NancyJohnson

Pretty much. Like I said, there's little point making a Fender clone, but there's a great opportunity here to produce something really decent and fun. Once we decide what we want, we can tweak everything else from woods, hardware etc. thereafter. Michael Robinson at Eastwood said to me via email that if we did go ahead, they'd also put it on their current project page as well (obviously to generate more sales).

I'm wondering whether there would be enough interest for us to get a minimum of twelve (yep, that's right, twelve) Basschat footsoldiers to sign up for a run of Eastwood Custom Basschat Edition Basses. No design specs yet (but if you want a Fender clone, go to Andertons), no choices of finish (yet), no prices (yet). Let's see how many say yes first and then we can start discussing.

A while back (quite a while back) Eastwood Custom were open to suggestions as to which guitars they should do next, so I proffered an homage to the Charlie Lobue bass that Gene Simmons used to use in the early Kiss days (detailed below). Always thought it was a great looking thing, really nice wide cutaways and easy access up the dusty end. Eastwood actually replied, which was nice. The guy said he also had fond memories of that bass and he'd add it to the list. Beyond that, nothing, sadly. I'd buy one and I'm pretty certain there's enough Kiss fans out there that would do so as well. 100%. I'm wondering now. Could we try and get Eastwood to do a Basschat model? The Lakland owners group were able to do it. There's more of us here. I suppose it would just need to be something a little different (viz. You can buy Fender clones from just about everywhere.).

It's a weird one. With Eastwood guitars, I'm initially drawn to the shape and in my head I kind of know that with a) my heavy handed approach to playing and b) my heavy handed approach to playing, sticking any of those Eastwoods (or any guitar really) through a decentish amp would sound OK. (Have I ever told my Van Halen story here? Maybe that's for another time.) Bear in mind too that these are not Gibsons, Fenders or whatever, they're Eastwoods, they're copies, homages, nothing more. We are just too hung up on things being Gibson or Fender or Warwick or Spector or whatever. You only have to look (in the nicest possible way) at how precious members of this very forum are about gear. There's this thing here where people seem to think that just because they have a Chickenbacker or a Tokai/Epiphone Thunderbird that they're going to sound just like a 4003 or an IV. Not going to happen. Man alive, all my Thunderbirds sounded a bit different from each other nd they were all Gibsons, similar, but different. That said, we have to remember that tone is subjective. Honestly, I really don't give a toot about whether a volume/tone potentiometers or the wiring is from 1965 or last week. The main thing is whether they make the bass quieter or sound woolly when used. Same goes capacitors. It's a nonsense. Once you're playing in a band environment, all those nuances are lost and you generally only hear the whump (and let's face it, it's a vanity thing, no one in the listening audience is really interested in how the bass sounds).

Does it really matter?

I like dipping into the Eastwood Custom site every so often. It just throws light on how a manufacturer can actually work with the buyer from a pledging perspective and in part resurrect old designs. Credit to them for making some nice looking tenor electrics. The microtonal model they're listing as a current model looks nice too.

Before I started playing properly, there was a guy locally who let me borrow his Jedson. For me it was just the coolest thing ever. My first proper bass was an Arbiter, just like the one below. I had it for a while, sold it for £30 and then bought a Columbus Jazz Bass copy (£65).

...and whaddyaknow!

There's a very long thread elsewhere as to me leaving the band I'd formed seven years ago. People are just asshats really. Stupidly, it took a while to get over it; so much time invested and work to keep it together. I went out for an Indian last night with some friends and they asked whether I miss it. I just answered no and then showed them a photo (below) of the old band, headlining a gig in Reading last weekend playing to six people. It was precisely this, the unconditional acceptance of every gig offered and playing to next to no one (it happened) that led to the cracks. I mean credit to them for continuing to grind through gigs like this, but frankly it's just not worth the effort.

I'd love this, but I'd prefer a first run Hamer Cruise Bass more. Sod's Law...I'd probably swing for this and a Cruise would come up in a few days.

Look, I know it's not eBay, but these are pretty rare basses (under 50 made) and there's a bit of love here. I found a Gibson 20/20 online, Premier Guitars, Sydney. It's currently on sale for 1,200 AUD, which in Sterling is around £690, so for one of these basses it's a steal. I contacted the seller, sadly the insured shipping comes out at 424 AUD (£240) and you'd need to factor in import duties (<5%) and VAT on the bass and shipping (another £190). They said they can reduce the shipping if they discarded the hard case (non original), assuring me it could be 'packed it well in bubblewrap). At around £1,200, I just found the whole cost somewhat prohibitive and dropped out. It looks as though it may have been signed by Ned Steinberger too - if you right-click the image below and view the image in full-res, you'll see a signature. If you have deep pockets, check here: http://www.premierguitars.com.au/product/gibson-steinberger-2020-bass-usa-1987/ The contact at Premier is John Spence.

I really don't like Foo Fighters. Can't really put my finger on why. A bit like Weezer. They have all the constituent parts that mean I should adore them, but I find them a bit meh.

Look, I don't profess to being a Nirvana, Foo Fighters, QoTSA, The Crooked Vultures or Probot fan, but I do find Dave Grohl somewhat endearing. This has just dropped on YT. The first eight minutes is documentarist, the final 23 minutes is an instrumental track wholly recorded by Dave Grohl. It's pretty intense. It's also pretty good.

Just following on, XLR cable arrived and all connected up. Definite difference from the treble perspective. Whereas via the 1/4" jack output I rolled the treble back to the 10 o'clock position, with the XLR, the same treble response is closer to the 3 o'clock position. Much better.

The tough thing is that it's not a PD nor is it trying to be. A few years ago I bought a racked VT Bass, fully expectant that I would easily be able to dial in the same tone as my trusty BDDI and expand on it. I did one gig with it and sold it on. Couldn't have been any more wrong.