CMSbass67

My advice for what it's worth... if you're the OP, keep it. If you're not the OP, buy it. I'd seriously consider it myself but my spare cash is earmarked for a Stingray. 😎

3 hours ago, steve-bbb said:

pic at last here is the the squier, which for me personally as a gigging bass, has outshone the US deluxe J i bought earlier in the year

new gotoh 201 bridge, wizard thumper , new cts pots and an orange drop , last little remaining job to be done is a trip to the local luthier https://www.81guitarworks.co.uk (thoroughly recommend for anybody in the maidstone area) to get the nut slots sorted out which are a bit high - looks great for gigs too as our guitarist has a late 70s strat in same colour config (except rosewood board) so they make a good pair

 

That's a cool looking bass, and you've gone down a very similar route to me. I had a VM Precision and upgraded it with a Gotoh 201 initially, and then a 203 for a more 'vintage' look. I also had a 'Thumper', CTS pots, Switchcraft jack, Orange Drop cap, cloth-covered wiring, full 3M copper shielding to all cavities and back of pickguard and a set of silky-smooth Grover 142 tuners. It was a lovely bass and sounded great but I wanted to try something else so built a Mk II. This has a Squier VM Jaguar neck on a Westfield P-copy body and is fitted with a Bare Knuckle '58 pattern pickup and a Tusq nut. Otherwise all the hardware and electrics were transplanted from the Mk I. The body and neck were stripped down and refinished in genuine nitrocellulose lacquer, and I fitted Fender reissue bridge and pickup covers and a 'tug bar' for a totally vintage vibe. I modelled it on a Fender Custom Shop '62 reissue (photo 1) and it represents five years of teaching myself guitar building on possibly a dozen different instruments. It plays as good as any bass I've ever tried (including Custom Shops) and for a total cost of about £400!

With regard to your too-high nut (they all have them) my solution was to gently tap the nut out sideways and then run the bottom face across some #400 wet & dry, being careful to keep it level and apply even pressure. I just did a bit at a time and checked progress by slipping the nut back into the slot and retuning until it was just right. A couple of drops of superglue to finish and the playability was transformed, more so than by fret-levelling or any other mod I've made. It's an easy DIY job and if you fit a new nut and f*** it up you can always try again with another one or revert to the original... they're cheap as chips. You may find my FB page useful: https://www.facebook.com/howtoruinaperfectlygoodguitar/

Focusrite interface, ProTools that's bundled with it, Focusrite Red 2 EQ and Red 3 compressor plug-ins (also bundled) and away you go!

On 21/10/2018 at 10:52, Krysbass said:

Completely agree.

We are carving a bit of a niche for ourselves locally by mostly shying away from the predictable covers band favourites.  

Summer of 69 is just one of our few concessions to the less musically adventurous members of our audiences.😎

... and if you do play a well-worn 'classic', try putting a different spin on it and make it your own rather than just copy. That's what the pro's do, after all!

7 minutes ago, Krysbass said:

My band covers this too and for me it's an excuse to switch to my 5-string for the original tuning.

I personally think there are several better Bryan Adams songs*, but this one is a consistent audience favourite and the lack of bass on the first verse means the rest of the band can start it while I'm still swapping basses.

(*but then there are so many other artists where I also loathe the songs that get the most airplay and prefer slightly less popular examples of their work - so that's just me.)

Not just you by a long way... if you only play what your audience knows and wants to hear, you're doomed to a life of Summer Of '69, Highway To Hell and Sweet Home bleedin' Alabama. Try educating them by introducing lesser-known but better tracks. You'll get known for being different (and better) than the run-of-the-mill covers bands and have more fun too. Takes some work but it's worth it.

On 14/10/2018 at 13:17, AdrianP said:

Thanks very much for all the comments. Yes, it is a covers band. Exclusively instrumentals as the BL believes there is a local market for this type of thing. What sort of market wants to listen to endless guitar widdling is anyone's guess. And the fact that we are 1) making little money and 2) playing boring songs is probably not unconnected. But, and it's a big but, I do like the folks in the band. Which is why I'm still with them. 

But I do need to grasp the nettle. Stop playing stuff that bores audiences stiff or I'll walk. I have my main band still so not desperate for this. But tonight is probably a good time to get this all out in the open.

Tell it like it is... facts 1) & 2) are certainly connected and your BL needs to recognise this as his belief is obviously wrong. If the guys in the band get on well together, then there is hope for a new direction and a mutually pleasing outcome. Guitarists can be a bit 'centre-of-the-universe' and if you're an instrumental-only band then you need to feature the other instruments just as much as the guitar in order to have any hope of making it an appealing act.

On 15/09/2018 at 15:13, Slappindabass said:

Good glad i was right! Band members couldnt here the differnce!

Consider new band members...

On 19/10/2018 at 19:07, skankdelvar said:

Despite (or perhaps because of) a lifetime of booze, fags, lard and recreational narcotics I look decades younger than I am. Fact.

Anyway, this drummer, she'd have been a perfect image for the intended 'punky covers and originals' but the two cowering little milksops wouldn't have it. Probably thought the audience would be watching her rather than them, which would have been true.

FWIW, one of these guys was an American post grad student and the other a junior lecturer, both at Oxford Uni, both mid-late 20's .

You'll know not to listen to other's opinions in the future then... if she looks good and can play, you need her in your band.