RhysP

The Geddy Lee Jazz is made in Japan (but it sounds Canadian ). I don't think the tone varies that much from a standard similarly priced Jazz bass but the reason why so many people are using them is that the quality is consistently high, the neck is absolutely superb & the Badass bridge as standard is a major improvement over the sh*tty standard Fender bridge. It's everything a good jazz bass should be without the inconvenience of having to try dozens of clunkers before you find an OK one, which is what you usually have to do with Fenders. I've said it a few times before but if you want a Fender Jazz bass the Geddy Lee model is the best one they make at any price point IMO.

[quote name='Zoe_BillySheehan' post='520601' date='Jun 22 2009, 11:20 AM']Girls can multitask Z x[/quote] Touché!

I used to use extra light Superwound 30 - 90s on my Jaydee back in my pathetic funky white boy days. The main reason I started using heavier strings was I found the extra lights a bit too bendy & floppy as I'd moved back toward playing heavier music with a pick & preferred the extra tension that 45 - 105s gave me. Soundwise I didn't really notice that much difference. So long as you adjust the neck to compensate for the light strings you'll have no problems. Geddy Lee & Mark King both used to use 30 - 90s. Jeff Berlin is an advocate of using very light strings too.

[quote name='Rayman' post='512986' date='Jun 13 2009, 08:49 PM'][/quote] Oooooh, Melissa! :wub:

But if the girl is playing the bass who's doing the washing up?

Pretentious name + arty farty promo film + no discernable talent = they'll go far.

[quote name='Bay Splayer' post='519540' date='Jun 20 2009, 08:02 PM']jesus christ feel like you lot are giving me a right bollocking s`pose i`ll give it a go though [/quote] You didn't mention what sort of music you play, which makes a difference. If you feel your current technique is limiting your ability to play what you want then changing it makes sense. If you can play the sort of stuff you want with no problem then why change?

[quote name='Monz' post='518154' date='Jun 19 2009, 10:27 AM']....Get on the phone to stringbusters and explain my problem. Without missing a beat they offer to replace them but the guy also tells me this is not uncommon for La Bella strings........[/quote] Did the guy from Stringbusters mean ALL LaBella strings or just the flatwounds? Just curious as I've used LaBella Slappers for a few years now & I've never had any problems at all.

As far as instruments are concerned my biggest regret is selling my Chapman Stick a few years ago. Somebody offered me twice what I paid for it, and in a moment of blind greed I accepted. I've owned a few basses that I wish I still had, not because they were great basses ( they weren't) but purely because of how much they change hands for now.

[quote name='iamapirate' post='512922' date='Jun 13 2009, 06:31 PM'] What bass is he using? Theres no mark on the headstock, and I know very little about different basses.[/quote] I can't be certain, but Pat Badger used to work for Mouradian Guitars, and actually built the basses he used to use before Extreme originally split up. The headstock on that bass in your picture certainly looks like a Mouradian to me, but the body of the bass is very different to his old ones. This picture is a Mouradian like Pats old ones (Chris Squire from Yes plays a green one that was also built by Pat) :

I'd be very surprised if I ever play in another band - I've always found it to be a 95% pain in the arse. I can't see why not gigging should mean giving up playing - if you enjoy playing just do it for fun, and if you find bass to be a boring instrument under those circumstances (which it is) then maybe do what I did & have a go at playing another instrument or two. I've had more fun over the last few years playing guitar & keyboards on my own than I ever did just playing bass with a band. I mess about trying to write & record stuff too - it's all crap but I really enjoy doing it, and that's the bottom line for me.

For anybody undecided, they're one of the best live bands I've ever seen - total showmen one & all. There's nothing more enjoyable than watching a band that are obviously having a great time on stage whilst simultaneously playing stuff that will have your jaw on the floor all night. Really looking forward to this - mucho thanks to Cetera for the heads up on the tickets.

Yehaah! I'll be there!

I once stuck a narrow, fine pointed woodworking gouge straight through my left thumb (side to side, through the fleshy bit). I was only about 10 & as well as the pain I got a serious bollocking from my dad for messing about with his woodworking tools. I worked as a craft bookbinder for 23 years and used to cut up the leather skins with surgical scalpels. I took the fleshy part of the right side of my left index finger off without knowing I'd done it - all I felt was a slight change in resistance to the blade. Somebody had started talking to me whilst I was cutting & instead of putting down the scalpel & finishing the conversation I tried to do both at once..... It was such a beautifully clean cut the bit of flesh went back on no problem (luckily I only worked about 10 minutes away from the hospital) and now you can't even really see it was cut off. The doctor complimented me on my skill with a scalpel!!

Personally I'd never pay the new prices for a USA Fender - they're just not worth it IMO & are just playing on the fact that lots of people just have to have that name on the headstock, regardless of how good their products actually are. Japanese Fenders are far & away the best & most consistent ones I've played & can be picked up for excellent prices. Check out this link to Guitar Emporiums Japanese fender bass list: [url="http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/index.php?f=data_fender_japan_new_guitars&a=2"]http://www.guitaremporium.co.uk/index.php?...guitars&a=2[/url]

Looks vaguely like a Veilette Citron to me.

Martin Turners Hamer Standard #0001

There was some discussion about that bass on the Hamer forum a month or so ago. Hamers records show that bass to have left the factory as plain black, so the zebra finish was done outside the factory. The Dimarzios aren't particularly old - they were made with the smooth black covers specifically for the Blitz basses. I absolutely love Hamer guitars - IMO they're the best you can get. I've got a couple of beautiful Hamer guitars & I used to have a 12 string bass too. (Hamer serial numbers are pretty easy to date - let me know if you want to know when it was built).

WOW! You've got some awesome old Rich's there. That flame maple Mockingbird looks stunning.

Sorry to derail slightly, but whenever I see the word "Workshop" it always makes me think of Alexi Sayles fabulous line: [i]"Anyone who uses the term "Workshop" who isn't connected with light engineering is a twat"[/i]

It's a Korean built DB95. They are generically referred to as "Tropical" basses because they were built in the period when Dean guitars was owned by a company called Tropical Music. They were manufactured between 1991 - 1996.

[quote name='GreeneKing' post='511819' date='Jun 12 2009, 08:26 AM']Cheap plastic is a bit of a myth anyway Plastic is actually more expensive than most metals, it's just easier to use in the manufacturing process, saving money there.[/quote] I meant cheap as in tacky & shabbily manufactured - those half inch thick scratchplates are horrendous IMO, and are even worse on the guitars. The quality of the chrome plating on Ricks is sh*t as well. I have no problem with plastic parts on basses in general - I prefer plastic control knobs to metal ones in fact.

I'll have probably sold all my gear long before who to leave it to becomes an issue. If not I'll have them cremated with me.

When I was gigging my pre show stuff would usually consist of having a huge argument with the rest of the band about what unprofessional bastards they all were, then going for a long walk on my own thinking lots of hateful stuff.

It's better looking than most Warwick designs......