retroman

I'm looking good for next weekend, save for a dire emergency I haven't got space in the car for my full arsenal, but I'll bring a few good toys along

I think Scott Reeder of Kyuss, The Obsessed,etc is a massively overlooked bassist. some of the mans grooves are huge. He can be a very tasteful player as well. Check out "Space Cadet" by Kyuss

Sound advice from robocorpse She does have a high action for a Ric. My 4001 has a seriously low action. It does look in need of a good set up, just be careful that you take it to someone that knows what they are doing with Ric's. The twin trussrod system needs to be adjusted in a specific way, as the rods work differently to other basses.

IMHO, Lemmy has got the most distinctive bass sound of any bass player. Some of it is actually quite hard to play as well! I think the best bass sounds he ever got was either on the "Ace Of Spades" album, or on the song "Bomber", which I think was an 8 string Hagstrom. Come to think of it, the bass sound on the album "Overnight Sensation" was killer as well. I watched the Iron Maiden documentary the other night, really good watch. Harry is one awesome bass player. Loved the bit where they were sound checking, and Harry was giving it some on "Wrath Child"

Nope, can't slap to save my life!

Nothing set in stone, but I was thinking along the lines of heavy, epic, yet melodic. I've got a few melody ideas written, but always keen and open for input from others. Might have a drummer lined up, nothing definate yet though. PM me if you want to have a chat Best Wishes, Rich

Thanks Steve Really enjoyed meeting you, and would definately like to meet up, or trade again sometime That weather was something else wasn't it I got a few disbelieving looks on the way home....People on the motorway couldn't believe they were seeing an old Mk2 Escort out in the snow! Cheers Mate, Rich

Funny enough, I'm talking to a drummer at the moment about a drum and multi bass project There's some quite entertaining stuff out there featuring Lemmy/Motorhead. Somewhere on YouTube there's an old clip from J Leno (probably spelt that wrong) with Motorhead running through an old Chuck Berry number, with the house band bassist locking down the low end, with Lemmy letting rip with some rhythm bass. There also some footage from "Don't Forget Your Toothbrush", with Lemmy, and the Jools Holland band ripping up "Ace Of Spades", and "Good Golly Miss Molly" Class

Chesterfield, about 10 minutes from the M1

Sadly, I have just found myself without a gig........ Often fancied doing something a little bit different using just basses and drums. I'm influenced by loads of different heavy rock and metal bands, and fancy trying something melodic/ heavy, but very different. Any Takers?? Or if anyone knows of a heavy rock band looking for a bassist

Has she seen better days?? I really should get some piccy's up of my newly acquired Les Paul

Yeah, give us a look then

Met up with clarky last night, and traded basses. He is amongst the nicest people I have had the pleasure of meeting, and I would not hesitate to trade with him again. Always very polite, and very friendly. I'm loving my new bass :wub: 100% Top Bloke

IMHO, that bass would look gorgeous with a fully coloured neck, with some flame showing through, and cream binding :wub:

[quote name='silddx' post='754476' date='Feb 22 2010, 10:28 PM']Is it a valid point? I might question how long that inspiration lasted. In my case, it was inspiration that made me up my game and get a Warwick, I needed something reliable, ergonomically designed and versatile. I did my research, bought one second hand and it remains, most of the time, my number one bass. I have flirted with, and occasionally bought, cheap tarts, nice friendly girls and young supermodels, but really, the 'vette feels like an extension of me. It didn't really inspire me to play more much longer than a week or so. My bands inspire me infinitely more than a nice piece of wood with some strings on, as do my bass heroes.[/quote] Good, thought provoking reply There are many things that can inspire us to want to play more, and have a very expensive bass. Getting the Ric really did inspire me to play more, and I do feel that if I hadn't taken the plunge, I wouldn't have got anywhere near as far with my bass playing. I went from picking the bass up maybe once every couple of weeks, to everyday, and it did last. Being in a good band is also a good source of inspiration. The band I am in at the moment has left me feeling as though I need to raise my game again, and have started having bass lessons, and learning to read music, and music theory. Another side of this, is if the rest of the band you are in are playing top of the line instruments, and all you have is a beat up cheapy, perhaps that would also be motivation to buy an expensive bass? Heroes are another good point. This is why we have signature models, with very high price tags, and limited production runs. I guess the inspiration there is owning a bass exactly the same as your hero (whether you can play or not) and if the run is in sufficiently small numbers, it will inspire collectors to make an investment. IMHO, yes, a £200 Squier can get the job done as well as £8,000 worth of Alembic, but who aspires to own a Squier as their all time dream bass? (I'm not having a cheap pop at Squiers, I think the current ones are fantastic VFM ) I feel that someone who can justify spending a huge amount on a bass is (A) someone with a large amount of disposable income ( someone who would prioritise having an expensive bass above all else © an investor/speculator who feels that the bass will give a huge return in future years :ref: expensive, limted run Fenders, (D) the feeling of owning something that is unatainable to mere mortals, and the cudos that goes with it.

