meterman

One I often noodle away on is “Bass Catch” by Carol Kaye / The Greasy Bass Blues Band. Carol plays electric pick bass and (I think?) Ray Brown plays upright bass. It’s only a two chord vamp with a simple turnaround but I love jamming along to it:

Another one would be the version of “Have I Sinned” by Lloyd Charmers. As with a lot of 1970s reggae singles I don’t know who’s playing bass but it’s a great line to play along with. Easy peasy but I love it:

31 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

It's never "vinyls" (and certainly not "vinyl's"). Just vinyl will do.

 

And anyway the proper term is "records".

I know 😂 I only say ‘vinyls’ to upset my nerdy record collecting friends. And having done the research I can confirm it works a treat 👍

2 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

Can we stop with the greengrocer's apostrophes when we're posting about CDs?  Just because a word or abbreviation ends with an s it doesn't necessarily need a leading apostrophe; it's CDs, not CD's.  Records, not record's.  Albums, not album's.  Does my freaking nut in.

Hang on, so vinyls isn’t vinyl’s now either? I realise my meds are pretty strong and English is my second language but even so, I’m struggling to get to grip’s with this new phenomenon 🤔

I’ve only met one other BC-er @Dad3353 in real life and it happened to be a life changing experience due to the circumstances. Due to my out-of-the-way location I’m unlikely to bump into many other BC-ers, if any at all, but it still feels more like a community than any other online place.

I never bothered with TalkBass, can’t be doing with walking on eggshells around the many persecution complex afflicted nutbars who populate it. And I’ve never had to put anyone on the ignore list here. It just seems like a more easy going place 👍

CDs and vinyl mostly. There’s a lot of music that I love that hasn’t yet made it to YouTube never mind streaming platforms. I rarely buy new vinyl nowadays but a couple of labels send me their new releases as a promo thing. And I don’t listen to music ‘on the go’ so it’s usually CDs at home for me. I am an old git, though 😂

First gig was aged 7 or 8 in the school band at the local town hall. First proper gig was in a grim local boozer and I was 15. I only looked about 12 so I was amazed to be allowed in and have a pint of lager 🍺 

I’ve got Fender flats on my jazz which sound good but they’re like cables and don’t quite have the smooth feel of LaBellas or Chromes so I’ll most likely swap them out soon. For tone and feel it’s flatwounds all the way for me, on any bass. Neck pickup + flats is my favourite sound on a jazz. 

On 17/04/2023 at 21:36, wateroftyne said:

Picked it up from Dave's earlier. It was fab before, but now...what a difference.
 

Action now is on a par with my other '71 which is my reference action. In fact, it feels identical. It sounds significantly different though - my other one is much mellower, possibly due in part to the re(over)wound pickup. The new one is more present and acoustically resonant. Different sides of a coin.

 

 

The foams seem to be in good nick - plenty of height. I've actually asked Dave to lower the pickups 'cos that's what I prefer.

 

Before I forget, here's a pic of some of the bits it came with. The manual (which has the sale details on the back... $315), the original cable (which seem to go for silly money in their own right 😮), the previous owner's strap, the sticker with contact details that was removed from the back (Dave managed to remove it leaving a barely noticeable discolouration), and one of many celluloid tort picks. 

 

I feel like I've been passed a torch (and I'm not talking about the flammable picks).

 

Wow. Very nice stash! My two main cables are those old Fender ones, I’ve been using them for decades, on tours, in the studio, the lot. Not because I’m particularly into vintage cables but they came with old guitars I’d bought in the past and I’m lazy and cheap 😂  Had no idea they were worth anything at all. Got me thinking about getting new cables now...

The one I had was like the first one on your list, a Commodore. The name on the headstock was a sort of gold plastic badge tacked-on with two little pins. 

On my old laptop I had all the pics I took of it for my ebay listing when I sold it but I only have 3 not very good pics on my current one:

The bridge cover is an obvious later replacement and the tugbar was missing but that's how I got it. Thought I had more pics, sorry @robjwood

I had a bass like the one in the first picture. Mine had both of the big chrome pickups and it actually sounded immense. Was a bit of a mutt to play though, so I moved it on. Name on the headstock was either Columbus or Commodore, I’ll check my old ebay photos later. I loved the look and sound of it. Short scale, 30”. 

My original USA Fender Bullet bass had old black tapewounds on them when I bought it and I kept them on the whole time I owned it. Years. Usually played with a pick as well. Never noticed any change in wear or tone.

I admit I am a total knuckle dragging caveman though.

