NancyJohnson

Took delivery of the the aforementioned DVD this morning - managed to watch about half of it during my lunchbreak. Amazing...I've been a Living Colour fan since I got a tape of the pre-Vivid demos before that album came out. OK so they're not running around like madman as of old, they've put on a few pounds and Corey Glover has dropped the Body Glove clothing (he looks like he's just stepped off the footplate of an old 'Casey Jones' locomotive), but it's a joy to see a live DVD. I just hope someone sees sense to put out the Primer and Time Tunnel videos on DVD. Doug Wimbush makes it look so damn easy. P

I own one of these babies: ...and it's going out on regular missions with me so I need a sturdier case, rather than the flimsy gig bag it came in. As standard hardshell [bass] cases are too short I was wondering whether anyone with a standard acoustic bass case could measure up the interior and see whether this would fit. I'm reluctant to get a case built. Measurements are: Overall length: 132cm Body width: 41 cm Body length: 54cm Body height: 8cm Thanks P

Your post title made me smile. **last thursday** heh. Go back to the beginning, right back to the beginning. They did five great studio albums (up to and including Blood Sugar Sex Magik) in the seven years to 1991 and followed that with four pretty terrible ones, five (yes, five) Greatest Hits compilations and a live CD over the next sixteen. So far as 'last Thursday' goes, I got pissed with that band when JF left and Navarro arrived for One Hot Minute and I try to avoid the band whenever I'm unlucky enough to be exposed to them. Sure Flea and JF have the talent; Chad Smith in the scheme of things really isn't that good a drummer and AK has no voice and lyrically he sucks the big one. Too much exposure. Too many drugs. I'm sorry, basses and tattoos aside, they stink! P

I'm presently gassing for a Lakland Skyline DJ5 (black, w/rosewood board) - they're not listed on Ishibashi, so anyone know any other decent online stores outside of the USA (ie Japan) where I could bag a good deal on one? Cheers P

[quote name='obbm' post='48229' date='Aug 21 2007, 11:36 AM']If you can get to Farnham you are welcome to try my DJ4 and DJ5[/quote] PM'd. I love this place. P

OK next question. I'm looking at a handful of basses so I need opinions based on this: My scenario is this. I run an old Precision which I love, but I need a back-up (for tone, failure and variety). Now I've been considering a Geddy Lee Signature. My family circumstances are about to change; we'll be mortgage free and my good lady has given me the nod to buy 'two or three' basses (what a gal!). The Geddy is a certainty. I will probably sort myself out a Bongo 5HH, but I'm also getting a Lakland horn on at the moment and I'm considering either of the Skyline Joe Osborn or Darryl Jones five-stringers. I'm erring towards the DJ - primarily because I like the styling, the block inlays. It's a Jazz but not really a Jazz. I know this is a bit trivial. I've heard some mp3s (from The Dudepit) and they sound pretty indistinguishable from each other. Which is the better of the two in your opinions? If anyone has one (or both) in close proximity to my location (Crowthorne, Berkshire) any chance of a noodle? Cheers P

I had a Travis Bean 2000 series (#222). I paid £375 for it from a shop in Lewisham during summer of 1981. A short time after I got it I passed it to a luthier near Kingston who specialised in making these beautiful baroque instruments - he fitted a BadAss bridge, took the old fingerboard off it and attached a fantastic piece of ebony and I used it fretless for a while. Later on, I joined a real rocking outfit and had it refretted by Dick Knight who lived somewhere near Ottershaw/Weybridge, Surrey. It lost favour with me two or three years later and I part-exchanged it (yes, part-exchanged...that really hurts), for a f2cking nasty Ibanez Roadster at ABC Music in Addlestone. To add insult to injury, I destroyed the Ibanez at the end of a gig before the year was out. I was a terrible bass. I still wonder where that Travis Bean went. Hopefully it's still about and giving someone some pleasure. P x

Quick question. If anyone on the group has a Lakland Joe Osbourn, could they let me know whether the control plate is the same as that of a Fender Jazz please...shape, screw holes etc. I've seen a couple of these on a similar group across the point and while I'm still thinking hard about getting a Geddy Lee, the JO is also a distinct possibility too, but I'd like to convert the JO to a stack-knob configuration and it would be easier to buy an off-the-shelf bell plate for this purpose. Cheers P

