Happy Jack

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1414442805' post='2589388'] I took my younger girl friend on 2 separate occasions to see some live female blues/rock acts. [/quote] Does this mean that you also have an older girlfriend, or have we been separated by a common language?

I was a bit suspicious at first, thinking this might turn out to be a 60-minute advertising puff for the new Foo Fighters album. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04n60j3/foo-fighters-sonic-highways-episode-1 Not a bit of it. A superb piece of documentary work ... amusing & entertaining, with some great characters. The music's not at all bad, and very little of it is actually the Foos (just in case you hate the band).

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1414426546' post='2589164'] Spot-on Jack; Colin's going to bring it all with him.. By the way - what time do you want to do your talk on Saturday? [/quote] Every hour, on the hour, no re-admission without a valid ticket or a stamp on the back of the hand. The artiste requests no flash photography, autographs strictly by appointment. *********************** There's a certain logic to doing it earlier in the day rather than later, if only to allow those as wants to to see if it works for them during the day ...

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1414350835' post='2588559'] Unfortunately I am going to have to pike out. Damn shame but too much else going on. Next time :-) [/quote] There goes my 'Dave Swift' moment then ...

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1414424375' post='2589148'] The thing that fascinates me about vintage instruments is how come the supply seems to become more abundant with the passage of time. [/quote] Only to certain instruments, though. I used to know one of the better fakers in Denmark Street. His work was simply awesome. Even with him standing next to me showing how he'd aged certain bits, it still looked like a '54 Strat to me. And that's one of the biggest giveaways. He reckoned there was far more interest in any '54 Strat than in a '56 or a '58 (I have no idea why) so all of his fakes were '54 Strats. In case you're wondering, his speciality was Sonic Blue with heavy nicotine staining ...

I have bought, sold and collected a very silly number of vintage basses (especially given that I'm neither an expert nor a pro trader!). I started by collecting vintage Hofners, at the time when people thought they were badly-made and you could get them cheap. And I did. The first bass I ever bought for myself was a Hofner 1963 Re-Issue, new, from Macaris on Charing Cross Road. It was lovely, but it had (by definition) no history. I sold it and started buying Hofners from the late 50s / early 60s. They had issues of course, which needed fixing of course, but there was a direct, physical connection to the early days of rock'n'roll because they were there. I suppose it helps that I was there too, wearing shorts and sandals and wondering where the next ice lolly was coming from. For me, that makes a huge difference. Many basses later I bought a 1965 Precision in CAR. It represents (rightly or wrongly) the "sound in my head" when I think of bass. I grew up absorbing the sound of the 60's Precision, without (at the time) knowing what 'Fender' meant, or 'Precision'. Every time I play that bass, it nails it. It absolutely hits the spot. I'm well aware that a significant part of this is because I know that it's a '65 P rather than because it actually sounds better than a modern bass, but it doesn't matter. It does it for me. Why the silly prices? Because there are loads of other people out there who feel the same as me. Far more than there are all-original 1965 Precisions ...

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1414183770' post='2586976'] Probably the least desirable Gretsch ever made in both it's bass & guitar versions. [/quote] +1 I recently found a 6070 from 1963 and it's a bit special. That Committee did nothing for me at all. [quote name='great harry' timestamp='1414232216' post='2587270'] Is that an additional strap button off centre on the back? [/quote] I wondered about that too. I spent an hour on Google trying to find any information at all as to what that is, and came up with absolutely nothing.

