The fasting showman

I'm no authority, with my 2007 3 eq Stingray (sounds great to me), but I would have thought that the '83 one would have been made after all of the truss rod problems. Wasn't all the woodworking done under licence by Charvel at this point, due to said problems with CLF? It would be the '83 for me, I think you chose well.

Marcus Miller's use of a detuned E string is all over the early '80s Miles stuff (Man with the horn, We want Miles, Star people) yet I've never heard it discussed much...sounds great on 'Jean Pierre' and U'n' I. I've no idea what he'd tune it to, often mid song it sounds like, C perhaps? Mr Dingus will know...

Just got back from doing a trade with Stuart; the amp I've had off him is in spotless condition, hope the Yammy bass gets some good use. Hassle free throughout, a pleasure to deal with. Cheers, Martin

Hello, Have you tried contacting Polar Audio? I reckon they'd stand a good chance of having a replacement as the amp is in production still. Good luck, Martin

Hello, Again, dunno if my comment is valid but I use an Ashdown mag 810(don't mags have the same Sica speakers as ABMs?) with either my old GK800rb or 400rb and they sound great to my ears. I'm told that Ashdown cabs sound dark, maybe they work well in combo with the bright punch of the GK heads? Fair to add that I'm not into lots of low end. Hope this helps! Martin

You've got to do a few off Captain Lockheed too; Widow maker, Right stuff, Ejection. Some bass strangling potential there.

Some great stuff already mentioned. Two more:- 'Satisfaction'-Devo (Jerry Casale) 'Some weird sin'-Iggy Pop (Tony Sales)

'Glide' is about as good as slap playing gets for me, great groove good musical use of double stops. A clever bass line that connects with people who aren't musos, I guess that's what we all strive for.

For the bands that I have been in throughout my playing life, Niccolo Machiavelli.

There's an ABM 300 for sale on here currently, it's what I use as a backup to my old GK heads. Good value as a workhorse for gigs where you can't use the LB30 maybe?

I think as above, and also the comments from Skankdelvar, I wouldn't get drawn into swapping preamp valves in a quest for more headroom as some valve emporiums might have you do. You will hear detail differences at home but all will be lost in a band context I feel. I had good use out of 100watt valve heads with an efficient bass (Stingray etc) and an efficient cab (big bass dedicated 4x12) either side of them playing rock at pub gigs, various amps over a 20 year period. I'm not using valve amps nowadays though. I have owned a few Fender Bassman 10 combos(the '70s 50 watt valve 4x10 ones) over the years and I could nearly use them for louder stuff but not quite, the trying to get a quart out of a pint pot thing constantly! I'd imagine that the LB30 is similar, great for very civilised gigs, folk stuff and for playing with musicians that (another horrible phrase!) 'can see the big picture' unlike the situations I've been in. The Bassman 10 was always limited by the small output transformer ultimately, no amount of valve or speaker swapping really helped much. Good for recording though. All the best, I'd try and use the LB30 where it will excel and enjoy it for what it is.

[quote name='joeystrange' timestamp='1393965345' post='2386431'] [url="http://bit.ly/1fF9Mld"]http://bit.ly/1fF9Mld[/url] [url="http://bit.ly/1hJLmWc"]http://bit.ly/1hJLmWc[/url] [/quote]Well I'm from Lichfield and it's nothing to do with me! I'd scrape another £100 together and get the Highway one off here, you just missed out on a 2008 USA P bass too by 24 hrs...

I'm sure there was an article in Making Music mag (the A3 sized freebie) years ago where Bernard Edwards stated that he used an old Sunn amp that was mic'd, the statement was pitched along the lines of him playing down the choice of amp, i.e it was what he had to hand. I think the journo was Tony Bacon. As to whether that was a valve Sunn or not, who knows. He was such an enigmatic player it's neither here nor there I guess, a Ray with flats will get you pretty close as others have said amped, DI'd whatever. All the best, Martin

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1392930089' post='2374457'] Yeah well it is said he does likes them young..... guitars I mean. [/quote]I really haven't got my proof reading together yet have I?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1392928348' post='2374417'] Er... probably because Pete Townsend's guitars d[size=4]idn't get a chance to age much before he smashed them to bits...[/size] [/quote]Of course there is that, but I think Rogan was saying that Townsend just playing harder takes it's toll on a guitar, not just the sacrificial ones.

