drTStingray

Indeed it is - I was commenting on the fact that Hank B was coolest of cool (and looks it in the 60 yr old pic) - without the need for instrumental ash trays for coolness enhancement........😬👍😂 Ps - bit of nerdy info - that isn't the original Strat with maple neck imported by C Richard - it's one of the rosewood board fiesta red Strats provided by Jennings, which Hank preferred for mellower sound on the Shadows stuff.

I don't want to worry anyone - but that photo is nearly 60 years old.... and Hank Marvin doesn't have any ash trays on his Instrument!! Anyway I know where all the ash trays went - I asked the guy who runs our local pub - like most telephone boxes they've chucked most of them away - those they have are in the smoking area outside - but apparently they regularly get chucked out and replaced by ones advertising new types of beer - always did - or got stolen for personal use 😬😏👍

Of my 12 basses, all of which are Musicman (10 Stingrays, a Sabre and a Bongo), they've all been gigged, some very extensively, but at least 6 have been gigged in 2019. I never take more than one bass (as its too much faff - and provides one more target for the hamfisted drummer and in one case, singer to either knock over or drop some metalwork on......). If I were to break a string (I can think of only two or three occasions I've done this ever, during a gig since about 1980), I would play the rest on the remaining strings. I take two spare batteries in my lead box just in case. However I've only ever had cause to use them a couple of times in 30 odd yrs, and then before the gig starts. I play in three bands (one only gigs about twice a year (blues /jazz/funk) - one is in rehearsal only (ska) and the other is my main band (blues/rock/jazz/funk). I also dep with a bluesy/soul band. I reckon I've used five basses in 2019 most times - SR5HH special, SR5H, SR4HH special, SR4H Old Smoothie and SR4H 3 band. I generally take whichever bass I fancy playing on the day - they're all serviceable and fine to use - unfortunately the two with flat wounds get least use - I know this will be anathema to some but I always get half way through the gig and feel I'm being restricted, dynamically - ive likened it before to having a rev limiter at 3000 rpm on a sports car!!

First step for me is knowing the whole bass fretboard intuitively. Second step is to know basic triads (eg major; minor; diminished) and particularly their patterns on the fretboard. Third step is to be able to play these basic triads based on any root note. Fourth is practice - as much as possible! Generally you should be able to use this info and skill to play most chord charts, if you know the intervals and number of bars for each chord. I have found it very beneficial, and interesting, to delve into particular standards - an example of one which I have done this with is Girl From Ipanema - to develop a bass part; learn the basic chords; learn the melody - then if someone asks you to play a solo (sometimes happens in jazz gigs) you can do so by using combinations of the various components. Dont get me on to modes - it's taken me years to know the major scale ones but when you can use, say a pattern based on locrian - well I still don't get it...... such is my knowledge of theory - I know some but not enough!! And my reading is hmmmm laborious and slow I'd say!!

These and the Epiphone Rivoli were used a lot more in pop music the 60s in the UK than many (and some popular myth) would have you believe. Apparently also used by Mark King on Love Meeting Love (first single of Level 42). Looks a very nice vintage bass there 👍

Good lord, no!! Jazz funk numbers were in the set and I was called to do them so obligatory 😬 I was also using an octaver and envelope filter in one of the songs so playing at 12th fret for a lot of it!! A bit Bootsie/Worrall for that one - good fun though - Stingray Special sounded absolutely thunderous!!

You're welcome 👍 And yes agreed - hat and shades also essential (sunburn and sweat in eyes issues) - the side effect being looking cool (er), well maybe 😁 as well. In my experience, anything over 30 degrees is not comfortable to play in, outdoor (unless well shielded from the sun) or indoor (without aircon). Any events around the end of August are likely candidates for this but this last weekend in the UK was exceptional!! Amp seems to be fine - I DId direct from amp to PA and sound was good - but an extended period in that heat might affect amps - the guitar amps around me seemed to be fine though, loud as ever 😧

Great intellectual debate there chaps 😂👍 I played an outdoor gig on Sunday afternoon and as well as the usual sweatiness problems, I came across some I never had before. For those who've ever played in a marquee and encountered the neck covered with condensation issue, this was the exact opposite - we were playing in direct sunshine in around 32 degrees. Areas of the neck not covered by my hand became uncomfortably hot and this felt very odd - this was even more surprising after playing a solo and returning to the bottom end of the neck which was extremely warm!! Tuning issues occur in these conditions, but my Stingray Special, with roasted maple neck seemed to be ok. The body of the bass was, however covered with sweat...... When I moved my amp afterwards, the metal case was far hotter than I've ever noticed before - heat from the amp itself added to an hour in direct and very strong sunlight!

