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Meet the new range, same as the old range...

Adrian Maruszczyk must laugh his socks off whenever Fender come out with an updated range & price list...

F**k Rock, F**k Roll

So... skimming through today's threads we learn that you're probably best off with an old Peavey TNT combo and a used Fender bass. Hooray! Ten years of membership to find the best gear was totally worth It!

Boring.

Okay, okay so plenty of head shaking from the experts and the knowledgeable, but I just discovered Chuck Rainey. I'm learning Rock Steady by Aretha for an audition and have steadily fallen in love with the extraordinarily splendid bass line. So I do a little research and discover that I probably haven't just discovered him as he has played on so much. I have actually been listening to him for quite some time, notably with King Curtis. I just didn't know who he was. The riff to the song is a joyous thing, rhythmically perfect, and perfectly repetitive with some little unexpected flashes. He then breaks into a few bars of pure inspiration before settling back onto the groove. Yum. It's beautiful. A little more research and I find he played with Steely Dan who were of course one of Bruce Thomas favourite bands and Bruce has always been my biggest influence. So there we go. Anyone familiar with Chuck's work who'd care to point me at other of his gems would render me eternally grateful.

As a bass player, I don't give anyone playing solo bass a second thought, either.

Fender really need to start looking at what other builders are doing. The likes of Maruszczyk, Sandberg, Lull, Sadowsky, Moolon...the list of builders who seem to make better Fenders than Fender themselves at competitive price points is as long as my arm. There’s little incentive for many of us to buy a brand new Fender and the sale of used models obviously brings no new revenue in for the company. Out of interest, anyone know how Fender are doing, financially?

Today's word is 'grandmotherable'. You win the internet.

If the title wasn't "new range" you could be forgiven for not realising

Lake Placid Blue! Yay! ..and tort. Wut?

Judging by the video I don't think he is!

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You could look at it another way... I'm assuming that you and the guitarist don't sing. Find a singer or maybe a singer songwriter and be their backing. Get some gigs doing acoustic sets. If you do sing, don't look for a singer, but do the acoustic sets! Then get a drummer. Then do bigger gigs. Open mic nights can be good to polish things and inject some momentum and urgency to rehearsal, if there's something to aim for people pull their socks up. Did it myself where there was a singer and guitarist who were flatmates, I played bass for them and we did some open mics while looking for a drummer. A good drummer will want to know you're moving in some direction and not being yet another load of dreamers, so it helps.

I understand your smugness. I was getting remarks along the same lines after a bee-sting to the scrote at a naturist campsite years ago.

That's the Spirit. Oh teehee back at you.

This has been posted before, but, hey, if we're talking Rainey?

I'd argue that they go elsewhere because they have to. I doubt that even if I had the money, that the Fender Custom Shop wouldn't make me a 24 fret version of a Jazz. So the likelihood of that model even making it into the bog standard production range is nil, and off I go to Maruszczyk.

He’s an incredible player. Deep, rich and with a tone to die for. And an absolute monster when he needs to be too, but it’s all about the groove. Anyone who was booked by Steely Dan must have been a fantastic technician and a superlative sightreader. Oh, and he’s the author of one of the best instructional books for bass.

That's my thought. I'll have a 50s Mex any day.

Most people walking past these guys probably have their own agenda, lunch break, catching the train home, work deadlines etc. and are too busy to stop and watch buskers. How many non bass players are going to give someone playing solo bass a second thought ?

Oops, forgot the link http://www.wembleyloudspeaker.com/

Regarding your electrical problems I'd suggest having a tech replace all the electrolytic caps on the preamp PCBs. If you look at the circuit boards you may notice that there are components leaking a greenish substance, looks a bit like what you get from a leaking AA battery. Very simple job and only takes a few minutes for somebody handy with a soldering iron.

Thanks. I knew I wasn't the only one.

To be fair the revolutionary innovation happened years ago. I agree with you about the rut, but on the other hand when Fender do try something new everyone practically has a heart attack and demands they get back to their 'core values', i.e. more of the same.

