Chris2112

I was laughing as I watched this the other day, as that buffoon rants about versatility before proceeding to show us several shades of mud.

I'd agree with your comments about final build quality. Sei are as good as it gets in that regard. Fit and finish to match any builder in the world on every bass they make.

Oh yes, very cool. Looks like a TVR.

I've played some awful necks over the years (mainly on Gibson and Rickenbacker basses). That said, size and shape don't matter to me, so long as it's comfortable. I always roll my eyes when a player says "Oh, I won't play that, it's .5mm too wide at the nut" or "oh, thats 150g over the weight I'm happy with". I've generally found my hands quite adaptable. I love fast, thin necks like on my Peavey Palaedium and Cort Rithimic Jeff Berlin models, but I also love wide and flat with wide string spacing, like on my Bogart. I can swap between them quite happily at the drop of a hat without issue, which suits me just fine.

The current lot seem to be very well regarded. That said, I've played many EBMM basses over the years and I'd he loathe to buy one without playing first. In all eras and variants of Stingrays, I found good ones and bad ones. You might pick up a 'golden age' 'Ray and find it has awful dead spots and a weak G string output. So I suppose the golden era of Stingray for me is from 1997 onwards, when Modulus refined the concept into the Flea bass.

You can get firewood cheaper elsewhere, try a garden centre.

I wouldn't buy one myself but I think the headstock looks pretty good.

Enfield are really something special. Their carbon fibre necks are amazing. Sadly, they're very rare. I don't think I've ever seen more than four or five for sale on the used market.

Top video. I saw that when it was new and recently re-visited it. Glad to see you still have the Wal. Do you still have a mate in a cowboy hat to nod out-of-time to your playing?

Oh of course. I owned #32 about eight or nine years ago (I think). Although back then there was just a bit of Buzz building about ACG.

I do love ACG. I find most of their shapes are not really to my taste these days. The first era of ACG designs are the strongest and most cohesive to my eyes, and the passage of time has seen a general to less attractive shapes. I also think that ACG were very competitively priced to start with but are just about market average now. I'd long said that Alan's work deserved to be mentioned alongside the very best in British bass-building, but the days of them being an attractively priced upstart are gone. Out of Sei and Shuker, I'd go with Sei. I think they are the finest instruments being made in the UK at the moment and their jazz model is stunning.

Rocking that 50's Diner toilet seat look.

Yep, I've always thought he sounded better playing his jazz bass. It sounded a bit richer and more aggressive than the Stingray and really suited that album.

Hi Vail. In your interview with Jeff, I'd love to hear him talk more about the later stages of his career as a musician. His educational principles are well documented around the web and every interview with him seems to ask about either his time playing with Bill Bruford or what he preaches as an educator. You have a great opportunity to get insight on the most exciting part of his career - when he was at the helm! I am a huge fan of Jeff's work and his teaching so I'll happily listen to any interview with him and I look forward to whatever you come up with. If possible, I'd love to hear some discussion on his preference for chord tones; how he uses them to outline harmony and add colour to his playing and how we amateurs can better use them. On this channel, I would also love to hear more from you. I mentioned on Facebook the other day that I had enjoyed your solo albums from the 90's (I'm Christopher Dwaine Pipe, we spoke there the other day). I love your playing and thought you had developed a really distinct sound as a bassist. Can't wait to hear more from you!

She's good! I often find singing a solo like this is a great way to learn it. I learned a lot of 'James by Jeff Berlin in by singing it like this to get to grips with the different notes and phrases and I have, for years now, enjoying singing the middle section of 'Volcano for Hire' by Weather Report in this fashion. Her take on 'Donna Lee' is particularly good because after the first minute or so, the pieces does rather lose it's form. Jaco has, by then, expended the most identifiable phrases and motifs so to keep place in a vocal performance is impressive.

Watch footage of Shawn Lane playing in Memphis bars in the 90's with the DDT band. One of the most talented musicians on the planet playing his heart out as people wander around drinking beer and playing pool, unaware they're in the presence of a genuine master.

The thing that always sticks out and amuses is that Carl Thompson's builds are always referred to as being absolute dogshite. I have read Ken Smith's comments on then before in less flattering terms than are used here. He was out of his depth against Fodera and Smith.

There is obviously some room for adjustment. You'll notice over the years that the chorus sound has changed from album to album or even song to song depending on what was needed and peak chorus was probably in the early to mid 2000's. Using a shallow depth and high speed gives a lovely warble and shimmer without being overpowering. Yeah, sometimes the wet:dry signal mix on the record is really weighted towards the chorused sound but by setting the pedal like this, a lot of the natural sound of the bass comes through. Keeping the speed high and the depth low keeps the sound tight too, which is essential if you want the fluidity and definition Jeff gets. Throughout his jazz era, Jeff really redefined his style of soloing, moving to a more improvisational style of playing over changes in a way he hadn't done before that. Compare a really composed solo from something like 'Manos De Piedra' to the winding, improvisational lines in something like 'James' or 'Saab Story'. Because Jeff had Richard Drexler playing upright bass, he was able to let the bass guitar take the role of a horn and really let rip.

Advert is gone, anyone got a cached copy?

A great player, no doubt, despite a few sharps and flats there. Those black nylon strings sound really hokey though, particularly in the higher registers where they sound like elastic bands.

I generally like Warwick but I've never really liked the Corvette. I don't have anything against it, but I've never played one that felt good. The worst was a five string FNA in 'amber violin' colour (I think that was the name of the finish). I played it in a shop and got the 'so are you buying it?' question when I handed it back. I didn't much like the clubby neck and the lifeless tone, but I did remark to the sales guy that the strings were beyond dead and the setup was off. I came into the shop next week and saw a fresh set of strings so I tried it again - the bass sounded brighter but not really any livelier. It was probably more disappointing the second time around!

It doesn't surprise me. It's a difficult time to sell guitars and POA gives the store some agility in the face of day to day fluctuations.