EliasMooseblaster

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1369830299' post='2093163'] Please do not bid? [/quote] Yeah, that was the bit I didn't understand. (Apart from the motivation of sticking a strat neck on a LP body...)

Job done! (Love the video, by the way)

Thank you! Yeah, I know what you mean about the vocal - we recorded the whole thing "as live" in one room so the main problem was leakage onto the vocal track, at least with the louder songs. (She actually went and re-recorded the vocal for the follow-up single to avoid this problem.) That said, it's worth hearing live - she barely even needs a mic. Absurdly powerful voice for someone who really isn't that big!

Anyone involved with a half-decent band in Cambridge? We've booked a night at the Corner House (http://www.acousticstage.co.uk/the-corner-house) on Saturday 10th August, and we wanted to try and book two local bands to share the night with us. Interested? Have a quick gander at our stuff: http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/ and, if you think you might be suitable, pop a reply in here or send me a PM with some links to your stuff. (NB Don't worry about fitting into the same genre; we like variety! It's just that "suitable" sounded less wordy than "would not attract a polar opposite crowd.")

The question is, how many people saw the name and actually recognised that person as the bass player, and how many saw the names and thought, "oh, I'm sure (s)he's in Coldplay / McFly / The Wurzels"?

I hope nobody minds if I follow xilddx's example and cheekily repost this here, only it seems to have fallen on deaf ears over in the Recording forum (excuse the pun). Just a quick and shameless plug for my band's new single, which you can hear over here: http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/ The song goes by the name [i]Dead from the Waist Down [/i]and is supposed to pave the way for the album we recorded back in March. We've had a couple of positive reviews so far, so I'd love to hear what the BC community makes of it!

I think you're well within your rights - I try not to be a dick, but I do expect to be asked. To be fair, the last time I called someone up on it, I'd actually taken my amp offstage after our set, and two bands later, the guy had hauled it back onstage without even bothering to come and find me. If he'd asked, then of course I'd have let him borrow it. It's just the principle! From the opposite perspective, I've found the best way to avoid any embarrassment is to ask the soundguy, who will happily tell you whether it's the house rig or somebody else's...or whether it's *shudder* DI only...

Just a heads-up for any London-based BC'ers who've nowt better to do tomorrow (Saturday) night. We're playing at the Cavendish Arms, in Stockwell, along with Maxmebar Orkestar, Xaphrodite and We Could Be Astronauts. Last we heard, it's a fiver and the fun kicks off at 8pm. (And apparently the bar is open 'til about 2.) The Cavendish is a short walk from either Stockwell tube or Vauxhall train station: 128 Hartington Road, SW8 2HJ. Do drop in, it should be a good night!

My band's just released a new single: [url="http://cherrywhite.bandcamp.com/track/dead-from-the-waist-down-single"]http://cherrywhite.b...ist-down-single[/url] This is the first of two that we'll be releasing before the album ([i]129,[/i] due for release in July). Have a gander; hope you enjoy it, and any feedback is greatly appreciated!

A great loss to music. I was learning piano before I took up the bass in the first place, so Ray Manzarek has been a source of inspiration for even longer than John Entwistle!

Clearly too late to the party, but I would have voted for the Bronco myself! I started on one (mine was red) and it was a lovely beginner's bass. The other advantage, if your lad plays the cello, is that it's a much more simple layout than the other two you had in mind. The single pickup removes the temptation to spend more time faffing around with tone-blending than learning to play it!

As Chris B rightly points out, [quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1307275645' post='1257277'] I agree, I prefer long scale, but you are supposed to move your hand to place your fingers over the note so small hands aren't an excuse for not being able to reach a note. Esperanza Spalding has smaller hands than most here and easily plays the double bass!! [/quote] As far as 4-strings go, I started learning on a short scale (30.5", I think) without knowing about the different scale lengths. A year later I got hold of a long-scale (34") and never looked back. Small hands needn't be a hindrance, but I just felt the longer necks suited my huge hands better! That said, I'm glad my 8-string is short-scale...I've got it tuned a semitone flat and I'm still getting used to the extra tension!

[quote name='itsmedunc' timestamp='1368488089' post='2077768'] [size=4]Raygun Relics at it again! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=400485813700&ssPageName=ADME:B:FSEL:GB:1123"]http://cgi.ebay.co.u...:B:FSEL:GB:1123[/url][/size] [/quote] He's obviously decided that "organic" will make it more likely to appeal to suburban mothers who don't want to buy one of these dirty, artificial GM Stratocasters for their teenage sons. I'm looking forward to the Free Range, Corn-Fed Telecaster... [quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1367840742' post='2070036'] It's a funny old thing is fashion. When i bought my 1974 Jazz over 20 years ago i got a few quid off in the shop where i bought it when i pointed out that it had a few dings and buckle rash. Nowadays the shop would be highlighting those dings and buckle rash as a badge of honour to promote the sale of 'this roadworn beauty'. [/quote] You'll be reassured to know that the shop that sold me my Schecter just last year gave me a hard case, a new set of strings and a nice strap all for free...because of one little scratch along the top of the bass-side horn.

