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meterman

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Everything posted by meterman

  1. meterman
    You might be right. I remember playing in Germany and the Netherlands pre-92 and the carnet system was a pain, even just with taking the most minimal gear. I’m an old git though, so I’ve had a decent run of it. It’s the nippers just starting out who might be the ones to really miss out.
  2. meterman
    Most of my best paid work in the last 10 years has taken place in the EU, probably by pure luck more than anything else, and I think it would be a massive shame if UK acts were priced / carnet-ed / visa’d out of doing a run of European gigs. Apart from function gigs in the UK, it was always the European ones where me and the guys would get paid decent money and get really well looked after. Audiences round Europe have often been great as well, really up for it. We’ve got to at least get visa-free travel for UK artists to make it worthwhile. Unless you actually are an established top tier act, but even so...
  3. meterman
    A bit of Snooks Eaglin:
  4. meterman
    The bit where Lennon is crouching down with his knees tucked up in his t-shirt is great. Hope there’s more daft stuff like this in the documentary.
  5. meterman
    Really enjoyed that! I'm not a Beatles freak by any stretch, but that was great. Loved seeing them all just dicking about and having a laugh. Nice gear shots as well, Lennon's iconic Casino, Billy Preston on the silvertop Fender Rhodes and Ringo's Thermogloss maple Ludwig kit. Oh, and a Hofner bass as well 😎
  6. meterman
    Immediately after the JV series Squier continued putting out quality instruments that were really brilliant value for money. Some here have already mentioned the MIJ Bullet basses, but tbh I've played a lot of pre-90 Squiers and they've all been pretty decent. Even now they still do some great instruments. My go to guitar for live gigs is a s/h £150 Squier 72 Thinline Tele and it's ace. Might be Chinese or Indonesian, I can't remember now and it doesn't matter anyway. But definitely the early MIJ Squier Bullets. Prices started going up on them a couple of years ago, both in the UK and the US, Japan etc. They're just quality instruments and folks have started cottoning on to them.
  7. meterman
    15 years ago I'd bought an 8-track cassette portastudio from a bass player friend and the first couple of tunes I recorded on it to test it out ended up on a 45rpm single. The gear I used was a mixture of decent (Gretsch drums, Gibson ES-335 guitar, Hammond organ, '78 Fender Vibro Champ) and not-so-decent (cheapo copy of a Coral Electric Sitar, a Shaftesbury short scale Tele bass copy, a single Radio Shack PZM microphone and a C-90 cassette). I overdubbed all the parts one by one. I'm not Prince obviously, but I can knock out greasy funk tunes. As per my nom de forum it's got a Meters vibe to it and I was recording tons of Meters-y kind of stuff on cassette at the time (2005-6) but this is the only one from then that got a vinyl release at the time. Anyhow, it's Christmas and because I forgot to send any cards out this year, have some greasy funk instead. Greasy funky Christmas everybody! 🎅
  8. meterman
    Actually it was raining when I woke up this morning and I must admit I was entirely unhappy about it. I didn’t move here for rain The estate agents promised 376 days of sunshine per year. I’m beginning to wonder if they were being less than truthful.
  9. meterman
    I’ll do a full NBD tomorrow. I’m still physically knackered from the emigration / move and still have to put flats on it today before I really get stuck into it. I should do a NMD as well. At times it was a brilliant laugh thanks to @Dad3353
  10. meterman
    Ohhhhh, rickets!!! My other favourite was diphtheria. 🤤 I’m waiting for the Hipsters / 1940s beard wax / Peaky Blunders crowd to start taking these conditions on. It’s gotta happen.
  11. meterman
    I received a Hofner Ignition violin bass just a few hours before moving house earlier this week. I haven’t had time to plug it into an amp yet but I’ve got a good feeling about it. I’m unlikely to ever play it at stadium volume, mind. But I’m sure it’ll be fine 👍
  12. meterman
    SOLD! A session playing pal bought it for his studio in London, so it’s gone to a good home 👍 Won’t lie, I’m sad to see it go as it was an particularly fine recording bass. Will do a NBD for my new bass soon. Many thanks and best wishes to everyone who enquired about the bass. If you see another one for sale anywhere don’t sleep on it, just get it, they are brilliant basses for the money 💰 Lee x
  13. meterman
    IMG_2545.MP4 Quick and dirty sounding phone clip from earlier this year, just after I’d bought the MIJ Squier Bullet bass from Gareth. Nowt special, just the same old loosey goosey Motown noodling I always default to, but it keeps me off the streets. Flatwound strings, palm muting and the amp is a 1978 Fender Vibro Champ that didn’t quite know what hit it. Rough style 👍
  14. meterman
    I was given a cheapie fretless 30" scale acoustic bass as a swap for a mic stand some years ago. The brand on the headstock said 'Swift' and the previous owner had put a little sticker above it saying 'Taylor' so yeah, I had a Taylor Swift acoustic bass. Corny as heck, but I'm ok with corny. It had an under saddle pickup which was crude but it recorded a lot better than I expected it to. I put a set of flats on it and it was a great wee thing to play around with at home and record with. At least, until the top bowed. Then the bridge lifted off. Then the neck heel separated from the body and it more or less folded in two. But for the 18 months it was playable I loved it. Would be tempted to get another fretless acoustic again. Just not a Taylor Swift one.