There's an interesting Guitar Player magazine article I have (somewhere!) from '82 where the galactico guitar tech Alan Rogan is contrasting how Keith Richards prefers old guitars and Pete Townsend prefers new and the related maintenance issues for their respective gear. So there you have two guitarists that would historically be lumped together in terms of era and legendary status, possibly even musically, yet that have contrasting taste. Is it down to, in that example, an inspiring guitar versus a rock solid guitar with no structural issues? Much as I've said elsewhere that I find new music shops boring my tastes have changed since I've favoured Stingrays as my main bass, I prefer a new bass over an old one. Not that I can bloody afford to change any of my gear now anyway! Martin

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1392830144' post='2373240'] That part of the World has always been a bastion of heavy rock music. Sabbath were, of course, one of the originators of that sound, and countless other bands from the West Midlands have followeed in their wake. There are literally too many associations to list. On the subject of Stafford, does anyone else remember what big events the concerts were at the New Bingley Hall were back in the 1970's? It really was one of the top venues in the country, and I remember bands like Sabbath, Rush, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Queen, David Bowie ect doing shows there that people travelled from all over the country to attend. [/quote]I saw Rainbow at 'the cowshed' back in '83 Mr Dingus, Lita Ford as the support act. Funny that I'd forgot about that venue until I read the Sean Mayes Bowie tour diary where it mentions it as a date on the 'Lodger' tour or thereabouts. Hard to imagine heroes of mine like George Murray and Dennis Davis in my neck of the woods. I wonder if Mr White Cloud above was living in Stafford when Ozzy was getting his solo stuff together with Bob Daisley down the road in Eccleshall?

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1392733522' post='2372101'] Martin, having read your words I would say that you valued it more than [i]you realised[/i] at the time.... [/quote]I think you are right Sir, no matter what a deluded poseur I was in the mid '90s you can't ever forget first hearing Master of Reality can you? 'Into the void' and all... In the Midlands (I live in Ye Merrie olde Lichfield, but have lived in Brum on and off) there's so many links to people who knew Sabbath either at School or via families and the massive factories, IMI for instance, in the Witton/ Aston area. Lots of ex-pat Brummies here in the sticks. I was in a band with a bloke who's uncle had road managed them way back when. I'm sure lots of people could say the same thing. I believe (could be wrong) that Sabbath's first gig as Black Sabbath was in a now long gone pub in Lichfield. Others will know for sure.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1392732642' post='2372079'] Yes, we have digressed somewhat. That must have been an intimidating experience...Iommi, in the context of rock history, is at the top of the food chain (with others of course). [/quote]Yes I saw the man himself too during the course of the week there, whilst being perfectly amiable he too was imposing! Taller than me anyway. I remember when Sabbath were rehearsing at Rich Bitch studios in Brum (91 ish?) seeing Vinnie Appice standing in a door way towering over me, again a perfectly friendly bloke from memory. I wish I'd valued seeing these people more back then, daft really. Martin

