LeftyP

I use Amazon a lot and my sister gives me a shopping list at Christmas for stuff she wants for her sons (she is not on-line!).  I have never had a problem with Amazon.  They have a huge choice of products at good prices (generally) and can often deliver within 24 hours - even without using Prime.  They also provide a shop window for individual retailers who use Amazon to sell their wares.

I ordered a cheap watch for when I am out and about; by cheap I mean £2. It came from Hong Kong and I suspect the postage cost more than the watch - the replacement battery certainly did!  It keeps better time than a Tag Huer I have. I also bought one of those small bendy camera tripods which should have come with a fitting to hold a smart 'phone.  Again it was only about £3 and was shipped from China.  It arrived without the smart 'phone fitting so I mentioned this on the Amazon feedback site.  I got a full refund, was told to keep the tripod and then they sent me the missing fitting - quids in!

I buy all my bass strings and accessories from Amazon as my local guitar shop (we only have one) has a limited choice.  I hate "shopping" and avoid the high street if at all possible.  I was thinking the other day about which high street shops (excluding where we do our weekly shop) I would miss if they closed.  I could not think of one.

Amazon plays by the tax rules as they are and it is up to the government of the day to sort that out.  As has already been mentioned, retail is a hard business and generally low paid.  We've all heard about the working conditions of Sports Direct and other "named" brands so I don't see why Amazon should be targeted for special treatment.  City centres suffered from the out of town sites that have sprung up over recent years.  We need to bring people back into town centres to live and stop this obsession with shopping.

13 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

He got the chance to do some touring with an American female Blues singer, which he did. He was let go because they deemed him too annoyingly cheery.

Well it was a Blues band!

On 11/02/2019 at 11:41, Marc S said:

I agree, this is a really lovely looking bass. Nice colour too, and re the chrome - it does look good on this bass
I especially like the Italia badge too. I don't know why - perhaps because it just has that retro look?

Re the pickups - does it sound like a Hoffner Violin bass? Just wondering.... 
Looks a really nice instrument for when you want to go as lightweight as possible (increasingly important for many of us)

EDIT: I'm also surprised that your Chowney was as heavy as that - they always look as though they should be light, to me

The weight of the Chowny took me by surprise as I had been playing a Tanglewood copy of the Hofner violin bass and that was very light - I still have it.  I would not wish to put anyone off buying a Chowny SWB-1 as I really liked it and it played very well - it is a very good bass guitar.  My back issues were the problem - not the guitar.

I tried flat wound strings on the Italia but have now fitted my favourite tape wounds to it.  I like the sound and feel of tape wounds (D'Addario) as they are not "zingy" and prevent the zip-wire sound when sliding across the frets.  They provide the bass with more of a thump instead of a piano ring and I prefer that.  I can stand with the bass around my neck for much longer than I could with the Chowny and my back is very grateful for that!

The Italia is certainly something different from the usual Jazz and Precision basses out there and suits the music I play (in a church service) very well.  It's a keeper!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DAddario-ECB-82-x-5セット-ECB82/dp/B009RIJXA4/ref=sr_1_166?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1548763891&sr=1-166&keywords=d+addario+bass+strings

I was on holiday in Switzerland a few years ago and came across Peter Mafay on a German TV channel.  He is huge in Germany.

"Cherish" - The Association (1966)

"Cherish" - Kool and the Gang (1984)

"Cherish" - Madonna (1989)

On 25/01/2019 at 06:28, kevvo66 said:

Thanks people ,I'll have a look at some shorties over the wknd I've looked at Scott Whitley basses but I'm not sure without playing one , operations on my hands is not a option really as industrial related 

You will not be disappointed with a Chowny SWB-1.  I had one but had to change to a lighter bass because of back problems.  Not that the Chowny is heavy - just my back is delicate!

I now have an Italia Cavo short scale bass with D'Addario flat wounds on it and it is a lovely little bass.

https://www.minotaurguitarstraps.com/bass-wide-straps/111-bass-fclef-brown-camel.html

I have one of these which is starting to soften nicely and looks pretty good too!

You drummer is ace.  She makes Charlie Watts look animated!

Yes, loved the old Hammond sound and have albums by Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and Richard "Groove" Holmes.  Jimmy Smith's rendition of "Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf - parts 1 and 2 is just magic.

