Misdee

Lovely bass. Wish I could play an unlined fretless!

I've got the V2 version and it's got a bit too much zing for my ears! The top end has always been a bit too sharp for my middle of the road taste.  I have to set the treble and presence about 11 o'clock and even then the Bass Driver never sounds how I would like to it to unless I use a compressor with it, but when I do that it sounds exceptionally good.  It's a terrific pedal with so many practical uses. Maybe your bass just needs some new round wound strings.

You can tell Neil Murray is posh because he's from Scotland but he doesn't have a Scottish accent.

Rockschool was a seminal experience for a whole generation of young musicians. I thought it was great at the time. Looking at it again now, I am still of the same opinion. 

You've got to remember, it was a era before the internet, YouTube ect and accurate information was a lot harder to come by.  Most folks still didn't have video recorders. You had to watch it and remember it! Kudos to the BBC for such an innovative idea and having the balls to see it through.

The Pat Peeves of my imagination is playing the pubs and clubs of the North East and  still telling the story of how he nearly auditioned to be the original bass player in The Sweet but missed the train to London due to a mishap involving a crate of brown ale,  a glamorous barmaid and a pair of silver hotpants.

I've got the Diamond BC1 and it sounds  wonderful with whatever bass I use it with. Subtle and very chunky sounding is how I would describe it. Makes your bass sound like the ones on your favourite recordings. A compressor for enhancing your tone more than for squashing it. Thoroughly recommend.

The Cali76 is superb, too. You really can't go wrong with either. The best two compressors I have tried, but I must say the Markbass Compressore sounds great in the demonstrations I have heard. The EBS Multicomp still sounds good to me, but is no longer the market leader it once was.

Does anyone else keep looking at the title of this thread and thinking it's about a bassist called Pat Peeves? I fall for it every bleedin' time...

On 04/07/2022 at 21:53, Chris2112 said:

I would expect a discount given that it may have been the bass used to inflict that awful Christmas song on us but even so, the price is steep. I'm wondering if his roof hasn't fallen in. 

He might also be reaching a stage in his life where he doesn't want to be burdened with material possessions that no longer bring joy or satisfaction. Or he might just need to free up some space. 

If it was my bass I would be looking to get that kind of money for it if I could. And I wouldn't be feeding any Ethiopians with the proceeds, either. Let's face it, the way prices are going up in the shops at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if musicians in Ethiopia record a song for charity to help people in the UK get adequate nutrition.

Without wishing to muddy the waters, I seem to remember that Overwater claim it was one of their basses that was featured on the actual recording of Do They Know It's Christmas? 

This bass is incontrovertibly the one played by John Taylor in the video, but if Overwater are correct then it's not necessarily on the final version of the song. I seem to remember Chris May was at the recording studio on the day. It's all getting to be a long time ago so forgive me if I am wrong, but I have got a definite recollection that Overwater promotional literature used to mention this accolade amongst their other achievements.

11 hours ago, Bunion said:

Hmm seems to have completely changed colour too I don’t believe it’s the same bass, the flame is close but no cigar 

That finish was achieved by chemically treating the wood ( sycamore or maple). Over time it turned out that the finish discolours. A lot of the lighter stains like the one on the bass Martin Kemp used at Live Aid have taken on a greenish tinge. ( Last I heard that bass belonged to Iggy Pop's bass player back in the early 1990s).

The thing is, for the most part Glastonbury is a celebration of old people's music. Most of the bands on the bill(but not all, I hasten to add) are playing music that is not remotely new and is referential to music from previous generations. Despite all their efforts to be "relevant" and "representative", Glastonbury is primarily a celebration of Dad Rock and it's traditional and reassuring values.

Rock music belongs to old people. They invented it.

18 minutes ago, Bolo said:

Best call nurse, you've forgotten to take your meds again.

Okay, I've called a nurse but the escort agency says it will be at least an hour until she can get here. I'll watch some Glastonbury in the meantime and see if I can warm to it a bit more. If that falls I'll do as you suggest and resort to drugs. 

On 29/06/2022 at 10:16, Marky L said:

Real raw energy from her. She's got the rock 'n' roll!

 Never mind rock 'n' roll, from the way she was moving around on stage I wouldn't be surprised if she has untreated cystitis!

Just now, Supernaut said:

Like all major festivals then? 

Yes!

I suppose it's out of necessity though. If festivals were how they used to be all these Instagram kids would be suing the organisers and seeking therapy for the trauma they had experienced. Let's just hope this country doesn't have to go to war again.

