Prunesquallor

Just in case Flea is reading this. Why the f*** do you keep changing your basses? Some people here would like to know.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1337726756' post='1664722'] He seemed to use that early shell pink Jazz bass with the STP sticker during one tour - I'm guessing he couldn't get the right sound for the music with it as he quickly reverted to the Modulus - in fact I saw them on the Jonathan Ross show in this era and the bass sounded very ordinary. The sound was nothing like the pumped up tone he normally gets live and is on a lot of the albums. I doubt he cares too much about damaging vintage basses cosmetically - if he did he wouldn't put a sticker on a rare bass like that. I've seen videos of him using a Musicman bass for recorded work in the last couple of years, but he has a history of using loads of different basses - Spector, Wal, Musicman, Modulus, Fender Jazz being amongst them. [/quote] Well, there are more ways of damaging a guitar than putting a sticker on it - it could even get nicked on tour... Who knows? Saying that, though, I've just read that he likes Modulus basses because of the graphite necks: they don't warp too much when going to different climates, playing indoors and then outdoors, etc. Why he keeps changing his studio instruments is anyone's guess. A search for the best sound is mine, based on the interview I read. For the record, he's only used MM basses on four album tracks from BSSM onwards. Two of those tracks happened to be videoed.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1337706086' post='1664330'] I think deep down he likes a an MM derived humbucker through a Gallien Krueger amp for his live sound at least. [/quote] +1

I'm not sure it's so much a 'possessions' thing so much as 'I do this in the studio, but I do this live' sort of thing. I've even heard he wears his bass differently. I'm sure he does care what he sounds like live, but not as much as he does in the studio. I read an interview done after he did One Hot Minute in which he said he could've done the album using the trusty Stingray he was using a lot live at the time, but an Alembic gave a more even sound so that's what he used. He also said, though, that the Alembic wasn't as in your face as the Stingray, which is why I guess he switched to the Modulus soon after which gave him the best of both worlds. Also, he really goes for it on stage, as you know. I heard his tech said he's never got back instruments after a set as f***ed up as the ones he gets back from Flea. I guess even Flea doesn't want to do that to a '61 Jazz, especially one given to him as a birthday present...

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1337625422' post='1663066'] I always thought there was something a bit odd about Flea. I can't quite put my finger on it. You can't doubt his ability but not the sort of guy you could imagine spending a few hours propping up a bar with? [/quote] [quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1337626223' post='1663083'] Funny how after all the hype before the tour including the magazine article and the comment about Flea telling Damien that the Jazz was the best bass ever made that on that tour he never touched one in the end! 2 Modulus basses at every gig afaik [/quote] Flea's said that he doesn't just see himself as a bass player, but as an entertainer. The band does have a crazy image, but surely someone who's best mates with Damien Hirst and Thom Yorke, and goes back to college to study Bach, must something interesting to say? In the same way, I reckon he treats the stage and studio as two separate environments. He's happy to use the '61 Jazzs to record the last two albums where he's after the best sound he can get, but he's not going to throw them around on stage, which for him, is more about entertainment. He's always tended to use different basses to record than to play live to some degree.

Adding to the line-up... [url="http://www.sandberg-guitars.de/basscat-overview/calv-series/calvt"]Sandberg California VT[/url] (There's also the Basic version, of course.) [url="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars_detail.asp?stock=10031710495738"]Fender Deluxe Precision[/url] [url="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars_detail.asp?stock=07061913292629"]Sadowsky RV4 Hybrid PJ[/url] Don't know what you're budget is. These are high-end, obviously.

Maybe more experienced members will chime in, but for buying a bass the Bass Gallery in London has a good rep, as does Bass Direct in Warwick.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1329323802' post='1540682'] I just filed mine down a bit, don't really see any problem with the original. [/quote] Thanks!