They're not called ash trays for nothing. Back in the good old early 70s, people playing Fender type basses rarely if ever had the ash trays fitted (rather like cars and hub caps in the same era - they just got in the way). The bridge ones, when upturned, found ideal usage as ash trays - preferably the Jazz version as they're larger - suddenly, the bass player became everyone's studio friend with the ash tray (in those days most musicians also smoked) - most especially those with a Jazz one. Different times, and of course all those improved basses from the early 70s onwards didn't have them - even Fender deleted them (eventually 🙄 ) as a pointless anachronism!! How times change - suddenly everyone wants to use vintage equipment with the ash trays fitted (I love the look of Fender J and P basses with them fitted) - I tried a US vintage Jazz (LPB) and Precision (Sonic blue) and the abiding memory of the covers seriously getting the way of playing remains to this day!! I have mine, seriously cigarette burned on the inside, somewhere.

For checking the date of birth, use either the EBMM serial number database available on their website or email EBMM customer services. They were built between 2003 and 2006. The painted necks are similar to those on MM Bongos, also made from 2003. I paid around £500 for mine (5 string) about 5 yrs ago. That is a very good price indeed even if it is mildly modified and not stock. They seem to command £450-£550 in decent shape. They do sound great as well - standard EBMM 2 band EQ and pick up - poplar body/rosewood board seems to make them very resonant. Mine is extremely light, to the extent it has a bit of neck dive. im afraid I've ceased to buy this lightest is bestest fashion - I used my very heavy SR5 natural/maple for two gigs in one weekend a couple of weeks ago - it balances beautifully on a strap and I had no ill effects, even to my late middle aged frame....and the sound is fantastic. id say if you like the bass, buy it. The range on four string Stingrays up to 2018 is around 8 lbs to just over 10. Unless you've got a bad back problem the balance of these basses on a decent strap will result in no problems.

The new date of a bass is the date the manufacturer records the serial number as its birth date. Anything much older than say 9 months, in a shop, I'd be asking for a discount on. There are manufacturers who mass produce and saturate the market - they usually insist on retailers holding a large amount of their wares in stock. It's little wonder that examples of relatively old new items floating around.

Sad news. And what a great bass player - I learned a lot from him and other rock/jazz/blues bass players of that era. Played some wicked bass solos - such as on this track from 1970 - on a Precision bass - and some nice walking bass parts. http://youtu.be/zRzZgNlyQ7U He also confounded the Fender experts by announcing he bought a new black slab bodied Precision in the 60s from a music store in the US, thinking it was just a normal Precision - it is visible on the Monterey Pop film!

Here's my favourite 5 string of all time. It's by far the heaviest bass I have but sounds great - I used it for two gigs at the weekend and even my late middle aged frame didn't have a problem with the weight - mind you it balances perfectly on a strap anyway. Using the treble and mid controls as tone controls and to get/dial out the Musicman treble shimmer, this bass is simply thunderous - growls for England - simply full of tone, sustain and resonance. Makes you smile all night. And if I decide to buy into the lightest is best theory, I use this one - also thunderous but not quite so growly as the ceramic SR5 - but also excellent. The Musicman Stingray 5 is definitely the grand daddy of all 5 string bass guitars!

My Stingray bought new in 1980 had an alder body and the sunburst also wore on the top edge (arm rest) and on the edge by the strap button with a white/light undercoat (possibly white finish underneath). Would this have been Jackson era assembly and finishing? Sunbursts do seem to be on alder as the Old Smoothies also are (based on the 1976 Bass)

Wow those are fabulous 😻 My pre EB Stingray was bought new and didn't even have a case sold with it - apparently fairly standard in the UK in both the pre and EB eras up to the mid/late 90s - even in the mid 2000s new ones came for a time in gig bags (likely reduced cost owing to exchange rate fluctuation). The price just goes up these days since the exchange rate has got to 60% of what it was in the mid 2000s (since the economy was chucked away 😏 Perhaps there'll be a fire sale on 5th Nov this year (along with firework pissing on 😬)!!!!

