Dingus

[quote name='DorsetBlue' timestamp='1404140287' post='2489654'] Eavis, the farmer. Pro badger culler and fox hunting advocate. Not sure of the conflict of interest this makes between him and Hetfield? Not sure how people think Glastonbury is a 'hippie' festival anymore anyway, even the local ones here that claim to be (Bestival?) are outrageously expensive. [/quote] All evidence points to the fact that Glastonbury is a purely commercial concern, but there is still the much-vaunted idea associated with Glastonbury that it stands for ... something or other, no one seems quite sure what, and that Michael Eavis is a philanthropist rather than a good old fashioned capitalist. Just let me be clear, I have no problem with festivals being run as commercial concerns purely for private profit. People pay their money and take their choice. If people want to spend a fortune to travel to a far-flung corner of Britain , get off their tits and watch mainly crap bands whilst availing themselves of horrific toilet facilities then be my guest. Just please stop trying to sell me the idea that it is such a wonderful life-affirming experience. I've had gastroenteritis and a terrible hangover at the same time in the past , and it was no fun whatsoever, even without a sh*t indie band for a soundtrack . What I do object to is the elevation of Glastonbury to being a national institution that everybody is obliged to celebrate and endorse.

[quote name='DorsetBlue' timestamp='1404140287' post='2489654'] Really? I have not found one 'genuine' picture of Hetfield doing that, plenty of a chap called Mr Giles incorrectly referenced as Hetfield. Not saying he doesn't like hunting but the only thing that he has genuinely done about this is narrate a film about bear hunting. [/quote] That is error enough. Bears good, Metallica bad.

[quote name='victor5string' timestamp='1404139570' post='2489644'] If thats the picture doing the rounds on social media i dont believe it to be James Hetfield. James has tattoos on his neck, arms and knuckles and none of these were in the guy on the picture I saw. [/quote] It looks like Hetfield to me, but I am perfectly willing to believe that it isn't him if someone knows better. There are some pictures that someone sent to Mrs Dingus supposedly of me with some leather -clad women in a hotel room in Berlin on my best friend's stag weekend that are quite clearly fabricated , so I suppose I should know better than to believe everything I see.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1404139214' post='2489637'] I never went to Stonehenge. Closest I got to that sort of event was Castlemorton. Reminds me that I saw a documentary about the Stonehenge festivals recently, showing the heavy-handed aggro dished out by the police onto travellers. Sickening stuff. [/quote] To be fair, those travellers were quite handy themselves when it came to a bit of aggro ( peaceful hippies they most definitely weren't ) , but the police were Margaret Thatcher's personal army in those days, so anything went.

Has anyone else noticed how Ellie Goulding is getting increasingly desperate in trying to turn herself into some kind of credible "alternative " artist [i]a la [/i]Florence And The Machine? I watched her yesterday evening and I thought she was going to do herself some kind of a mischief.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1404135251' post='2489569'] Have to say, I am surprised at the number of positive Jack White comments on here. Maybe I just didn't get it? [/quote] That gig as his theremin player must be the best way ever devised of getting paid get to see the world whilst doing very little work. I have surely missed my vocation.

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1404137948' post='2489611'] I miss Glastonbury. I've been 5 or 6 times in the distant past... back when the perimeter fence never held and the site was awash with crusties drinking scrumpy and selling 'herbal' cakes. It really was another planet back then. And good times were had too If you've never been then sadly, I doubt you'll ever get to experience those heady days again. But such is the way of things. .. [/quote] I too remember Glastonbury from those days, but it was still only for people who weren't quite rugged enough for Stonehenge.

I still like Dolly Parton though, for a couple of reasons.

[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1404075025' post='2489110'] I photographed metallica at Donnington in the '80s; they were very good [url="http://assets-s3.rollingstone.com/assets/images/gallery/500x595/64b01bc2a348ac397e1685dbba2340ed31e6c23d.jpg"]http://assets-s3.rol...0ed31e6c23d.jpg[/url] [/quote] I didn't watch Metallica on purpose because someone sent me a photograph taken fairly recently of James Hetfield proudly standing next to the carcass of a large grizzly bear he had just murdered for sport. For anyone who doubts that this whole " spirit of Glastonbury" and "ethical festival" ethos is complete and utter bullshit , the fact that Michael Eavis and co are quite willing to endorse and handsomely reward such individuals surely incontrovertible proof to the contrary. Glastonbury might as well be being run by McDonalds or Ted Nugent . That makes me feel quite ambivalent , in so much as I would probably hate Glastonbury even more if it did in fact embrace and epitomize those hippy ideals that it was supposedly founded on, but at the same time, it is quite galling to have to endure the kind of " Glastonbury fascism" that we all subjected to nowadays,especially by the BBC ( because they have paid a lot of money to get the rights to broadcast it) . It has become received wisdom that Glasto is the zenith of every music lover's year, that to play Glastonbury is surely the peak of any musician's career and that the whole thing is such an amazing experience, really something very special. . Suggest any otherwise and you will be considered eccentric, at best, but the reality is that festivals are very seldom the best environment in which to see any band play, and the spurious idea that such gatherings foster a spirit of brotherhood or[i] bon ami [/i] amongst those who attend is one which gullible people find very appealing but in fact has no basis in reality.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1404071009' post='2489033'] Debbie is 69 this week! Not sure if that's cool or not.... [/quote] Debbie Harry 69?

[quote name='Kirky' timestamp='1404054616' post='2488822'] Favourites for me so far have been Parquet Courts [/quote] I thought they were a bit wooden, to be honest with you.

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1404031320' post='2488570'] i dont get this lana del rey bint or whatever her name is is she in a permanent k hole or something? [/quote] What is a K hole? Have I got one?

