Doctor J

Very true. I would expect it from sellers in some countries but when it's someone about 50 miles away trying to rip you off, it's a genuine disappointment.

That deadline doesn't be long coming around Here's my first crack at this comp and start as you mean to go on, I reckon, so here's a power ballad. I've tried to get both images into the theme of the lyrics so, without further ado, "Exit Splashtown" [url="https://soundcloud.com/doctor_j_bass/exit-splashtown"]https://soundcloud.c...exit-splashtown[/url]

I bought a couple of sets of "Elixir" strings of a local online retailer and they arrived today. I opened them up and right away knew they weren't the real thing, I've been playing Elixirs for a long time now. I'm so disappointed, not just because the scumbag is ripping people off, but also because I was really, really looking forward to some new strings. I like a bit of zing, you see. Anyway, I've contacted Elixir to give me an email address I can send some pics to, just to confirm, and then I'm off to paypal to file a claim. Then it's back to the seller. Not sure what to say there, to be honest. It's put a real dampener on the evening.

Speaking of damaged Stingrays, I picked this up a few years ago from a lad who explained that he had upset his then missus who had taken it out on his bass. Doesn't look too bad from the front... but it looks like she tried a Simonon special from the back. She also scratched "Thank you!" into what was left of the paint on the back. I didn't ask what she was so thanful for It's a great player though and the neck survived intact, so no real harm done. I've thought about having it refinished but it brings a smile to my face thinkong about what the guy did to get that reaction. It's part of the charm of that instrument, now. There isn't another Stingray quite like it. To be honest, I find it quit funny that a drummer could travel three feet across a floor by drumming alone to damage your bass. It's a story for a few laughs over a beer in the future.

Really digging the Chic-like breakdown in the middle

Get over it. These things happen. It was an accident with a guy who hits things with sticks. While not advocating needless destruction, there is something a little sad about instruments years old without any kind of battle scars or signs of life experience. It's a bit of wood you use to express yourself with. Play the crap out of it and stop worrying about it looking like it should still be in a shop.

I'm pretty much done with the music, now just need to magic up some lyrics and sing them. It's actually quite a daunting task when you haven't done it before.

Get an oil finish Bacchus and just play it for a couple of years, it'll all take care of itself. No fuss, no muss. [attachment=209799:PICT012000.JPG]

I like G&L a lot. I've an old L1000 which is an utter beast. It's also fun to have a passive bass with bass and reble controls, so powerful is the mfd pickup

Arrrrrr!

Many years ago my band was a playing a support slot to a bigger band and we were sharing the only dressing room in the venue. When we entered it was empty apart from one guy sitting there on his own, who we assumed to be part of the entourage of the main band, so we engaged in conversation. He was a pleasant enough fellow and seemed normal enough, aside from the fact that he was dripping wet from head to toe. At that point I left to attend to some things and our singer and a mate who was lugging gear for us kept chatting with the guy. About 10 minutes later I returned to find the lads ghostly pale saying that they had to get security to eject him. As it turned out, he was wet from being "in the Liffey" before he made his way to the venue. He was excited to hear that our singer played harmonica as, wouldn't you know it, he played harmonica too and proceeded to produce one from his wet coat and toot merrily away. To say our singer actually [i]played[/i] harmonica is stretching the truth a little, his talent limited to sharp, shrill, high-pitched blasts at ear-splitting volume. Things had turned somewhat sour though and our moist friend said "Anyone messes with me and they get this!" and pulled out a short iron bar which he started to whack hard against the dressing room wall until security arrived to take him away. While we did have a scuffle which almost erupted into a brawl onstage later, I'm still thankful Mr. Wet and his iron bar weren't a part of the melee.

Having seen Chic up close several times in the last few years, bear in mind that Jerry Barnes plays a much simpler and less busy take on Bernard's original. It's still funky as f**k which leads me to believe that feel and groove are everything on this song, not religiously aping every note. It probably helps the live sound too, less going on makes it all sound cleaner out front.

