Gust0o

Only ever bid on this item, in fact. Correction: I have reported the item.

Lovely Jacksons! You have some awesome kit, cetera - I like to come back to this thread to, well, window shop!

Just picked up John's MTD Kingston Heir 5-string in a trade. He's a smashing guy to deal with, and does a good line in cups of tea. Very friendly, the collection turned into a couple of hours of bass chat - I even had the pleasure of trying his very, very nice Alembic. Hoping to go for a beer when next down that end of the world.

Is the correct answer: because half my mates were guitarists already, and it was the one way of being assured of having someone to play with? A lot of people ran to the guitars when I a kid. It left the bass nice and open for someone ambling along a couple of months later - and, besides, with my rugby frame it felt about the right size. I look ridiculous with a guitar.

Good to have confirmation of my P-Nut fancy, so to speak Should my wife ever return my credit card, it would be the one I'd invest in - I've played a grand total of two Warwicks, but never found the lust some of you have; well, barring this example.

The Alpha Tab would support knowledge of the notes and finger positioning - naturally, you'd then have to map it to the stave and work on timing, but it's still a valuable step when starting out. I made my previous points above. Too much work and no play, makes Gus a dull boy. So I learned to play; and besides, the history of music pre-dates the history of notation, so I figure we all still have time to learn

I'll second Lysdexia above, in respect of the market dictating the pricing - though I will note that the Basschat system is slightly distorted from classic push/pull dynamics of supply and demand; we have subjectivity in the mix! Emotional value imbued in objects. Thus 'worth' is a more open concept - and a difficult one to place, even allowing for moments of profiteering (and there's nothing wrong in that, provided the recipient finds value in the object equal or beyond the price paid) and naivete. Also, as Lysdexia again notes (in what is becoming my favourite post of the day) this is not a control economy for mutual benefit - it's a 'For Sale' section. It might seem cynical, but so are all commercial activities on some intrinsic basis. Of course, there's plenty Basschat might look to do to regulate the section, if the community thought there were serious issues - capped sales; disclosure for traders; etc.

Unsurprising that we're seeing much more barter activity occuring within the forum - indeed, it's something we're seeing in the wider market; businesses are bartering services, and there's even a bespoke service provider now looking to facilitate such arrangements. The human nature to seek something new is still with us. Demand is still present. Previously it was hampered by a combination of supply and the means to fufil transactions; trade is the obvious way around a lot of that. Want something new? Cash light? Leverage existing capital in the transaction - trade! I've made two sales, two purchases and two trades in the last 12 months. It's a healthy balance, I feel. But yes, as a general note, the market here seems less vociferous than previous. No silly bargains to be had; pricing is tight on a lot of items.

Hmm... that sounds a little like so... nowwaydaminuteherefella!

BGM, I think, made a very salient point regarding the TM Stevens bass. It's a great instrument; and, as such it's priced in the pro-range; but when, necessarily, is a pro going to want to have that look? It's not exactly a mass market - or even a significant portion of that market - product. That said, it is a very 'honest' signature bass - the man has obviously had some significant input into the product; and fans will, as expected, very much welcome it. P-Nut had a much more 'accessible' signature bass, to my mind. That one I could have gotten the credit card out for.

Looking forward to seeing the final installment of this. Missed out on one of these on Ebay the other week, but I think it's definitely one of my favourite Gibson shapes - suitably kitsch!

High on Fire - Rumours of War. I thought the pace would kill me, but it's surprisingly easy to get into the pace of this one and stay with it. I could quite happily cite any number of Megadeth tracks. Ellefson knows his stuff - but once you're into the groove it just twigs as to what he's doing, and I found a lot of them have fallen easier than I thought they would have done.

Crikey, I didn't know there was a Yorkshire one; or if I did, I could well be having a senior moment.

D'oh! Having now been corrected geographically, having first been made aware of a [i]Yorkshire[/i] bass bash, I can now ask the right question. When is the next one? Does anyone need a hand with it? Assuming it would be March 2011, to fall 12 months from the previous?

