TrevorR

The band that springs to mind is Cornershop. I really liked the single version of Brimful of Asha when it was a big hit in the charts. Of course at the time I never realised it was a Norman Cook remix. Then I heard the un-jiggered-with version of the track and it was unutterably dull. Leaden, lumpen, flat, repretitive (but not in a catchy hook way) and lacking in any sort of dynamics. Turned out the ONLY parts I really liked about the song was the Fatboy Slim Big Beat fairy dust sprinkled over the song. Since then every time I've seen or heard Cornershop as themselves - radio, Jools, TOTP2... wherever - both the songs and their performances of them have come across to me as awfully dreary and lifeless. Yeah baby! [REMIX] Oh no matron! [ORIGINAL - Yawn]

Wasn't there also an ABC Music in Kew - on one of the parades of shops near the station... much more of a "schools music" shop rather than a "guitar shop". Also, about Kingston Upon Thames guitar shops... what was the shop up the hill on the outskirts of town, more on the Surbiton or New Malden side? That was definitely much more of a guitar shop...

Oh this brings back so many memories... spent ages in ABC in both Addlestone and Slough. Bought quite a few bits and bobs from Addlestone and rented some PA gear from them a few times. They were early stockists of Levinson Blades and used to drool over them. Still “look at the store”every time I drive through the crossroads. Bought my first acoustic guitar from the Slough branch - lovely slope shouldered Dread by Washburn - D25S - solid spruce top and a really nice ovangkol back and sides. The Slough branch featured in the film “Buddy’s Song” - where a Roger Daltry takes the one and only Chesney Hawkes to buy a guitar in the movie...

...having said that, I'd just love to have one of those passive reissue Pros... or even better a twin pickup passive reissue Pro with a birdseye or flame maple veneer! Drool...

The joy of smaller-run "budget" guitar models in the 2020s... As @CPCustomdubwise says, it's all a bit moot as Paul doesn't seem to be interested in creating new product lines or resurrecting old ones. In terms of the Reissue Pros comparing them to the original Pro models they were, of course, simpler but when you analyse it they's still add up to a pretty penny. There was no relatively complicated circuitry compared to the Pros or Customs but the necks were the same quality and construction. I can't recall what Paul is currently charging for a replacement neck these days but I think I recall someone recently saying that it's in the range of £1.5k-£2k+ GBP. The bodies were hand carved with a thin veneer applied front and back then sunbursted to hide the join. The pickup/s would be (broadly) the same as the customs - or might need redesigning to go back to the older design. Ultimately you're still talking about a £4k GBP bass rather than a £1k Wal.

Never have to with Ben and a James, they’re both really well behaved!

Think I'm going to stick to transcribing Chris' bass part... I know I can DEFINITELY play that one on bass!!!!

That’s amazing. It’s inspired me to do a full bass transcription of Madrigal, Mood For A Day and The Clap. Shouldn’t take too long!

Funky pickups...

No, my Frankenjazz has rounds on it but both my Wals are sporting Chromes flats. Went over to flats on them about 5 or 6 years ago...

We’ve been doing that the last three weeks on a “record it on your phone and stitch it together later” basis... This morning’s one...

Only 8 or so years to go for the Pro bass’s half century anniversary!

I think you could be right. The problems of two decade old memory...

Well, the second photo was definitely taken at Windsor and Eton Riverside railway station. I will certainly give you that!

It’s not well known, but in the very early 2000s Pete toyed with this very idea - a Far Eastern built budget Wal. He was in deep discussions with a major UK distributor. I never knew who but my (wildly speculative) guess was someone like Frontline who distributed Laney and Ibanez at the time. I guess the idea was basically something like Tanglewood did with Overwater. Save money through overseas labour costs and CNC woodwork. In the end, just before the deals were signed, Pete pulled out. My guess was always that he was concerned that he’d lose control of the brand and they’d ultimately, over time, try to water down the essence of what a Wal is... can you imagine, a slab bodied bass with Bartolini soap bars, a skunk stripe maple neck and a BBoT bridge... ...but with “Wal” on the headstock? Someone talked about a “simple” Pro bass. In many ways the circuitry in a Pro bass is MORE complicated than a Custom. You go from two small neat removable circuit boards to a circuit board printed onto an extension on the scratch plate. The back of Pro Series scratch plates are a thing of beauty in and of themselves! If a Pro Bass was made in Fetcham, what would you save? Cost on the exotic body woods, labour in laminating the top and back... that’s about it. You’ve still got a laminated neck, hand carving the neck and body, same hardware. You'd need to tool up for the new electronics and redesign it to fit the changes in internal pickup wiring between the Pro and Custom series, tool up for the scratch plates, more staff and overheads... it’s not coming in shy of £4k... Frankly I can see why Paul’s not interested.

