Cato

As you say, it's the different nature of the amps. Valve guitar amps need to be pushed to a certain limit before they produce 'that' tone. Even a 50 watt valve amp needs to be pushed to a level that's far too loud for most pub venues. Bass players tend to have much higher wattage amps, but we're more concerned with headroom, how much we can turn it up before the cabs start distorting.

It's the 70s Fenders that used to get the most serious flak. Although prices for instruments from that era have been rocketing up in recent years. I don't know how bad QC was at Fender in the 1970s but it doesn't take that many instruments leaving the factory with a serious fault to tarnish the reputation of an entire brand. If everyone knows someone who has owned or played one of the dodgy ones, word soon gets around.

I avoided them for years because I thought they were boring. Then one day I decided to see what all the fuss was about and instantly fell in love with the sound.

There's a couple. Status would probably be the most high profile.

I admire your optimism. It's quite unusual for a President not to get 2 terms George Dubya got re-elected even after his Iraq intervention went completely pear shaped. I think his dad was the only president in the last 40 years who didn't get a second term.

Exactly. It's not the core Gibson guitar business that's caused the problems. It's the period during the late 90s to now during which Gibson borrowed a load of money to buy up numerous other businesses, some of them not even remotely related to instrument manufacture, then proceeded to run those businesses in to the ground without ever coming close to recovering the cost of their initial investment. If they'd stuck to just making Gibson and Epiphone guitars they'd probably have been fine.

If you're using roundwounds I don't think a lighter gauge would make much difference, it's still going be like running the back of your thumb up and down a nail file. Flats would be less abrasive but you probably wouldn't get the sound you want. There's no shame in the electrical tape, I've seen countless pros using it over the years. I use it myself when I periodically restart my efforts to get good at advanced slap techniques.

I've always suspected that all the slides and ping pong and table football and such at whizzy tech companies like Google are actually a trap. Anyone who gets caught playing with any of that stuff in work time gets instantly sacked for gross misconduct.

I play bass fingerstyle. I always assumed that I can play bass with a pick because I play guitar with a pick. This thread inspired me to actually try playing bass with a pick for the first time in about a decade. Turns out I'm really bad at it.

If you look around the band and can't find the flake...you're the flake.

I feel it's my duty to strongly encourage you to take this path.

What's his average build time? Having seen that clip about Prince's bass I'm guessing it's a fairly lengthy process even without factoring in that he's probably never built a bass vi before.

Chvrches are one of my favourite bands at the moment. No idea where they fit genre wise, but their stuff is very synthy.

That's interesting. I found a review here. The reviewer may or may not be Vladimir Putin in a bad disguise.

I'm definitely thinking single coils or p90s as opposed to the humbuckers on more modern versions such as the Ibanez. If someone made a bass vi that had a 3 saddle tele bridge and pickups in the Telecaster positions that would, theoretically, be perfect for what i'm after. As it is I'm still leaning towards the Burns. Maybe with a cheeky cheap and cheerful second hand Danelctro Barritone on the side, just to cover all options.

I'd completely forgotten about those. I think Jason Newstead of Metallica played a Silhouette live for a while on certain songs like 'Sad but True'.

That would be ideal for me. Duane Eddy has pretty much the exact twangy 60s instrumental/surf sound that I want. At 3k though I can't see me getting one anytime soon.

I think the Gretsch is intended to be tuned A to A or higher. There are quite a few examples online of people stringing baritones with a bass vi set and tuning them E to E but the results seem to be mixed, with people complaining about low tension on the lower strings. I am looking at baritones as well but I can't really see any advantage of not having the instrument tuned a full octave below standard.

I assumed that they'd gone because I haven't been able to find anywhere that's stocking them at the moment. If that's not the case I may be flipping a coin between the Eastwood and the Burns. You've probably already seen this but...

I've also come across a couple of interesting bass vi types from a company called Agile but I don't think that they are available in Europe. https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=agile+bass+vi&oq=agile+bass+vi&aqs=chrome..69i57j69i60j0l2.13663j0j7&client=tablet-android-samsung&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8

I've also been looking at bass VIs recently and at the moment my leading contender is the Burns Barracuda bass. https://www.thomann.de/gb/burns_barracuda_bass_white.htm I like the look of the Sidejack but I think the bass vi version has been discontinued recently as has Danelectro's equally retro looking bass vi model. Schecter also do a model called the Hellcat vi which looks more like a traditional Fender type arrangement. My research has led me to the conclusion that there's pretty much no chance of trying any of the models on my list before I buy so I'd also be interested to hear from anyone who has played any type of bass vi.

I'd say it's easier to play fast with a pick because it requires less muscle conditioning. But I suspect that someone who is first class at playing with their thumb and fingers and can hit notes on different strings almost simultaneously would actually be able to play certain phrases significantly faster than a pick player. I don't think it's possible to do a flamenco roll, for example, with a pick.

I doubt I'll ever own a Fodera or Ritter, but I think it would be a poorer world if these 'Rolls Royce' type instruments didn't exist.

I think joining your first band is always going to be a different kind of learning curve, but I reckon if someone is good enough to play along to a record then they're good enough to be in band.

I think the best way for a beginner to keep interested in an instrument is for them to learn to play tunes that they know and enjoy. You also pick up quite a lot of theory, almost subconciously, as you learn how different songs are put together. Formal theory comes later, if the individual is interested enough in that side of things to want to learn. All IMO of course.