NancyJohnson

Incidentally, while we're on the subject of Beans, there's a band who gig around Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire called Pensevor, both the guitarists play TBs. Well, when I say both of them, the guitarist favours a TB1000 (the Gibson 335 shaped one) and the bass player uses something that has a Travis Bean neck, bridge, pickups and controls in the right place, it's got the serial number stamped into the headstock, but the body shape is all wrong and the horns are too long and thick. I spoke to her about it once and she was a bit dumb to it, really didn't want to talk about it or know what it's history was.

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1487584202' post='3240840'] Perhaps as an initial payout...yes. However, as dannybuoy says, the fact that they last a loooong time, makes them cheaper in the long run. [/quote] Anyone got a decent set that's only been on a bit that they're getting shot of? Precision length. I'm actually quite tempted, bit for the price. I could be converted to the dark side. I've just put a fresh set of Nanowebs on my P. It'll be a few months.

Yikes. Why so expensive?

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1487343277' post='3239167'] They are FLATS !!!....they are not meant to sound like rounds. They are meant as an alternative. [/quote] It's amazing isn't it that despite 50 or 60 years of string innovation, coatings, wraps, hex/circular cores, freezing them, boiling them, groundwinding them (and so on), the battlefield really just still comes down to flats vs. rounds. You know, I'm generally interested in putting a set on my Precision if only to try and calm down the toppy frequency. A test if you will.

[quote name='Shaggy' timestamp='1487410987' post='3239545'] A certain Mr Wyman also a player of these of course.... [/quote] You know, his were custom build short scales.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1487357277' post='3239322'] Also there are some Chinese knock offs that are supposed to sound pretty close: http://www.eyguitarmusic.com/Thunderbird-Bass-Pickup-Vintage-Style-for-GibsonChromeNickel_p_2287.html I have a set waiting to go into a bass when I get the time. [/quote] Somebody on the LBO made an off the cuff remark about how, 'wouldn't it be funny if these pickups were the same ones as those going into the new Epiphones and it was all a lark on Gibsons part to get pickups tested and review the opinions made by vintage Thunderbird owners'.

Oh, my music collection is peppered with stuff that generally draws a blank. Shudder To Think Millicent Friendly Summercamp Sugarbomb Tsar The Trachtenburg Fanily Slideshow Players Taxiride Straw Powder The Drills The Penfifteen Club The JTG Implosion Cider Hot One Farewell Continental Bleu The Major Labels ...want any more?

Many moons ago, my first bass had flats on it. When I broke a G-string, the local guitar place only had rounds so being the poor lad that I was, I just bought a round G. I spent the next few weeks playing almost exclusively that string in awe of its zingy characteristics. With this in mind, I never played flats after those strings came off. Why would I want my bass to sound like it had year old rounds on it?

Thank you! You're really too kind!

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1482327848' post='3199604'] Why does BC not have a 'LIKE' button already?!? [/quote] I've raised this previously! It was switched off in late 2011. Under 200 people voted on it and I think one post mentioned there were 19,000 members at that point and only 21% of the 200 votes wanted a like button. No idea how many members here now, six years later. Here's a linky: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/160616-vote-on-the-basschat-reputation-system/page__st__240

Sometimes I kind of have these ideas in my head that just seem to make sense to me and when I try to quantify things, it doesn't really come out right. It's a curse. Let's assume the tonal range of my bass is represented on a scale 1-10, with 1 being the bass side and 10 being treble/full open. If I roll the tone back halfway, theoretically I should just be hearing a range of 1-5 (with the lower frequencies intact), yes? Now then, is it possible that the tone will alter (or bleed) across the entire frequency range, thus rather than above 1-5, I would get 3-5? Hopefully, this makes some sense...I fully understand about treble cut, but the bass previously sounded less robust when I rolled off the tone.

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1487259767' post='3238456'] If they don't want a black person or a woman in their serious Beatles tribute band (for example), I don't have a problem with that. [/quote] What about a Rutles tribute band? I'll get my coat...

While I've yet to try the Delano in a full tilt rehearsal, the tone at lower volumes has a fairly pleasing mid-scoop. What I'd like to do is somehow retain the tone of the lows/mid-scoop and cap the level of highs hitting my pre-amp.

I've owned a couple of Precision basses over the years, an old '79 Fender (gone) and a '78 Aria beater. Both had been through a handful of pickup installations from the basic (bypass tone and wire into the jack) to 18v EMG pickup set. I've just put a Delano in the Aria and while it does sound lively, I've been giving some thought to the tone pot capacitor option. Will changing the capacitor do much to change the feel or better the overall tone of the pickup? If so, recommendations?

[quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1487156537' post='3237545'] There are lots of them. [url="http://www.gramophone.co.uk/awards/2016"]http://www.gramophon....uk/awards/2016[/url] [url="http://awards.classical-music.com/"]http://awards.classical-music.com/[/url] [url="http://www.celticmusicradio.net/scotstrad2016/"]http://www.celticmus.../scotstrad2016/[/url] [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yrkrj"]http://www.bbc.co.uk...rammes/b00yrkrj[/url] [/quote] I think my stance here is that we live in a country where there's this expectation that we aren't supposed to see or discriminate against people of colour, but we are drawn into this thing of colour exclusivity. I suppose what I'm trying to say is that, with some naivety here, if there wasn't so much (media) attention focussed on a colour agenda - or specifically the word 'black' - then you would live in hope that the whole issue of racism would disappear. I see people like Reginald D. Hunter on TV and we have a running gag in our house to see how long it will be before he says he's black. 'Yes, mate. We can see that.' Just in closing, we have some friends who about fifteen years ago became darlings of the BBC as the go-to family for Chinese stuff (it's a wonder Auntie hasn't approached them for one of those [i]Back In Time For Dinner[/i] shows). My mate's wife (Hong Kong born, raised in the east end of Landaan), would regularly describe herself as 2nd generation Chinese and on a couple of occasions as a banana (yellow on the outside, white on the inside). The Beeb man asked to refrain from using the expression, which made her use it more. I asked her once why she felt the Chinese contingent were largely ignored by the media, to which she pretty much said, [i]'Because we keep ourselves to ourselves, we don't push an agenda onto anyone else and aside from our eyes, we're pretty much white, ain't we?'[/i]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1483736189' post='3209779'] I know. Thing is, we had the whole thing structured to underline our disdain for misogyny, hatred and division. Four of us, OK? * Two whites, one black, one from mid-east. * One gay, one straight, one bi-sexual, one straight-edge celibate * A Christian, a Jew , a Muslim and an atheist who'd previously been a pantheist which was a bit of a jolt for him, having to go straight through monotheism without stopping. * A vegan, a vegetarian, a fruitarian and a carnivore who spurned vegetables. It would have been a Blue Mink-styled 'Melting Pot' of hope for the 21st century if a bunch of fascist snowflakes hadn't ruined everything. [/quote] I need this in a Venn diagram form for it to make any sense.

[quote name='radiophonic' timestamp='1487147018' post='3237409'] Didn't Mick Karn play one for years (pre-Wal)? I know that Bob from Shellac uses one and it sounds like thunder. The post-Hardcore/ post-Rock scene were big buyers of these and prices went sky high, so I'd definitely be looking at an EGC as an alternative. I think there's a waiting list though. [/quote] Mick Karn, yes. I'm almost certain he owned two...one was stolen very early on in his career, the second was a later model (wide wings). Another user I knew of was the late Peter Sweval of the band 70s US band Starz.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1483460903' post='3207312'] I've always been slightly uncomfortable about the MOBO awards. Is there a MOWO awards? [/quote] I've always felt the same thing. I've been mulling this question over for about half hour now and virtually every bullet point I can think of makes me sound like a fanatical Nazi, which I'm not, by the way.

I owned one for a while (#222)...it actually came up on eBay about 18 months ago. I paid £375 from a shop in Lewisham. It weighed a lot, but I was younger and less heavily built back then. I had issues with the original fingerboard lifting away from the neck, so had an ebony board glued in and a BadAss1 installed by a luthier based in Kingston. I honestly couldnt tell you what it sounded like, I dont have any recordings. I just recall I fell out of love with it, eventually trading it at ABC Music in Addlestone. In hindsight, it probably would have been prudent to have hung onto it as prices are going up and up now. The EGC versions look nice. If I was looking to purchase another one, I'd go for a later model; there's a subtle design change in the body shape and the wings are a bit wider, which for me made it aesthetically more pleasing on the eye.

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1487068029' post='3236645'] To get back to the topic An album needed to be released between Oct 1st 2015 and Sept 30th 2016 to qualify for this years award. Hence why Adele's 25 was put forward for the 2017 award and not 2016 [/quote] Thanks. That's ultimately all I wanted to know.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1487032746' post='3236503'] Quite honestly, I don't even know where to start with this. I think I had better go to bed and approach it again later with a fresh pair of eyes. [/quote] (posts tabular data from Wikipedia to support chart positions and gold/platinum album status, something not even raised in original post) [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1487061412' post='3236563'] Agh. Just stop. Stop already. Please. [/quote] Why? What's the problem? My viewpoint differs from yours? Hit a nerve? The point of a forum is to discuss, is it not? Just because someone else's opinion doesn't agree with yours, construct a critical response rather than falling back on a statements like 'Agh' and 'Stop already', which are textual versions of sticking your fingers in your ears and going 'La la la la.' when you hear something you don't want to hear.