Was supposed to be seeing Rick premiere the new album tracks at HRH Prog IX at Shepherds Bush Empire the Saturday after lockdown started... full band show too, with Lee on the low end duties!

Played my two Wal’s at plenty of pubs and clubs, weddings and functions... and they’re still in perfectly good nick after all these years... ...I think this first photo was actually at the Dog & Vasectomy... sorry, I mean the Dog & Partridge (our local “fight pub” RIP)...

Yeah Alchemy was a facetious bass tone preference comment, of course. Still, there’s a feel about those first two albums I love. Making Movies I like, there are lots of songs on BiA that I like but I quickly get tired/bored of both. Never happens with the first two.

True dat! Those first two albums are the best!

Looks very much like my Pro IIE which is a wonderful bass (beaten in my affections only by my Mk 1, and only by a nose). Great for some older school but still Wal-tastic rock tones and for some fat soul too. Love it!

I prefer the black Wal on the Alchemy live album... but to be fair I am very biased! 🤣🤣 Though, it’s a good example of how different a Wal can sound from the Geddy, Justin and Percy tones everyone goes on about...

There’s a Sting and the Police best of I've got called “Fields of Gold”. Twofer... all you need from both on one CD The recent Wembley Or Bust live album by ELO is a pretty good career overview with a DVD thrown in for good measure (and has my chum Jo playing keys). Or the 2 CD All Over The World - The Ultimate Collection - all the hits and more. Or just buy Out Of The Blue! The Essential Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble 2 CD best of is pretty much all you’d ever need to know. But even better is the Couldn’t Stand The Weather (Legacy Edition) double CD - one of SRV’s best albums on one CD with a host of really good quality bonus tracks. Then on CD 2 a live album which really demonstrates SRV and Double Trouble’s raw power as a live unit.

You can waste/invest sooooooo much I’ve on the Sandberg “Configurator” web page !

That's very, very good advice - in general terms. Though to be fair there are probably fewer key variables when talking about an acoustic guitar - take solid woods as read then it's just body shape, neck width and profile, woods (which frankly once you've gone solid top is probably less critical) and electro or not. With bass, you're talking about several different pickup configurations and types all of which are designed to give different tonal flavours (as opposed to an acoustic guitar where they're deliberately trying to be transparent), much wider scale length choices, body construction (solid, chambered, semi-solid, bolt on neck, set neck or thru neck), much greater variance in the range and type of active circuits (if you go that route), number of strings, body shapes (both visually and ergonomically in terms of how they sit/hang)... all of which, in the end will come down to developed personal preference. No one's suggested buying a £50 Argos bass - rather, initially, going to the mid-range of the market where the quality to pound ratio these days is, frankly, hard to believe. Take something like the Lakland or G&L brands where a £1200 US made model probably only gives you 5-10% "performance advantage" (however you could quantify that) over their £500 far-East manufactured "budget models" which are less than half the price and are fully professional quality instruments in their own right. Lots of the other mid-range brands offer similar performance to cost ratios. Having said that, if you're looking at Sandbergs as your target instrument you, frankly, won't go far wrong with any of them . They are wonderful basses and great quality and value even at the new price point. And then if you're looking at a second hand one in the £600-£700 price range they're an absolute steal and, should you eventually move it on for some other type of bass in the future you won't really lose any money on the deal. But once again, even that's moot as Sandbergs definitely fall squarely in the potential "...this is my bass for life.." category! I know that if I was looking for a new bass right now (I'm not but a man can still look and dream!), it would be definitely be a Sandberg - and it would very probably look very much like one either of these... Not that I've been thinking about it, or anything!

Alan, I agree but this guy, it seems has never played or owned a bass yet!!!!!! I'm guessing that a post lockdown scoot round GuitarGuitar looking at the Squiers and Ibbys will serve him best at this point. Now in a year's time when he's ready to dispose of his wad of cash... well THEN we're definitely sending him your way!