XB26354

You're right. I tried jamming along to The Riddle once and boy, lots of unexpected twists and key changes. Even though some of it hasn't aged well he was an excellent songwriter, arranger and all round musician. I remember Paul Westwood guested on a track or two, and didn't Mark King play on something?

Just to add a bit of balance to all this Dingwall love - I was very close to buying an ABZ 5 but decided against it in the end. I've also tried everything from Combustions to a Prima Artist and without exception they're beautifully made, and the ABZ are the most lightweight 5/6 string basses I've ever tried. However (IMHO)... I don't like fanned frets and dispute that they take very little getting used to. They most certainly do not make the bass easier to play - the idea is there purely to even out tension across the strings. Try chordal playing at the top of a 6 - not an everyday example of bass playing, but whilst not impossible, it's harder than playing on parallel frets. Low octaves across the B and A string are pretty tough without large hands. I've heard equally good B strings on 34" scale basses so am yet to be convinced about the tonal benefits of fanned frets. I also do not the the selector switch. Some combination of the pickups and electronics give a curiously plasticky tone on both bridge and neck settings. I also couldn't find one eq setting on the ABI or ABII electronics that I really liked. I like a bit of growl and the Dingwalls I've tried have sounded rather sterile. Finally, I can't recall the neck profile on the more expensive models but didn't get on with the profile on the ABZ. There's nothing wrong with Dingwall Basses, but they didn't do it for me both tonally and feel-wise. They are also horrendously expensive in the UK now (but what exotic bass outside of Europe isn't?)

I thought it was one outhouse comedy songs where the music is substituted... But apparently not. Nice looking bass and serious bottom end for a semi, but what an awful, awful "demo".

I thought you were talking about used ones when I saw the topic - no worries there as in the basses for sale section there 11 on the first page alone...

No question. School Days. Genius

[quote name='yepmop' timestamp='1360159122' post='1965799'] Hi All I'm currently doing a music theory course which is going well but I think I'm missing some very fundemental knowledge that is preventing me from peicing eveything together. it's a question a that I feel really embaressed about asking is i think I should really know this. I did ask my online tutour but his responce may as well have been written in swahiliy. Okay, say the song is in the key of C Major can I only use notes from that major scale or can i use different scales to match the appropiate chords within the song? Answers as simple as possible Any help much appreciated. Many thanks Tony [/quote] He did say simple - talking about theory ends up getting complicated very quickly. So the answer is yes, what you've said above is one possibility, but there are others. Think of it as a starting point. The answer lies in harmony, so to know more you'll need to get a better understanding of chords and chord progressions. Get a keyboard!

[quote name='Grant' timestamp='1359213336' post='1951673'] Bit rude IMO. [/quote] Not at all. Newbie, posts in the for sale section (I see it's been moved) with no price, info, location or anything meaningful. It now seems as there are two threads about this same, self-built bass, that it was just for feedback, on a bass no-one can see without e-mailing for photos. There are plenty of excellent FS ads but an increasing number of lazy newbies who want the prospective buyers to do all the work for them. Is this for sale or not as it appears to have not sold on eBay?

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1359138195' post='1950657'] I don't get all this "why aren't these people in pro bands" thing. Why should they be? Who says that being in a pro band is the only qualification for being a great bassist? I'd say it just goes to show that talent and skill is not synonymous with the music business and, frankly, I'd be surprised if it was. Anyway, the facts of the matter are there for all to see. These guys are all highly competent players yet not pro musicians. What's the problem? [/quote] It's because bass is an accompaniment instrument, so most of your real learning comes from playing with real people, in real time. you can tell very quickly who has gigged a lot and who isna bedroom god. As Doddy says, we've all played along to music, but I wouldn't even consider putting something on YT unless it was a particularly challenging track that I might have taken years to get to grips with and I totally nailed it I'd also dispute that many are indeed highly competent, and people like MarloweDK and most of the "best" in the list don't do it for me. If I want to hear Do I Do for the 500th time, I'll take Nate Watts please The problem is wading through loads of total crap to find something with any value. Still, I don't have to watch it so if people get something out of it, good for them. It's funny though. I started playing 25 years ago, and back then none of this was available. You'd think that with the Internet everyone would become a monster player very quickly, but all it seems to do is highlight how many people can't do the basics and have no idea that they're distinctly ordinary - apart from the bloke dressed as a girl, who's just fabulous...

Try posting an ad instead of one pointless paragraph. Do you really think anyone is going to snap it up with no location, description, price or shipping info? Newbies!

I keep getting them mixed up with the bike shop round the corner. Sorry, that's J&S...

Just do commission sales of used gear - you get a much wider range of instruments, no overhead purchasing stock and an ever-changing shop window (as long as its a sellable instrument!) No-one sane is going to buy a German neck-through Warwick new, are they? Everyone is skint so stocking a bunch of £2K+ high end basses doesn't sound like a business plan. take Dingwall. Lovely basses. I looked at an ABZ5 about 4 years ago. It was £1275. They're now about £1900!

They didn't used to, at least with the binding. When I was teaching a student bought one of the first 4-strings. The binding was painted on. You could see this because at the headstock end someone had forgotten to paint the thickness of the binding into the curve - unless they took the trouble to apply 0.5mm binding. A very close look confirmed that it was one piece of wood on the fingerboard. I always assumed the inlays were real, though. Good basses for the money but the Squier Classic Vibe is on a different level IMHO.

It's buy it now or best offer. I'll start the ball rolling at £50. Wait, no, that's my highest offer