Doc B

Bit of a thread resurrection but I tried one of the Kala bass ukes at CC Music in Glasgow last Saturday. The guys in the shop were giving anyone interested a go. It was a total blast. Sounded like an upright (amped up of course). Price was £349. Most fun I've had on a bass in ages. BTW - the tuners were Hipshots (possibly Ultralites) so they'd be suitable for other strings, could say anything for the neck strength though.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='628118' date='Oct 16 2009, 05:18 PM']Sir Psycho Sexy is a nice one.[/quote] Good call! Soul To Squeeze is another goodie from Flea, also Black by Pearl Jam Broken Hearts by Living Colour

Billy Gould of Faith No More - any haters?

I've got tickets to see them in Glasgow nest month too. I saw them at the Barrowland in 1996/7 and got talking to Mark Richardson at the merchandise stand. The girl I went with was ecstatic as she had a huge crush on him (must be a first for a drummer!). Most of the crowd were young lesbians and it was the first gig I've been to where men were in the minority. Security cordoned off part of cubicles in the gents toilet and escorted groups of women in to use them. That was the first and only time I've urinated in front of a lesbian.

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='611333' date='Sep 28 2009, 10:06 PM']Personally I wouldn't say that he is now (he never did it for me), but to say that he always will be is just silly, and its a fair bet that Jaco himself would not have thought so either. You are putting him in the position of Shakespeare: however good a playwright is, even if better than Shakespeare, he/she can never be 'Better than Shakespeare'. It's as if someone in the 60's had said "No one will ever be better than the Beatles". Sorry, but this sort of attitude just niggles me.[/quote] To me Jaco is 'the Jimi Hendrix of bass playing' in terms of his level of influence on many people and also in the sense that he is held in higher esteem than his contemporaries as he died young. Kurt Cobain is another example. I've often thought of killing myself so people will remember me as a better bass player

[quote name='3V17C' post='613676' date='Oct 1 2009, 11:20 AM']Jimmy Nail - 'Ain't no doubt' - sooo cheesy but quality bass work c[/quote] That just reminded me of the part of My Bass and Other Animals when Guy Pratt first meets Jimmy Nail: "these people, arse'ole people!"

Inspired by Clarky's In Praise of.. thread: I was wondering about songs by bands you don't like or even songs that you don't like but that have basslines that you think are great. She Don't Love Me Like you by Magic Numbers is one example for me. I really don't like the band or even the song but I really enjoy that bassline. MOP's Cold as Ice is another (although that is no doubt a sample or synth). I also don't like the Smiths (Morrissey's voice just grates) but Andy Rourke is brilliant, almost enough for me to consider getting some of their music.

Another JJ Burnel fan here. Also some Peter Hook: Digital - Joy Division She's Lost Control - Joy Division Regret - New Order also Talking Heads - Once In a Lifetime Jeremy - Pearl Jam, that intro always makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck Gigantic - Pixies Exploder - Audioslave Killing In The Name - RATM Zephyr Song - RHCP I don't really like the band or the song in particular but She Don't Love Me Like you by Magic Numbers has a great bassline.

[quote name='simon1964' post='613010' date='Sep 30 2009, 02:59 PM']I would have a serious look at Delano pickups and EQ. I've got both on my Shuker and love the sound.[/quote] Looks like I might get a lot of different answers to this question! I had a look at the Delanos but Jon recommended the Seymour Duncan alnico MM pickup for what I wanted. I suppose preamps are one of the more easily changeable components if I decide on something else once I actually get the bass next year.

Mrs Doc B recently suggested that I actually go out and get myself 'the bass I've always wanted' which initially made me think of a Warwick Thumb V NT or a Musicman V as these are my 2 favourite basses aside from a Jazz (and I've got a nice Squier Jazz). Looking at the prices of these I then got to thinking that I could get a bass built to my own spec for the same money. I spent a while thinking about what I'd really like in a bass and came to the conclusion that it would be the older, less clubby, Warwick necks and string spacing with Musicman style electronics and neck/body woods. I looked into a Warwick custom shop order but that was way too expensive. So the next thing was to start looking at the custom builders and by coincidence I realised that Jon Shuker's workshop is very close to here we holiday in the Peak District. So I made an appointment to visit when we were down a couple of weeks ago. Aside from getting to discuss my ideal bass spec, the visit to Jon's place was pleasant, friendly and interesting (Mrs DB agreed and she isn't that interested in basses). There were some beautiful basses on display both in the upstairs 'studio' area and the ones in various states of build downstairs. I had been thinking of a custom body shape but seeing the Shuker 'Standard' body shape for real convinced me that this was the one to go for. Any, enough rambling, the spec I've decided on is: 'Standard' body shape 34" scale 24 fret maple neck maple f/board two way truss rod carbon fibre reinforcement medium fretwire graphite nut no fingerboard face dots black 2mm side dots satin neck lacquer gotoh tuners swamp ash body polyester basecoat wet look gloss topcoat no s/plate [i]Seymour Duncan MM 5 Alnico Seymour Duncan 3 band circuit - slap switch [/i]series / parallel switch - the wiring allows this (series, parallel or single coil) Black Hardware Schaller 2000 bridge 16.5mm string spacing at the bridge 45mm nut (ala warwick thumb 5) - neck profile similar to warwick neck but more even depth and slightly reduced 'clubby' feel The only thing I'm not 100% on is the choice of 3 band EQ to use. I'm after a flavour of Musicman tone but I'm not so concerned with having an 'authentic' vintage MM tone. The 2 EQ circuits I'm looking at are the Seymour Duncan 3 band MM replacement EQ and Jon Shuker's own 3 band EQ. Any opinions or advice on the EQ will be gladly received.

