4000

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1134064' date='Feb 20 2011, 09:22 AM']Seems USPS won't insure for the full value! Quote from the seller; "Cheapest of the three is $437.53, that's UPS."[/quote] All the basses I've had from the States - 3 vintage Rics - have been sent via USPS, cost around $120-$150 insured, and they were all over £2k basses. Make sure it's tracked though; the first bass I ever bought off ebay wasn't tracked (didn't occur to either of us, both newbies) and disappeared off the face of the earth. Took me a year to get the insurance too.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='1132448' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:01 PM']Thanks for that! TBH, I was never keen on zebrano until I got this, but close-up it is quite something. SEI often seem to have a lovely flame on their necks too. Oh, and it has blue side l.e.d.s too, but I didn't want to show off...[/quote] Actually (and surprisingly) that neck wasn't classed as a "flamed" neck when I ordered it. We discussed it and for various reasons I went for a "plain" maple, although Martin kindly found the most flamed piece of "plain" maple that he had. The top on that was destined for a Sei Millenium but I asked very nicely and managed to snag it. Wonderful, wonderful piece of buckeye. I miss it dreadfully (and the blue LEDs!)! Here's my first Sei, also headless, now owned by another very nice chap.

[quote name='lojo' post='1132572' date='Feb 18 2011, 06:44 PM']We played "cant stand losing you" at our last 3 gigs, and I am doing some gigs soon with another band who just lost their bassist, and "walking on the moon" is on the set list i've been given I really love "bombs away", best police song, but no one will know it, which obviously highlights the dark side of this thread, that as much as some of us love covers, we do shy away from putting to many obscure songs is our sets, which is a shame[/quote] You should try it anyway. You never know.

[quote name='icastle' post='1132456' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:05 PM']It's sounding 'possible' at the moment... [/quote] Sounds familiar.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1132449' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:01 PM']Reading this thread gives me the willies. I might as well stick with the day job as go out there raking over these old cadavers. 'We play stuff WE like, not what they want' - easy to say when what you like is coincidentally what they want you to play. Its like the Yes men in a company - the boss never tells them what to do because s/he never [i]needs[/i] to tell them what to do. There are people here who will play anything for money and those who will play anything whether there is money on offer or not. What I can't see is anything remotely interesting to listen to/watch. Venues will book you if you list a few 'popular' acts? Discerning or what? Its all feels a little tired to me.[/quote] I'd be happy just to get a gig somewhere in Cheese Central, and would happily play for free. I don't care about the money & never have, lucky given I've been playing originals for 30 years. As for playing things you don't want to play though, as I said to someone recently (and here I wholeheartedly concur), it's one thing being paid to snog someone who's quite attractive, it's something else entirely when it's someone you think is hideous. FWIW ultimately we're only now considering the cover route (or probably nearer 60/40) due to our guitarist deciding that's the only way we can get gigs and the rest of us (only 2 since the drummer left) being unable to talk him out of it. Basically we're a bunch of old mates who want to continue to play together, that's all. In reality the prospect of becoming a cover band is like the prospect of having my testicles eaten by piranhas.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1132333' date='Feb 18 2011, 03:19 PM']I think there was a a big change in the covers scene, certainly down her in london, after the Commitments film came out in 1991. You couldn't go and see a west end/nightclub covers band without hearing Midnight hour, Sally, Hard to handle etc.[/quote] Nail, head.

[quote name='icastle' post='1132433' date='Feb 18 2011, 04:44 PM']Yep - I've never heard anyone doing a Police cover either, which is odd as they were a big part of 80s/90s music. We're working on Message in a Bottle and Every Little Thing at the moment. [/quote] We're also working on Message & Can't Stand Losing......I'm surprised to hear that people don't play the Police (except for the key - and possibly drummer - issues). I don't think anyone round here does but that's not saying much.

By far the most successful cover I ever played (and I have played the occasional well-known one, including dancy stuff) was You Got It by Mudhoney, back in the 90s. It never failed to ignite the place, regardless of audience. Ironically most poeple had never heard of it and thought it was one of ours. Which goes to show something I guess...

