Dr.Dave

[quote name='liamcapleton' post='411208' date='Feb 16 2009, 03:31 PM']That's a good point but do you ever think that Jaco could have been put in that position? That wasn't Jaco's selling point, if you wanted someone like that then hiring Jaco over someone like Chuck Rainey or a decent session musician would have been insane... sort of like asking for trouble.[/quote] Your point's a fair one too. I suppose what I was really saying is that someimes I think Jaco played what he could play rather than what he should play. I've read that he described himself as a very musical player - a lot of what I've heard goes more towards the technical. Maybe Jaco wouldn't play Waterfront - but would that be because he considered it beneath him? The challenge to me is about being part of something greater - not having the greatest part. I'm not really a fan of the virtuoso I suppose. I can listen with interest and take enjoyment from anothers ability or from what I may learn. I'm not so sure I feel 'entertained'. Sadly I'm not aware of a lot of Jaco's catalog , as many of you are. I'm only really able to give my thoughts on the Jaco I've heard which , other than parts of Shadows and Light has left me with an impression of 'player before band' - not my thing I'm afraid , even regarding such fine playing.

[quote name='bremen' post='411000' date='Feb 16 2009, 12:59 PM']Maybe. I just wondered where he'd been the last few years when he wrote: 'Well, here’s a blast from the past – I haven’t seen this type of 1970’s style bass for many years and back in the 70’s they were usually accompanied by a pair of wicked side burns, a pair of ludicrously wide Birmingham bags (trousers to those who weren’t around back then) and completed by some 4 inch platform shoes that caused the owner to totter around like Frankenstein.'[/quote] I've always had a soft spot for Jazz basses and probably because the first ones I saw were big , cumbersome looking things with block markers played by blokes on telly wearing platforms , flappy trousers and big sideburns. I think he's just making the point that this Jazz is styled on the Jazz of a particular era in a reasonably light hearted way in order to flog a few to those who might like a 70s retro vibe - which I presume is his job.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='410555' date='Feb 15 2009, 10:34 PM']Haven't enjoyed a Jaco or Weather Report album since I was 16 and I was told I needed to like them to play bass. Load of nonsense - both the advice and the music![/quote] The advice is certainly nonsense , the music's a matter of opinion which, in the main, I share with you. I like to watch bits of Jaco on you tube etc but I could only really listen to W R with my notepad out rather than for entertainment. To a point I can enjoy the Shadows and Light stuff . I'm really grateful Jaco raised the profile of bass playing and it's fantastic that he continues to inspire so many. In no way could his technical abilities be questioned. The guy was able to push the boundary of the music he wanted to play in ways most of us could not. If he were doing what he so often does on a guitar though , how many of us would just accuse him of fret w**king. I wonder what he'd have done with Waterfront , had Simple Minds asked him to help out? Would he have had enough humility to realise the bassline was already perfect for the song or would he have felt compelled to do more?? The guy's a legend in many ways , I suppose I'm just not that interested in those ways. His music remains to be enjoyed , to inspire , to critisise , to learn from. There are worse epitaphs.

Which bit's wrong? I can't fault the article at all. I presume the reviewer was comparing the Jazz to other more modern basses rather than comparing this model of jazz to other jazz basses. Maybe we just read it differently.

An ad is an ad. When did you last see one that said 'don't buy my product - it's rubbish'. A lot of the ads you see will be keen 'improvers' like yourself and not next weeks chart toppers like they say. If you def. don't want to join a gigging (or preparing to gig ) band - look around for local 'jam' nights. You'll be expected (rightly so) to fit in with other players of various levels of skill/talent so no point in going only to play stuff you like or know. Go there and learn stuff you don't know and you might end up liking it. You may also meet folk interested in having smaller , less public get togethers for the purpose of getting to know how to play with others better. If that's a no no ....You express yourself pretty clearly here , why not write your own ad ? There's be other musicians down the next street in exactly the same position as you. I'm willing to bet too that there's loads of opportunities to join in with other players at colleges in your area without having to join the degree course.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='406466' date='Feb 11 2009, 03:34 PM']i didn't know you could go that high up the neck. [/quote] Get a taxi - that's what I do !! You're not Flea , he's not Beerdragon. Get to know the tunes and go be yourself. If you don't feel confident ....well , you're on a stage. Be an actor. Pretend to be someone who's confident. If you do that long enough you will be. Oh - and turn it up. Nobody here will talk to you again if you don't

I'm with Ross. Good to try new tunings etc and for the sake of a different nut it can all go back to normal painlessly should it not work out. Play about and see what works for you. No reason I can see to call this one as a 'better' or 'worse' - just an option.

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='410320' date='Feb 15 2009, 07:14 PM']Please sir, I have ticket number 8 - what did I win? [/quote] A Noel Gallagher baseball cap , as I remember

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='410259' date='Feb 15 2009, 06:20 PM']It was nice hearing my fretless being played by people who play the fretless properly. A real eye-opener.[/quote] Sitting having a noodle on that I realised why 'tea leaves' get the urge !!! My fave bit of kit of the day by a country mile. Always a plez to meet BCers old and new , many thanks to all who organised the day. Excellent use of a Sunday afternoon even though I got bugger all in the raffle!!!

You walked the walk , Al, - f****ing good effort - and I think that entitles you to talk the talk with the band re. your concerns. My guess is they'll be pretty receptive to a bloke who wants to play the songs with a bit more thought and may not feel they have to wing it so much to lift things. If you've walked straight into that , and joined in with the winging as well as shown what you can do in a week , they'd be dumb not to listen.