  15. meterman
    Absolutely no problem Thunderbird, I appreciate your input 👍 I have owned Fender Mustangs in the past - two vintage USA boat anchor heavy ones, two MIJ 2000's ones and two Squier ones when they first started doing them. They all were good, I even like the little Squier Bronco's too. But I've just ordered a hollow bodied Hofner Violin bass online so I'll be having a try of that before I consider anything else. Short scale is easier for me, I'll admit.
  16. meterman
    Update with pics of the neck plate. The serial number is an A number, and it looks like someone has engraved their telephone number and initials on it. This wasn’t in the original sale pics when I bought it but it didn’t bother me in the slightest as it played and sounded so vibrant and nice. Again, the weight is just shy of 3.8kg and it’s £400 if you can collect it in the next two days! Or I can courier it for an extra £25. Let me know if you fancy a bit of vintage Squier Japan Bullet bass action in your life
  17. meterman
    Jerry Donahue I met many times, as he used to stay at a friend’s place whenever he came to the UK. Such a fantastic musician but so humble and easy going. I’d stand there open mouthed watching him play seemingly impossible licks. Gerry Conway I also met a couple of times and possibly freaked him out a bit by being a total fanboy, pumping him for stories of recording with Cat Stevens, Sandy Denny etc. He seemed totally bemused that anyone would rate his playing. I would have loved to have seen Fotheringay 👍 Quite jealous!
  18. meterman
    I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Zappa yet! I've tried getting into his stuff many, many times and I just don't enjoy it. If I want to listen to music with comedy lyrics I'll stick on a Grumbleweeds LP or something. But from all the Zappa records and live performances I've heard and seen footage of, there's no doubting he generally had top flight players playing pretty intricate stuff at a very high level. I just can't sit through a whole album of it. Captain Beefheart on the other hand, all day long, but that's a different skill set I guess.
  19. meterman
    Spot on. 😎 Also the Kenny Clarke - Francy Boland Big Band too. Double drums, especially in a kick-rrse big band takes a lot of skill not to overplay. But their MPS Records period was just amazing. Some of their live recordings are tight as you like and fierce AF with it. I should post some up in the "What are you listening to now?" thread really.
  20. meterman
    The Meters all came up through New Orleans jazz and could certainly pull off jazz and fusion barely breaking a sweat in the process. But as guitarist Leo Nocentelli said, "there ain't no dough above the 12th fret" and back in the mid-70s they would have followed the dollars because they had to. Any noodly doodly business wouldn't have fed them or their families 😂
  21. meterman
    It should be Pablo day every day!
  22. meterman
    Bit of an obvious one given my user name, but The Meters. Not just their solo records which were superb, but the ones where they acted as a backing band, like Lee Dorsey, Allen Toussaint, Robert Palmer, Betty Harris etc. They just seemed to breathe as one unit musically. All the push and pulls, the hairpin bend changes of direction, they seemed to move as one. Booker T & The MG's are another good example. Their own records are tight and super soulful, but their playing on Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Sam & Dave etc elevates them to the greats for me. Same for Willie Mitchell's house band at Royal Studios in Memphis for the Al Green records, and Ann Peebles and Mitchell's solo records etc. And as @Mykesbass said earlier, The Police. The records are great but live footage of them proves just how in sync they were with each other, despite their personal differences. They just worked. There'll be many others that spring to mind but they're the first I thought of.
  23. meterman
    Usually I wouldn’t dream of bumping a FS ad but I thought I’d better mention that if anyone is seriously interested in my beautiful 1984 Japanese Squier Bullet bass I’ve only got a few days available for collection and the only day I can courier it will be this Wednesday (16th Dec). I’m only back in the UK for a few days to pack up my stuff for a move to France and the 16th is my last day before I’m off. Of course I could still courier it afterwards from France before the end of the year but then it gets a bit pricier to send. Give me a shout ASAP if you fancy a bit of MIJ Squier Bullet bass action in your life before Christmas! Or if you want to trade for a hollow body Hofner violin bass, hit me up! All the best - Lee
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  25. meterman
    I flipping love 1950's radiograms! Mono 45's, sexy teak lids, jumpers for goalpoasts, isn't it, hmm etc...
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