Shaggy

[quote name='OldGit' post='488504' date='May 15 2009, 08:59 AM']Blimey! That's the best voice substitution I've heard since Mike D'Abo took over from Paul Jones in Manfred Man in 1966[/quote] MM's "AS IS" was the first LP I ever bought (2nd hand I hastily add), first one with Mike D'Abo and full of brilliant songs now virtually forgotten. I still put it on when in a nostalgic mood, followed by the "Up the Junction" 45. For years I wanted an EB2 to copy Klauss Voormans thuddy bass that sounds so right. Back to the OP - definite improvement on JA, who found his rightful niche with Vangelis.

I just acquired Rayman’s ’78 fretless B301-F; (thanks mate! [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=47830&hl=Guild)"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...0&hl=Guild)[/url] absolutely didn’t need it but I’ve always had a soft spot for these – ultra-cool funky styling, Guild build quality – and can never resist a project. Plus it was cheap! Have to say I’m really impressed – slightly clubby neck as MacDaddy said (quite Wal-like in fact), but nicely balanced, very playable, and lively, resonant, woody tone – being all mahogany and single coil p/u I guess. The added DiMarzio model one p/u at the bridge is coming out and I’ll probably make a replacement pickguard - which should cover most of the offending routed hole - and fit either a Darkstar or a quality J p/u – either should look right and add some bite to the mix. Very underrated basses that never had the classic status they deserve – there’s just been a couple of B302’s on the bay with hopeful BIN’s of over a grand mind!

Another satsified customer - just bought a Guild fretless off Rayman (or rather off his mate, with Russ acting as "go-between") - top guy to deal with; honest, friendly, communicative etc etc. Can't possibly support Man U.......

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='485916' date='May 12 2009, 01:51 PM']Fender: Normal people, normal music. If it's a P I expect it to be played with a pick, nothing fancy but solid stuff. If a J, played with fingers, also solid stuff. Great design, great necks, a bit of a cop out. Warwick: The sex offender of the bass world. Mulletted weirdos. Driftwood. A lump of melted butter. 5 strings. Godawful funk or Jazz fusion. Rickenbacker: Dissapointing to play. Band usually plays decent music though. Classy retro look. Indie. Alembic: A collectors bass, usually hanging up as opposed to being played. Weight. Lots of switches. BC Rich: A new kid at school, bit spotty, not very cool. The weird smelly metallers let them sit with them for lunch. The talk moves away from ear medicine to talk about games workshop. The new kid decides to buy some space marines. Next comes World of Warcraft. This kid goes on to buy a BC Rich. Gibson Thunderbird: Same kid, but flukes a shag with a drunken 19yo on his 16th birthday. Ditches the Space Marines, starts smoking and forms a cock rock band. Still shagging fat birds, but at least he's getting some. Status: Great playability, zero cool. Music Man: Batteries, fixing problems that don't exist. Guildford. Ibanez: Rubbish basses for rubbish metallers. A design team from 1989. Lakland: Fender clones without the fender feel. Sadowsky: Toasted Celinder: ??? Yamaha: Strangely likeable. Motorbikes. Billy Sheehan. Would probably never own one. Bass Collection: Awful. Ugly headstock. Sei: Laaaandaaan. Session musicians. Shuker: Tasteless northerners. Fodera: People who own them using stupid phrases like "priviledged". Get over yourself. Butterflies Zon: Big noses Epiphone: Good stuff but ruined by the varnish/paint on the necks. Burns: Laaandaaan. Retro quirkiness. Cool.[/quote] Best yet!

BC Rich Eagle, especially the NT models - DiMarzio P p/ups which I [b]really[/b] rate, more balls than your average P, 24 frets, light weight, and a funky shape. As played by Bernard (Edwards) Gigging with mine loads these days.

[quote name='Linus27' post='483301' date='May 8 2009, 08:56 PM'][b]Gibson Thunderbird/Flying V[/b] - Why?[/quote] Just.........because :brow: [quote name='silddx' post='483631' date='May 9 2009, 11:40 AM']Gordon Smith - Local Scout Hall[/quote]

[quote name='BigRedX' post='482564' date='May 7 2009, 11:05 PM'][url="http://www.acguitars.co.uk/Gallery/123/"]Fretless ACG[/url][/quote] That’s very cool indeed – haven’t seen those before. Much of Mick Karn’s Japan recordings done with a Travis Bean (I wondered for years what the hell it was until BigRedX put me straight), which as much as anything shows how much of his sound is in the fingers rather than the bass; slides, slurs, very eccentric timing, and a dollop of production. You hear many of his playing techniques in flamenco and Middle Eastern music. I get a sound very, very close from my Ovation Magnum fretless thru a Trace head and a wee bit of compression and chorus – reckon you’d get the same on any of the quality “woodier” fretless basses (see [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=42147&hl=fretless)"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;hl=fretless)[/url]

