Huge Hands

I love the worn look on my basses, but that is because I can point at most dings and say "that it where I clipped the doorframe in '92 when getting on the bus with it", or that is where the strap broke in 2004 and I caught it, but still did that". It tells our (mine and the instrument's)" story, especially around how clumsy I am. When I see old basses for sale covered in dings and scratches, I love to imagine what those stories might have been with their previous owners. I'd feel I'd been cheated if they were faked and added on. Of course, this is only my own opinion, no criticism of others intended.

Totally agree. To continue further, maybe not all read music, but many have a copy of the script and make notes about who comes in where, which effects get played when - basically anything they want. I have done a few theatre shows in my time and the script was vital to remember everything. I have also done FOH on many band gigs and had notes written on a copy of a set list - I.e. which effect number to dial in for a certain song, remember to turn guitar mic 1 off in that one etc. I worked in a venue mainly, so didn't really get to know bands well enough to write scripts - that was probably the "playing by ear" analogy. I don't think there is anything new to be invented here, although you youngsters probably have it all stored in a digital desk now....

I play in a concert band with lots of wind and brass instruments. I learned to read with this band (they were very patient at first). As Bilbo says, you only get faster and better at sight reading the more you do it. I still struggle with anything faster than quavers! In terms of the rest of the band, there are a lot of players whom I've noted can read well, but can't adjust if the timing goes awol or hear that the incidental they are playing is flat. As the only bass player (the tuba players are intermittent at showing up) I like to add a little improv to my lines if it is a non-classical more modern piece to try and get the rhythm right for the original. I think that is my right unless the MD notices it and tells me off. He recently thanked me for adding bits to an Elton John arrangement to make it sound more like the recording. I'm not sure many of those that have only ever read and play ensemble instruments could do that as all they have ever done is read. I also note where many use dots to learn a piece - in our case, although we rehearse to learn the hard bits, I I doubt any of us would be able to play any of our pieces (no matter how many times we've played them) if the music was suddenly removed and we had to play from memory. It is almost like a different technique - you whizz through the music without really taking a lot of it onboard.

We eat at our local PE a lot. You can exchange your Tesco Clubcard vouchers for payment for the meal, so regularly eat a £60+ meal for the price of drinks only. I think this constant allowance of vouchers and discount deals is reportedly what is making their business fail. Not sure I'd be happy spending the full price for a pizza meal, but there you go. Coincidentally, I was asked to dep in the Soho one later this month by my old band but wasn't available. It is their first time playing there, so can't comment on what it's like, but as others have said, parking nearby is a nightmare/impossible.

Thanks WoT, of course this all just my personal opinion! I was on the side of tBBC against Janek's huff all them years ago, so I am probably not consistent.....

Agreed, which is why I choose not to post any videos of myself (although others have from my gigs) but in the interests of this being an inclusive forum with a wide spectrum of playing abilities, I would hope this forum would know better than to be a slag fest against other bassists playing and own music, I would have thought it doesn't encourage beginners to want to stay around if it is all a bit elitist. Perhaps the Youtube vid itself would be the better place to comment on that sort of thing if someone really wants to have a direct pop at his playing.

I was feeling the same as @ahpook when I read this yesterday. I think highlighting his dubious work and claims around what he is selling is fine, but slagging him off for his playing and music went a bit far for me. I must admit, if a young beginner I knew was sucked in by one of these eBay sales and bought a dodgy instrument with his/her paper round money, I'd be livid, so glad these get highlighted. However, I don't see how that relates to taking the Michael out of his online playing vids, however good or bad we think they are. There by the grace of God, go I.... which is why I wouldn't post a video of myself playing!

I think the point is I don't treat them badly in the sense of coiling them too tight, knotting them or twisting the connectors around, mine is more from clumily stepping on them or putting my amp down on them when I'm struggling to set it down with my dodgy back in a tight space. I think I bought one as an emergency purchase with no other decent choice and it worked for me so I got a couple more. That is about it really, no more science than that.

I cut my teeth in studio/live sound and learned how to make, coil and treat cables properly. Unfortunately I'm also a heavy clumsy short sighted, bad-backed oaf who often accidentally stands on them, rests kit on them, trips over them, traps them in zips and spills drinks on them, even though I always try my best not to. I even managed to wreck a couple of @obbm's lovely cables he made me within 5 years. I've settled on the stiffer braided Fender type ones for now which seem to hold up to my level of accidental abuse a bit longer....

Not sure if it was the same version of the Sweet but my mate used to tell the tale of doing sound on a gig with the original singer (Brian Connolly?) just before he died and they pretty much had to wheel him out strapped to a sack trolley to get him on stage, he was so ill.

