Captain Bassman

My main gigging basses for the last 9 years have been a GB IV and Warwick Streamer Stage I 5 string. I primarily play in a functions band doing 60's, 70's and 80's stuff and every tone I've ever needed can be got from these two basses. So. a big +1 for GB! Try one if you can. They're fantastic all-round instruments, great range of sounds, beautifully built and have excellent weight/balance. The IV (or Spitfire as they're now called) looks great too for any genre of music - a contemporary modern take on the Jazz bass design.

[quote name='Galilee' post='255338' date='Aug 5 2008, 01:11 PM']It's all downhill once you're passed 40...[/quote] Ah, that'll be it then...sorted!! Glad to know you're all sufferers too, in a nice way! I hadn't thought that it might be partly mental too, you know the come-down after a gig. Hmmm. I have got a damn heavy rig (DB750 plus 2 Aggie cabs) which probably doesn't help...but me likes the sound too much! Maybe I just have to suffer for my art...

I don't know if it's just my age (I'm only 41 and not unfit...) but over the last couple of years I've started suffering quite badly after gigs. Symptoms are hangover-like - muzzy, sickly headache, general lethargy and aches (no puking though!). I put it all down to the late nights, physical strains from rigging and de-rigging, concentrating on the drive home etc. (not booze...) but I never used to suffer like this until a few yers ago. I have a routine of drinking plenty of water and stretching out my back, neck and shoulders when I get home. This also stops me going straight to bed whilst my brain is still buzzing from the gig and driving. Despite this though, after most gigs I feel pretty crappy the next morning! Anyone else out there suffer like this too? Or am I all alone??? Any tried and tested remedies to share with fellow suffering Basschatters?

I'm hoping to make it down, Guildford's not too far from me and I ain't gigging that Saturday (for a change!). If so, I'll bring my GA24 Custom, GBIV and maybe lug my Aguilar DB750 down, in case the venue fancies putting in some new windows! More laters...

Nice looker! Makes my lil ole blue GBIV look a bit dull!!!

That's a real beauty sir!! Just to add my +1 to Bernie, my main gigging bass for the last 9 years has been my trusty GBIV. Build quality is fantastic and it's a rock solid bass suitable for all type of music. The output from the onboard actives is absolutely phenomenal, as is the range of useable sounds. I've never had to have it re-set up, never had to tweak the neck, nothing! Just change the batteries once in a while (you even know when they're going to pot 'cos of the flashing red LED visible through the smoked perspex cavity plate - class!). I've been seriously thinking of changing my 5-string Warwick and now have baaaad GAS!!

Oh, and "Fa fa fa fa fa - fa fa fa"!!! Well remembered Old Horse sir! It's great having a song named after you, ha!

Thanks for your interest and comments guys. I've been out with her a few times now and she's great to play. Really comfortable body size and neck dimensions and just the right weight too. The output is quieter than my other 2 main basses, both of which have 18v circuitry too, but a bit of fiddling soon balances this out (in fact my Radial Bigshot I/O switcher has an ideal 'dim' switch that allows me to reduce the input signal of the loudest bass to balance them out). Now, what's next? Hmmm, maybe a nice '67 P bass to commemorate the year I was born...

This all sounds quite familiar. I bought a 4-string Fortress back in '94 that had a wenge neck. The profile was odd - from the front it looked slim and Jazz-like but the depth was very chunky. Like a baseball bat! Not a bad bass at all but it did take a bit of getting used to, especially as I have smallish hands. I px'd it in '99 for a brand new all-maple Streamer Stage I 5-string...which I still have today and use at every gig. The neck on this is quite wide (I think the string spacing is 19 or 20mm) but the depth is nice 'n shallow. I have no problems switching between this and any of my other basses. Maybe it's to do with the virtues of maple vs wenge as well as the change in profile over the years...

[quote name='tiffen' post='198848' date='May 14 2008, 04:16 PM']I would appreciate a scan of the copy if u dont mind thanks[/quote] Here you go matey. The right-hand edge is a bit blurry but I'm sure it'll be OK. It's not a full start-to-end transcription, sorry, but it does cover the main sections and shows the all-important ghost notes. Ex.1 is the main verse line; Ex.2 is the chorus; Ex.3 is the sax / breakdown Hope this is helpful! David

Rio was transcribed in full in Bass Player magazine back in Jan/Feb I think. It's the issue with JT featured on the cover. If you can't get a copy I'll try and scan it for you.

Well, here she is, finished at last! 15 months from inception to delivery but worth the wait! The build quality and finish is absolutely first-class and everything I had imagined, but better. It was delivered yesterday morning and got its first outing last night - straight into action! Sound-wise, it's got a rich punchy tone off the mid-pick-up position and really honky (Jazz bass-like) off the bridge pick-up. Having played with the tone knobs a bit and adjusted the input gain on my amp I got a fantastic sound very quickly for gigging but I'm sure there's a lot more sounds to be found inside. The neck is gorgeous - just like a slender Jazz bass neck, especially around the first 3 frets - and much less clumpy than other Jaydee's I've played before. Balance is superb and weight is good too, considering most of the body mass is mahogany, albeit slimmed down in thickness to acommodate the cocobolo facings front and back. All-in-all, I love this bass! Big thanks to John Diggins for pulling this off and for being such a great bloke too!

[quote name='Huge Hands' post='184956' date='Apr 24 2008, 11:58 PM']...I just wanted to take the opportunity to reiterate the fact that Lequient "Duke" Jobe who played it originally with Rose Royce was a monster, and often under-rated, bass player...[/quote] Absolutely agree! I saw RR once back in the mid-80's and as well as laying down a seriously solid groove he did an awesome solo spot. As far as I can remember, it lasted for well over 5 minutes. He'd have given Louis Johnson a run for his money in the solo slapfest marathon stakes, IMHO. Sorry man, can't help you with the transcription though. Never needed to learn it...

OK, here's a picture that Andrew Diggins kindly just sent me of the neck in it's early stages of construction (hopefully by now it's attached to the body...). You can clearly see the revised headstock shape. All credit to John for allowing me to change from the usual Jaydee design! The finished headstock will be completely faced with the same Cocobolo as the body, so the neck laminates won't be visible from the front. The JD logo will be centred between the four tuning posts. The oval fret markers will have inset blue LEDs and I have elected not have the neck or headstock bound. I have a big gig at Stamford Bridge on the 13th April and am desperately hoping that she'll be born in time for that!! David

OK, sorry not to have posted anything new for a while, for those of you interested in a non-Shuker build! John's extremely busy, as always, so I don't like to keep bothering him for updates and pictures etc. He's currently on hols too! Anyway, the latest news is that my bass is now 2nd in line for completion - up from 4th last time I posted. So, the hope is that she will be completed within the next 4 weeks! That'll be 14 months from placing the order - good job I'm a patient chappie!!!! I've asked for another picture but it might just be that I'll have to post them when I've picked her up (at last!) Stand by all... David