Sean

The blue [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260331015124&Category=4713&_trksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1"]one[/url] is still on ebay! So that can't be my one , then?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='354708' date='Dec 15 2008, 12:00 AM']Can't be ars*d with waiting for a used one and seeing as how I've sold one of my Warwicks... I've bought a new Euro 4 (a tad worrying as it's unseen and unplayed). [/quote] Ultra Amber? Where's it coming from?

[quote name='bremen' post='352782' date='Dec 12 2008, 03:12 PM']Wasn't just me then! ho ho, wouldn't it be funny if we got banned from Ebay for our cheeky 'enquiries' when none of the scammers we've reported have had their collars felt![/quote] If you have a look at his feedback and see what he has actually sold it's hilarious. Novelty lighters and garish belts!

Self-teaching? I'm not sure how I would define self-teaching. Over the years, I've heard people make the comment, "he's self-taught, y'know" about someone that's a very impressive musician and this gives me a mental picture, rightly or wrongly, of someone who has never bought a tuition book, never taken advice from anyone, not taken any of the gems that are posted here to heart and has just listened to records and worked it all out from there. I've had quite a few lessons over the years and I'd recommend anyone to have them but there's a big responsibility (if that's the right word) to go out there and discover educational/tuition material for yourself and to work out your own development with an instrument. There are some superb books that approach learning in a very structured way, come with a CD and contain lots of the wisdom of the author - is this self-learning? I don't think so. Sure I have to do the research in deciding which book would suit me best and I have to muster the motivation to sit down and go through the lessons therein but I've effectively paid to have the author teach me. Whether I've been to see a human tutor or got a lesson out of a book, I still have to put in the hard graft of learning the stuff in my own time and it's up to me to find the motivation. Any lesson, whether it is with a tutor or by yourself should have a decent structure for you to get the most out of it and it should logically work toward "the next step" whatever that may be within the context of what you're learning. Say for instance, if you are learning rhythm reading we would learn to read quarter note pattern and then eighth notes and then sixteenths and then syncopated stuff etc rather than just leaping in at "flysh*t" Tower of Power stuff. The reason why you should have lessons with a tutor (a good one) is that it's a real person with whom you can interact and they can spot if you are developing any bad habits that might restrict your playing or even long term, give you an injury like carpal tunnel or RSI. Also with a book, it only explains something one way whereas with a tutor you can ask him to try to explain stuff in a different way. Tutors can be expensive though if you have a tight budget and books relatively cheap but a mixture of the right types of both and time spent practising will be hugely beneficial to everyone. Tutors can inspire more than books for obvious reasons and you might find that if you get the right tutor, he or she will be your mentor for many years or even become your wife/husband. Hopefully you can form some sort of coherent reply from my ramblings, I'm sure the usual suspects will come along to expand soon enough.

I was in a covers band from 2002 - 2006 and we used to do Secret Girl by Brad and Starting to Hurt by Ryan Adams. Loads of people used to ask about Secret Girl and who originally did it, it's a great song.

I know of a black cherry Euro 4LX that is one of the last SC liquidation ones that is going very cheap. Thanks to WH's fabulous networking to find a blue one, I managed to hear about this other one. Let me know if anyone's interested.

here are the messages I sent to the seller and the answers recieved... Q1 [quote]Hi How old is the bass and do you have pictures of the back and a good close up of the bridge? Many thanks Sean[/quote] A1 [quote]It is a few years old but nothing bad. I dont, Why do you need it? Ill get some taken if you need them. - maxehooperjrsq[/quote] Q2 [quote]The older the better for me :-D I'm looking for a 70s one if possible. I'd quite like to see the bridge close up to see which design it is, there were a couple of different ones. Not that any one is better just different. really cool if you could sort out a pic from behind to so I can see the battery compartment cover and neck joint. Is it 3, 4 or 6 bolt on the neck joint? Many thanks Sean[/quote] A2 [quote]Yes, I can see what you mean. I have a 1972 Fender bass. It has a 4bolt one which is connected through the metal plate. It has the battery fited in through the electronics (It was an already customised one that was in Sound Control at the time) It seemed easier and nicer so I took it. - maxehooperjrsq[/quote] Vague to say the least. And what on earth is all that crap about Sound Control and the battery compartment about!?

I don't see this as an either/or choice at all. Generally those people with good reading skills have a good ear that has been developed and if they are working out a bass line from a recording use their ear. The ability to read and know what notes you are playing is vital if you are communicating with other musicians in a creative environment, as is the ability to do things by ear. Learning what notes are where on the fretboard is very important and there are some very good exercises based around octave shapes and the cycle of fourths/fifths that help you learn these. There are people who don't read, don't use tabs and rely on their ear and [i]some[/i] of these seem very anti reading and reverse snobbish about it but I never ever met anyone who said that they regretted learning to read music but I meet people all the time who wish they had learned. If you can read and you have a good ear then you'll always have gigs

