drTStingray

I had one of those - used the head with a Carlsboro 1 x 15 for smaller gigs. Fabulous sound! The updated and more powerful version of the 360. Fearsomely loud with two cabinets (400 watts) - could drown the entire band!!! 😂

Im surprised you didn’t look at a Wal - they were ‘affordable’ back then. I chose a Stingray at the end of the 70s because I wanted that fat, staccato (Bernard Edwards) sound - active basses did that well with concurrent amps, as well as slap sound (Wals have a great slap sound as well). I was turned on to Wals at the time by Alan Spenner (funk and also Roxymusic) playing one and Percy Jones (jazz funk).

I recall seeing Upp live in the mid 70s - excellent band - I seem to recall that as with Phil Collins and Brand X, Upp started with some involvement from Jeff Beck. Yes - following on from the Japanese Fender copies, there was lots of choice of bass in the late 70s, early 80s. Basses to have in the late 70s were Musicman, Alembic (though the latter were the preserve of star players owing to their fearsomely expensive price) and Wals. Fender had ceased to be the bass of desire for aspiring musicians in this genre in the late 70s, from my point of view because clean, fat sound was required - a Jaco sound was a holy grail (without the fretless mwah) - the Ibanez Musician gave another option from the early 80s (though also expensive, nowhere near Alembic territory though the sound was in the same region). Arias also early 80s. They were all active basses - Fender didn’t make an active bass until the early 80s - I didn’t rate it either (neither did the music press). Also remember keyboards we’re taking over as the instrument of choice in the early 80s. The funk brothers would not have been considered as playing funk by the late 70s (in fact no one knew of them outside Motown circles). Bootsy was certainly funk but I don’t think he was playing a Jazz by the late 70s.

Good - there were several (probably 10 others) - the lead singer of one was Jaki Graham who became famous as a solo R and B singer in the 80s. Another similar was Ruby Turner though she was more traditional 60s R and B. Another local funk band, Rainmaker, was the support act on Stanley Clarke’s first tour - and yes when we heard Schooldays for the first time, and live - I was blown away by the bass sound and playing (pity he dropped and broke his double bass though……..)!! However the Brit funk thing was based firmly in the south east and grew out of the dance scene - that was part of the initial audience for bands like Freeze and Level 42 - the jazz funk fans embraced Level 42 also though 😏

There were signed funk bands from outside of London - this band missed their big break (booked for TOTP) - Elvis died two days before and the whole music industry recast itself in tribute mode for a month. They were a great funk band. https://www.birminghammusicarchive.com/muscles/

@Bean9seventy I think there are three strands of people discovering this jazz funk explosion of music (which was alongside disco) in the late 70s. 1) Specialist DJs and the pro dancers/ solo dancers at specific dance clubs and events - including the weekender gatherings etc etc - DJs would use 12” singles and often rare or new ones. Many bass chatters seem to ignore this important area of, to an extent, underground, Street activity. 2) Jazz funk and jazz rock fans who bought albums, generally not singles. A growing group of people owing to cross over albums from the likes of Weather Report. 3) The traditional night clubs were using a combination of hit disco and more obscure 12” stuff - the DJs in the night clubs probably picked up on this due to attendance at 1) and knowledge of 2). However tracks like Do What You Want To Do by T Connection were played regularly at the standard night clubs I went to at the time (they were great - high volume, thunderous Stanley Clarke-like bass). Most open minded musicians were influenced by this music, including playing slap and pop (although I initially developed a percussive fingerstyle approach to it - similar to what Stan Sergeant uses now). I was in camp 2 and 3, and also a bass player, who started with rock, slid into jazz rock and with a tendency towards R and B - so embraced all this fabulous bass work with open arms. I also started buying 12” singles in the late 70s to be the ‘club mix’ which invariably had more instrumental solos and breakdowns. It is also true that you would be unlikely to get past an audition on bass guitar without playing some slap in the early 80s. Anyone using a Precision with flats (there weren’t any in my experience, and hardly any playing any form of Fender bass) would be considered very much yesterday’s men - they may get work with in 60s tribute (very much for the older audiences at that time - much had yet to become acceptable vintage and nostalgia, and like Fender custom colour instruments, very much naff apart from dedicated collectors). We have to wait for the mid 90s Oasis type stuff for vintage to suddenly and gradually become the norm.

The first time I heard of Marcus Miller was on this track and the album Adrenaline of 1979 by David Bendeth - there are several tracks which sound like Level 42 before Level42. https://youtu.be/_jzoogxoYWg

You’re not John Taylor, are you 😎😀

I’m interested to hear your story on this @Bean9seventy - rather a lot of people who weren’t playing punk or ska in that era also walked away from them, myself included although in my instance it was rather earlier in the 70s.

Almost anything on Island at that time was great.

One of the first non rock songs I liked - and learned to play early on on the 70s!

