william64

I[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]'[/size][/font]m a fan of PG[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]'[/size][/font]s music. Regarding Sledgehammer I like the awesome bass line by Tony Levin. Btw, few years ago I was lucky to meet Tony. We had a nice talk for few minutes. I gave him a bottle of good wine and I got his book Beyond the Bass Cleff signed.

Yes, I started from scratch. To tell the truth I spent thousands of hours to get my current level of English. Anyhow, thanks to English I made friends with a lot of people worldwide. Especially two of them helped me with my English considerably: Malcolm, who comes from Royal Leamington Spa, and Gary from Chichester. Still I[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]'m not an native speaker so I[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]'[/size][/font]m sorry for for my mistakes now and then. Thanks for welcoming![/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]Hi all,[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]I'm a member since 2012 but haven't introduced myself so far. I intended to do it several times but I always failed. Now staying in bed for few days allows me to be more active here and make this introduction entry.[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]I starded my musician carrer long time ago in 1978 beeing 14 year old. Since then I've played with 8 bands alternating guitar and bass. Not easy to count but I reckon I've played with more than 100 musicians overall. Thank God for all of them.[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]In 2000, when I was 36, I started learning English. Literally I hadn't known a word in English by then. Four years later I stayed in Salisbury for one month where I attanted the language school. Now you all can check how excellent my English is (haha).[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]From 2004 to 2011 I didn't play at all because of my regular business trips and my studies at University. Anyhow, I'm back from 2012. Now I play bass with two bands. The first band play a wide range of music, e.g.: [/size][color=#0563c1][u][url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fffNnz_QM-c"][size=3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fffNnz_QM-c[/size][/url][/u][/color][size=3] The latter band play classic rock songs by Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Kinks, Jimi Hendrix, Bad Company, e.g.:[/size][color=#0563c1][u][url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7fJhTnlFI4"][size=3]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7fJhTnlFI4[/size][/url][/u][/color][size=3] We're only local musicians but we try to do our best. To improve myself, I even started face-to-face lessons with a bass teacher last September.[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]We all have many funny stories connected with music. I'll share a weird one with you as it may be interesting for you. In 1982, being just 18 year old, I bought my Ibanez Musician MC924 from Munich. It was the era when the communist party run our country (Czech Rep). You see, at that time there were many restrictions. In the shops you could buy only instruments made in Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, etc, and it was very difficult to buy anything from western Europe. Simply, you had to risk and do something illegal. I bought German Marks (illegally) and sent it to Germany (illegally). Later Ibanez Musician MC924 was sent to me as a present, which was one of the ways to get some goods from abroad. You can imagine how happy I was. Unfortunatelly, several months later Police came and started investigating that issue. They got some prooves and eventually they confiscated my bass. The court said that I was dangerous for our communist country as I endangered our fiscal policy There was no chance to defend at that time. Eventually, the good thing was, I was allowed to buy this confiscated bass in auction. So I paid for my bass for the second time. I keep the bass all the years with one exception of a period when my friend was using her. However strange it may sound, it is really a true story.[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]Lately I have bought and sold many basses as I've been still looking for the right ones. It seems to be a never ending story. Now I've got 9 basses and I am afraid, the number will go up till my wife kills me. To be honest, she is a great woman.[/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]I am really glad to be here in your company. It is such a great source of information, [/size][size=3]advice, and reviews. Thanks guys![/size][/font]

[font=verdana,geneva,sans-serif][size=3]Vilem[/size][/font]

Have thought about B7K for quite a long time but haven't bought yet, which may be good as the Ultra looks more versatile. I like Billy Apple's set with Demeter Minnie 800 as posted above.

OK, I will also add two pictures. The first photo is me in 2014 (on the right) in comparison with the 1980s. The second one is a band I play with currently. Great fellows.

Eventually I know who I am

Hi Ballstomonty, it seems there is similarity between two of us. I am 52 in March, nevertheless, I know there is still enough space for my improvement. As I couldn't see a noticeable improvement within last years and I didn't know how to practise effectively I decided to find a bass teacher (for the first time in my life). I started my lessons in September 2015 and I have 1 lesson a week. I'm rather busy so there is only little time left for practising, however, I can feel the lessons with the teacher help me a lot. It costs money but i am glad I started.

It looks many of us search for reliable reviews before we make the decision. The problem with me is there is always one particular product I am thinking about. So all my search turns to be only a purpose to justify my first instinct. Rarely have I changed my first idea, which is my bad habit, I would say.

A little bit blurry picture from August 2015. The photo always reminds me how extremely hot day it was. I use my Bassman 135 only accasionally but the sound is always unbeatable when used together with Ampeg Herritage cab.

As you can see in my signature, I've got 9 basses currently. I'd like to downsize the number into 4 but I'm afraid the number will go up. I play in 2 bands and I do 20 gigs a year. Buying basses helps me avoid spending money on unreasonable things which my wife would like to get. Every time I buy a new bass I expect she is going to kill me now. I must be cautious

For me "natural GAS" sounds more like "no matter how many basses you've got you always need one more". Natural, isn't it?

