Old Man Riva

One of my favourite bass players on one of my favourite albums. Bought it when it came out and it had the cool album sleeve poster inside. Also had an odd message (either on the vinyl or the album sleeve, can’t remember) that said ‘play loud’ or some such - something to do with how it had been mastered/pressed and the amount of music contained on a single LP.

Always thought Pete Farndon was such a cool dude, and a real rock ‘n’ roll player - he was considered as Pete Way’s replacement in UFO at one point?!

Oh, and James Honeyman-Scott’s solo on Private Life is one of life’s great musical pleasures… 

6 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Andy B has got a really nice 61 P, all original in fiesta red in, really lovely thing and sounds lovely , too high price tag for me, 

https://www.andybaxterbass.com/products/1961-fender-precision-bass-fiesta-red-1

“This 1-owner bass came to us via the cousin of its original owner… He played the bass locally in bands until the early 80s when he sadly passed away. Since then the bass has remained in its case with his cousin.“

Blimey, how big’s the case?! Or how big’s the cousin?!

I visited the store about three weeks ago after seeing a bass on their website I fancied trying (a ‘79 Gibson Thunderbird). I telephoned in the morning and was over there a short while afterwards as I’m only about half-hour’s drive away. 
 

The guy I dealt with couldn’t have been nicer. The Thunderbird didn’t really work for me, but I stuck around and had a plonk on some of the other basses he had - there was a short scale Japanese Jazz Bass that was cool, and not something I’d seen before, along with a host of other interesting pieces - and also had a good old natter into the bargain. 

All in all, it was a positive and enjoyable experience… 

Scotland vs. Norway.

Scotland wins …

4 minutes ago, Nail Soup said:

Can definitely  agree with "Anyone Can Play Guitar"... really good tutorials and aligns well with my music taste.

Same here. The only Can tutorial I found on YouTube was on his channel.

Nearly half-hour’s worth of Michael Karoli inspired insight to be watched again and again… 

Regarding the ‘62 Jazz, it might be the angle the pic was taken but to my eyes some of the fretwork looks a little off at the dusty end.

It may be my eyes, so more than happy for someone to hurl Mr Magoo references my way!

Away from bass-only content, this guy is one of my favourites.

Chanan Hanspal (or ‘The Beato of the Valleys’, as I like to refer to him, to no one in particular!) is really good. He does excellent deep dives on the likes of Bowie, Zappa, XTC, The Who, and the Mighty Boosh (?!) amongst others.

A lot of the theory goes over my head, but I find it fun/interesting to watch nonetheless…

36 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Not sure about that one. There are too many inconsistencies, parts look too nice, 

 

I recently picked up a vintage bass from a well known retailer. Fitted new strings and tried to adjust the truss rod and it’s seized. Finished with vintage and instead gone for Vintera for something that actually works. (Old one off for a refund)

I know what you mean, though the body refin gives it an air of newness. Many years ago you could get player grade basses that were priced accordingly, and were more than worth a go. Not sure what this was priced at.

That’s not great re. the vintage truss rod. I’ve had a couple of challenges with instruments bought from well-known dealers over the years, having to send the instruments back. Even being a ‘give people the benefit of the doubt’ kinda chap, each time really stretched my patience. 

I missed this on Will’s site when it was listed - don’t think it hung around for long.

Not sure of the price?

https://bassbros.co.uk/sold-basses/1960-62-fender-jazz-bass/ 

26 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

I enjoyed that thanks. 
 

My toes curled when he started snipping all the wiring off though. I wonder if that was really necessary? I’ve never had to break down a pot yet. CAIG Deoxit has always worked for me.

 

Question. What was the thing he put all the metal parts into to take the rust off, and what was the solution he used in it? 

Rob

As someone who has never had the confidence to even look at a truss rod there were various body parts curling when I watched it - yet still strangely therapeutic! 
 

In the comments section somebody asked him about the solution and how long the process took. He replied, “alkali and distilled water, 15 minutes + 20 in the end”. 

I found this oddly therapeutic to watch!

