be interesting to know what percentage of basses put up for sale actually sell. It's not really a Basschat problem though, I'm sure most basses put on eBay with a BIN or a start price close to the market value don't sell either.