rushbo

TDK made the SA100 tape - 50 minutes each side. The SA was my tape of choice for sound quality (on my fairly modest, 1984 Pioneer stack system and 1985 Ingersol "Walkman.") A mate of mine warned me against using chrome tapes as they wore out the play heads (apparently.) This may, of course, be bullshine.

Oh, yes indeed.

My favourite album which was released in '85 is "Crashing Dream" by Rain Parade. I didn't hear it until '86 when I started my desperate scramble through all the "Paisley Underground" stuff coming out of the US.

I still play it often - although it's littered with things that nail it to 1985 ("s-s-s-s-s-s Sony!"), it still sounds really fresh and exciting and there's not a duff track on it.

My tastes expanded in '85 when I started to work at Virgin Records in Birmingham. I went from a rocker who liked a bit of pop/indie to the smart alec music nerd that I am today. In heavy rotation at Rushbo Towers at various points in 1985 would have been: Ratt: Invasion of Your Privacy Prince: Around the World in a Day REM: Fables of the Reconstruction Suzanne Vega: S/T Big Audio Dynamite: This is BAD

That looks great - the back looks bloody gorgeous! I'll cast another vote for a pair of Bakelite "chickenhead" knobs. The only thing on the bass which is less than gorgeous (IMO) is the control plate - I think I'd have gone with a curved MM style one - reliced, of course. The finish and the colour scheme are lush - good work, fella!

I've only recently discovered "my brand" which are Rotosound RB35's. They tend to be about £17 everywhere. I use flats on a couple of my basses and unless I see a set or two at a good price second-hand, I'll go for an Olympia or Adagio set from eBay.

This: Don't get me wrong, I'm in no way anti-relic, but this is just... wrong. It's as if someone really wanted to play a game of "Hangman" but only had a Chinese P Bass copy and a sharp stone to use. The bass looked quite nice once.

If any of you subscribe to Desmond Doom on YouTube (and you really should), you'll be familiar with this fantastic item of clothing:

My main band is a Roxy Music tribute and we have a "smart-casual" dress codes, so a T shirt would be frowned upon. Our drummer is exempt from this ruling and wears a selection of vintage Roxy Music T shirts at gigs, which I think is pretty cool. As a man of a certain age, I tend to gig in a waistcoat, buttoned up - apart from the bottom button, of course. I do wear a T shirt underneath that and very occasionally, it's the band's T Shirt, but you can't see what's on it anyway. I'm not a huge fan of wearing a T shirt onstage (unless it's teamed with a waistcoat or jacket) but if you've got a cool logo or a snazzy design then go for your life. Free advertising and a plug for your merch.

Ahem... http://guitarz.blogspot.com/2011/10/vintage-rare-guitar-of-week-dommenget.html (I know it's not a "classical" guitar, but it's the best I could do.)

Hey kids! Like Tony James? Like cheap but great-sounding basses? Scared of being picked on by the cool kids when you play them at gigs? Never heard of Ronnie O'Sullivan? ...then oh boy, do we have the waterslide decal for you...

I have a love/hate relationship with pedals. One of my favourite bits of BassChat is the "show us your pedalboard" thread, and I often gasp in awe at all the gorgeous devices that my colleagues drag around with them, on pedalboards that have their own generator and which probably require their own postcode. I went through a phase which many of us must have experienced; the "people will only think I'm a legitimate bassist if I have a load of gizmos on the floor in front of me," phase. I came to the conclusion (after deploying a gnarly fuzz noise rather than a pretty, shimmering chorus effect by accident for the umpteenth time), that my needs are few. My current band covers a wide variety of styles so I need to ring the changes somehow, and the easiest way to do that is with a modest MultiFX - in my case, an old Zoom B3. Could I do without it? Probably. Would anyone notice if I didn't use any effects? Probably not. I quite like them, though. There is something really liberating about about playing "direct." I've supported the current line up of Dr Feelgood a few times and their (excellent) bassist doesn't have any toys at all. He plugs a P Bass into an Ampeg stack and it sounds glorious. Horses for courses, I guess.

This whole thread has been brilliant fun. I think Mr James should peel off the sticker and embrace the cheapness!

If you get a chance and you're open to a bit of weirdness, Godley and Creme's second album 'L' is a bit of an overlooked gem. Their first album after they left 10cc, was 'Consequences' - an incredibly self indulgent, if sporadically brilliant triple album. It was released when Punk Rock ruled the world and was quietly ignored. 'L' was the follow-up and is a spiteful, sulky, bile-filled record which must have horrified their record company who were desperate to recoup the hideous amount of money they'd spent on the previous album. It's a desert island disc for me, but it isn't an easy album to listen to. There is one moment of loveliness on an otherwise bleak record. Here's 'Art School Canteen.'

