cytania

Well there I was halfway through practise with the band on Thursday when I went to adjust the D and then snap! Tuner shaft sheared right off and string fell to the floor. Much embarrassment and we were only able to rehearse those songs that I could transpose on the fly to E and A strings. Next day I ordered a set of GOTOHs but couldn't get on with my old Ibanez neck, too slim. So this morning I took a wicked trip to Bass Direct and after an hour and a half purchased this blonde beauty. A Spector Legend 4 with flamey maple top, didn't think it was my style but the neck and tone are good. [/url]%20[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/10851347@N08/8561531197/]IMG_0053[/url]%20by%20[url=http://www.flickr.com/people/10851347@N08/]cytania[/url],%20on%20Flickr" class="ipsImage" /> Hope the link works, needless to say when I got back the machine heads had arrived and miraculously were an exact match for my broken bass but much more rugged. Now I have a proper back up that plays like my main bass. Not sure which is which yet. Mark at Bass Direct was very patient whilst I plunked away on various basses, almost went P-pickup when I picked up the MTD CRB but the Spector was fuller and more controllable. Wahey! Oh and well done Highly Strung where on the website means in stock and first class does mean next day.

For shape check out Jens Ritter's website. I love the simple sqiggle style.

What I don't understand is the difference between the Detroit bass and the Power bass. Both would appear to be Precision copies?

Even goddesses have their limitations I guess...

Not only are you dispelling all my illusions Dingus but Only Connect leaves me stumped...

Lucky I didn't buy an expensive set of scales then.

Doesn't Tony Levin do something like that? Ooh now you've put an idea in my head for next time I'm passing Surprisingly large range of guitars and good turnover for a drum shop...

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"I thought wood didn't impact on tone?"[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I think I'm bipolar on that subject. Last week was watching a net video of Victor Bailey claim that a thin central rosewood veneer in his signature bass gave more top end and my mind shouted 'No way!'. But the other day when I was looking at that 2012 US Fender I noticed how thin the fingerboard has gotten and looking at it I felt that 'slab fretboards _have_ to make a difference[/font][/color]'. Yes some luthiers come out with mystic statements that I rebel at but if you've ever worked with wood you'll know there's a difference in how they take a screw, how they glue together, the weight, the grain. Some woods are very comparable, like ash and alder, whilst mahogany is deifferent from them and makes an instrument you can feel vibrate. Walnut is heavy but I've gotten used to it. I'm not a guitar maker just someone who can hammer a nail, saw straight and put a screw in nice...

"[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This exceeds by a significant margin my levels of giving a damn"[/font][/color] Ahh, but could all those heavy basses eventually become light ones? [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]"If someone wants to put a bass in quarantine and weigh it every day for 20 years"[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]That's exactly the kind of thing I was wondering about. No need for it to be in quarantine just for it to lose a bit of weight and maybe just in the first couple of years?...[/font][/color]

Another one of my weird wonderings... Has anyone ever accurately weighed a new bass when they bought it to test out the notion that the cell structure of the wood loses moisture over the years. I know this sounds really anal but there's so many people on the net that take things to the Nth degree. Surely someone has tested this claim just to settle the internet argument... or is it another wood myth?

Thanks LukeFRC you're absolutely right about the Fender sound, it's why I keep considering one even though there are some 'difficult' aspects to them. I should really take my own advice that 'every guitar has something to teach you' and the Fender style is on my list. Maybe this year... if I still have a day job in April... The other GAS driver has been the realisation that although my Spear S2 singlecut is a Korean maker trying to 'do boutique' it is actually well above spec compared to what they make now. There's an inch of walnut top and an inch of mahogany back, now they just put a 5mm walnut cap on. The electrics were 18v now they're 9v suggesting the 'is it Aguilar?' preamp is something else. Suddenly I realise that whatever it is I won't be able to get another one easily or cheaply. Must keep an eye on it at the pub gig next week

Thanks for your responses Lozz and Dingus. Very interesting point about the hard surfaces making for the Fender sound. I had a vague notion of commissioning a Jazz from John Shuker with the modern aspects I like but I can see now that would be missing the point. Not seen much discussion of the Squier Deluxe Jazz here (which is what I was hoping to bump into at the NG&DC last week) does active electronics and a phenol board ruin the Fender vibe?

