maxrossell

Have a word with the guitard, and explain to him why he's having trouble hearing his amp. If he's turning it up gradually through the set then he's probably just getting short-term deafness from the sound levels. Advise him to get some earplugs. You could also teach him a couple of things about changing his EQ to get more presence without more volume, and maybe even basic stuff like standing in a different place on stage if his speaker is directional (closed 4x12s tend to be).

[quote name='SGB2' post='677443' date='Dec 8 2009, 03:44 AM']Hey folks, just got my Status Graphite placement neck on my Precision a little while ago. I've gotten the action low and the neck close to straight. I've played other basses with the exact same setup I'm trying to get with the Status, and I've never had a problem before, so it's not my technique or the setup itself. But the first and second frets buzz so much on the Status neck they're unplayable. When I press the strings down at the third fret, the space under the string at the fourth fret looks and feels normal, whereas the space under the string at the third fret when the second fret is pressed down is too low. There is even less space under the string at the second fret when the first fret is pressed down. The nut looks a little too high and can't possibly have anything to do with it. Obviously I'm in for a fret job. But guitar technicians around Chicago tend to not understand what "low action" on a bass guitar really means. Every guy I've gone to has just told me to raise the action, as if it's a problem of how low the bridge saddles are. And it can't be because I've had this action work on basses before. I'm a little dissapointed in the neck itself, but obviously the Status shop guys couldn't put it on a bass to check out what was going on with the fretwork before shipping the neck to me in the States. Does anybody have any advice for how I can explain this to the [i]next [/i]guitar technician I try to take my bass into? Or better yet, can anybody give me some advice as to what I can do in the meantime?[/quote] I think you probably need to show your next guitar tech this post you just wrote, because from my point of view you've made it very clear what the issue is and how it needs to be solved. In the meantime, if you want a workaround I'd try playing with shims in the neck pocket to alter the neck angle and get the strings to sit more evenly across the board.

I'm quite hard to get on with, so I'm always surprised at how long people agree to be in bands with me for. I on the other hand don't suffer fools (or at least the people I reckon are fools) so I tend to either walk or sack depending on the situation. I'm a lead-singer/guitar-player so tend to front bands and treat them as "my" band. On the couple of occasions where I've been hired in to front an existing band it's not gone well, because those bands were put together by someone else who saw them as "his" band, which inevitably led to ego-clashing, both musically and personally. Note that there's always a difference between people you don't get on with musically and people you don't get on with personally - not that they don't overlap. When hiring people I always make it very clear that whereas I have absolutely nothing against technical playing and in fact insist on it where it's necessary, on the other hand if the song requires them to play an open E on the first and third beat for four minutes, that's what I expect them to do, and I expect them to do it well. Not that we have songs like that but you see what I mean. I find that if people can't handle serving a song without feeling the need to stick in their little "look at me moment", we won't get on musically. The trouble I find with any musician is that when someone has taken the trouble to get really good technically they tend to want to show off about it, and almost forget that the whole point of playing an instrument is to perform good music. It's really hard to find people who understand that the reason for improving your technique is to add another dimension to your playing, not to turn it into some sort of carnival side-show. Personalities are always trickier though, because there are so many degrees of getting along with people. It's rare to encounter someone who's such a douchebag that you can't stand to be in the same room with them, but you do get people whose little personality quirks can add up to a massive headache whenever you hang out with them. An ex-drummer of mine had such a massive inferiority complex that he was convinced we were going to sack him and kept going on about it, so we eventually sacked him just to get him to shut up. I think generally if you start to think that someone needs sacking, that'll end up being the case. If they can't play well enough to keep up with the band, they just have to go because you can't afford to wait around until they figure it out, and if you think that their personality is causing a problem then they have to go because if they stay it might get worse and end up ruining the whole band. I'm not any kind of authority though. My last bass player was a good musician, but unreliable and selfish and thoughtless and had already quit once and been a total dick about it, and yet I ended up rehiring him just because we needed a bass player. He then quit again a few weeks later, which ultimately led the drummer to leave. I saw it coming even before we rehired him, but I did it anyway because I was trying to be optimistic, and it cost me a drummer I love to play with and have been working with for over five years. Don't bother being optimistic. People don't start acting differently just because you hope they will, and usually if you give them enough slack they'll use it to f*ck you over.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='676425' date='Dec 7 2009, 08:04 AM']You should try to swap your Tele for one.[/quote] You would say that. You are, after all, me.