10cc were the first band I ever saw live, in September 1978. "Dreadlock Holiday" was just about to get to #1. Their first four albums are all brilliant examples over upscale pop rock. If you haven't got "Sheet Music," you really should think about sorting your life out. Their lack of an image seems to render them invisible from all those "weren't things better 50 years ago?" type programmes, but they can still fill most theatres in the UK without trying too hard. Graham Gouldman is doing a fine job of keeping the name alive. I'm a fan.

Roxy Magic played the Hale Barns Carnival on Saturday. It tipped it down for most of the day, but it cleared up when we were on, by some miracle. A good fun set - nothing but the hits. We were on with the legendary Graham Gouldman who's been a hero of mine since the mid-70s. He was doing an acoustic gig, playing a few 10cc songs along with some of his solo stuff and the songs he wrote for the Yardbirds, Hollies etc. Sadly, after a clear start, the heavens opened and left him playing to a smaller crowd than he deserved. He was still ace though. I'll spare you the picture of me grinning next to a slightly bemused GG.

I try and make sure that all the things that I have control over are all present and correct. I know my band is well-rehearsed. I know my bass is working and I have a spare, I know my amp is up to the job, with a DI box handy just in case. I've got a couple of cheat sheets close to me for those songs where I might struggle with a particular passage. Of course, I can't legislate for the 300lb, over-refreshed idiot falling into the PA, or a random brain-fart that causes me to forget the lyrics to the chorus of "We Will Rock You," but if I know I've done all I can in terms of preparation, it makes me feel a lot more confident and comfortable. Also, know your limitations regarding booze (or whatever stimulant takes your fancy.) After a few too many pints of Dutch Courage, one of two things will happen: you might "think" you're playing in the pocket when you're actually playing as if you're recovering from some recent physical trauma. Option two is even worse - you'll be distracted, forget stuff and your muscle memory starts to suffer with Alzheimers, leaving you prodding hopelessly at whatever you're holding in your hand. Having said that, I love playing live. I don't care if it's a big crowd, a small crowd or even no crowd, it's the reason I play bass. Good luck!

Although Tomsk was the first call bassist for The Wombles, Here's Madame Cholet digging in, on a tasty-looking Jazz bass... and jamming with Roy Wood on a sixer;

I would absolutely love it to be a G4M. As Geddy's Nose said earlier in the thread - that would be proper Punk Rock.

I've used vinyl banners in the past which work well and as Nancy said a few posts back, there's always something you can clip it to. The main issue was getting creases out of it. My current band uses a 3m x 3m heavy-duty backdrop that's suspended from reinforced eyelets. More recently, as long as the venue has the facilities, we use an mp4 of band-related images which is shown behind, over or alongside us while we play. I'm in a Roxy Music tribute band, and here's a picture of us singing along with our old mate Brian Eno...

Most of my kit goes in a Music Store Deluxe Gigbag, like this: The front pocket is huge and swallows up all my "crucial" bits and pieces - power cables, leads, tablet holder, wireless kit etc. My RockBoard 3.0 lives in the main section along with a hand towel and a black nylon cloth that I use to cover my amp stand. I've also got a standard holdall with one big pocket where things like extension cables, gaffa tape and my little tool kit live, but for the vast majority of the gigs I do, I'll not need to open it up - apart from maybe getting out the gaffa tape! I'd advise anyone who gets any type of gigbag to get one that opens up as wide as possible so you can throw stuff in at the end of a gig and not have to worry too much about opening up secret pockets and hidden flapdoodles. I used to use a bag with loads of pockets and hidey-holes but I would always forget where I'd stashed everything. I find that just having one big space to put everything in works better for me. I know it's counter-intuitive, but... I've got a Hercules double stand which I keep in a cheapo tripod bag. None of my kit needs much padding as it travels in a car 95% of the time, but there are so many bits on that stand which could get caught on something and get bent, torn off or damaged. The simplest of bags eliminates that problem. I've probably spent more time mulling over storage solutions than I've spent on deciding on bass guitar purchases.

A few years back, I made some pocket money by buying unloved or slightly knackered basses on Shpock and Gumtree, making them playable, cleaning them up and punting them on for a profit that would buy me a nice curry. I came across an Encore very like this. It had been neglected but it didn't take much to get it very playable and it cleaned up beautifully. I was very impressed by the finish. The only minor blemish was on the pickguard which had delaminated slightly by the output. Lovely, old school thump, too. Thats a good score for £50