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1392723201' post='2371919'] Birmingham has always been a very bass-orientated city, and certainly was back in the 1980's. I remember walking round Birmingham on a snowy day looking for the Bass Place ( a lot of interesting secondhand stuff in there , from what I remember), and Musical Exchanges, which had loads of everything , new and second hand, and was absolutely brilliant in those days. I totally agree with your assessment of 1970's Fenders, too - £200 for a Precision , and around £300 for a Jazz Bass. I have upset a few people and had a few rows with folks on Basschat when I have tried to suggest that ,as instruments to use as working tools, these basses are not worth in excess of two grand and that it is like paying brand new BMW money for an old clapped out Ford Escort, but it seems many people are not receptive to that message. John Diggins made me a custom bass at the end of the 1980's and it was fantastic, with the most impressive woodworking of any bass I have ever owned at any price, Unfortunately, at the peak of John's success in the 1980's his quality control went very seriously awry, as he is the first to admit, and he had some very disappointed customers, such as our own White Cloud, who received seriously substandard basses as a result . I always found John to be a lovely bloke, too,as well as a conscientious and supremely skilled craftsman , and he was very unhappy about the situation he had gotten into with being under so much pressure to satisfy demand for his basses. He seemed relieved to get back to building the basses himself, the way had done originally . [/quote]Great post Dingus. I sometimes wonder with me though whether there's an element of sour grapes relating to '70s Fenders; my old de-mudbuckered Tele bass converted into a P-bass probably genuinely is worth £300 and I am forced to wear it around my neck (Ancient Mariner reference) to atone for all the would be now valuable Fenders I 'modified' from reading Guitar Player magazine too much back in the '80s! To quote Joe Barden, I've a lot to tell St Peter about regarding trashing guitars... I do struggle when I'm in some music boutique and I hear a sales man waxing lyrical over a 2 grand 14 pound '78 p bass! Back to Sabbath, I recorded in DEP studios in Brum back in '97 and Mr Iommi was recording there at the time. I vividly remember a very flashy Jaydee style / SG with a headstock like a Supernatural on a stand in one of the rooms. Very imposing.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1392670287' post='2371497'] Yes, quite. I can't really tell if it is because I have become more blase` about the whole thing , but guitar shops are nowhere near as alluring a proposition as they once were. The depressing uniformity of both the stock and the establishments themselves bears little or no relation to the tantalising excitement of going to guitar shops in my youth. One long-gone little independent shop where I lived when I was growing up regularly had basses from JayDee, Ashley Pangbourne , Overwater, Vigier ect, as did its' competitor on the other side of the town centre, and both shops had staff who were bass players and were as enthusiastic about basses as you were. It was a thrill just to see those kind of basses in the flesh, even if I couldn't afford to buy one at that time, kind of like looking at sculptures in an art gallery. Even if you don't have one at home, you could enjoy the beauty and experience some joy from that. [/quote]I totally agree with Dingus and White Cloud. I started playing bass in such a great era regarding the shops and the stock carried ('82 to say '88) in Birmingham. I well remember seeing the Superyob guitar (or did I dream it?) before Musical Exchanges moved to Snowhill. I also remember being unjustifiably sniffy about the many John Birch 'copies' as I then saw them, I didn't see their true worth, or the value in the music of Slade, Jim Lea's great bass playing etc. I think starting bass playing back in the '80s has forever altered my perspective on '70s Fenders, much as I like them they will always be a £300 instrument to me. Also I'm always more attracted to EBMM 'Rays due to the impact they made on me as a kid when they burst onto the market around '87 with their boiled sweet finishes. Back to the OP, from having John Diggins work on my old wreck of a Fender I've seen some of the newly made Iommi SGs up close and the workmanship is fantastic, the stainless steel metalwork in contrast to the dense black paintwork looks great. It seems a shame that a corresponding Geezer EB never got established, or a John Birch like Jim Lea's say for example. I can't praise John Diggins highly enough as a woodworker, or as a bloke! Always been a great help to me with my gear. Martin

Much as I know it isn't a sound that would work for me (I'm too damned soft) I think he sounds great using an EB3, he really digs in. Was the Fender Mustang ever used anywhere other than on the Whistle Test? The 'Moonage Daydream' book by Mick Rock and Bowie sheds some light on backline of that era, there's definitely a Marshall Major and 4x15 in use amongst other Marshalls.

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1392633105' post='2370760'] Don't know if TB was taught a brass instrument but John Entwhistle was an accomplished French Horn player I believe. [/quote]Had a look at 'Hunky Dory'. He played the trumpet on 'Kooks'.

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1392628845' post='2370672'] Is this the song where Trevor goes to the chorus too early? I'm sure if that was the case they could have dropped the bass in on an overdub? [/quote]I believe leaving errors in songs is something that Bowie was fond of, he cited the Jean Genie clanger in Sean Mayes' diary of the tour for 'Lodger' and 'Stage'. Possibly why you've got all the musicians swapped onto different instruments on the much later 'Boys keep swinging'. Some great lines from Trevor Bolder though, I've always loved 'John, I'm only dancing' for the walking on the chorus. A very musical player, wasn't he taught a brass instrument as a kid?