Bass Culture

Good Lord - really?! I am out of touch! I think the originals are milled aluminium, aren't they? The ones I'm talking about are cast resin. They have the gradations etched but these aren't highlighted in white as on the originals. If that's all there is out then I guess it's a seller's market.

I'm looking for a set of this for a rather special new build I've commissioned from Mike Walsh (Zoot Bass). There's a guy in the states who makes them but the cost ($65 a set) including delivery, VAT (in all likelihood) and import duties makes them very expensive (as £65/70 expensive!). I'm sure someone will suggest posting to the Wal Facebook group, and I will do that, but can anyone here recommend anything similar? Thanks.

Mike Walsh used to supply them when he had The Bass Merchant some years ago. I seem to remember they did some ridiculously light gauge sets - and I say that as a user of light strings.

Just had Dylan's Nux Loop Core off him. Great comms and posted out at the earliest opportunity. A great advert for buying and selling on Basschat. Thank you.

Have there been any tone prints to add some dirt effects made available yet? I'm holding on until it covers all of the very minimal effects requirements I have (Octave, Chorus and Overdrive).

Thanks for the reply, Al. I'd like to avoid a multi-fx if possible (despite the quite significant advantages you point out) as I find it easier to get my head round dedicated units. I sold a B3-N not too long ago for this reason - I liked the stuff it did that I wanted it to do but found the multitude of other stuff it did that I wasn't particularly interested in a distraction. I ended up with 3 separate pedals for octave, chorus and overdrive instead, at significantly greater cost but - for me - far greater user friendliness. I shall 'research' the Nux Loop Core Deluxe. There's a non-Deluxe version I found for sale in the marketplace but the ad was placed a while ago and may not have been updated.

Dear all, I've done a quick search and see the multi-fx units often get recommended but I'd like to get recommendations for a dedicated looper pedal that fits this bill if possible as I'll get distracted and demoralised by using a multi-fx unit (I say from experience). Something that's pretty intuitive and easy to use, and easily available right now would be good too, so I can scratch the itch sooner rather than later. Do I need to look beyond the cheaper Boss or TC, or Mooer units (Grrove Loop looks like it'll do the job - but I say this as a complete ignoramus!)? I'm going to be using it simply to try ideas out at home for starters, maybe with a view to recording chord sequences to try different bass lines and arrangements over in due course, but initially probably just to harmonise 3 or 4 bass parts over a basic groove for my own amusement. Thanks in advance, BC

I saw it a couple of weeks ago and thought it was terrific - both from a musical perspective and from capturing American society at such a fractured and fragile point in time. And, as someone else pointed out, the sound quality is really good. I found it enlightening and heartening in equal measure.

Wouldn't we miss the 'homage to Grolsch bottle seals' vibe though?

Hmm, sounds a bit like a semi-acoustic type bass of some description played with a plectrum to me. But I suspect I'm likely to be wrong...

Like many of my age (I'm 58) I started playing bass at about the time Jaco was becoming very high profile. I remember reading his interview in International Musician (I think) where he claimed he 'invented the f**king fretless bass' or words to that effect. I bought his three solo albums and a good few Weather Report ones too. I ended up with a fretless Aria SB900 as my main bass for about 15 years. Slowly but surely though, I came to realise there was an awful lot of the music that I just didn't really - how can one put this? - like very much. I admired his playing but it never really made my heart sing. And then I heard his playing with Joni Mitchell - specifically Shadows and Light. And that's the Jaco I love, and still love. There's nothing I can say about him that's going to be original or relevant or more insightful than anything that's already been said and written about him by many much more qualified then I. But to the naysayers I would simply point you in the direction of 'Refuge of the Roads' on Joni's Hejira album. I've never heard anyone play like that before or since. Stunningly melodic, beautiful and touching. The feel, the note choice; in fact, the absolute rightness of every musical choice he makes on that track still leave me gob-smacked. 'Slang' - so what? 'Refuge of the Roads' (and there's others of course) - unsurpassable. And yes, he was funky as f**k too.

I keep meaning to do a sound demo video for the ZB-1000 but every time I plug in with the intention I end up noodling and before I know it, it's an hour later!

Just had the original preamp in my Zoot fretless changed to an East Uni-Pre. No issues with supply at all according to Mike (Walsh - Mr Zoot bass). Sounds brilliant too.

Some doozies here!

If you are anything like me - or like I was over 40 years ago, when I first started playing - you avidly read everything you come across about players and playing for some insight or gobbet of wisdom that will set you on the path to virtuosity. Most of these pearls of wisdom I've long since forgotten but some may have, for a time, informed my playing and development to a greater or lesser extent. My own favourite which, if memory serves (and someone please correct me if I'm wrong) was from Billy Sheehan who, when asked what his advice to young bass players was, said of music theory "Learn everything - then forget it". Took me a few years to understand what he meant but was hugely liberating when I did. So, let's hear the quotable quotes that made an impression on you and helped you with your playing.

So I'm guessing you don't buy bottled water either then? 😎

Maybe this is Herbie Flowers' prototype Jazz?

That is a fantastic instrument. Great score.

Should finish Boy George (as 'twere) on my walk home from work this afternoon. He's been very good value too - sort of made me vicariously nostalgic for a culture and music that I wasn't actually into that much at the time!

Agree with the above. Terrific amp at full price, at the deal price it's an absolute bargain. I own one already and am seriously tempted to buy another at this price as a back up!

Quite so. Amusing anecdotes don't seem to be her thing at all!

Listened to the SQ one yesterday. She's certainly a bit more earnest than most of the others!

I'm working through them in order so I've got a couple more to do (Billy Idol and Peter Frampton) before I get to our Suze. I'm looking forward to it!

Nearly finished the Nile Rogers one - what a treat! Really entertaining.