3V17C

Personally I fought against going down the covers route for many years because I was one of the ones who felt like it was 'selling out' and I also figured you can do the pub gigs at any time whereas to play originals you have a 'best before date' age wise. The originals thing is very hard work, very expensive and very demoralizing at times and although I'm still vaguely on the lookout for something original I have to admit that I'm a bit long in the tooth and have 'been there/done that'. I now play in a covers band and we are of a very good standard and do learn the songs 99.9% accurately down to the finest detail where possible. There are alot of bad covers bands around though but to be honest most punters don't seem too bothered but I think becasue we go that extra mile both musically and performance wise people do take notice of us rather than just have us as background music while they drink. Its pretty good fun, we gig at least once a week and thats kinda what its all about - getting out and playing in front of people and actually going home with some money in your back pocket rather than it all being absorbed by the band kitty for the next recording session/t-shirts/posters which is normally the way for originals bands. The other thing with originals bands, I find anyway, is that most of them are really not very good and have absolutely no chance of making it, but they believe they do because their friends and family tell them they're the best thing since sliced what nots. There ARE some good originals bands but normally they all just sound exactly like whatever the latest big thing is (see the current post emo/whatever you wanna call it scene). peace c

[quote name='Geddys nose' post='48305' date='Aug 21 2007, 01:44 PM']It had the name Mark Pinto on the back of it! I lusted over that one for a while [/quote] yep thats the one! never did find out who the hell he was! peace c

a very early Goodfellow...so early in fact it was serial no. 001. (I didn't know much about this bass but a friend of mine was in a band with Bernie a while back. He vaguely remembered that the whole thing was put together on his living room floor!) I picked it up for a very good price in a local backstreet 2nd hand music shop and it was my main (only) bass for many years. Although a bit tatty round the edges this was by far the best bass ever! In a moment of madness I swapped it for a Jaydee (which I didn't get on with). A year or so after I got rid of it I actually spotted it on some music shop's website where it was for sale once again but unfortunately there was just no way at that time that I had the funds to buy it back. Gutted. And of course, now it is long gone. Bah. Attached pic is from said music shop's website (complete with stuck on price tag!). peace c

must admit, I've noticed alot of these kinda posts lately 'wife says it has to go' etc etc and it did cross my mind too how 'under the thumb' people might be! i'm currently single with a house to myself so I can have what i damn well please (cash permitting of course!), but even before the ex moved out, the basses and related bits n bobs were mine and mine alone. (ok, so occasionally i might have told her something cost less than it actually did - anything for a quiet life). basically I was playing bass/hoarding equipment long before I met her so she had to get used to the fact that it was all part of the package...... of course we have now seperated after 17 yrs so perhaps my philosophy on it all isn't the best for a long term relationship!.. d'oh! peace c

just poking about on the Sandberg website: [url="http://www.sandberg-guitars.de/"]Sandberg-Guitars[/url] and on the [b]'news'[/b] page theres a quite nice little video preview of their bass clinic. 2x bassists, 1xdrummer and some quite nice playing! worth a look IMO. That Sandberg PM bass sounds pretty nice too peace c

..here goes: 37 yrs old, been playing since i was 13. Had a handful of lessons back then but pretty much self taught. was in a gigging band almost straight away playing covers, then soon got into originals bands. Over the years have done tons of gigs (although I still get nervous beforehand!), couple of small tours including Europe, reasonable amount of recording and had one or two near misses with success! Had a few years a while back when my playing fizzled out for a bit (not totally, just not in any bands for a while) but these days I'm 110% back into it. Style wise I grew up on a diet of Maiden, AC/DC, Saxon etc but always explored other genres so nowadays have a very wide range of influences, anything from Hair Metal to Zappa to Indie to Trip Hop to Fusion to ..whatever! Bass influences include: Sheehan, Claypool, Watt-Roy, Clarke, Flea, Wooten etc. My playing reflects my influences, I consider myself to be reasonably accomplished and I can turn my hand to pretty much any style although I guess I am first and foremost a rock player, although when writing lines for original material I tend to be quite melodic rather than just root note plodding. I've always played fingerstyle and as someone else mentioned the tone [i]is[/i] all in the fingers! I like my gear to be as simple as possible! - 4 strings only (although I've had sixers before), ideally passive instruments and a maple fingerboard. Live, I believe in putting on a show, and always get into it onstage, throwing shapes and chucking in the odd bit of flash playing but (hopefully) all the time making it look easy! At the moment I'm playing in [url="http://www.myspace.com/livenloudrockband"]LIVE n' LOUD[/url] which is a band I put together and pretty much run. I'm still after some kind of original project though..... Theres a bit more bumf and pics and songs here: [url="http://www.clivehjones.co.uk"]My Site[/url] and the obligatory [url="http://www.myspace.com/clivehjones"]MySpace[/url] peace c