No I wasn’t in Brum by then. I drove a long way with the Acoustic stuff having phoned them first about it - I think Yardleys shop may have been Musical Exchanges by then. I was furious anyway. Musical Exchanges had a “bit of a reputation” in the early 70s, and several of my mates referred to them by the name of a children’s comic story gang led by someone called Ali Baba. I recall going to Romford (Soundwave Bassplace) around that time - and it being full of Trace Elliott equipment and bass players emulating Brit Funk - dunno if @Bean9seventy experienced that place - I recall on leaving the shop my eyes coloured everything a strange green hue from all the Trace amp lights they encountered for a couple of hours 😂

I too had the Black Sabbath album - there roadie lived in the flats near me and their white Ford truck was often parked outside. For me in 1970, a snapshot of music interest was - Free - Fire and Water; Jethro Tull - Aqualung; Ten Years After - Watt; The Faces first album. This track has what I consider one of Alvin Lee’s best guitar solos - from the album Watt - bass is pretty good as well. https://youtu.be/cwQp9CEGplE

It was originally Broad St (had a Dave Hill Superyob guitar in the window for some time). It wasn’t a very big shop and they moved two or three times IIRC. Snow Hill/Constitution Hill was Yardleys (certainly till the early 80s). Imprinted in my memory as they refused to put my Acoustic 371 stack on consignment as ‘too old’ - it was about 10 yrs old at the time - I think they wanted me to trade it in as they had a stack of new Acoustic equipment. I think Musical Exchanges ended up in the Yardleys shop. This was all around the time of Level 42 being of great interest to most bass players - and so they should always be!! 😀

I don’t recall when they moved but it was late 70s - did Musical Exchanges move to the Navigation St shop? My new Stingray came from Jones and Crossland (Smallbrook Queensway) around that time.

Probably not - my USA Sub has a generic one and has been fully functional for nearly 20 yrs - also survived a previous owner letting the battery leak in it. The tuners are likely to also be functional but you will likely find the Stingray Special to be exquisite in every way. It depends on your needs and desires whether that is appropriate - best bet is to try both - I mentioned before about two pick up versions - the SBMM is also available in that format. Worth trying them all if you can.

I’m sorry to hear this but it seems to happen all too often. Some proper’s perceptions and expectations are ridiculous!! In my experience, non bass players have little idea of what makes a particular bassist sound - er - like that bassist!! Was it the Who who used dummy cabinets so they could blow them up? Sounds like some of these ‘you must have an SVT and fridge’ people should be obliged with a cardboard cut out and the real sound coming out of a class D with 2 x 10, DId, and with a decent monitoring mix!! I would also be requiring the proponents of the huge gear to pay out of their own pockets to transport it, and preferably lift it into place each time 🤣

The main difference is the hardware - and particularly cheaper tuners and stuff - not sure about the battery box these days but certainly used to have a cheaper version of the MM one.

But not that shop location? It was on the corner of John Bright Street/Hill St/Navigation St almost opposite the New Street Station signal box and Bristol Road bus terminus before moving to Dale End?

You could almost be quoting part of our 1979/80 set - included Taste of Honey; Michael Jackson; War; Edwin Starr; Chic; Sister Sledge and many more. The besuited (well, satin stage clothed) R and B/disco/funk players were having the pleasure of playing Louis Johnson, Abraham Laboriel, Bernard Edwards bass parts, and it was a pleasure, and quite lucrative. From a different angle, the more disruptive elements were playing more agricultural, punk based rock. Bands playing in social clubs were playing chart stuff like Sultans of Swing, Another Brick in the Wall, along with the more standard Smokey songs, and all the strict tempo stuff (in between Bingo performances). No one was playing ‘rock covers’ like All Right Now and all the others so beloved today - rock music like Magnum was played in pubs. You could also go to smaller venues and watch such eclectic performances like National Health (Dave Stewart - morphed out of Hatfield and the North and originally with Neil Murray on bass).

That's the only time I’ve seen footage of Chic playing live at all - I missed out on shows by them and Sister Sledge circa 1980 as I was gigging. Plenty of TV sessions, some with the Stingray. I always loved their sense of detail - you’ll find the Stingray had a black scratch plate when BE was wearing a black stage suit - a white one when wearing a white stage suit!! 😎 Didn't matter when wearing the BC Rich. At that time Ibanez Musicisn basses in natural mahogany were popular with funk/Disco/R and B bands - along with similarly coloured Alembics (Louis Johnson; Rose Royce; John McVie), and Wals. Plain, darker wood basses were fashionable. They also sounded great.

There was a Bass Guitar Magazine interview with JT where he talked extensively about the bass - even quoted the serial number!!

Also seen playing a Yamaha (BB?) in the studio, with John Taylor whilst recording a Power Station track (Get It On).

Nice - some guys from a Mecca band played in our band for a while - they worked fully pro there was so much work. Their Mecca band did Earth Wind and Fire and other complex stuff - about 20 people in the band. Not dissimilar to the band which plays on Strictly Cone Dancing - but 1980!!

This is good advice - also the Stingray Specials have exquisite necks (roasted maple; very light oil and wax finish). I would check in with shops before going to try one to be sure they have one in stock. A good bet is Andertons, Guildford though maybe some distance from you. I would also recommend strongly an HH version - a lot more variety of sounds whilst still having the classic Stingray sound.