I'm a man of simple tastes. That's about it.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160385228667&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...=STRK:MESELX:IT[/url] G'warn, have a punt if you fancy it. Low starting price and everything. You never know, maybe someone'll offer me an actual '59 Les Paul for it?

If it's for use in a tribute band I'd mainly look at getting the image right, so some sort of P bass or an Explorer bass or a Buzzard. Beyond that, I think that as long as you get a bit of a decent warm boomy retro tone most audiences will be delighted. There's no need to be ultra-specific about it.

Hey dude, good thread. Personally for rock, I find that you'd have to work hard to beat a good Precision. For T-birds I'd say that it's more a look thing, but if you get a good one they can be awesome - for the money hower I'd probably look elsewhere. Ricks are a thing, some people love 'em, some hate 'em, and it's gonna depend on what kind of rock you play, and also very much on the amp you use. I think though that a lot of a good, fat, powerful sound comes from a good amp and playing in a good, hard, rock style. I've seen people make tiny little Ibanez basses sound heavy as hell, but if you put a big old Precision in the wrong hands through the wrong amp it can sound weedy. Sometimes what can also work well is to take a bass that no-one thinks can be heavy, and push it really hard. Maybe a semi-hollow bass into a huge valve stack is what you're after, you never know.

A [i]steal[/i] at £995. £9.95?

This is an easy thing to say, but good settings for your amp would be switched off, unplugged, and stood next to a better amp. I'm being flippant, but there really isn't much you can do about the sound of a 15w practice amp. It's a chipboard box with a cheap tranny circuit and a really weak speaker. I assume you're using it on your own (15w in a band situation is all but pointless), so if you want a better sound I'd recommend using a set of headphones if it has a headphone output (the saving grace of a lot of cheap practice amps), and if not, but funds are an issue, maybe consider selling it and getting one of those little headphone amplifiers.

Good thread. I don't have pictures, but here's a list of all the stuff I've owned since 1992. I'll put an asterisk next to it if I still own it. [u][b]Guitars:[/b][/u] Armando Classic Vantage EA dreadnought Carson Les Paul Custom copy Ibanez S270 Ibanez Artwood AW800CE* Ibanez RG7213 Ibanez Destroyer Yamaha 12-string acoustic Fender Standard Telecaster Epiphone 7-string Korina Flying V Epiphone '76 Explorer Gibson Les Paul Classic Kramer Imperial Fender '60s Classic Telecaster Fender '72 Deluxe Telecaster* Gibson Les Paul Custom* Gibson '91 Les Paul Standard* [u][b]Basses[/b][/u] Washburn Bantam BX300 Ibanez SDGR Hohner Fretless Jazz Bass Hohner B-Bass V Custom designed 5-string* Squier Std Jazz Bass* [u][b]Guitar Amps[/b][/u] Vantage R10 Hughes & Kettner Attax 80 Fender Super 210 Marshall AVT50 + AVT412 Marshall AVT150 + Peavey 412 Randall RH100 Orange TT15 Marshall Vintage Modern 2266 + 1960A 412* [u][b]Bass Amps[/b][/u] Fender BXR100 Ashdown MAG300 410 + 115 [u][b]Effects[/b][/u] DOD Blues Driver DOD Grunge Digitech RP2000 Dunlop Crybaby Wha* Boss Noise Suppressor* Boss Digital Delay Boss Metal Zone Boss Super Overdrive Digitech Whammy Toadworks Meat Jr. Boost* Wow, when you look at it like that, it's a pretty big list.

[quote name='Beedster' post='669816' date='Nov 30 2009, 10:22 AM']Did try last week but there were no takers, can anyone shed light on whether a Burgundy Mist finish should have aged like that? I've seen a couple of other basses with the same finish from the same era but both appear to have worn more conventionally, i.e., like the classic wear due to hand/arm contact you see on most old 3tsb finishes. Is this a badly done refin? Chris[/quote] The fact that the wood isn't discoloured and the aspect of the paint finish suggests that it's not a refin job. The way it's aged is either 100% real or simply the most convincing relicing job I have ever clapped eyes on. It's worn largely as a result of temperature changes over forty-five years, which have caused extensive checking to the point where the paint has cracked off. Since it's an earlyish custom colour I would assume that Fender hadn't got the paint mix quite as durable as they would have liked - but nitro isn't eternal anyway. However - and this is a big however - the extent of the weathering does suggest that some of the parts aren't original, specifically the knobs and the pickup and bridge covers. If the paint job is in that bad a shape, I would expect to see an equivalent degree of wear on the metal surfaces, and these just look far too clean. A lot of the screw heads also look suspiciously rust-free. Look at the string retainer on the headstock, and the strap buttons. [i]That's[/i] consistent.

