Conan

My band rehearse in the attic studio of the guitarist's house. We turn up at 7:30 and have a chat in the kitchen with some kind of a drink - tea for the drummer and singer, beer or wine for the guitarist and myself, nothing at all for the rhythm guitarist. He is deliquescent apparently. The singer and guitarist then pop outside for a herbal cigarette. Another cuppa or glass in hand, we head upstairs for the purposes of making music. All very convivial and laid-back. The consumption of substances never reaches the point where performance is compromised, and we have a good night with mates. Compromise. That's what it's all about. We are all adults and nobody feels pressured into partaking or not doing so. It's all down to the individuals concerned, of course...

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1333545312' post='1603278'] Wilks did some nice stuff in the 80s I even saw a weird fretted fretless thin in A1 in manchester (fretted e/a string fretless d/g) it was a cool thing at the time [/quote] Creator of the innovative "[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/134054-withdrawn-wilkes-4-string-fretless-with-slap-plates/"]slap-plate[/url]" if I remember correctly... a brass plate inlaid into the top of the neck so that you could slap on a fretless. Never played one, but they were pretty popular for a short time in the mid-to-late eighties.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1333535676' post='1602964'] I wooden't branch out into something like that. I'd leaf well alone. [/quote] Fixed

[quote name='juliusmonk' timestamp='1333447112' post='1601701']I guess that, probably like all of us, I am after something that immediately feels right, plays effortlessly and sounds great. That bass would be invaluable, so definitely worth (almost) any price tag? [/quote] Slightly OT, but have you tried a Status?

Though I love Mark King, I wouldn't say that the tone he gets is "Classic" Alembic. He sounds much like himself whatever bass he plays! While some people on here are clearly experts when it comes to Alembics, I wouldn't necessarily ignore the input of those (like myself) who have only had a brief dalliance with the brand. You say you go on first impressions of an instrument and I am exactly the same. I don't understand why you should have to force yourself to like something that just doesn't 'feel' right to you. I have only tried one Alembic - a fretless five string Epic that belonged to Chris2112. I had use of it for a weekend and was (at the time) considering trading it for my Status. It was OK. Just that. It played nicely with a great array of tones (very powerful electronics). Yes, it was heavy - but not awkwardly so. Lovely fretboard, and very comfortable to play. But I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Maybe my expectations were unrealistic, but for a bass that costs around $8000 new it didn't feel as good as I hoped. And why do they only have two screws per pickup? I think everyone should try an Alembic. They are still one of the brands to aspire to. However, I would say that they are not all things to all people. But then again, name me a guitar that is!!

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1333032976' post='1596523'] Not Rotosound! [/quote] That's not very helpful! Can you be a bit more specific?

There is no "best" configuration for any style of music. Just what you like the sound of and can afford.

Lovely!! That's the best bassline I've heard for ages. Perfect summer driving tunage

I have a no-name J copy which I believe was made in China. It plays great!! Pretty much on par with my Jap-crafted Geddy Lee but with a much fatter neck of course. Now that it has decent pickups in it sounds great too. The original ones were very high output but microphonic and clanky. A real gem of a bass that I paid £100 for!

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1333016040' post='1596133'] The only problem is our music is maybe a tad heavy to go advertising in schools. Might not go down so great [/quote] Have you seen A-level art students?

DRs. Newtone are pretty good too for about a tenner a set less, but don't seem to last as long. You can buy DRs in bulk from the States - but if you get hit for import taxes the savings aren't all that great. To my ears, the DRs (and especially the fatbeams) seem to have more midrange. They feel good to my fingers too, smoother than the Newtones and MUCH smoother than rotos. D'Addarios are nice too and I used Elites for years. Three is plenty of choice. Try [url="http://www.stringbusters.com/"]stringbusters[/url] or [url="http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/"]stringsdirect[/url]... Expect lots of different answers!

One idea my wife used when she was working for a conservation charity was to approach a local school/college and set a competition, with prizes, for the students to produce artwork. Obviously they had to sign over any copyright, and the winners received various items of merchandise (do you have T-shirts, CDs and such-like to use as prizes?). The students also get the kudos of being a prize-winning artist while still at school/college - which can help them with applications to jobs, uni etc. Win-win situation!

I recently bought Stuart's Geddy Lee jazz bass. Communications were very good and the bass was very well packaged. No problems at all.... although don't let him anywhere near a soldering iron! Highly recommended.

Find a local and poor (shouldn't be difficult) art student!! Even at A-level, there are some genuinely talented people. Very cheap too...

[quote name='Stacker' timestamp='1332944882' post='1595259'] Cue drummer joke........ How do you know when there's a drummer at your front door? The knocking speeds up and slows down...... and speeds up! [/quote] And he doesn't know when to come in! Baddum-ching!

Most drummers I know should be [b][i]doing[/i][/b] time...

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1332879647' post='1594458'] There are quite a few well know members that have dissapeared within the last year.[/quote] haven't seen or heard much from Cetera or BottomEndian for a while either...

[quote name='jakenewmanbass' timestamp='1332800926' post='1593457'] As I remember it he had a rather shocking close personal tragedy, about which he spoke briefly on here. I hope things are improving for him, he is one of the good guys!! [/quote] Yes. It was bloody terrible. Hope that he and his nearest and dearest are OK.

Not that I've used him myself.... but he has worked for the likes of Fish, Marillion, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest... [url="http://www.the-masque.com/mainpage.html"]http://www.the-masque.com/mainpage.html[/url]

James bought a set of strings from me and paid within nanoseconds! A smooth and hassle-free deal from start to finish. Cheers man!