Stingray5

[quote name='beerdragon' post='309216' date='Oct 18 2008, 01:25 PM'][url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/artists/stephenstills/"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/artists/stephenstills/[/url][/quote] Thanks for the link beerdragon. But, oh dear...

+1 Tom Jones His song '24 Hours' was amazing. I missed the first part of the show and was gutted to tune in just as Stephen Stills was finishing up. Did I miss anything?

+1 for the GT-6B. As has been mentioned, if you're prepared to invest a little time, you can really configure a ton of sounds out of it with fx and/or amp/cab modelling. Excellent quality effects as you would expect from Boss though admittedly there are the usual 'just for fun' pre-set sounds that you wouldn't necessarily use on stage. (Or would you.......?!? )

[quote name='Kirky' post='308724' date='Oct 17 2008, 04:26 PM']All very terrifying - glad you made it through! Sorry to be a bit dim (no pun intended), but what do you mean by a 'sleeved' mains plug.[/quote] Look at the two shorter pins (live and neutral) of any of your mains plugs and they should have a plastic 'sleeve' wrapping, usually black, going about half-way up the pin. The longer 'earth' pin is not sleeved. To be fair, mains plugs have been of the 'sleeved' type for quite sometime now so it's entirely possible you already have them fitted. Worth checking though. Cheers.

Tiger Tours. Used these guys a couple or so times. They're based west London opposite Wembley Exhibition Centre/Arena/Stadium. They have mainly Mercedes Sprinters, all self-drive, various sizes from vans to splitters. All kitted out for touring bands. Check the website for a ton of info including rates. [url="http://www.tigertoursuk.co.uk/"]http://www.tigertoursuk.co.uk/[/url]

I use an RCD plus I usually go wireless depending on the venue/gig itself. (...also one less cable to trip over too! ) Not sure if this has been mentioned but one other thing to check is that your 13amp mains plugs are all 'sleeved'. I was playing a function at a college in Cambridge a couple or so years back and they required the band to have a PAT test carried out by an electrician before we even set up. A couple of bits of kit (mine and the guitarist) had older non-sleeved plugs fitted. The cables were hard-wired to the equipment so we couldn't simply use a different mains lead. I had a couple of spare plugs in my kit box but only one of those was 'sleeved', the other was an older type. The electrician would only pass whichever unit I fitted the newer plug to. Needless to say when I got home, I checked all my plugs were of the 'sleeved' type. One or two plugs on older bits of kit were not. It's a small point but worth checking and being aware of.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='299319' date='Oct 4 2008, 01:08 PM']I definitely admire them, but I'm probably a minority voice in finding their song writing a little insipid and lacking in passion. I've found myself listening to many of their tracks waiting for the climax or waiting to understand the point of the song and the light bulb never really flicks on. Undoubtedly thats more a reflection of my poor musical understanding than them as a band. Having said that, I love the bass tone on Aja. Something I've used as a benchmark for my own gear testing.[/quote] I kind of get what you mean, crazykiwi. When I first realized much of their lyrics included a lot of 'in-jokes' and references to their own school and college friends etc, it left me feeling ever-so-slightly left out. Rightly or wrongly, I later accepted this as simply a part of the quirky world of Steely Dan.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='299083' date='Oct 4 2008, 03:29 AM']Ahh..when i post i always know i will get a wealth of knowledge from my bass brothers .I will check Donald's album out...Yeah SD were so innovative..fantastic bluesy guitar playing.. , as a time in music, the 70' s never stop amazing me with these amazing people. Stingray5 i think i mentioned The Allman Bros, dont know if you have heard these guys.. i recommend an album called Begginings..Some 70's hammond rock, but some turns into Jazzfunk.. Very cool.[/quote] bubinga5, yeh I know very well The Allman Bros. Beginnings is basically the first two albums sewn together. Have a listen to 'Live at Fillmore East' (originally a double LP set) which includes a stonkin' 20-odd minute version of 'Stormy Monday Blues'. A lot of people bought the album 'Brothers & Sisters' for the bands biggest hit 'Jessica' (...hello 'Top Gear' fans!). Someone also mentioned Zappa -- another huge love of mine. Check out his version of the Allman's "Whippin' Post". Regarding Steely Dan again, my function band often sound-checks with 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'.