Just now, Supernaut said:

How to sound ancient in one sentence. 

I'm as old as I am and I'm not trying to hide it from anyone.

The point is that Glastonbury trades on it's history as a counterculture event despite the reality that it's now a bastion of the establishment. It's the Wimbledon of rock festivals.

On 29/06/2022 at 09:24, Nail Soup said:

Really enjoyed Amyl and the Sniffers. Great band - in particular Amy is a great lyricist.

Now there a band who know to drop the "C" word in true Aussie style! It features a lot in Amy's lyrics and between song banter. The bass player pitched in with a few in a heartfelt attack on the US supreme court too.

 

 The U.S Supreme Court is probably reconsidering it's judgment right now.

I watched this lot. All I can say is whatever they have been sniffing, they  have either been sniffing too much of it or not enough.

What I like most about this band is their referencing of the Sharpie subculture (skinheads with mullets- a wonderfully Aussie combination!) of early- mid Seventies Australia. The music fits that era perfectly, too.

On 28/06/2022 at 18:20, FinnDave said:

When I went to the free festivals in the 70s, I hitch hiked there from Stockport - small world.

 

That's when festivals were festivals. None of this Instagram glamping nonsense back then. I remember folks coming back from festivals looking like they had been on the Somme! 

No wonder they have cash machines at Glastonbury nowadays if it costs £6 for a pint of beer or cider and £11.50 for a cheese toastie.(!)  Drugs used to be a problem at festivals, but nowadays festival goers could adopt a cocaine habit  out of  necessity as a way of saving money.  For those prices price I would be expecting Paul McCartney to serve me my food in bed and call me "sir". 

43 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

Is this not the modern world? Everything is the best thing ever. Everything is so crammed full of profound moments you'll run out of skin once you start getting tattoos about the iconic memories you simply need to trigger. Make sure you let everyone know, too, with an array of carefully taken selfies to show how in the moment you were, living your best life out loud! Hey, PREMIER LEAGUE will be back soon, don't miss a second of it! YOLO!

You've just hit the nail on the head.

The BBC do exactly the same thing with the FA Cup, which they have also paid way over the odds to broadcast. Every year they can't wait to get Dan Walker to tell you how native tribes in the Amazon will be getting out of their hammocks at 4am to tune their shortwave radio into The Greatest Knockout Cup Competition in the World Ever. At the end of two weeks of trailers, preambles, interviews and endless punditry you get to watch  an understrength Leicester City eke out a 2-1 victory over Dagenham and Redbridge. If that doesn't make you proud to be British I don't know what will!

(If the BBC was really interested in reporting about football matters they would be investigating the Deep State conspiracy intent on destroying Leeds United. Lizard people living in tunnels under Whitehall are trying to sell  LUFC's best players for peanuts and are using invisible magnetic rays to help opposing teams score against them. You read it here first!)

Regardless of what  actually transpires in reality, the BBC are going to push the party line that Glastonbury is a national event that enjoys an overwhelming consensus of approval.  It isn't and it doesn't.

It's five years now since Jeremy Corbyn addressed the crowds at Glastonbury and tantalised them with his vision for a fairer Britain. The gathered throng lapped it up and went back to constituencies to prepare for government. Instead of revolution we have had more Tories,more Glastonbury, more football and more misery, most of which but not all of which has been self- inflicted. That is the gap between the rhetoric and reality.

Malcolm McLaren was right when he said that it is better to be a flamboyant failure than any kind of benign success. Glastonbury is a benign success.

10 minutes ago, Sibob said:

So you liked it then?

 

Si

Already looking forward to next year. Apparently I've got to. It's going to be even more amazing.

Individual performances aside, is it just me who is sick of the " Glastonbury fascism" instigated by the BBC that seems to be getting more total with each event?

The endless hyperbole about how "amazing","historic""incredible" ect the festival is getting to be more than I can bear. "The Greatest Party On Earth" ran the headline on the BBC website yesterday. 

The naked truth is that Glastonbury is a triumph of mediocrity. It's a propaganda event, not, as we are being bullied into believing, a cause for  compulsory celebration. The BBC pay an absolute fortune for the rights to broadcast the festival and they are desperate to justify this questionable expenditure at every opportunity.

Anyhow, I thought the BBC were supposed to be impartial and represent differing perspectives and opinions. But not when it comes to Glastonbury, it seems. The only disparity allowed is  just what degree of life- changing awe and amazement we are experiencing by vicarious participation.

