EliasMooseblaster

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1401748673' post='2466577'] I would have a 24 fret Precision bass, built with the same neck profile, pick ups, finish and natural wear and tear as my non-24 four fret 1970s Precision bass. That or a 24 fret Rickenbacker, the walnut, maple neck one. Why 24 frets? Just in case. [/quote] I quite like this idea - my Schecter Model T is basically a 22-fret Precision, so why not pop a couple more on the end? I'm sure it wouldn't ruin the look if you cut away the treble side just an inch or two more!

Is there anybody in particular that you're trying to sound like - anybody who comes close to "that" tone you're after, give or take a few tweaks of the EQ? Personally, even though I can see you're experimenting with plenty of much higher-end amps, I've always been a fan of Laney cabs because they seem to have a certain brightness and clarity to them - running an Ashdown LB30 into one, I'm quite happy with my tone. But of course, what I hear as "clarity" and "punch" could always sound like "brittleness" and "fizz" to your own ears!

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1401466073' post='2463939'] Nice looking bass - you don't see that many sunburst Warwicks about. How does it play? [/quote] It's a little hard for me to judge, as it's my first fretless. I decided to leave all my normal prejudices at the door when I went in, having decided I'm very much a 4-string-low-action-passive-rounds-neck-or-middle-pickup kind of chap when it comes to fretted basses. The action is a tad higher than I'd normally have it, and the flats feel rather different. The active sound isn't as off-putting as I feared it might be. Most importantly I like the tone; compared with the VM Squiers, it just had a much more expressive sound. As I say, hard for me to judge, but I really do like the way it plays!

aka "Because blaming Jack is easier than accepting my own lack of self-discipline" I went back to Denmark St to give the VM Squier Jazz another go. Turned out they also had a VM Fretless P as well, which was quite nice. But the second-hand Warwick still hadn't been sold, and when the nice chap offered to cut the price a bit, I had to admit it was a nicer instrument. [attachment=163916:Warwick1.jpg] (Shallow as ever, I had to admit the unlined board looked better as well!) [attachment=163915:Warwick3.jpg] [attachment=163914:Warwick2.jpg] For the first time since I started naming my basses...I have no idea what to call her. Any suggestions?

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1401450154' post='2463738'] Assuming that you were famous enough to be offered a signature model and you would not benefit financially from it, would you want one? [/quote] Yeah, I probably would...shallow as it sounds, I think the recognition and massage-of-ego would be enough motivation for me. Whether Gibson would be willing to make the odd SG/Thunderbird hybrid I have in mind is a different matter!

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1401448769' post='2463712'] The idea is ripe for April Fools though. Imagine worst possible mismatches between pop musicians and brands... [/quote] Peter Andre advertising bananas? Edit: and/or Brian Harvey endorsing a driving school

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1401380480' post='2463061'] I still haven't ruled out a lined fretless headless (cricket bat), on the grounds that I could easily hide it. I would get someone to take a date-stamped photograph of me playing it on a gig (not attended by Mrs Axe), then about 18 months later, stroll into the living room with it. When Mrs Axe says 'What? Another new bass?' I can reply that I've had it for years, before digging up the photo as proof. [/quote] Ha! Now that is a crafty plan - perhaps you should make sure you turn up to a couple of gigs with that day's newspaper, just to leave it in the corner of the photo. (I guess I was quite lucky; the last Ms Mooseblaster seemed to be strangely encouraging when I expressed an interest in buying another bass...) OK, having watched this guy's demo, he makes the Squier VM sound pretty damn good, so I'm definitely reconsidering... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDIs-TbZ5og

Haha, it certainly doesn't - I hope you realise I hold you (at least partly) responsible for my getting to this stage! (They were [i]beautiful [/i]instruments; thank you once again!) I maybe judged the VM unfairly, as I didn't play around too extensively with the controls before the guy in the shop pointed me to a second-hand Warwick Corvette...but then, whilst I've settled on my general preferences for fretted basses (rounds, low action, passive), I am prepared to drop all my normal prejudices with fretless and start from scratch! (Normally this is the point at which I'd say "guess it's time I went down to one of the big guitar shops in Surrey and try a couple"...but then we come full circle back to the OP's question!)

Speaking of the difficulty in tracking one down...any recommendations for a beginner's fretless bass? Something that's sufficiently well made that it won't sound and play atrociously, but cheap enough that my bank manager won't be tutting disapprovingly if I realise it's not for me. (I wasn't overly enamoured with the Squier VM Jazz, but I don't know if that was the rounds or the ebanol fretboard...do most of them sound better once you pop flats on?)

