LeftyP

I thought I would re-activate this subject as I have just paid a visit to Promenade Music in Morecambe. The Lancashire sea side town is just over an hour's drive south down the M6 from my Cumbrian home and today turned out to be quite mild and sunny for February! I had forgotten what a great music shop Promenade is. You name the musical instrument and they will probably have it tucked away somewhere. There were loads of bass guitars and electric guitars in the basement with keyboards and a huge selection of acoustic guitars upstairs. Brass and woodwind instruments were on display too. I was looking for a gig bag for my Italia Maranello Cavo bass guitar, which is a bit small to fill out a standard bass bag but too large for an electric guitar bag! We tried a few but nothing was suitable. I was blown away by the selection of musical instruments they had, with more bass guitars than to could wish for. It's worth a visit if you fancy a day out.

As a teenager in the '60s, listening to Radio Caroline (North), I was - and still am - a big Beatles fan. But it was their early stuff that I really liked. Album wise I have "Please Please Me" - 1963, "Beatles For Sale" - 1964, "With The Beatles" -1963, "A Hard Day's Night" (my favourite Beatles album) 1964, "Rubber Soul" - 1965, "Help" - 1965 and "Revolver" 1966. After those recordings I felt they wandered away from good old 'pop' music. Sgt. Pepper has never registered with me - I genuinely do not understand the fuss that is made over it. I am also an ABBA fan and love everything the Carpenters ever recorded. I can appreciate most types of music but the old 60s/70s tracks have something about them.

It's difficult to say because they feel so different under the fingers. Some brands may differ too. If they are of a lower tension it will be minimal. All I know is that I like the way they play and they are kind to my fingers! I am a light player so that will affect the sound of them too.

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.

Well it was a Blues band!

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)

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.

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.

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!