TrevorR

Maybe it’s “mockney” then! 😉 By the way, when I’m chatting on the phone to my dad or my siblings on the phone I start off pretty much with Surrey RP but develop an increasing Norn Iron twang the longer the call goes on!

I'd definitely keep it for a while at least. Then I can see it being sold off to fund a nice custom build... maybe a Sandberg and an Overwater... or even a Mk3 Custom Wal to add to the collection...

Maybe he was talking about the construction of the G and D strings on the mandolin and it's just his funny Scots pronunciation of the tiny phosphor bronze wires that go around the steel cores on the two lower courses... Wind - as in rhymes with "find". If so, then it IS about time he changed the mandolin wind (and plain strings too, just changing the wound strings is a false economy and the plain ones will be just as dead)! 47 years is way too long to have one set of strings on there...

There is if you use the mandolin to slice aubergine... in my experience anyway!

And Simon Singh’s original column on it is here... https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/sep/30/highereducation.uk

Given the inexorable rise of globalism and the movement of heavy industry to territories with lower wage costs it is looking unlikely that Nigel has much of a future in British Steel. And Stevie, your assertion in the early 80s that “peace has come to Zimbabwe” may have been a touch premature.

PPS buy second hand and then subsequently sell and you’ll probably make money, not lose it the way prices are going, even second hand.

This is very sage advice @chris_b. Any Wal will sound like a Wal with the wood choices changing the aesthetics and giving subtle modifications to the tone. But at heart... it’s still a Wal - the important elements are there. So, if you want a Wal then buying second hand is a very good choice. I love my Wals but I’d find it hard to justify paying the new price - although I appreciate the economics of what Paul is doing with just him and an assistant (only him during lockdown), hand crafting almost every element and outsourcing only a few elements (mostly to his own bespoke specs) and giving the wood elements longer to rest/settle/season than most between operations. His order book is very healthy and so I would reckon build times and prices are only going in one direction. So if what you want is a Wal then second hand is a really good option. If you MUST have a Wal with THAT wood, THAT custom neck profile, THAT colour tuners, THAT finish etc etc then you are self selecting commissioning a new bass at full price with a 30+ month lead time. It’s a choice. Keep an eye out here for them coming up for sale, similarly on Talkbass and if you’re on Facebook I moderate the Wal fan group on there. A lot of basses get offered there before BC, TB, Reverb or eBay. PS yes, the neck profile is a bit unusual and certainly not like a P or J but I find it really, really comfortable and easy to play both thumb around and thumb behind (even with my wee, stubby fingers).

Yes, ultimately Pete didn’t trust them not to keep on diluting them... a Wal with Duncan Designeds, generic preamp and a Schaller bridge would be a fine bass but not a Wal. Paul’s simply not interested and is hugely protective of the brand and hand building to his own high standards.

Trust me that is NEVER going to happen!

So much great bass in CS’s discography... you have been missing out!

Fabulous thread. Reminds me of this fabulous tune...

Neil just sent me some custom bouzouki strings through mid this week. When I ordered them a couple of weeks ago he apologised in advance to say that there was only him in the workshop (Social distancing) so it would take a couple of weeks. May just be busy on his tod

For the band's last tour in 83 promoting the Thunder and Lightning he was playing this bass... Never entirely worked out what it was. An awful lot of knobs for a guy best known for rocking a P bass! Saw them twice - in 81 when he was playing the Ibby (never liked that headstock) and on that last tour with this bass.

The two big questions marks for me on the Eastwood "repro" would be replicating the brass bridge and the MBI, MBII or MBIE pickups. if they can't/won't replicate those then it won't look, feel or sound like an SB. It's one thing to tool up for the woodworking for a mid-price shortish run model. However, I find it hard to see them doing anything but slapping a generic high mass bridge and soapbar pickup in it. They're sure as heck not going to be going to Rautia or similar to get a proper replica pickup at $899 per bass.

And a fantastic choice of music too!

This guy probably needs to get out more...

And a Strat!

Ooooh, a Tele...

First week back at church this week (tho we weren’t there because of shielding) but Sky News came to cover the service! And they also did a very complementary and neutral piece on their website too! Nice! https://news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-no-singing-as-churches-reopen-so-worshippers-get-creative-to-express-themselves-12021725

"He picked it up and JUST LOOK WHAT HE FOUND INSIDE*!" - check out my latest video of me drinking a mug of instant coffee! *

So here is this week’s tune - rather less homespun than last week’s. Absolutely no bouzouki on this little EDM tinged number! Let Praise Awaken. See what you think... Not sure I’m 100% happy with the filter tone for the pseudo synth bass sound yet - needs a touch more dialling in but it’s sort of there. Also, not sure what happened with the electric guitar. It seems to unsync itself completely by the end. Much as the idea of posting videos on the interweb of me playing solo appalls me to the core of my being I thought you might find the squishy, squelchy tones used interesting to hear solo... so... gulp... here are some edited extracts from the video I sent in to Ben to use in the song... shudder can’t believe I’m posting this...

Here’s my pedalboard... Every pedal has a job to do (even if they don’t get used much or are specialised). Tuner - obvs Tech 21 VT Bass DI - amp and speaker sim signal for FOH. OD - for a bit of grit on the rockier numbers. Chorus - for a bit of 80s shimmer on the odd worship ballad Tremolo - for a bit of moodiness on some sections. It’s an effect I really like for sustained notes on a “down bridge” Envelope filter - mostly used in conjunction with the OD for synth bass type sounds for those EDM influenced worship songs. Lehle switcher - swaps the OD, filter, trem and chorus in and out of the signal chain so when not using them the signal goes straight from the tuner out to the Sansamp in.

Prefab Sprout on shuffle. Currently “Faron Young” from the “Steve McQueen” album. Perfect for chilling on a Saturday cooking a nice stir fry for lunch... not listened to the band for ages. The 9 year old thinks their name is hilarious!

Recording my bass part this evening for this week’s lockdown video for our streaming service on Sunday... and look! A pedalboard! Nice to have an excuse to pull it out for the first time in three months... Yikes! But which ones are switched on? Hmmmm... I wonder what song it is that needs to be all squelchy? Guess we’ll find out on Sunday! 😉