Doctor J

The 80’s and 90’s Japanese clan

That is very serious business. Congratulations.

In terms of comfort, you shouldn’t feel any difference between 21 and 24 frets, the nut should still be as far away in exactly the same place, it’s the same scale after all. If you’re worried about a neck feeling long, check how far the bridge is in from the edge of the body and how long the upper horn is. That determines how the bass sits on you and, therefore, how far away the lower frets will be from your torso. The number of frets will make no difference in this regard.

I saw, heard and felt that very bass last weekend when Acid Reign played in Dublin. It sounded fantastic (and was played fantastically too, I might add).

It was nice to buy again in 2019 after a few years of enforced selling. Best buy, probably this 89 SR1000 which From Japan. It was advertised as having dead electronics and a non-functioning truss rod. The electronic problem was a frayed wire at the jack and a slightly stiff truss rod was easily overcome. After a clean and a fret-job, it's a beast. I am really loving this 91 SB900. I've been looking out for one of these for a long. long time. Again, it needed a clean and a bit of work but it's so light comfortable. The neck is amazing.

3. Triumph of Death - travelled to Frankfurt in June to see Tom G. Warrior playing Hellhamner songs for the first time since the early 80’s, meeting an old friend of mine over there. A great occasion. I must also mention the Swiss Rock and Metal festival in Amriswil which proved to be a truly fantastic day out. 4. The Obsessed... twice - stood outside an empty venue in a scummy part of Mannhiem while the penny slowly dropped that the gig was not happening. I decided to travel back for the rescheduled gig in October, only for it also to be cancelled shortly after booking flights and accommodation. Luckily, it wasn’t the sole purpose of the trip.

If you meant 20:20 this evening I’d say there’s a decent chance. A full year? Not without some kind of legal threat hanging over me.

Yes. At the very least, you would hope that an authorised retailer can get it from their authorised supplier for less than someone paying the foreign retail price plus 100 quid shipping plus almost 200 quid tax. If not, then they are shafting their dealers, retailers and, as a result, their end customers.

I wouldn’t say that. A friend of mine wanted to get a Bass VI and priced it from Ishibashi, including shipping and added around 25% import duty. He went to the local Fender retailer and asked them to price match. They said it they wouldn’t even be able to get it from the distributor for the same price. Perhaps they should look their distribution model, also, and try not to screw their bricks and mortar sellers as well as their customers.

Aja - Steely Dan Snowden - Doves Ether Song - Turin Brakes Blood - Faith No More You Must Be Prepared To Dream - Ian McNabb to name but a very small handful

I have all my albums ripped and usually listen via some miniature electronic trickery but, last year, I built a unit for the sitting room in which I could shelve the best 298 of my CDs, freeing them from their cardboard prison in the attic. I struggled to get below 500 and with utter ruthlessness and much bloodshed got to just below 400. At this point I compromised and used the floor under the unit to store the additional CDs, a move not intended in my designs. Picking just 10? Absolute barbarism. But let's try. I recognise there's a definite late 80's/early 90's bias to these but I think this period is when I enjoyed music as thoroughly and purely as I have at any time of my life. There were times when I could listen to a single album for months on end without tiring of it, so I've tried to include those ones, rather than the ones I listen to the most right now or try to concoct a list which shows how enlightened I am. So, in order of release date... Masters of Reality - s/t I had a C90 with this on one side and Trouble's s/t on the other which didn't leave my walkman for a long, long time. This was blues and rock mixed in an energetic and sleazy way I had never heard before. Which brings me on to... Trouble - s/t The decision to omit Black Sabbath was a tough and probably illegal one, but this is the best Sabbath album not released by Sabbath. This album is perfect. Every second of every song is just right, the pacing of the track order, the way there are no gaps between the songs, it's just perfect. Obituary - Cause of Death The birth and evolution of Death Metal was incredible to live through and I could have picked Leprosy or Spiritual Healing or Blessed are the Sick or Slowly We Rot but I've gone with this sublime mix of brutality and Murphy's melodic lead playing which elevates Obituary's music in a way they never did before or since. Megadeth - Rust in Peace Megadeth & Sanctuary in 1988 was my first gig and the one which inspired me to play bass, so this was a very special album in my lifetime, another one which made for daily listening for an extended period. There still isn't anything else which quite sounds like this. Incredibly inspired and inspiring. Coroner - Mental Vortex Coroner showed how a thrash band could move to a more considered and melodic version of their former selves with taste and class. This album is clinical and passionate in equal measure and still gives me enough joy that I'm going to Switzerland to see them play in a few weeks. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence I bought this, unheard at the time, on the strength of the Cynic connection, using the logic that if these Cynic guys were good enough to play on Human and Testimony of the Ancients then this would be worth hearing. I wasn't wrong and this remains an astonishing achievement in making ridiculously technical music and making it memorable and musical and considerably changed my perspective of what was possible in music. Honourable mentions to Human, Focus, Control and Resistance, Testimony... etc. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head At their peak here, they could take practically any style of music and make it sound like them. I love when a band explores beyond their primary genre and tries something new and this album could have been an exercise in commercial suicide but it's just too good. With their commercial renaissance still a couple of years into the future, I was lucky enough to see them play to about 700 people in Dublin where they played hip-hop, punk, rock and their jazzy noodlings with equal aplomb, during a great period for a great band. Kreator - Renewal Again, the sound of a band abandoning their comfort zone and taking an artistic chance which didn't pay off commercially. Like every thrash band at the time, they had to find something new to do or face extinction and Kreator chose the dark and cold. It's another unique exploration and something which resonated loudly with me for a long, long time, if barely anyone else. Living Colour - Stain I loved Vivid, wasn't mad on Time's Up, but when Stain came out it really worked for me. It's a harder sound which, finally, really suited their lyrical subject matter. Like Kreator, it didn't work for most of their existing fanbase but it has stood the test of time for me. E.S.T. - Symphony I was fortunate enough to see E.S.T. twice and missed them greatly. When this came out, I was a little apprehensive about picking it up. I need not have worried, this re-imagining of E.S.T.'s music does for me now what many of the above did for me as a young man. It's compelling listening and pulls me back to listen again and again.

