cybertect

[quote name='Mark_88MPH' timestamp='1420317229' post='2648075'] That must have been a deleted scene, Marty goes to 1958, picks up his guitar then goes to 1955 [/quote] It would have to be 1959. Marty plays an ES-345 (with a retro-fitted Bigsby trem) in BTTF, which was first available in '59.

Your eyes are a lot better than mine, though I confess to not being much of a Fender aficionado [quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1419786555' post='2642696'] I'm sure I read an interview where he said he used a 1959 all the time. Not this bass it seems (not seen the vid) but recall that much.[/quote] Could well be. From his profile page on The Hollies web site (for whom he's playing bass these days) [url="http://www.hollies.co.uk/bandprofileraystiles.html"]http://www.hollies.c...eraystiles.html[/url] [quote=Ray Stiles]I started playing bass back in 1960. At school during woodwork lessons, a number of the boys were making, as a project, solid electric guitars. I wanted to be part of the 'beat group' scene so my dad made me a bass guitar (just to be different) - and from that moment I was completely hooked.[/quote] Didn't take him long to upgrade, though... [quote=Ray Stiles]I also have a Fender Precision bass which I bought in 1961. it's pink in colour, totally original, and is now quite rare. I recorded all my Mud stuff on it and is irreplaceable.[/quote] A 1959 would fit that. Mud are rather local heroes for me, as I grew up in Wallington, Surrey during the height of their fame and still live in the area. Most of the band were local boys. [quote=Ray Stiles]My local dance hall was Wallington Public Hall, Wallington, Surrey. Every Tuesday night was 'star' group night and played host to all the top groups of the time - I saw there, The Stones, The Searchers, The Big Three, Freddie and The Dreamers, there were so many including, of course, The Hollies.[/quote] I did a fair few of my early gigs on the same stage at Wallington Public Hall in the 1980s, which was just round the corner from my house, though it was certainly past its heyday by then. Because of budget cuts, the local council recently announced that it will be closing at the end of March and may well be redeveloped, probably into flats.

[quote name='Martin E' timestamp='1420383351' post='2648587'] I have had a set of TI flats for the last few months on my Sterling SB14. First time I have used flats and am so far delighted with the results. Plenty of solid bass thump and yet am able to dial in sufficient treble on the preamp if need be so the best of both worlds. Coming from using light gauge roundwounds they are fine for me but they are low tension.which may not suite everyone.[/quote] After enjoying using Chromes on my fretless VM Jazz and hearing great things about TI flats, I've been eyeing TIs for a possible tryout on my Sabre As I'm often/usually playing tuned a semitone flat, the tension thing I've heard about them makes me wonder if I'd be better off sticking with Chromes, though. Are they really a [i]lot[/i] looser?

[quote name='woodster' timestamp='1420216402' post='2646764'] Andrea Goldsworthy [/quote] Ta

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1420122569' post='2645785']Paloma Faith trying to be Tina Turner didn't work for me.[/quote] I wasn't convinced by her dancing, but Ms Faith and Ms Stone were probably the better parts of the show for me. BTW, out of idle curiosity, does anyone know who Paloma Faith's bass player was?

[quote name='Drax' timestamp='1420212618' post='2646722']Yes it's pretty poor, the drummer as well, dreadful.[/quote] Dylan Howe. Wilko's regular drummer since 2010.

I must admit I was rather taken aback at the standard of their performance having seen them (Wilko and NWR) play together many times over the years: some of my favourite gigs ever (even if it did take me three days to get my hearing back after a mind-bendingly loud gig at the Cricketers in Kennington in 1989). While it didn't explain the other two, I figured it was something to do with Wilko's health, but... [quote name='Drax' timestamp='1420212618' post='2646722']Saw them both just two weeks ago on NWR's solo tour, Wilco came on for a few at the end - they were excellent then (with Asaf Sirkis drumming..)[/quote] this makes it all the more surprising. Edit: at least that encourages me for any future gigs, though. Hopefully, it was a one-off.

