TrevorR

Or even more specifically... Good reason why she was "Rear of the Year" a few years running!

And Genesis could sound pretty immense with Bill/Chester in the instrumental bits where Phil wasn't singing...

Or you can get "Medi Swabs" or "Sterets" pre injection swabs - soaked in isopropyl alcohol. As a diabetic I always used to have them kicking around. 1000 uses... cassette head cleaning, getting sticky labels off CD cases, de-gunking strings... Careful with the liquid. Not great for rosewood fingerboards.

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Yeah, I'm not aware of them ever doing a formal Signature model. Looks like a pretty bog standard early SB1000... but with this... [size=3][font="Calibri"][color="#000000"][/color][/font][/size] Looks like The Gallery are just parroting the Sotheby's auction literature which is also pictured... Heck of a celebrity mark up. File under memorabilia not under musical instrument!

As others have said, it's not about size of kit, it's about control and the ability to play with dynamics as required for both the song and the room. I've been very lucky always to have played with drummers who have been able to do this. I recall seeing a seminar with Mark Richardson from Skunk Anansie once where he demonstrated the keys of dynamic control. He played a series of snare hits from only just audibly quiet to excruciatingly loud from a relaxed sitting position with almost no visually noticable difference in his physical movements. All just from minimal elbow and wrist movements... That's control!

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1472056371' post='3118091'] Hmm... Still a bit cheeky of the Gallery to suggest it's a signature model. [/quote] Well, Aria did emboss his name on the truss rod cover before they gave it to him! At that price you're spending about £500 a letter...

6 grand for a second hand SB1000! That's some celebrity mark up! Cosmo, sort of. Bruce loosely endorsed Aria in the early 80s. He was pictured in their literature playing an SB1000.

Yes, a Steinberger is cool as hell but not necessarily comfy to play. A Precision or Jazz type copy plus a small bass practice amp combo should be sufficient to get you started. On, and a good tuner like a "Snark" (yes, really Google it) or Polytune clip on tuner. Some systemic beginner lesson in whatever form would be good to help you get the basics under your fingers would be god too. I came across this online a while back. Probably a bit old fashioned in the YouTube age but it covers many basics... [url="http://www.wheatsbassbook.com"]http://www.wheatsbassbook.com[/url]

Another JG bass based blog up on the site today... Enjoy... http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/jg-bass-special-pt-3-gallery-mk-1-jg.html

Well, there's the "clickbait" title out of the way... It's funny. This post has been bubbling up in me over the last few weeks, months even. And I guess that the email which popped into my inbox today announcing that VW was the latest featured bassist in the SBL Podcast kinda acted as the impetus. No, let's get one thing straight. Mr Wooten is clearly anything BUT rubbish, his mastery of the bass is undeniable. He has taken his bass playing technique into areas which I can barely imagine and could never ever aspire to. However, however much I try (and believe me over the years I actually have tried repeatedly) I've never failed to find his playing a passion-killing combination if "incredibly impressive" and "very very dull". In particular his solo playing. Very impressive. Very, very impressive but, for me immensely boring and quite often rather un-musical to my ears. Can't argue with the impressiveness. Thing is, I rarely ever sit down to listen to music with the intention of being impressed. I'll listen to it for pretty much any other reason. And it's not that I'm anti technique - some of my favourite players have immense technical expertise and ability - off the top of my head Michael Manring, Abe Laboriel and Steve Lawson spring to mind but I love the music that they make and it seems to me watching or listening to them that the technique, expertise and ability serve as a vehicle for the music they make. And the emotional content they infuse their music with. Watching and listening to Wooten it always feels the other way around, musical notes in service of a display of technique. To me anyway. Then there's his Flecktones playing which again feels to me like perfectly efficient and effective professional standard bass playing interspersed with short "stunt bass" interludes. How else can I describe how I feel about VW's playing in another form? Well, watching the world "Keepie-Uppie" champion breaking another world record is very impressive... I'd much rather watch a classic 1970s Brazil vs Holland match with Pele and Cruyff squaring up against each other. What do you guys think?