Band no 1: 2.5 kW PA, crossover, everything down to the cow-bell miked, multicore cable 5 miles long and the width of Dirk Diggler's ----, 2 guitar full stacks (even though they’re miked), huge drum kit, (bass DI & small head/2x10 monitor): 1 hr setting up plus 1 hr fannying about with the sound. Packing up seems even worse. Band no 2: basic PA, 2 guitar combos, 2 mikes, drum machine (big bass rig backline only). 20 minutes max, soundcheck is the first song. The best thing about being famous must be having roadies / sound crew, forget the groupies……

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='472159' date='Apr 25 2009, 01:21 PM']So that would be Twung > Splut > NomNomNomNomNomNomNomNomNom?[/quote] Yup. It's a unique sound, and you'll all be jealous this time next year when I'm famous..... Hope that killer rig of yours is coming together, skank!

[quote name='cytania' post='471818' date='Apr 24 2009, 08:05 PM']Thunderbird, could be. Did the originals sound as good as recent issues? I always think of the tone as like a ball bearing shot from a steel cable catapult. Kapling![/quote] My '65 sounds like a Thornton's champagne truffle being fired from Ms. Dita Von Teese's basque strap into the bass section of the London Philharmonic. Possibly. [quote name='cytania' post='471818' date='Apr 24 2009, 08:05 PM']Then of course isn't the FenderBird an inditement, saying 'Nice pickups, cool body shape, shame about the neck profile'?[/quote] No

[quote name='BigBeefChief' post='471586' date='Apr 24 2009, 03:08 PM']1. Precision 2. Jazz 3. Rick 4. Thunderbird 5. Hofner[/quote] End of argument

[quote name='maxrossell' post='469377' date='Apr 22 2009, 10:41 AM']Hmm. When I was a teen all I wanted was modern-looking eyesores. I actually had a really sweet Hohner fretless Jazz copy in white with a tortoiseshell guard, but I traded it in for a hideous Hohner B-Bass V just because it was active and had a through neck and five strings. But at the time I thought the Jazz bass was uncool, and modern basses were cooler. I didn't realise that ten years later it would be pretty much the only bass I'd consider owning. I think people who know what they're doing stick with these vintage-looking Fender-style models because they're as close as you'll get to the original electric bass - The '51 P, the Precision and the Jazz, you can't really get away from how damn close to perfect they were to begin with - as with guitars, the only real alternative was the Gibson take, set necks, shorter scale-lengths, humbucking pickups and so on, but less democratic and more "luxury". You look at what happens with basses today: The ultra-modern, "exotic-fish-nailed-to-ladder"-style custom 5, 6 or more strings and all that, ultimately what they are is the same notion as the super-strat, i.e. you take the principle that was established with the Jazz bass and you push it so far into nerdy tonewoods and active EQ gadgetry that you can't even begin to imagine a style of music complex enough to warrant it, just like when you get a guitar that has 10 pickup configurations and a coil-split and a massive whammy bar and locking this and that and the other, and a top that looks more like a 15th century French dresser than a musical instrument. They're second-generation variants that started out with the ultra-light super-japs and went from there. On the other hand, whatever Gibson started for some reason never really happened. A few people still play Grabbers and T-Birds and you might even see a Les Paul bass here and there, but Gibson isn't really a name that springs to mind when you think "what bass could I get". Not sure where I'm going with this, but I guess that although the teen market is something that obviously needs to be catered to with the Yamahas and the SDGRs and the Rockbasses and so on, I think that most of the kids who stick with bass will eventually arrive at the same conclusion, which is that there's a good reason people keep going back to the originals. AND might I add, when you look at the signature models that are coming out these days that are aimed at teens, the dude from Green Day, the dude from Blink 182, the dude from Fall Out Boy, they're Fender Jazzes and Precisions.[/quote] Good post!

Sold Vince a Gibson RD Artist, he paid straight off - great communication and total bass enthusiasm. Slick deal, and hopefully another Gibson convert!

Bought a Hartke 4x10 off me, we met today in the beautiful sunny Cotswolds to seal the deal, all went like clockwork. Great guy, and clearly knows his vintage valve amps much better than me!

Just bought a Fender Strap off Bob, slick deal, ta very much!

Just bought a set of new Warwick strapocks off Stuart - posted to me quick as a flash! The smoothest of deals, great guy, strange avatar