meterman

I left school in 1987, so not me. All the music lessons and tutoring that did me any good happened in primary schools and comprehensives.

I was really lucky with all but one of my music teachers, they mostly seemed to want to help me progress. Wanting to do orchestral playing might have swayed them, but I remember our head of music at one school would let you keep any school instrument during holidays if you played in the school orchestra. I always fancied a go on upright bass so even though I was only the percussionist I asked if I could borrow a double bass over the summer holidays in 1983. And he said “if you can carry it, you can borrow it” so I did, and had blistered fingers all that summer, but it was a brilliant thing to let a teenager take a big old bass away on trust 👍 Don’t know if stuff like that still happens now?

I never really ‘got’ the idea of having a birth year instrument, it seems weirdly sentimental to me, but I did have a few 1968 Fenders and Gibson guitars over the years, but that was just because I liked those particular instruments and I’d got good deals on them. I almost got a ‘68 Mustang bass that had faded from Daphne Blue to a sort of pale green and it was fabulous (if you like Mustangs), but the seller backed out on the day of the sale otherwise I might still have owned it now. £500 for an all-original ‘68 Mustang 15 years ago would have been a decent score.

Our family moved around a lot so I went to 7 schools, but always got into the school band wherever we were. My 1st instrument was (and still is) percussion so I learned drum notation very early, 7 or 8 years old. Then I took violin lessons for a year so learned some basic stave stuff at primary school. But once I got to a comprehensive school I chose music as a subject and learned to read and write music. Never got up to the standard of being able to sight read, but being able to even slowly read a piece in advance and write a little ‘cheat sheet’ for sessions and dep gigs definitely came in handy and still does. Last bit of music studying I properly did was in the mid 1980s, had a few piano lessons and some compositional theory teaching. Often I think (well, I know!) I know very little compared with a lot of other musicians I’ve worked with, but having the little amount of theory knowledge has helped me a lot over the years.

Massive thanks to everyone for your suggestions, I really appreciate it. 🙏 I think I’ve narrowed it down to the cheapest Ditto or a Joyo Aquarius or Ironloop pedal. Or a preowned Boss if I can find one that hasn’t been absolutely thrashed. It’s only ever going to see studio use but they all look pretty good. Edit: just remembered I had a Digitech Jamman Solo XT looper pedal for about 5 minutes many years ago but there was a latency issue with it and it was really hard to get accurate loops down on it. And the build quality truly was shockingly poor. Sent it back to the dealer. Not sure if I just got a duff one, but I’m not tempted to revisit one. Boss, Ditto or Joyo I reckon. Or an Ironloop if I can find one. Thank you everyone, you are brilliant. Have an ace weekend 👍

It was just a solo gig, guitar and vocals. I don’t totally rule out live shows again but there’s no venues where I live, so it’s unlikely I’ll play live again. I still make records so I still play and get paid, but nobody sees me and my terrible technique. Perfect really 😂

Can anyone recommend what they use? I used to have an Akai Headrush II but there was so much other stuff in it that I had to get the manual out every time I used it. It was pretty good but I can’t deal with too much tech while I’m playing and recording. Does anyone know any good, easy-to-use looper pedals? Any recommendations will be greatly received. Thank you in advice BC community 🙏

It was 2022. I ate some pizza, drank a beer, went home, and retired from playing live for the foreseeable future. Pretty easy, really 👍

I got a Hofner violin bass due to knackered shoulder / weight issues a few years ago and in terms of weight it was like there was virtually nothing there, it weighed about as much as a bag of crisps. Unfortunately, the neck dive was incredible, even sitting down, so I let it go. I still have a CV Mustang which is very light and a Squier Jazz which is surprisingly light too, but I only play bass sitting down nowadays so weight (up to a point) isn’t such an issue. Shoulder still is a problem though! I remember seeing Incognito live once and whoever was on bass sat down through the whole set. The audience was still dancing 👍

I don’t know what Fender were making their Musicmaster basses from in the late 70s but mine was so insanely heavy that if you played it sitting down for more than about 45 minutes, your leg would go numb from the weight of it. It did sound really good though, I will admit. I once put black nylon tapewounds on my short scale Shaftesbury tele bass copy and on the E string you couldn’t hear any difference in pitch until you got close up to the 12th fret. The gauge on the was 115, and it sort of sounded like “mfffffff” wherever you played. Never went heavier than 100 after that. Had a 95 E on a Hofner violin bass but that was still thud central.

Genuinely sorry to hear about this. My condolences go to his family, his friends and the BC community that knew him. Rest In Peace. x

Lots of interesting responses in this thread. Obviously, some local music shops are great and some are dire. The nearest music shop to me is about 3 hours and 40 minutes away, and involves an hour and 15 minute walk to the nearby town to catch a train to the nearest city, and then catch a shuttle bus that takes me out to a commercial trading estate off a motorway junction. And when you get there it looks great - it’s bright and clean, well stocked and full of all manner of stringed instruments, pianos, brass and woodwind instruments, some drums and synths, plus accessories of all kinds. Problem is, on the occasions I’ve visited they’ve never had what I’ve wanted, or even a close equivalent, and they seem unable or unwilling to order items in especially. And I’m not exactly after niche gear. Or maybe flatwound strings are niche down here? So I no longer bother even phoning them. And most things I buy come from Thomann now, who usually have what I need and will deliver it to my door. If they’re out of stock of something I need then chances are Bax France will have it. And they’re just as professional over here as Thomann. Their reputation varies elsewhere but over here, they’ve been 100% reliable for me for years. I know folks (understandably) moan about poor in-store customer service but bricks and mortar shops that can’t do the business properly aren’t worth bothering with. I’ve done music retail and it’s not difficult to get right if you’ve got a positive attitude and can get on with suppliers and keep your customers on your side. Having said that, I’ve seen some great music shops in the UK sadly close their doors permanently over the last 15-20 years and if they can’t make it, then that’s not a good sign for future generations of musicians.

