12stringbassist

My Bison reissue. Sounds more like a Rickenb***er than a Rickenb***er.

I played this little beaut in Accrington last week. I don't take it out as often as I should, but always really enjoy it when I do.

Touch wood.

Last weekend...

I'll chuck this one in the pot.... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSFC0790asE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DSFC0790asE[/url]

I have far too many and will part with some when I stop playing. There are some I will always keep and one that will be buried with me.

I knew Dolphin had gone, but I was in Liverpool on a training course today and thought i'd have a look in Dawsons. Nope. Closed down. Where is there left in Liverpool, apart from the obvious Cash gen and Crack Converters, to buy gear these days?

It's alright Ma, it's only witchcraft (This is the season) by Fairport Convention. I'm more used to the Slade version.

I used to have the single pickup version of that - the Pro 1e. Lovely bass. I think the price quoted above is about right. On T**k Bass, people woffle about Wal's quite a bit, so it's worth checking out who's looking for one.

[b] From [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6066.html"]http://www.thewho.ne...s/bass6066.html[/url][/b] [b] 1966 Fender Precision Bass (slab) in White Blonde, with maple neck (three of this model)[/b] 1966 Fender Precision slab bass, from side.[list] [*]John owned (and trashed) three of 20 total made by Fender, which were made specifically for the UK market. [*]Slab (squared off) body, split pickup, maple neck, black scratch plate. [*]Finish is called “White Blonde” by Fender, and “See-Through Blonde” or “See-Through White” colloquially. John describes it as, “...what looked like blue veins coming through the white paintwork.” [*][b] From January 2009 Vintage Guitar article: “The Four-String White Whale: Fender/Arbiter’s 1966 Slab-Body Precision Bass”[/b] In the world of the Fender bass, few instruments have engendered more lore or legend than the 1966 slab-body Precision. Long rumored, occasionally sighted, and often misunderstood, this is the great white whale of Fender bass collecting! While at first glance having the appearance of a standard ’66 Precision, the instrument has the crucial difference of the uncontoured Telecaster-style ash body; its neck is built with a laid-on maple fingerboard, a seldom-seen custom-order feature at a time when Fender no longed offered maple necks as a stock appointment. While never cataloged or formally advertised, at least two very small batches of this instrument were to have been made in ’66... The U.K.-market-only Arbiter-ordered basses have these very specific features; maple-capped neck, blond finished ash body, and black/white laminate pickguard. Otherwise, fittings and hardware were the standard ’66 style. Why this particular combination of features was chosen, and by who exactly, has never been fully explained. Whether the English company dictated the specifications or responded to an existing Fender prototype is unknown. [*]John: “There is something different about the sound of these Precisions…I’ve tracked it down to the pickups and tone circuit — the sound is much raunchier and gutsy and has a hint of distortion when the volume is flat out.” [*]At least one featured an additional tone or pickup control and toggle switch. [*][b] From April 1995 Bassist interview[/b] “The slab Precisions were like white, squared-off Telecasters, with a split pickup, a maple neck, black scratch plate and what looked like blue veins coming through the white paintwork. I don’t know what they used on them but those basses had a sound of their own, really raunchy with more of a growl than a regular Precision.” [*]Parts would later be used to comprise [url="http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass6768.html#frankenstein"]Frankenstein[/url]. [b] From January 2009 Vintage Guitar article: “The Four-String White Whale: Fender/Arbiter’s 1966 Slab-Body Precision Bass”[/b] Entwistle took some surviving parts from this martyr and [i]another[/i] destroyed Telecaster Bass and mounted the maple-capped neck and pickups on an older sunburst Precision body with a white pickguard. This creation, dubbed “Frankenstein,” became his main studio and stage bass through Tommy and Who’s Next, appearing most famously on Live at Leeds and the Rolling Stones’ Rock ’n’ Roll Circus film. Both in its original and rebuilt form, this bass was played many of the most influential Who recordings of all time, and has been listened to intently by countless bassists over the last 40 years! [/list]

I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Nearly did in the 70's.

