Cato

I think it's quite common on electro acoustic basses, even the budget Harley Benton model has one. I would guess that its harder to fit an inconspicuous integrated tuner into a solid body & manufacturers know that the majority of bass players will already own some sort of tuning device? Having said that I'm sure some manufacturer somewhere will have done it at some point.

I don't know about the best playing but the best looking in the current range by a country mile that I've seen is the Dee Dee Ramone signature. Pure 70s chic.

I try to keep my chords tight & in time when I play guitar, pretty much exactly how I approach bass, but I've never been much of lead player & that's where I think, within certain styles and genres, a bit of 'sloppiness' can actually enhance a song. Although does it count as 'sloppiness' if you do it deliberately?

I honestly can't remember. I think it had something to do with impressing girls. That part never really worked out for me.

I played a couple in a shop recently & was quite impressed. Sound & playability wise they're not really in the same league as a full blooded Stingray (unsurprisingly) but they're not a million miles away from the classic ray sound either. A couple of years ago there were a lot of complaints about the on board preamp being too 'hot' or producing too much gain, but the ones I played seemed okay, so maybe that problem has been fixed, or maybe I'm too cloth eared to notice.

I've tried to like Level 42, I've listened to recommended tracks, I've watched people break his stuff down in youtube videos, I've even learnt to play a couple of his easier lines. But whilst I can clearly see & hear his genius I still don't really like his music that much, not the stuff I've heard anyway. It's almost certainly my loss.

I once spent three weeks in a hotel in December whilst on a course. 'Now.... that's what I call Christmas' was piped into the corridors, restaurant & lobby on repeat, 24 hours a day & could faintly be heard in my room. So after undergoing what amounted to involuntary aversion therapy for 21 days it's safe to say I'm not the biggest fan of Christmas songs in general & the songs on that album in particular bring me out in a cold sweat.

I blame Metallica. Ever since word got out that James Hetfield favoured a 'scooped' tone, the world has been full of guitarists turning the mids down to zero and everything else up to eleven.

I think I've only bought 2 new cds this year. 'My love is cool' by Wolf Alice, which while not quite a classic has some superb songs on it & 'The Making Of' by the Bohicas which I bought of the merchandise stand after I saw them in Brum which is also pretty good. Other than that it's been a year for discovering old music that had previously passed me by.

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1450097018' post='2929485'] I agree, preferably a thinline, with a 'bucker in the neck position. I'll get my coat. [/quote] What is it with bass players and telecasters? I've got a MiM 1972 thinline reissue which I bought c.2000. It's the best skinny string I've ever owned and up there with the best I've ever played. I don't know if it's the simplicity of the controls or the relatively chunky necks, but I've known a fair few tele owning bass players down the years.

Cheers for that. I was aware of his spoken word stuff like The Revolution Will not be Televised & Whitey on the Moon, but I had no idea he'd done the jazz/funk thing as well Something else to check out.

Flea must be close to qualifying?

I'd guess it's probably down to your guitarists tone/eq/amp settings. Or maybe he has a dodgy guitar? There are a lot of myths about humbucker vs single coils, most of which can be largely dispelled by browsing you tube and watching people playing Slayer or Metallica riffs on telecasters or pristine sounding Gilmour or Clapton solos on Les Pauls.

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1449922304' post='2927984'] I would argue Sting had nothing to do with Punk and New Wave, other than being a blatant band wagon jumper, and add Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees.Who is not very well at the moment. [/quote] If you buy into the idea that punk was a reaction against the overblown musical virtuosity of bands like Led Zep,The Who & Pink Floyd in favour of a bunch of kids picking up instruments and playing their first gigs a few days later then The Police probably don't belong. I'd definitely allow them in as part of the 'New Wave' though. I suspect that like most things musical labels are largely down to personal interpretation.

Dee Dee Ramone. The first time I heard the Ramones I thought to myself 'ah, so that's how it's done'.It wasn't long after that that I picked up my first bass. I suspect that I'm one of a great many who cut their bass playing teeth playing along to Dee Dee' s lines. 25 or so years on my musical tastes have broadened somewhat, but the Ramones are just about the only band I liked as a teenager that I still listen to regularly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvMhPqg2jCo

Just started watching his tutorials a few days ago, he's a lot easier to follow than a lot of the youtube guys, there's definitely stuff I can learn from him. I almost feel guilty getting stuff that useful for free.

Gibson have a gadget that will change the tuning of a guitar at the touch of a button. I don't know if they fit them to their basses, possibly the string tension on a bass is too high?

[quote name='Old Man Riva' timestamp='1449529336' post='2924478'] An album well worth getting hold of is the Fat Albert Rotunda LP. From 1969 it was originally written as the music to a Bill Cosby TV show. Funky, jazzy, cool and groovy it tends to get overlooked when HH's output gets discussed. Fat Mama is ace.. [/quote] Cheers, I'll put that one on my Christmas list.

I recently discovered Herbie Hancock. The stuff he did with his Headhunters band is fantastic, it's very funky and has some great electric bass lines, although it's rarely,if ever the lead instrument. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GAlejqkd-gg

There's no reason you couldn't slap a Gibson Bass.Try one and see if you like how it sounds. The general view seems to be that slap bass sounds best on a bass with a bridge pickup, like a Jazz or a Stingray (though there are plenty of videos on YouTube of people using the technique on Precisions and other non bridge pickuped basses).So most Gibson's I've seen would qualify on that front. As long as you like how it sounds I reckon anything goes.

You should definitely be looking at used basses as well as new. At that price it's the equivalent of adding another £100-£150 to your budget in terms of what you can get for your money. In terms of brands, Squier seems to get nothing but love these days, Yamaha is good call & the lower end of the Ibanez range seems to have a pretty good reputation at the moment. You should go to a shop or two with largish selections,play as many basses as you can to get a feel for what sort of set up and features you like best (including the more expensive instruments) then have a look to see if there is something similar within your budget.

I've only recently discovered Graham Central Station. The first 3 albums are fantastic, up there with the very best funk/soul classics.

Wave of Mutilation - The Pixies http://m.youtube.com/?hl=en-GB&gl=GB#/watch?v=8ttLlMytHXY

Compared to his pop song by numbers earlier efforts, from what I've heard of the newer stuff it's a lot more pleasant on the ears. He's still a complete rooster though.