leschirons

I'm confused now. Is this Strat mint condition, or mint coloured or mint flavoured? and where does the custard fit in?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1384810721' post='2281082'] It's for playing country and western. [/quote]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Headless-Model-Low-Action-6-6-string-electric-Guitar-143-/221316145005 A Chinese Steinberger copy twin-neck, with both halves exactly the same??

"The bride's Dad's favourite song is Mustang Sally and he's going to get up and sing it." "You'll have to change in there, I think there's a dry bit in the corner" The organiser has had to leave but don't worry about the money" "I've just seen the DJ's setlist, and it's the same as ours" "P.A? I thought you were supplying that!" "Is it going to be that loud all night? (when you've put on a quiet background CD) And as a dep guitarist once said to me "That's not the setlist I was sent!

I love this bunch. I have whole UZEB evenings sometimes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gStp6VjkoUE

I know, I know, hair, spandex, pointy headstocks an all. Not for cleaning the kitchen, but driving. Guaranteed I'll be over any speed limit within 1 minute. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-77j0Qw41s

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1384384228' post='2276176'] That's impressive work , Pete. I know very little about how electricity works , and I can't understand why Mrs Dingus seems to spend so much money on batteries nowadays . [/quote] You probably need to change that sentace

How much is he paying? and do we have to change in the toilets?

Played a whole pub rock gig on fretless many years ago after picking up the wrong hardcase. Even included my big moment 10 sec slap fill in Brick in the wall. The only member of the band that noticed was the sax player. Not the Satch clone on guitar, not the David Coverdale wannabe vocalist, nor the budding Jon Lord on keys. However, as you're new to the game and your assistant MD sounds like he really knows what he's talking about, I'd listen if I were you and take it all on board

Not that I've ever had a custom build but if I were getting a 6er built, weight would be a factor. I've seen some beautiful basses in my time that have turned out to weigh an absolute ton. That makes them no-go areas for me.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1383397839' post='2264031'] It always worries me when people say this as I can always easily tell which bass I'm playing, even down to individuals of the same type of bass. [/quote] What's to worry about when people say this? So I don't have the finely tuned ears to differentiate between a 77 Jazz with a maple neck and an 81 thats got a rosewood neck but, I appreciate that some people do. If they find that abilty useful in defining their own sound, great. I think what I've left out of my post is a couple of "to me" or "for me" It seems that some think I said, "all basses sound the same and that all expensive basses are a waste of time". I didn't. The post was about my experience of this situation and that it turned out (for me) that, in hindsight, there was no real benefit to my having spent many thousands of pounds on expensive instruments. The fact that I can't really tell the difference between basses on old recorded live tracks is probably due to my always seeking out a particular tone that I like. It very rarely varies due to how I play and how I set my amplification up. I know what I like and its my sound. Regarding my comment about a £3000 bass won't make me practise more, it doesn't. I practise when I hit a wall and need to sort a particular problem, or learn new material, or improve on a part of my playing technique, or become more comfortable with stuff I already play and want to keep the chops up. Not because I can't wait to pick up a piece of Purple heart and flamed maple. The realisation is that fine instruments don't inspire me to play, the music does. I fully understand that many players buy basses to get a particular sound, or a feel and playability to an instrument which will bring them nearer to what they are looking for and if it works for them, great. But, Marcus Miller would sound like Marcus Miller if he was playing a Chinese Squier through his normal amplification and I doubt if anyone would leave the gig because they thought his sound was terrible. I don't doubt the experience of owning expensive basses was worthwhile as it allowed me to realise that I didn't really need them to achieve what a want to do musically. Again, this applies to me, and was never intended to be a a critique of the judgement of others who do buy, use and enjoy expensive instruments.

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1383325140' post='2263252'] Can I ask why you spent so much money on so many basses if you were never going to gig them?? I agree that basses are pretty much tools and that the music should come first, but good workman always invest in quality tools that allow them to go a good job. If you had these basses sitting at home whilst you took out inferior ones to gig, then I would suggest that you were probably selling yourself cheap! [/quote] To answer your question honestly, I probably fell in love with the look, the feel, the build quality and lastly, the sound. All three previous criteria are unchangeable, the sound of a bass is not as there are other factors to consider from how you play it, choice of amplification etc. The strange thing is that many replies suggest that I may have been worried about damage. That was the case with the Fbass but none of the others. It's just that when it came to loading up for a gig, it seemed somehow easier to throw a comfortable old friend into the van (the jazz) or if I needed more strings, my old Aria 6. I now tend to gig with an OLP 5string I bought off BC for £80. It does the job and to be honest, doesn't sound any worse than the £2500 ones. Of course I'm aware that if it does get broken or stolen, it's not a problem at £80 but I think I'm realising that I'm just as comfortable with something basic and no-frills that does what it says on the tin and that a £3000 bass won't make me practise more, play better, or get me more gigs. I also found out that if I'm listening to past gig recordings, I couldn't tell you what bass I was playing on any particular track as they all seem to sound the same whatever I play.