Ah, one of my all-time fave bands, I discovered the 'Dan back in their (and my!) early days in the early '70's. They'd just released their 2nd album 'Countdown To Ecstacy' and the first track -- 'Bodhisatva' -- totally blew me away. I've been a major fan ever since. They were always considered a 'muso's band' - although more correctly a duo I suppose, with top session sidemen, not the least being Larry Carlton on guitar. Of course, as you've mentioned above bubinga5, the magnificent Chuck Rainey played much of those great bass lines. Great melodies, lyrics, vocals, chord sequences, musicianship, style - the whole package. If you've not heard it, you should also definitely check out Donald Fagen's solo album 'The Nightfly' - the best album Steely Dan never made! Right, I'm off to play along with 'AJA' again....

M.U. members get £10,000,000 Public Liability insurance plus equipment insurance up to the first £1,000 (register and add further amounts as appropriate). Not to mention a pretty decent magazine and diary!!

I don't have an mp3 but here's a link to 'Hey Baby' (Bruce Chanel) on Youtube. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4w1Mp6Mce4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4w1Mp6Mce4[/url] If required, you could use Ripzor.com to d/l the video (flv) to your system. Hope this helps.

Did anyone else notice the sellers of this item, thefamebureau, show their address further down the page as 21 Denmark Street, London. Isn't the Bass Cellar at 21/22 Denmark St.

So what hand do you wipe your bass with? Personally, I use a lint-free cloth!! (ok, it's an old joke... )

Yep - me too! Write left-handed but play bass and guitar right-handed. My son is the same - he's a lefty but plays drums (and some guitar) right-handed. I've tried writing right-handed with only a small degree of success, but when it comes to playing bass or guitar, forget it... definitely only a righty.

+1 for 'Kind Of Blue' - classic Miles. +1 for 'Tutu' - modern Miles. You might also want to check out 'In A Silent Way' (written by Joe Zawinul). Nice album featuring Miles regulars, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, among others.

It was 1969 (I was 15 - there, that dates me!!) and a friend loaned me a red 'Top Twenty' when I switched from guitar to bass. I think he actually bought it in Woolworths. Not long after, at one of my first gigs, the bassist in the band we were supporting said I could use his Fender Mustang bass. Wow, what a difference. That lead to my own first 'real' bass purchase - a Hayman 4040. Wish I still had it! (And the rest...!) If I had all the money I'd spent on bass guitars - I'd spend it on bass guitars!! (apologies to Viv Stanshall)

Welcome, Paddy. Interesting stuff here.... enjoy!

Maybe not entirely the usual configuration bass rig, regarding the combo and extension speaker, though I do vary whether I have the combo on top or bottom depending on venue etc. I know the 15" speaker traditionally should be at the bottom but I prefer the controls at the top. Besides, as it is, the sound is pretty awesome either way. [attachment=12536:TErig1.JPG] Used in conjunction with either a GT-6B or a Quadraverb GT/Behringer rack tuner: [attachment=12537:TErig3.JPG]

PM'd

[quote name='mike257' post='257454' date='Aug 7 2008, 06:22 PM']Cheers for all the opinions guys, there's obviously a lot of love for hiscox here! I'm down to these two then: The [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/15119"]Hiscox[/url] for £67 with the postage OR The [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_flight_case_wood_bass.htm"]Thomann[/url] option, which winds up at £54 including the shipping. Skintness sways me towards whatever's cheapest, but I'm open to being convinced Anybody tried the Thomann ones?[/quote] Really, for the difference in price between the two, I'd def go for the Hiscox. Aside from strength, the other reason is the weight. They're not called LiteFlite cases for nothing!

