uk_lefty

I think I sold my MIJ P bass during COVID to finance an MIJ Jazz that I really should have hung on to. The Stingray has been with me for years now, five years maybe? Anyhow, I've never had all three types of bass at once. I fancied a precision so bought this beaut from @kevham who is a true gent and I've now bought two basses from him. 

Black and maple Player P bass. Classic look, classic sound. I'm starting to use more drive and distortion and need to play with a pick for more songs so it was a good excuse. Just need to fit a D tuner (already purchased from Bass Direct) then decide later what strings I want, rounds, flats or tapes.... Really high output from the stock pickups in the two minutes noodle I've had.

The two that I wanted for my failed 80's project were:

Cocktails and Dreams 

Dalton's kick 

Cocktails and Dreams being the name of Tom Cruise's dream bar in the film Cocktail. Dalton being the bouncer who kicked the sh!t out of everyone in Roadhouse. 

I just have a thing about linking films with music. I'm not a big film person but I think it really helps the nostalgia and creating the visuals for the band... To me anyway!

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

If I recall correctly @uk_lefty the Crow is run by the same people who ran the Wheatsheaf, or at least had something to do with it. 

I don't know tbh, it was a new one out the blue for us last year and we've played there three times now. The singer is originally from Dunstable so he might know. 

1 minute ago, police squad said:

don't you mean ghosts in the machine logo (that would be clever)

D'oh

Played the crooked crow bar in Leighton Buzzard on Saturday night. It's a funny venue, it used to be a Blockbuster video rental shop but now it's a live music venue. The boss, the staff, the sound people, each time we've played there they've just been so good to us. Not in the way of loads of free drinks or whatever but just in the sense that they really want you there and want to make sure you've got everything you need for a decent gig. I'd highly recommend anyone in this area to look them up. 

Anyhows, we are doing another specialist 00's gig on Friday so we trialled about five new songs and they went down very well, so we were pleased with that. 

Best part of the night: an artsy bloke in the crowd who fancies himself as a poet started peeling and eating an orange while doing some strange crouched down dance.

Band's the Desert Penguins.

Gear: Ashdown ABM600 with 2x15" cabs

Bass: Stingray

14 minutes ago, police squad said:

amazing but too rich for me atm

thanks for the info

If they did them in red could you do something like the Synchronicity digital logo thingy? That would be awesome 

I agree with a lot of what's on here, the YouTube generation of bassists doesn't do much for me, but then we all know their names and what they do so have they achieved what they needed to? I can watch them for a two minutes "oh, that's clever" but couldn't listen to a whole album unless their playing is within a context that makes sense and is tasteful. In a band context there are no bassists I don't like per se, they probably play what the producer needs them to play so it works for the radio or recording. 

I've been going amp-less a bit recently so decided to bring the whole shebang last night.

On 01/03/2024 at 10:37, Jakester said:

I think the prospects of "a gig" would seem pretty remote!

Yes and No. I bet Trump rallies pay really well, and no credible musical act allows the use of their material so could be an easy one.

7 hours ago, bubinga5 said:

This JB75 is just fab.. 70s spacing also. £1,195..That is alot of coin for a used MIJ though

Seems to be the way they're going. I'm seeing any shop selling used MIJ lefty basses trying to get as close to £1000 for quite common models that were £450 new ten years ago. I agree, it makes it hard to part with the cash but it seems to be the market rate.

The Desert Penguins rock the Crooked Crow Bar. A great venue and always a great crowd. 00's pop and rock covers. We will probably unleash a few new songs too.... Hope to see you there.

I've never seen the attraction of having a data centre running my sound. But then again I didn't see the point of separate head and cabs until I took the plunge....

9 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Its because they can't be competing with their suppliers, and if they have an RRP they have to use it.

And setup? That would be like implying they weren't setup fantastically out of the box!

Yeah, you're right. I bet they do sell a handful of instruments per day at full RRP and if I were one of the big retailers buying hundreds of these a year I'd be p!ssed off if they were undercutting me or even price matching.

23 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

Don't feel dirty, they have their fingers in a lot of pies - they'll get to you one way or another

 

Haha there's no shame in what I'm saying. Maybe I'm a Gibson hipster, I like the stuff that was cool before Gibson bought it, and only in left handed!

I went there this weekend. It's impressive, even for me as a left handed bass player! It's a bit more of a "lifestyle" thingy, i.e. think of it as the Hard Rock Cafe but with guitars you won't buy instead of food you won't buy. People will go in there to gawp, as I did, at the guitars and it is worth a trip up that end of Oxford Street. On the ground floor it's all Gibson, tons of t shirts and hats etc. but get this, £69 for a Gibson t shirt(!!!). Or you can go downstairs to the Epiphone and Kramer area and pay half that for a t shirt that's just as good, I'm not joking. 

In the downstairs bit there's a stage set up where I guess they plan to have some minor performances and there's Mesa Boogie amps everywhere for people to try guitars and basses. Lefties are surprisingly well catered for, as are bassists. No left handed Jack Casady basses though, sadly. In fact, no lefty basses at all, but that didn't stop me having a go on an Epiphone Newport. 