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329296555' post='1540071'] I thought their first release was the German album with Tony Sheridan! Seriously though, yes, Punk was a huge influence, but I still maintain that there was a lot less of it in the public conciousness at the time than people like to remember. Which really adds to the movement's importance, how something relatively small gave birth to the whole independent record business and a huge mass of great post-Punk music. [/quote] Agreed!

What do you guys think about upgrading the nut in these beasts? Worth doing? (Apologies to the OP for the slight derail.)

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329294184' post='1540026'] Of course their opinions count. I just don't happen to agree with them!! The Buzzcocks seeing the Sex Pistols play at the 100 Club is as relevant as the influence Lonnie Donegan and the Skiffle movement had on the Beatles - it may have inspired them but it didn't make them a Skiffle group. [/quote] Ah, but take a listen to their first release, Spiral Scratch. Punk. With knobs on.

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1329229702' post='1539151'] I agree on this. The first mod you should consider to a Squier is the pickups. [/quote] Do you mean ALL Squiers? I understood that the pickups on the VMs were actually pretty good, and the first mod I should consider was the bridge... Confused.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329245998' post='1539571'] See, again, it all comes down to opinion - I really wouldn't include any of the above in the Punk category [/quote] Don't you think their opinion counts? The Buzzcocks saw the Pistols play at the 100 Club and promptly formed a band; Siouxie and the Banshees were part of the original Bromley Contingent that hung around with the Sex Pistols at Malcolm McLaren's shop, etc. They all considered themselves punk. Just take a listen to all their early stuff. It's just that the bands that survived developed their own styles and later got pigeon-holed as goth, power pop, new wave, etc. I agree that the important legacy of punk was the 'can-do' attitude. It kickstarted the 80s, when all you needed was style, and can be seen in all kinds of genres, such as techno and hip-hop, where lack of [i]technical[/i] ability doesn't matter one jot.

It was absolutely necessary! And a lot of people forget how diverse the scene was. The Buzzcocks, the Undertones, the Clash, the Damned, the Stranglers, and Siouxie and the Banshees were all considered first-generation punk bands - along with the Sex Pistols - before the genre police got involved. I too thought it was weird how the Undertones dressed on TOTP, but Feargal Sharkey has since said that that was streetwear where they were living at the time. It was all street music for kids fed up with stadium prog-rock. And let's not forget that Nirvana would've been nothing without punk...

[quote name='Townes1992' timestamp='1329225707' post='1539061'] I was heavily considering a VM squier, they seem to be popular, but the criticisms that Squier's get is always off putting. [/quote] I've just bought a VM Jazz and my instructor said it's up there with any Fender he's played. I think Squier's bad rep came from the early years, and I was advised to run screaming from anything in the ultra-cheap Affinity range. The VMs, though, have a very good rep, and some say the Classic Vibes are even better.

Thanks, Len, I will!

Yep, it's a lovely place. It's where I bought my Squier from. It's quite large, so you can generally find a quiet corner to play around in. It's not like some of those cramped places you find.

You got that right! Thanks, Rhys!

Guitar Guitar stock them. The Epsom branch might have some if you give them a ring.

I'm very interested in this for the future, as I've got exactly the same bass. I've read that there's a lot of love for the Nordstrand NJ4, but it sounds like you don't want that classic Jazz sound. Seymour Antiquity IIs are supposed to have a huge bottom end (fnarr!) to their sound, and I've read that Di Marzio Model J's have a really punchy, muscular tone. Hope this helps! @StevieD: I read somewhere that the stock pups in the Squier VM are an Asian version of the SJB-1 anyway, so you wouldn't get that much change in your tone. Correct me if I'm wrong!

Hi guys! I've been lurking here for a while. Ta for all for tips you've unknowingly given me! I've just started playing so please be patient if I ask a few noob questions. I've got myself a Squire Vintage Modified Jazz and a Gallien-Krueger MB112 to get me going. The guys I'm chasing are Flea and Tom Jenkinson (Squarepusher). Cheers!