Come in, sit down, pull up a chair …

On 14/03/2024 at 09:36, bartelby said:

Ah, it was number 1 on the day I was born in Coventry. Maybe I should give it a listen...

I'll warn you now, it's an acquired taste!! 

Mouldy Old Dough by Lieutenant Pigeon, though mainly for the Coventry connection rather than its musical merits..!

7 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

See my post above.

Yes.

If any of you are unaware of the Harrisons I would beg you to do some research. They are crooks, through and through. I personally know people who have worked for them.

 

They had a reputation of being able to source anything..... and they could.....because they frickin made it

Aye, I wouldn’t be handing over £16.99 let alone £16,999 for that Entwistle bass.

I spent an enjoyable afternoon at David Pym’s place a few years back trying out some of his stock. He explained in great detail how certain companies operated. There used to be a piece on his website about it - there probably still is… 

Do Denmark Street/Amsterdam guitars have something to do with the old Music Ground company, or is that a completely different entity entirely?

Edit to say, apologies, I was slower off the mark than ossyrocks!

… featuring the late  Damo Suzuki.

That’s fabulous, thank you so much for sharing!

That’s the most in depth interview with Pino I’ve seen/heard - some great moments!

37 minutes ago, toneknob said:

When John Giblin passed away, I was subsequently recommended Mod'Fish and Forest People, both by Masami Tsuchiya. Both also feature Mick Karn, and are well worth a listen.

 

… not heard those before. Thank you so much for recommending!

Been playing Frank on loop… 

10 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Mmmmmm, Karn versus Pastorius.....

 

The 'Pastorius opened the doors' argument is reasonable, but there's something about Karn's style that does seem to have been possible even had Jaco not popularised fretless.

 

When I was 20 Karn seemed to be the epitome of new wave cool, listening to those lines today he sounds kinda.........

 

Jazz 🤔  

Funnily enough that’s exactly what I thought today when I watched the video. I’ve never given it a thought before, but when I saw the breakdown of Tribal Dawn I was completely taken by how ‘jazzy’ it sounded… 

23 minutes ago, Count Bassy said:

Totally agre with the chap, except that Mick Karn should be rated, not "up with Jaco", but "well above Jaco".

Well they both certainly had their own unique and distinctive ‘voice’ on the instrument, which I always think isn’t that common - a lot of really good players can sound like a lot of really good players, but don’t have their own distinctive voice.

Of the two, musically, Mick Karn appeals to me much more.

A genuinely unique musician, and also cool as f**k. It’s a winning combination!

… a brief appraisal of the wonderful Mr Karn from the excellent PDBass.

33 minutes ago, Paul S said:

Probably my favourite bassist to listen to or watch is Mark King.  I can't honestly say he has influenced my playing because I don't have funky fingers, but I love to see him.  Not the slap particualrly, although that is a given, but his effortless fingerstyle weaving around the tunes, usually while singing.

Next two haven't been mentioned I don't think. 

Roger Glover.  Fabulously melodic bass lines, especially in the context of the early Deep Purple stuff. 

Chris Glenn.  I saw SAHB loads of times in the early/mid 70s and would say he is the bass player that has influenced me more than any others.  Nothing complicated (though he has the chops) just laid back and enjoying himself.

 

I love the bass part on Boston Tea Party. One of the things I tried to learn when I first started. It was a real struggle getting all of the cool runs he does… 

In an attempt to list every bass player ever recorded, see below. I love them all, in their own unique way!

In no particular order… 
 

JPJ

Pino

James Eller

Derek Forbes

Norman Watt-Roy

Segs 

Trevor Bolder

Chuck Rainey 

Tom Hamilton

John Gustafson

Charlie Tumahai 

Horace Panter 

Max Bennett 

Wilton Felder 

Jim Lea

Herbie Flowers

Willie Weeks

Pete Way

Fred Thomas

Pete Farndon

Sting

Bobby Vega 

Mick Karn 

edited to also add;

Paul Jackson

Colin Moulding

Kev Hopper

Alan Spenner

Old Superlungs himself. Even gets a smile out of Whisperin’ Bob…