skankdelvar

I shall shortly be launching my new range of Del Var "Road Worn" strings for '2009: * Vintage 50's Saddle Kink at bridge end * String wrap infused with "Golden Age" iron oxide rust and pre-applied dried flesh * Intonation "Stretched-Out" to get that late-period Jamerson sound * Sprayed with choice of 3 "Roadhouse" scents: 'Stale Beer', '100 Smokey Bars' and 'Truck Stop Hooker' * One string in each pack pre-snapped for that genuine 'Dang it, Ah'm such a hot picker, Ah just done broke mah string' look Available in all popular gauges. See us on our stand at NAMM [i](Disclaimer: "Road-Worn" Authenticity applies only inside purchaser's mind. May not function in real world. May generate scornful comment. Your statutory right to be gulled is not infringed) [/i]

I think I'm very average. But I can't judge how good I am in isolation - only when I'm playing with other people. And then I mostly can't hear myself. Impasse. In any event, I didn't take up music (35 years ago) to get good at playing. I did it to have fun, show off and get laid. 2 out of 3 ain't bad.

[quote name='Delberthot' post='364583' date='Dec 28 2008, 02:51 AM']Otherwise known as?[/quote] Ian Dury's band before the Blockheads. With the marvellously-named Mr Humphrey Ocean.

Oh dear Lord....someone call the RSPCA....

[quote name='Eight' post='364433' date='Dec 27 2008, 08:17 PM']And that octave riff just told me my bass is out of tune. *sigh*[/quote] ...and you worry about the newbie thing? Only last month I realised I'd been getting it wrong. For 31 years. :blush:

[quote name='Paul S' post='364388' date='Dec 27 2008, 06:51 PM']You know I am deeply suspicious of all this.[/quote] While I should declare an interest (see posts above), the same thought has been growing on me. I'm 'ignoring' their posts now, but I'm wondering if this is either a fibber, a Troll and / or a previously banned member.

[quote name='Absolute-beginner' post='364384' date='Dec 27 2008, 06:48 PM']How about 'The Chain' ? yeah![/quote] Even better! I'll have a look at that list meself!

Just before he finds the link, can I just squeeze in: Peaches - The Stranglers Dancing in the Moonlight - Thin Lizzy Whole Lotta Love - Led Zep Smoke on The Water - Deep Purple Good Luck and Happy Playing!

[quote name='Boneless' post='363516' date='Dec 26 2008, 09:31 AM']Erm... actually, it's quite crap really It's probably going to rain every day from today to New Year's Eve, and it's quite cold as well [/quote] Illusion shattered! Welcome Adriano and Happy New Year

Hi Apex - no-one's a numpty here, mate. As for 'old' - I bet I'm older. Have a good one!

Truth hurts, doesn't it? There's nothing personal about this, because I don't know you personally. And I don't need to make assumptions when I can see your words on the page. I also note your sarcastic use of the word 'respectful'. That's probably what's missing from your flamey responses to other people. As regards finding a tab source, are you too "lazy" to google it or would you like someone here to do that for you as well? FWIW, ignoring your posts from now on as they are, IMO, value-free.

[quote name='AM1' post='364160' date='Dec 27 2008, 01:51 PM']Furthermore, I do not agree with transcribing other people's music then providing it free, just the same as I do not agree with stealing music by MP3 download. Both of these practices deprive the original music creator of their rightful income.[/quote] But you'd like people to provide you with tab free because you're too "lazy" (your own words) to go look for it yaself? Go figure the logic in that. This is not the first time you've asked for advice or assistance on this forum then shouted at people when they didn't tell you what you wanted to hear. People are free to offer a view. And responses to a post may include other observations - we're not here just to service your requirements and then tiptoe gently away. Presumably someone once told you that your forthrightness was refreshing. Well, yes, up to the point that it becomes charmless arrogance. Others have also been polite enough not to mention that your pronouncements on reading, ear, tab and notation are as worthlessly subjective as your views on copyright theft are idly self-contradictory and regurgative. By your own admission, you're still learning. Before you move on to songs and bass playing, a first priority would be to learn simple politeness towards people offering to help you [i]at your request[/i].

If you prefer a narrower neck (like the Jazz) you may wish to contemplate a Sub-Sterling. And you can get a s/h Stingray for around £650-750 these days if you're patient. A s/h Sub should, in theory, come in around £350-450. Edit - and then ther's this: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34547"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=34547[/url]

[quote name='Golchen' post='363485' date='Dec 26 2008, 01:10 AM']So you have no opinion of anything produced [i]IN[/i] 1970?[/quote] Correctamundo! 1970 is an opinion-free zone.

When my Gran died in the 70's, she left me £100, of which £19.99 went on a Woolies 'Kay' Spanish Nylon 6 string. After struggling for 6 months, I was on the point of giving up playing music when I borrowed the album 801 Live (a Phil Manzanera solo project). One of the tracks was a cover of Tomorrow Never Knows, which opens with a bass figure by Bill McCormick. (Perhaps it was another coincidence, but the album cover shows a Fender bass headstock...) This was the roundest, plummiest finest thing I'd ever heard and the hairs went up on the back of my neck. A few weeks later, some kid from school was flashing his Columbus P-copy to an admiring crowd. I knew I had to have one so I could do that TNK intro. Since then I've flipped and flopped between bass and (brief) periods on Rtm Gtr. Weirdly enough, I never learned that intro...

I am mostly liking pretty much anything before 1970. I am mostly not liking pretty much everything after 1970.

