Old Newbie

Bit particular, aren't they? I play an Ibanez!

Such as shame about the hair requirement, 'else I could have gone for this. I've got arms and legs (well, I had the latter last time I looked - not easy to see when you're 3 stone overweight!). So, mid-50s, overweight, short (and shrinking) - well, that is an image isn't it? But the hair................damn! Best I can say is that I NEVER get bad hair days. Not sure about 'squatting' in a Peugeot 206 mind - man needs a bit of comfort at my age...

Great. Quick work! Thank you gentlemen.

Hi all A friend has asked the make of the bass in the attached pic. Have to admit I don't recognise it. Can anyone help? Thanks

Stroll on. Cred to you for carrying it off at short notice. If you enjoyed it then it must have gone okay. Next time, you'll know what to expect!

Well done for winning the audition. Hope the gigs went well. Did you enjoy yourself, or was it an 'ordeal by satin'?

Don't want to sell any, but if the house was on fire, I'd try to rescue these two:[list=1] [*]Ibanez SRX530 - neither rare nor expensive, but it just fits right, sounds good and it's my main bass [*]Washburn B-20-8 - nothing like so comfortable, but I love that shape and the sound is something else - plus replacements wouldn't be easy to find. [/list]

Cheers everyone. I might, after all, end up going for a 4-string with standard frets, but at least your advice helped me make a more informed decision. Thanks again ON

Cheers for that. Hopefully, I can get along to the showroom soon and try a few out.

Thanks to all who took the trouble to reply. Your answers were helpful and I feel better informed as a result. Better start saving my pennies. Cheers ON

Thanks. I do need to try a 5-string, but whether it's wise doing that and switching to fanned frets as well, I'm not so sure. Maybe I'd be better off trying just one new thing at a time?

Very informative, thank you. ON

Cheers everyone - thanks for explaining in clear and straightforward terms. Am I to understand then, that even a small-handed person such as myself, would find them no more difficult to play than an ordinary 34" scale bass? I should admit that they are well outside my budget at the moment - I was merely indulging in a 'future bass daydreaming' session. GV had the new Gibson ES Les Paul bass in stock as well - very tasty! Mind you, I'd have to sell my car first....

I was looking at some Ibanez SRs in Guitar Village today. Two of the more expensive models had fanned frets. Can anyone explain to a curious newbie what the benefits are, if any? Is it just a matter of preference or is there more to it than that? I like to try and understand these things, so I'd be grateful for any explanation. Thanks.

Will do.

I see your current location is 'the bottom of Somerset'. Whereabouts is that? I know the area around Bruton & Wincanton very well - I regularly stay in a little village nearby, namely South Brewham.

Aye, that I was. I have an amusing picture in my head of you and the guitarist lugging round humungous, front-door-sized pedal boards! I suppose as a beginner, I'm still finding my sound. The chorus and reverb suits the work I do in church, but I wouldn't want to use them all the time. At least, playing thro' a modelling amp, I can try out effects without buying loads of gear. The downside is that an effect is either selected or it isn't - I don't have that pedal-derived ability of being able to introduce an effect at a certain point in a song. Thanks for sharing. I'm interested to hear how people have developed their sound

Thanks gents. I see one of you lists your interests as having more effects than guitarists! I like a little chorus & reverb, just to give the sound a bit of depth, but I haven't experimented with anything else. Which effects do you use and how often do you apply them?

Thank you kindly. Yes, I know it (Selborne) well - I've walked up the zig-zag many a time, albeit not for a while. When in October?

Thank you. I'm looking forward to learning and sharing.

Thanks for the welcomes gents. I guess mid-50s is middle-aged rather than old, but 'Middle-aged Newbie' didn't really work as a user name. I still love the guitar and the sounds that others (not me) can get from them, but I just never felt one with it. Even though the bass felt strange the first time I picked one up, it also began to feel 'right' very quickly. Just wish I'd discovered this 30 years ago. Old dogs CAN learn new tricks, but maybe not that quickly! Still, better late than never - power to all you mid-oldies out there.

Thank you. I know Petersfield well by day - probably my favourite town (I like old market towns). I have heard about the 'goings on' after dark, but I'm never usually down there at that time. The village I live in no longer has a pub. There used to be one - an old coaching inn, but it eventually became the village school and is now a private residence. I know two things about it - one rumoured and one true. The rumour is that it is haunted, by a spectral coach and horses! The true fact is that there used to be a tunnel from one of the bedrooms in the place to the parish church (about 1/4 mile). I was shown the entrance but not allowed to investigate further for safety reasons. Why a tunnel? Because we are only 20 miles or so from Portsmouth and the pub was a target for the Navy's pressmen! Church was sanctuary back then, so if you escaped through the tunnel and reached the church, you couldn't be press-ganged.

Cheers.

I know it well - I lived in Whitehill for 10 years, but now live just outside Liphook.

Thank you.