gjones

£350 is a fairish price for a MIJ Silver Squier Jazz . I own one and they're good instruments. The pickups are darker sounding than your average Jazz Bass which I like. Mine was bought about 10 years ago for £250. They originally went for about £260/270 back in the early 90s. The ones you're probably thinking about were the early MIJ Squiers from the early 80s. They're a lot more expensive.

Strings do make a big difference to the sound of a bass. I've bought many a bass where my initial impression of it, when I get to sit and play it, is underwhelming. Changing the strings, to a different brand than it's fitted with, often brings it to life. I used to stick to Rotosound Swing Bass strings but have experimented with DR Hi Beams, Elixirs and Dunlop Super Brights of different gauges over the last few years. My favourites are the DR and Elixirs. It can be an expensive business though.

Not a stupid question at all. None of my basses, with onboard EQ, have a low mid control. So if I wanted to tweak those frequencies I would have to do it directly from the amp. And although, intuitively, one would assume that flat on a bass amp would be when all EQ controls are set at 12 o'clock, for many amps that's not the case. For example, on the Orange Terror Bass 500, flat setting is bass and treble all the way off and mids all the way up. I used the above Orange head at a local venue, quite a lot, and that setting sounded pretty flat to me. I then tweaked the sound from the EQ on my bass, which was often a 3 band Stingray.

Yes I think you're right. Bassists that play with big acts in large venues, are using IEM with a feed from the desk. The huge stack that they stand in front of on stage, is purely due to endorsement deals they have with manufacturers and is probably muted. One particular bassist, who shall remain nameless, endorses one particular boutique amp and cab manufacturer at every opportunity he gets but he also is a very big fan of his vibrating bassboard, which he uses with his IEM.

It sounds improvised and I doubt the original player would play it exactly like the record every time they played it. If I was learning this song I would start just start off playing the roots and fifths and then introduce fills etc, as I got more familiar with the song. Which is probably how the original bass player came up with the bass line.

Ed Friedland did a comparison of all the DR strings on the old Bass Emporium website. After listening to the various sound files I bought a pack of DR Hi Beams. I was very happy with them and I used them for many years. After buying a bass with Elixirs fitted, they are now my string of preference. But the basses I have, which are still fitted with the Hi Beams, still sound great. Never tried Sunbeams.

McCartney's Yamaha back in the 80s. I saw him with one and went straight out and bought one. Then he went back to his Hofner and has stayed with it ever since.

I recommend you buy a new tuner. Or alternatively watch this.......

Karma To Burn by The Waterboys.

The RM800, in my local rehearsal room, is at max volume by 12 (mid point) on the dial and there is no observable change in loudness after that. This is with the gain at max. Of course, through constant use, all the wording has worn off the silver front of the amp, so I have no idea what any of the other buttons or switches do.

Start the songs without him and it won't be too long before he gets the point.

I used to play with flatwounds and I recall, that when my hands got sweaty, the strings got sticky.

I thought that one looked a bit cheap. He realised his mistake at the last minute, apparently. He really should have emailed you to explain the situation.

I was pushing the band to get up to speed with our set, so we could start gigging ASAP. Then our drummer told me that, because of his underlying health issues (diabetes, recent heart attack) and the risks of Covid, he does not want to gig before 2022 . Perfectly understandable in his situation but he drums for my 2nd band too.......sigh. My 3rd band's singer is seriously ill, so I will have to wait until she has recovered fully before we'll be gigging again. Things are not looking good.

I kept up plonking away over lockdown to prevent me losing all my chops, or seizing up. Our guitarist had almost forgotten how to plug his guitar into his amp, as he hadn't touched the thing in months.

It's a CIJ Jazz Bass. My guess is it's Sonic Blue (It's been scientifically proven that they have a bit more low mid than other colours).

Very nice punchy sound you have there.

Played Callander a few times. The last time we played there was a huge fight between the local yokels and some squaddies in the bar we played. They were polite enough to wait until we'd finished our set, before the mayhem commenced

He's grown into his voice as the years have gone by.

He's the last singer for Genesis. When Phil Collins left they recorded an album with him and attempted to go out on tour. The American part of the tour was cancelled, due to lack of interest and Ray got his P45. Two of his bass players are on Basschat......so be careful what you say 🙄

Ray Wilson (he whose name should never be mentioned) is big in Poland

There's an Ashdown RM800 in my local rehearsal room. Although it is pretty loud, with the gain maxed, the amp doesn't get any louder after half way on the master. Is this something RM owners have observed with their own amps? It's being put through an Ashdown ABM-410H-EVO IV.

I joined a band just before lockdown. It had just been formed by the guitarist and was in the first rehearsals stage. The guitarist didn't want to be the organising force for the band, so it appears that I'm going to have to take over that role. I know organising bands can be like herding cats sometimes but this lot seem very keen. I hope the power doesn't go to my head.

Buy something you can lean back and point to your head. Hartke combos come to mind. Peaveys do the same. I recently bought a Markbass CMD121P which I can tilt up towards me onstage. I bought my 2020 model for £450 secondhand.