Downdown

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1484847137' post='3219078'] I don't think that I suggested better in anything other than an ironic sense.. All I'm saying there are a bunch of people who like things exactly like they are (or were) and another bunch of people who are intrigued by the options opened up by "developments" in what is available.. Just take a moment to think that without the second group of people you'd be playing a piece of gut nailed to a branch.. [/quote] Thing is, I'd bet there are some great musicians out there who could make better music with a piece of gut nailed to a branch than a other players with all the latest gear. But I agree with your basic point and would be the last person to suggest there's no need for continued development in things, anything really. But I am having trouble thinking about how a bass guitar could be significantly improved. What is holding bassists back these days? Imagine a 'Star Trek' future where pretty much anything is possible . . . how do we think a bass (+gear) could be fundamentally improved?

No problem then.

What's your definition of 'better'? Different perhaps, as people pursue that ever-elusive 'perfect' tone, but better? A cheap nasty bass didn't seem to hold Macca back did it? Possibly because he's a musician rather than a gear head and great musicians will always make great music, whereas some people just have all the gear and no idea.

There's simply no point trying to guess what the OWNER of the bass might or might not think. It's pointless conjecture. It's THEIR bass so you should ask THEM before doing anything with it - touching it, playing it, cleaning it, changing the strings, anything. If they insist on being offended because you ask them something then that's their problem, not yours, but at least you won't have altered their property without their permission.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1484306140' post='3214495'] Hmm, 20 years ago, your mobile phone could make phone calls (IF you had reception) and possibly text, if you were rich. Now even mine could run NASA I hope I'm still around to see bass amp technology in 20 years, could be interesting. [/quote] I know what you mean, but what else is there for a bass amp to actually do? So what if the underlying technology changes, the end result must still be the same, surely? Same as the basses themselves really. There are only so many variations on doing the basic job of converting a string vibration to a small electrical signal - and it seems to me that most of those variations are concerned with the shape of a lump of wood I'm not denying there might be some amazing breakthrough in technology, but I'm struggling to think how the musical instrument we know as a 'bass guitar' is being held back for lack of technology.

Will there be the usual deafening slap-fest demos this year? Will probably give my ears a rest this year.

[quote name='synthaside' timestamp='1484754813' post='3218135'] Hi folks I'm borrowing a bass from a colleague at work with a view to buying it .... Is it acceptable to clean it ? ...... Opinions please folks [/quote] Of course it's not acceptable to clean it, or do anything else to it, without the owners permission. There's no point asking us, the only person worth asking is the owner. Quite simply, [u]it's not your bass[/u] and until it is the only person worth asking about anything is the owner.

The pickup arrangement for the 5th string seems a bit OTT

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1484589082' post='3216581'] We are trying to decluter and get on top of our stuff , I'm amazed what's come up , so do you guys use stuff that's dated (I still use a tape deck) ? I've got the following stuff that seems a shame to throw out ... 1 brand new used of Recordable Audio CDs Box of mini discs Roland 626 (forgot I had it will see if it works) 3 crates of cables , old chargers and leads of untold sorts Box of Broken iPods , cameras , phones etc What happens to it all ? [/quote] I had a big clear out last year and got rid of the following, among other things: Sony Umatic VCR Sony HVC-4000 colour video camera (shoulder mounted!) Garrard AP-76 record deck Akai 4000DS reel-to-reel tape deck various old modems various old routers various software packages on 3.5-inch discs (DOS, C compilers etc) microcontroller development system/emulator Tektronix 465 oscilloscope various amateur radio items 5x PCs (not screens) 3x old mobile phones loads of various cables loads of books loads of video tapes loads of clothes I couldn't be arsed to mess around selling them on ebay or gumtree and gave it all to a local hospice charity, which came and collected the whole lot. They can even reclaim tax on the money they raise by selling it.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1483725994' post='3209661'] Do you hear me getting upset.? [/quote] Sorry, but I 'read' you as being upset based on you calling him out as stupid because of his views. We're talking about music here and different people like and dislike different stuff. I thought this was a given and didn't warrant abusing people by calling them stupid.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1483723835' post='3209627'] I take it you have watched the vid. ? Its like saying Rock is, 1 guitarist, a bass player and a drummer, playing 2 chords for the whole record. [/quote] I guess it could be, but of course it could also be more - which is fine isn't it? Each to their own. Why even get upset about it?

