Russ

[quote name='Clarky' post='388755' date='Jan 22 2009, 06:09 PM']don't think so, it was just a pub ... heaving with mohicans, cans of lager and strangely sweet smelling cigarettes[/quote] I must be thinking of somewhere else then... much the same kind of thing though. There was always the Goldsmiths Tavern in New Cross for the full punk and crusty experience too, but I think they're closing it now. Was always a fun place to go if you wanted your head kicked in recreationally and the Dew Drop Inn wasn't punk enough for you.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='388726' date='Jan 22 2009, 05:50 PM']Still happens but you don't hear about it because they are not playing in arenas they are playing in squats, free festivals and dingy clubs. I know thats where we play most of our gigs and meet some great bands along the way.[/quote] Good for you, keeping the spirit of punk alive. I just think that most of these so-called punk bands who do end up playing arenas and stadiums have, by that very act, forfeited the right to call themselves punk. I acknowledge that the likes of Green Day, The Offspring, etc all came up through the ranks and paid their dues via the grassroots punk scene, but you're fooling yourself if you think any of these bands still have full creative freedom over their music. I'd much rather go and see a proper, angry punk band play at a squat than see Green Day at Wembley.

[quote name='Clarky' post='388730' date='Jan 22 2009, 05:52 PM']Speaking of which, the promoter at the Old Friends squatted pub in Greenwich has apparently been turfed out - so no more gigs there. We actually had a great time playing there whilst dubious substances were being snorted off the bar and passed around ...[/quote] Was that the place with the dodgy tattoo studio just off the main bar? If so, I played there years ago. Good crowd.

A little article that I found about punk... I agree with every word this guy says about it: [url="http://members.tripod.com/~droplegs/PUNK.html"]http://members.tripod.com/~droplegs/PUNK.html[/url]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='388708' date='Jan 22 2009, 05:33 PM']Most modern Punk? what do you mean by that?[/quote] More or less anything that's come out post-Green Day, the point when it became diluted and commercialised - punk bands should be playing in squats, free festivals and dingy clubs, not arenas and stadiums, and should gob on people who suggest otherwise. I don't mind Rancid, older Green Day and a few other newer punk bands, but for me, it's still all about The Clash, Crass, UK Subs, Bad Brains, The Ramones and so on.

Can't say I have much love for most modern punk. Punk's all about an attitude, and most of these bands that supposedly play it nowadays don't have it. Punk's supposed to be all about channeling anger, the ultimate DIY ethic, doing it your way despite your limitations, fanzines, anarchy... and gobbing and pogoing, obviously. Although, to quote Mike Watt, when he was asked if he was a punk, he replied, "No... a punk's someone who gets f**ked in prison for cigarettes".

It's a great video, but not really for the instructional value, more just to see Jaco play in an intimate context - the little set at the end with John Scofield and Kenwood Dennard is worth the price of the video, especially Jaco's fuzz-drenched solo at the end. His banter with Jerry Jemmott is great too, althouth the parts where Jerry's trying to interview him are a bit awkward, and Jaco's pretty out of shape playing-wise (he admits so himself when trying to play Portrait Of Tracy, keeps making excuses).

When you see them, bear in mind that Doug is 58 years old... He still looks and performs like he's in his thirties...

Good-sounding bass - big, thick and with the trademark Spector growly mids. Although, as has already been mentioned, rather heavy and the one I tried had a serious tendency for neck dive. Not the most comfortable neck either, alas. In that price range, I'd probably go for the Ibby SR506 or the 6-string Ibby BTB. That's my tastes though. But, if you can, try the Spector - if you're comfortable with it, go for it.

First bass was : An awful "Axe" P-bass copy, in 1991 From : An ad in Loot... had to trek up to Ealing to pick it up. And it came in a tacky transparent gig bag! It cost : £80 Which today is : Last time I saw it, was hanging up on the wall at Rockbottom in Croydon. Back in the day, I customised it a bit in an attempt to make it a bit less crap - added a Seymour Duncan J pickup, sanded all the paint off the neck and headstock, and made my own headstock decal using black paint and Letraset. I had to pick it up and try it since I hadn't seen it in 15 years since I sold it to a schoolgirl who wanted to learn bass, and it was just as awful as it was when I first had it. Neck like a banana, tinny tone, neck dive... I was tempted to buy it back - sentimental value and all that - but they wanted £150 for it! Using that inflation calculator, it works out to be worth £124.80 now...

Dunno what it is about bass players, but most bass players I know who also have a guitar have a Telecaster... strange. I had one for a while. Got an Epiphone Les Paul now though, for all my skinny-string needs.