Isn't it just!! 😬 I once made a suggestion on Talkbass (they had a thread inviting suggestions for improvements) that rather than everyone who wasn't interested in Fender threads having to wade through loads to find, say a Gibson thread, they create a sticky thread called Fender threads, so those who wanted them could easily find them and everyone else could ignore them. There was a very odd reaction from lots of people who appeared to be, possibly Fender employees, seemingly worried about the lack of advertising exposure if this entirely sensible suggestion was adopted (it's actually blatant plagiarism on my part because many specialist subject forums do group their subject areas in this way for that exact reason!!) However I generally find TB a useful resource and the people are generally pretty friendly - so I'm afraid I don't agree with the OP.

I haven't noticed this - have them on a Stingray fretless.

I have flats on two basses - both Stingrays - one is fretless and has EB Cobalt flats - largely to avoid wrecking the blank board, the other is a Classic Stingray with TIs. That one I use occasionally when I'm looking to get 60s or 70s R and B or Bernard Edwards type sound. It works well, as well - however I often feel that compared with a Stingray with rounds (all my others have them), it's like playing with some sort of dynamic controller in place - especially if you want to play slap or anything with zing - a bit like driving a sports car with a speed limiter engaged (say at 50 mph)...... As for why people want to play P basses with flats - and through modern, clean amps? Who knows, but it's a little bit anathema to me as I was in my formative years when people were rejecting low fi sound systems to hear music, low fi basses and definitely low fi amps - everyone was striving for hi fi bass guitar sounds and better sounding amps, and decent stereo systems to listen to it through. Arguably, some of the best sounding bass came from the 70s and 80s. Why would people want to emulate 60s style stuff which was pretty inaudible at the time. I guess fashion generally, and maybe nostalgia - in my view some of it is based on a very rose tinted spectacles retrospective. But if people like it, why not. Of course, with skill and technique you can achieve a thumpy sound with rounds on a more hi fi bass anyway - but try playing Level 42 on a Peavey T40 😯 I guess the modern clean amp thing is also fashion, but also bear in mind many people doing this are a bit old to be carrying old fashioned, weighty equipment around, and anyway, the new stuff probably doesn't colour the 'pure' sound of the bass and flats (unlike Jamerson and the 'Motown interface' he plugged into 😏😀)

Yep - my fault entirely - well not actually - a combination of Virgin Trains' appallingly variable signal and the forum app losing everything every time the signal dropped - but hey no worries - I'll put the post where it was meant to go haha 😁👍

Original post moved. Yeah I agree you can get a good sound with modestly priced equipment.

I think there'll always be bargains - I've seen lots of makes, even Wals, go for lower prices than normal - I guess it depends how desperate people are to sell. I definitely wouldn't sell my Bongo 5HH for less than £1000 - it is actually a discontinued 5HHp - all that said I did pay less than £1000 for it around 10 yrs ago (used). I think we have to accept new prices will continue to go up - used prices will probably track them but at a lower level. Wait and see what happens after 31st Oct....... 🤔

This is a great bass - love the colour and a very nicely flamed maple neck. They did an earlier BFR Bongo like this in a great blue colour. I think it depends a lot on the spec and model. Like Stingrays, you can get bargains but some of the more sought after features will raise the price. Used prices have generally risen over the last few years - as I say, something different like a BFR will command a higher price used.

Nice yacht! I must confess I'd never associated loons with marinas - maybe festivals and urban or rural hippyish hang outs? Nice picture though 🙂

Regulation loons as described in this thread on display in this circa 1973 picture and before anyone wonders, it'd have been a B and H, nothing more 'herbal' as I was about to drive the car - which was almost new!!! 👍😬

Indeed - I would concur - they actually flared from the knee - if you were a Brummie THE place to get them (and afghan coats and all other such period 70s wear) was Oasis. The size of the flare on the loon pants was measured from the front to the back of the bottom of the leg (not around them) and the largest, and one to have was 19" - so about 1.5 or more times the length of your shoe (more likely clog 😏). They came in some wonderful colours - I bought a pair in canary yellow on one occasion - soon dyed bottle green as they were way too much in yellow 😬 owing to their floppiness at the bottom, loon pants were also wonderful, in wet weather, at taking on water from the ground by capilliary action - so when dry they may have a tide mark midway between shoe and knee, and in wet weather a sort of two tone dark/lighter colour transition at some point below the knee, the darker part being soaked 😧 The 70s were great!! I last saw Steve Hillage in 1978 ish in Brum - I was probably wearing loon pants - and his band had a decidedly R and B rythmn section (as seemingly did everyone around that time) - and excellent it was too. Mr Hillage must be getting on in years these days?