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='1131568' date='Feb 17 2011, 09:13 PM']I'm sure "Mustang Sally" is a metaphor for all those standards but, unlike a lot of them, it's far from a dead easy song to play - not if you want to make a proper job of it anyway. I'd rather play that than stuff by some miserable, unimaginative rock band (my current covers hate - Stereophonics and Greenday - but you know what I mean)[/quote] If you [i]like[/i] playing Mustang Sally et al then I don't see a problem; for you it's a win/win. The issue many of us have is we [i]don't[/i] like playing it. Personally I'd sooner play something by a "miserable unimaginative rockband" as it's more what I'm interested in. Most blues, Soul (discounting JB of course), R&B, etc just doesn't really interest me from a playing perspective. Everybody's tastes differ. There doesn't have to be something wrong with a band for you not to like them.

[quote name='BassBus' post='1129147' date='Feb 16 2011, 01:50 AM']The facing wood on your sei is amazing MBA. That must have been worth waiting for. Lovely Hohner too.[/quote] Actually I waited for that. It was my second custom Sei. Every time I see it I think I'd rather like it back someday!

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1130512' date='Feb 17 2011, 01:20 AM']Oh yes they do A band member once said to me playing in a cover band because you love music is like working in a slaughterhouse because you love animals. I've always felt that nailed it.[/quote] Genius! The thing is, how many popular songs are there out there? How many that could potentially go down a storm? Hundreds of thousands? So why do many cover bands have a set list 99% the same as each other? I personally suspect this perception is perpetuated by cover bands themselves, not punters.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1129861' date='Feb 16 2011, 04:37 PM']Ask ten bassists for about their strings and you're likely to get at least 15 recommendations. String choice is a very personal matter and you need to match the string to the bass as well as the player. For example I use at more than 6 different makes and types of string depending on the bass and the sound and feel I am after.[/quote] So true, and so often forgotten.....

[quote name='JTUK' post='1130120' date='Feb 16 2011, 07:41 PM']I don't know what that makes me, but when I watch a band I am a punter as well...so...???[/quote] +1. Couldn't agree more. I think there's a perception that "people" want specific songs, but which people? And if they're never presented with anything else how can anyone actually tell that's what they really want? I know people who'd sooner hear a million other things than the typical standards. They're punters too. How many people actually have a record collection that solely consists of the typical cover band set? I don't know any!

[quote name='Marvin' post='1130027' date='Feb 16 2011, 06:30 PM']I don't think not wanting to play certain songs has anything to do with snobbery. It's more to do with not wanting to play/murder/get bored/become suicidal over songs that have plagued clubs and pubs for nearly half a century. From what I saw on NYE's it's only women of a certain age and of a certain alcohol intake that dance to these supposed standards. It's not about wanting to play obscure stuff to 'educate' punters. I left a band after half a dozen practices as they were insistent on playing All Right Now. Why? Have some imagination. Give the audience some credit. Play popular but not obvious. I also think it's somewhat lazy of supposedly self professed 'good musicians' to be playing predictable sets I see a lot of them around my way. One guy around my way thinks he's a great performer and said to me one night "we do All Right Now but give it our own spin". Yeah, he f@cking murders it and it sounds dreadful, because it is a good song unfortunately massacred by 40 years of weekend warriors.[/quote] Ah, you beat me to it.

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1129993' date='Feb 16 2011, 06:10 PM']I say this everytime this thread comes up, so apologies for repaeating myself, but the undercurrent of musical 'snobbery' in these threads really winds me up. Mustang Sally is a great song. If it weren't then it would not have survived as one of the all time great crowd pleasers. This is not 'flash in the pan' popularity but a song that has stood the test of time. All Right Now is another one of these, a classic and great rock song that it has become trendy for some here to knock and look down their noses at. Personally I like to play slightly less common songs (there are a lot of good songs out there), but you have to accept that you are, generally (there are always exceptions), going to get fewer gigs that way, and the more obscure the songs the fewer gigs you'll get. I would not slag off another band for playing these popular songs, and I certainly would not slag off the song as being a bad one. Bad songs do not get played regularly for 30 or 40 years! Neither would I slag off a band for choosing not to play such songs. It's the slight air of superiority which annoys me. As for Mustang Sally or All Right Now, I'd be proud to have written either of them. PS: I've never played Mustang Sally out, but have played All Right Now.[/quote] Speaking as someone who writes songs, I wouldn't be proud to have written Mustang Sally as it's not what I'm aiming for. I don't like it at all & never have. I won't argue whether it's a good or bad song though; it's certainly popular enough. Wouldn't mind the money though. All Right Now I love, but I personally hate seeing people murder it, as 99% of them do. In fact if I'm honest one of the reasons I don't like most cover bands and have always been so reluctant to be in one is because most of them either play songs I don't like or murder the ones I do (or both). Sadly my band (assuming we can replace our recently cover-band departed drummer and my shoulders hold out!) may have to go the cover route soon due to lack of gigs, but I'm fairly certain we'll end up murdering a load of my favourite songs too, so I'll also be guilty as charged. Personally I'd far sooner watch a bunch of kids playing their own music very badly than watch a cover band. I sometimes wish it wasn't the case (every time I go into my local for a start) but sadly it isn't.

