BottomEndian

[quote name='OldGit' post='721240' date='Jan 22 2010, 02:37 PM']So which famous ground breaking planks were designed by players?[/quote] Well, what [i]are[/i] the famous ground-breaking planks? Tele Strat Les Paul Precision Jazz Stingray All designed by non-players. And 5 out of 6 by Leo Fender. Hats off to him. Even such popular horrors as the Flying V and Explorer were designed by Ted McCarty. And the Gibson Thunderbird, IIRC, was designed by a car designer (dunno if he played too, though). So, yeah: which famous ground breaking planks [i]were[/i] designed by players?

[quote name='OldGit' post='721213' date='Jan 22 2010, 02:21 PM']Bit of a lucky escape IMHO [/quote] Well, I don't know who decided that the Les Paul Bass was a good idea, but the original Les Paul guitar was designed by Ted McCarty (in collaboration with, and endorsed by, Les Paul). Ted McCarty... wait for it... didn't play guitar either. Maybe there's something to it? Some sort of objectivity that comes from approaching the situation purely as an engineer.

Anyone ever wondered about what could've been different if Leo Fender had learned to play? It's always seemed remarkable to me that a non-player could get so much right when it came to instruments. Unless it's all a myth, of course, and he had chops like Hendrix/Pastorius.

Guitar Emporium crops up on a few threads [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=56643"]like this one[/url]. Everyone seems pretty chuffed with their stuff.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='721045' date='Jan 22 2010, 12:18 PM']Nope BE, mine was a sunburst - you know the colour that just seems to.....go away. Sad thing is, it was stolen about a year later so I no longer have the 'ticket' that got me to meet the man.[/quote] Sad indeed. I bet you would never have willingly parted company with it. One of the first in the UK, IIRC?

My SR5 arrived while Mrs Endian was in labour. AFAIK, she thinks I've always had it. (And no, I'm not going to get her up the stick again just so I can sneak in another bass.)

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='720512' date='Jan 21 2010, 08:43 PM'][/quote] Sorry, no caption from me... just a question for Howard, given that he's told me the story behind this picture. Is that your Stingray in the picture, Howard? Just wondering if you took it all the way over to Fullerton so Leo could fiddle with it.

[quote name='retroman' post='720972' date='Jan 22 2010, 11:22 AM']I don't find P's, or the Ray uncomfortable to play, but they do feel really odd after playing the Ric.[/quote] IIRC, don't Rickenbackers have a relatively small "spreading-out" of the strings from nut to bridge? I mean, the strings aren't parallel, but they're much more so than you'd find on a Fender. That could account for the difference in feel. Unless IDRC.

I think it's worth remembering how much the Fender neck profiles have changed over the years. I've had a quick noodle on wateroftyne's early-70s Jazz and although the neck's narrow across the board, it's really quite chunky front to back. Maybe even chunkier than a present-day Precision neck. I mean, it was smaller than his early-70s Precisions, but nothing like the necks I've played on more recent Jazzes. The slimmest Jazz neck I've played was on an Aerodyne. That one was so slim I could barely play it at all. Felt like a twig. I'm slowly coming to the realisation that my comparatively small hands don't necessarily mean I'd prefer little necks. It's all personal ergonomics, and the height at which I wear my basses seems to make more difference to their playability than the neck profiles.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='715266' date='Jan 16 2010, 10:45 PM'][/quote] I'd have stuck three flats on the beginning, so it's in C minor. I don't have time to do more than the intro, but something like this: [attachment=40729:Fever_intro.gif] (The rhythm's not precise, but as long as you play the quavers swung, it's fine.)

I've just bought some CDs and a book from Rob, and it couldn't have been smoother. Fabulous communication, quick and easy PayPalling, and Rob made it clear that my happiness with the deal was far more important than him actually making a sale. Great stuff. Next time he has a clearout, I'll be first in the queue.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='719882' date='Jan 21 2010, 10:26 AM']As I have recently started selling stuff here, I thought it may be useful if I opened the door to any feedback so people can get a sense of whether I deliver stuff as promised, communicate well etc. I guess it may make a difference if anyone doesn't know me.[/quote] You know you've already got [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=26670"]a feedback thread[/url] (admittedly a slightly stunted and ancient one)? Use your moderating powers and merge the threads!

