NancyJohnson

My band (Who Killed Nancy Johnson?) got picked up by Alan McGee's MAH project and we've organised two shows in support of this worthy cause. The first one is on SUNDAY 25/9/16 at Sanctuary, Basingstoke and the second one at The Star Inn, Guildford on SATURDAY 1/10/16. We've played with all these bands and they're all good. None of them gave a second thought to having a think about giving their time to do these; it was an instant, 'f*** it, yeah!' from all concerned. While it would be great to get a full house at both, the gigs are part of a national thing and there's dozens of events going on over a two week period. Try and get involved and please support one of them wherever you are. Cheers Paul

I've posted here and there that the big manufacturers are pretty much in a fug...Les Pauls and SGs, Strats, Teles, Precisions and Jazzes. If Fender and Gibson were automotive companies, it would be akin to them making the same vehicles for 50+ years and they'd have ceased trading decades ago. They're simply sticking with the core models and will continue doing so while people either keep buying them or finally decide not to!

It was about double what Thomann are selling it for now. Sean, you know me and Thunderbirds...I played the 2015 model in America last year, it was nice, but I honestly couldnt see the point of the switches; they didn't actually seem to do anything. That said, if Gibson would start painting these basses different colours, I might buy a few more.

While Gibson's bass 2016 production is pretty much zero, a post on another site hinted at Gibson's wholesale dumping of [i]unsold [/i]2015 models into European online sites. Thomann are offering the 2015 Thunderbird (vintage sunburst with the coil toggle switching, EB pickups and Babicz bridge) for £875 and the 2015 SG Standard (chrome hardware/Babicz) is £650. P

[quote name='bluesparky' timestamp='1462831011' post='3046167'] I also had a VERY long to-and-fro battle with someone in crew catering at a gig once, about pun-based food shops and kebab houses we'd encountered. I won with Jason's Doner Van and Kebabestan (it's in Vienna). It turns out it was James Dean Bradfield [/quote] My mate Phil is JDBs brother in law.

[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1463306595' post='3050279'] They look great! Thanks for posting. Gonna get one when, less skint. I hope they Will fit the Epi classic pro? Gonna do some research. [/quote] I just read a short thread on Talkbass. It looks like the bridge anchor fixing flanges on Epiphone Thunderbirds aren't flush to the guitar body like the Gibson. You'd need to pop out the anchors, drill the fixing holes a couple of mm deeper, countersink the body to accommodate the flange and re-fit the anchors with something to ensure they're solid (woodglue/sawdust mix). Really shouldn't be too much of a bother for someone with a drill-press.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1463305470' post='3050268'] Think they look better than the Hipshot [/quote] It's a decent solution, I think. The original three point is a monstrosity...my personal belief is that Gibson should just dump the three-point and either trial a revised two-part bridge system (like the Badbird) or just go with Babicz units, but for retrofitment, these are peachy. *I will add in closing that the Hipshots are perfectly fine, they're great bridges, but these ones IMO are just better. P

Good grief, don't get your panties in a twist, Sean! P

Just a quick answer...I like the bridges. Installation was quick, adjustment - while a little quirky - is simple, I haven't had to adjust them since they've been on, they're easy under the palm and they look pretty nice. Really don't want to be drawn about whether the basses sound different at all or whether sustain is better; it's so subjective and hey, I play in a punk band. They sound and ring just fine; superficially I think I just prefer them over the Hipshot from a visual aesthetic more than anything else.

Quick question...Why would MM have actually sold their first production model in the first place, or at least let it out of their hands? I know it's just business, but nonetheless you'd like to think they might have hung on to #0001.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1463084553' post='3048514'] Yeah don't buy these they're crap... [/quote] Where's the like button?

I'll need to get some uploaded...

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1462885113' post='3046613'] What did you start using after rationing ended? [/quote] That's really quite funny.

I used to use those little square things that were on the end of sliced bread packs. When I got my first Warwick (early-mid 90s), it had flush mount Dunlops fitted as standard, so I've pretty much stuck with that brand for the last 20-odd years, never failed me. I had a Rickenbacker 4003 for a while too and that had factory fitted Schallers which did the job just as well, but ultimately I just prefer the Dunlop design.

