Shaggy

[quote name='yanto' post='314474' date='Oct 25 2008, 12:56 PM']Just wondering cos I know of a few locally.Does it affect the way you play/interpret bass lines melodically? Iain[/quote] Not really, but it's probably why I was so immediately comfortable with fretless.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='313734' date='Oct 24 2008, 12:55 PM']Here's one I prepared earlier ... [attachment=15144:Subtle.jpg] I'm proud of the way I've kept my figure. [/quote] Lookin' good there Happy Jack! Hmmm, so as not to infringe censorship legislation, some us would need to pose behind Thunderbirds, whilst others would make do with a Chapman stick. Outtoplayjazz would probably need his double bass, whilst at least one I know would be OK with just a plectrum. Personally, my “P” would cover it. Oh, and two 8x10’s of course

[quote name='dub_junkie' post='313491' date='Oct 24 2008, 02:16 AM']. also saw Siouxsie at the ABC in Glasgow in march of this year.another great gig[/quote] She’s still got it hasn’t she? Moments of brilliance on the “MantaRay” album I thought. And gorgeous with it…….. I saw the Banshees play an impromptu gig as “Janet & the Icebergs” at Eric’s in Liverpool, John McGeogh on guitar. Not that I was so much into nu-romanticism, and now all we see is the sanitised TOTP2 version with kitschy videos of Culture Club, Marilyn, Spandau Ballet, Adam & the Ants, Bananarama et al, but there seemed to me at the time to be a definite North – South divide in the same way there was with Northern Soul; the Northern scene had a harder, more dance/club focussed, more emotionally charged edge to it compared to the more pop / style-orientated South. If you see the film “Letter to Brezhnev” which was filmed just around the end of that time (1984?) you’ll see what I mean, and it’s a great film anyway.

Have to say the occasional time I’ve logged onto Rick Resource they seem genuinely curious rather than scandalised about classic Rickenfakers; plenty of good info there, but also that strange, rather humourless obsessiveness you get on US single-make forums – compared to the comfortable cyber-pub that is Basschat. At the other end of the spectrum, after a few visits to the Red Dwarf that is Finnbass, it gave our work server a nervous breakdown and permanently blocked access for no apparent reason! Shame. On topic – like the custom Rick, prefer it to Lemmy’s or the mod looking red one that Paul Wellers bassist is using.

[quote name='cetera' post='312844' date='Oct 23 2008, 11:27 AM']Nice rig choice btw.... [/quote] I had some good advice It does however weigh only very slightly less than Jupiter Your 1516BE is just in on the left of the pic - under the Trace TV, which is my "hi-fi" rig, unlike the rig above which is about as subtle as a drive-by shooting!

Easily, yes. But on the other hand....... ........you can't snog in the back of a bass.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='312692' date='Oct 23 2008, 06:37 AM']One last thought about the New Romantic era is that it was definitely a reaction to Punk in the sense that Punk was supposedly 'anti-fashion' and 'anti-style- whereas New Romantics were obsessive about style and fashion..[/quote] I clearly remember around 1980 our drummer turning up for a gig in a huge frilly white shirt and “pirate” bandana (we were pretty much a straight punk band) and the rest of us taking the p*ss something rotten! I was in Liverpool then where the nu-romantic club scene was absolutely massive, part of the entertainment each night was just clocking the utterly amazing outfits and make-up – nothing so flamboyant in these post-grunge times. OMD, Echo & the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, and the Mighty Wah were just unsigned local bands then you’d see almost weekly. Hugely into Japan, and post-punk bands like Magazine, Siouxie and the Banshees, and Joy Division around that time, but +1 for John Foxx era Ultravox; “[i]Hiroshima mon amour[/i]”, “[i]Quiet Men[/i]”, and “[i]Maximum acceleration[/i]” still some of my favourite listening material. Great times……..pass me my eye-liner......…

[quote name='peted' post='311903' date='Oct 22 2008, 11:18 AM']Nicely done! We bassists are suckers for flashing coloured lights aren't we?[/quote] One of things I always liked – and miss – about my old Trace Elliots, that funky green glow. Surprised it’s not a more universal feature on amps when even the most basic domestic stereos usually have back-lighting. Thanks for all the good feedback!

[quote name='Clarky' post='311299' date='Oct 21 2008, 01:47 PM']like this? [attachment=15052:sid_vicious.jpg][/quote] That's the one. Say what you like about him as a bassist or as a person, he was pure rock n' roll.

White with black p/g and maple neck? There’s an iconic pic (in fact so iconic I can’t find it!) from the American tour of him on stage after some member of the audience had decked him right on the nose. Blood all down his front, all over the bass, but he’s still sneering that defiant “Sid” sneer. Rather like Hendrix’s flambéed Strat, it would probably be worth ten times as much with the bloodstains.

[quote name='dmz' post='310815' date='Oct 20 2008, 09:39 PM']Indeed my first ever gig was the Stranglers at the Glasgow Apollo - Black and White album - 1979 ? ( with strippers !)[/quote] Snap - but Cambridge Corn Exchange! Great gig. Who's on vocals/guitar now?