Over the period I've been playing bass, I've been fortunate enough to have had a few fairly expensive basses. 4, 5 and 6 stringers including 5 Status basses, 2 Alembics, an Fbass, 2 Vigiers, a Leduc and 2 Spectors. Going through old band photos on the PC whilst trying to free up some space, I'm either gigging with a 4 string Jazz or something with a few more strings that cost less than £150. Seems no matter what I've ever bought, I always go back to basics for playing live. What a waste of money all that turned out to be.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1383227423' post='2261810'] There's no monetary gain to speak of, just lots of hard work for the pleasure of playing to often indifferent audiences. [/quote] I'm guessing you're not in "sales" then

Good for you. Give em hell Milty.

I wouldn't worry about it. Last band I was in in the UK was called Midlife Crisis. At the last count (there is apparently a website just for bands with this name) there were 43 of the buggers just in the UK. Anyway, Gary Moore's first major band was Skid row wasn't it? Didn't stop the other lot nicking it in later years. I imagine the only time it gets to be a problem is when you're both in the same area, you're absolutely brilliant, and the other lot are absolute sh*te

I'd definately go for this bass. I can't explain why, there's something about it that just really appeals to me.

Brian Bromberg (upright and electric) and +1 for John Patitucci. Anything with Abe Laboriel too. Heard a great version of the Chicken the other day. Abe Laboriel on bass and Allen Hinds on guitar. Brilliant.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1382435433' post='2252029'] I think I'll get a copy. It might cure my insomnia. [/quote] I think I'll get a copy too, it might cure our wobbly table.

Hi, and welcome to Basschat. This'll just be my opinion of course so you can expect about a further 500 "opinions" For that sort of budget, it'll be quite achievable. Obviously depends if you're going to gig eventually and if you are, a combo or amp and cab would ideally need to be 150 - 200 watts. If you're going into pubs / small cubs, that'll get you in the mix. Judging by what you want to learn, an OLP Stingray could be an ideal start. You'll pick one up for £100 - £150. They're great value for money and play really well. A Jazz bass may be a little too thin at the headstock end of the neck if you've got huge fingers. The OLP will give you that Bernard Edwards tone more or less. The jazz would too (bridge pick up and back off the tone) but as I say, neck width could be an issue. A secondhand combo is easier to transport and obviously a quicker set up at rehearsals or gigs. Peavey / Ashdown both offer great value for money and reliability. I think the Ashdowns may have headphone sockets but don't quote me on that. Most basses (secondhand) will come with a gigbag even if it's a crappy one but it'll still help keep it scratch free. If you go for a new bass, Yamahas are great, maybe a Squier Precision might fit the bill too. Any shop worth it's weight these days may throw in a lead / strap / cheap gigbag too if you're buying new and not rying to pin them down too much on discount. Hope this helps, have fun.

I think it all depends on what demographic you're talking about. If by "people" you mean other musicians, then I think it can be percieved as a " you have to be in the club" thing and folks will naturally kick back against that, especially, if it's something that is out of their comfort zone playability wise so, they adopt the "don't understand it, so won't like it" stance rather than investigate what it's all about and see if there is something in it for them. If we're honest, all jazz hating musicians would probably secretly love to be "able" to play all that stuff even if they had no intention of ever doing so. We'd all get to be in the club then However, if you're talking about the non musical man in the street, they are likely to group it all under the heading of "modern jazz" whereby they really mean "5 blokes playing 5 different tunes and I've no idea what's happening" So, in this case I think the problem is instant accessibility (or rather lack of) as I've found that in order for me to appreciate some jazz, I needed to invest a little more as a listener compared to something by One Direction

My wife never complains but I get the humorous raised "here we go again" eyebrow. I'm not saying we have enough money to do whatever we want but if she wanted anything for herself, she knows she could buy it if she wanted to. We may not really be able to afford some things but we both know that life's not a rehearsal so go for it if it doesn't cause us a major problem. I try and be sensible anyway with a "something out - something in" policy. It probably helps that she sings with me and is involved musically.

You've bought a bass? You're mad. It's all done on keys nowdays. (1983)

Why was I expecting the guitarist to go into "Third stone from the sun" halfway through the solo? I enjoyed it the clip. Tons of energy. I remember going to our school "dance" in 1967 (I was 15) and seeing a local band called the Cliff Charles blues band. 100 miles per hour all night. Great stuff.

Really good for a first outing. Played acoustic and a fat jazzer for two hours (yes, guitars) Everything from Jessie J and Pink to Sinatra and Edith Piaf. A smallish music venue with restaurant. I don't usually like playing to people who are eating but credit to them, they were very attentive and appreciative and we had to do two encores. Just me a girl singer. I say girl, she's fifty Getting a return booking there and have our second gig in two weeks so should be able to iron out all the little glitches in the set. Mainly my glitches as I'd had to learn the 37 number set list in 10 days. Had just the one major car crash, on the easiest song on the list. Typical. Good fun though.