[quote name='winterfire666' timestamp='1403886751' post='2487457'] i used to love the randy jackson dean markleys, i was gutted when they stopped em, after many changes ive finally settled on sadowsky blue label steels, very nice but hard to get at a decent price in the uk. [/quote] They were really interesting strings, and when they went dead they almost sounded like flatwounds, but were still very useable. Very pricey, though.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1403804932' post='2486688'] You could always email Thomastik and ask them exactly that.....nothing to lose in doing so. [url="http://www.thomastik-infeld.com/contact"]http://www.thomastik...eld.com/contact[/url] [/quote] I did exactly that, but they never got back to me.

I have been watching the BBC coverage intently for two days. I have to say, most of the acts so far have been incredibly poor, even by Glastonbury's very low standards. I have also seen one of my many women from about fifteen years ago featuring as a backing singer for one of the acts . She is looking hotter than ever nowadays , even at Glasto. I am glad she has managed to move on with her life without me. Lets face it, with so many stages to fill, it has to a case of quantity over quality for most of the acts on at Glastonbury. . I have, however, been most entertained by the BBC Introducing stage featuring unsigned bands, despite the fact that most of them are abysmal ( in fact, probably precisely because most of them are abysmal). It all bodes very well for the future, because most of the acts on the bigger stages have made a career out of mediocrity, and some of these new acts may one day reach that standard.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1403971358' post='2488228'] ...and getting sick of HAIM. Clearly a talented bunch of ladies (gent drumming?) but I get very tired of their music very quickly. [/quote] Arguably the most Jewish-sounding band name in mainstream rock music.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1403902456' post='2487669'] Yes, I quite liked Foster The People too. New name on me. We were treated to a nice lingering shot of the bassist's pedalboard too! [/quote] I always think they should have called themselves Foster The Children. That would have been a really positive message To be fair though, I don't think being in band would be very conducive to providing adequate foster care, what with touring schedules and recording commitments, ect.

Yes, they are as good as you think they are. In fact, they are probably even better than that. I rate the 2024X as one of the very best bass guitars that money can buy, regardless of price. I've owned and played all kinds of so-called high-end basses , and only the very best of them could match the Super BB's from Yamaha. The are beautifully made and sound like a foghorn. Of course no design is for everybody, but if you like the styling and overall feel of the BB range then these basses are sublime. Regarding prices , there is an amazing example for sale on Basschat at the moment for a silly price ( silly cheap, that is) of £1250, especially considering that is a 2024MX , that is a 2024X with a maple fingerboard. The MX's are only available to special order and are incredibly rare. Check out Beedster's ad in the For Sale section and see it for yourself. The Vintage White finish looks absolutely stunning with the maple board. Probably the most sumptuous bass I have ever seen for sale on Basschat, and the biggest bargain of recent times . The price is even more of a bargain when you know that it is only a couple of years old.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1403804630' post='2486684'] I don't think so. Nash (for example) no longer apply Fender decals and they seem to be doing OK. [/quote] [quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1403804689' post='2486685'] I don't think so, I think his work is good enough for him to put his own logo on. Maybe it might be the start of something bigger. [/quote] I hope this chap's business goes from strength to strength, but there is no substitute for being able to put "Fender" on the headstock. As a short term measure, it will put money in the till.

You could contact customer services at Ernie Ball Music Man and ask for a replacement decal, but they will probably say no. Might be worth a try , though. If you are thinking about spraying the headstock yourself, then think again, unless you want to end up with a botched job that could ruin your bass from an aesthetic standpoint,. It is a tricky job that requires specialist skills and equipment to do a decent refinish . To get the colour and final finish on the headstock to match that on the body is no easy task , and you would need the overall quality of the paintwork and finishing to match that from the EBMM factory, which is second to none , otherwise it will look incongruous . Don't do it.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1403803784' post='2486673'] "Lord of the Strings" seems to still stock the Super Alloys : [url="http://www.lordofthestrings.com/lots/RALBD/Thomastik/1570.html#1010"]http://www.lordofthe.../1570.html#1010[/url] You could always buy all that they have remaining !!!! [/quote] Cheers for that, I can still get hold of them from various sources , but I need to know that they are still being manufactured and will be available indefinitely or I feel like it is just delaying the inevitable. I am hoping that discontinuing them is part of some master plan by Thomastik and that they are going to come out with a new Super Duper Alloy bass string that sounds even better, but they probably won't. .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1403803706' post='2486672'] I just don't get the obsession with having to have a Fender logo. Can someone please explain it to me. [/quote] I've got a fake Gucci outfit that I bought outside a porno cinema in Times Square a few years ago . If it didn't say Gucci on it, all I would have bought is a plain cotton t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I would have been better off spending my money on porno in that case. ( Not that I would ever do that. I was only in the vicinity because I was looking for a feminist bookshop. ) Fender is an iconic brand name. When it comes to rock and roll and electric guitars, it is[u][i] the[/i][/u] iconic brand name. That is why the Fender decal is so important. It is disingenuous to pretend otherwise.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1403803294' post='2486666'] They are the same basses regardless of which decal they are wearing. [/quote] Labels matter, though. Since I got that Jimmy Saville tattoo on my forehead people react to me very differently. Well, that is some poor fellow's business wrecked. What a shame, although at the same time, you can't blame Fender. If it says Fender on it, it should be a Fender. I really don't see how anyone could argue with that.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1403802509' post='2486651'] Ask [url="http://www.newtonestrings.com"]Newtone[/url] if they will make you some? [/quote] Unless they are Austrian, I can't really enjoy them. The Thomastiks had that whole Hapsburg Empire thing going , as well as being a really unique sounding string . I don't know what Thomastik do in their manufacturing process, but they really do create strings that sound very different to anybody else's. Most other bass strings sound a bit scooped in the midrange by comparison.