thisnameistaken

Good. Our former trombonist was in town for the night so he played a few tunes with us, and we got to catch up with his friends who we haven't seen for a while. Crowd were good, performance was good, sound was good, but I was a bit sad because I only have two more shows left with this band before I'm quitting. Which is a shame because I love being in this band.

Ah the '80s. Hot Licks videos produced for under five bucks and Ibanez ads in the glossies featuring middle-aged americans in Bill Cosby sweaters. Those were the days.

[quote name='Conan' post='1229962' date='May 13 2011, 02:31 PM']Of course it is! A bass like the ones pictured in this thread will always give rise to comments of this type.[/quote] And let's face it, people who buy basses with lots of strings do it mostly for the attention. They must love threads like this.

Cheers for the reply, that sounds encouraging. Does anyone know which controls work on the J-Retro in passive mode?

TBH I've not come across JT very often, only that Jaquo MCMLXXXVIII-Psuedonym knobhead. But he does have a horrendous look-at-me bass and he does wear sunglasses indoors when people point a camera at him. These are facts.

[quote name='bassfunk' post='1229862' date='May 13 2011, 12:47 PM']I bought one of these on ebay last week: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-bass-std-pickguard-3ply-brown-tortoise-fits-fender-/110633297858?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item19c24227c2"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-bass-std-pickgu...=item19c24227c2[/url] It fits perfectly on my squier classic vibe jazz bass, I think it's based on an MIM '62 re-issue, so would obvioulsy fit fenders too. I thought the cheaper ones (around £10) looked a bit cheap (sometimes too red etc), and the Fender ones seem overpriced, so I thought this was a nice happy medium.[/quote] I've just bought red tort guards from them for my jazz and my strat - I'm still waiting for postie to bring them though. Are you happy with yours?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1227849' date='May 11 2011, 06:31 PM']This sounds like a John east j retro or p retro is required [/quote] In passive mode, which controls still work besides the volume? Presumably the 'active blend' doesn't work any more, so how do you mix the pickup outputs? Any tone controls still available?

[quote name='MattB' post='1229240' date='May 12 2011, 08:01 PM']In English (becuase you people are actually making sense to a non-techy like me!!) what is the difference (in real world terms) between a single 15" 250w /8 Ohms like: [url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?section=mag&ID=22"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.as...n=mag&ID=22[/url] and a 2x10" 250w/8 Ohms like [url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?section=mag&ID=23"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.as...n=mag&ID=23[/url] If i was gonna plug a 500w head into one of these as my start for a gigging rig, which would I go with and why?[/quote] Typically, a larger speaker will produce more bass, whereas a gang of smaller speakers will produce more midrange and sound more focused. And larger cabinets usually produce more bass than compact cabinets. But these are generalisations and you really need to try a given cab to find out what it sounds like - some newer designs buck those trends in surprising ways. Also don't be put off by the idea of your sound consisting of more mids than bass frequencies - go try these things out and decide what you like.

[quote name='fatback' post='1229465' date='May 12 2011, 11:24 PM']Only advice I can give is pay huge attention to the problem of not hurting yourself. ... You will probably spend a lot of time howling in frustration at first, but it seems to me that one trick is to play every single day, even if it's only 15mins.[/quote] Both good bits of advice. Be very disciplined with your left hand, keep your wrist straight and your elbow up, hold the neck like a can of beer with your thumb behind your fingers not pointing skyward. I struggled at first with stamina and I could only play ten minutes or so before my arm got tired or my back started twinging (because I was struggling to hold the bass properly), but I went at it in ten minute doses for the first couple of weeks, and now I can play for a couple of hours and not feel any tiredness. Slowly slowly catchy monkey.

I don't like quilted maple (or any glossy figured maple) and I think they look worse when stained like that. Sorry but I would pick either and then sand it til the maple went away.

[quote name='Dave Vader' post='1228974' date='May 12 2011, 04:08 PM']You can't be rude about JT's doubleneck, he'll ban you!?!?!? Oh, phew, thought I was over on TB for a minute there. It's hideous, and will break your spine. [/quote] The ponytail and goatee say as much about the man's taste as that sideboard he's wearing.

Looks like he wrote himself a Wikipedia entry too.

[quote name='MattB' post='1228758' date='May 12 2011, 01:23 PM']Any particular combinations of heads / cabs you'd recommend?[/quote] Well I use a Hartke LH500 which is a really fantastic sounding head and for the money is unbeatable. Racked up you can carry it in one hand, but if you want something lighter that will go in a bag or whatever then you're looking at spending twice as much on a Markbass or Genz Benz head. My cab is a Schroeder and to be honest for what they are, I think they are overpriced, but my 1212L certainly does the business and is mega portable, and I don't miss anything about the old 4x10 cabs I used to lug around. I would never go back to the old school gear I used to use.

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1227737' date='May 11 2011, 04:39 PM']Main considerations on this are budget, and type of band. If its a rock band, with two guitars, I`d be dubious about only using a 2x10.[/quote] I use a 2x12 for everything these days, it's a one-handed carry and with a 500W head supplying the juice it easily keeps up with / drowns out two guitarists.

I remember that band, they did have a double bass player.

Analogman might be worth a look, they seem to specialise in chorusses somewhat.

Wow, the bass that was used on the Stiff sessions, proper piece of punk history right there. There aren't many basses I'd buy for collector reasons but that is one.

[quote name='RhysP' post='1227941' date='May 11 2011, 07:48 PM']15 string bass? His penis must be TINY.[/quote] Nah. He's on Talkbass a lot and he comes across as a MASSIVE bell end.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1227821' date='May 11 2011, 06:01 PM'][url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=132150"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=132150[/url] Fully loaded strat plates.?[/quote] This guy's got the right idea. I can't imagine they're too terrible, I might give one of them a go, thanks man.

[quote name='umph' post='1227847' date='May 11 2011, 06:28 PM']heres the polar oposite - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-lxwlgyhhA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-lxwlgyhhA[/url][/quote] I'm not a fan of their music at all but full credit to them they give you value for money.

We're getting a long way from cheap here. I paid £80 for the guitar (although it is surprisingly nice IMO) I'm not putting £70 pickups in it!

What would be really sweet is if there was a middle ground between just playing 1-5 all night and playing a 10 minute tapping solo that demonstrates the whole gamut of emotion involved in carrying a busty maiden out of the gates of Hades whilst wearing armour made from the bones of the orcs you'd slain that afternoon. But sadly those two extremes are all we've got to work with.

Oh no I understood you it just seems a shame to sell both of them if one will get you close. If you're in a rush to sell though I would leave the fretless off the market because that one will take longer to find a buyer and you will have to go lower if you want to shift it quickly. I'm sure you could make up your total with the blue one and one of the others. Best of luck anyway they look like nice basses.