I have a walnut J with a black pickguard. I like it.

[quote name='aznbass' post='672692' date='Dec 2 2009, 11:59 PM']Are you sure? he seemed to be in tune with himself atleast?[/quote] Nope. Not even vaguely in tune with himself. God knows how far he was from A440.

[quote name='Huge Hands' post='672700' date='Dec 3 2009, 12:07 AM']P.P.S. After I said "better than average ability", just watch all the pedantic types pick holes in my own spelling, grammar and punctuation now![/quote] You forgot the silent Q in "pedantic".

[quote name='Bassman101' post='672670' date='Dec 2 2009, 11:39 PM']but yea, ending up in tune after all that riff raff with the machine heads..? dayam][/quote] ... except he wasn't in tune at the end.

[quote name='kennyrodg' post='672653' date='Dec 2 2009, 11:18 PM']Hey Max, pm me your details and i'll pass them on to a friend of mine. Cheers, Pete. [/quote] Hey! Thanks dude, much appreciated. Details on the way.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='672594' date='Dec 2 2009, 10:28 PM']Grrrr.... You know what I mean... there's quite a number of makes that are very popular around here whose main business is "bigging up" the venerable Jazz. It just seems quite predictable although possibly a very safe business move. Are players really so conservative?[/quote] FWIW bass players tend to be far more adventurous with new designs than virtually any other instrumentists (apart from people who use synths and so on). That being said, you are correct that some people are quite conservative in their tastes and would sooner go for a more old-school shape (I'm one of them). I think the reason for the four grand copies is that as well-designed and so on the Jazz bass might be, there are still some things about it that some players don't want to live with, from simple things like finish options right through to complete design rethinks like different scale lengths, exotic woods, pickup and control configuration and so on.

How's this for a massive long shot. Okay, I know everyone on here's a bass player, but I'm assuming that some of you guys know drummers, and some of them might be available. We're based in Preston in Lancashire, and we have our own dedicated rehearsal space. We play mostly original material very much in a Pearl Jam/QOTSA/Soundgarden vein, and you can hear our tracks at [url="http://www.myspace.com/ukmarch"]http://www.myspace.com/ukmarch[/url]. We're looking for someone committed (we're not fussed if you have other projects as long as you put effort into ours), who has their own kit and ideally their own transport, and must be available to practice in Preston at least a couple of times per week. We're not looking for a technical wizard, but we would like someone who can play to a high standard and has a great feel. Age is no object, but for reference we're in our twenties and thirties. If you are that drummer or you know that drummer, please get in touch with us asap. Thanks! Max

This thread is kind of odd. I think that virtually all bass players are underrated, because it's the instrument in your standard rock band that gets most overlooked by non-musicians. Even keyboard players get an occasional "Jump" or "Final Countdown" moment. So yeah, in order for a bass player to be overrated, I'd say he has to be rated in the first place. So which bass players are rated? - Flea: He isn't overrated. Most of the people I talk to hate his playing. Other musos hate his playing because he's all over the place. Bassists hate his playing because he's got a bag of standard tricks that he never varies from. Me? I quite like him, because he's accomplished the rare feat of distinguishing himself as a noteworthy bass player without having to be an incredible technical wizard. - Les Claypool. Well, I say Les Claypool, but if you say "Les Claypool" to anyone but other bassists (who dislike him for the same reasons they dislike Flea) or the small handful of Primus fans (who like him because he writes interesting music, not because he's a great bassist), most people won't have a clue who you're on about. - John Paul Jones: I don't see how it's possible for a bass player who spent the band's most famous tracks more or less backing the rhythm guitar to be overrated. - Lemmy: I've never, EVER heard ANYONE talk about what a great bass player Lemmy is. - Paul McCartney: He's arguably overrated as a Beatle, but then you might argue that he made some of the better contributions to that band. I could go on, but eventually I'd run into "musician's musician" territory, i.e. Myung, Miller and so on. Maybe they're overrated, because they're always spoken of in terms of technique and never in terms of the songs they've written, but even then opinion is so divided that they hardly benefit from universal praise.