gjones

I have also been looking for a P bass recently. I did think about buying something vintage but I was put off by the fact, that there appears to be more 'vintage' basses out there than ever left the Fender factory in the 50s and 60s. I read a blog from an American, ex vintage guitar dealer, that there are so many extremely good fakes out there, he couldn't tell the difference between the real ones and the fakes. It got to the stage that he no longer buys and sells vintage guitars any more, because he felt he could no longer confirm to buyers that they were real thing.

You're right, my niece Christina plays bass on the album. She'd love a bass player when they play live but the economics of touring mean the band will have to remain a two piece for the foreseeable future.

May I present the future of guitar music, my niece's band Honeyblood. The new head of Fender, Andy Mooney, is convinced that the saviours of the electric guitar will be young women. According to him, these days, 50% of new guitar buyers are women. Which is lucky for my niece, because Fender have been showering her with free guitars and amps, in the hope I assume, that when she becomes a household name she'll be playing a Fender (most of them go to her dad, who plays in a blues band and is the proud owner of a rapidly growing guitar and amp collection).

Summer is our 'rainy season'.

Just booked my ticket for Garbage's Edinburgh gig in September. I really do love the first two albums and a plus point is that my niece's band, Honeyblood, are supporting them on the night.

This might help.

I have a bit of cash coming my way so I decided I'd treat myself to one of the new Fender Elite P/J Precisions. I've never owned a US Fender, before just MIJ (which of course are very good but aren't American - ie the 'Real Thing'). So I went to my local guitar shop and asked to try one of the Elites. Unfortunately they didn't have any in stock at the Edinburgh branch. So I asked if they had any other P/J Fenders. The sales guy said he'd have a look and after about 5 mins came back with a bass guitar shaped cardboard box. He cut it open and inside was a brand new, sunburst, Mexican Fender Deluxe Precision Special. I gave it a play, not expecting much, but was seriously surprised at how much I loved it! The action on it was really low ( I wasn't expecting it to be so well set up right out of the box), and combined with the slim Jazz neck, made it incredibly easy to play. The sound of the thing was amazing. the pickups, both soloed and combined, sounded really punchy in passive mode and in active mode they sounded even better. The bass looked really well put together and I couldn't find any flaws whatsoever. I was so impressed with this bass that I now have to ask myself, why would I fork out another £1,000 for the American version, when the Mexican, active P/J, sounds and plays so fantastic? Does anybody have one of these basses and do they love them as much as I do?

If you can, before you hand in your resignation, have a chat with the other members about your feelings. Say that you feel the band is getting stale, there's a lack of commitment and that you think the drummer is pants. Tell them you're seriously considering leaving, as playing with the band is no fun anymore. Then leave it up to them. If they don't agree with you, then it's probably a good time to leave. If they do agree with you and resolve to sort things out (and hopefully get a new drummer) then you can give them another chance.

I'm in the market for a new bass and while in my local music shop picked up and played one of these. It's definitely got that vintage vibe, is very light compared to my own Jazz, and has a really nice punchy sound. It was set up nicely too, and was very playable.

I'm not after an unachievable tone, It just has to be clear, deep and punchy out front. A lot of the time I don't hear the same bass tone as the audience hears, because I'm too close to my cab. I set my EQ and hope they're hearing what I want them to hear. Occasionally I get compliments on my bass tone from punters but usually it's only other musicians, who happen to be in the audience. that notice.

I tried the 70s Precision today and it was very pretty and very well made. It wasn't set up very well though. I also tried a Precision deluxe, with the P and J pickups, plus pre amp. That was set up beautifully, right out of the box, and had the sound I have been looking for. I have the feeling I will be buying it, once I've checked out the Fender Precision Elite. It's a P/J with a pre amp and £1,000 more expensive (I doubt it will sound £1,000 better than the MIM deluxe though).

I'm in the market for a new Precision and came upon these two beauties. I'd never heard of this series before. Both basses are made in Mexico and are selling for around £880. I really like the look of them.....very pretty.

Mmmmm.....an Interesting topic. The other day I actually used the amps built in compressor, at a venue I play at regularly. I couldn't really hear the difference but the drummer, who knows nothing about compressors, turned to me and said ' You have a great sound tonight, I can hear every note'. My impression of compressors, is that you can't hear them working until unless you set the threshold low enough that they start squashing your sound, which then kills your dynamics. But obviously I've been using them incorrectly (the very few times I have used them in the past).

I played in a Ska band for a while. We played the odd Reggae song too. This is such a great video by Devon Bradshaw which makes it all seem so easy.

Yes I've imported a few rosewood necks from Stratosphere in the past. Their website now says that they don't export rosewood necks anymore, as it's too much of a hassle.

In the 80s Japanese basses got a lot of love from famous bass players. Sting and Phil lynott played Ibanez, Paul Mccartney played a Yamaha and John Taylor played an Aria. I do't know if they were endorsed or were given freebies? Maybe it was because Fender were putting out inferior instruments at the time?

Snarks are very good for bass but as they have swiveling stalk thing, which is delicate and tends to break, you have to be very careful with them.

It depends on how good they are. There's a few bands I wouldn't have a problem joining if I knew the musicianship was excellent and the gigs they played were top notch. I play 70 to 100 gigs a year with other bands. So I wouldn't want to play in a band that only played 5-6, under rehearsed, gigs in dive bars. That would not be worth the bother.

I got described as a 'smooth' bass player by two random musicians recently. What the heck does 'smooth' mean? They meant it as a compliment but I have no idea what it means. This is my idea of a great bass player. Somebody who has all the chops but knows when to hold back and compliment the song. The first video is an example of the first quality and the second video is an example of the second quality. The guys name is Alan Thompson from Glasgow. He used to be John Martyn's bass player.

FYI I played Stramash tonight and connected my own GK MB500 up to the Orange 4x10. I got a much tighter bass sound compared with the sound I used to get from the Orange Terror Head. It made the night a much more satisfying experience than normal.

Well we all know who that was. I puzzled over it as well. What he seems to be saying is, that he is racist.....but just a little bit racist.

The fender ones are rubbish.

It's a nice looking bass. It reminds me of the Jazz bass I knocked up with a MIJ Fender neck and a maple body, from a Vintage Modified 70s Jazz Bass. The ferrules could have been added at a later date, so that they could be used with a string through Fender bridge.

Well I did 2 secs after I posted.

I bought my MIJ Geddy Lee from a guy in California, via Ebay. It was in great condition and had a fantastic low action. The neck was so slim it almost played itself. I felt it was a lot twangyier than my other jazzes (is that a word?). The 70s style tuners were a bit imprecise but that's 70s style tuners for you. Interestingly, I swopped the neck with a chunkier Allparts, rosewood, Jazz neck (for curiosity's sake) and felt it then sounded a lot deeper and darker. Stupidly I sold it and instantly regretted it. That was about 5 years ago and I've come to the conclusion that my next bass purchase will have to be another Geddy Lee (I plan to fit it with a John East J-retro, which will make it an even more awesome instrument).