Painy

I also had a green one of these but probably more like 15 years ago now. It was my first 5 string and as a result of playing that bass I've not played a 4 string since unless its having a quick go on someone else's bass! If memory serves it was translucent green with an alder body / ash top, 1 piece maple neck and rosewood fingerboard - all pretty standard stuff but to my eyes these looked that bit classier than the later ones with their opaque laquer. The TRB that shortly after took over as my main gigging bass did feel more refined to be fair but still loved that old RBX!

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1369391955' post='2088627'] Goldfish, real ones, with a small watertight door, for replacement/feeding. [/quote] Reminds me of some footage of the Who from a TV show where Keith Moon was playing a clear perspex kit and one of the floor toms was full of water with goldfish swimming in it. When the host commented on it querying wether it was cruel, Keith Moon responded with the classic "Nonsense. Goldfish love rock and roll!"

Hi. My mate is a graphic designer who specialises in this kind of thing (he recently designed the latest tour T-Shirt for Burn The Headlines where they're supporting Killswith Engage). You can contact him at [email protected] and can see some of his stuff on www.dribbble.com/crarg.

[quote name='Jono Bolton' timestamp='1368990196' post='2083774'] I learned to play on one of those. I don't remember how it played as I was 8 at the time but it was the first bass I'd ever played, owned by my primary school, along with a wee Park bass combo, and it was enough to have me hooked. I guess its all relative really. When I got my 1st 5 string (Yamaha RBX765A) I thought it was awesome and the best bass ever. Got me into 5ers and I've only played ERBs since but compared to the basses I own now it doesn't seem quite so awesome now (although still a decent bass). [/quote]

I was born in 1981 so completely missed most of the music I love by 10-20 years but only in the sense of being there at the time. I think the key thing is that we still have all that incredible music available to us and everything since as well. After all it's music I love because I've been able to hear it so I'm pretty happy with the here and now. Not to mention being born in a time when I never had to worry about growing up with rickets!

I currently have 4 basses but they are all different so kinda one of each; 6 string active electric - main gigging bass 5 string active electric - spare gigging bass (also has a longer strap so more comfy for the couple of songs I play with a pick) 5 string electro accoustic - home practice 4 string passive electric fretless - just because! Can't really justify more than that right now but If money we're no object I reckon I'd still have one of each except in that case it would mean one of each model of every make ever produced Variety is the spice of life!

Sounds like a film script. Congrats! Just out of interest I've always wondered, does your singer actually wear a cobra snake for a necktie or was he just making it up to sound cool?

Welcome from darkest peru! Well Norfolk actually but the locals can be just as strange. My 1st bass was a B2a. Got rid cos I didn't like the shape and only realised later in my playing career that it had actually been a really nice bass!

My old bass teacher used to wipe his strings down with surgical spirit cos it evapourates without leaving any residue. Only problem was people at his gigs would always ask if he had a bad back cos he smelt like Ralgex!

Nothing to do with bass but once saw a tee shirt advertised in Viz that said 'Save Trees - Eat Beavers!!!' Always wanted that one!

I think expresion in music obviously makes a big difference. My dad (an extremely accomplished classically trained musician) would often comment on the tendency for a lot of Japanese musicians to be technically flawless and very precise but he found their playing to be somewhat 'souless' and to his ears somehow less musical. Now this is of course a rather sweaping generalisation of musicians of one particular nationality but I do see how he felt about music played that way. For some reason music creates an emotional response in our brains which is why we enjoy it but this looses somethin in translation if every note is played in a mechanical fashion. For me the danger of simply playing something note for note is that it is very difficult to recreate faithfully the phrasing and feel fingerprint of the original player and you can then end up playing with almost no expression at all. I would much rather play with the feel that comes to me naturally and still create expressive music, albeit a different feel, than with no feeling at all. Of course as for whether the average punter will notice the difference in the music they may not but I know I'll be able to tell myself and 18 years / 1000+ gigs of playing covers has certainly taught me that the crowd respond more if you appear to be enjoying yourself and believe in what you do! Of course thats me and my opinion - boring if we all thought the same way!

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1368570743' post='2078806'] 'Fraid not. It stands for "flamed maple". [/quote] Okay, now I feel stupid for missing the obvious! Maybe the F series in general is for funkmeister then, or then again maybe not. :\ To be fair it does just sound like the kind of name GH would have come up with himself for his own custom shop bass. If I'm honest, as much as I like the sound on that album, I'm not really over keen on that body shape now that I see it but still cool to finally know what it looks like!