For the fun of it, I found this curiosity, a rather mucked about with '1973 Fender Precision' that was up for trade in Ireland last April, which bears a passing resemblance to the bass in question... http://www.adverts.ie/electric-basses/1973-fender-precision/5270229 [quote]The bass plays and feels amazing but could still do with a little bit of a set up , it gets gigged every week by me and has been my main bass for all the years i have had it . The previous owner told me it once belonged to Ray Stiles .. the Bass player from MUD .. i cant confirm or deny this and i have no letter of authenticity , previous owner also not in the country anymore, however just thought i would mention it.[/quote]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1419706994' post='2642125'] Maybe it was a bitsa put together for a television appearance that meant being covered in fake snow? [/quote] Taking a look at the collection of Mud videos on this page, it looks is like he was using the same bass in most of them https://justwilliam1959.wordpress.com/tag/ray-stiles/ Stills shot for a Swedish TV show on Wikipedia appears to be the same http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Mud_-_TopPop_February_1974_04.png

[quote name='Burg' timestamp='1419416516' post='2639687']What's the app called? Sounds really good. The problem I have with sight reading is that unless I already know the tune I haven't a clue if what I am playing is what is written. This would really help me. [/quote] It sounds like SRMachine. I find it very handy. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/sight-reading-machine/id662692296?mt=8 http://youtu.be/IBreIMKFA5I

I had one of the original models back in the early 80s: heaviest guitar I've ever owned by a long way and the output from the pickups was immense. I sold it when I needed some money in the 90s and often regretted it badly. I'm kind of curious how these new ones would measure up.

Not much use to you, I imagine, but Wunjos in Denmark Street in London keep them in stock and Guitar Guitar had them at their Epsom, Surrey branch when I last went in. I bought a set there for my fretless VM Jazz. Edit: Given your mention of them having at least two other branches I have a sneaking suspicion it may be Guitar Guitar that your wife tried :-/

A Crimbo single we did a few years back, though for reasons I can't remember, our guitarist played bass on it instead of me. And, yes, that really is John Cooper Clarke http://youtu.be/yaOEvyxo_yU

I wouldn't disagree [attachment=179095:1933_Duesenberg_J_Weymann_Speedster_sml.jpg]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1418920486' post='2634889'] True, theres a great bit in a show (star trek I think) where they are in a museum in the future , there is a large 50s juke box that gets called an iPod, which in the great scheme of things time wise (only 40 years) its not that far out. [/quote] Sure you're not thinking of the BeatleBox? [media]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcVS9ssNYVQ[/media]

[quote name='spacey' timestamp='1418855006' post='2634210']Similar to camera film vs digital, nobody can make a digital camera with the dynamic range of slide film yet.[/quote] Erm, slide film in particular has very limited dynamic range (which is a term borrowed from electronics, so not directly applicable to film). Fuji Velvia can deal with about 4 to 4.5 stops between the brightest and darkest tones before you blow the highlights or block out the shadows. Photographers who use Velvia get used to using graduated neutral density filters (to tame skies) and shooting in soft light to bring the range of tones into line with something that can be captured. Kodachrome could deal with possibly 6 stops in good conditions and is about par for the course for most slide film. With Fuji Provia, you can probably get about 8 stops of usable tones, but that's on the high end for a colour reversal film. Monochrome [i]negative[/i] film has a much greater exposure latitude; typically around 10 stops. HP5 is known for being able to pull out detail in the shadows and highlights over 11 to 12 stops. I've heard of people getting 15 stops plus on TMax 100 negs, but the limitation with negative film really comes when you have to print it, since there's about 100:1 luminance ratio in a photographic print, which equates to about 6.5 stops of DR. It takes some skill to develop the film appropriately and then render 15 stops in an original negative within that printable range. Colour negs fall somewhere between the colour slide and mono negs for the range of tones that they can capture. It [i]was[/i] true about ten to fifteen years ago that many DSLRs were limited to around 6-8 stops of DR. Blown highlights and very noisy shadows were fairly commonplace, especially if you didn't nail your exposure exactly or had to bump up the ISO. Improvements in technology have meant that most decent, modern cameras can reliably capture usable detail in the 10 to 12 stop range at their base ISO, which is broadly comparable with b/w negative film and still do far better than all slide films at higher speeds (up to around ISO 6400). My Sony A7, which has one of the better 35mm sensors currently available from that perspective, can capture about 14 stops of dynamic range at ISO 100. You still have to manage it well in PP to get it to display on screen or in a print. cheerz Rob [still shooting slide & neg film [i]and[/i] digital]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1417426129' post='2620089'] No more the end than it was when Tom Jones, Shirley Bassey, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton etc filled that Sunday lunchtime slot which is when I understand LR will be on. From the info currently available he is not headlining. [/quote] Quite. I saw Tony Bennett doing that slot in 98 and he was top value entertainment. Burt Bacharach was supposed to be on in 2000, but had to pull out due to illness. We got David Gray instead... but there was Willie Nelson straight after

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1417513372' post='2621054']Would you be happy , if he took the stage when you were playing.[/quote] Hell, yeah!

