The fasting showman

I really liked the first late '80s SR5s, they did a trans blue with a maple neck and white pickguard; that's what I wanted as a kid so it's etched in my mind.

I think, this is from situations I've been in, it's the continuous wash of a 'what are the chords?' ( rather than a specific part) chord bashing type guitarist. Particularly on a piezo equipped acoustic into a PA. I've never found any amount of, or quality of, bass gear that can cope with the lack of space in the arrangement. Keyboard lefthand obviously also. I would always choose the right part played at the right time on mediocre gear over the opposite. I remember reading an article with George Massenburg being asked about how you make a great record. He just said all you need is a great musical arrangement....he didn't say one of his mega fancy mastering EQs or anything.

Wilton Felder on this too.

I came to this through the Beastie Boys

Nightclubbing is a great album. It's Sly and Robbie and amazingly the accordionist on Libertango is also on the theme to Last of the Summer Wine! Great cast of characters on this album and Warm Leatherette

Everyone has gone against what I was going to say, be drastic! That mid control is like a Mini Moog, those amps have a lovely smooth treble so I used to engage ultra hi even if treble is at noon. I owned a mk1 SVT for a while but preferred the v4b ( late 70s), for me even though they're brand siblings that share an active switchable mid with massive boost, making each anp work to it's strengths was completely different, I found anyway. I never got to try the old v4b through an 8x10 so I guess the cabs being used would have caused the difference maybe.

I found that really interesting. The valve ( tube) compliment on the old version doesn't mention the 6k11 compactron valve that drives the mid circuit. What valve does that job in the new model? I've owned a couple of v4Bs, of the valve amps I had they worked well for me, paired with a Marshall vbc412 in particular.

It's great isn't it? He's clearly a clued up discerning player that's held down gigs (that a nobody like me would have felt obliged to hit Denmark St and pay through the nose for an overpriced 70s Fender because it looked more appropriate for the artist) for many decades and been on some landmark recordings. I think BC'er Nick may know him? I've always kept an eye on the gear he uses, we use similar amps, as he ploughs his own furrow. It's a bass that I would definitely have been sniffy about but it just goes to show doesn't it?

A slight derail but hopefully relevant. A couple of years ago I did a wedding gig in Derbyshire with a pop / soul band that are OK ( they're somewhat stuck in 2nd gear for my taste) who have got a great female singer. Midway through set 2 we got asked, " can you do Valerie again, my friend does a great version of it "....we obliged, our singer shuffled to the side of the 'stage' and we launched into it for the 2nd time that gig. The friend, who wasn't unattractive at all and must have towered nearly a foot over me ( I'm 5 ft 7) in heels really belted it out. Very strange experience: I remember glancing over in a bit of fellow artist bonhomie / esprit de corps but we band underlings were as invisible as glass collectors I suppose. She left the stage to polite applause, I think the experience was deflating to her somehow. Her voice was loud, in tune and she was confident but completely lacked all the things that make a singer a singer. She must have been half as loud again as the usual singer but there was nothing appealing at all about her admittedly ad hoc performance. I suppose that is the karaoke tradition for you. It made me realise that I have been fortunate enough to play with decent singers that hold an audience for quite a while. She continued to completely blank us as we set the gear down. Fair enough, we weren't exactly the Brothers Johnson.

The main bass ( albeit modded) of James Eller of The The and many other bands. I wouldn't mind one at £50

Luis Jardim RIP on bass, such an important record to me that blew me away as a kid back in late '85.

You beat me to it! Great minds think alike and all that.