Welcome! And fantastic stuff - some clever solutions to some common problems, and the result looks and sounds delightful. (The Pegasus on the pickguard is a nice touch as well!)

I'm always impressed by how well your singists pull off those harmonies in a live setting - even with laryngitis, Laura sounds better than a lot of singers I've heard live!

The first photo has surfaced from last night's shindig at [b]The New Cross Inn (28th May '14). [/b]Hopefully our friend Chris won't mind that I've pinched his photo. I'm sure you'll agree that the cosmetic placement of that last pillar improves the photo a great deal.

Pretty good, thanks. A much better turn-out than our last attempt to do a mid-week at the New Cross Inn, and some really good bands on the bill. Onstage sound wasn't great - from talking to the others afterwards, I think I was the only one who could hear everybody else (well, apart from my own BVs, so I dread to think how they sounded...). But in spite of that, we played pretty well. And just like last time, I made the mistake of sticking around at the end for "just one more" pint and having a rather awkward journey home. Going to need to put some more coffee on soon, methinks.

Oh, so it is - my mistake!

Oh, they look lovely, I agree (but take a closer look at the second photo!)

What's most remarkable is how, depending on the angle it's viewed from, it can look a dead ringer for a 4-string Aria Pro bass!

At the risk of embarrassing myself in front of far more knowledgeable theorists...would the OP's chord not be either D7sus(b2) or D7b9 (without 3rd)? My understanding of suspended chords is as a way of replacing the 3rd with either the 2nd or 4th, so you often see sus2s and sus4s if, like me, you spend too long learning to play Who songs. I've never seen the suspended 2nd or 4th sharpened or flattened before, which makes me think D7b9 would be a better candidate. Edit: as for writing the intervals out in an exam, if you were to write it out as per your original suggestion, I reckon that would make a strong case for D7b9!

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1401267647' post='2461743'] I think we're amazed by mediocrity a little bit too often these days. (Yes, I'm over 40 years old) [/quote] If it makes you feel any better, I'm not quite 30 years old yet, and I fear you may be right. I've just listened to that performance, and "inoffensive" is probably the nicest thing I can say about it. (Which may be a good thing, a lot of the autotuned s**te I've heard out of other people's radios/mobile phones is infuriatingly awful.) But the song does seem to be a complete non-entity. I suspect in decades past, it would have been dismissed as "bubblegum."

[b]We had such a good night at the New Cross Inn last time, we thought we'd go back.[/b] Even though they've managed a picture with our old singer on the posters (D'oh!) This time, we're in the middle of a classic-rock-and-blues lineup that features [b]Daxx & Roxane[/b] - 10.30pm Screeching guitars and soaring vocals, Daxx & Roxane is outright raw Heavy Metal. Hailing from Montreux, Switzerland, the band roots itself in the old school rock and metal of the likes of Iron Maiden and Deep Purple. Their strength resides in the passion and energy they deliver onstage, and in the sheer power of their sound, mixing the Hard Rock attitude to the savageness of Heavy Metal. [url="https://www.facebook.com/DaxxAndRoxane"]https://www.facebook.com/DaxxAndRoxane[/url] [url="https://soundcloud.com/daxxandroxane"]https://soundcloud.com/daxxandroxane[/url] [url="http://daxxandroxane.ch/"]http://daxxandroxane.ch/[/url] [b]The Dust Coda[/b] - 9.45pm The Dust Coda mix the classic rock n roll bloodlines of LA, Seattle and London, bleeding into the future with punk energy and hard rock precision. [url="https://www.facebook.com/TheDustCoda"]https://www.facebook.com/TheDustCoda[/url] [url="https://soundcloud.com/the-dust-coda"]https://soundcloud.com/the-dust-coda[/url] [url="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thedustcoda.com%2F&h=mAQH06Yyn&enc=AZMz6z3cKJx30kuKHocKjoxGoc99_2sgTg8s07tX0q6h0tyQI3i6krP-C_tVlOESz7M&s=1"]http://www.thedustcoda.com/[/url] [b]Cherry White[/b] - 9.00pm My lot. Contemporary classic rock steeped in blues and attitude. [url="https://www.facebook.com/cherrywhitemusic"]https://www.facebook.com/cherrywhitemusic[/url] [url="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cherrywhitemusic.com%2F&h=fAQHOvwoI&enc=AZP1xXpuhEIap6zWb_WWsxTAyjLGIhWP-a_q7RSYyD6O8Oq0vpVIBvRrQzqGYzjM3Cg&s=1"]http://www.cherrywhitemusic.com/[/url] [b]The Paul Hegley Band [/b]8.15pm The Paul Hegley Band are an exciting new blues band from Bedfordshire. Notable for their edgey blues rock style and gritty sound. They pack a huge punch with an electric live show and haunting tone. [url="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Hegley-Band/246646405350273"]https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Hegley-Band/246646405350273[/url] [url="https://soundcloud.com/paulhegleyband"]https://soundcloud.com/paulhegleyband[/url] [url="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.paulhegley.com%2F&h=kAQErb4jp&enc=AZOC5TQ8M2JLcgSnFq4v4Mn0ULg8iJiEkWc5lPl0F_y_0Z0FiIo-dnY4_BlUtOOARdA&s=1"]www.paulhegley.com[/url] [b]Lace & Whiskey[/b] - 7.30pm Lace & Whiskey is a classic rock originals band based in London that combines Melissa Collett’s melodic guitar licks with Andy Hodgson (aka Rock & Roll Andy)'s growly rock balladeering. Nick and Aaron on bass and drums complete the line up. [url="https://www.facebook.com/laceandwhiskeymusic/"]https://www.facebook.com/laceandwhiskeymusic/[/url] [url="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.laceandwhiskey.co.uk%2F&h=vAQFeYYM4&enc=AZOJggt4iQSxyHasBWg4JTiBlUU4IF_x77JoYZwV7Qlr9TVuGFFTF9qXR4KvEEQCycQ&s=1"]http://www.laceandwhiskey.co.uk/[/url]

