Rich

When I use a pick, it's a Dunlop 1mm black nylon. I sometimes use a thick brass one, gets a really gritty sound as it scrapes on the string windings -- it's like a hand-held overdrive pedal

OK peeps, the Fodera thing has had its 15 minutes on this thread -- there's a 'boutique basses' thread running elsewhere, so continue on p.94 of that one if you really want to. [quote name='gwizmon' post='532575' date='Jul 4 2009, 07:12 PM']"Argos Encore Basses - a world leader in [b]bouncy dialled-in [/b]mail order [b]signature[/b] tone"[/quote] Good review, but I think it needs these additions Seriously -- Janek, I like your idea of a thread which discusses melodic development in modern music and what possibilities lie ahead for our industry and for us as players. Fancy starting one?

[quote name='Stan_da_man' post='532016' date='Jul 3 2009, 08:53 PM']Seeing as my comment sparked this thread I'll just say this - Some people who have said boutique basses are worth the money, others would say are brand snobs.[/quote] Conversely: Some people who have said boutique basses are stupid and definitely not worth the money, others would say are inverse snobs.

What is this Over the Hill Water bass of which you speak? Seriously though, Overwater are my 2nd favourite UK custom builder, and that's against some stiff competition. I chatted to Chris May for quite a while at a guitar show once, a lovely guy with a genuine passion for the craft. Alas, I think the closest I'll get to owning a 'real' Overwater is one of their School basses (which I bought as a basket case and am very gradually bringing back to life).

[quote name='wulf' post='531421' date='Jul 3 2009, 09:52 AM']The two things I find trickiest when it comes to the bass solo are: a) I've been concentrating on holding together the foundation of the song. Switching to something more melodic can be tricky. With the group I've played with most, the tendency is for everyone else to drop out, so I'm left exposed, trying to maintain a foundation, soar lyrically and remember where I am in the form![/quote] The two things I find trickiest when it comes to the bass solo are: a] Coming up with something that doesn't sound like the bass is being dropped down a stairwell. b] see a] above. I really cannot solo to what I consider a passable standard, and hate doing so. I love listening to good solos, as long as they are melodic -- I take my hat off unreservedly to anyone who can play a whistle-able tune as their solo. One of my favourites is Gary Willis' solo on 'Canine' by Tribal Tech. It always makes me smile.

If you spend £300 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. If you spend £1500 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. If you spend £3000 on a bass and it does everything you want and plays how you want it to, then it's worth every penny to you. etc.

I saw a jazz band in a pub in Bristol a couple of years back, bass player had a nice old Jazz and some fairly serious chops, and god did he know it. He overplayed terribly to the extent that, not content with a solo of his own, he virtually soloed during the other players' solos too. As a result it was a dog's dinner. Someone really needed to have a word.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='530402' date='Jul 2 2009, 11:26 AM']I don't know Robbie's current prices (he certainly deserves to have increased them!) but my RIM cost about the same as a StingRay 5.[/quote] Ditto my Shuker. It's another case of horses for courses. Some people will say yes, absolutely, worth every penny. Others will say hell no, my off-the-peg bass does everything I want and more. There is no definitive answer.

[quote name='Jobiebass' post='525412' date='Jun 26 2009, 10:12 PM']doing nothing but twiddling with my Bongo[/quote] Oh god. Don't let Mrs.T see that, she'll have a field day.

[quote name='gwizmon' post='530190' date='Jul 2 2009, 07:21 AM']...Fodera. It's like the stradivarius of bass guitars, made by the single greatest luthier that's ever lived. That's a pretty bold statement I know, but it really is the reality of the situation. The kind of wood, the attention to detail, and the hundreds of meticulous man hours that go into making their instruments really do make them worth the money and the wait.[/quote] And all without a hint of bias! :lol: Nah, but seriously... yes it's nice to lust after the exotica, and I don't think the suggestion is to bin the top-drawer reviews altogether -- I certainly don't want to see them disappear -- but people genuinely want to know what's out there in their price range. It's not that you want to rush out and buy one straightaway... it's just knowing what's out there at a level you can afford, and getting one person's view of it. Sure it's one man's meat and all that -- you might read a great review of a £300 acoustic, think "[i]ooh, I quite fancy that, and I can just about scrape the cash together too[/i]" & then try one in a shop and find that you personally hate it -- but without that initial review and pics, you might not even know it exists. To continue the car metaphor, it's like those magazines you mention, or Top Gear on the telly -- it's great to hear about the slippery £100,000+ exotica, but every so often you really want them to stop arsing about in the Bugatti and actually tell you what the new Ford Fiesta is like.

Also, would like to see an interview with Horace Panter from the Specials

Girls Aloud sub-section..?

TBH I didn't think the Star Bass review was any worse than the review of the same bass in Bass Player mag. Yes, the home recording page did bellow "FILLER!" quite loudly, and more reviews of sub-400/500 quid gear would be good. But I stand by my previous comments re: the interviews. Much better writing, much more informative. And I agree with silddx, the session player feature was very good. You know what they say, you can't please all the people all the time

It's tragedies like this that make you sit down and think hard about what's [i]really[/i] important.

Christ on a bike, that's an incredible view. I'm off to check the flights to NZ Good luck with the job mate.

Women say you can never be too rich or too thin. I say you can never have too many basses or too many pants.

My god, that's no age at all. Sincerest condolences to his family. A sad day.

I remember years ago, Trace Elliot used to say that their 15" cabs actually had a brighter top than their 10s, just not as punchy or snappy. Is this generally the case with 15" speakers?

[quote name='escholl' post='528171' date='Jun 29 2009, 09:54 PM']my girlfriend [b][u]at the time[/u][/b] kept swinging the door open and letting it crash into the bass[/quote] Yup, I can see why!

Just got the latest one today. For my money, the best issue yet. Good interviews, now a million miles from "where do you get your ideas?" predictability. And thankfully, none of the reviews contained the phrase "dialling in"..! Keep it up guys.

[quote name='Shaggy' post='527690' date='Jun 29 2009, 01:10 PM']Not buying a Wal when they were £500 s/h I feel quite depressed now [/quote] Would it depress you more if I told you I paid £330 for mine..?

+1 for what Jan said about the preamp... get the best one you possibly can.

1:25, there he is. Oh god, we are [i]so[/i] unworthy.

[quote name='BigAlonBass' post='526080' date='Jun 27 2009, 05:08 PM']When you're stood on stage naked, painted blue with yellow polka-dots, hair on fire, slapping the strings with your erect p*nis, and people are STILL watching the flaming Lead Guitard and Singer. [/quote] :lol: [size=1]ps. sorry, I just had to amend the thread title... typo was doing my head in [/size]