Misdee

Your the football fella who knows foot all about football (or anything else) aren't you?

It depends what you call intermediate. I've seen better and I've seen worse. To my that makes her intermediate. A top level player would be someone like Marcus Miller, ie with a deep knowledge of jazz ect. I am reluctant to rate someone as being a "pro" level player because being a professional just means they do it for a living, it doesn't mean they are any good in terms of musical ability, taste or judgement. In my estimation this girl is an intermediate player, not exceptional but pretty good within limitations. There's nothing remotely new or original about how or what she plays, it's the same old thing lots of bass players on YouTube and Instagram play, same influences, same style. Nothing wrong with that though, if that's what people enjoy then great. Anyhow, what struck me most when I watched the clip was not the music but more how she speaks and what she says. She wants to "inspire and empower" and for her bass to help people "live their best lives". This is the nonsense that young people thrive on nowadays, and a huge burden for them to take upon themselves. No wonder they are miserable. And regarding Nikki Sixxx, I don't really know what to say. He always looked ridiculous to me. I never saw him as trading on his good looks. Or indeed his musical ability.

Easy mistake to make. I've seen some photos of Carol with a Gibson Grabber or Ripper. That's an interesting combination. I'd love to see that as a reissued/ signature model.

Are you sure that wasn't Mary Kaye?

Just out of interest, what was it like, because I can't find any reference whatsoever on the internet? Presumably a P Bass.

No, but they are famous for being in bands with a decades-long track record of worldwide success. Their record sales reflect that. You are quite right to point out that none of them are/ were Innovators or virtuoso players. Whatever their signature models celebrate, it isn't that. I only mentioned her playing skills because the OP said she was a brilliant player. Objectively, she isn't, but if the OP or anyone else enjoys what she does or finds it inspiring then great, that's enough for me. This woman is internet-famous comparatively recently. That's an entirely different phenomenon. Like I said, don't get me wrong, I don't disapprove of her having a signature model, I just don't think it's because of her bass playing being exceptional. That's not unique, though. The fact remains though, that if she weren't a glamorous looking girl, we wouldn't have heard of her in all likelihood. That's just the way of the world, I suppose.

No she doesn't, and neither does Gail Ann Dorsey, for that matter. Don't get me wrong, Blue is okay but purely in terms of her bass playing I really don't hear anything extraordinary.

Come to think of it, I've also got a Reflex with what is essentially an 18v Bongo preamp in it. However, it has the added intreague of being switchable between active and passive mode. Never noticed much (any) difference in output level between the two, except if you were to crank up the bass and low mids in active mode, probably. I seem to remember that EBMM recommended that the Reflex should always be plugged into your high impedance input, and I would surmise that the same would apply to the Bongo.

I don't think she's a brilliant player. She's a reasonably competent player at an intermediate level. Marcus Miller she ain't. She is, however, a marketable player. If she looked like Olive from On The Busses (I'm showing my age) we would never have heard of her and she wouldn't have a signature bass from Fender.

I've got an HH Bongo and I've recorded with it quite a bit. I've never had a problem with the output, even when I add some EQ from the Bongo preamp. It's definitely very hot, but I've no recollection of it ever unduly overloading enough to cause obvious distortion, and I play moderately hard. No problems through a big amp and 4x10 cabinet either.

I've got a Bongo and a Stingray Special. They are very different basses both in terms of sound and how they feel to play. It would help to know a bit more about the problems you had with your Bongo and what it is that you are dissatisfied with about the Stingray. Regarding 18 volts, I personally have never noticed much difference between 9 volt active EQ and 18 volts in practical terms, but I don't usually crank it up that much. It just depends on the design of the circuit. For example, back in the 1990's I used to have a Status Empathy with an 18 volt circuit. I remember plugging in an old Wal with a 9 volt circuit and comparing the two. The Wal was literally twice as loud. When people talk about extra "headroom" I'm a bit sceptical about how useful that might be in reality. Manufacturers are quite good at solving problems that folks never realised they had. There's plenty of 9 volt circuits that are perfectly good. I've certainly never come across a Stingray that seemed underpowered, going back all the way to the original pre-EBMM instruments. To my ears, the Stingray Special is a good-sounding example of that design, but it's not radically different to any previous Stingray, except it substantially lighter in weight.

Thanks, that's a fascinating read. So many musicians have rediscovered the sublime artistry that went into those old Serge Gainsbourg records that it's about time someone made a proper documentary about it all. London in the late 1960's/early 1970's was such centre for music, it's not surprising there was a thriving workforce of first-rate players to actually make the tracks. Phillips Studios in Marble Arch where Herbie Flowers et al did so much work and those Serge Gainsbourg records were made ended up being bought by Paul Weller, if I remember correctly, and was renamed Solid Bond.

