Misdee

I remember when no one used flats, back in the '80's and early '90's. At that time flatwound bass strings were something they had in the old days, like rickets and diphtheria. Definitely to be avoided. It all changed with PIno and that Voodoo album. Nowadays everybody has to have a Precision with flats on. It's become yet another bass playing tyranny. When I finally got some TI flats about ten years ago it was a revelation how much fun they were to play and how I could now accurately emulate bass parts I'd been playing right but that didn't sound like the original. More than anything, the different attack and decay you get on flats compared to roundwounds made all the difference.

I can't entertain the idea of buying a bass with blocks but without binding. It aught to be illegal.

You've also got to bear in mind, modern amps and cabs can make any bass with flats sound different to the olden days when valves and boomy cabs were the only option. There's an awful lot of hi-fi bass rigs about nowadays that can give a much more precise and detailed version of the flatwounds sound. That clarity, power and punch can negate some of the reasons why bassists ditched those strings in favour of roundwounds.

I've got a Fender AVRI 74 Jazz Bass with TI flats on and it's a lot of fun. Great for reggae and also '70's funk stuff. Also a great combination for using a pick with to get that clicky old-school sound. I actually prefer that bass to a Jazz with roundwounds nowadays.

It's quite a while since I was last in Nashville but I remember talking to a bass player who told me was getting 20 dollars a set on Broadway, three sets a day. The bandleader kept the tips. He asked me if he'd do better in London. I told him yes and no; you'll get more than that for a set but you won't play three sets a day.

Could have been worse. At least you didn't nearly drive off with Kiera Kenworthy. Kidnapping is a serious offence which people generally take a pretty dim view of nowadays

Never underestimate the power of suggestion. It's known as positive association advertising. It really works. I strongly suspect that what PIno is looking for from these strings is not so much a new sound but more a financially-secure future. That's not to say that they aren't a really great set of strings- I'm gonna buy a set to see what they're like now I've read a few user reviews- but if they didn't exist we wouldn't be missing them, if you see what I mean. There was already enough strings like these Any signature models I've ever owned were incidental to their artist. I used to have a custom Jaydee Mark King and the last thing I wanted was to sound like Mark King. I wanted to sound like Alembic-era John Entwistle but I couldn't afford an Alembic. However, if there was a signature bass for an artist that really didn't appeal to me and was cognitively dissonant to my own self-image for whatever reason I might well not buy it even if the instrument suited me.

My brother likes his Italian food and he says it was a different class, especially compared to the previous works outing they had at one of Jamie Oliver's establishments, where they overpaid for small portions of very mediocre food and most folks stopped off for chips on the way home because they were still hungry.

For me, Thin Lizzy were one of the best bands of all-time. Phil Lynott was an extroadinary talent; singer, songwriter,frontman and teriffic bass player. The complete package.

My brother used to work in Whitchurch, round the corner from that restaurant. Apparently it's got a really excellent reputation in Cardiff.

Folks on Basschat seem to be baulking at the prospect of paying ninety quid for a set of Pino's signature strings, let alone a few grand for the bass. Like I said a while ago, three and a half grand for the standard version actually seems pretty reasonable to me considering what other EBMM basses cost nowadays. My concern would be how many enthusiastic amateurs with a few quid in their pockets are going to get carried away listening to vintage Pino from back in the '80's and buy the unlined fretless and then have it dawn on them how hard it is to actually play it in tune convincingly. It's easy to watch PIno play the bass be so beguiled by his effortless brilliance that you start to think it's achievable for mere mortals. Buying one of these basses could give some folks a rude awakening especially if they try it out on a gig. Back at the height of the fretless fad in the ,1980's I remember witnessing some shocking live performances from bass players who's enthusiasm outstripped their ability to play in tune.

It's a big bad world out there. Let the buyer beware.

Sadowsky basses ( both USA and Metroline) have an excellent low B if you prefer a 34 inch scale. So do EBMM, if you can also cope with tighter spacing and the G string being very close to the edge of the fretboard.

Anyone can ask for over £9000 for a used one. It would take a prize pillock to actually pay it.