Somehow this all reminds me of an old Frank Zappa story [quote]In 1969, George Wein, impresario of the Newport Jazz Festival, decided it would be a tremendous idea to put the Mothers of Invention on a jazz tour of the East Coast. We wound up working in a package with Kirk, Duke Ellington and Gary Burton in Miami at the Jai Alai Fronton, and at another gig in South Carolina. The touring package did not carry its own PA - we had to use whatever speakers existed in each of the venues we were booked into. The hall in South Carolina was rigged with small jukebox speakers, set in a ring around the building. Useless, but there we were - we had to play the show. Before we went on, I saw Duke Ellington begging - pleading - for a ten-dollar advance. It was really depressing. After that show, I told the guys: '[i]That's it - we're breaking the band up[/i].' We'd been together in one configuration or another for about five years at that point, and suddenly EVERYTHING looked utterly hopeless to me. If Duke Ellington had to beg some George Wein assistant backstage for [i]ten bucks[/i], what the f*** was I doing with a ten-piece band, trying to play rock and roll - or something that was [i]almost[/i] rock and roll?[/quote] [FZ in "The Real Frank Zappa Book", 1989]

For a UK comparison, Fish (of Marillion fame) put together a breakdown of costs of touring on his blog last year http://fishheads.club/2013/01/29/touring/

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1414067651' post='2585415']Does anyone actually pronounce it the French way, like you would 'Médecins Sans Frontières'?[/quote] No need to... 'sans' is Middle English word (although borrowed from Old French) dating back to the 14th century. In English, it's pronounced to rhyme with Hans or bans (c.f. 'sans serif font'). Shakespeare: 'All the World's a Stage' monologue from [i]As You Like it[/i] [quote]Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.[color=#252525][font=sans-serif][/quote][/font][/color] [color=#252525][font=sans-serif] [/font][/color]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1414018116' post='2584997'] I listened to a radio programme on Gerry Rafferty a while back and he said that line was originally for guitar. Someone had the idea for it to be sax and, perhaps because Raphael played it so beautifully (timing is excellent!), it stuck. [/quote] The original demo of [i]Baker Street[/i] is an extra on the 2011 remaster of City to City and a guitar plays the line. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bcXRkMs0fs"]https://www.youtube....h?v=7bcXRkMs0fs[/url]

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1413365830' post='2577468']£199 Satellite P... [/quote] You'd have to pay me to take a Satellite off your hands. My first electric guitar was a Satellite Les Paul copy and still one of the nastiest things I've had the displeasure to play.

FWIW, it seems to have been made under the [i]Orpheus/Orpheum [/i]brand name (Japan, not to be confused with the Bulgarian manufacturer of the same name). [url="http://www.triplesmileplus.com/Shop/images/_Musical/Guitar_Orpheus_4Strings_Bass_need1string_a.jpg"]http://www.triplesmi...ed1string_a.jpg[/url] and some other, very similar instruments [url="http://forum.megabass.it/viewtopic.php?p=762888"]http://forum.megabas...ic.php?p=762888[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rare-1960s-Orpheum-Baritone-Bass-27-1-2-guyatone-Japan-MIJ-Worldwide-/121458188752?pt=Guitar&hash=item1c4778e1d0"]http://www.ebay.com/...=item1c4778e1d0[/url] Guyatone were mentioned earlier - their EB4 model is [i]very[/i] similar in appearance, though perhaps a little more up market (a more fancy scratch plate) [url="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152015724434797.1073741935.192721204796&type=3"]https://www.facebook...21204796&type=3[/url] Apparently, Kay also branded some of their output with the [i]Orpheus/Orpheum[/i] name, which would fit. and, since Teisco were also mentioned, here's what looks like the same instrument again, identified as a Teisco Ibanez [url="http://www.ibanezbass.org/for-sale/teisco-ibanez-japan-vintage-electric-bass-guitar-rare/12284/"]http://www.ibanezbas...tar-rare/12284/[/url]