[quote name='Johngh' post='590771' date='Sep 5 2009, 04:20 PM']I was at Jon's this morning to see him about my new build, I saw your bass in the flesh. It looks awesome, your gonna love it.[/quote] I was in at Mr Shuker's place a couple of weeks ago when I was on holiday in the Peaks - that fan fret bass is stunning, really stood out among the others I saw. Mrs Doc B thought it was rather beautiful too. I'm finalising the spec of my own Shuker bass after Mrs DB suggested getting 'the bass I've always wanted'. Shuker's Uberhorn fretless is a stunning piece of work, along with the black single cut 5 string with the quilt maple top that are in the 'Stock Basses' section of his site.

Hope it doesn't take too long.

[quote name='Brave Sir Robin' post='589670' date='Sep 4 2009, 01:54 PM']The Bolt On 5 strings I had an awesome cutting sound. It was a '98 with wenge neck. The problems were balance, weight and it felt like a 36 scale with such a small body. Try one if you can with a strap. They are meant to be played high up, or with a comfort strap.[/quote] Norwood always played his at about knee height! I definitely need to try a few out - the balance issue might bother me. Shame you couldn't get a Thumb with a top horn more like a Corvette.

As It Is, When It Was sounds great - really good choice of song too. For some reason it made me think of the band Frasier Chorus. I love New Order and Joy Division but never found a band who seemed to share that love - not even when I lived in Sheffield! Well done getting on the tribute CD.

I love the looks of Warwick Thumbs - a 5 string is my favourite of them all. Hearing/seeing Norwood Fisher play a Thumb 5 NT with Fishbone was one of the things that made me want to play in the first place. The other day I was talking to Mrs Doc B about not feeling 'worthy' of having a bass like that as I'm not the greatest player and she surprised me by saying "why not get one?!" I'm now starting to save up for a used Thumb 5, most likely a bolt-on. I've still to try playing one though. You never know, maybe getting the bass I've always wanted will cure my GAS.

Jazz basses and a Warwick Thumb V NT are my 2 favourite bass designs in terms of looks but I love the sound of a Musicman too. A Thumb V that sounds like a MM Stingray would be my ideal. I've already got a nice Squier VM Jazz.

Ah - I thought this was going to be a thread about Run DMC! Anyway, welcome to the forum and remember: It's tricky to rock a rhyme to rock a rhyme that's right on time is tricky tricky, tricky, tricky

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='587563' date='Sep 2 2009, 03:09 PM']I think a lot of players work with a pick early on because it is quicker to get off the ground. In the long term, it is less versatile but, for beginners, it gets you playing 'fast' almost on day one.[/quote] That's pretty much what I was told when I bought my first bass. The guy in the shop was a bass player and actually stopped me from buying plectrums/picks at the same time as my bass and amp - he said if I started with a plectrum I'd be less likely to try fingerstyle. I now play pretty much 50-50 fingerstyle/pick style, I never found slap to feel as natural as either of those though.

I love the looks of those basses, especially the black one.

[quote name='jmsjabb' post='586041' date='Aug 31 2009, 08:32 PM']If you have 5 mins, what would you look at at the £400 - £500 mark. I have a Rock bass and like the feel, but hat the cheap finish. I was thinking about a proper corvette...[/quote] You'll easily get a used Corvette for that money, Thoman have new ones for just over £500: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_corvette_std_4_nat.htm"]Thoman[/url]

[quote name='Jobiebass' post='586019' date='Aug 31 2009, 08:15 PM']Yeah they sema to be stocking a lot of Fenders and Lakelands at the mo. 1-2 EBMM's at best and I never look for warwicks so I dunno[/quote] If the Glasgow branch and their website are anything to go by then they don't have any Warwicks and maybe a couple of EBMM. I nearly apologised for not mentioning Guitar Guitar in Newcastle but then I remembered that's north of Durham, so not between Sheffield and Durham at all!

Most of my choices have already been mentioned but here's a couple: Doug Wimbish on Living Colour's Stain album, especially on Wall Melvin Gibb's overdrive sound on The Rollin's Band's On The Way To The Cage- fantastic Timmy C's tone on Audioslave's Exploder

[quote name='simon1964' post='585778' date='Aug 31 2009, 02:32 PM']Would that take you past Doncaster? If so, visit Electro Music.[/quote] Yeah +1 for that.