[quote name='Magnolia' post='41738' date='Aug 5 2007, 11:45 PM'][url="http://www.bravewoodguitars.co.uk/Stackknob1960.html"]This[/url] is serious porn to me. Shame he doesnt do them anymore. Nick[/quote] That is a beautiful looking bass...been looking at something like that for some time. If you've got the old Tony Bacon Bass Book, there's something very similiar (and original) within its pages. P

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='40366' date='Aug 2 2007, 10:30 AM']Well, two days on & it's appeared via UPS... Setup even with the stock strings is sublimly low & fast. Everything they say about the neck on the GL is true... It's the loveliest jazz neck I've ever played on! Will need to bring the action up a little when I change the strings later, as I usually take my basses down to 35-90's.[/quote] Congratulations; that looks a peach. Where did it come from? I played a GL signature straight out of the box at Sam Ash in Las Vegas last September. I was stunned how good it was. I asked the guy in the store whether they had any in stock and he just sauntered out back and opened the fresh from Japan shipping box for me. It was beautifully set up, didn't need any adjustment except to tune it up a tone. It sounded amazing. As a footernote here, amongst the thirty or so basses I played that afternoon was one of the Squier '75 reissues - essentially a clone of the Geddy, but in ash/maple sans the BadAss. There was absolutely no comparison, other than it was tuned to EADG. It was quite simply an entry level bass. Don't let anyone try and fool you into thinking those Squiers are 'just like the Geddy Lee model now I've added a BadAss bridge'. P x

[quote name='SiOfBass' post='41297' date='Aug 4 2007, 04:20 PM']this is probly a really dumb question to you guys but ive been unsure of this for a while a cant get a definate answer; are the player custom basses you can buy, like the geddy lee mex's and the artist's custom is the USA custom shop model?[/quote] The Geddy Lee model is made completely in Japan (MIJ). Maybe someone else here can fill us in on Fender's US activities - aren't some US models (MIA) - ie the Highway One - just put together in the US with the components being built in Mexico? I'm really not sure about this. P

[quote name='Alun' post='41265' date='Aug 4 2007, 02:11 PM']I must admit, I'm with you on that one. I don't really get it, it's a bit like buying a brand new car with a big dent in the wing. Each to their own, but it's not for me. Cheers, Alun[/quote] Some years ago (early 80s) I was watching a music show on TV with my parents, when the camera focused on a bass player doing his stuff - I distinctly remember it was a sunburst Jazz and it was in horrific condition. Horrific. I remember my late father saying 'Why doesn't he just buy a new one?', but to me the guy was playing an instrument that looked as though it had a hundred thousand miles on the clock and it was love at first sight. Why do people love beat up basses (and guitars)? Why do people love reissued models? I guess because they give you the opportunity to buy into something that alludes to being something else at a fraction of the cost. We all agree that the older (and maybe more beat up) these basses get, the more desirable they become to some people (me), but this is nothing like owning a car covered in dings...it is to a degree trying to grab the allusion that you are buying into some kind of history and <shudder> MOJO. Sure if I had £10K to throw at a '62 Jazz without worrying, then perhaps I would, but I don't have that kind of swag, so maybe I'll take the next best route. From another perspective, I don't buy into the basses-that-look-like-furniture thing either. I'm sure that all the dudes and dudettes here who own Shukers, Sei and ACGs, love their basses but I think they have the personality of a dining room table. Sorry. </gets off soapbox> P

I hadn't realised he wasn't taking orders any more. There's a very good chance that I will be mortgage free by years' end and while as a stop-gap I was thinking about a Geddy Lee signature [i]and[/i] a Mark Hoppus model for the interim, I will for probably the first time in my life have sufficient enough swag to start throwing at basses. I've been getting a Bravewood horn for some years. Arse! I certainly do not want to pay £1,200+ to Bill Nash for something he's just bought from Allparts. Shame. P x