And don't forget the old Pickwick record label 12" albums with such stunning titles as; "Hammond Goes Latin", "Hammond Party Time"  and of course "Hammond Ago-go!"

Two more sisters - they are twins.  From a Christian music background but now trying other styles.  Interesting studio set up.

25 minutes ago, seashell said:

Twas ever thus. In the swinging 60's we used to get Andy Stewart and Moira Anderson!! 

You forgot; Kenneth McKellar and Jimmy Shand!

Two talented sisters from Sweden and one plays a Hofner club bass - what's not to like!

I've had my Italia Cavo Bass for a month and am still finding out what it can do.  It has a retro look about it and, despite its Italian name, was deigned by an Englishman (Trevor Wilkinson) and built in South Korea!  The build quality is very good. It is a short scale bass and features a semi hollow body which makes it pretty light at just over 7lb.  There is a central block inside the body to which the bridge and pick-ups are anchored. The weight - or lack of it - is what first attracted me to the Cavo.  I was playing a Chowny SWB-1 short scale bass and really liked it but my 68 year old back struggled with the weight of it, even though it was just over 9lb and not very heavy for a bass.  Sadly the Chowny had to go and I managed to track down the Cavo bass at Richard's Guitars in Stratford.

It took a lot of keyboard time to find a UK dealer who had one available and Richard's were good enough to have it weighed for me.  They set the bass up beautifully but it came supplied with round wound strings which I very soon changed for flat wounds.  Although the Cavo is "short scale" it needs medium length strings (34") to take into account the bridging system. D'Addario Medium Scale 45/100 flat wounds fit it perfectly.

The bass comes in a choice of two colours; green or red, and I chose the red which I hope comes out well in the photographs.  I am not a big fan of chrome but the Italia's styling carries off the shiny stuff well and I do like the look of it (even the strings are Chromes!).  On the strap there is slight neck dive but nothing to get excited about and the lightness of the bass is very welcome.  Controls are; Volume, Tone and "Sweep" which enables the player to blend the bridge and neck pick-ups to order.  One thing that has caught me by surprise is how much the tone control alters the sound.  The Cavo is a passive bass and usually tone controls on passives have very little affect on the overall sound (the Chowny's tone control was almost just a decorative knob) but turning the control from one extreme to the other produces a noticeable change in the tone of the Cavo.  I play in our church band and the bass is plugged into a D.I. box and fed to a mixer at the back of the hall.  I have very little control as to how the bass sounds or sits in the mix and I am still experimenting with the tone and pick-up controls to find a sweet spot.

All in all, I really like this little bass guitar.  It makes a difference from all the Fender look-a-likes, is kind to my ageing back, and I think it will be my playing partner for many years.

Joe's bass playing on The Fifth Dimension's recording of Aquarius/Let The Sunshine is one of the best performances you will hear.  Very skillful but controlled.  Joe was one of the unsung bass heroes and it's only in recent years that I discovered many of my favourite recordings had Joe laying down the bottom line.  Thanks Joe.

I started a thread on this forum in early October about the weight of bass guitars and why the manufacturers or dealers don't specify the weights of the instruments.  I've just changed my bass for a lighter model because I have back trouble and even my 9lb Chowny was too much for me after a short while.  My new Italia Cavo (semi-hollow) bass is around 7lb and sounds good with flat wound strings.  It also is much kinder to my 68 year old spine than the Chowny.  I loved the Chowny but my back didn't appreciate its mass.

On 23/11/2018 at 15:47, Nicko said:

I had the same on my Roberts kitchen radio.  I'm fully culpable as I cleaned it with Dettol multi surface cleaner and its attacked the plastic.

It may not be your fault.  We have had the same problem on one or two electrical items that have a plastic covering. I know of several digital radio owners who have had "sticky issues" on their receivers.  I have also had a couple of pen drives and a small MP3 player show the same problem.  I think it is to do with the quality of plastic type covering they use.  We also had the mic stand issue but got rid of the stand in a bit of a clear out.

Yes, I am a lefty but play right handed.

I've just taken delivery of a new bass guitar.  It's an Italia Maranello Cavo hollow body model expertly set up by Richard's Guitars in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It is short scale and weighs in at a tad over 7lb - which gives my old back some respite.  Despite its name it has not been anywhere near Italy (unless its journey from South Korea took a detour). The Cavo is beautifully put together and Richard's have done a fine job of setting the action and adjusting what needed adjusting.  It is strung with round wounds but I much prefer flat wounds so I think I'll swap them once I've had a good play with it.  There is certainly a retro look about the bass - in a 1950s Wurlitzer jukebox sort of way -  and, although I am not a fan of chrome, the guitar carries it off well.

