scrumpymike

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1426758209' post='2721537'] The man was a genius in my opinion. He managed to bring the bass guitar out of the shadows and into the spotlight with his gorgeous melodic lines and sexy, slinky style. What made this achievement even ore remarkable was the lack of influences to draw from at the time. He did It by himself from the age of 15. He wrote some damn fine songs too. A massive loss to the bass playing fraternity. [/quote] Big loss for me too. First Jack, now Andy - back in the day, these guys were (and still are) my heroes and it's almost too much to bear! Like Japhet says, these and the likes of Jamerson were the originators of the bass lines that many of us have spent a lifetime trying to reproduce - often in vain! Not only did they do it perfectly, they did it first. The classical music training Jack and Andy had in common gave them very distinctive but very different playing styles, and their love of the Gibson bass is one that I have always shared. Last but not least, all this makes me realise that I must be getting old

"There are a lot of numbers where the bass drops out or comes in later for dramatic effect... Won't Get Fooled Again,..." Getting Entwistle to drop out?! That was a good trick if you could do it - and is presumably why it was Daltry's favourite number

Mine was a Watkins Rapier bought new in '64 - powder blue just like this one but not a leftie. [url="http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/rapier3.jpg"]http://www.watkinsguitars.co.uk/rapier3.jpg[/url] Hope the link works!!

Ian, maybe the church venue acoustics should be one of the main deciding factors in your final choice. I'm no expert but wouldn't a cleaner, punchier sound work the best?

Would an EBS Classic 60 Session do it for you? Compact dim's, weighs 16kg and priced between £215 and £230. Great reviews and would certainly be enough for DI/monitor set-up. I've just got one (delivered yesterday) and can confirm that it offers a wide range of high-quality tones but can't say much about performance in venues as I've only tried it out at home so far.

Thanks for the feedback on the BW Sig, that's good to know. Apparently Bass Guitar Mag did a review but I haven't managed to find it on-line - the link on The Bass Centre's website didn't work for me either.

My SG re-issue does it for me, but I bet that Spector Shorty would do it better - beeeooootiful!! The Bill Wyman Sig gets some good reviews and I'm hoping to try one out soon. At the moment my only backup is an Ibanez Art-core semi with Jazz Flats that gives me some very different tones from the SG.

Thanks for that chris b, just found a great live performance on YT - amazing!

Oooooh - just discovered this thread and I'm loving it!! Read it all in a one-er, so now I'm tired (65 in Feb) and emotional (lots of great memories got stirred). What's changed for me? The knowledge and experience I've acquired as the years rolled by. It's being able to draw on all that accumulated music stuff that makes up for the negatives (mainly physical) of the ageing process. What stands out as very special? Discovering that each new Beatles album was completely different from their previous one (or anybody else's!!) BUT EVEN BETTER; trying to figure out what bass Bill Wyman was playing; getting my first bass ( a sky-blue Watkins Rapier with a fancy black pick-guard); hearing the Mayall/Clapton Beano Album for the first time; marvelling at the latest awesome bass-line from some anonymous Motown bass player; getting hit right between the eyes by Cream; the day that Jimi came to London town; joining a high-school band that won the local Youth Music Festival (we took the gold award in the Jazz category for our rendition of Sunshine Of Your Love would you believe!!); and then going on to play all of the aforementioned plus much more in semi-pro bands over the last 5 decades. Sorry to ramble on (Zep reference unintentional), but I guess there's not much of substance I can add to what's already been posted. Except maybe one thing: for me what makes the music of the '60s and '70s unique was that it was energized by a youth/pop revolution that was standing culture on its head across the western world. That energy is woven into the very fibre of the music and I'm still as passionate about it as I ever was. Latest project? Ran into a guy in the local music store a couple of months back who knows the stuff I know, likes the stuff I like, plays the stuff I play - and we're about ready to hit the road as '2fargone'. Footnote: he's only 40-something (must have had a hard life as he looks much older), so there's hope for those young'uns yet! Well, got to go now as I'm being told it's my bed-time and my milky drink is going cold...

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1420288257' post='2647519'] According to his book i had for Christmas, (which i would recommend, Standing in the Shadows of Motown)you are correct. Heavy gauge He never changed the strings unless they broke, and never cleaned his fretboard, as that is what gave the funk, apparently. [/quote] +2! It was hearing Jamerson's bass-line on the Stevie Wonder hit 'I Was Made To Love Her' that converted me from lead to bass guitar. I vowed there and then that I'd learn to play it just like JJ - but I gave up on that one about 4 decades back!!

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' timestamp='1419881027' post='2643593'] The "new" Bass Centre is about 5 minutes from where I live. I popped in last year and Barry showed me the new Bass Centre basses (Notman Watt-Roy Jazz in particular) and the Brian May guitar range too. I had a quick go in the Wyman bass and thought it was fine. It is VERY small though and a bit if an acquired taste. Barry also took time to tell me how the Wyman bass came to fruition and his meetings with Bill himself during the inception. I'm sure he'd be more than happy for anyone to pop along and try one. He makes a great cup of tea and has a whole wealth of stories. [/quote] Hey Murph, used to be a regular visitor to Wapping in the golden age of UK bass when I lived in North London, but "fings ain't wot they used ta be" - bit of a hike from Taunton to Bagshot and not as much to see when you get there!!

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1419879627' post='2643560'] Here's a thread from a year ago........... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/200974-bass-centre-bill-wyman-bass/page__p__2004011__hl__wyman%20bass__fromsearch__1#entry2004011"]http://basschat.co.u..._1#entry2004011[/url] [/quote] Thanks - interesting read.

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1419868666' post='2643347'] There was a review of one in an issue of Guitar and bass magazine, maybe 12/18 months ago, so have a look on their website, it may be there. Haven`t seen one in the flesh though. Follow this link.... [url="http://www.basscentre.com/british-bass-masters/BBM-Wyman.html"]http://www.basscentr.../BBM-Wyman.html[/url] Oh and hello [/quote]Thanks jezzaboy, already been on the Bass Centre website but their link to the article brings up an error message - and I couldn't find it on the magazine's site either. I'll phone the Bass Centre when they re-open and ask for a copy.

Only been down here for 4 yrs (don't be fooled by that 'scrumpymike' stuff), a member of this forum for 4 hrs - but playing bass for 5 decades!! Nowadays, it's an SG re-issue through an '80s Trace Elliot 300W head (with a SWEET EQ pre-set) on top of a TE compact 1 x 15 on top of a Marshall 4 x 10. My other/back-up bass is an Ibanez semi-acoustic... and my other/back-up/small gig amp is a beefy little KMD 45W combo with a 12" spkr - old (obsolete even) but still punches well above its weight. Mainly played in function/covers bands over the years with a bit of 'singer/songwriter' along the way. Hoping to be famous when I grow up. In the meantime, looking forward to enjoying all the stuff on this forum.

...but first hi everybody!! This is my first post and I'm after info on the Bill Wyman Signature bass from anybody who owns or has played one. In particular, does it have a decent range of good useable sounds for pop/rock covers work and how is the balance in terms of neck dive? Ta