Everything is at full RRP which is a bit silly as I can't imagine they provide a set up like the established decent guitar shops do. Also, there are security staff everywhere, as is understandable when there's probably well over £1m (at full RRP) worth of guitars in a very, very busy shop. They're also really bl00dy annoying, won't leave you alone for a second asking if everything is ok or if you like a guitar, but the staff that know the guitars etc are a lot better to be fair.

I didn't think I was a Gibson person until I was in the shop and thought out of my five basses and one electric guitar I've got one Epiphone bass, one Kramer bass and an Epiphone electric. So I guess I am a "Gibson guy". 

Overall, whether you like Gibson or not, it's worth a visit. 

I was in London this weekend and went to the Gibson Garage. It's one of those shops where it's a good experience just going in to look around. I didn't think I'm a Gibson person until I realised 50% of my instruments are Gibson brands (two Epiphones and a Kramer). There's some hideously expensive guitars and some reasonable stuff too. The t-shirts follow the same pricing as the guitars, with Epiphone and Kramer t shirts half the price of the Gibson t shirts which are mostly £69 each (not a typo). 

There's a good range of basses out if you look for them, Thunderbirds, non reverse Thunderbirds, EB-3s... Downstairs in the Epiphone area I had a go on a Newport. Obviously I had to play it upside down but impressions are...

Felt nice to play. I don't think I've played a short scale before but this felt good, no big adjustment needed. The fit and finish seemed very good, nothing about it felt cheap which painted neck guitars often can. Surprising range of sounds from the pickups, the blend control really made a difference. There was a satisfying "fullness" to the low E string and nice clarity on the D and G. I'd imagine playing with a pick would be really good, or putting on some flats for finger style. I am tempted to get one and "reverse" it because I don't know of anything else out there like it at that price point or in left handed. Also the available colours are great, love the banana yellow!

@shoulderpet in true BC style, let us know when you're ready to trade in. 

The bass! I mean the bass, not the...

5 hours ago, gumtown said:

Yes, that's me..

That was a while back, done few more for more recent gear that I have.

I owe you a huge "thank you"! That software was outstanding, really ahead of its time... As was the Boss GT10-B. Really made getting under the skin of that pedal easy for someone more interested in playing bass than programming. I reckon Line 6 owe you royalties! 

Sorry for your loss, Andy. 

20 hours ago, gumtown said:

Hey ya's 
Forgot about this site for a few years, so I'm back !!

The SY-1000 is still one of my fav bits of gear, a great bit of kit, the bass models and amps are super good !!

 

  Here is my latest killer pedal board incarnation, 

GK 13 pin 1:2 splitter (top right)

SY-1000 with a couple of power supplies hidden under.

new Boss GM-800 PCM Zencore synth with GKC-AD converter under it

Tech21 VtBass analog preamp/dirt

Boss VE-500 vocal processor, pitch harmonies controlled by the GM-800 bass to midi output.

EV-5 expression pedal into the SY-1000, then midi to the GM-800.

DIY midi note foot pedal to GM-800 via SY-1000 midi thru, plays the parts 3 &4 of the GM-800 synth, some serious bass synths happening.

Output is stereo to desk with a passive mixer, and mono mix to stage amp.

Are you the chap who wrote the software for the Boss GT10-B?

26 minutes ago, Rich said:

Witness the full horror for yourself.

 

Seconds after the recording stopped Jim Marshall appeared and scrubbed his name off the amp.

On 05/03/2024 at 20:54, thebrig said:

We auditioned a so called experienced guitarist last week who has played for 50+ years.

He turned up and spent a good twenty minutes trying to tune his guitar and he didn't mute it whilst doing so, I always record rehearsals and auditions, and the tone you hear in this clip of him tuning is the tone he used for every song we played regardless of the type of song.

 

He didn't get the gig.

Psychedelic Tuning.mov

I just played that and now my dog won't be my best friend anymore.

33 minutes ago, SimonK said:

About ten years ago we were looking for a new drummer. First chap we tried spent over an hour setting up the biggest kit we had ever seen, and then proceeded to drown the rest of us out. Mutual agreement he wasn't the best for the band. Out of desperation we then tried a 14 year old kid who volunteered through a friend. Sort of did it as a favour as he had never been in a band before - turns out Sam was God's gift to drumming. He won the Yamaha U18 drummer of the year competition a year later, we recorded a bunch of Toto songs for his A-levels, and then he left us in his dust when he disappeared off to become a session musician! It was quite humbling to have a tiny part in his development.

That's awesome!

On 03/03/2024 at 18:12, pineweasel said:

It’s interesting that EBMM have dropped them from the latest Stingrays though, and nobody seems to be complaining. 

Nobody can afford a new Stingray anymore 

Gorgeous, bet it sounds amazing. Proper bridge, proper logo on the headstock... Perfect!