Very nice! Go for chrome knobs. They will sit nicely with the chrome bridge. (Never seen a black MM bridge). --- Ahem -- er -- just had another look and of course the black knobs do also look nice with the black pickup and selector........

Hiscox, definitely. If you've not seen it, check out the video on their website, showing six grown men standing on one of their cases, complete with guitar inside: [url="http://www.hiscoxcases.com/products_hiscox.htm"]http://www.hiscoxcases.com/products_hiscox.htm[/url] And yes - I [i]have[/i] tried this at home along with my precious StingRay5 tucked inside...!

[quote name='Bassassin' post='256155' date='Aug 6 2008, 12:19 PM']I wouldn't swear that particular one was a Matsumoku - you'd need to get hands-on & pull it apart to find out. Unless it has a Matsumoku neck plate, which some did. Hondos can be confusing - I have a really well-made Hondo Les Paul copy - set neck, carved top, good quality fret job etc, from probably about 77/78 - there are no identifying marks on it, and I [i]would[/i] say based on the quality it's JapCrap, & probably Matsumoku - but for the fact the hardware is absolute trash, and identical to that on a Korean plywood Hondo LP I had. This bass does have a very similar shape to some Vantage models - but check out this thread, on one of my favourite JapCrap boards: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4307"]http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4307[/url] By the early 80s, Korean factories were producing very accurate copies of Japanese original designs, As well as Vantages, there are also some rather nice Washburn Wing lookalikes from Korea. This is further complicated by Japanese copies of Japanese designs - check this out for some intriguing copies of copies. The Japanese "Wings" are Moridaira, the Korean ones from Cort: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4281"]http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4281[/url] JapCrap & KoreaDiarrhoea - the truth is out there. But f*ck knows where. J.[/quote] Thanks, J, for that clarification. Some very interesting stuff on the Matsumoku boards. On that side of things, I've mainly had Westone basses (Thunder IIA, 1A, Jet) of which my one remaining Westone is my fretless Thunder II. I had the fretted version too up until a few years back (nice pair!) when I had to sell it for other purchases.... big regret!! The Aria SB series basses were (not surprisingly) one of my other faves of the 80's period and at the time I had my eye on an SB1000 also a 900 (saw Jack Bruce playing his SB1000 -- with Billy Cobham -- around '81). Cheers, Steve.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='255429' date='Aug 5 2008, 02:51 PM']It is a Hondo, an [url="http://www.bossarea.com/aria/hondo/page4.jpg"]H1015,[/url] to be exact. - and they're not too bad. This is early 80s, post-copy era stuff, Hondo were trying to go a bit more upmarket with original designs, some made in Japan (Matsumoku was one of the factories they used) & DiMarzio pickups fitted as standard. 70s Hondos were pretty much universally Korean-made plywood trash & deserved the poor reputation, but later ones like this are a bit higher up the food chain. This particular model of bass turns up on Fleabay very regularly, usually sells for well under a ton, if you're interested. Jon.[/quote] Ah, a Hondo it is. I'll bow to superior knowledge [] and withdraw my previous post claim to it being a Vantage bass. [DOH!] In my defence, m'lud, I'd say I was lead by the Matsumoku connection; both have same hardware etc and similar looking bodies.

[quote name='coasterbass' post='255192' date='Aug 5 2008, 10:51 AM']...although your bandmates may laugh, they will never ever thank you enough when you rescue their b*lls from the chopper midgig! [b]Its the bassist's role to be the prepared and sensible one....[/b] [/quote] Sooo true, coasterbass! I have a well-stocked double-wheeled tool-box type thingy, sometimes referred to by a couple of bandmates as 'the shopping trolley'. It's got myself and others out of trouble a number of times with spare leads, fuses, strings, tools, etc. Don't leave home without it!