Big thanks to all. Having looked on the ESP website I did find that they make an 'F' series of basses and I can now see that this is the same distinctive body shape. One of these models in particular also has an 'FM' suffix (FunkMeister?) although its only listed as being available in a 4 string but I'm guessing this may be the production version in any case. Always thought it was interesting that Glenn Hughes was using a 6 string on the feel album when I'd only really seen him use 4s/5s. Always loved the bass sound on that album though! Right next question. Anyone know what amp he was using?!?!

Never owned anything I really hated at the time. Obviously as I've upgraded a fair few times over the years some basses I've owned in recent years have been better than those owned in the past though. Of them all the one I got on with the least was a Spector Legend 5 string which I got as an inexpensive backup. So light it felt like it was made of balsa wood (I know lightweight is something many people look for in a bass but I'd spent too many years playing my bubinga Corvette which weighs slightly more than a baby hippo) and tonally just a bit weak and lacking a bit in bottom end. By no means sh*te and certainly looked the business but just left me cold. As for worst bass I've played- my mates P shape Rockwood by Hohner. Plywood body, half inch thick gloss varnish on the fingerboard, pickguard seemingly made from old margarine tubs, a bridge that would lacerate your hand if you played with a pick and best of all a tone so dead it sounded like a xylophone!

Are they still making these? A friend of mine bought a couple direct from Bogart a few years back and was apparently told he was getting the last completed one and the other would have to be cobbled together from left over parts as they were stopping production from what I remember! My old bass teacher (who owned some truly beautiful basses) always said the best bass he ever played was a Bogart and it was on his recomendation - my friend was also one of his students - that my friend bought them.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1368314210' post='2075693'] Sorry that you haven't had an answer but look on the bright side at least you haven't been bombarded with the usual replies telling you: A. Not to buy it B. Why it would be a waste of money C. Why it wouldn't suit your playing style D. Why it should have less strings E. Why it should have more strings F. They don't make it in the right colour G. I wouldn't buy a bass with a maple fretboard (call me a traditionalist etc etc......) [/quote] Ha ha. Very good point well made. In all fairness though it's never been more than idle curiosity anyway - just one of those things that bugs you. Guess if I just emailed ESP direct it might be easier.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1368307055' post='2075623'] Dunlop plastic strap locks. Useful in an emergency. About £1.99 for two. [/quote] Dammit! Just paid £3.15 for a pair of these on ebay! Now I feel I've been had! Postage was free mind

Errrrrrrr..... Guess not then!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1364209455' post='2023101'] Do I recall seeing a leather covered bass here?? [/quote] Sheryl Crowe often played a leather covered MM.

Just wondering if anyone out there could help me with this - nothing more than curiosity but been kinda bugging me for years. I've always liked the bass sound on Glenn Hughes' Feel album (very warm sound especially given that he plays with a pick) and the sleeve notes say the bass he used was an ESP Funkmeister 6 string. Now I'm guessing it's long been discontinued but I can't find so much as a picture on line and wondered if anyone on here knew anything about them or had a picture they could put up?

I played for a couple of years with a band that did a very heavy, hard rock cover of Insomnia by Faithless which was guaranteed to fill the dance floor! Be careful you don't allow yourself to get too gimmicky with making this your thing though. Saw a band in Norwich years ago who's entire set was made up of lightening fast shouty punk covers of pop songs. Hilarious as I found their version of My Heart Will Go On from Titanic, it did get a bit tired after about 15 minutes! As it happens my band recently played a gig where the support was booked by the venue. The guitarist from afore mentioned punk band was playing with them and this time was playing nothing but lightening fast shouty punk covers of Elvis songs!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1368222102' post='2074740'] I have 3 Jazz basses. A Japanese Fender, a Korean Squier and a clone by Vintage. The Squier is probably the best of the three, and the Fender is the one I use the least! [/quote] I know a few guitarists who rate an old squire strat over a new fender so not that surprised to hear this. Even Hank Marvin's signature strat is a squire - although not sure that was his choice

Sorry to jump in again. Just remembered an old Eko 4 string acoustic I bought from a little curiosities shop many moons ago. Had a neck like half a telegraph pole and an action like a suspension bridge. Used it to learn anything I was struggling with so that when I picked up one of the Aria Magna series basses I had at the time it would feel much easier. That was a neck I wouldn't hurry back to.