HeadlessBassist

Astley was a cunning Master of Disguise - real name, Lola. 🤣

It just proves how gullible Joe Public really is. As we know from being performers of various levels of ability, Joe Public just likes a nice tune, usually a nice tune he knows. It doesn’t matter if you’re terrible or amazing. They don’t know the difference. You can have perfect technique, sound and chops. It doesn’t matter to them. You can have the most horrendous technique, terrible sound, and no chops and they’ll still love it when you play something they know. They’ll love it even more if a young lady flashes some pretty flesh. How’d you think Stock Aitken & Waterman made so much moolah in the 80’s? I always remember the two old hecklers at a Thursday night Jam in Carlton, Nottingham several decades ago. If you were good they’d shout, “Play something we know!” If you were truly awful, it’d be “Play something YOU know!” As for Sapko, I’m left wondering who’s taking the urine out of who? After all, he’s making plenty of YouTube money out of hot air and fake outrage. Good luck to them all, I say. I’m off to watch Hoovie’s Garage. “Wiiiiizard…”

Very nice playing, WoT

“He’s behind you, Mr.Crocodile!”

With the pattern drawn on the original piece of Sapele, I thought you were making a Flying V for a moment! The body shape looks excellent - are you doing it all from templates? The curved edges look really good.

I've only heard good things about them to be honest. They're made in the Indonesian Cort factory, so quality will obviously be pretty good. The standout feature seems to be the ceramic pickups, so they have a brighter sound than the more expensive Player II's.

I'd have a look around for one of the 40th Anniversary Squires. They punch well above their weight. Talking used, I'm just in the middle of a deal for a mint condition (never gigged) CAR 2016 MIM Standard Fender Jazz. They are around, but you have to dig a bit. Sires, as others have said, are always consistent, and now they all have those lovely curved neck edges. If you like Music Man, the new Ray 2 passive Stingray looks a lot of bass for the money and sounds great in the right hands, as well as the last of the JHS Vintage V96's - @Mike Brooks says the 'Reissued' models sound scarily like the real thing.

Same here - I recently swapped a lovely Nate Mendel Precision for [yet] another Jazz bass.

Ooh, Chorus Pedal? Best used with your dual single coil bass - solo the bridge pickup and turn the tone down to 50% and hey presto, you magically embody the ghost of Jaco Pastorius. Anyway, just off to buy a sunburst fretless Jazz... (Only joking!) A thick wha..? I don't recognize this word. Plectrum? (Oh, is that the device for people who don't know what their fingers are for, who love to make those horrid clacky clanking noises?)

Lovely 'Tiny Desk' mini set. Jerry Barnes is killing it on his Jazz as per usual.

Now that's what I call trading up. Better.

I'm guilty of that one too - Kept an early Warwick Alien for over a decade and probably used it for two one-off Jazz gigs. It's now gone and after a few trades, has been replaced by an American Performer Mustang. Better. And if a Jazz job comes in, I've got Double Basses, or plenty of Jazz Basses to palm mute on.

I've been guilty of hearing about press releases (either on forums or on't'internet) featuring new instruments I've wanted to try, and duly travelled to a dealer to try them... where I'm usually disappointed, as they're badly set up examples, or have dead strings from other customers playing them. The worst one is when a serious player demos them on YouTube... like when Lars Lehmann demo'd the Music Man Classic Sabre all those years ago. I did buy one and it was a lovely instrument, but it sadly didn't work out for me live. I sacrificed one of my favorite basses ever to get it, too. 😢

Luckily, anyone who knows anything about music sees past your personal dysmorphia and thinks, "Nice bass playing!" However, Joe Public McAverage thinks, "I like a nice tune... Oh, we know that one... Let's dance!"

Of course, there's another very dangerous connotation linked with the word, "spare"... BC'ers may be inspired to feed their GAS addiction with such heinous thoughts as, "I could really do with a backup **insert name of piece of equipment here** "THIS MESSAGE WILL SELF DESTRUCT IN THE NEXT 30 SECONDS..."

Very true. Yes, on a few preamps (depending on the frequency ranges chosen by the circuit designer) you can run them flat out, but most sound awful at ten tenths. Agreed re the 2eq Stingray preamp (I've got the OBP2). If you turn the treble control back down a little from your 'sizzle' point, the bass frequency richens and increases automatically as if it's filling the gap while the treble drops. It also reveals that massive 70's style Stingray punch.

Went to a friend's studio to train up a new trio drummer, and wondered for two hours why my TC Electronic Plethora Tone Print pedal was bypassing fine, but silent when switched on... I'd got the input and output cables plugged in back to front. Duh!

See what I did there..?

Nice... Great. 😎👍

You play wrong notes? Fascinating, Jim…

I know exactly what you mean - I was brought up on the glassy clear tone, but not because I'm a crazed slap addict - Mainly, it's because Singers, Wind & Brass players all pitch from the overtones/upper harmonics that occur naturally from the bass. If you have a 'cupboard full of blankets' worth of flats, or dead, old and lifeless strings, they have nothing to pitch from. Having a clean and bright (but also rich and bassy) sound is essential for me. * Your blankets analogy made me laugh out loud! 🤣🤣🤣

Remember, he who dies with the most toys wins!

Definitely sounds like the neck is too straight. Did you recently change string gauges? Set the bridge saddles to your desired string height, then try adding loosening the trussrod a quarter turn at a time. Some necks like a little more relief than you'd think, especially if you like quite a low action (around 2mm at the 12th.)

Au contraire - I love new strings. Zingy and clean sounding. Woooonderful! A guy came up to me on a gig last weekend and commented that it was so refreshing to hear "the clear articulation and individual bass notes". I rest my case, your Honour. 😁