I used to be in a band years ago, where the singer / guitarist's wife sat at the front gazing up adoringly at him during all our gigs. As she was sat in the middle at the front all the time with a dazed, soppy expression on her face, it was thought to be a great idea that she should be given something to do and so she was put in charge of my mixing desk. You can imagine the rest of the band's dismay when we noticed that all she was interested in was the one particular fader. It was her husband's vocal mic. The others remained resolutely down. That was a contributory factor to a number of us leaving that band. We couldn't talk to the singer / guitarist about it. He wasn't interested in hearing what we had to say as it involved the angel on his shoulder... A mate used a great word I hadn't heard before to sum him up. Crude but apt - [i]c***struck[/i]. Exactly.

Sorry it didn't go well. If someone can't make eye contact with you, then that's the first sign of a personality disorder. Adding in the beurocracy of scoring you on paper for your performances? Well, we all assess potential players one way or another when auditioning, just making a mental note of either that was good, or that wasn't. I've never seen anyone go to the length of putting people off like that and also recording auditions. I'd certainly ask them for a copy if they've still got it, just to give them something to do. They sound like a set of tossers. I always ask a band what happened to their old bassist. It's always good to see how they answer. If they get insulting behind his back, then you can probably expect the same behind yours and the band is a little club you may not wish to join.

I think he'll be trying to find out addresses and phone numbers and talking gibberish at people.

I get a few people asking about some of my basses. They aren't for sale. A second email gets the sender blocked in Mailwasher. Problem solved.

Good player.

A large social club near Burnley with a scratch band. Generally ok. Still recovering from the trauma of having to wear a suit again.

If a band send posters with someone else's faces on, in advance of a show, it's a bit dumb. They should get their own proper content together. As for the sound side of it, they will either get away with it, sail through it, or fall flat on their faces, dependent on if they are as good as any recordings they have put round. Mind you, (off the top of my head) the Bay City Rollers did quite ok out of not exactly being honest about who played on the recordings - not the first and not the last. I wouldn't exactly call what they've done 'fraudulent', just really ill-advised. The people who book them and turn up to the shows based on what they've seen and heard will certainly spot the differences.

Cheap Trick

[quote name='Green Alsatian' timestamp='1357848878' post='1929569'] This is more like it: [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/basses/precision-bass/1951-relic-precision-bass-melon-candy/"]http://www.fender.co...ss-melon-candy/[/url] Also available in aged Lake Placid Blue and Candy Tangerine [/quote] OOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! HAVE YOU SEEN THE PRICE ON THESE????

If it weren't for those weedy looking pickups, i'd like it.

Sad. Thought you meant another of the band...

Even 4003's new go for a stupid price now. I'm sure that 4000's go for decent money when they show up, but 4001's / 4003's aren't that rare. The odd one in a scarce finish may fetch more money.

I like playing in a covers band, because a) It's much easier to get regular work. b ) The crowd react better to songs they know. c) Some of the original stuff I've been given to play before has just been stark bilge. d) I'm not out to be discovered anymore and I've had my share of pushing water uphill. e) That final run of 4 solid gold sure fire crowd pleasers works far better for me than the bemused looks of punters. No disrespect to ANY originals band. Good luck to them all. They could be the somgs we're covering in years to come. Unless Simon Cowell has his way and all we ever hear is the recycled formula slush that he owns.

I think he's a truly remarkable player - I just loved his work with Paul Young at the time. I have to say though, that he is not really the man for the job with The Who. I love that band to bits and simply can't bear to watch them with Pino on bass. It's not his fault, but his style is not what The Who requires. As said above, he was drafted in when John passed away and who in their right mind would turn down that gig? John was pretty close to deaf later on in his life, lip reading and watching Pete's hands, to keep up on stage. That explains why he went for that mechanically processed distorted sound, which was a bit grim. To get an overdriven sound, he had to process it, as Daltrey was going ape about stage volumes (as was PT). To his failing ears (and I really don't mean that as an insult) it probably sounded decent, but on it's own, it was a horrible tone. Anyone who doesn't get Entwistle's unique playing style doesn't get what The Who were originally about. That's not meant as an insult to anyone either. Even with Zak doing 100% the business, it's not like The Who without John. They have the perfect right to change the band, but it saddens me. Who should they get in? God knows!