[quote name='jwbassman' post='41084' date='Aug 3 2007, 09:04 PM']wish i'd had a quiet day at work [/quote] I'm a credit manager by day...first day or two of the month is a bit busy, but I decided to spend most of today drinking coffee and trawling the information superhighway (blimey, remember when it was called that all those years ago?). At weekends I turn into Norm Abraham, renovating my damn house; which, after the carpet laying is finished this coming Monday, will be job done- five years and about £100K spent. P

If anyone owns the Squier and Fender derivative of the same bass (ie Jazz or Precision) can you answer a quick question for me? Are the headstocks the same size and shape? I was having a look online today and the Squiers look a little different. It's been bothering me....it's been a quiet day at work. P x

Lads and lasses With the prices of vintage basses going through the ceiling (along with custom-shop distressed models), I was wondering on this warm summer evening, whether anyone had had any experience of Bravewood Guitars in the the west country. This guy builds, restores (and used to relic) with a passion. Web searches seem to indicate this guy can build you a fantastic bass and make it look as though it's been dragged [i]behind [/i]the van for the last forty years to boot. I've been following the website progress ([url="http://www.bravewoodguitars.co.uk"]Bravewood[/url]) for a few years and feel that I'm teetering on the brink of going this route to get a vintage looking (and sounding) bass. The website is worth a look on it's own...there's some real eye candy on it. Meanwhile, in the real world, my '79 Precision hardly has a ding on it. The finish is apparently bombproof. Anyone? P x

[quote name='16Again' post='37814' date='Jul 27 2007, 01:57 PM']They sound great but look bloody awful, imo. [/quote] That's what I feel about 4001s! Sorry! P

Around three years ago, there was a thread on the alt.guitar.bass newsgroup about how Monster Cable had trademarked the name Monster and consequently issued hundreds of cease or desist lawsuits to companies who had the word monster in their trading name. They were pretty indiscriminate as to who they went for, what size they were or what type of business they were in or how long they had been operating for. Rumour has it they even went after The Disney Company & Pixar (because of Monsters Inc.), The Chicago Bears ('The Monsters Of Midway'), pinball machine makers Bally (who had a gaming machine called Monster Slots), along with a ton of small independents too; Monster Vintage (vintage clothes), the makers of Monster Garage (a TV show) and a company called Snow Monsters that makes soft toys. I've never owned a Monster Cable (I've laid a few though), but I understand their stuff is pretty expensive and pretty mediocre to boot. I think their aforementioned actions pretty much made my mind up that I didn't want to use their products. P

Morning! Some of you might be interested in nice recent interview with Geddy over on [url="http://www.bassplayer.TV"]Bass Player TV[/url]. It's in three parts, an interview, a five/six minute piece with Geddy and his basses (all Jazz, all Signature/vintage/custom shop stuff - I was simply drooling at that bit) and a further five/six minute piece with his tech, showing his rack and the basses again. P x

Hello all If you're in the mood for a change of look for your bass, suggest you try Pickguardian in the US. I've just recieved a custom scratchplate for my Waterstone from them and it's a beautiful piece of work. They do a ton of different guards, loads of acrylics and materials, great communications. Contact Tony Dudzik. Link: [url="http://www.pickguardian.com"]http://www.pickguardian.com/pickguardian/[/url] Cheers P

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='35764' date='Jul 22 2007, 11:40 PM']wouldn't like to paint it though...[/quote] ...stolen from the wonderful Steven Wright. Now where did I put my powdered water? P

I've seen Fender Highway One Jazzes and Precisions on the 'Bay for around £250 (from the US)...these seem incredibly good value secondhand, but obviously you have to factor in shipping and duties. Aerodyne Jazz basses (the versions with the pick guard) are great value - see my avatar - I owned one for a while until a disparate cash shortage forced sale. P

As some of you know, I play a Waterstone 12-string bass once in a while. It's a rough Les Paul shape and I suffer from a bit of neck dive. The strap point is on the side of the body about an inch north of the neck joint. I'm curious...does anyone know of a bracket that can be retro-fitted (screwed!) into the neck-position strap point that could extend the strap button position towards a more Jazz/Precision friendly position? I'm sure Steinberger had a bracket like this. Cheers P x