Why is it stupid to say he doesn't like jazz (assuming he really doesn't of course)? And so what if he hasn't discovered any music out of his "own safe musical world"?

You've all got the wrong partners if this sort of thing is an issue. As long as you can afford it and haven't sold your first-born into slavery, what's the problem? Mine wouldn't care a hoot. In fact she'd probably not even notice amongst all the other music/PA gear stacked up around the house. But happy new year anyway.

I think this sort of thing goes with the territory - probably always has done, probably always will. It's the 'triumph' of youthful stupidity over the wisdom of age and happens in all manner of things. I shoot a fair bit and have done from a very young age so I've always been careful about ear protection - it wasn't difficult 30 years ago and it's even easier these days. I don't bother wasting my time preaching to the unconvinced/unconvinceable anymore, even though they all know about tinnitus - a special kind of stupid I guess. All you can do is look after your own ears.

Is the headline 'vinyl outsells digital downloads' really so surprising in these days of music streaming? Does a spotify subscription, for example, count towards the 'digital downloads' number? Might just be that few and fewer people are actually buying music in any 'collectable' format. Fighting over the dregs of a market doesn't seem like great business to me.

Thanks for the correction - glad I got the definition right though

Exactly. Anyway, I've never understood why some people are so intent on being offended. If someone wishes me happy christmas/haj/hannuka/thanksgiving day/[insert own celebration here] why should I be offended just because I don't believe in the things behind them? Good wishes are good wishes aren't they? We could do with more of them in the world, not start a fight because someone wished us well for, apparently, the wrong reason.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1482767335' post='3202599'] I like Roy Wood and Imelda May but only with the proper bassists/band backing them, they don't need a boogie woogie accompaniment imo. [/quote] I thought 'Hootenanny' was an olde english word meaning boogie woogie backup on everything - probably even over a bit of John Cooper Clarke doggerel

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1482597737' post='3201756'] You can't have Quo without Rick either, RIP both . [/quote] True, but Quo was over back in October: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37797845

After a long-ish history of serious heart problems and his recent announcment about retiring from Quo . . . . infection complications from a shoulder injury?!!!!! Still, no doubting his legacy, so let's rejoice in that and remember the happy times RIP

There was a documentary about them a few years ago here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TQfqnxgJHs Well worth watching - so much love and admiration for them from other pros.

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1482358665' post='3199939'] Chas 'n' Dave Christmas special on Channel 5 right now. Very dated but I'm loving it. [/quote] Is that the one with a pub as the main set and Eric Clapton and Albert Lee guesting? Both Chas and Dave are top players who make their excellent playing look effortless and anyone who doesn't know about Chas Hodges musical pedigree might be surprised if they look it up.

Another thought, learn how to handle and coil cables properly (if you don't already know, which I'm sure all BCers do ). This will probably extend the life of your cables far more than buying expensive brands. I say this based on the experience of a couple of band mates who regularly suffer from broken cables, though if you'd seen them coil them over their wrists/elbows and then tie them in a knot (yes, really!!!) then you'd understand why their quest for a reliable cable brand is completely futile. And yes, I've shown them time and again how to properly coil cables and even pointed them to YouTube, which abounds with examples. Alas, some people are too set in their ways, expensive though they may be.

[quote name='Harryburke14' timestamp='1482259418' post='3199039'] So my cheap(ish) cable from amazon (£4) has just died on me, . . . . [/quote] Not so cheap then was it? Buy cheap, buy twice (or more). Good luck with your quest.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1482226079' post='3198533'] The Stones are a great rock band. They practically invented the stadium rock genre. Anything they do will sound like them and not their influences. [/quote] Agreed. Clapton's From The Cradle was a better 'tribute' to his blues heroes in a stylistic sense, depending on your definition of 'better' of course.