meterman

Oh, and something by Mandrill would have to be in a funk curriculum, maybe this:

You are totally welcome! There was dozens of great funk compilations released around the late 90s / early 2000s which were a brilliant source of rare one-off singles or hard to find gems that were yet to appear on CD. I don’t know if they’re all on streaming sites now but they might well be on YouTube and they’re definitely worth a look. Total rabbit hole though, especially “Really Heavy Soul” for the inclusion of Funkadelic - “Come In Out Of The Rain”. Sparse, yet funky bassline, mostly on one note until the song starts to fade out, then the bassist goes full on Jamerson. One of those songs where you want to hear the band carry on jamming just for the bass playing.

Funk is a broad church but there’s some stuff that people classify as funk, that is definitely too smooth or slick to be properly dirty and funky. I’d take the raw stuff every time. Poets Of Rhythm for instance: or The Fabulous Counts: or Mickey & The Soul Generation: or The Wax Preachers: maybe Jungle Fire: or Cymande: or Leo Nocentelli from The Meters: ...and the obvious J.B’s, Sly & The Family Stone, early Parliament, Maceo & The Macks, Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins etc. I used to DJ in funk and soul clubs and things like Placebo (the 70s band) might be just on the right side of the jazz-funk thing and keep the dancers dancing but something like Steely Dan would clear the dance floor and you’d lose the crowd. Same thing with Prince or Cameo or something like that. But you could easy bring them back again with an Ike & Tina Turner 45... The bass on a lot of these kinds of records is often distorted and hard to cop exactly right without headphones on. And whether or not they’d make it into a “Funk Classics” study book, I couldn’t say. But they’re all funky AF.

I’ve toured with a session player who sometimes took out re-logoed Squiers to gigs he wouldn’t want to take a vintage Fender to. Decent gigs as well, JTQ, Incognito, Paul Weller etc. Otherwise I remember seeing Adam Yauch of Beastie Boys playing a white Squier Vista Musicmaster at T In The Park festival in ‘98. Also the bassist from indie band The Cribs who had a signature Squier bass, Joe Dart briefly used a borrowed and modded CV precision, Mikey Way had his signature Mustang, the bassist (and guitarist) from Los Angeles cumbia-punk band Thee Commons played and endorsed Squiers, although they’re with Fender now. Frank Bello had a signature Squier bass, so did Mike Dirnt although he had signature Fenders as well. Have seen many bands at big festivals where the bassists are using Squier Jaguar basses too. There’s probably loads of others but these spring to mind right now.

If I was any good with power tools I’d already have done this ⬆️ Always wondered about how good they are for the money 💰

I absolutely love this - “Gorffennaf” - it’s the best Welsh language cover version of a 1969 Italian pop hit you will hear this week 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇮🇹 👍 Cardiff lad signed to a German record label, with Brazilians and Americans in his band and is produced by a French guy. That’s normal, right?

If I could just randomly find one of these in a forest, I’d join the club straight away. Wanted one in the 80’s but never had the available money. And they don’t seem to be getting any cheaper now. My main acoustic is a 1985 Ibanez and it’s superb, a Blazer or Roadstar would compliment it nicely 👍

The original 60s Mustangs had adjustable foam mutes for each string which were fixed into the body where those four screw holes are at the top. I’ve never seen the mutes on any of the reissues so I don’t get why the bridge plate still needs to be that big. The late 1990s Squier Vista Musicmaster bridge design would look better imho. Kind of like a 4-saddle string through affair. Not sure why that hasn’t been repeated elsewhere in the Fender range? Or maybe it has and I’ve missed it?