I grew up listening to Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds (my older brother was a big fan) and even back when that album came out Herbie Flowers was the elder statesman of British bass players. Regarding whether Herbie played on Melody Nelson, the last I heard was that it had been established that it was definitely Dave Richmond on at least most of the tracks. However, considering Dave Richmond played a Burns bass and Herbie played a Fender, it would be fascinating to listen to the isolated bass tracks and work out if Herbie Flowers is in fact playing on some of the songs. I wouldn't be at all surprised if turned out he did. Thinking about it now, Herbie's distinctive tone, that Jazz Bass with flatwound strings and lots of treble, often played with a pick, would be very fashionable nowadays. That sound stood out so you could always hear what he was playing, and what he played sounded great and made the music better. Herbie was a magnificent bass player in a magnificent era for popular music made in Britain. It says a lot that his death was announced on the BBC national news. I hope he will always get the recognition he deserves.

I remember it well. It was a big deal at the time, and the end of an era.

Led Zeppelin, Knebworth 1979, £7.50. That's the equivalent of £35 today. 20 Embassy Regal, a bottle of cider and a Mars Bar would leave you change out of a tenner (including the price of the ticket) and you had everything you needed for a festival.

Fair enough, you are absolutely right. They should be open and transparent about what you will pay. It's totally unfair not to. To me though, the face value of the ticket is ridiculous to begin with.

I completely agree that the remuneration for artists from streaming is ridiculously unfair. However, I am confident that even if royalties were still paid at pre-streaming rates that concert tickets would still be just as expensive. The reason for the rise in prices to see live music is primarily because the industry has "re-evaluated" the value of its product and decided people can and should pay more to see a band. Put simply, they are charging more because they can get away with it. Everything changed after Live Aid. Pop music entered the mainstream, and with that the whole culture changed. Sooner rather than later the profit motive overtook more antiquated ideals of fairness and accessibility for a typical audience.

Yes, I appreciate that. However, you always have the option not to participate. If Ticketmaster wants to play at silly buggers that's up to them. It can't affect you if you reject the transaction.

More likely that we are nearing the time when only the rich can eat.

I take both points entirely, but Ticketmaster are in business to make a profit. They will do whatever they can get away with. But once you start limiting what they are allowed to do you are on a slippery slope towards an unfair restraint of trade. Ultimately, the most effective leverage is for customers to reject the vendor. Unfortunately, the practical reality is that won't happen. I remember when a ticket to a gig was about the same price as an album, festivals and stadium gigs a bit more. That was and still is about what most bands are worth in my estimation. Prices have gotten progressively more crazy and the public have endorsed that escalation by buying tickets. Until people stop buying the tickets prices won't significantly decrease.

And regarding the ticket prices, it's all a bit of a red herring as far as I am concerned. If people are daft enough to pay inflated prices then they have only really got themselves to blame. No one needs to buy an Oasis ticket. ( I would love it if no one did, leaving Noel frantically searching for Plan B to pay for his divorce.) In a truly free society people can ask whatever they like for commercial goods and services and the consumer is at liberty to accept or reject that price. Just because someone asks £6000 for an Oasis ticket doesn't mean someone has to actually pay it. (But yes, left to their own devices some dimwit probably would.) True to form, the new government are intent on saving people from themselves. I can put my used underpants on eBay for six grand, it doesn't necessarily warrant a government enquiry.

The fact that Oasis and their music are epochal for the mid 1990's speaks volumes about how abject a time that was. They were the pop group Britain deserved, but not in a good way. To me, it's exasperating the way Oasis's reunion is being feted by the media as if they are a national treasure to be universally celebrated. Yesterday Oasis tickets was lead item on the BBC1 Six O'clock news. No doubt Noel will see all this as definite confirmation of his own omniscience.

I fell for it too.

I too remember when modding old (although they weren't that old at the time) Fender basses was de rigueur. It was mainly because Fender basses were deemed to be outmoded by more modern designs with active EQ, heavy brass bridges, exotic woods etc. It took a while before someone actually played a stock Fender and said "Hang on a minute, this sounds alright as it is!" Funny thing is, I also remember back in the 1980s it seemed a lot harder to find nice Fender basses than nowadays. Jazz Basses in particular were in very short supply. When I first went to the USA in the mid-1980s the abundance of used Fender basses was a revelation. They weren't particularly cheap, but there was plenty of choice. I know the internet has helped concentrate the marketplace, but even allowing for that it was much harder to locate used Fender basses in the 1980s. So many vintage Fenders seem to have surfaced subsequently I'd like to know where they were hiding!