A very important thing that I find is a huge help when practising is to keep a log/diary/journal or whatever you want to call it and record what you've done, for how long and make some comments about how you found it. Be brutally honest with yourself, record metronome speeds and make notes of what particular things you get stuck with. Spend a bit less time time on those things you are good at and focus on those things you struggle with, this may sound obvious but staying with exercises you can breeze through is not going to get you to progress. Make practising a habit and schedule it like you would going to the gym or some other social activity. As little as half an hour to an hour a day makes a huge difference in a month if it's efficient and good practise. Spend time reviewing what you've done and ask yourself what you've done well, what didn't go so well and what you will focus on next time. Two-three hours a day is really going to see you move on in leaps in a few months if it's good practise. Plan your next week of practising and try your best to hit those targets. Keep it interesting, ear training, rhythm reading, technique exercises, metronome work, work on new songs, practise your singing, work out little ditties by ear. Keep it structured so that you get the best out of your time but warm up properly and enjoy it; enjoy the satisfaction and semi-meditative effect it all has when it's going well and also the mental "burn" it can give when you're really getting in deep especially with new rhythms on tough metronome exercises. As well as making a written log, record yourself. It's necessary all the time but if you do it once in a while you can track your improvements. Think of your playing as a child growing up, you see that child everyday and your perception of its growth is negligible but an uncle or aunt that sees the child once a month perceives lots of change. You need these recordings as snapshots of your progres and they can give you a pat on the back when you listen back to them and see the improvement between each consecutive one.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-CSL-IBANEZ-JAZZ-BASS-GUITAR-SOLID-BODY-NO-RSV_W0QQitemZ220325854759QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item220325854759&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]CSL Jap Jazz[/url] really hard to see that blemish on the neck for what it is. Great colour body.

[quote name='cetera' post='349875' date='Dec 9 2008, 04:34 PM']Hmmm.... I wonder if Arbiter will do a 'silly sale' on the Spectors they have left? Not that I need any more you understand.... Another interesting development is that Amazon are now officially selling Spectors.... see here: [url="http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1228840367/ref=sr_nr_i_0?ie=UTF8&rs=&keywords=spector&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Aspector%2Ci%3Ami"]Amazon Spectors[/url][/quote] Amazon are acting as a sort of agent for Musician's Friend. I bought a Steinberger part from Amazon and it actually came from MF and all teh customer service was through them. Part still hasn't arrived.

[quote name='cetera' post='349491' date='Dec 9 2008, 11:03 AM']Hmmm... news to me... I'll check into it...[/quote] This is what my emailsaid... [quote]We have a few Spector Euros left but are running pretty thin on the ground. Spector have stopped distributing in the UK so we won't be getting anymore anytime soon. To find the latest colours and prices please call our sales hotline on 0870 067 1234.[/quote]

[quote name='noisedude' post='348886' date='Dec 8 2008, 06:08 PM']Fair enough. That's weird because Reverb are Arbiter, so they were already giving themselves preferential prices on Spector. There's no announcement been made to the trade press, which is usually where this sort of rumour ends up first.[/quote] Interesting. Maybe it's BS to try and and shift some stock by creating some panic buying. No chance of that from me at the moment. Other (less interesting) fish to fry.

[quote name='noisedude' post='348875' date='Dec 8 2008, 05:54 PM']It hasn't [url="http://www.arbiter.co.uk/spectorbass/index.htm"]http://www.arbiter.co.uk/spectorbass/index.htm[/url][/quote] I was told that they have stopped by a Reverb store this afternoon. No details given just that they don't expect the situation to last long once people start shouting.

Apparently Spector are no longer being distributed in the UK. Reverb have a few Euros left at a reasonable price but nothing like what what was being offered in the summer.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='348186' date='Dec 7 2008, 10:34 PM']Oh he didn't try and [i]sell[/i] you something, did he? He seems to try and do that a lot, but I don't know why.[/quote] He's the king cnute that sold Lindsey Buckingham that god-awful guitar he uses - what a joke. And "How much!?"

6

Lakland's "Signature" model endorsees all play USA Laklands except Darryl Jones who for the past five years has played Skylines. This year he has had a US DJ4 built, you can see him playing solo on it [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-Kypqr0RWY"]here[/url]

I put Elixirs on mine now. Used to Use DR Long Life but they go dead much quicker. Elixirs are pretty long too.

When I saw them at the Apollo in Feb 07 I noticed that Mike P looked very awkward playing and a few peopel there were discussing it. It actually looked like he was struggling with his fretting hand. So he looked uncomfortable back then.

I've got two DJ4s, one rosewood and one maple and there naff all difference really to cloth-eared idiots like me and 95% of bassists. I have Aero pups on the one and Chi-Sonics on the other and they are both fabulous. I have the rosewood/Aeros one with flats on it and the Maple/Chi one is my main gigging bass with Elixirs. Do like the man say and buy Alan's - you'll have people creaming over it for years. I want another one to modify but I'm just not ready yet. Also, Laklands are so consistent that you can buy unseen with confidence, no problem.

[quote name='~tl' post='344776' date='Dec 3 2008, 09:14 PM']They seem to specifically denote the new high mass bridge as such – so I guess it's the same as the old one... unfortunately.[/quote] I've checked out one of these and they are a vast improvement on the old "bent piece of tin" They are comparable to what is fitted on the Jap Aerodynes. Still not enough to make me ditch the Laklands though!

The grain of the headstock is all wrong for a Fender too.

Good catch! That's easily as good as the £95 BIN on a mid-nineties ATK I fluked last year.

[quote name='weevysteevy' post='343945' date='Dec 3 2008, 12:14 PM']i thought that maybe you lads would like to see this![/quote] What are we looking at? The "relic" has longer tuning machine posts...