leschirons

Sorry to be a bore but here it is. Sold three guitars, two basses, one snare drum, a pair of hi-hats and both our children for this. I reckon it was worth it.

My bass sits naturally neck high so I keep the body down and my right wrist, fore-arm and fingers are as straight as possible as they pass over the top of the bass to reduce as much joint bending as possible.

[quote name='Paul S' post='348404' date='Dec 8 2008, 11:34 AM']Hi Guys. Clacton? That's somewhere up north isn't it? Maybe I should be more accurate - the Thames Delta in South Benfleet.[/quote] Not far from me then (not now, I'm in France) but we were BILLERICAY Welcome.

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='349259' date='Dec 9 2008, 01:34 AM'] As i was driving home today my boot came open, the bass fell out the car on the motorway and was runover many times in its case (overwater soft case). I had been driving for over an hour so it was a bit of a shock! luckly no one was hurt, except the bass.... Its a real nightmare, im a freelance bassist and this is my only instrument! I think i know someone who can lend me a bass to help over the christmas period but its a real blow, i really loved that bass, best ive ever owned. I think an email to fbass to find out how much a new neck would be is the best way forward as the rest of the bass is ok.... It was really dangerous though and im lucky i didnt cause an accident...[/quote] That's seriously upsetting (I'm waiting for a BN5 to arrive as we speak) If you contact George about a replacement neck, mention to him about a cosmetic second, I know he has a maple one there with a small grain stain on it around the 17th fret. It still looks great and would obviously be cheaper. You could then maybe get someone like Martin Peterson to fit it. Best of luck and so sorry.

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='289004' date='Sep 22 2008, 10:27 AM']Sod the headstock design,you get "spunky" written on it. come on,how cool is that !!![/quote] If that was my company, I'd bring out a 6 stringer called the "Jizzer"

Carole Kaye I reckon. Seem to remember she did the low end (upright) on an old Nancy Sinatra song called These boots are made for walking. First ever bassist to use defined quarter tones in a bass line. (for the intro)

Agree with Jakesbass 100% Whilst it's all changed in the UK in recent years with respect to where good stuff comes from ( you can list top recording and live bands from all over these days, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, and I believe Muse are Torbay in Devon based) the thing is, you need to get your face in the opportunity frame and I think London is the place to do that. Yes there's competition but it's where you'll make contacts in my opinion. Best of luck with whatever you decide. Nice to come across someone who's planning to make a career in bassplaying. Think most people just drift into it by default. It must mean you're focussed.

[quote name='Buzz' post='347666' date='Dec 7 2008, 03:22 AM']Ooo, that stings. Is it still cheaper even with the tax than buying it in Francoland?[/quote] To be honest Buzz, yes by about 800 euros so can't really grumble. Apparently as it was sent via FedEx, they do all the customs papers and it's automatically submitted. It's the same with UPS so, I've been told by a dealer here that I know, the best thing is to get it sent over by a smaller private courier or the US postal service. You can still get insurance but you then only have a 50/50 chance of it being picked up for duty. I would make it clear that in no way am I encouraging anyone to try and defraud the French or UK customs. That would be awful (yeah right) leschirons P.s, the bass in question is the one on the left.

Got home from mates house today, wife said, got some good, and some bad news. Gimme the bad first. (me) Better off with the good first. (wife) Go on then (me) They phoned up and said they'll deliver your new bass on Monday. (wife) Great, can't believe it's got here so quick from the USA. The bad news? (me) It was French customs that phoned up and they want another 480 euros (wife) Bo**ocks (me) Word of warning if you're in France, there's no getting round the 19.6 TVA (VAT) C'est la vie

Here's mine, Dave La Rue ( Steve Morse band) Kim Stone (Rippingtons) Alain Caron (Uzeb, Mike Stern etc)

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='344193' date='Dec 3 2008, 03:49 PM']There's a nice shiny plastic pocket 'twixt plate and body on posh ones like mine - and a piece of Embassy Regal packet in the neck pocket adjusting the neck angle. That's pre-CBS fag packet which I'll sell to any of you for 8 grand.[/quote] Embassy Regal?? Get a proper bass. My Jazz has got a lump of a Dunhill packet under the neck joint.

