Misdee

Very good shout. Some people should never grow old and fat. Robert Smith is one of them.

Wow, what a great film! I was a big Ian Dury fan at the time, and I'm an even bigger one now. I can still remember buying New Boots And Panties bringing it home and being thrilled by the swearing. Ian was such a complex but likeable character. In retrospect, Ian Dury and the Blockheads were, like XTC, The Police and The Jam in so much as at the time they rode on the coattails of the punk movement. Funny thing is, listening to those classic records Blockheads now, such is the musicianship that they are closer to Steely Dan than the Sex Pistols!

Most artists go on way too long, but how would we know they were finished if they didn't keep trying? Paul McCartney hasn't made any music worth listening to for decades, but if he had packed it in thirty years ago we'd all be saying "what if..."

My favourite era for P Basses is the late 60's/ early 70's, primarily because of the neck profiles. I don't enjoy playing basses with a 1.75 nut width, so the pre -CBS Precisions are not really my cup of tea. An A or B width nut is much better for me. I certainly think a good Fender from my preferred late 60s/early 70's era sounds just as good as the Pre-CBS examples. (To be honest, I think a lot of the modern Fenders sound just as good as the old basses. But that's a whole other discussion/ heated argument 😄) I don't own any old Fenders nowadays but I have had far too many over the years to be romantic about them. I think you can find gems ( and duds) from every era, and what constitutes a gem(or a dud) depends to a great extent on the tastes and expectations of the player. I wouldn't pay the going rate for a vintage Fender bass nowadays because to me it's Rolls Royce money for an old Ford Capri instrument, but others may have a different view.

Yes, it will cripple you.

At £1500?!! I'm sure you could pick one up for less than that, my friend. It's different to my P Basses in so much as it weighs a ton due to the maple body and it's got a neck on it like a tree trunk, as well as strings so taught that they will turn an ordinary man's fingers to mincemeat. If these signature models are an accurate representation of what Steve Harris plays then it only heightens my admiration for a formidable bass player. These basses are definitely a niche product, regardless of the WHU decal. I suppose you could put a sticker of your own preferred club crest over it, or if you can afford it get the Fender Custom Shop to make you one with a picture of your favourite snooker player on it. Probably wouldn't be quite as rock and roll, though.

I really enjoy John Taylor's bass playing and I like the design of this bass, but I don't really want the Rio graphic. To my eyes it's always been a very poor album cover. I certainly don't want it spoiling my Dingwall. I suppose it could be worse; they could have put something to do with Rio Ferdinand on the front of the bass My only reservation about Dingwall basses is how much sense the fanned frets ect make for a four string bass. Otherwise I am all-in on one of these.

In my mind's eye these basses were an exotic image of perfection. It's a mixed blessing to find out that the reality is a bit more mundane.😕 I get the impression that Stanley Clarke is so gifted that he is impervious to the ergonomics of his instruments. When you see how he physically dominates the double bass, the bass guitar must feel like a toy to him.

This is a really rare and very beautiful bass. I have often wondered what these basses are like in reality. It still looks great now, but in 1979 this bass must have looked like something from Star Wars. I would think that spare parts might be a bit hard to source nowadays, though. It would be interesting to know who this bass originally belonged to. A lot of these basses went to big name players. I know John Wetton had one, as did Lee Sklar. Also, I seem to remember that a left handed one was made and given as a gift to Paul McCartney.

I would love one of these basses but £40 grand is my limit, I'm afraid. It's a good job the seller isn't trying to flog this on Basschat, though : "If only this was a five string I'd be all over it." "What does it weigh?" "Would you consider a trade with an Elric fretless and can you ship to Moldova?"

I agree with you entirely that music has in effect become an adjunct of the computer industry, but I would venture that even more young people are talking up the guitar than ever before. Technology makes it easier for non- musicians to make music you are absolutely right, but I don't see how it has detracted from the popularity of the guitar. To the contrary, I think that it has added to the guitar's ( and other instruments) appeal because everyone thinks success is within their grasp. I am hoping against hope that whoever the new PM is will introduce emergency legislation to outlaw young people becoming aspiring singer-songwriters and instead put them to work shovelling coal in power stations for a pittance in order to bring down energy bills.( That will give them something to write songs about!) Event then, there would still be enough young hopefuls to keep the guitar industry going into any forseeable future.

Someone (not me) ought to go into a vintage guitar shop and warn them that their stock will soon be worthless because their customer base will soon mostly be dead or in a nursing home. See if they panic and offer a big discount. . I can remember the early 1980's when "digital" was a magic word and some very silly people tried to tell us that the guitar was on its way out and synthesisers would be the preeminent musical instrument from now on. How did that one turn out? There is about as much chance of vintage guitars becoming worthless as there is of Ryan Giggs being asked to be the new presenter of Women's Hour on BBC Radio 4. Aspiring guitarists will always to be drawn to the romance and enchantment associated with old guitars and, as ever, the law of supply and demand will ensure high prices.