[quote name='Cameronj279' timestamp='1462612364' post='3044326'] It wasn't a budget guitar by any means. [/quote] I found it online. And yikes! It's a beauty though!

Just saw a short video of a young Indian (female) bass player called Mohini Dey on one of my Facebook feeds. Really quite good, well worth a share. P http://youtu.be/BDqeLbPoAEs

Despite me being a bit of a traditionalist where guitars are concerned, I have to say that that's really nice! Expensive? Spill the beans!

[quote name='DBerriff' timestamp='1462373696' post='3042488'] How does a bass look cheap these days? You are paying for Musicman build quality I suppose. Having said that, the pickups did make me think of Sandberg's Electra models. Which are cheaper than some. Not £350 cheap though. [/quote] I suppose cheap should imply and be applied to their core basses as 'not as well appointed' or 'less classy'. While I've only owned a lone MM (a Bongo 5HH), I've always felt that MMs (specifically Stingray basses) always kind of carried themselves head and shoulders above the competition in an over-saturated analogous marketplace. Up against the Stingray, the Caprice looks a bit like a lower-cost model, more in line with the Sterling/SUB models. While I've only seen a few stills, to me it doesn't look like a £1,500 instrument. What I'm trying to say is £350 does buy a lot of bass nowadays. £1,500 should buy you an awful lot more.

I like the look of the Caprice (the P/J), but haven't watched the video (yet). Thought it looked a little [i]cheap [/i]looking, not as lush as other MM basses and was staggered to find UK retail will be c.£1.5K. It looks like a £350 bass.

These posts read like a eulogies to lost basses, but hey, ultimately hasn’t everyone sold on gear because they have something better incoming? I think that despite all the good ones and bad ones I’ve owned, the only one now that I’m kind of wishing that I hadn’t sold on was my Thunderbird NR reissue; while it played like a dream tonally it was a polar opposite to my other Thunderbirds. Plus, I had a Rickenbacker incoming. I know where the TB is (don’t I, Gus?)…maybe he’ll sell it back in a while.

Late to the party, but it's really dependent on the type of glue on the sticker. I've found that any one of three things will remove the residue; white Spirit, meths or good old Mr Sheen style polish.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1462055448' post='3040025'] I've heard on TB that Spector do not give their endorsing artists any basses for free. Any truth in this do you know? [/quote] Doug says this in the current video. They gave him a loaner, he bought the amber one he uses all the time.

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1462035356' post='3039852'] Fair point, maybe I was a bit harsh. I get a bit of a reaction to people who can afford stuff in the first place and companies who indulge them. FWIW I think he's a decent guy too. [/quote] While I'm certain that there's loads of uber-rich musicians, conversely I suspect a lot of these musicians have very little. Hell, if any manufacturer/builder offered to build you something, you'd be a knob to turn it down!

[quote name='spectoremg' timestamp='1462028370' post='3039764'] I have a lot of time for these guys. Saw LC in the nineties just after Doug had taken over. Excellent. But... Vernon Reid's endorsee whore waffle about PRS... and Doug blasting straight into another guitar distortion sound... [/quote] The Ishibashi video explains the PRS situation pretty well; Vernon doesn't diss on Parker Guitars...he just says that the team he dealt with at Parker were effectively pushed out of the company and his relationship deteriorated as a consequnce. He was still very positive about Parker. The PRS thing came about via the introduction of Vernon to Paul Reed Smith from the (Australian) English speaking representative at Ishibashi (the guy who fronts their English speaking videos). It all seems fairly genuine. Mr Reid has always struck me as really nice, passionate and genuine bloke...he might waffle and there may be some corporate loving going on, but I'd find it difficult to quantify this as whoring!

[quote name='AndyTravis' timestamp='1461704420' post='3037019'] [url="https://instagram.com/p/BErTjSPuQRr/"]https://instagram.com/p/BErTjSPuQRr/[/url] The end. Did a couple more passes at it and I'm glad I did. [/quote] Tip top. Way better than my effort! P