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1487032746' post='3236503'] Quite honestly, I don't even know where to start with this. I think I had better go to bed and approach it again later with a fresh pair of eyes. [/quote] Look, I have no beef with David Bowie; I respect what he achieved but I wouldn't qualify myself as a fan at all (I think I have maybe five early tracks on one catch-all Spotify playlist that also includes songs by The Wombles). Likewise, I'm no fan of Adele either. My reply was long thought out and went through a handful of iterations before I posted it. There's nothing disparaging in my reply...MM20's post was kind of like comparing Lionel Messi to Jamie Vardy. The surety of the 'At least Bowie got 5' and 'She'll never be on the level of Bowie', comments left me a tad aghast. Three albums in, she's quite probably bigger globally than Bowie was at this stage in his career (and it's a wholly different marketplace than it was in 1970). 40 years from now, who knows? She could easily eclipse Bowie in all areas of sales and revenues. Easily. The only factor will be the perpetual playground argument of who is better. Bowie fans will always cite his chameleonesque ability to roll with the changes, but remember he always surrounded himself with great influences (who were all on the payroll). He didn't invent anything but he knew how to draw from trends and enlarge on them. Adele? I still feel she's no more than a club singer who got a lucky break or two, but she's very Bowie in the way she has surrounded herself with the best money will buy.

Ive got an old, fairly faithful sunburst Precision copy (it's a 1978 Aria Primary...look it up). It was in a shocking state when I got it and I pretty much resurrected it from the scrapheap. It owes me next to nothing. It was covered in dings, so I've made a point of contributing to those every time it leaves the house. I'll scrap it along something, knock it against something. So from that perspective, I like how it looks. It doesn't look artificial; it's already nearly 40 years old and it looks its age. I just put a Delano pickup in and, dinging aside, it gets more TLC and attention than the rest of my guitars put together. It sounds monster. I'm sure if it could speak, it would be croaking, 'Thank you.' [Edit] Sorry it was late and I forgot to add this. Relicing, for me, only looks decent on Fender-style basses, but yes, there's too much of it. Ultimately, makers are in business for one reason and if making battered around instruments makes them money, then so be it. It's a phase. Like pointy headstocks.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1486978545' post='3235920'] At least Bowie achieved 5. Adele will NEVER been on the level of Bowie, and that is probably just how the industry is now. She will not be making off the wall experimental semi-jazz albums in her 60s. I don't take notice of these awards, but I'm glad Bowie got the recognition he deserved. Hopefully people who listen to Adele might think 'that album of Bowie's seems popular, i'll try it'. [/quote] It's clear you're a Bowie fan, but this thread isn't about what he achieved, dead or alive, or comparing him to Adele. If by the jazz album nod, you're referring to Blackstar (as I've never heard it, nor particularly want to, I don't know), had he not expired two days after the release, that album would likely been feigned to be just another Bowie album, but hey, record labels (and music journalism) loves a death in the family, huh? I'd argue that in the main, people know the name Blackstar because of what it is and would also argue that while tangible UK sales of that album are to date some 30% higher than his previous album (which has also been out three years longer), this was because of his death; the [i]Elvis Effect[/i] I think it's referred to in the business. I'd also argue that people know of Bowie, but they don't really [i]know [/i]Bowie. If you want to test this theory out, ask anyone in earshot to give you the title of just one of Bowie's last ten albums excluding Blackstar. Go on, do it now. Most people will struggle. In as much as saying Adele won't be making [i]off the wall experimental semi-jazz albums in her 60s[/i], I mean honestly, what sort of statement is this, it's nonsensical. Maybe she'll be going through a death-metal phase in 40 years. No. One. Knows. That said, if you do have a time machine and some insider knowledge, could you be so kind as to get me next Saturday's lottery numbers?

I generally don't give a rat's ass about the Grammys (or the whole area of media backslapping in general), but am wondering about the criteria for selection. So last night, Adele wins best album for 25. A bit more peer recognition. Don't get me wrong, she seems a nice person and while I care little for her musically, the Grammy (or the half of it) will no doubt help her sell more product. However, here's the biggie, that album came out in November 2015. You'd think that if it was such a great album, wouldn't the plaudits have given it the best album award last February? What made it any better in 2016 (or 2017) over 2015?