You don't see many of these around and Richard's Guitars were the only people who had one in stock when I checked the t'internet.  Santa has arrived early!

I'm not sure that earning a living from playing an instrument makes you a "proper" musician.  My wife has a music degree and plays first oboe in our local orchestra.  She, along with the other members, can sight read a score and perform to a high standard.  However, the orchestra is a voluntary thing and the members even have to pay an annual subscription to belong to it.  They are all fine musicians but do not make their livings from it.  One or two teach music but the rest have every day jobs.  The orchestra gives three concerts a year and has weekly rehearsals under the watchful eye of visiting conductors (who are paid expenses).  I think there will be many accomplished players who do not earn their livings from music, or even supplement their income from it, but when they pick up their instruments - they are musicians!

I am, sadly, selling my Chowny SWB-1 passive short scale bass plus fitted  Gator case. I've had this since January 2018 and really like it but because I have back issues I find the weight of it just too much to use.  It weighs 9.26lb (4.14kg) which is towards the lighter end of the bass weights, but my back problems make it very uncomfortable to play for more than about 15 minutes.  I had a local guitar tech make a wooden cover for the truss rod hole to replace the large Chowny plate but the plate will be in the case if you wish to re-use it.  The bass is fitted with D'Addario tape wound strings and I have swapped the chrome volume and tone knobs for black but can put the chromes back on if you want.  A Gator custom case comes with it.

It is a great short scale bass and I like playing it but the pain in my back tells me I need a lighter model.  The bass costs £395.00 new and the case is £80.00 but you can have both for £350.00 including delivery.

5 hours ago, Cato said:

I think it's one of those terms that means different things to different people.

The other day I was reading the wikipedia entry on the 'Great American Song Book'

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_American_Songbook

To be honest I reckon I'm familiar with maybe one in three of the 'standards' listed in that article. A lot of them seem to be fairly obscure musical numbers from productions that have probably barley been performed since the 1950s.

I suppose the whole concept of what qualifies as a 'standard' these days is entirely subjective.

I've just scanned the list on Wiki and know the vast majority of the titles.  They are played a lot on many radio programmes and performed in cabaret in clubs and cruise ships.  I am fortunate in being old enough (68) to remember the days of the crooners and ballad singers my parents liked and listened to on the old "Light Programme" before Radio Caroline came on air (I love 60's music - the songs of my teen years).  I work in broadcasting so get to hear a wide variety of music that I would not choose to listen to.  If you want to expand your playing options you really need to become familiar with the likes of Jerome Kern, Johnny Mercer, Jimmy Van Heusen, Irving Berlin etc.  They wrote timeless songs sung by Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Andy Williams, Jack Jones and countless others.  If your listening habits are Radio 1 or Later with Jools then you are starving yourself of some real quality music.  I can bop (not too energetic these days!) to Britney, Aretha, Tina Turner and the Motown classics but I can also enjoy the "Standards", Country music, some classical and - as I play in a church band - the old hymns and new contemporary worship songs.  There is a wealth of wonderful music out there.  When you consider we use basically only eight notes (plus a few sharps and flats) it is remarkable just what a variety of melodies have been written.

I'm not ashamed to admit to liking Britney.  I enjoy the song and wish I was as supple (and young!) as she is.  "Hit Me Baby One More Time" is also a great video - in fact any video with Britney in it is good!

Yes, I have the Tascam GB-10 bass trainer/recorder and use it every day.  I generally listen via headphones so as not to disturb the neighbours or Mrs LeftyP.  It is a great tool for learning songs and trying out various bass lines.  You can change key/speed or loop a few bars to play over again.  It has a built in metronome and tuner too. I am in our church band and we have a communal contact site where the songs are posted - lyrics, sheet music and chord charts.  I print off what I need, find a version of the song on YouTube which I convert to MP3 and load it into the Tascam.  I can play along and try all kinds of variations to the songs.  Being able to change the key is a great option as sometimes the videos are not sung in the same key as our music.  The unit is so small and light that you can slip it into your guitar case, or even your pocket and take it anywhere.

I still have the Tascam CD version of the machine - now surplus to requirements.