NancyJohnson

I'd heard there was one coming. Now a reality. https://www.schecterguitars.com/bass/dug-pinnick-dp-12-detail

Sparks for me today. Kimono, Propaganda, Indiscreet, Big Beat.

String choice over the years has ebbed and flowed; I can possibly track this like my favourite bands, but more or less the last couple of decades saw me using D'Addarios (with the odd dip into Dunlops) and Elixirs. Nearly two years ago I took delivery of a five string Mike Lull and it's still got the original D'Addario strings that were on it when it arrived. Granted I'm not gigging every week, but the bass has had a lot of use and absurdly, the strings still sound very fresh. This is confusing me as I used to change strings so frequently, pretty much as soon as they lost their zing and pop. How can this actually be? I'm sure there's a science at work here. A better built bass, a better set up bass, maketh strings sound better longer? These strings should sound awful by now and they don't!

I record two streams, one clean and one effected (yes, a DP-3X), then these stems go over to the producer. Down to him what he uses really; he will push the clean signal through either the BOD or Amplitude SVX VSTs. I reckon that's clean, through the BOD. It's funny calling it an album...this project has been ongoing for about three month and we've finished 18 songs and have another nine or ten either in post or awaiting vocals. The guitarist/producer is about ten miles from me and the singer about 100. Everything is being done remotely. The studio is a playground.

I used the Euro LT on this. https://fb.watch/1F48jJJKno/

I saw the NS Pulse video about an hour ago. Certainly not on the market for another Spector (unless they do a Spectorbird, but that said, I so like the five-string paddle headstock over the more scalloped ones:

The XTC - This Is Pop documentary is five star.

And she's from Basingstoke.

We've just finished up track #18. Shameless plug:

When you look at bridge saddles and know there's no way the bass will intonate properly. When the strings don't line up with the pickup polepieces (even though it's unlikely to affect the tone). Curly guitar leads where the curl has gone backwards. People who use Gaffa tape to hold their straps on their guitar. Amp head overhang.

This_Policy_Hurts_MIX1.mp3

I honestly don't know what the hold up can be. Didn't Gibson lose the body shape European trademark for all their Thunder/Firebird designs (and the old pointy stuff) a year or so ago? I like the Korean 4X model, but not enough to swing for one...god, imagine a 4X in that purple LT finish.

Personally, I believe the 50s-style Juniors (top) are just better looking compared the the DC tributes (bottom). Gibson made a frankly lazy (and horrific) decision in going with the front rout and scratchplate on the Tribute model, especially as we live in a time where Gibson are doing all these correctly-specced 50s/60s/70s legacy reissues of Les Pauls etc. I'm sure the new ones play nicely, sound OK, but, well, nah. Yes, I know I could order up a custom shop one, but not at £3-4K a pop. Spot the difference: ...sorry, an edit. This is what lurks under that scratchplate. Oh, the horror. It also alludes that they actually did the finish before they routed out the body. Sheesh.

I don't really have many thoughts about bass related gear. I'm lucky enough to own some lovely basses and backline. Happy, I suppose. A Spector EuroBird with a nice top would get me moist, but I'm not holding my breath. Non-bass related stuff, I'd like Gibson to put out an affordable (sub-£1K, I suppose) 50s doublecut Les Paul Junior. GAS? Vanity purchases more than anything else. Still hunting for a Hamer Cruisebass, might buy a second Darkglass 1x12. If Gibson pull their finger out, I might swing for a (used) Evil Robot combo if one became available. No rush.

Is there no end to Fender's reinvention of its legacy models? Decades old designs, rehash, rehash, rename, custom colours, tick a famous signature on it and sell it for $$$, yaaaaawn. It's not like there's not a bass in the marketplace that has a pickup in that position. I forget who it was, but I seem to remember an old bloke who owned a biggish guitar company set up with another bloke and made a bass with a pickup in that position. Oh, what was the name of that company? The model was name after a fish. Perhaps if I take an old Jazz and put 5 pickups on it there'll be a NJ Signature Model in the pipe.

Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Please don't tell anyone.

OK, here goes. Strings off so the neck isn't under tension. If you try to tighten the truss rod (righty tighty), is the adjustment nut tight? ie it won't move any more?

Moving an album forward, anyone here remember that a clutch of tracks from Kamakiriad were released (mainly as b-sides) with just the drums, bass and vocals?

Get a dUG DP-3X. Seriously. It'll do the BDDI thing. It'll do the Geddy thing. It does the dUg thing.

Loads!

Not certain whether this will play direct off here*, but this is what I've been involved with. It's a bit quirky and odd. Mike Lull 5-string recorded direct with a bit of BOD VST to shizzle it up. [*Edit: clearly not. Just click it and play it in your favoured player.] Counting_Sheep_Mix2.mp3

The Complete Flanders & Swann.

The singer has been posting stuff up before it's actually 100% finished...aargh...keen I suppose. His Soundcloud is here:

If this counts... I've done about 20 tracks with Lizard Sweets since April. Guitarist/producer lives about ten miles away, singer is 100+ miles away on the south coast. Once we resolved the technical issues it got very productive and every new song seems better than the last. All this material should be up on Spotify etc. shortly. The singer is posting up odds and sods on Facebook which are easy enough to find if you want a taster.