Only ever took one bass till part of the nut split off, 30 miles from home . Some gaffa tape fixed the prob short term. Since then I'd always take both. They sound fairly similar ( 2 passive Fender types) so no big issue. With different sounding basses, I reckon some sort of splitter / pre-amp / tone balance has to be the way forward, and there are bundles of good suggestions above.

Reminds me of the place where I was shopping like a basta*d for a guitar with cash in my pocket but was instantly slagged off for mentioning I'd just bought an amp off e-bay. Cue eruption from manager ("Where will you go for personal service if I go out of business, eh? Eh?") and started bad-mouthing me to another (embarrassed) customer. Wunjo's in Denmark St about 3 or so years ago. It's easy for us to get p*ssed off. But let's try and understand the problem and address it. Clearly there are good shops and bad shops, but our major complaint seems to be sniffy attitudes from staff. I see far fewer complaints here about stock levels, incompetence, lack of knowledge, repair turnaround times or excessively high prices. Is that because we just write these other issues off as not interesting enough to post about, whereas we feel a heightened sense of offence about insolence, impertinence and arrogance? (Well, if we do, then so we should). Is this "attitood" thing a problem exacerbated by the nature of specialist shops, where staff are more likely to be 'enthusiasts' or wannabes and less likely to be trained to the more rigorous standards demanded by general retailers such as Tesco? Do we also get similar lip from staff in, say, comic book stores, surf shops, outdoor goods etc? Maybe...you tell me... Or is it that specialist stores involve more sitting around behind counters - something you rarely see these days in conventional High St shops, where staff are out on the floor with nowhere to hide and fester? Is it the case that guitar shop staff generally can't tell the difference between a time-waster and a serious buyer? Or that they can't, after a short conversation, distinguish between a 'browser with intent' and a tyre-kicker? Have they reached the stage where anyone who walks through the door is 'The Enemy'? I'd submit that most or all of the above apply, and this is because many guitar shops are often: * Owned or managed by people without a traditional retail background, who see themselves as being in the music business, not the retail business. * Lacking in time, resources and funds for staff training * Known for hiring assistants for their specialist product knowledge, cheapness or image, not for their sales or interpersonal skills * Places where desperate boredom alternates with peaks of stress when a punter walks through the door. I suspect that many of the offending individuals don't even know they're being offensive, because they haven't been trained to deal with customers. They're just behaving towards you as if you were stranger approaching them on the street. I'd offer the following suggestions to any shop owners who may be reading this - whether you're a chain or a 1.5 man band: * The key to success is handling customers and generating sales. You are not in business to be an guitar expert. You are in business to make a profit * Your staff are the means of generating increased turnover and profits. But you're more interested in getting or keeping a Fender agency. Why skimp on staff quality? * Hire staff for their sales ability and interpersonal skills * Do not hire staff for their encyclopaedic knowledge of Gibsons or the ability to shred like a mother. They should be more interested in sales than in the stock. * Do not sit behind the counter. It's a barrier. Only go there to ring up a sale or get an item from the rack. * Hire your staff out of places like WH Smith, Woolworth and train them in basic product knowledge - that's all they need. * When something gets too complicated or specialist, the staff should escalate the customer to you, the expert. * Hire more women. Hire people with a mature approach If you're a musical instrument retailer and all this seems unreasonable or too expensive or time-consuming, let me offer a counter-view: When did you last go into a Car dealership and find the sales reps too busy driving the cars round the lot because they all want to be Lewis Hamilton? When did you last walk into M&S, only to be insulted for not knowing the difference between Salt Beef and Corned Beef? When did you last go into PC World only to be asked "Are you going to be buying that today?" There's a reason why they don't do it. It's unprofessional and counter-productive and puts you out of business. And they realise that the customer is King / Queen. Fact. But if you, the shop owner, read this thread and think "Same old moans; we offer a local service, ten timewasters for every serious punter, grubby fingers, stupid questions, etc etc" well, don't worry, we won't trouble you for much longer. There will be less threads like this in the future because your business will go t*ts-up and we'll be shopping at the 30% or so that get it right.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='359999' date='Dec 21 2008, 12:30 AM']Hello, I'm Conway Twitty.[/quote] Is that rhyming slang for totally lagered by half past midnight? Or is it like a sort of secret Masonic phrase initiating me into the Finnbass cult? :ph34r: ( No need to sell me - I like the Finns. Great vodka and lots of tasty reindeer).

[quote name='aceuggy' post='359757' date='Dec 20 2008, 06:13 PM']Yeah ok, but apart from them? [/quote] No, that's it. No one else. Unless I think of anyone, and I'll let you know

I thought I was alone...

[quote name='steve-soar' post='359774' date='Dec 20 2008, 06:36 PM']This being Basschat, I'm not suprised that this has turned into a "my dad's bigger than your dad's" contest. [/quote] Don't you mean this being Basschat, it starts as a reasoned discussion and someone violently disagrees. It escalates into a "My knob's bigger than your knob" contest, then tBBC comes along and blows everyone into the weeds with his almost supernaturally scatalogical prose. Several people are very offended by his comments. Someone suggests 'ignoring' offensive posts. It then evolves into a slagging of the moderators because they cautioned someone on another thread for a comment that was far less scurrilous. A concerned member drags it back to the original topic, but it's too late. Savage recriminations ensue. Then someone else gets the serious ar$e, some other geezers start yelling '"Calm down, he's not worth it", Bilbo tips up and lays some calming jazz vibes on us, Mrs Tinman posts something very sweet. The Mods cop on and urge restraint, it settles down, then someone starts it up again, then it all goes quiet till the next time. I've only been coming here since July, but I've got it sussed now. Edit to say: ...and I love it!

I thang yew...