I'm sure the Nottingham Drum Centre will appreciate me getting rough with their stock!

Actually the setup was pretty good. I don't like the hard paint on the bodies or the plastic pick guard, neither are very tactile, but I was struck by how the necks felt insubstantial. It's a feel thing, I'm not here to (ahem) knock Fender. But what makes for that feel? Mahogany on my bass, ash on the Fender clones...

Was listlessly trying some Fenders in a shop the other day and was struck by the lack of 'knock', the feel of the string kicking back when you pluck it. Is this simply down to my favourite bass being singlecut and having a 5 piece neck making for greater stiffness and the thunk! factor. Or is there more to it? I like my bass to feel alive, to jump and resonate, Fender style basses seam dead. Or do they liven up with use?

Contradictory advice here, first learn the classic 12 bar I-IV-V progression till it's in your fingers. Second seek out blues numbers that aren't 12 bar I-IV-V songs. There's a blues stereotype audiences dread and a good band will keep things mixed up and alive. When I play along with old RnB/Soul/Country/Rock'n'Roll on Spotify/YouTube I seek out the I-IV-V progression. After a while you start noticing the little deviations, the one's that skip the IV on the chorus or fly over the turnaround. The interesting songs are the one's that deviate from the classic formula. PS. Having gotten I-IV-V in your fingers you'll then find off-beat progressions tough. There's A Guy Works Down The Chipshop Swears He's Elvis, sounds like a classic rockabilly blues but is sorta reversed I-V-VI, sorta...

Berry Gordy and Motown Records.

Roland RD170 - saw one Saturday, strong piano and organ sounds with a blues band, very powerful output gave the mixer desk I was manning a struggle.

I'll be out at rehearsals but I think PBS America on Sky will feature a James Jamerson amp on History Detectives at 7:50pm. Sometimes the items investigated aren't all they seem but it's always interesting. Hopefully I'll catch a repeat.

Clone suggests an accurate copy. This isn't anywhere close. The hardware looks like cheap metal bent into rough approximations. Some Chinese copies they've learnt how to make an item from the legit production line. Can't be the case here as Rickenbacker are strictly US only. Avoid.

Simple answer is that it's much cheaper/easier to search the web than to trawl round shops overseas. These days 'underground' means 'off the net' it seems. AFAIK Rickenbacker is unique in copyrighting their guitar's shapes, certainly in America from the 60s onwards. Fender recently tried the same trick retrospectively but courts told them they had to stick to headstock. Not sure if that applies in the UK but they act like it does...

The vintage Gibson shown earlier in the thread is a harp guitar. Popular at the turn of the last century. The outboard strings provide a drone harmony to play over.

After a year of playing bass exclusively I took my acoustic guitar off the wall, dusted it down and it felt like a ukelele, and such an uncomfortable box of a body. Playing another instrument does help but I realise I still need to learn more about how chords work and break out of the 14 open chords.

When I sing I often feel the magnetic pull of the original pitch, even though I know I sing it lower/higher. Takes real singing chops not to fall back to the original you hear in your head. Have seen others have this trouble in folk clubs and can't say I overcome it. Luckily I just play bass in current band and our singers appear immune to the draw of original pitch. I often make sure I learn a baseline free of open string notes so I can shift it up or down in rehearsals.

Valves add warmth. You'll find them in microphone preamps and high end recording gear but for guitarists they introduce drive, breakup and distortion. They are also finicky things that can play-up as they get old. With hybrid amps the single valve stops things being too clinical and hi-fi. A full on bass valve amp has lots of fuzzy goodness but can't suddenly be set to modern clean. What you'll see on alot of hybrid amps are controls that offer the vintage tone. Either ways you are looking for an amp that makes you feel connected to your bass in a musical way. Some Ampeg SVT rigs sound a bit muffled and wooden, some solid state rigs are trebley and lack life. Best way to find out is try them.