We actually have a song in the set (a cover of "Why Don't You Do Right," that Peggy Lee/Benny Goodman used to do, and later Jessica Rabbit), which is always included such that it can be bought forward in case of technical emergency. E.g., if our guitarist breaks a string, or if our drummer accidentally blows up his kit, it starts with a couple of minutes of just bass and voice, giving the band time to rectify the problem while the music continues. Hell, even if our singer needs a couple of minutes to chain some Strepsils, I can keep that bassline going all night. It's not often necessary, but it's a handy fall-back. There is no such backup if something goes wrong with my bass. Granted, I've not broken a string in something like seven years, certainly not since I adjusted my playing style, but I realise I'm walking a bit of a tightrope in that respect...

True, we do have Mumford & Sons for that purpose these days...

[quote name='bobbass4k' timestamp='1400629606' post='2455707'] Ahh, Mr. Agreeable is back. All of his "reviews" are basically form letters full of unnecessarily self0censored swear words into which he "find and replaces" the pertinent band and album name that are today's targets of his somnolent trickle of watery, mendacious bile. There is no genuine resonance of sentiment here, just the death throes of a cynic clinging desperately to his last shred of relevance. [/quote] I used to quite enjoy his columns in Melody Maker, so I was quite excited to stumble across this review and see that the Quietus had given him a semi-regular spot. Unfortunately it seems like he's writing them to more of a formula these days - if memory serves, they used to be a bit sharper, and the self-censored "f**ks" came at about half the current frequency. Still enjoyed the odd turn of phrase, including but not limited to "I don't have to knit my breakfast no more."

A little while ago I bought a Hagstrom HB-8. It was the first time I'd ever seen an 8-string bass in the flesh, so I had to go into the shop and try it. And of course, I liked it so much I took it home with me. I'd only gone out to buy a pair of jeans... Unfortunately, I'm getting a little anxious about the complete absence of replacement string sets - not least because I'd like to take her in for a set-up at some point. The Hagstrom website states that they make suitable strings, but gives me no means to order them. I can find other 8-string sets online, but they're all for long-scale basses, and the Hag is short-scale! So: can you either recommend me a place that stocks them - ideally somewhere in or near London - or, suggest an alternative? The HB-8 is a 30.75" scale, but strung through the body. I gather from a TB thread that this might make medium-scale strings suitable (or possibly better). (The string gauges are .095 .070 .055 .040 and .055 .040 .025 0.15)

Bit of a mixed bag at the Corner House last night - unfortunately I think we lost a lot of our audience to the aftermath of the cup final. A few locals stuck around after the match, but it made for a bit of an empty room. On the other hand, we played a really good set, and what crowd there was seemed to really enjoy it! Proof, I guess, that you can have a good atmosphere even if the venue isn't packed to the rafters. The other two bands were excellent as well - I heartily recommend checking out Bouquet of Dead Crows (http://bouquetofdeadcrows.bandcamp.com/) and Radar (http://amazingtunes.com/radar1/)

A couple of shots from our gig at [b]The Corner House, Cambridge (17th May '14)[/b], courtesy of the folks in the audience: [attachment=162946:CWonstage1.jpg] [attachment=162947:CWonstage2.jpg]