I love the title...and unfortunately that's about it. With the exception of one or two songs, I just can't get on with that era of Hawkwind (the era I always refer to as "Calvert-era" as he was doing most of the lead vocals; basically everything from ASAM through PXR5). For me - sorry Kev, but it's the "endless space synth workouts" that really make Hawkwind for me. I personally think Warrior was their last consistently good album, but then to each his own, eh?

Given that a T-bird is traditionally a neck-through design, and assuming you'd use something like maple for the neck, you'd probably have enough mahogany there to make the "wings" for a couple of Thunderbirds! I've got three basses now with mahogany bodies. It's a lovely wood - if a bit on the heavy side - and a delight to work with (one of the three was a 'Frankenbass' assembled from eBay spare parts). Whatever you do, make sure you turn it into something beautiful!

[quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1367424234' post='2065509'] ^ This! I look like a right miserable fecker on stage.... To the point I've taken to wearing a hat so it's harder to see my facial expressions [/quote] I don't know, I'd like to think it's possible to look vaguely cool while looking miserable. Keep telling yourself you're simply looking "nonchalant..." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjMdpetGMLw (Though I have definitely looked "bored" onstage with some other bands in the past!)

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1367396276' post='2064978'] [size=4]... from what I have seen online alot of people seem to think the MIM Fenders are poorly made I dont know if this is true? [/size]... [/quote] I only recently put a MIM and MIA P-bass up against each other. Both new, both rosewood fingerboards and both the same year (I think). The MIA played and sounded noticeably better. (If I'd had the money to spare, I would have bought it that afternoon, I was so enamoured with it.) But this is not to say the MIM was a bad bass, by any means; I certainly wouldn't rule one out. I really like the look of that MTD but I can't comment on how it might sound or play. Unless there's any way you can try one out, and maybe try out a MIM Fender, I guess there's no way to find out without ordering one. It does look good though, doesn't it?

I really enjoyed that! Had a listen on the Soundcloud link yesterday. The cover of Private Universe is a superb arrangement, and her own songs are really nice as well. Great stuff.

I can see that helping a bit - certainly it's quite tiring fighting against that much tension. The thing I've been finding tricky is fretting the two strings together, though - not so much on the D and G, but on the E and A, where the octave strings seem to get buried under the low ones. Or is that just one of those things I'll get used to with more practice?

Yeah, we had a bit of a jam and then tried a couple of songs. I did find I was having to play much more conservatively, though, as those doubled octaves fill up a lot more space (unsurprisingly!) I did have to switch back to my 4 in the end.

I've moved, quite unexpectedly, into entirely new territory as of yesterday. I happened to be walking past a bass shop (licking the window as I went, of course), when my partner pointed out an 8-string bass in the window. A quick tryout and a bit of haggling, and suddenly I was the owner of a Hagstrom HB-8. I'd only gone out to buy a new pair of jeans... Still, I took it along to a rehearsal last night and had a play around. It's certainly good fun, even if the sound takes some getting used to! What I've been finding challenging is, unsurprisingly, simultaneously fretting a .100" E-string along with a .050" E-string. Does anyone have any useful advice on using one of these beautiful buggers?

I'd go with random slap & pop licks - perhaps I just particularly notice it as it's not a style I've ever liked, but it does seem to be the first thing people do when they feel the need to demonstrate how good they are to the shop assistant! (Next time, I might just begin with Boris The Spider and see whether the Mark King wannabe across the room can keep a straight face)

Just thought I'd make sure we've all seen this version... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAQ95Vln4I4

Those Epiphones really aren't popular, are they? I feel like I should just stick up for them before I go on to name and shame my worst experiences: my main bass right now is an Epi EB-3. That neck mudbucker's become of a feature of the band's sound - of the 11 tracks on our upcoming album, I think I used it on 7 of them. I can appreciate that they're an acquired taste, though - I bought mine expressly for "that" sound, and bought a thicker strap to deal with the neck dive. Worst bass I've played? I once borrowed a little active short-scale - I think it was a Cort - at a jam night. It didn't help that the house amp was also dire, but this thing just felt like somebody had put strings on a Guitar Hero controller. I have also wrestled with an Encore P-bass in the past. Again, not mine: the guy whose gig I'd been called in for let me borrow his bass. The setup was ok, but I think it suffered from a combination of some really cheap (and possibly really old) strings and that budget pickup. It just feels a bit unfair to kick these, when I know they're cheap, entry-level basses. A decent pickup might have made that into a passable instrument.

I think the situation is a bit different in London: most people don't have a car - or daren't drive it through the centre - so a lot of rehearsal rooms have realised they have to provide amps of at least passable quality. So I've played through some decent Trace Eliot combos in some rooms, and had to put up with some hideous Line6 amps in others. Bringing a 115 combo on public transport is something I'll grin and bear for a gig, but for a weekly (or even twice weekly) rehearsal, I'd rather spare my back. We've been quite fortunate, however. Since our drummer started teaching in his own rehearsal room, we've been able to park our own amps in there. So nowadays I can play through my Laney at rehearsals and be content in the knowledge that if it sounds awful, that's probably the fault of the idiot holding the bass!