haha...those dudes rock!!! c

yeah Peavey is good, reliable stuff without a doubt. I've had a couple of Peavey set ups in the past, and as has already been mentioned its pretty much indestructable. Hve to confess to being a bit of a 'gear snob' myself (not that I'm really in a position to be with my beaten up old rig etc!!) but 99% of people aren't gonna know or even care what make your bass amp is! Also there are actually alot of pro players who use/endorse the peavey range..Joe Satriani has a signature amp head for example and i think even Stu Hamm has moved over to peavey bass rigs(?). peace c

hmmm... not too bad that guitar. for some reason reminds me of the Washburn N4 (?) Nuno Bettencourt sigs....not sure why, perhaps the plain wood finish.... However, me no likee the wonky pickups - I always think they spoil the lines of a guitar and just look a bit bodged up - and as someone else said, not good for resting your thumb on when playing fingerstyle. that skinny looking MM type pickguard looks a little odd to me too, far too many screws scattered around in close proximity to each other. would like to see the headstock as visually this can often make or break the design of a guitar. also..the neck pocket/joint looks perhaps a little awkward to me.... their website needs finishing off too! peace c

[quote name='Sean' post='44784' date='Aug 13 2007, 01:00 PM']I still jhaven't found anywhere that does replacement wheel assemblies! [/quote] Like this?... [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_rolle_fuer_rb_combos.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/gallien_rolle_fuer_rb_combos.htm[/url] think they do just the wheels etc too. peace c

ok so had a gig on Saturday at the local biker pub. Hit the stage, straight into the first song and as per usual I start roaming about the stage and generally rocking out when suddenly... i feel a 'twang' and for some reason, my belt seems to have suddenly failed! Now recently I've lost a bit of weight, so my strides are actually a size too big for my now somewhat scrawny frame and they're baggy combats with large side pockets full of all manner of gravity assisting ballast in the form of keys, lighter, coins, wallet etc. Add to that the fact that the moth eaten boxers I have on underneath are about a hundred years old and with no elastic in them and I'm concerned! I can feel the whole lot starting to gradually lower and I just know I could be in trouble! Luckily the song has alot of root A so keeping that going on the open string I hoist my trousers up as far as I can and waddle to the back of the stage to try to sort myself out while still playing. Its no good...its definitely a two handed job so I'm stood there in what might have looked like a classic rock pose with my legs wide apart but its actually the only way to prevent my troozers dropping while still playing! The drummer has sussed whats up and is cracking up, and the rest of the band are all looking round with puzzled expressions wondering why I'm rooted to the spot at the back of the stage instead of strutting around and throwing my usual shapes at the front. Thankfully I do get to the end of the song with my modesty intact although I have to quickly grab the singers attention before we go straight into the next song as per usual. So I'm stood there on stage in a pub full of bikers fiddling about with my crotch area trying to sort out my belt which proves a difficult task even with two hands. I have to take my bass off to do it and I thought 'sod it' and announced to the pub over the mic what I was up to which at least did seem to amuse the gathered punters. After a few minutes of fiddling about I managed to remedy the problem (somehow the 'prong' of the buckle had got stuck behind the belt itself...) and I didn't have to fashion a makeshift belt out of gaffa tape or a guitar lead to survive the rest of the show. Phew! To say I was relieved is an understatement! That could sooooo easily have been a very worrying incident indeed especially as I wear my bass high and there'd have been no way to cover my embaressment! peace c

ah sound limiters...... what a nightmare those things are. there was one in a venue near here that would go off if you shouted loud enough - and thats unamplified - just natural voice! we played the quietest gig of all time there and all the while with one eye on the limiter as it permanently hovered near the red cut out point! i never really get it when places have to have those restrictions but still happily go ahead and book loud/metal/rock bands who will obviously set it off or have to compromoise their sound by playing ridiculously quietly. peace c