No wonder the Quentin's running the BBC are nervous if this is the best they can come up with to try and stave off their seemingly inevitable emasculation at the hands of Nadine Dorries and her vengeful Tory masters. 

Sadly, Glasto has become bread and circuses for post-post whatever-it-is Britain and it's not likely to lose its totemic stature in any forseeable future. Judging by what I have sat through over the weekend, if this is all that British people have got to look forward to then would it really be so terrible if a hostile foreign power were to subjugate this country once and for all?

The BBC would have been far better occupied commissioning an extended series of Antiques Roadshow and undertaking a brutal purge of everybody associated with Match of The Day.

And yes, Diana Ross was abysmal.

4 minutes ago, dclaassen said:

During that same time frame, out on the plains of Nebraska, we also had an abundance of really good bands and great venues. I that experience must have been pretty wide-spread. It was wonderful!

By strange coincidence, I've spent a fair bit of time out on the plains of Nebraska ( McCook, not that far from the Colorado/ Kansas borders respectively) and I've got some good memories of seeing  a few really interesting local bands ( early 1990s grunge era). It's also probably the friendliest place I have ever been. All my life I will never forget how  kind and welcoming the local people were.

It has to be said though, my abiding memory is of being shocked at how prevalent country music was with younger people. Most teens were much more interested in and excited by Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton than anything from the rock world. At first I thought they were joking!

58 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Late 70's were just a magical time IMO. So many great local bands / talent about. Almost every pub had live music of some kind and you could go between venues in Glasgow listening to all the different bands. Great times.

Dave

Couldn't agree more. So much great music in so many genres.

Glasgow has always been a very musical city, and I expect the local music scene in 1979 reflected the times.

Funnily enough just the other day I spent the afternoon looking at an awe - inspiring collection of photos taken in Glasgow in 1979/1980 by a French photographer (Raymond Depardon, in case you are interested) and they really captured the mood of those times. Even though they are very much about Glasgow, the pictures are evocative of urban life throughout the North during that era ( I grew up in West Yorkshire). When I listen to music from that time I like to remember the wider context and those pictures nail it perfectly.

On 30/04/2022 at 15:58, BCH said:

The Wallace ( https://reverb.com/uk/item/3600212-wallace-xt-mk-1-rare-late-60s-amp-head-superb-sound ) wish I had kept it! I purchased from Supertramp, who were recording "Crime of the century" in Scorpio studio when we were there. They were poor and became rich we had money and were a flop...ha....I also purchased from them a Harmony H75, which I sold in 2010, when someone made me an offer I could not XXXXX

 

Nice bass and even better outfit. Those might be the best flares I have ever seen. I am betting that they are hiding an equally dapper pair of platform soles. You were a stylish man!

11 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

Unhappily, the guitarist in my first (college) band has recently joined the drummer in the great band in the sky. Both were my age (although the drummer had suffered with MND for many years).

 

Someone has just posted some pictures from 1979 on Facebook. Here I am showing my earliest attempt at reproducing John Deacons rig. I have an 18 and two 4x12s (they're even Sound City). The bass was my first Precision - where are you now S749320?

 

The perm earned me the nickname Phyllis.

You could have been playing in midfield for Liverpool with that perm! Grow a moustache and you could have been scouted by Bayern Munich.😀

1979 was a  wonderful year for music and a magnificent time to be young. Nice photos and some great memories I expect.

Credit where credit is due, David Gilmore's hair looks very good in this clip.

Regarding Tony Franklin's bass playing, many watching this performance today may accuse him of overplaying. Not me, though.  Everyone was trying to play like that in the '80s! It was the zeitgeist of the day. No bearded hipsters with flatwound strings in on a P Bass played through a valve- powered radiogram intent on lecturing you about "authenticity."

I had a mullet for a good while during this era , and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Looking back now, I looked like an Australian car mechanic in the midst of some kind of a mental breakdown. I had a custom Jaydee too, and a Trace Eliot amp. Perhaps I could send some old pictures of myself to Tony Franklin and he could critique me?

Tony Franklin's hair is indeed epic in this snippet. In medical terms, it is what I believe to be a Super Mullet. That's where the hairstyle develops to such an extent that it stops being a fashion statement and instead becomes a way of life. No wonder Tony had to move to America. 

They are indeed murdering Kate's song, albeit in a very proficient manner. But let's face it, most of Kate's music doesn't really lend itself to live performance for a variety of reasons. Kate's not daft; that's why she performs live so infrequently, and successfully keeps her legend intact.