[quote name='Faithless' post='718981' date='Jan 20 2010, 01:39 PM']If I'd take a horn, it's clear, that I won't be going for a gig with it I'd take it for reading, phrasing (breathing) purposes.[/quote] As someone who used to play a horn of sorts (euphonium ), and as someone who's done a lot of singing, can I just ask: why not just [b]sing[/b] horn lines to develop the phrasing and breathing stuff? I always used to phrase on the euphonium by thinking of how I'd sing the line, and that's what I do on bass as well. IME, the rate of air leaving the lungs is roughly the same when singing as when playing brass (dunno about saxes). Singing: it's a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a horn, you can practise anywhere and you don't have to learn saxophone fingerings.

[quote name='Doddy' post='719151' date='Jan 20 2010, 03:50 PM']What I do with my basses,is when I'm sitting practising I adjust the strap so that it is taught but without lifting the bass of my leg. Then when I stand,the bass won't move and everything remains the same.[/quote] Ah, of course. That's the most obvious thing I've never twigged for myself. Gonna try that tonight*. <slinks off feeling stupid> [size=1]* If I don't log on here for a few days, I'll be in hospital recovering after shattering my larynx with the top horn.[/size]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='718850' date='Jan 20 2010, 11:51 AM']Opinion has it that, for optimal technical delivery, one should hang the bass to match the position it occupies when you're sitting practising.[/quote] Can someone please explain to me how this is achieved? Doesn't this mean that the lowest point of the body of your bass must rest on or above the hips, so it can hang in the same place regardless of sitting or standing? Or do you practise on a bar-stool with legs forming an angle greater than 90 degrees with the body? Maybe I've just got an extremely short body, but I'm pretty sure that if the bottom of any of my basses was above my hips, the top horn would be choking me.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='718937' date='Jan 20 2010, 01:08 PM']I don't know why the thread has taken this direction, but it should not have. If one actually [i]reads[/i] Jimi's listing, he's upfront about the bass's condition, with pictures of any defects. He also supplies contact details beyond those required by ebay. On request, he has supplied further images to another member here. He's opening at a £1k with a BIN of £1500, which in my opinion, is a very fair price, all things considered. Observing the overheated nature of the US pick-up market, £1k+ for a set of 76 T-bird electrics seems a perfectly reasonable valuation to me. So, in my opinion, there's absolutely nothing about Jimi's listing that should occasion concern or suspicion. There are plenty of con-artists on ebay and BC has exposed a fair few of them. But the danger with dissecting ebay listings is that one doesn't always know that the seller may be a perfectly well-respected member of this forum with nothing to hide. Some may think Jimi's reaction a tad over-cooked. Not so. He was subject to a similarly unjustified, unsubstantiated slagging on here some time ago and I completely understand his sensitivity on such issues.[/quote] +1 to all this

[quote name='51m0n' post='718722' date='Jan 20 2010, 08:59 AM']Nothing should be so out of reach that it must never even be attempted, thats daft.[/quote] +1 If you're going to play covers, why limit your choice? If you can play it well... play it! [quote name='51m0n' post='718722' date='Jan 20 2010, 08:59 AM']Lastly I just dont get the whole Smiths thing, why are they considered SO good? The lyrics are reasonably entertaining, but thats about it, whilst the vocal delivery is at least an aquired taste, the guitar is fine, but not exceptional (it fits nicely with the song and all, but thats what guitar is supposed to do, nothing more, nothing less), and the bass and drums are reasonable but in no way exceptional, any more or less than the guitar. Can anyone explain to me why they are put on this unbelievable pedestal? I'm not just bashing, I honestly cant understand what makes people think they are so good, needless to say they really have never done it for me, and I am just the right age to be one of these odd blokes swooning over Morrisey as if he were the second coming....[/quote] As with so many bands (and genres), it either appeals to you or it doesn't. As a miserable teenager, I loved the Smiths and Morrissey's (early) solo stuff. I still love the Smiths, although I don't listen to them nearly as often as I used to. I won't put them on a pedestal, though. I think they were probably a real product of their times (although, being only 30 now, I came to them a decade after the fact). After all the balls-out, three-power-chord noise of the punk and post-punk scenes, here was a guitar-based band with harmonic complexity (I don't think I've ever heard Johnny Marr play a straight major or minor chord without extensions), lyrical wit and extravagantly foppish style. Like you say, the lyrics are entertaining, and Morrissey's delivery is Marmite. I'd argue that the guitar lines [i]are[/i] exceptional. There are quite often 4 or 5 separate guitar lines going on at the same time, playing rhythms and harmonies across each other, interlocking to create a Spector-style wall of sound. I'm gushing here, so I'll try to rein it in... but it's almost as much about the production as the musicianship and songwriting. Some lovely bits of guitar in here though: As for the bass, Andy Rourke usually just held down a firm, thudding bottom (and IMO he did it very well), but he'd often throw in some nice little touches: (I'd agree about the drums, though. Nowt special, although he had a good grasp of a lot of styles.)