Ok, basically my entire bass rig (Trace GP11 Pre amp, Ampeg AP3550 Power Amp, Marshall 4x10/Marshall 1x15 cabs) is getting a bit old (so am I! ) and as I'm now gigging at least once a week I figure I need to get something I can both a bit lighter in weight and also something that I can rely on - so I'm vaguely looking at treating myself to a new rig sometime soonish. Never really got on with Ampeg amps (although I do like the sound), the new Trace stuff is nice but I want something rack mountable, SWR is a possible option but...not having [i]tons [/i]of cash to sling about I've kinda been eyeing up the Gallien Krueger stuff (I've played through one of their heads many moons ago and liked the sound). I'd be looking at probably the RB1001-II head and not too sure which cab configuration as yet but probably a 2x10 and 1x15 or similar - maybe something from their Neo range. The Bass Merchant seems to be the nearest dealer (although thats still an hour and a half away!) so I might well head down there and try a few bits out. But firstly, I was wondering what peoples thoughts were on here? My friend who used to work in a guitar shop said not to get GK stuff because people were [i]always[/i] returning it as faulty and I have read similar things eleswhere. Apparently though there was a dodgy batch in the country a while back with faulty components so perhaps that was the case? Also because of the bi-amping setup of the amps some people perhaps don't set things up properly causing damage? Having said that, from looking at reviews etc on American sites people seem to absolutely love the GK stuff, even over Ampeg etc. Any thoughts people.......? peace c

hmmmm...... have to admit that it is [i]extremely[/i] rare for myself (or indeed my drummer) to make any mistakes within the current band lineup. (obviously i've probably talked up a tremendous feck up for tonights gig now!) As a rhythm section we are pretty much bang on the money all the time - which i think is how it should be (especially after 20+ years of playing). We take the band quite seriously and make sure we know our parts 110%. . . the guitarists on the other hand are pretty much guaranteed to make at least one mistake each per gig...which they ALWAYS get pulled up on, even if its something as minor as treading on one of their pedals half a bar too early! haha...they love it! But at the end of the day we run a tight ship to maintain the quality of the band as a whole. Having said that, 99% of the audience wouldn't notice the odd mistake in an otherwise well played set, especially if you don't grimace and draw attention to the fact that you've just made a boo boo! peace c

yeah..must admit i've always quite fancied on of these - aren't the necks made from loads of skinny bits of wood laminated together? i guess they are looking a bit dated these days maybe as alot of them seem to have really 80's looking paint jobs, although some of the natural finish ones on their site are sweeeeet. peace c

haha...what a terrible attempt at making a bass..... loads of people from projectguitar and other sites have left comments about the problems with his build but he just deletes them and blocks people from posting again. he only leaves up comments from people who think he has actually done a good job.....the fools!!! you should also check out his video showing off his tattoos....haha....the spider man one is awesome!!! ...er ....not peace c

bongos [i]are [/i]a very odd shape - but i've noticed that in pictures where people are actually wearing/playing them they look much better than they do just by themselves..... perhaps these designers DO know what they're doing after all! peace c

very good... i like his bass alot too..nice finish to it, very unusual! peace c

ooooh...... now i really [i]like[/i] the blue!! that is indeed a beaut. the price of Wals seems to be getting a bit ridiculous lately though, I know they're fantastic instruments and are worth paying for but they never used to go for silly money like they seem to nowadays. peace c

+1 for Muzz Skillings as a great bassist. He used to rule - (he probably still does somewhere!) erm.... The Stranglers - 'walk on by' has JJ giving it some on his bass at the end as i recall. peace c

[quote name='The Funk' post='32540' date='Jul 16 2007, 03:18 PM']To be fair, Randy Jackson got his America Idol judge gig off the back of his bass playing resumé, didn't he?[/quote] more than likely he did yes, but I would guess he's more widely recognised for his American Idol work these days - at least by the average man in the street if not us fellow low enders. [quote name='The Funk' post='32540' date='Jul 16 2007, 03:18 PM']I thought Martin Kemp was the guitarist?[/quote] Martin Kemp [i]was[/i] the bassist - it was his bro Gary on guitar.... 99% sure anyway.. peace c

[quote name='rohan' post='31332' date='Jul 13 2007, 03:30 PM']The bassist from fightstar (Charlie from busted's new band) Designed the quake games as far as i know.[/quote] hmmmm....seems unlikely to say the least when you consider how long ago the original quake came out and how old the members of fightstar are! .....he may have worked as a designer on one of the later quake games maybe peace c

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNV--9G_2tE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNV--9G_2tE[/url] check out his facial expressions! haha...what a tool. peace c

Randy Jackson - the American Idol judge Martin Kemp - that bloke off Eastenders (and now sofa advertisement fame!) who used to be in Spandau Ballet Sarah-Jayne from young kids TV show Tikkabilla! she had it on there once...a Yamaha RBX or something similar! and don't forget the mighty Alan Partridge can slap a mean 'air bass' when listening to Gary Numan in the static home! peace c