Why would you ever be embarrassed of not being as good at something in the past as you are now? It’s all part of your life and what makes you who you are now. Most people never bother their hole. You did something. Be proud of it all.

No, but he clearly has missed all the other frontmen.

They’re three albums I still frequently listen to now. Which is my favourite depends on when you ask. They have all spent a lot of time coming out of speakers in my house. I love them all.

It’s a 51 Reissue, there is no contouring on the body. The closest they got to a 54 reissue had that poxy block with Sting’s signature on it. I don’t think they have ever released a pure 54 style reissue.

They were hand made by Deviser (Bacchus, STR, Momose, Seventy-Seven, etc) to a really high standard. I've had this one for over 10 years, it came with stock US Bartolini pickups paired with the Godlyke preamp. I've had a few US Stingrays come and go but the Godlyke stays. The neck is really, really nice. Jazz width nut with an almost flat fretboard and one of the finest fret jobs you'll ever see. I used to have a 5er twin but sold it on a few years ago after I realised 5 strings were not for me Whoever buys Andy's one will be onto a winner.

Ondt Blod from the very far North of Norway. They take hardcore, metal and melodies which would make Brian Wilson blush and somehow make it all fit together seamlessly. Natur is my favourite album from last year by some distance. https://ondtblod.bandcamp.com/ KXM, which consists of Doug Pinnick from King’s X, George Lynch from Lynch Mob/Dokken and Ray Luzier from Korn, have just released their third album, Circle of Dolls, and it’s another top quality slab of modern rock. A great band which only exists for a few weeks every couple of years but has released three superb albums. https://kxmmusic.bandcamp.com/releases

If you can play the stuff on Unquestionable Presence or Control And Resistance, you’re alright in my book.

That’s not a Geddy neck, they don’t have black plastic inserts at the truss rod. Definitely a bogus neck plate, Corona font is all wrong. Look at the scratchplate on the lower horn. Not a Fender body. It’s junk. Walk away. Also, a three inch strap is useless, it needs to be at least a couple of feet long.

I've also become aware of these guys. If you like the idea of old Scorpions gone super heavy with Klaus Meine mixed with Lenny Wolff on vocals, then give this a few minutes of your time.

Heading to Dublin on Wednesday to see Killing Joke so working through the setlist from last night. One of the great bands, always a pleasure to listen to them.

Global server admin for a US multinational, have worked in IT since the mid-90's. Is that ok? I didn't dismiss the usage of RAM. RAM is only useful when it's used. There is no point in loading up with RAM if you don't use it. If his system doesn't use all the RAM it has then adding more won't make a difference. This is why I suggested he analyse what resources his system is using and base his decision on that, given he has a tight budget.

Adding RAM will only speed things up if the system is keeping more data in memory than it physically has and has to use the swap file with any kind of frequency. I use Sony Vegas for video editing and when rendering, it's all about processing, not RAM. @EJWW, next time you're working on a video, have task manager open on the Performance tab with More Details selected. It'll show you where your laptop is getting hit hardest. It'll be that Pentium for sure, but you'll see what kind of disk and memory usage is going on too, which is what should guide you on the spec of your new machine. Understand what it is you need first before spending cash on the wrong thing.

Who’s playing?