[quote name='simon1964' post='718526' date='Jan 19 2010, 10:51 PM']and Oysterband - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCgWqoyG6qc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCgWqoyG6qc[/url][/quote] And Yat-Kha: or not :ph34r:

[quote name='blackparkas' post='717988' date='Jan 19 2010, 04:11 PM']The owner doesn´t hang around here does he?[/quote] Judging from the email address on the listing and the picture on his eBay profile, it's [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=2881"]our very own jimijimmi[/url].

[quote name='obbm' post='717845' date='Jan 19 2010, 01:59 PM']To the uninitiated a Speakon socket's appearance would suggest that it is co-axial.[/quote] I would [i]sincerely[/i] hope that the person writing the Hellborg manual isn't uninitiated.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='717752' date='Jan 19 2010, 12:50 PM']No problem. It's not often I get to help anyone on here. The knowledgeable types must be off talking politics or something...[/quote] [quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='717806' date='Jan 19 2010, 01:28 PM']Speaker cables aren't coaxial, instrument cables are.[/quote] And Bill proves my point! Of course you're right, Bill. Speaker cables definitely aren't coaxial. I've just found the [url="http://www.warwick.de/media/manuals/Hellborg/JH-MANUAL.pdf"]Hellborg system's manual[/url], and it describes the Speakon [b]sockets[/b] as coaxial. Surely Speakons aren't coaxial anyway? The connectors don't share the same axis like they do on a BNC or something like that. :wacko: I don't really understand why Warwick didn't use the word "Speakon" in their manual. Would they have to pay Neutrik for the privilege of doing so? Or is it just bad translation from German?

[quote name='Sumbabba' post='717732' date='Jan 19 2010, 12:37 PM']Yeah it says coaxial in the manual and doesn't mention anything else. There's no label on the socket so I'll presume it's 2-pole and cross my fingers Thanks a lot for your help![/quote] No problem. It's not often I get to help anyone on here. The knowledgeable types must be off talking politics or something...

[quote name='Sumbabba' post='717682' date='Jan 19 2010, 11:55 AM']How do I find that out? Why are these things never simple? [/quote] Instruction manual for the power amp and/or cab(s). If it's not mentioned, it'll just be a straightforward 2-pole Speakon-Speakon cable wired +1/-1 to +1/-1. The Speakon sockets might be labelled "2P" or "2-pole" or something. If they are, it'll be standard. (If they're 4-pole or more, start thinking. ) The fact you're mentioning "coaxial" cables (presumably that's what it says in the manual) suggests to me it's just that. You usually only get different wirings when you're using a stereo power amp in bridged mode (although I'm pretty sure someone like Ashdown did a special head/cab combination that used a 4-pole Speakon-Speakon to deliver a tri-amped signal into the different drivers in the cab).

[quote name='Sumbabba' post='717617' date='Jan 19 2010, 11:22 AM']Yes it's Speakon-Speakon sorry I'm completely ignorant when it comes to this kind of thing. Thanks for the recommendation! [/quote] No problem. Just make sure you know how they're wired. Chances are it's +1/-1 to +1/-1, but some amps do strange things...

Oh, and if it is just Speakon-Speakon you need, obbm's your man. He's a member on here, and [url="http://bassic-bits.co.uk/"]this is his website[/url]. Superb cables, made and delivered like lightning.