lee650

Hi guys When i started playing wayyy back in 1990, i had a japanese bass called a vantage, looked a bit like a westone thunder, it sounded absolutely fantastic i later found out it was a dimarzio p pickup, i loved it. +1 for the EMG too great tone highly recommended especially in the PJ arrangement. LEE There's a lot of them, so here's my experiences/thoughts: SDQP - nope, doesn't sound like a Pbass to me. Too aggressive and bright. SD vintage (not antiq) bang on as a replacement, sounds right looks right. DiMarzio Model P sounds a a bit more aggressive, but still very true as a P replacement. Also a four conductor humbucker so very good on background noise. Looks wrong, but who cares? Wizard trad - didn't overly impress me ( ). Also found it hard to fit, as the case seems a bit oversized? I know these things vary, but this was the worst I've found. Let me know if you want it? Kent Armstrong Sky (WD) - very good for the money, pretty traditional P sound but again I found the cover was a bit oversized? EMG - I love. Can sound pretty P like if you turn the tone down, but a lot cleaner and also brighter if you want. Sounds great with flats. Battery can be a squeeze in a P bass, depands on the routing. And battery changing is a chore, but you don't have to do that very often. I currently use the DiMarzio. Hope that helps a bit BB [/quote]

AAWWW MAN!!! I forgot how cool , the pointy headed basses were, when i was 13 i had pictures of Kramers and jacksons all over my wall, time for a comeback i think, ( id love to turn up for a jazz gig with one ha ha) Kip wingers jackson is lovely by the way i was a big fan back in the day- LEE Firstly, Michael Manring is just a fantastic player. Amazing how all the changes in tuning do not detract from the music of the piece. Can I have the bass version of Phil Collen's original archtop Jackson PC1 ?? They did make one for Dusty Hill of ZZ Top, but I can't find a pic anywhere.. [/quote]

For me!! I t would have to be Mark Kings cocobolo Alembic series 2 ( the matching quilt maple one was gorgeous as well) i had a picture of him with it ripped out of a guitarist magazine from years ago on my wall when i was a student, the thing is an absolute work of art, and in my humble opinion the best sounding instrument he ever used. Iwas lucky enough to play fellow bass chatters Funky hobbits Alembic mark king sig (which i think may have belonged to the man himself) at Howards bass place a few years ago and it was lovely, but not my thing at all ( WHATTTT!!) I guess tastes change , but i do like a bass to sound like a bass these days ( ive even bought my first set of flatwounds, thanks BB) so i reckon spending the best part of £6000 on a bass, is crazy, id be terrified to take it out, but one can dream , itll look great on my wall when i win the lottery (only joking), but for my custom warwick infinity when i can afford it Cocobolo it is. Oh yeah and marcus 77 jazz is the best bass sound in the world (even though its him) heres to our dream basses lads n lasses -LEE

Hi there Been to both those shops i used to work in a band on the QE2 so we docked there every 2weeks, they are fantastic shops with great gear that is cheaper than home, but do beware the US sales tax which is added on top of any purchase when you actually buy it, it can be anything up to about 10% of the purchase value, so if a bass is $1000 itll add another$100 it has been a while since i was there though, as for customs at airports i always came off ships with loads of gear as crew so have no experience im afraid. But itll still probably be cheaper than buying things in the UK and youll find lots of tasty stuff we cant get so happy shopping. All the best-LEE Right, first week in America, Im in NYC and I thought "I'll check out some of the guitar shops see whats knocking about" so I head on down to Sam Ash and then on to a shop called Mannys which is directly opposite. Well, Sam Ash and Mannys both had a nice decent stock of basses. Sam Ash had a selection of tune basses, spector, esp, ibanez, warwick, fender etc and had a particularly nice high end Ibanez SR bass with a wenge neck and a Burl top, a ltd edition for about $759 or something thats about four hundred quid at the exchange rate at the moment, and a special edition quilted maple stingray for about $1995 agan just over a grand at todays exchange rate. I really liked the look of some of the tune basses, they almost look quite boutique and custom made. My trip ends up with me passing through NY again to get home so Im going to try and budget a bit tighter so I can nab one of these bargains possibly just before I fly home, just out of interest has anybody flown a bass back from the states and did you get stung by customs? If I get a chance I might run down to the place where they make Sadowskys, If I find any more music shops that are decent I'll flag them up on here. [/quote]