@Al Krow you won't be able to turn an 8 into a 12 by using pedals. Generally an 8 is more middly sounding. The 12 is much fuller. An 8 is marginally easier to play, but I had my 12 set up with such a low action it's almost insane. If you can't bend the strings, fair enough, but it's not that much of a leap of you work at it. Once you do when you switch back to playing a normal 4 string it'll feel like a toy. You're welcome to pop round to mine to try them if you want.

Now if they'd just get with the program and do an MIM version of that 60's P bass then we'd (I'd) be happy...

Nah, it`s cos in these label-driven times passers by saw he was playing a Squier, so thought he wasn`t a serious musician.......................

Could have been worse - you might have flooded the engine.

Kevin is a great seller, serious and faster. I bought a superb WAL MK1, a gorgeous bass. I hope to keep in touch with Kevin, a great person. Absolutely recommended!

I await the sound samples of your 12 string emulation. If only any of us had known that the rich, textural properties of a niche instrument could be replicated with 3 stompboxes...

Now i'm gonna laugh. Always thought motorbikes were dangerous. Should i reinforce that you should always cover your head while riding a bike. Dave

The above makes it look like you have a granny flat in your rucksack and you have a low opinion of her. For shame! Heeheehee I have a canvas bag in the style of a holdall but smaller. It's a little shy of eighteen inches in length and it holds cables, tuner, strings, a mains extension reel, some switch cleaner and nail clippers. I don't gig but if I did I imagine I'd have to be a lot more focussed about what gets carried in it than I am now. I'd consider a rucksack if I didn't already have a gig bag for my bass to put on my back. Although I have a hard case for the bass, it's not used for the walk to my local because it spoils my gait and I get problems with my neck as a result. As I have a gig bag for the bass that can be worn with shoulder straps I'm happy enough to carry the bag. If I was going in a vehicle, the hard case would be used and then the rucksack would be ideal. I suppose it is inevitable that I will get into pedals and other peripheral stuff which will make me rethink my luggage but I won't get a larger bag just now because I would tend to look for gear to fill it up. We'll soon be able to buy robotic luggage that follows us whilst looking like something cute out of a Japanese cartoon. Won't that be great?

This looks great!

Cool idea. Good luck.

Couldn't agree more. Have been using one recently in a practice room and it sounds better than my main rig! Which may raise a question or two

Yes, it pleases me to have a good old swear as well, but I can't. Apparently this is a family-friendly forum, but I've never seen kids on here, ever. Or dogs, babies or grandmothers. Plenty of grandfathers, though.

Rock and roll is dead. Er, long live rap?

You know, I started this thread to just post that I bought a new powered speaker, and look where we have ended up

I say 'bum about', but it doesnt have the same impact. I hate the profanity filter now, it's dung.

I had one made up for mine by OBBM...

I very much doubt that. Nothing sounds like a 12. The problem with Ament and Peterson's tone is that once the full band comes in the top edge gets wiped out. Listen to any other part of Jeremy barring the intro. He could be playing anything as all the cut is gone. It's why I use my Hamer with much more aggressive sounds than they do so you'll still hear the ring and chime with the full band. On its own it'll tear your head off, but in context, it just kills as there is so much harmonics and overtones added. Having played a few other 12's, the Hamer easily beats them on virtually all fronts. The fact that Peterson's Gretsch has a 4 saddle bridge and costs $12k is laughable in the extreme. Jog on. With Hamer no more (thanks Fender!) I'd be getting Tom Keonig to build one as having conversed with him he seems like a really nice guy who happens to make exceedingly good cakes.

Are you on Facebook? Pop along to the Wal Bass Club there and join in the fun. There’s a sticky post which lists various players’ fave tone settings. A lot of good tones to try out as you explore the preamp...!

Made simple video last night with the PRO and man does that bass play nice! incredible low action without buzz......

Whilst I was out the nice courier delivered bass number 2... I have been hankering after one for a few months actually, and when one was up on eBay from Absolute Music I copped it in their 20% off day. Retail on these is £609 - I got it for £412 Ibanez SRH-500-DEF