Happy Jack

Is Harlow the standard distance from London?

Mainly the look, I'd say, which is really very cool ...

[quote name='TPJ' timestamp='1381315865' post='2237356'] Status [/quote] [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html"]http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html[/url] And a thing of beauty it is too. I love my vintage Fenders, but the graphite neck on this Status gives the classic P-bass sound some real punch.

[quote name='Hamster' timestamp='1381312645' post='2237261'] It grew quite quickly - [url="http://web.archive.org/web/20051231065205/http://www.bassworld.co.uk/pn/index.php?"]http://web.archive.o...k/pn/index.php?[/url] [/quote] What I find extraordinary about that link is how FEW of those people are still with us, or at least posting here. I remember most of those login names, but I think only one, maybe two (apart from Ped and Kiwi) have been seen recently ... by me anyway.

That was a year or two before I got involved. Judging by the number of topics in existence, that archive must be very early in the overall scheme of things ...

Fender are way behind the curve ... [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/Maya%20Precision%201970s%20CURRENT/CIMG1256.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/Maya%20Precision%201970s%20CURRENT/CIMG1256.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/Status%20Graphite%20Vintage%20PJ4%202010%20CURRENT/DSCF3877.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/Status%20Graphite%20Vintage%20PJ4%202010%20CURRENT/DSCF3877.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[url="http://www.sportsdirect.com/fishsense-weighlite-fishing-scale-768032"]http://www.sportsdirect.com/fishsense-weighlite-fishing-scale-768032[/url]

[b]Dear hyena001,[/b] Do you have an ACCURATE weight for this bass? [b]- h4ppyjack[/b] [b]**************************************************************************[/b] [b]Dear h4ppyjack,[/b] No, not really. It's the standard weight of any bass guitar. [b]- hyena001[/b] [b]****************************************************************[/b] [i][color=#ff0000][b]Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!![/b][/color][/i]

Sorry guys but this all seems way too simplistic to me. As a lifelong biker I have decent tools and a reasonable idea of how to use them. IME that doesn't apply to most people. I don't mean that to sound like "I'm clever", more that most people manage to get through their entire lives without ever needing to know that there are several different types of crosshead screwdriver, let alone that you don't use mole grips to grip moles. Doing a decent set-up on the vast majority of Fenders involves [i][b]EITHER [/b][/i]taking the neck off and putting it back on again, complete with re-tensioning the strings and re-tuning, for each tweak of the trussrod [i][b]OR [/b][/i]cutting an access point through body & pickguard at the neck-joint. This is hardly trivial. Read any decent on-line set-up guide and within seconds you are being advised how to make your own neck-profile template using a piece of card, some sticky-backed plastic, and an old washing-up bottle. Most people will look at this stuff and think "[i]sod this for a game of soldiers[/i]". Set-ups are fun & easy for the fettlers amongst us. I do them because I have too many basses not to know how to set them up. But I'd much rather be playing them than fiddling about with my toolkit.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1381151284' post='2234966'] Totally painless - you'd need to be someone pretty special to hurt yourself doing this. [/quote] [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1381235528' post='2236125'] It's alright. I tried it laying down and nearly swallowed my own tongue... [/quote] So ... just how special are you?

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1381161189' post='2235183'] Slap a couple of old DiMarzio pups in there and you would have a Serious Rockin' Bass - I always wondered why Fender didn't think of this - looks like they got round to it! Cheers. [/quote] [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/tried-new-fender-blacktop-jazz-bass-today-802024/"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/tried-new-fender-blacktop-jazz-bass-today-802024/[/url] See the final post from that French guy ...

[quote name='thunderbird13' timestamp='1381222373' post='2235859'] TBH I am still struggling with that exercise , does it work for everyone ? In which case I'm doing it wrong or is my back pain not caused by that muscle [/quote] [quote name='paul h' timestamp='1381223349' post='2235878'] I get lower back pain and it didn't work for me Not applicable or am I just doing it wrong? [/quote] There are LOTS of ways to get back pain, and LOTS of exercises and stretches to deal with it. This particular exercise is effective for (very specifically) the bunch of muscles & tendons between your shoulder blades and at the base of your neck. As a long-term sufferer from lower-back problems, I can assure you that this particular exercise will have absolutely NO effect on your lower back. My aim in starting this topic was simply to draw attention to what Pilates can achieve. My own lower back problems have been greatly improved over the 12 months since I started Pilates but I wouldn't be so bold as to say that "I'm cured". What Pilates has given me is a range of stretches which affect different parts of my body, and which have greatly reduced the number and extent of the problems I've faced. To drift into another current topic, YMMV.

[quote name='dougal' timestamp='1381218070' post='2235794'] I thought we were talking about [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontius_Pilate"]this bloke[/url]. [/quote] Hand-washing is good. Personal hygiene matters. It won't get rid of that knot at the base of your neck though ...