Have you actually tried playing a real DB? No matter how hard any maker tries with an EUB or similar, they can never capture the sheer physicality of a DB. Bloody hard work, but intensely satisfying. If your back aches you may want to modify your stance. If your shoulders and upper arms ache then best get used to it, though it will get better with time and experience. But you can say goodbye to the bass twisting as you play it. One big advantage of such a large instrument is that you lock into it intimately, and you and the bass stabilise each other. I actually find DB easier to play than my KK Baby Bass for this reason.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1414309064' post='2587977'] You know, tonight proves were not friends. The band has been together for 9 years.I have been with them for 3 and we have a new drummer. Tonight I noticed that we did not even speak or interact with each other until we started our first set at 9:00. It was a 9:00 till 1:00 with two 15 minute breaks. I guess those hours are unheard of for UK bar bands. Blue [/quote] We gigged on Friday and Saturday nights this weekend. Friday could have been a good night to not interact seeing as there was an atmosphere following a stroppy email I'd sent that afternoon (subject not relevant to this). In practice, we had six people arriving in three vehicles (and a bus) to do a load-in to a small venue and then a complicated set-up. I simply can't imagine how any band could manage that without the need to "speak or interact with each other". There were a couple of awkward silences, but any interested on-looker would have seen a bunch of friends chatting and exchanging banter as they got themselves ready to play.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1414255990' post='2587619'] I don't want to give a talk, Nik, but I'll set up a double bass in the theatre and do some one to ones - or even one to fives if anyone wants a go. [/quote] Would you like me to bring a DB down so that more people have a chance to try what you show them?

You or Colin should still have the box of prizes left over from last year's abortive Tombola ...

Not quite green? NOT QUITE GREEN? Putting green strings on doesn't count, OK?

I used to own [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20SOLD/Shuker%20Horn%202010%20SOLD/IMG_6502.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20SOLD/Shuker%20Horn%202010%20SOLD/IMG_6502.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I still own [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/SGC%20Nanyo%20Bass%20Collection%20SB320/SGNanyo7_zps7870951d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/SGC%20Nanyo%20Bass%20Collection%20SB320/SGNanyo7_zps7870951d.jpg[/IMG][/URL] And I still can't understand why no one has yet posted any photos of a Ricky in SnotGlo ...

I can't believe you haven't posted any pictures of the previous act!

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1413967660' post='2584055'] As I say, if you would like it you can have it for £90. If not I'll keep it as I think for the money it is a remarkably good and usable bass. [/quote] Trades?

It's £1800 for the bass + £3200 for the Camel ...

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1413891024' post='2583138'] I play 5 strings 90% of the time, and there are times when I don't touch the B string all night. There are other times when I might play further up the neck to give my shoulder a bit of a rest. I really don't like it when people camp out on the low B just because it's there, especially in a trio setting-it doesn't add weight, it often sound emptier. [/quote] Absolutely +1 to this. [quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1413900029' post='2583313'] Low D at the end of every song :-) [/quote] Just a +0.5 for this ... it's not the low D I use but the low B. We play a reasonable number of songs in B and finishing a song with just the B on the E-string feels a bit lightweight. I usually play that and double it with the low B, which can sound really majestic. In truth, my favourite aspect of a fiver is that I play the low E at the 5th fret on the B-string. I can get around the neck much faster that way, and play in a far more relaxed fashion.

It's all in the fingers. I never know what I'm about to play until I hear them play it.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1413817889' post='2582275'] Nor me. But as a fanboi I feel it necessary to stir things up a bit. [/quote] Barefaced [i]fanbois [/i]are [u][b]SO [/b][/u]last year. 2014 is the year of the TKS [i]fanboi [/i](or whatever is the Swedish for [i]fanboi[/i]). Do try to keep up.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1413803900' post='2582013'] If it was a Rick copy, it'd be pulled off ebay straight away They are more in fear of legal action, than a buyer being ripped off [/quote] Well they're hardly alone in that, are they?

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1413812863' post='2582181'] ... and also draws comments on looks ... [/quote] Really? I mean, [i][b]really[/b][/i]? You actually get people come up to you after (or maybe during) gigs and say: "[color=#ff0000][i]Wow! Your bass cab looks mighty sexy boy![/i][/color]" You've been gigging a lot longer than I have, Michael, and at a noticeably higher level, but I'm still amazed to read that. How often does it happen?

I always go commando on DB gigs.

Outstanding!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TONE-KING-CONTINENTAL-AMP-1994-SUPERB-TONE-OWNED-BY-THE-BLACK-CROWES-/321551913579?pt=UK_MusicalInstr_Amplifiers_RL&hash=item4addfcd26b

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1413545159' post='2579332'] So was his dad ripped off, or is it him trying to rip us off? [/quote] [Patrick Moore] Well this-is-one-of-those-things-that-we [size=5][i][b]just, don't, know[/b][/i][/size]. [/Patrick Moore]