“Scott’s Big Lasagnas” Massive multi-layered pasta dishes to be eaten whilst wearing gloves.As long as I don’t have to listen to slap bass while I’m eating I’m already interested 😛

Chiming in with the herd here, but the JMJ Mustangs really are very good instruments indeed. I almost bought one from GAK when I still lived in the UK, it felt and sounded like an excellent example of all the 1960s Mustangs I’d played previously and certainly better than the 70s ones I’d owned. Black finish wasn’t an option then otherwise I might have handed my bank card over! Yes, the relicing isn’t to everyone’s taste (me included) and yes the lack of upper fret access will definitely be an issue for players who are used to 20+ frets on their basses, but if you’re in the market for a Mustang - vintage or otherwise - they’re well worth it imho 👍

They’re not always everyone’s cup of tea but I’ll never forget Rick Z lending one of my bandmates a vintage Precision to do a studio session with, and he didn’t really even know the guy, he just figured if he was with us it would be okay. Didn’t ask for a deposit or anything. That’s pretty amazing behaviour for a vintage guitar shop!

Although that’s a decent chunk of money, that is definitely a handsome bass 👍 I bought a few guitars and amps from them over the years when I lived in west London, always liked visiting their shop.

The Telecaster bass 😛 Do I need it? No. Do I want it? 200% Yes!

Not for bass but I’ve taken guitars abroad on tour in Hiscox Liteflite cases many times. In and out of aeroplane holds no problem. I’ve had 20 years out of one of mine and the only thing I ever had to replace was one of the round buttons that act as feet on the underside of the case. Plus, on most tours I’ve done where air travel is involved, bassists seem to use Hiscox cases too. They’re not the cheapest option but they’re definitely worth it 👍

I’m pretty much sorted for everything I need, musically, but I still wouldn’t say no to: a Fender JMJ Mustang, in black, some replacement stack knob double pots to restore my Danelectro DC59, an MXR Phase 90, a looper of some kind, and an Alesis Midiverb II to replace the one that got nicked a few years ago. Decent pint of Guinness wouldn’t go a miss, either. But other than that I’m sorted.

I remember when Fender did that semi acoustic Precision, I liked the look of them. A Jazz version would be cool imho 😎

I love my cheapie Squier jazz bass, it plays and records really well, it’s charcoal frost metallic, it’s lightweight with no neck dive, and it looks good with tort, or black or parchment pickguards... BUT I wish it had a ‘blocks & binding’ neck like the 40th Anniversary Gold edition Squier jazz has got. I love blocks and binding on jazz basses. If I ever find one of those 40th anniversary basses, I’ll buy it for the neck and put it on the charcoal frost metallic one.

Mucky Bongo, you say? Phwoar, got any pictures?

That green to yellow burst reminds me of the Precision that Jean-Jacques Burnel used early on with The Stranglers. I like it 👍

I’m mostly a Mustang player, I’m currently on my seventh, they’ve ranged from 1970s USA Fenders to 2000’s MIJ reissues to more recent Squiers. I swear the Squier CV Mustang is the best and most consistent of all the ones I’ve owned. I might have just got lucky with this one but it is excellent and not just for the price. I’ve played JMJ signature Mustangs and a black one is on my wants list but for now the Squier CV for 300 notes (plus 50 for the La Bella strings) is brilliant. I still own both Fender and Squier gear, and I’ll play whatever ever feels right. Badly, obviously, but I’ll still play it 😂👍

Iggy And The Stooges “Search And Destroy” (Iggy mix, not the Bowie mix) I don’t know if it truly helps me let off steam but I do know that if I put the “Raw Power” album on I do seem to get the hoovering and cleaning done a lot faster. See also: 1st Ramones album or any of The Saints early records 👍

Definitely fewer Bass V’s doing the rounds than IV’s. And every one I’ve seen for sale in recent years has been crazy money. But they are rare. Chandlers used to be my go-to for repairs and setup work, mainly because Brinsley Schwartz was so brilliant with Telecasters. Also I only lived in Richmond so they were just one stop away on the District Line 👍

Well, exactly!

Yep, as Nilorius says 15 frets, but with a weird elongated body. I do like them although I only ever played one once, it was a target-burst one that was for sale at the old Chandlers shop in Kew, Surrey. Price wasn’t outrageous for the time (2003) but I was more into Mustangs at the time so didn’t pursue it. Maybe I should have done?