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1381168106' post='2235325'] How the hell does that work, then? [/quote] Your muscles and/or tendons have tightened in one spot, but everything is linked. One way of dealing with it is to have that spot pummelled and massaged, of course. Another way is to find [i][b]the other end[/b][/i] of some of those knotted muscles and/or tendons ... and [u][b]pull[/b][/u]! Your tongue is a huge muscle, and it's anchored at the base of your neck. Pushing your tongue against the roof of your mouth pulls the other end out of the knot. Simples. Once you know how.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1380896941' post='2232118'] Playing these gigs is an exercise in minimalism ... just how [i][b]few [/b][/i]notes can I play. As Bluejay puts it, it's about playing a small number of [i][b]important [/b][/i]notes. [/quote] Dani Molino has just put up this YouTube video of our Troubadour gig, which probably makes my point quite neatly: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-SmNFrhFI0

Bwahahahaha!!! I wondered how many people would spot Tim's shirt. Playing with Ralph is an experience and an education. There is no comfort zone. You need to be ready for anything, any time.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1381164899' post='2235247'] American hammers work the other way up. [/quote]

I love your use of [color] and [/color] ...

And here's a funny thing: [url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Performance/120630%20Greenford%20Carnival/KingRalphGreenford39.jpg.html"][/url] If you do a Google Image search for "KK Babybass", this is the photo that comes up. And no, that's not a KK Babybass I'm playing, it's a 1960's Ampeg ...

30th June 2011 at the Greenford Carnival: [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Performance/120630%20Greenford%20Carnival/King_Ralph_Greenford_Carnival_July_2011_002_zps2b171feb.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Performance/120630%20Greenford%20Carnival/King_Ralph_Greenford_Carnival_July_2011_002_zps2b171feb.jpg[/IMG][/URL] One year later, at the same gig: [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Performance/120630%20Greenford%20Carnival/KingRalphGreenford4.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Performance/120630%20Greenford%20Carnival/KingRalphGreenford4.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

... but I suspect he'd have been good at it. I was sitting round a table with some bass players last week when the subject of bad backs came up (as it does). I mentioned an exercise that my Pilates teacher had shown me, which can instantly de-stress that knot of muscles between the shoulder blades at the base of the neck, you know, the one that hurts like crazy if you spend too long playing bass. This exercise is:[list] [*]Incredibly simple - it involves using one muscle. [*]Totally painless - you'd need to be someone pretty special to hurt yourself doing this. [*]Utterly discreet - you can do it in a business meeting or at a dinner party without anyone suspecting a thing. [/list] What is this paragon amongst exercises?[list=1] [*]Stand or sit with your body "square" (i.e. not twisted in any way). [*]Have your shoulders comfortably relaxed, neither slumped nor tense. [*]Place the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth. [*]Push the tip of your tongue reasonably hard against the roof of your mouth while counting to five. [*]Relax. [*]Repeat. [/list] So ... did it work for you? If so, then you're probably thinking what I did - [i]why did no one tell me about this 30 years ago?[/i] I've had lumbar problems over the last five years, sometimes incredibly debilitating problems. All sorts of lifestyle choices (by me) have contributed to this, but playing bass - especially DB - has been a reliable trigger for episodes. I've tried physio, osteopathy, chiropractice, tantric sex, and Pilates. (One of those I made up.) Pilates has been far & away the most effective, the longest-lasting, and the one that's made the greatest whole-life difference. I have accumulated an array of simple exercises and stretches which can be done at home, at work, in the studio, or before a gig. If you have back issues and want to know more, here are a few thoughts for you.[list] [*]The description "Pilates" seems to cover a very wide range these days. Avoid getting involved in Mats classes for lots of people (typically a dozen or so) until you've had some proper training. [*]Using a gym or studio equipped with proper Pilates equipment (these bear some resemblance to a mediaeval torture chamber) will be much more expensive, but massively more effective at first. [*]Pilates teachers are not all equal (1). Some (inevitably) are at the 'quack' end of the spectrum. Mine is a fully-qualified osteopath which means that she genuinely understands how the body works. [*]Pilates teachers are not all equal (2). There has been an explosion in PE training in the last ten years. Many teachers have attended skimpy courses and have a negligible amount of experience. [*]Any decent Pilates studio will want to start with an Assessment session, followed by one or two sessions where you are one-on-one with the trainer. Only then can you do Groups. [*]Pilates is not designed to be a "quick fix". It's a change-in-lifestyle thing which takes effect over a period of time. [*]I've been doing equipment-based Pilates for a year now. I'm probably ready to move to Mats classes if I want to save money ... but I'm not going to risk losing my trainer! [*]As already mentioned, many of the stretches and exercises need no equipment at all, and can be done anywhere you like. Not immediately though! You need to know what you're doing. [/list] I hope at least some Basschatters will find this useful/helpful. After showing that exercise to three other bass players last week, two of them subsequently contacted me to ask for more information. I'd see that as a recommendation.

Consider my forelock tugged, my hat doffed, and my peak saluted ...