I don't believe it's possible to be familiar with all the greats, never mind the minnows . For example,I have an extensive physical music collection, I'm always looking for new music and have sone so since I was a kid but even so I only discovered Steely Dan a few years ago, via this form actually, and now I can't imagine how I got so far in life without latching onto them. Aja is one of the greatest things I've ever heard. I'm conscious, though, that every time I listen to them again is time I could use to explore the Doobie Brothers or Bread or Traffic or Chicago, etc etc etc Time is the enemy. There is more music I want to hear than time left to listen to it. There's no point in not absorbing what you listen to for the sake of ticking a box. You've got to find what you like and, most importantly, enjoy it. Really enjoy it, not just have it on as background music Some people explore more than others and those journeys may never take the on paths to the "greats" but to suggest this is a result of ignorance is wildly arrogant. Each to their own, the most imoortant thing is to really appreciate whatever it is gives you enjoyment.

Schweeeeeet! How does the neck on the Sarzo compare to your other Peaveys? I don't think I've ever played a neck with a shape quite like it. Very nice.

That's a great tune, Rikki, very poppy in a good way.

Very sad news. He was fearlessly creative to the end.

Move it on and grab this Atelier Z short scale off the u-box which I'd say would be pretty nice

Forget these limp-wristed lightweights, if you really want the sound of an angry bear at your command it's got to be a L2000. If that's too much, get some P shaped G&L MFD pickups, they're beastly.

Cool looking beast. What options does the switch give you?

Dunlop supply huge screws with theirs, the biggest I've seen used for strap buttons.

Might as well put up these two. Got them cheap enough, Ibanez are such an underrated brand for the quality of bass they make. First up, a 1980 Roadster RS924. It needed a bit of work - fret levelling and the like and a sorely needed a good setup. The extra switch wasn't wired up to anything and someone had fooled around with the factory wiring too. I brought it back to factory spec, aside from using that extra switch as a serial/parallel selector for the bridge pickup. It's heavy, but it's worth it. Next up, an 89 SR800LE I picked up recently. I'll need to do a little work on the frets soon but it's ok for now. I really like the Lo-Z pickups, It sounds quite like my Streamer, quite Warwick-growlish with a little extra low end. I used to have a 94 SR1300PM which was in a sorry state when I picked it up. I spent a bit of time cleaning it up and it looked quite spectacular when I was done. I ended up selling it on as the wenge neck was too thin for me. Lovely looker, though.

I bought it for the missus at xmas and, as a result, have heard it a lot since. She's a fine singer, no doubt, but the production is so full-on all the time, even when it's trying to be subdued, leaves me worn out. It's like a Tufnel amp stuck on 11. If they just reined it in a little every now and then it wkuld work wonders. A break from the crushing sentimentality would be nice too. Sonically and emotionally it's just so one dimensional but that appears to be what the kids want in most genres so I'll leave them to it. I'd just love to hear her work with a production team who understand the value of subtlety, she could be phenomenal.

There's a guy who has several target audiences in mind for a gigging band

We once had a drummer who showed up for an audition with his girlfriend who sat in the corner chain-smoking beside him. That didn't really work out. I hate when the player doesn't match the brochure. A guitarist auditioned once, had emailed us a couple of instrumental tracks, really technically superb stuff. He showed up, looked the part, but then took a bottom rung starter guitar from the case. First alarm. He then set up his amp with that horrible "wasp trapped in a tin" kind of tone. Second alarm. He told us he had learned our songs, originals, We asked him which one he wanted to play first. "The first one" he said. He didn't know the names of the songs. Third alarm. He then struggled his way through a very basic riff which starts the song, so we all joined in. When, after for bars, we switched to the verse he kept playing the same riff. Even when we went to the chorus, yep, he kept playing the intro. That was the only riff of ours which he knew and even then he couldn't actually play it. Our drummer, at this stage, had buckled up in laughter and had to pretend he ripped his bass drum skin to put an end to the madness.

Strings go dead when the gunk and crud from your fingers gets into the winds and inhibits the free vibration of the string. Boiling and meths breaks down that crud and cleans the crap out giving you something approaching a new string sound. For coated strings, the only ones I found any use at all were Elixirs. They're the only one who coat the string as a whole and own that idea, as far as I'm aware. The rest coat the outer layer of wire and are essentially useless, in my experience - certainly D'Addario snd Warwick's were- as they don't stop the string absorbing crud. I don't see the logic in trying to boil a coated sring. If the coating has been compromised boiling isn't going to put it back together.