Jerry_B

For starters...

[url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url]

I think it involves taking a blue pill (Viagra) or a red pill (Nurofen Express)...

My old Westone Spectrum DX, which was my first real bass and which I've had since 1988, is still one I'd never give up. It's cheap as chips, has a little bit of neck dive and worn frets but it just has a monster sound that I never get tired of. The only other bass which has been spot on for me in terms of sound is my T-40, which in itself isn't some hugely expensive bit of kit. I've tried various other more expensive basses over the years but none of them have been able to cut it as far as I'm concerned.

[url="http://www.axesrus.com/axecart.htm"]http://www.axesrus.com/axecart.htm[/url] [url="http://www.guitar-parts-and-spares-uk.com/index.html"]http://www.guitar-parts-and-spares-uk.com/index.html[/url] [url="http://www.guitarthings.co.uk/index.asp"]http://www.guitarthings.co.uk/index.asp[/url] [url="http://www.highlystrung.co.uk/index.html"]http://www.highlystrung.co.uk/index.html[/url]

Not my cup of tea!

Ahaaaaa!

No worries I forgot to mention that effects can also add some interesting touches to the overall sound. Compression, for example, tends to keep the 'warble' that a fretless can have, but tighten up it's overall sound. It's sometimes possible to do that and make it seem as if it's being played with a plectrum (which in itself can make it's own unique set of sounds with a fretless). Also, as with a fretted bass, where you touch or pick the string effects the overall tightness or looseness of the sound (i.e. near the bridge = tighter, near the neck = looser).

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='988386' date='Oct 14 2010, 08:22 PM']Are you talking about 'The Decline of Western Civilisation'?[/quote] No. 'American Hardcore' was made more recently - 2006. Worth a watch if you can find it somewhere. There's a book called 'Our Band Could Be Your Life' which covers alot of similar ground (altho' in a bit of an overdone music journo' way). [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/OurBandCould#g/u"]This YouTube channel[/url] also gives examples of some of the bands. After Hardcore, and during it, the US punk scene went in alot of different directions. Not everyone agreed with all the content being created - different people would say some stuff was more part of the scene than others. The Crossover and Straightedge scenes usually rubbed the most amount of people up the wrong way Both spiraled off into crapness over time too (mind you, Crossover was crap already IMHO ...)

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='988347' date='Oct 14 2010, 07:43 PM']The thing is The Stranglers, Clash and Jam made a lot of music I wouldn't consider punk. Everytime I hear someone say punk now days isn't as good as the old punk all I hear in my head is Uncle Albert saying "during the war"[/quote] I think what might be the case is that modern US punk doesn't come from the same bloodline as UK punk from the '70s. So it's a bit chalk and cheese. Modern US punk (or what's called punk) takes more influences from the US hardcore punk scene of the lates 70s to mid-80s. That encompasses alot of different sounds and styles. That said, the stuff that gets labelled as punk in the US nowadays seems to be more firmly rooted in a few specific areas of the hardcore scene, but slightly toned down and with more emphasis on the melodic. It even strays into Crossover a bit IMHO. Anyway, in a nutshell, British punk and US punk a tad different. Comparisons go askew a bit quickly. It's a shame the 'American Hardcore' documentary film isn't on Google video any more, as that explains alot of the hardcore scene and where it came from. Mind you, it can get a bit confusing because US hardcore also was in turn copied by bands in the UK... who then influenced bands in the US...

[quote name='bassix' post='987982' date='Oct 14 2010, 12:59 PM']Unless its 77 it aint Punk.. [/quote] That ignores alot of Punk then - '77 was just the kickstart in one place.

[quote name='allihts' post='987502' date='Oct 13 2010, 10:31 PM']Apart from the obvious what are the main differences between fretted and fretless basses? What kinds of music suit them best? Are they more common active or passive? Is the action harder/easier to adjust? Is there a fretless version of fret buzz?[/quote] Sound and tone can be different, depending on how they're played. IMHO they can be used with most kinds of music, given a little imagination. I dunno whether active or passive predominates. Action adjustments are no different to a fretted bass (at least, that's my experience). You can get buzzing if the action is too low - the string just hammers on the fretboard, and sounds pretty dire.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='987035' date='Oct 13 2010, 03:26 PM']EDIT: Where can I find some replacement pickup rings? Mine are on the verge of being useless now due to them falling apart (just the ends with the screws remaining, not the long sides). The only place I found is here [url="http://www.fretsonthenet.com/Peavey.htm"]http://www.fretsonthenet.com/Peavey.htm[/url] but the guy want's about $60. Is that reasonable?[/quote] Try contacting the guy [url="http://www.classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/basses/peaveyspares.htm"]here[/url] - I got a set of pup rings from him a while back that were like new. I think they were 30 quid for the pair (but probably less, knowing my memory)...

[url="http://www.couchguitarstraps.com/products_all.html?zenid=2phe616u3uacfsj4phdmatncd5"]Couch Straps[/url] - very good.

[quote name='PaulWarning' post='985892' date='Oct 12 2010, 04:31 PM']that type of thing is exactly why punk was invented, god is there anything more boring than a bass or drum solo [/quote] I agree. Why is no-one bottling him...?

Yeah, mine's an '83 model with blades and doesn't have those extra holes.

They're 199 quid aren't they? And they're lined.

Unless I'm seeing things, there are holes in your scratchplate ahead of the tone/volume knobs. My T-40 doesn't have those.

There's details about a nice one for sale [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=105575"]here[/url] - it's the one I mentioned earlier. But maybe it's a bit over your budget.

But quite alot of what's called 'punk' nowadays seems to be heavily influenced by the poppier side of several US bands. They themselves were watering down older US punk stuff more than anything else.

Mine doesn't have any extra ones.