Hi there I used D,adarrio XL'S for a long time, nice warm tone and a great slap sound, but most importantly for you they are fairly inexpensive so if you dont like them its not the end of the world, Rotosound are good quality and well priced although they can tear your fingers to shreds fantastic raw sound for rock. I also tried picato when i started and they are great for the money. I currently use DR sunbeams which are gorgeous sounding but a bit pricey, but they do last,and dont forget the boiling trick on your old strings itll brighten them up but only for a day or two. Enjoy your new band, regards-LEE EDIT - Sorry I think i put this in wrong section of forum I'm on the verge of joining a band in Uni, that play Blues and Funk - Hendrix, BB King, Howlin Wolf etc, and I've realised that I have yet to change the strings on my bass even though I've had it for 18 months and have been playing with stock strings since. Basically, I've been playing a lot for the past 18 months but in bedroom, and a few half arsed jams so I've never really cared about the tone of my guitar, but I think its time to buy some decent strings. I simply do not really understand a lot of the technical side of the bass guitar, I basically read tabs and play. so I need advice badly cos I know fook all. What strings would you more experienced lot recommend? I play a basic Washburn T14 so its hardly packs a nice tone, but because I plan to play slap and 12 bar blues type stuff, I want to treat myself to some new strings that may improve the sound. You have to forgive my stupidity as words like Roundwood or flatwood, or 105 super slinky gauge blah blah have literally zero meaning to me as I havent experimented with other basses, so please treat me like an idiot [/quote]

I think that colour is known as sea foam green, very nice!!!!! Basically I'm after a Jazz bass in the colour of Dan Andriano's (main pic on this page [url="http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?section=Basses"]Dan Andriano bass[/url]) Doesn't matter about a painted headstock and my budget is £500 maximum. So, anyone up for the challenge

Hi Had to sight read "babooshka" once my god i was sweating, a beautiful lyrical bassline im pretty sure i didnt do it justice. John giblin is a master. John Giblin is one of the best bassplayers I know...The bassline on "Babooska" is a song of its own. Fantastic bassplaying on records by Duncan Browne (The Wild places) John Martin, Peter Gabriel, etc.... Plays it bit more upright for the moment if I 'm not mistaken. Inspired me a lot to pick up a fretless bass. A great musician. [/quote]

I completely agree!! The few times ive went there(making a special trip as well) i spent money but was treat with complete indifference,even completely ignored while staff chatted in the back room, i had to go in and ask to pay for something, i remember an article about it and they went on about how pride themselves on customer service but i havent seen that, it is a shame theyve had to close because there arnt too many bass specific shops in this country but im not really going to miss it (the first time i went was at wapping and it was very diffrent funny that!!!) never mind theres always basschat. L Well I won't be shedding any tears. Sounds harsh, but the few times I went in there I swore I'd never go back. The service wasn't just indifferent, it was bordering on being rude. As has already been mentioned - if their website doesn't improve pretty sharpish - they'll be finished, which can only be a good thing for all the shops/websites who [u]do[/u] make the extra effort for their customers Pl

Hi mark Ihad absolutley no idea howard had a heart attack, im glad hes pulled through, i remember the first time i met him 15 years ago i was only 18 and had no money and the tuning peg had snapped on my old ibanez musician leaving me with three strings( and i didnt know how to play with three only knew a few scale positions) and he replaced them all and charged me a couple of quid, he worked from home then too, he's such a star and i do miss him, all my basses are a bit worse for wear these days, he kept them in great nick for a long time. It was great for meeting other players too, although i dont live there anymore newcastles lost a unique (ciggy smelling) hub for the local bass community, glad hes still working though as il call him next time im in toon. give pete my best mate heres to howard- All the best - LEE If you want to get in touch howard is now trading as the "Bass Doctor" you can contact him on 07977 688229 He is doing all the same bass repairs builds etc. If you need to get in touch with Howards right hand man PETE give me a PM as I play in a little trio with him