msb

Nice amp! … meet me in the basement

I‘ve been asked to bring a specific bass , is that the same? One of the cheapest ones I own , Danelectro Longhorn , with ancient strings. It has a great , old school , woody thump.

Just some rhythm changes , but it swings.

I mostly play mid sized bars , and frequently run a single 8 ohm cab. Most gigs only the vocals , and maybe a sax are miked , so I need too fill the room, the band stage mix is what people are going to hear. I do have a second cab for bigger rooms and outdoor gigs. There are times it’s needed. I’ve never had to dime the amp. Lots of headroom. Berg 112 & 210 cab combination , Forte head. It’s got a serious slam.

It was a fairly small run and they quickly disappeared. You don’t see them pop up on the used market much , and when they do , they’re gone. I thought that might encourage Gibson to revisit the concept , but they really concentrate on keeping the guitar players happy , their current bass line is pretty limited. That said , their little DC Jr bass is a wonderful little thing!

I recently restrung a 30 in Gretsch Baritone , I tune it A-A , it has a Bigsby , I put on the D’Addario X-L med 14-68 set. They work !

I’ve never owned a Tbird , but I like them. I had a couple of almost buys over the years , I don’t know why I didn’t pick one up. At first I found the later non-reverse version ugly , but I came around. I like ‘em now. I’ve heard some good things about the recent batch of non-reverse birds. Over the years Gibson have done around eighty basses , including reissues. They have a fascinating history. If they did a short scale reverse bird I’d buy one in a minute. Even an Epi Pro version.

I’ve been looking at replacing the 3 point with a Hipshot , but have four basses with them , truth is I’ve always been able to set them exactly where they need to go without fuss or drama , so I haven’t done it. Yet … If you drop the nose on the three point the two back anchors can lift , but once you get that they’re fine. but they are kinda ugly looking things

The expression “house poor” comes to mind. The bank’s interest rates were higher , and there were times one had to juggle at the end of the month. But at this point the mortgage has been paid and I am truly the lord of my little manor. Your mind set changes when you become a property owner , if anything breaks it’s up to you to fix it. We have a small house , but a big yard , and Herself is a gardener. And I’m thankful we did it. It was not always easy. For much of it I was self employed and paying business rent and a mortgage. I was the last one to get paid.

Dr Who used the guitar version. … and there was a run on them. Now they’re hard to find again. They look like an upside down Rickenbacker with a hockey stick headstock. (and I say that in a good way) It seems like any time I take it out and play it in a bar somebody offers to buy it. I’m hanging on to it.

The design goes back to the late 60’s , called the Flying Samurai. One of the earliest bass designs by Yamaha , although the one I have was from a small reissue run just over twenty years ago. A friend calls it the ultimate Japanese surf bass. I’ve been known to occasionally play surf music. Truth is , it’s not heavy , nicely balanced , and has a bit more balls than your usual Jazz Bass. The pickup spacing is very close to Jazz specs , and it has the typical VVT setup. The neck is very comfy , nice taper. It’s a great bass. It always gets a lot of compliments. And frequent offers to buy it.

It’s been some years since I’ve owned a Jazz Bass , but this has been described as a Jazz on steroids. They’re not common , but they’re out there. After some years of looking at them for sale everywhere but Canada , finally found one in Toronto for a good price.

this is why we cannot have nice things

Nice rig!

I had that old motor drive on my F. It made quite the racket. I think it was the F36 version. Primitive thing. I was also nutty about Leica rangefinders , and still have some.

I know John Hall has a history of alienating people , but I’ve only had positive experiences with him. After buying my old 4001 I went on the Resource Forum asking about the cap bypass. He took the time to patiently explain it , I didn’t realize until about two weeks later that he owned the company.

Once you’ve had both I think your opinion shifts more to middle ground. At least mine did. Used to be all about the Pbass , now play just about anything but , although I still have three of them. Now I love the big chunky neck on one bass and the rail thin neck on another. I’ve discovered that with a little time I get very comfortable playing almost anything. I do find my approach does shift a bit using different basses , and I like the change. I do seem to favour short scales these days.

stuff the drum that rug really ties the room together

That’s certainly one of the cheesier things in this thread … I like it.

I was originally doing photographic work , and making some large 20x30 display prints for a theatre when the phone rang and a friend wanted to talk. It must have been two in the morning when we met and he explained that a touring band he knew was about to audition for a new bass player. I was the only one that showed up for the audition , we jammed for a couple of hours and I got the job. Immediately traded a Nikon camera for a fairly new 72 Pbass , made arrangements to buy a well used Marshall amp on time and I was on the bus. Well actually one of the ratty old cars that made up our entourage… I’ve been a working musician ever since , and did manage to balance that with various photographic jobs later.

Nikon F ! I got my first Pbass trading an F2 with a pentaprism and 85/1.8. Still have the Pbass , sold the old Nikon stuff but still have an S2

I can walk in a music shop and not see a thing I need , but when I spot a deal on kijiji I’m out the door cash in hand.

I can hardly wait …

Here in Halifax , NS it’s a tough old go being a full time musician , and yet a surprising number manage. We have a few that even manage a good living , but for most it’s tenuous at best. But those that are going to do it are going to do it. Never a big star , I was (and still am) a simple blue collar musician playing the local bars. No regrets. For some years we ratted around the local circuit but I got tired of constantly driving around and opted to just stay in town, managed a day job and played locally a lot. Late nights , early mornings. Now retired I can say I’m surprised to find myself still playing in bars. Enjoy that more than ever. … utterly shameless at this point. So I tell people to follow what they love. There’s no shortage of misery going about and if you can find a path without a direct subscription … go for it. I’d make one heck of a Guidance Councelor.

I don’t have room for racks , but I have nooks where they pile up.