A wee bit of Tir Na Nog for you too... http://youtu.be/3qp_VR67WSQ

Ever since I've had more than one bass I've taken two to a gig - meaning I have a backup just in case. However simple or complicated a mechanical (or electronic) system is it can suffer failure - as a (rather over-egging the pudding) example, the two space shuttle disasters were caused by failures in pretty much the two most low-tech elements in the entire space craft - an O-ring seal failing and a chunk of insulating foam falling off the fuel tank. OK, fair enough, I've been playing since 1982 and I've only had 3 serious in-gig failures - a capacitor on a bass dying mid gig due to playing in misty/drizzly weather the day before, one broken string and one amp failure after it was dropped off a trolley while being transported up to the room with the stage. Still, on the first two I was able to swap immediately to an alternative bass with minimum fuss and on the second the gig it was close enough to nip home and I could fetch a practice amp and feed the DI out through the PA for reinforcement (otherwise I would have just DI'd and made do). I don't see the point of bringing a spare bass and leaving it in the car - my view is you want to be able to sort it out by the end of the next verse, not by the start of the next set. Not taken a spare amp or cab but DI into the PA is the backup for that. And for me it's the same approach whether playing at the Bath Assembly Rooms, a big festival, a wedding venue, Jagz in Ascot, in a marquee in someone's back garden or at the local Dog and Partridge. I approach all those gigs with the same level of priority and commitment, irrespective of venue. However, as the owner now of some lovely basses each with their own character it's also given me some nice in-gig tonal options to play with and I tend to swap between the two basses across each set. I've played some really cramped stages and dives in my time too but never not been able to find room to safely position two basses on their stands. Win-Win... insurance policy and bass geek indulgence. They just both got put in the back of the car so no biggie. Of course, I could have quite happily played any gig exclusively on any of my basses. However, having two there did give fun options. For example, although my Custom Series Wal is my "lead" bass there are just some tracks which really work well on my Pro Series Wal. Stuff with a more 70s rock or old school vibe for instance - Town Called Malice, Hangbags and Gladrags, Maggie May, Brown Eyed Girl (yes!), Get It On all spring to mind. They sound and feel just fine on the Custom but for me they sound and feel just great on the Pro. Similarly, the Custom is really versatile and can produce a huge range of sounds but there are some where it just sings. Some examples are Mustang Sally (yes!), Lady Marmalade, Babylon, It Must Be Love, Roxanne, Walking on the Mood, Dreadlock Holiday, What's Going On, Long Train Running... So for me it's a case of taking an insurance policy and making something enjoyable for myself out of it too. Indulgence? Yes. Not [i]strictly[/i] necessary? Probably. Will the punters be able to tell the difference... blah blah blah...? That debate will run and run in here long beyond any of our lifetimes but [i][b]I[/b][/i] can tell the difference and [i][b]I[/b][/i] enjoy it so that's more than enough justification for me. And if that makes me happy playing I'm convinced that will help me play better which means the band will sound better and [i][b]THAT[/b][/i] the punters will pick up on.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1471794047' post='3115914'] Eric Johnson and his bizarre claim that duracell batteries sound better in his pedals. Nah man, you need to see a doctor! [/quote] And Eric is a rank amateur in terms of golden eardness when it comes to the serious hi fi brigade!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1471802885' post='3116013'] There's the rub. Regardless of the FOH sound, I suspect that if you're enjoying your 'tone,' you're more likely to play well, and vice-versa. [/quote] Precisely!