[quote name='dood' post='310485' date='Oct 20 2008, 03:02 PM']Smaaaart! Do you have a linky to the auction/ebay shop?[/quote] Here - [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Single-24cm-LED-Waterproof-Aquarium-Moonlight-Fish-Tank_W0QQitemZ200264472859QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item200264472859&_trkparms=72%3A1301%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Single-24cm-LED-Wate...id=p3911.c0.m14[/url] Sorry - couldn't figure how to shorten it! - same item & seller, this one's £6.99 with 45 min to go Similar LED lighting kits for car interiors at eg; Halfords, but you'd need to connect the lighter socket plug to a 12V DC adapter

After getting fed up of fumbling on darkened stages I thought I’d go for a rack light, but had (a) no money for one and ( no rack space! Figured all I needed was a couple of stick-on LED’s at the top/front edge of the rack. On t’bay I found a brand-new 24 blue LED strip intended for night illumination of aquariums – neatly sealed in silicone to be waterproof - with integral 12V DC adapter - £9 posted. Very slim; only about 1 cm profile with LED’s upright, or 0.5cm with the LED’s on their side. Fitted it last week in a hurry for this last weekends gigs, so just siliconed it behind a bit of “L” section wooden beading, glued the beading to the top/front edge of the rack (just out of the way of the front cover) and painted the front of it matt black so it’s pretty much invisible. Better would be a nice polished alu mount that could slide in and out. Or I could even buy a rack light…… Did look very nifty on stage, better than the fuzzy pics suggest.

Fastest most hassle-free deal on this forum ever with Phil - clearly a great guy and knows his bass.

Thanks for that Thunderhead - an imminent visit to my tech methinks! That info should really be pinned for posterity somewhere NB; I confess to being the idiot doing the silver paper/fuse thing, just once, just to get me though a gig! :wub: .

[quote name='Thunderhead' post='308357' date='Oct 17 2008, 09:00 AM']That's a completely different thing - although it was designed as a bass amp and can still be used as one (for a very specific, old-fashioned sound at pretty low volume) it's really a guitar amp nowadays, and is highly desirable for that. Even then it sounds like too much money. A 70s Bassman 100 head is worth, as Hamster posted, about £300 to £400 - possibly a little more if in fully overhauled and excellent cosmetic condition, but no more than £500 even for the very best example. This makes them among the best value for money valve bass amps. £80 sounds a little low to replace all the valves - there are four 6L6s and three 12AX7/12AT7s, although you almost certainly don't need to replace them all. In particular, do NOT replace the preamp valves unless they are faulty - the original US-made ones can very well be in perfect working order even now and will sound better than any new-production ones. The same even applies to the power valves if the amp has not been used that much, although they do wear out somewhat faster - but again, original US-made 6L6s outperform and outlast any more recent versions. It's a complete myth that valves need replacing 'regularly' - they don't unless the amp is being used VERY regularly. But, if the amp is a '77 and has never been overhauled, you should budget for replacing the filter caps since they will be at the end of their life expectancy and could fail without warning. Electrolytic capacitors DO degrade simply with age, and actually worse if the amp has not been used regularly than if it has. Even if they don't fail, you will get better performance from the amp with new ones (especially for bass - some guitarists like the sound of tired caps). You need to replace all the caps in the tray under the chassis, the bias cap on the little board near the power light, and if you're being really thorough, all the preamp cathode caps on the main board. Don't replace any non-electrolytic caps unless they're failing. This job is about £100-worth too. The resistors that need replacing are most likely the power tube screen resistors, and it's a good idea to at least check the power tube grid stopper resistors while you're at it (these are the smaller ones under the screen resistors and easier to get at when those are out) since these can also crack with the heat from the valve over time and if one fails you will blow the valve. If in any doubt, replace them. Use modern metal-film, metal-oxide or wirewound resistors for the screen resistors and metal-film or carbon-film for the grid stoppers - these are much less prone to heat damage than the original carbon-comp type. Changing them does not affect the tone in this location. Hope that helps! (I do this sort of work professionally by the way.)[/quote] Stonkingly good advice which I wish I’d known years ago. Just to confirm your observation on pre-amp valves; one of the three in my late ‘70’s Bassman 135 is “Fender” branded and so probably original, and the other two Mullards which I don’t think have been made for donkeys’ years – still going strong. So how would you know if the non-valve components were starting to fail (capacitors etc) – how would it affect the sound / operation of the amp?

[quote name='Geek99' post='308330' date='Oct 17 2008, 07:38 AM']very interesting, where did you get the copper shielding? I know you can get shielding paint from Maplin. My jazz is quite noisy.[/quote] I got mine from Allparts - comes as a self-adhesive sheet or roll; very "Blue Peter"! And like hamster said it should be earthed, the jack socket outer pole or bridge earthing wire is handy to connect to. I couln't get the paint at Maplins except the stuff you repair car rear windscreen heater elements with - that the one?

[quote name='molan' post='307873' date='Oct 16 2008, 01:53 PM']My valve tech called me last night and said that he removed each valve. cleaned all the contacts and put some sort of contact grease stuff on them & says it sounds much better just doing this - he's testing to make sure there's nothing else wrong but is recommending I try it again with just the overall clean up & service carried out. Worth trying anyway [/quote] Ha! To borrow a favourite phrase of the missus; told you so!

He's playing an Ovation Magnum 1 on that track and that's all I know!