In one way or another the world has been in a perpetual state of crisis for millennia. The eschatological crescendo never happens, though. Things just get even worse ie Boris buggers off to make way for Liz Truss instead. Life is rubbish and then you get an even bigger big gas bill. Human beings have an almost infinite capacity for suffering. I know this to be true because I once went on a school trip where the teacher driving the minibus played his Smurfs tape over and over again without remission for five days. Then after the tape broke he played Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie for the remaining two days. However bad things get we will still be here and there will still be a burgeoning market for vintage gear. Half of which won't work properly.

Well, when they first came out I asked if they could get me one or make me one in another colour and I seem to remember I got a vague and equivocal answer that they might but not right now. Subsequently I have seen these basses in various colours but not described as the Chuck Rainey model, so I think what designates it as a CR signature model is specifically the transparent yellow blonde finish. Otherwise it's a regular XPJ-4 model available in all the usual colours.

Looked at one of these basses myself back when they came out but hesitated because I couldn't easily get hold of one in a colour I liked. I wish I had bought one now. Looks like an exceptionally useful bass. Beautifully built,too. Enjoy it.🙂

Vintage guitars will not become worthless after the boomers are gone. The legend will live on. People will continue to be fixated on the unattainable Guitarists are obsessed with vintage. They are told to be from a very early age. "Vintage-style case, vintage-style strap, vintage-style cable." Vintage in guitar culture is a magical idea that covers everything and cannot be disproven. Without the idea of vintage the whole industry would be looking at each other blankly not knowing what to do. Vintage is going nowhere anytime soon, trust me on that. The old designs have never been significantly improved on or superceded so the origin myth will still prevail.

At least 17 of these basses were shipped to the UK, that's quite a lot of basses when you consider how expensive Fender basses were in the UK back in the 1960s. Also, there were far fewer bass players in those days, especially with that kind of money to spend on an instrument.

My mistake! 🙂 I really like Andy Fairweather Low, by the way. Underrated by the general public maybe, but certainly not by other musicians judging by the company he has kept over the years. Talking of the early 1970's, I think Marc Bolan's bass player had one of these slab body P Basses, too.

What I admire most about Rush, far more than their music, is their unerring self-confidence and the strength of their convictions. What I mean is that, in a world where musicians are almost bullied into accepting fashionable orthodoxies such as "less is more" and "play to serve the song, not your own ego", these guys just go for it and do exactly whatever they feel like, regardless of any idiotic advice to the contrary. More is more and more is better because it gives you the opportunity to do more things. Primus are kindred spirits in that respect. (I can't imagine Les Claypool switching to a P Bass with flats and lecturing folks on the virtues of restraint and minimalism). Both bands have a neurotic intensity to them, albeit that Primus are a bit (a lot) more wacky (irritating). So to me Primus doing Rush is a good fit as a tribute. It's just that I can't enjoy Les Claypool's singing in his own music, let alone murdering Rush's back catalogue! .

Beautiful bass with quite a heritage when you consider the Entwistle connection ect. I seem to remember that Andy Fairweather Low is married to that bass player's sister, and has been so for a very long time. I also remember seeing Andy Rourke from The Smiths toting one of these rare beasts mid-198Os-ish. If I was going to treat myself to a Fender Custom Shop build it would probably be for a nice light one of these. I seriously doubt that it would sound substantively different to a regular ash/maple P Bass, but so what? Like most people, I love a good story, and this bass harks back to a time when rock music was still dangerous and Britain excelled at it. Fender sent the UK a special tool to deafen the civilised world into submission and some great exponents willingly accepted the challenge. Surely that is worth celebrating.

A sensible choice would be a Jazz Bass. A decent used USA model would be your best bet, provided you can find a good 'un. Might cost slightly more than £700 but the resale value should be at least what you paid if you choose well.

I take your point, but the UK price is largely dictated by the US prices combined with the exchange rate. US prices have risen too. In the past depends on how far back you go, and how many factors you take into account. Historically basses were more unattainable than they are now if you take into account for how much disposable income most people had. If you were to estimate the cost of a Fender bass in the UK fifty years ago it was proportionately much more expensive. It may be that we are going back to that time.

I just hope that they are grateful!🙂 They were also health food ; "A Mars a day helps you work,rest and play." No moaning about childhood obesity back in the 1970s. If you were a fat kid it was for the entertainment of others and that was your lot in life.

Not sure how true that is. If you were to analyse it, most players are as much buying into an idea as they are choosing a tool to make music with when they buy a bass. It's as much a romantic process as it is a practical one.

Buying a new bass made in the USA you are bound to be left sucking lemons if you start looking at the price in relation to what it retails for in the States. However, it's a lot more complicated than that. America is a low taxation economy compared to the UK. People get to keep more of their wages and overall taxes are lower. That lower taxation is reflected in the price of consumer goods. However, the other side of that coin is that folks are expected to pay themselves for things we take for granted in the UK. Like healthcare, social services ect. And don't expect the government to step in and help you if you fall on hard times. You can't just look at the lower cost of fun stuff in America and lament how we are getting ripped off in this country. Yes the exchange rate is terrible at the moment, but inflation is also at a fourty year high in the USA and prices are going up there too. If you were an equivalent person to yourself but living in America, one way or another you would probably feel just as frustrated. People are miserable everywhere you go. I hope you can take some comfort from that. I know I do.