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1129639' date='Feb 16 2011, 01:50 PM']A cover of a Jim Reeves song, now that IS unusual!!! I'll get me coat! ....................[/quote]

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' post='1129363' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:00 AM']Welcome to my world[/quote] And mine! As for Mustang Sally, if I ever hear a band play that again there will be blood.....I didn't even like it first time round.

[quote name='Bilbo' post='1129328' date='Feb 16 2011, 10:27 AM']The trouble with this is that everyone thinks they are playing to the same audience when all of us are always playing to several audiences at once, depending on the function. Whenever I see a band covering an endless list of 'must plays' like MS, WT, Dock Of The Bay, Billie Jean etc ad nauseum, it turns me off in an instant and I know that I am not alone. There are always people too young for your set, others too old, more too sophisiticates and some too distracted. If we all play the same material, we will become like TV - homogenised, predictable, mainstream, unchallenging, unstimulating etc etc. Arguably, we are already. I guess the art is to come up with a set of songs that everyone knows and loves but noone else plays. Good luck.[/quote] +1 to all of the above.

I've had a few and would happily use them again (in fact given the way my shoulders are going may have to). I never suffered with the "falling off the edge of the fretboard" thing either, felt completely natural to me. +1 to the tuning and balance advantages, and there's less weight on your strap shoulder which is an issue for some (like me). One disadvantage is that some I've played have ended up very body heavy, which for me is equally as bad as neck heavy, but YMMV. The tension (or rather apparent tension, i.e. the feel of the strings) seems different too IME, but maybe that's just me. I used a Westone Quantum for several years playing in a metal band and through the right amp it sounded great. It was a doddle to cart about too, I used to fly with it as hand luggage. I've also had a Hohner Jack 4 (nice but the neck was less stable than the Westone), an early-ish Status 2000 which I didn't get on with (body contour issues and a huge neck) and 2 Seis, a 4 and a 6, which were both lovely.

[quote name='scalpy' post='1125932' date='Feb 13 2011, 01:44 PM']I was taught start with the rhythm. The notes come a distant second![/quote] Anything but for me. To me it's all about melody. Can you create melodies? Can you sing them? I have the blessing of supplying basslines to mostly my own music, but most of those lines are sung before I ever touch a bass.

[quote name='Roland Rock' post='1124620' date='Feb 12 2011, 08:02 AM']I was flicking through an old BGM and was reading about the Yamaha BB1024x, which apparently weighs 12kg/26lb (I assume it should be 12lbs, either that or the bridge is made from dark matter) Mine (78P) is a healthy 11ish lbs - hefty, but feels fine to me. No back problems yet after ten years, but I'm 15st and 6'1" myself, so maybe we're a good match. Anyone play a real backbreaker? note: I am aware that some people have had real problems with their backs due to heavy instruments, and I don't mean to make light of your pain (npi)[/quote] It's not the heavy basses that have caused my problems (more like heavy lifting and various injuries), but obviously they won't have helped. Heaviest I've had were my 2 Jaydees which I'd estimate were about 12-13lb each and an ESP Jazz that felt even heavier than that. Now anything over 9lbs is out of the question and I prefer more in the region of 7 or 8, which is what we're aiming for with my Rim. Even my old Ric (8.5lbs tops) is starting to cause me problems, which I never thought would happen.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1122720' date='Feb 10 2011, 03:02 PM']I think the problem with a lot of people is that they change instruments regularly,looking for 'the one',but I feel that an instrument only becomes 'the one' after you've played it for a while and know it inside out.[/quote] I knew my Ric was "the one" as soon as I picked it up. That was in early '93. It's still "the one".

Everything is worth the money if you think it is.