I remember in the early 2000's, when a sound engineer on the holiday camp scene, dreading the 60's weekends. The "original member" always seemed to be someone like the keyboard player or rhythm guitarist who either left just before they broke big time, or joined just after they broke up. The talented one who wrote the big hit would doubtlessly be lying on a beach in Miami on his royalties, whilst guitar 2 and his bunch of mates who weren't good enough to be in the lineup the first time around hoofed their way through the one hit played at the end of the set. I would also find amps would be cranked painfully loud because they were all deaf from years of poor sound. The opposite example would be the "star" who couldn't sing the high stuff any more that would bring his beloved son along as a bass player and watch fondly with an awkward smile as the son turbo-slapped his way through a classic 60's track on a coffee-table-top 5 string. ...and I'm saying that as a 5 string player (not really into bespoke coffee table basses though.....)

As far as I understand it, this is not the "Funk Machine" (that is still missing), but another that he owned and gave to a friend on permanent loan. It was sold recently at auction based on it being Jamerson's but the friend had mainly owned it and played it since the 60s.

"man who hits drums" - fantastic! I reckon the mods should add this to the swear filter when anyone types "drummer". Although it may need to be "person who hits drums" in the interests of equality....

I have a couple of these Indonesian P5s with Jazz pickups. Someone told me at the time they were that config because no one could do a 5 string split coil pickup on the cheap at the time. Not sure if that was true or a load of cobblers. I have modded both of mine. The first, I got Andy at Wizard to make me some new Jazz pickups to slot in the holes. It took two goes, as he reckoned both the bridge and neck dimensions were the same as the thinner neck one on a 4 string Jazz! He told me the second set he made would be weaker due to having to widen the blade to cover the extra width but they were still monster to me and better than the stock ones. The second one, I got the body routed with a big square hole under the scratchplate and tried to fit an EMG P6 set that a BC member had taken off his Shuker made P5. I assume Jon Shuker had used the P6 set instead of the P5 due to issues with placement as no matter how I placed them under the strings, I couldn't get the B without some some sort of fade or loss of attack. I ended up buying a second P6 set brand new as a punt in case there was a fault (when I was once flush) and it sorted that, but now I have the same issues with the G string on the other side. I gave up in the end as I couldn't be bothered to keep filing the custom scratchplate I had made to let me move them around. One day I will have another look at it! I ended up loaning my Wizard one to a mate's young son and it doesn't appear to be coming back. I must chase that up!

I think they look amazing, but when I have tried other friend's basses with them on, the gap between the two covers is not normally big enough for my chunky mitts to fit between. I did ask @Painy where he got his from when I was working on one of my P5 projects, but after he told me that saga, I didn't bother any further......

3 is in Milwaukee and 4 is in Wisconsin, so a bit far to travel for me.... 😉

I was all about drums and learned to play them to a fairly good standard and was in several bands in my early teens. However, I was listening to a lot of funk, soul and Acid Jazz at the time, but most bands I was in the bass player was the most rubbish guitarist that had been "demoted", so was not getting to play in bands along to amazing basslines like I was hearing on records. My epiphany moment was watching The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour film and watching Paul play those funky bass notes at the start of I Am The Walrus. I just thought he looked so much cooler than Ringo and to quote @skankdelvar, I was surely much more likely to get laid if I switched to bass. Well, I went straight out and bought a cheap battered 4 stringer as soon as my paper round money could cover it. 28 years later, I'm still waiting to have ladies fall at my feet after I've vibrated their sexual organs.....

Mickey's Monkey Spunk Poutine Moped just doesn't have the same comedy ring to it......

Also, to answer your original question I missed, there are two battery compartments because (as far as I understand it) the active circuit is an 18V one (2x9v batteries). They are not two separate batteries for powering different things.

I bought mine second hand so I don't know if the strings on it were the factory originals. Are they roundwounds, or flats? I find flatwounds often have a sticky coating on them when new which can make them feel dry and rubber like on your fingers.

I would boost the bass control and switch the switch. You will hear the difference as it is a mighty range of boost when in active mode! EDIT: The three way EQ only works in active mode. Either that or take the batteries out and see which way still works. This will be passive.

I once met a bloke who was making a tidy living being sent in to "rescue" failing pubs, with locals glad to see him come in and save their local tavern. All the while he would slowly (over a year or 18 months) run it into the ground so the investors could drive out regulars and tenants, then knock it down or turn it into flats. All he had to do was shrug and say "I tried", then move on to the next one. He was obviously loving the money he was making, but I could tell his conscience was eating at him. I got the impression he had started with them with the best intentions of saving pubs, but soon found out the real nature of the beast. Before doing that, he was genuinely saving pubs on a smaller scale on his own.

I'm getting serious deja vu - I am pretty sure there was an identical thread about 6 months ago - cocktail bar, about the same cash. I'm guessing whoever took the gig didn't hack it for too long..... Either that or I dreamt it and am Nostrodamus of Bass Chat....

That is one way to relic an instrument.......

Funnily enough, the "Fine, I don't have to play, I can happily go home" is usually my ace card, and is often brought out as a last resort to get a reaction/results. However, I much prefer stomping about and "accidentally" squashing a few toes on the way through. They are actually all very lovely people, I just don't think their brains allow them to consider that the parking space might be more useful for the drummer with a load of heavy kit than them with their little trumpet or flute in its case.