Well - story rather than an opinion. I was a dyed in the wool Fender head but several years ago found myself also in the possession of a Status graphite necked Energy and a 2 band EQ Stingray. Very fine basses they were too. I liked the 'precision put right'ness of the Ray and the modern playability of the Status. Sometime later I decided to get Jon Shuker to build me a bass that would , in a sense , do the job of both. It's more of a posh, lightweight Ray than a Status but has the 'moderness' of tone. As a result I sold the others. Not that long afterwards I bought another Status - I've never felt the need to buy another Ray. Take from that what you will. Opinion - if you want something a lot different to the Fender , buy a Status. If you want to feel you're safely at home - buy the Ray.

Just realised we're doing both bands tonight , inc the ZZ show , in Bradford - so when I turn up tomorrow don't be alarmed by my probable leprosy face !! It's only the false beard glue (takes about 2 days to get off) and it's not catching!!!

[quote name='sixshooter' post='408761' date='Feb 13 2009, 04:25 PM']Before [attachment=20250:Basses_f...sale_002.jpg] After [attachment=20251:DSC02345.JPG] Just my opinion but I prefer my 59 how it looks now than before when it was minus paint. My feelings are the same about that Jazz, nice looking Bass but somehow it looks like someone decided to "relic it" in a very unnatural way. With a bit of careful restoration it could look even nicer![/quote] I'm guessing (from the thumb print) but I take it the 'arm wear' etc was part of the restoration rather than natural wear since a complete re-finish. I've never seen that before (to my knowledge - I probably have and not known it). Very interesting. I agree it looks better than it did sans paint.

There's mojo and there's damage , I think. In this case my very humble opinion is the amount of finish loss would detract from it's desirablilty and therefore it's value. Current climate - ignoring the telephone numbers at vintage and rare - if I'd saved £1500 to get the ideal 73 Jazz for me and had def. got to have one .......I'd try for £850 to £900 and be satisfied happy if I got it for a few quid either side of a grand. Under those circs I think I'd be tempted to wait and spend the lot on one less battered. Other hypothetical opinions are available. If seller and buyer are happy that's all that matters. Something that's not hypothetical - several years ago I managed £1800 on a 69 Jazz that was vandalised compared to this. Grateful as I was I thought whoever bought it (commission sale through V and R) was a fool. He'd have done a lot better , I feel , if Ebay and Basschat had been around then. I'd bought it only a few months earlier for £600.

I can only speak for fretted versions - and then only from a couple of shop trials. I found them very comfy to play with some very useable and good , slightly 'different' sounds. This isn't hindsight but I remember at the time thinking to myself that a fretless version would be really good. Beauty remains in the eye of the beholder , and the look is certainly a bit 'marmite'. I quite like it. The odd body shape wasn't a problem to me for playing purposes though. At a price approaching half what this ebayer's wanting (IMHO) - why not be a little different.

I've just got myself a headstock decal from a UK ebay source. It's of as high a quality as I've seen and superbly packaged with clear instructions. It was £6 inc postage. The guy is wary of my posting links to his website which has pics of his wares which is fair enough - but if anyone's interested in doing up their basses with such products PM me and I'll give you the links. BTW - my opinion of anyone using products such as these to try and scam someone else into buying a fake is lower than a Yorkshire Terrier's bollocks. I'm sure most of us around here are decent enough to use these things for cosmetic reasons re. their own gear and should they decide to sell on will be 100% accurate in their descriptions of what they're selling. I would hate anyone looking here to abuse my faith in their honesty.

Felt sure I was having my door kicked down when half a ton of badass came crashing through my letter box. Nice shiny pickguard too. Many thanks Oli - well pleased with the stuff.

Steve - if you go a few yards 'uphill' at the side of the Boardwalk there's a turning which takes you right round the back of the venue where it's safe to park just outside a pair of steel gates which are locked. The dressing rooms have a firedoor just outside and a large platform/fore escape (where those of us that way inclined go for a fag) and you can see your cars from there right below you.

Here's one from the gear porn forum - first search result only so maybe there's more. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8785&hl=guild"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=8785&hl=guild[/url] I think the ebay one is expensive too.

Opinions!!!!!!! You'll not get many of those round these parts I've always like the old Trace Elliot dual compressor pedal. You can find them on ebay for around 50 brick I should think. Pretty sure they don't make them new anymore.

I find it quite natural....... most of the time. One interesting thing to try - playing and singing to songs by other singing bass players. Phil Lynott springs to mind. A lot of the stuff , you can tell the guy had to fit both together and changed both accordingly from what he'd probably play or sing if he'd only one job to do. The hardest one I do is for the t*i*u*e band (!!!!) - Cheap Sunglasses by ZZ Top. The bass line is a punctuating B flat followed by a little riff on G and F - keeps repeating through the verse. I cracked the vocal in the end by writing out the lyrics and highlighting the word I should sing on the B flat. I sang it from this written lyric sheet while playing and eventually I got it. 'When you WAKE up in the morning and the LIGHT hurts your head The FIRST thing you do when you GET up out of bed ' etc etc Forefinger/first fret/A string everytime I sing the word. Long way to reach on the EpiEx , I can tell you! Job done. You asked how to do it and that's how for me.

We were doing the Clone Blues fest a couple of years back and buggered off for a pint to get out of the way - certain the guitar player we saw was Lee Wharton , having watched that vid. He was very , very good - as were the rest of the 4 piece band. Not sure if Norman Helm was the bass player though , think not.

Alan , that's ferkin brilliant news - you've sounded so dischuffed of late. What sort of material ??

God , yes - if it feels right you've cracked it. Sounding good acoustically is a good sign of a class instrument too. If they 'speak' unplugged you know you're on a winner. Honestly , I'd spend some time with it as it is , matey , before you potentially fix something that's probably not broken.