Kiwi

He's in NZ at the moment with James Taylor. I was going to meet up with him in Christchurch yesterday but I couldn't get time away when he was available. Really professional guy and very sincere although he's a very straight talker too. I understand why he's a first call session bassist, he takes nothing for granted and really does give the job everything he's got. But by the same token, its a hard life if you have to play despite the effects of jetlag! Tonight he's in Auckland and then they fly out to Japan. He had 2 weeks to learn all of the songs for the James Taylor tour and it was doing his head in but he stuck with it. I'm not sure the band had much by way of rehearsals either so talk about being thrown into the deep end. He seems happy enough so far.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='800652' date='Apr 9 2010, 09:40 AM']I suddenly feel inadequate because mine don't flash[/quote] Dress your bass up in a dirty macintosh? Ok, its not the same but...

[quote name='green' post='800213' date='Apr 8 2010, 08:56 PM']well, should have thought about it myself: the funk unlimited / sonic hammer (which is its predecessor, right ?) could be the right choice... so, jaydees are not so good on the high end ? i mean, personal taste is different...[/quote] Compared to my Modulus Sonic Hammer, my Jaydee was warm and soft. But don't take my word for it. Modulus Flea: Jaydee Supernatural: Status Empathy Can't find a clip of a Parker Fly bass that doesn't have compression on it, unfortunately.

Chris, to use your own point but in a wider context, those people on here "who do take drugs", "hate the police" and "are bitter about things" also have other forums to go to if they want to vent excessively. Off Topic is intended to be for everyone and I'd suggest a balance needs to be maintained.

Oh yeah, good choice. I'd add the Modulus Sonic Hammer I owned was also brutally aggressive. And Rich was right about Status. Some (but not all) of the earlier Series II basses and some (but not all) of the Empathy basses (through necks) can sound very brittle. I'm surprised by the suggestion of a Jaydee. I played one for 12 years, mahogany isn't typically a bright wood and even though the pickups are single coil, they're also very flat response...

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=78081"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=78081[/url]

[quote name='green' post='799197' date='Apr 7 2010, 07:41 PM']the parker fly may be nice, but hard to test or buy one....[/quote] The Bass Centre couldn't sell theirs for love nor money when they still had a shop. Seriously brittle sounding bass.

There's one clear contender in my experience, the Parker Fly bass. So much high end it was uncomfortable to listen to, especially with the piezo.

If you go to 6:38 you can see a Pro4000 head and matching cab though. If any of you have Burman stories, particularly involving Gregg that he might not remember, feel free to share too.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='790704' date='Mar 30 2010, 02:36 PM']As to the legendary 4x18 cab, the top of the door frame (fixed window type) had to be taken out to enable the cab to leave the shop - I'm sure it did actually gig at some point.[/quote] Howard, I asked Gregg about that cab and this was his reply which I felt compelled to share (with his permission): [b]So did you remember making that 4x18 cab for Bumper Brown? Did it ever get an airing at a gig? [/b] [i]Where do I start? We built it in our first workshop in Handyside arcade, no 59. It had a inch and a half front and the same for the back which was built like a safe door. We fitted the loudspeakers with the cab lying on the floor of the workshop and fitted the "safe door" back. We could feel the pressurised air in the cab hissing out as the back slowly seated in. We then realised that we couldn't lift it! We had to wait until the next day when 6 arcade workmen could help us lift it upright and then we tested it. We used a Burman SL100 powerpack, pre amp and a Fender Precision bass. We connected everything and I hit the bottom open E string and the whole system went dead. (Were the loudspeakers too much for the amp or what? The amp was still on so what was the problem?) Then we could all smell gas! The pressure of air escaping from the sealed cab had 'spat' the jack plug out of the socket on the back of the cab! I think we were then one of the first companies to use EP series XLR connectors to our big cabs. The high pressured stream of air had blown out an industrial gas fire about 8 feet away in one split second long, quarter inch wide jet of air. By the way, try and get a copy of 'The Nice' book, Keith Emerson's bass player mentions his 4x12 and 4x15 in 1 cab as well! The cab was his idea but I got the blame from their roadies! When they were on tour I would get calls in the middle of the night from Baz Ward (tour manager) obviously at the gig. The phone would ring, wake me up, and all he would say was "Burman, you're a bastard", and then he would hang up! Anyway, a local band called 'This Years Girl' wanted to try it so they took it to the Lacarno Ballroom in Sunderland for a gig. I gave strict instructions DO NOT SWITCH IT ON UNTIL I GET THERE! As I arrived the bass player had switched on the amp, plugged in his bass and was about to pluck the bottom E string. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!! Everything went slow motion as i moved towards him. He hit the string and all the glasses of the previous nights drinking just disappeared from the top of a grand piano. I don't mean vibrated off the top, they actually disappeared and smashed to the floor!! Light fittings in the ceiling fell out and crashed to the floor! Worse still, people standing by the bar at the back of the room looked like they were vomiting beer!! I turned from the stage area and ran towards these people. As i ran from the stage to the bar, an distance of about 20 yards, i could feel the air waves of low frequency going up and down my body which made me feel nauseous. At the bar, the bass was punching and hitting everyone including me in the throat! I discovered that the people at the bar weren't being sick as such, they were physically incapable of swallowing their beer! I managed to reach the main switch behind the bar and everthing came to an abrupt end. Of course the bass player turned round oblivious to the mayhem and destruction that had happened. To him the sound on stage had sounded normal but the cab was producing ultra low frequency that is unaudible to the human ear but can destroy your internal organs at high volumes! I can't remember Bumper Brown taking delivery of the cab! In fact I can't remember much at all after that episode - it's a blank.[/i]

I had three as many people know but they're going to stay in the past.

Hello Jex, you weren't scared off then?

they're not that cheesy Japanese band who have achieved Level 41.63 are they?

FWIW isopropyl alcohol does a similar job. However no amount of meths is going to prevent the wearing of flatspots on roundwounds or the stretching of the core. All strings go flat eventually.

aaaaah, its back.

That website has been around since 2004, before Gregg had his health problems. Then it went offline for a number of years while Gregg was recuperating. Interesting to see that its back and in a very very slightly more complete state than when I last saw it. I've sent him an email asking about it.

[i]"You can go a long way with a gun. You can go a lot farther with a gun and a sing-song."[/i]

[i]"What's the matter with you? Is this what you've become, some Hollywood finnochio that cries like a woman?"[/i]

definitely sounds like an Aria

I did! Thanks for sharing

thankee soir

LOL, which site is that?