Worst gig ever was when I was drumming in a proggie rock band in 1970. Got booked into a gig at Egham as support but we didn't know who the headline was. It turned out to be a Ska/Reggae band called the Golden Astronauts and we were playing to 300 Skinheads who wanted to kill us. Now I'm not a religious man but it seems that night, someone was looking down, as two (yes, just two) Hells Angels turned up (that balls for you) and were raving around in front of us. They simply stood by the door while we packed up after our set and no-one came near us. (And we got a gig at their club house to boot)

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='345419' date='Dec 4 2008, 03:09 PM']I play both and I honestly can't remember which one I started with. It's all a bit confusing really...[/quote] Judging by that pic, it's your job to be confused

Started as a drummer at 15. (1967) I'm now 56. Continued up until we needed the deposit for a house in 1974. High point, supported Genesis and auditioned for T.Rex. (lucky I didn't get the job, he could've offered me a lift home) Sold kit. Bought a Kimbara Strat from Freemans catalogue, got hooked on that (Steve Hillage, Jeff Beck, Rory etc) Bought loads of guitars, Strats, Teles, Jems, Esprits, Les Pauls, Hamers. Tax man sent me a brown envelope. Sold guitars. 1990, mates band needed a bass player. Borrowed a Hohner cricket bat, bought a Peavey combo 300 and that was it. 2008 still playing bass having gone through Hohners, Fenders, Status, Trace T bass, Alembic, Vigier, Trace and David Eden rigs. Now on Markbass rig, Roscoe Beck 5 and just waiting for the new F bass to arrive from Bass Central. Can't stop playing bass, it's a drug. Unfortunately the Bass Centre and Bass Central are my dealers. Cocaine's probably cheaper.

[quote name='Golchen' post='343832' date='Dec 3 2008, 10:39 AM']I get problems with this as well. At my worst point my fretting fingers get cracked and bleeding and it just won't heal unless I lay off playing for a couple of weeks - have to swap to keyboards for my musical fix!. When I really want to play I end up using a combination of plasters, nu-skin and superglue! I also have a problem with onycholysis, which is the fingernail separating from the nail bed - excruciatingly painful, especially when bending strings (mostly with the old geetar) The bane of my life!!!!![/quote] Sorry to hear that, sounds very painfull. Know what you mean about the superglue. I have in the past, emptied 2 bottles into an egg cup and dipped all 8 finger tips in and the right thumb just to get through a gig without blood. Stay luckey and hope it gets better eventually. Keith

[quote name='northstreet' post='343247' date='Dec 2 2008, 06:20 PM']Hi. I'm after some words of wisdom about what gear I should buy, rather than what the guy in the shop needs to sell this week. I've recently started playing again after a gap of about 25 years. I bought an Ibanex GSR200 and a Crate BT100 - both of which are fine for auditions/rehearsals/small rooms. I've got in with a couple of bands that gig occasionally and for live work they are using 300W+ stuff and some expensive guitars. I don't want to spend a fortune but I reckon I need to trade up in order to get some gigs. What do people think would be some good gear to move on to? With my existing gear, I really like the neck and light weight of the Ibanez, and was looking at something else from the range, but is a £750 Ibanez good value - or should I follow the crowd and get a P-bass? Or is OK to stick with a cheap guitar for now? I will definitely need some louder gear. I like the depth of sound from the 15" speaker in the Crate, so I was looking at some of the Behringer stuff, which seems reasonable value - but again, what's the general opinion on mid-price gear? Thanks for any help or advise you guys can give.[/quote] Bass guitar wise, there are loads of great options now for not a lot of money so I reckon it's down to you to get to a shop and try as many as you can. No point in buying a bass that everyone else has got if it may not be right for you. Re the amp side of things, although I don't use one, I suggested to a mate of mine with a budget of about £400 that he try out the new 350 watt Hartke 4x10 combo. Can't remember the actual model number. He's a bit of a lazy ba****d so I did all the review reading thing for him. Anyway, he bought one off of GAK on the web and last Saturday in the UK, I went to see his band in a pub. It really kicked out a great sound. It only cost him about £399 + delivery. It has a DI out for recording, a great, useable graphic, effects send and return, built in castors and for pub and medium size club gigs you wouldn't need anything else. No mute switch though. Got up and did one number with them, strapped on his Jazz V and it took about 10 seconds to lose his Jah Wobble shaking the glasses off the bar sound and get a really nice MM type funk sound. Really user friendly and quick to achieve a good usable sound. Check it out. If that's a bit more than you want to spend, you can find a Peavey 300watt 1x15 combo on ebay for next to nothing now days. For no money, great value. Down side is you need 83 people to get in in your car. Keith