Inspiration is a valid point. My first bass was an Aria legend, the el-cheapo plywood P Bass copy. My second bass is the Rickenbacker 4001 that I still own That Ric cost me my every last spare penny, at a time when I was running around in a battered old Datsun Estate Best thing I ever done, musically. Having a top end bass that played so well, really inspired me to raise my game, and take bass playing more seriously

Your Mrs has fine taste sir. Nice Ric Between a Ric, and a Stingray, the 'Ray is definately the more versatile in terms of sounds, but I reach for my Ric everytime. Absolutely gorgeous to play. So I guess it's a case of "one mans trash is another mans treasure" I can't offer an opinion on Warwicks, as I have never played one!

Have to admit, this one has given me mild gas

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='753493' date='Feb 22 2010, 09:02 AM']but it wasn't a vintage bass in the 60's and the sound a '64 Jazz made in '64 would be different to the sound it makes over 50 years later. The players using basses in the 60's were not using vintage instruments, therefore could not have had a vintage tone. The concept didn't exist.[/quote] Good post Truth of the matter is, in '64 there weren't that many dedicated bass amps about, so a lot of guys used guitar amps,etc. Throw into the mix how much speaker and cab design has changed, modern amps with compression, etc..... and suddenly your prized pre CBS Fender doesn't sound quite so vintage. Want the vintage tone? Get a hairy old valve amp, and an ancient, battered cab. That'll about do it.

I have to admit, this does have me scratching my head a little as well......... I have a real fetish for the vintage stuff, and pride of my basses are a '67 Gibson EB2, '76 Thunderbird, and '80 Rickenbacker 4001. None of these basses are what I would describle as "Mojo'd", or Reliced. They have all been really well looked after through the years, sure, they have the odd ding and scratch, but nothing that would get the vintage Fender gang drooling. I do understand the argument that a vintage bass that looks like it has been to hell and back is probably a serious player. Some years back, I came across a seriously battered '64 Fiesta Red Precision. It really did look horrible! It did inspire me to pick it up, and have a play, and wow!! Still the nicest playing Precision I have ever played. Lovely tone, seriously low action with no buzz..... Just to throw something else in; some of you may have noticed that I have a fetish for classic cars, and use golden oldies everyday. Don't own a modern car! The newest car Mrs Retroman and I own was built in 1978. We have 3 Mk2 Escort's, a Rover P6 V8, and an old Morris 1800. One of the Escorts must be worth a fortune! We bought it off an old lady of 97 years old, and although it is a very solid car underneath, she must have hit just about everything on the road with it.....doors are dented in, rear wing dented in, vinyl roof seen better days. How far do you think I would get listing the car on Ebay, and describing it as a "Heavy Relic"! Guitars have to be one of a few niche markets where battered condition can add to the value. FWIW, I would rather own a restored guitar, than a battered one. All my vintage basses get stripped down fully once a year, and given a serious service, clean, and polish. And I do mean every screw, nut and bolt. I really don't have a problem with a refin on a vintage bass, as long as the refin is period correct, and done with the correct finsihing materials

I took the time to read the review, and from an engineering, and time to produce point of view, I can understand the asking price. Is this bass for me? Erm, no. Is it VFM? It would have to be something pretty special. Would I personally spend that kind of money on a bass? Yeap!! But it would have to be something that is absolutely sublime, a completely faultless work of art, that is so beautiful to play, I would never want to put it down For that kind of money, I would be looking at something like an Alembic.

I have to admit, I saw the pictures, thought WTF , and promptly turned the page.

Me thinks this ties in nicely with the cheap bass quality thread in "Bass Guitars"

The band I am in uses only drop D tuning. Best way is with a good tuner. Remember to retune the whole bass, as slackening the bottom string will affect the other strings a small amount. Quick way, play the open D, then fret the E at the 12th fret, and tune down. If you are using light guage strings, and are planning on using drop D a lot, then it might be worth going to a 105, or 110 on the bottom, as lighter guages get a bit flappy. You might also have the raise the bridge saddle a little to prevent fret buzz.

Thanks Chaps Interesting about the offset bridge problem. Would probably work in my favour, as on my Ricky, I have a tendancy to push the E string off the edge of the board! If I see a '75 Reissue in a shop, I'm definately going to be trying it out. Thanks All, for the advice