48 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Don’t forget flares, a pair of Lionels (Lionel Blair)

I’m sorry Lozz, I admit I had totally forgotten about flares. Need to dig out my old Sweeney DVDs and get back up to speed with the patter 👍

2 minutes ago, police squad said:

what's a Lionel please? Is this another Mustang that I'll have to go and buy

A Lionel could be:

a) Cockney rhyming slang for £15 (Lionel Richie was in the Commodores and had a hit single with “Three Times A Lady”. A “lady” in Cockney rhyming slang refers to Lady Godiva = fiver, meaning £5. So a “Lionel” is 3 times a “lady”) or,

b) an untidy footie player, or

c) a short scale Mustang-ish bass made by Sandberg. Not cheap but decent gear apparently. Wouldn’t say no to one, personally 👍

My wife and I rescued a four week old abandoned kitten out of some bramble bushes by the side of a railway track. We named her Roxy Music, can’t remember what we were thinking. But she is still quite feral and weirder than peak Brian Eno. Also she’s French so she doesn’t have a fake aristo accent like Bryan Ferry. She doesn’t seem to like it much when I sing “Saveloy” to the tune of “Avalon” but then nobody else does either. It’s probably too late to rename her now.

Apologies for the cat related Roxy Music thread derail. 

51 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Without Roxy I doubt Adam and the Ants not Siouxsie and the Banshees would exist for starters.

Probably also Wire (who toured with Roxy Music), Magazine and some of the artier end of punk too. Even the Sex Pistols claimed early Roxy as an influence. Later-period Roxy had a massive influence on a lot of eighties acts, you can hear stylistic lifts in bands like ABC, Japan, Duran Duran (of course), Talk Talk, Simple Minds, etc. Chic took Roxy as an influence too. Good enough for me 👍

Lovely 😍 Nice score!

Brilliant bass player, many folks wouldn’t argue with that. He played on a LOT of great songs with basslines that caught the ear even on tinny transistor radios. Yes, the Precision bass with flats thing is done to death now but he made it work throughout his career. And no, he didn’t have an easy ride. Not in the studio at Motown at least. Try playing live alongside a drummer, two percussionists, a vibraphone player, two guitarists, piano, Hammond organ, horns, etc, and be expected to nail it first take, every time. Several tracks every day.  Day in, day out. His bass playing and sound have stood the test of time. It’s recognized as classic. The isolated bass track for “What’s Going On” is a superb example. Tone, phrasing, note choice. Brilliant 👍

Thought I’d have a go at this:

The bass line is a piece of Fosters. All ghost notes. Well maybe not ghosts but certainly invisible. Shouldn’t take me more than a few days. 

I have done this a few times, although never with anything as posh as a Stingray! 
 

I used a Shaftesbury Tele bass copy solely for years, even though I had access to other basses. More recently I played my crappy little Tanglewood short scale exclusively for a couple of months and didn’t touch my jazz bass or mustang bass at all. It just seemed to be hitting the spot for me.
 

I will admit I’m not currently gigging, just recording, but nevertheless there’s something about sticking to one instrument for a while. Have done the same with guitars and drum kits too. Have an open mind, you can change your mind anytime you like. 

First time I saw Bob Dylan he was headlining a festival, maybe 35 years ago. I wasn’t too familiar with his back catalogue apart from some of his hit singles, but I was familiar enough to know he was basically just messing about. The first third of his set was alternately dire and hilarious, he was doing stuff like reggae versions of “Mr Tambourine Man” in 3/4 time. People in the crowd were leaving early and I was seriously considering leaving too. 
 

But then after about 25 minutes of Dylan basically taking the mick, he suddenly tore into “Maggie’s Farm” and then belted through a set full of tunes from “Blonde On Blonde”, “Bringing It All Back Home”, “Highway 61 Revisited” as if someone had flicked a switch and he was in a garage band in 1966 or something. Brilliant turnaround, and I became a fan after that. 

However I’ve seen him a couple of times since then and he was either phoning it in or just mucking about with his own material. Which isn’t great when you’ve spent (or wasted) decent money going to see him. He’s playing a festival near me this summer and I live in the middle of nowhere so it’s probably the last chance I’d get to see him but I’m really not sure whether to bother if he’s just going to fanniey about.
 

Just noticed the Andy Summers tele in the background 😎 Very nice!  is that a Fender reissue or did you make that one too? 
 

I’d never sell my Tanglewood EB-18. I mean, I’ve got a Jazz bass that I’ll use if I’m recording for someone and I need something that sounds alright. And I’ve got a Mustang bass fitted with flats and foam for any situation that requires instant 60’s bass sounds.

But I’d never sell the little Tanglewood because even though it’s a 25.5” scale and it cost me less than a fiver, I love playing it. Also it does record pretty well. But if I sold it I’d only get enough cash for a pint of Guinness. And you can’t get Guinness where I live. So the Tanglewood is a keeper.

I love 50’s Precision basses and that looks superb in sea foam green 👍

Not as bad as some of these horror stories but I bought a preowned Fender Telecaster and it arrived wrapped in an skimpy old horse blanket inside a bin bag with some gaffa tape holding it on. At first I thought “Noooooooo” but then remembered... it was a Telecaster. They’re basically just a lump of wood with a neck bolted on so it was fine. Still use the blanket too.

There ought to be a Fender Sharpie Series where every bass has a poorly cut Tele-ish headstock and the name and model scrawled on it in marker pen by a chimpanzee.

Oh, hang on, just checked eBay and it already exists. Damn.