I hung out with Mark a few years ago at one of the Bass Player Bass Days, over here in NYC. Top bloke. Anyway, enough with the pleasantries... what did they have that was new for NAMM?

[quote name='bubinga5' post='375597' date='Jan 9 2009, 09:06 PM']The Lakland IMHO, is in a different league compared though..Longer scale length of the Laky, may be a deal breaker mind... What about a second hand MIM Jazz? Must try a squire jazz out, heard so many good things about them..[/quote] The 4-string Laklands are 34" scale, only the 5-strings are 35". I'd also recommend trying out something like a Squier VM Jazz - I was pleasantly surprised, and for £250 or so, it was one of the best deals out there.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='375398' date='Jan 9 2009, 05:58 PM']PBY, i would say a great bass to go for is the Lakland 44-01 for sale in the for sale section here. £400.00 from Riddler Awsome bass, and very versatile, Bartolini pick ups..i would say for that money, there is no better...[/quote] +1. For £400 you can't go wrong.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='375393' date='Jan 9 2009, 05:57 PM']Is Rockbass to Warwick what Squier is to Fender?[/quote] Pretty much, yeah. Made somewhere in the Far East. Did you notice that the Rockbasses, in addition to the nicer headstock, also have the proper Warwick 2-piece bridge now? Much better.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='375353' date='Jan 9 2009, 05:32 PM']TM Stevens Signature Streamer is horrendous.[/quote] It's certainly very "him", and it's going to be a much nicer bass than that Cort thing he was endorsing before. Can't see them selling too many though, since it's basically just a SSI with a custom paint job. I'm actually quite surprised that TM got the Warwick endorsement again - great player, but he hasn't got much of a profile any more. Gone are the days when he backed up James Brown, The Pretenders, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Steve Vai, etc.

[quote name='Josh' post='375352' date='Jan 9 2009, 05:31 PM']The Stu Zender Sig is a massive dissapointment.[/quote] I quite like it - it's certainly different, and I like the fact that he has a custom design instead of just a tweaked Streamer or Thumb. Not liking the inlays though. Out of all of them, I'd definitely have that P-Nut sig bass. Looks stunning.

[url="http://www.warwick.de/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9174&start=0"]http://www.warwick.de/forum/phpBB2/viewtop...174&start=0[/url] Enjoy... The new Zender bass has a definite Carl Thompson vibe, not sure about the inlays though. Those new Rockbasses are sweet - they look so much better without that cheap-looking logo all over the headstock.

[quote name='martfitz' post='374536' date='Jan 8 2009, 10:27 PM']They're not to fill the gap left by the OLP and SUB as these new ones aren't budget basses, that gap is going to be filled by something else, allegedly [/quote] From what I understand, they're going to be the EB/MM equivalent of Fender's MIM/MIK basses, made in the Far East somewhere, so they will be a lower price point. Probably more like SUB replacements than OLP ones in terms of quality, though. Probably also a response to G&L's well received Tribute range too.

From my experience, the pre-EB Stingrays (and some of the very early EB ones) have a somewhat different colour to their tone on the 2-band EQ models - the older ones are a little more midrangey and punchy, where the newer ones are brighter with less mids. They both have that typical MM "thwack" to the tone, but, to my ears, the older ones seem to move more air. The newer ones are most definitely better made though, with the 6-bolt neck, body-end truss rod adjustment, etc. Plus, the finishes are far better.

I played a 55-01 with a pair of Nordy Big Singles recently... HUGE Jazz Bass tone. Definitely worth the upgrade - actually sounded way better than its big brother, the 55-02.

Looks like EB/MM are putting out a new range to fill in the gap left by OLP and the SUB range... [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3FG3ZSiKrYE"]Sterling by Ernie Ball[/url] I'll have the Ray35, please.

Love it. Wish I was back in the UK to try out. Should be back around June/July time, so if you're not sorted by then, give me a shout.

Been on there for years, and have around 1800 posts or so (not that many in the grand scheme of things). It's a great resource for gear-related info, but it is hugely US-centric (even as a Brit who's been in the US for the last 14 months), and many posters' (and mods') attitudes to religion, guns, other countries, etc irritate the hell out of me. I much prefer the vibe here. But the Lobby, and, formerly, Tin Pan Alley were always good for a laugh.

I keep the bass at a height where I can keep both my wrists straight - my wrists never hurt after playing now (I was worried about RSI and carpal tunnel). On me, that works out to be about lower-stomach level, maybe a little lower than the bass sits when I play it on my knee. There's a lot of variables there, such as being able to reach the end of the neck comfortably, the balance of the bass and so on, but I do think the straight wrists thing is pretty important.