Lately I have been using D'addario EXL170 45-105 as I managed to buy them for a good price. I would say the quality can compare to Ernie Ball which I used before. Certainly, we all have different instruments and different ears

Thanks for your advice Bluejay as I hate queuing. When I am sure I am travelling to London, I will buy the advance ticket

Hi guys, never been to the London Bass Guitar Show. However, it looks I could be in London at that time. Do you think there is enough tickets available or it si better to buy the ticket in advance? Thanks.

Always sad news when somebody like David passes away. Rest in peace!

Weird, but I think it may happen. However, we all make mistakes sometimes. So if I were you, I would remove the neck and check the dates if it was really made in 2010. Anyhow, the most important thing is if you like your new toy

I am not a big fun of SC basses but some of them look cool. I suppose the construction enhance the sustain and has a beneficial effect on the sound. On the other hand the shape may affect the weight. But, to be fair, I haven't played any of them so far. When looking at the basses pictured above, I like Dood's one.

I agree with everything written above. It's a great powerful cab with rich sound. You can get a wide range of sound from the cab, from a clear piano-like sound to a growling beast. Personally, I use Gallien-Krueger Fusion 550 amp and I think they match well each other. Nevertheless, when willing to carry my Fender Bassman 135, then it's a killer set. Only cons are the dimensions for me as I have a small car and the handling is tiring a little bit sometimes. It's always good to have a good friend nearby. My verdict is 10/10.

As written above, it's all personal opinion. I've been happy with my Ibanez Musician MC924 since 1982. So it was just natural, when I wanted to buy my first five-string bass some years ago, that I looked for an Ibanez. Eventually I bought Prestige 4005E from an e-shop in Germany for a good price. Unfortunately, the bass doesn't fulfil my expectations. At first, I felt everything on the bass too delicate, a ballet dancer like. The second thing I didn't like was the sound of that particular bass. It was somehow unnatural no matter how I tried to set the EQ. In two weeks I returned the bass back to the shop. To be fair, later I heard a bassist playing 4005E and I liked it's sound within the band. So, once more, it's all personal opinion, which can change over time.

There are so many great bassist so here are just some of them:
Jaco Pastorius
Victor Wooten
Leland Sklar

Also I was lucky enough to met face-to-face and exchange several words with:
Tony Levin
Marcus Miller
Vladimir Guma Kulhanek (Czech)

Not much to be added about these basses as almost everything was said. Nevertheless, you may be interested in my curious story. At the beginning I have to mention that I come from Czech Republic. I bought my MC924 (made September 81') in 1982 being just a 18-year-old guy. It was the era when the communist party run our country. You see, at that time the law was strict and there were many restrictions. It was very difficult to buy an instrument from abroad. Simply, you had to risk and do something illegal. I bought German Marks illegally and sent it to Germany (of course illegally). Later Ibanez Musician MC924 was sent to me as a present, which was one of the ways to get some goods from abroad. You can imagine how happy I was.

Unfortunatelly, several months later Police came and started investigating that issue. They got some prooves and eventually they confiscated my bass. The court said that I was dangerous for our communist country as I endangered our fiscal policy : ) There was no chance to defend at that time. Eventually, the good thing was, I was allowed to buy this confiscated bass in auction. So I paid for my bass for the second time. I keep the bass all the years with one exception of a period when my friend was using her. However strange it may sound, it is a true story : ) Below you can see me at that time and in 2014.

Some years ago I bought another MC924 (May 80'). The first is 4,74kg the latter is 4,45kg. As you all know, Ibanez kept changing the modifications of Musicians all the time. So you can find some differences between these two basses. My 80' has the truss rod nut for a tubular key and the truss rod cover on the headstock is fitted with 2 screws. On the other hand the 81' has the truss rod nut for Allen key (wrench) and the cover has 3 screws. Another difference is the position of the neck pickup. The 80' has the pickup closer to the neck. Regarding the sound, I feel the sound of my 81' to be clean, piano-like. The 80' is a litte bit smoother, velvet-like. All in all, both are great instruments with great sound! Only it seems I will have to sell one of them soon as I have more basses right now than my wife is willing to accept : )

Vilem

I am a happy owner of number 400. Mine is a great bass with stunning neck. Have tried some CS and, honestly, my Noel Redding compares favourably. Bump!

Hi Al. In 2004 I spent one month in Salisbury where I attended a language school. For me it's been one of the greatest months ever. I stayed with the Salters in Empire street and they were just perfect. Salisbury is very nice city and I hope I will return one day. Your words[color=#b22222] [i]'I've been playing bass (on and off) since 1987 and still no good at it' [/i][/color]seem to fit me as well, only I started 10 years earlier than you. The great thing is there's still enough space for us to improve. Greetings to Salisbury. Vilem

Currently I have the same pickups in my JB Noel Redding and I can recommend them because: 1. the sound is great (certainly it depends on your ear) 2. they are noisless 3. if not happy, they can be offered easily here Bump!

I have TRB5ii and if everything is ok about this bass then I can recommend. You will get a lot of bang for the buck. My is 4,45 kg which is 10 lbs and I suppose the weight will be similar. Certainly, it may differ more or less. Happy New Year to everyone. Vilem.