drTStingray

The short answer from my experience is guitarists (well rock ones at least) usually refuse to play anything they don't know anyway so don't need music stands. I use a music stand if I'm depping (however that band has a keyboard player and sax player so may not count) and I only use the stand for songs I'm not sure about - however they do play smoke on the water so I guess it is a rock band with music stands at least for that song. i guess it's all about image - flailing windmill Style Pete Townsend guitar playing and music stands hardly sit well on the same stage - a health and safety issue as well!!

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1467302071' post='3082697'] That makes two of us then :-) Ooh! Collectable too! Yes, I noticed that. Is that a result of Sterling be so rubbish at the moment? [/quote] As the pound is 10% less now than it was a month back against the dollar thanks to those Brexit people ruining the UK economy, I'm guessing the next batch of these guitars will be a higher price..... On a related subject, I'm thinking of sending Michael Gove or Boris any increase I could get on my Old Smoothie Stingray (should've ordered it sooner doh.....). You guys got bargains I reckon and they're very very nice looking basses - I'm sorely tempted but not sure it'd get sufficient use from me.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1467565742' post='3084585'] Light purple? Lilac? At least it's not pink [/quote] Definitely purply pink in my book - depends on the lighting. Fiesta red ranges from pink, to red to orangey dependent on lighting.

[quote name='lowhand_mike' timestamp='1467296354' post='3082627'] i bought a Musicman Stingray in 93/94 for about £800 used from a shop in manchester with my student loan so i had to live very carefully but i had to have it. [/quote] They were about £750 new at that time (I have the original bill for mine) - however £300 from a shop is a big drop.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1467291836' post='3082581'] I'm all for non fender shapes. Very much so. It's that scratchplate! [/quote] Yep I know what you mean. I'm trying to avoid getting too interested in this bass because I know I'll end up disappointed.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1467290303' post='3082555'] I wonder if that's why lots of old folk wear glasses now [/quote] Entirely possible!! Eye of beholder I guess - nope it ain't a ubiquitous standard production layout from one of our favourite US makers but some people's taste maybe extends further. That leather scratch plate is a little esoteric though!!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1467202452' post='3081866'] lots of courses with very different flavours and textures is great in a fancy restaurant where you have time to savour them, I'm not saying we should all have McDonalds for every meal but I'd rather have a good roast beef dinner that most of the punters can enjoy than a smoked asparagus sausage on a bed of hummus that only the front few tables got to taste, even if they said it was very very tasty! Meat and potatoes down the clean di, Mic a cab maybe if you like a bit of onion gravy on top. :-D [/quote] I see where you're coming from but many bass players use lots of different techniques - eg thumb mute on some songs, heavy finger style on others - slap on others - it's part of being a musician - especially a versatile one. The real problem comes when your band requires a complex curry flavour and your sound person has never experienced anything but boiled beef and carrots. Post DI for me - I have been caught out too many times before - micing cabs can work but I personally prefer di as the speakers can also colour the sound somewhat.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1467283436' post='3082470'] I was worried I was alone 😄 [/quote] You guys clearly were absent for the late 70s early 80s British bass player scene........😏

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1467276902' post='3082408'] Yup, Rays were at least sellable - I couldn't get any interest in the Ric...I also had a 70s Precision (can't remember the year) which went for bugger all, too. I'm talking £200 or so... I may just have been a numpty, tho - I replaced the 4001 with an Aria ZZB Custom, and I was delighted... [/quote] You hit the nail on the head there - Fenders were virtually unsaleable back then unless pre CBS - active basses with fat sound, or keyboard bass ruled. I have a slight chuckle to myself when I see the price some of those 80s Fenders fetch now. It shows how the market is so influenced by fashion - you'd be as likely to see young guys travelling to London on the train to record on their keyboards (eg Depeche Mode) as guitars - perhaps more so - think Casio rather than Gibson etc!!

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1467274747' post='3082384'] Bought a new Jetglo 4001 in 79 for, IIRC, £700. Sold it five years later for £195. Not so much of a hit at the time, but now...eek [/quote] And the market is so wierd - around the same time period new Stingray £375, sold mid 80s for £475 (to pay a rates bill - yes really.....).

[quote name='mep' timestamp='1467227587' post='3082148'] Bought a brand new EBMM Stingray 5 string fretless in the early 90's for a lot (can't remember the actual amount). I had to sell it to help fund a move abroad a few years later at short notice. Ended up selling it to a shop in London for about a quarter of what I paid for it. [/quote] That's a shame - I have a 93 fretless SR4 which I bought from a guy who had it from new - according to the original bill for it I paid about £30 more than he paid new for it and would most likely get more if I sold it now (which I have no intention of doing). Selling to a shop in those circumstances is always a problem - I sold my acoustic 370/301 rig (as used by John Paul Jones, Aston Barrett, and many funk players) for around £100 in similar circumstances in the late 80s........ I occasionally buy new basses - I have to say I get a great deal of pleasure from them and never buy these with a mind to selling - if I did I'd possibly lose 50% of new price. That said who knows what will be 'desirable' in 15 yrs time. I've seen used Marcus Miller Japanese jazz basses selling for the same price as I looked at them new a few years back.