Notwithstanding that the main character in your playing comes from how and where you strike the string I do like the tone shaping possibilities that my Custom Series Wal's tone circuit gives me. I can garnet at quite different tones to suit different songs (or parts of songs through how I modulate that tone by where I pick the string). My Pro Series bass does sound quite different to my ears and the different tone circuits provide noticibly different tones. Now, I'm willing to accept that the two basses might (consciously) sound no different to anyone standing more than 6 feet away from my amp, especially when in a band mix and subject to the vagaries of a FOH engineer. However, I'm standing 5 feet from my amp or a couple of mm from my in ears and I do hear an appreciable difference... And that's what matters to me!

Some great Irish bands mentioned here but what about Lizzy? Waiting for an Alibi http://youtu.be/C8tu8pN8p50 Still a huge fan of Horslips so any excuse to post this gem. Dearg Doom on the Whistle a Test http://youtu.be/y5G8AJf4Xzw And how come no one has mentioned this fella yet? Rory Gallagher http://youtu.be/oKhPCjQZONk http://youtu.be/go9J9REtfdA http://youtu.be/0iF13OT5xv8 And to bring the mood down a bit, I love Mary Black's voice... http://youtu.be/XvABIMOkaGQ http://youtu.be/-3nLjGQpUOU (and Eleanor McEvoy's not too shabby in the vocal dept either!)

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1471561747' post='3114100'] A Hofner sounding better than a Wal? Now that is rare. [/quote] I think there may be significant levels of "IMHO" operating there (on all sides)... Not that I'm biased or anything, ;-)

Some JG (and Pro, Mk 1 and MK 2) porn here... New JG based blog today (and it's a goodie even if I do say so myself). Featuring some very special basses owned by John Gustafson and some Colin Edwin and Martin Elliott thrown in for free. With HUGE thanks to Martin for his help and inspiration! http://walbasshistory.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/jg-bass-special-pt-2-tale-of-two-basses.html

Taxman/Start springs to mind but my "trying out a bass in a shop" tune is The Theme to Star Trek Deep Space Nine which always just falls nicely under my fingers. Only ever had someone recognise it the once. About a month ago the two guys serving in Wunjos while I was trying out a rather nice Sandberg stopped, stared at me and said, "Hey, is that Deep Space Nine? Used to love watching that..."

Yes, definitely focus on a new amp first. And don't feel shy about taking your bass along to a music shop and trying it through the amps you reckon might be in your price range - even when you have no intention of buying that day/week/month. There's nothing wrong with that. You're researching what you eventually will buy and a good music shop will know that if they're helpful then they're more likely to get your cash whenever you ARE ready to buy. And while you're there, treat yourself and try a couple of more expensive ones... Also part of the research/learning experience.

I got a Faith Neptune Titan and a Feedbackbuster plug for more acoustic based stuff. Works well and sounds pretty good through an amp or PA. not had much feedback issues at sensible volumes.

Welcome to Basschat Chris. Dive in and enjoy the fun. We're just up the river in Staines so know Walton well. Used to do the function band thing too but now mostly doing my playing in the worship band in the new church in Walton (just opposite the railway station in the old Jaguar showroom). There are a few BCers in the area so let us know when your next gig is coming up, maybe we can have an informal bass hang!!!! Oh, and bookmark Saturday 25th for the 10th Annual SE Basschat Bass Bash over in Addlestone. Going to be a great day and a good chance to say "Hi" to othe BCers in person... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/283248-south-east-bass-bash-no10-surrey-saturday-24th-september-2016/

Looks like Nick Beggs is having a belated spring clean and getting rid of a few basses... A Jaco Jazz, a MM and a Wal 5-er with midi (but not a Midi bass)... Click below for a quick lust... https://www.facebook.com/nick.beggs.9?ref=ts&fref=ts And remember, you can resist everything except temptation!

[quote name='jonsmith' timestamp='1453284979' post='2958017'] It's even worse when it's your bass that's in the advert, which happened with my Mk1 fretted a few years ago.... [/quote] My Mk 1 has turned up on eBay once or twice as well. But then again, photos of my bass aren't hard to come by...