[quote name='Rusty Shackleford' post='343378' date='Dec 2 2008, 08:11 PM']Anybody purchase strings through a stringbuster.co.uk? if so had problems with them? Used them before no problem. Ordered a set of strings on sunday, internet went down came back on and the payment had gone through twice. Checked on my stringbuster account and there is no trace of the order even though money has left my bank. emailed them twice but to no avail. anybody been in the same boat of late?[/quote] Gotta be honest, never had a problem like that. I live in France and my stuff still gets here in two days for £2.50 P+P with no complaints at all.

[quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='343590' date='Dec 2 2008, 11:10 PM']My control settings Under personal settings on the side menu go to edit avatar settings[/quote] Thanks Jake

Just a quickie, as I'm a newbie, how do I get a pic by my name. I've had a look and only seem to have got it in my profile bit. Everyone else has got some wierd or cool one by their names. It's obviously easy but I'm missing something completely. How come I'm so stupid when I don't even play drums? Cheers Keith

Hi, Harping back to my earlier post about Nickel allergy, I just contacted DR strings to find out if their coated "Extra Life" strings would possibly help. Unlike Elixir with their "don't know" they came straight back to me, most interested in the problem, had obviously spoken to the right people, and suggested that I try the Black Beauties which apparently have two different coatings on them. They then e-mailed me again and have kindly offered to send me (F.O.C.) a bottle of "Strength" which is another coating agent which should help. I have of course promised to tell them how it works out as I'm just about to order a set from String-Busters. I'll keep all informed on the forum when I have some news. The other point of this post is to let people know that there appears to be a great little company out there that actually cares, so even if there is no alternative string answer to this problem, I think I'd still feel inclined to use their strings anyway. I used to use Hi-Beams a few years ago so I know they were good but stopped using them as at the time, there were no cheap string specialists on the web and they were expensive. Still, ya gotta give something back eh? Keith

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='92606' date='Nov 22 2007, 12:14 PM']I've been looking for a headless bass that is passive. Can't seem to find one, apart from various custom jobs. Anyone know of any? cheers![/quote] Loads of the Status S2's had an active/passive switch I believe.

[quote name='bottomfeed' post='340362' date='Nov 29 2008, 12:09 PM']My daughter had a nickel allergy... piercings, belt buckles even coins would set off the most horrendous rashes.. after doing all the 'suppressant creams' we eventually got her a referral to the Homoeopathic hospital in Bristol.. where after one lengthy consultation, she was prescribed some little tablets & a powder.... In a few days it started to clear up, until it completely vanished!..... We were amazed! Over the next few years the rashes came back a couple of times.. We phoned the Hospital up & they sent us some 'top up' powder by post.... Again it did the trick... These days she doesn't have a problem with it at all.. I don't know what the stuff was & it may be that it wouldn't work the same for other people... but the principle of homoeopathic treatment is to stimulate the bodies natural defences by introducing minute amounts of the very thing that causes the reaction... Rather than just suppressing the symptoms...... It certainly worked for us... [/quote] Thanks for that, I'll investigate. Cheers

I've learnt over the years that you can have a crap guitarist in band and it can still be a very good band. Slip in a bad bassplayer or drummer and you've got a crap band. The section in the driving seat have always been undervalued. Usually by the ones that have a more ego than ability. Notice how loads of guitarists are trying to slap? Says it all. Keith