chriswareham

Check out the bands 16 Horsepower and Wovenhand, both featuring David Eugene Edwards who alternates between guitar and banjo. I have to confess I couldn't stand the sound of the banjo before hearing these two bands, but have since toyed with the idea of buying one.

Try the "Join My Band" website? Seems to work quite well down here in that London, where it seems to be first port of call for people seeking band members.

RhysP: most of the arpeggiated parts were Jupiter 4 rather than 8. A very different synth from the later 6 and 8, quite limited voice architecture in comparison but the 4 is still a great synth. I own one, and if I could only keep one instrument then it'd be the JP4 rather than any of my basses!

Singer: "Can't rehearse today, as I've accidentally erased the cassette with the drum machine data on it". Guitarist: "I can't record today, as I've got an audition for another band". (The recording had been booked for weeks). Best one was the singer who turned up to rehearsal, but after his mobile rang he disappeared. As in his parents phoning us up days later to see if we knew where he was type of disappeared. Turns out the call at the rehearsal was from his wife who had just discovered the emails between him and his ex-girlfriend making it clear they were having an affair.

If you were closer to London then I'd suggest The Gallery. They did an incredible job turning a very fragile semi-acoustic from matt yellow to glossy black.

[quote name='randythoades' timestamp='1450458804' post='2933091'] Completely ridiculous Aria FB series: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-ARIA-PRO-II-2-series-FB-bass-guitar-pro-defretted-schwarz-japan-/301817500762?hash=item4645b9945a:g:TNkAAOSwHQ9WZAEz"]http://www.ebay.co.u...NkAAOSwHQ9WZAEz[/url] As far as I know they were a low to mid level series and certainly not above SB1000 territory, especially with the defret. 2 hopes. Bob Hope and No Hope. [/quote] Only just seen your post, but that looks identical to my first bass. Made in Korea, bought new in 1990 for £190. It was awful - the body was some kind of chipboard like affair covered in a thick (4 to 5mm) layer of some plasticky resin stuff. The headstock snapped off it, and I thankfully bought a mint Westone Thunder 1A with the early style of logo.

Ampeg fridge and a new weightlifting hobby?

Pretty much anything by Skinny Puppy after the first mini-album. Once Dwayne Rudolph Goettel joined the complexity of the samples and arrangements was difficult to replicate.

13 - I never knew about the piano smashing incident. I got the one about lecturing Welsh schoolchildren about drugs right, but I seem to recall it was the Welsh Assembly where he recommended legalising drugs. Quite easy to confuse politicians and children though.

[quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1451471177' post='2940671'] Good coverage on the late BBC news last night. More than I was expecting so just shows what a legend he is. [/quote] Surprisingly good coverage on BBC News 24 as well. That included an interview at one point with John Robb (Membranes/Goldblade) which was very insightful.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1451417613' post='2940351'] Thanks Chris, I'll check those out. You haven't converted the Luddites stuff to MP3, by chance? Can't get it anywhere as I've not used vinyl in some years! [/quote] PM'ed

I find twin humbucker short scales don't lack growl. I can thoroughly recommend the [url="http://www.gretschguitars.com/products/basses/jet/g2220-junior-jet-bass-ii-rosewood-fingerboard-black/"]Gretsch Junior Jet[/url], made in China but very good quality and excellent value.

Oh, and if obscure Post-Punk is your thing, then some other gems I've recently come across are Fallen Apart and a band from the then Yugoslavia called Komakino. There's a healthy scene consisting of new bands influenced by this stuff as well, such as Led Er Est.

If it's the same band, then I have the following by them: Altered States (7" single) The Strength Of Your Cry (12" single) As well as a recording of the Peel Session. Sad to hear the drummer ended up in the execrable Beautiful South.

Take away the iconic image, the humourous quotes and the rebellious lifestyle - then he'd still be a legend solely through the raw intensity of his music. I started playing double stops and using distortion because of him, and one particular show at Brixton Academy ranks in my top three gigs ever. Think I'll get a Motorhead tattoo in his memory.

Quoting posts doesn't work on Android (very latest version on a Google/Motorola Nexus 6).

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1450916447' post='2937097'] I've always really fancied a 4001 or 4003 - I love the look and the sound. [/quote] As kodiakblair suggests, check out the Rickenfakers group on Facebook. I'd suggest going for an old Japanese faker, as they tend to be closer to a real Rick in terms of sound and look than a modern Chinese faker. The build quality on many of the old Japanese fakers put modern Ricks to shame as well.

[quote name='Chownybass' timestamp='1450948213' post='2937212'] Hi! It's exactly the same spec as the short scale model. But it's 34"... we had to make it a little heavier to solve some neck-dive issues, so now it's perfectly balanced. I am busy editing together a little video demonstration of it, which I'll post in the Affiliates area of the website. It's the same price too (£360), but will come in only 3 colours (Emerald Burst, Sapphire Burst and Tobacco Burst). This final production prototype we've just had is perfect, so we will spool it into production for delivery about March/April time. We'll start taking pre-orders in the new year. (At which point we'll add it to the website and Facebook pages) [/quote] Any chance of a black option at a later date? EDIT: scratch that, the Sapphire Burst on your existing model is gorgeous!

There's a brief Bass Direct demo. It's the usual slappy finger picking stuff, but to my ears they sound like politer versions of the Darkglass pedals - nowhere near as aggressive as the B3K that I use, but as I play with a pick that may have something to do with it. The late generation US made B7K board and the 3leaf one shown on the Basstalk thread suggest they are virtually the same, apart from the obvious value changes to alter the EQ and a few components in the middle of the board. Those few additional components (and there are comments that an even later B7K revision also had an extra IC) don't seem to do anything, and the altered EQ would account for the politer sound.

I was going to suggest Guitar Aid, but if it's North London then I'd suggest calling the Gallery. They have a guy they use who has repaired amp stuff for me in the past.

My band's last recording was intended to have that early 70s heavy rock tone, with Sabbath as the obvious comparison. I managed it with a short scale Gibson EB-0 copy, flawound strings drop tuned and an overdriven valve head into an Ampeg fridge.

Is the singer mentally unstable? Does the guitarist use a tuner or does he/she tune "by ear"? Can the drummer read and write? Who carries my bass amp when I've had too much to drink?

I bought an unbadged short scale Gibson EB-3 copy, only to find out it's a long scale EB-3L body that someone's grafted a short scale neck onto. The neck looks like it's from an Avon badged copy judging by the holes where the headstock badge would have been. Impossible to get the intonation right, since the distance from nut to twelfth fret is fa less than distance from twelfth fret to bridge. So no, mixing long scale and short scale necks and bodies doesn't work!

I've got two hollow bodies. The first is a wide bodied Eko that only has a small block down the middle. At high gain levels I accidentally blew up a valve amp with it, but now know the warning sign (a deep throbbing sound). The other one is a Shaftesbury Rickenfaker that looks like a Rick guitar. Never looked inside the body, but perhaps because it's much thinner than the Eko it doesn't suffer feedback problems.