The bridges with the rosewood strip / saddle are notorious for sagging. I’ve bent mine back into shape once but wouldn’t do it again, it’d probably snap. There was an American guy who was selling solid steel repro bridges on Reverb but the price was eye watering. Don’t know if he’s still selling them? And yes, the Evets Corp are definitely not my cup of tea.

I almost came close to buying another Dano to rob for spare parts but then I thought, “Nah, stuff ‘em”. Shame really because their guitars and basses are great.

When I was younger I went from London to Zurich for a one-off gig. Have done Isle Of Wight to Bulgaria for a festival gig as well. Decent money for both, but I wouldn’t do it nowadays, I’m waaaaay too lazy now. Would probably only gig in my living room these days. Most likely in my pyjamas as well 😂

Danelectro. Totally Danelectro. I have a late 1990s DC59 reissue that I bought years ago to replace a shockingly badly built Gibson 335. It was brilliant and quickly became my #1 to play but eventually things on it started to give up. First, the switch, then each of the stack knob volume / tone controls. It had been my main recording and touring guitar for almost two decades but had now gone totally silent. I emailed Danelectro twice to ask if they sold replacement parts or if they could recommend a company that did parts that would fit the DC59. If you’ve ever seen under the pickguard on these things, it’s a rat’s nest nightmare of weird wiring and pots that are seemingly impossible to source. They didn’t reply to either email. So me and a local repair guy contacted Danelectro on social media to see if they could help. Not only did they not reply, they actually blocked us for asking. Tossers. We contacted all the aftermarket parts companies we could think of but nobody had like-for-like replacements, not even close. So I had my mate strip out all the stack knob pots and freaky wiring and he put simpler Fender-style volume and tone pots in there and a simpler 3-way switch. It’s still great to play, but doesn’t sound the same, so it’s been replaced by a ‘62 Telecaster and a Guild Starfire. On social media, Danelectro are very quick to repost people’s pictures of their Danelectro guitars and go on about #ownthetone and all that stuff but their customer service is so poor I’d never buy anything of theirs again. 💩 Btw, the black Mustang bass in the picture is probably the one bass I should have kept. Probably never own another quite like it now.

I’ve got a 25.5” scale P bass copy but I’ve never tried stringing it with anything other than regular strings in regular tuning. Might have to have a go and see if I like it in a higher tuning. This thread has definitely got me thinking about it.

Just seen this, and it does look like either a 1981 USA Fender Bullet bass neck or a slightly later (83-84) Japanese Squier Bullet bass neck to me. I’ve owned examples of both in the past and the necks are really nice. Can you ask the seller for a couple of neck heel pics? Prices of Bullet basses have gone nuts in the last year or two. I’d be tempted to buy it for the neck alone anyway if it was definitely a Bullet neck and had no truss rod issues 👍

I had a Minimoog on ‘permanent loan’ in the late 90s that had it’s own personality, definitely. Either that or it was just a bit knackered. If you wanted to record it on a track you had to get it done within 20 minutes of switching it on. After then, the pitch drift would be so unstable it would be unusable. After a while I used to sample it and use the samples instead. Gave it back to my pal who had it totally overhauled and still has it now. I remember wanting to take an axe to it one day in the studio though. 😂

I keep my fingernails cut as short as possible, always. The feeling of them catching against anything goes right through me. Not just strings but also clothing (certain fabrics are worse than others), the edges of book jackets, things like cushion covers, bits of tree bark on firewood, Nigella Lawson, etc. Brrrrrrrrrrhhhhh

This might sound obvious but have you done all the charity shops local to you? I got one of my basses super cheap from a charity shop and a mate got a cheap Yamaha from one. Always worth a look, you might find something a lot cheaper than you think 👍

I went from 5 or 6 basses to no basses a few years ago. I was desperate for funds, gig money wasn’t quite enough and I didn’t have much else I could sell. I think I was without a bass at all for maybe 6 or 7 months when I found a half-size kids Tanglewood Precision copy in a charity shop which I bought for less than a fiver. I was so grateful to have a bass again, even a little 25.5” scale kids one. I hope things turn around for you really quickly and you can get another bass again soon. Best of luck 👍

I’m all done too. Got a Squier CV Mustang with flats and a Squier Affinity Jazz with flats. Those cover everything I need to do in the studio. I reckon the Jazz would handle live work no problem. Only issue I have is the Mustang is Olympic White with a tort guard and the Jazz is Charcoal Frost Metallic with a tort guard. I’m not the biggest fan of either colour scheme. But that’s a minor quibble. They’re great basses. Oh, I almost forgot - I’ve got a 25.5” scale Precision copy with La Bella flats. It’s a kids toy really, but I’ve done records with it so it counts. Wouldn’t gig with it though, it’s flipping tiny 😂

I bought the cheapest bass in the shop when I was starting out, and never changed the strings for about 15 years but I absolutely played the heck out of that thing. Only upgraded to a cheap 70s Fender much later, but buying a cheapie never held me back. I did records with it and everything. It was just the need to get going that spurred me on. Had more money been available I’d have spent it originally but £65 was all I had, so that’s what I spent. Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but when this is the cheapest bass in the only shop in town and you’re skint... I polished and babyed the Shaftesbury!

I’d get it setup, clean anything off it that looks like it might be botulism or something, and keep it forever. Reminds me of the type of thing Lee Sklar might have owned 😎 Very nice bass!