Crikey - the holy grail.... I could be very very tempted.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1467114431' post='3081250'] I think you're out of luck. It should be before Time Is Running Out and it isn't. The iplayer version doesn't seem to include it. I expect it got the chop, probably for the same reason as Adele's set when she f***ed up River Lea. It was the first time she had performed that live though. [/quote] That's a pity - it was excellent - and finished with bits of Heartbreaker and Back in Black (the unison fast section)

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1467022405' post='3080452'] Is it a Coldplay tune that the BBC use for intro music for all the Glastonbury segments? [/quote] Yep - a newish one - v catchy with a disco-like octaved bass part in places. I love it - can't get the tune out of my head - although one or two of earth wind and fires have been stuck there today ...... especially In the Stone - Got to get you into my Life and Jupiter - it's like 1979 again - with a similarly loony political backdrop for good measure and England bombing out of a major football competition to comparative minnows - the worlds gone decidedly retro!!

[quote name='deanovw' timestamp='1467031065' post='3080584'] That one is a Fender. [/quote] I'm sure I've seen something very like that before - original L1000? Probably a good sight cheaper as well and with a better bridge. Musicman basses never look quite right without a piguard to me!

[quote name='Chrismanbass' timestamp='1467023633' post='3080479'] The FOH graphic should be there to make the PA system have a flat frequency response as possible that way what you are putting in through the channel strip is what is coming out of the speakers sometimes it gets used for feedback fighting but that rarely makes for good results and is only worth doing if you have no other option (including turning down) if you cut 3dB from say 100hz on the graphic EQ of the system that takes that out of the entire mix however if you boost 100hz by 3db on the channel strip it then has the effect as if the graphic was at 0 and the channel strip was at 0 too but only for that channel so you'll still have lost 3dB at 100hz on every other channel (sorry if it feels like I'm teaching you to suck eggs but I have no idea what your knowledge level is) so IMO starting with a smiley face EQ on your FOH graphic and then building a mix from that means that you'l end up chasing your tail and using a lot more EQ than you actually need to which is why i hate walking into a venue where the house sound engineer says "don't worry they graphics are set already and I'd rather you don't touch them" better of to start from flat and then use the graphic to shape the sound of your mix [/quote] You've confirmed exactly what I thought. Thanks for that - it makes sense and explains why we sometimes have problems.

[quote name='NJE' timestamp='1467024969' post='3080503'] I watched 4 acts this morning and the bass sounded fecking awful on all of them, Verdine White's bass sounded horrendous to me but the band were amazing as always. [/quote] It was interesting that his bass sound was in my view excellent when the band were laid back but not so when the band was at full tilt - at times you could only hear the low notes of what he was playing - presumably an EQ and volume issue. Mostly it was at least audible though and some songs was excellent. Band as a whole were great though.

Was it my imagination or did bass guitar make a welcome reappearance at this year's Glasto? I can't remember the last time I heard so many audible bass parts across diverse bands. Watched Trujillo a couple of years back and he was fairly inaudible. Still the kids mistake sound issue of mixing guitars (particularly funk and Jazz rythmn) too high - noticeable on Earth Wind and Fire at times.

I'm surprised none of you watched earth wind and fire - Saturday night's headline - shown on bbc4 at the same time as Coldplay.

This is as much a Flea signature as a natural Stingray is a Bernard Edwards or Louis Johnson signature or a black and rosewood one is a Flea signature!! It also dies my have a sticker on it!! That said it's quite nice - it'd be even nicer with the covers and clay dots.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1466957429' post='3079988'] Why did you go pre-eq? I always use post. [/quote] Yes my thoughts entirely - I have this (to some people) odd belief that the PA is intended to simply amplify and extend the band's sound to a bigger area than the back line can. Some sound guys are great but what is the point of entrusting the composition of the sound to the whim of someone who, for instance may think the epitome of bass sound is a 1960s British pop recording where the bass is an tonally inaudible thump or melodic boom mixed somewhere with the bass drum when you want a razor sharp Tim Commerford sound? So I go with post EQ and most people have no problem. Re the OPs question, yes I've come across this also - I think it may be a pa EQ issue - I don't do the sound but notice the master graphic is often set as a smiley face with the mids slightly cut and the bass and treble boosted giving quite a scooped sound. Not sure how much the individual channels can override it but my sound relies on mids.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1466980004' post='3080260'] Yes, watching EW&F. Grrrrrrrrreat innit. [/quote] Yup - I even picked up a bass and played along with In the Stone at the end (not plugged in) - what a fantastic show - yes grrrrreat!!

You should have watched Earth Wind and Fire on bbc4 😉 Some proper groove bass playing as well. Much as I like Coldplay I watched them on the radio 1 anniversary concert which I really enjoyed and was pleased to get the EWF alternative tonight.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1466969365' post='3080147'] Who's Dave Pomeroy? [/quote] Famous US session player Now did y'all miss Earth Wind and Fire - what a show, what a tight band and some very original funky bass playing as well. A band I wish I'd seen back in the day. On bbc4 if anyone's still watching. Muse were fantastic, as were ELO.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1466626246' post='3077422'] Hi there fellow Low-enders, The other day I got out a bass that's relatively new to me, plugged it in and the sound was not good. That bad it almost sounded like a Musicman!!! [/quote] 🤔 Outrageous!! A good Stingray sound should be everyone's holy grail - none of this thin sounding passive nonsense 😉 😎 Back to the weather, I would have thought that air pressure might make a difference to the amount of air speakers could move - low pressure (wet weather) the speakers would have less resistance than in high pressure (fine weather) - whether it would be enough to make an audible difference...... who knows but I'm sure someone will tell us!!