I liked the sounds, and agree with the sentiment above about the bass' position in the mix for a lot of bands. Though I'm not sure, in responding to Sil's question, as to whether music isn't an end in itself - something, by the act of which, is self-justifying on a subjective basis. It seems that a great deal of the arts would, on some base (bass? Geddit?) level fall into that camp. You can apply various lenses, but one will likely just be the joy of artistic creation [i]in itself[/i]. Bored at work. So have some philosophical meanderings, why not? Loved the insight into the Warwick factory. Would be good to have the thread back on track, and read some more about your observations. I'm glad I mentioned subjectivity above, as I spy the "Zulu Warrior" in this video. It's got a significant price tag, and I can appreciate some thought has gone into it's creation - but Daphne and Celeste have something to say to it.

I think Delber has hit the nail on the head with this one - certainly knows his Epiphones! I'd personally like either of the BC Rich or Jackson variants. The shape looks slightly more balanced than my old Ironbird - well, either that or the Charvel Star someone pointed out.

No. It has it's moments, but just not in common usage. Some great lines, but it consistently fails the "would I play it in the car" acid test; also, it has no use in training montages, which is the real apex of the musical arts.

I absolutely buy the need to read; the only word of caution I would raise, thinking back to my early days of learning, is that it can be incredibly boring to work through the mechanics of the instrument and the music. Especially in any concerted manner, and I think back to my own frustrations on occasion and wonder how I persevered I think there's a happy medium in there, between utilising tab and understanding the notation - possibly why I recommended Guitar Pro, which will demonstrate both to you. But, in the early days, there's a great sense of achievement to learning a favourite track, which will go a long to maintaining commitment to the instrument in the long-run.

Some of the more complex arrangements seem absolutely astounding, in their range of options. Though I do wonder if we're not missing the ultimate acid test, in a way perhaps akin to what thisnameistaken was suggesting, in that sometimes simplicity is best - after all, just how much beer can some of the more up-market rigs drink?

[quote]Edit: What I do find strange, though, is when someone asks for gear recommendations in a forum and a whole crop of dudes turn up to evangelise the thing they own over everything else[/quote] Guilty as charged, in many respects - people will have strong opinions on matters closest to them; and, in the bid to be useful, sometimes it is not so.

I'll vote +1 for Guitar Pro - it does a good job if you're looking to work on new and existing tabs; it's certainly been useful for me in helping explain riffs to the band, or ensuring we're all playing to the same song. Displays both tab and music, so a boon in helping to learn your way around the notes.

I think you're quite right to reject your own disdain, in looking at the example of your thoughts around your friend's set-up - it's barely the most 'chummy' of approaches within the confines of affection. Within the realms of professionalism, it could well be different - it's a very different lens, when your gear is your living. I suspect your "dirty" comment comes from how outsized and overgeared this appears to be. It's in human nature to covet, ever since we set our moral boundaries on the ownership of property - you have; you have not; and you can make value judgements around whether you think what you or others have is really good enough. Which is fine, in and of itself. Instead it seems to be the gloating, commoditised element of this in our modern world that you object to - that, looking at what is nothing more than a collection of plastic and metal, that you could feel such disdain? I don't blame you. In fact, if I've read you correctly, (and I do mean, [i]read[/i] - not [i]read into[/i], which is a bad habit of mine - then I can empathise. I feel like a plebeian; some filthy oik, with my lowly and singular Big Muff.

Surely, it's just much the same as making a cock-up during a speech or presentation? If it's minor, remind yourself of the message you're trying to get across and get on with it; if it's major, stop and apologise or make light, then remind yourself of the message you're trying to get across and get on with it? I managed to transcribe the "worksite" as "worksh*te" on a presentation to 150 managers. But they were there to hear what I had to say, and, having had a good laugh, we built some rapport on it; surely the gig is the same. They're there to listen, so build rapport and move on. I saw Bloc Party implode on the first song at the Leeds Academy earlier in the year, ironically in the middle of "One more chance" - they laughed it off, some great patter from the jaws of embarassment, and on they went. Sure, they're pros, but I think we all have it in us to shake these off and win some hearts whilst doing so.