Leaderboard

I see people are comparing UKIP to the Taliban. This is grossly offensive and an insult to the Taliban.

"Rick: I know, let's put Neil's speaker in front of the door! Neil: Oh, not that speaker! Jimi Hendrix once pi$$ed on that!" The Young Ones - 1982

Surely that's going to be an MIA Roger Waters P bass.

Man... if that piece of music doesn’t appear to be going anywhere it’s because it’s already arrived. Is there anything better than just being in a groove? I say just like it isn’t a holy thing, an everything... Man... That, right there, is it.

Right where I am now. Edit to expand. I'm a bit surprised at the number of people who seem to think I'm freeloading because I don't drive. Look, I'm not saying no one should drive. I have my reasons for not driving, and I'm sticking with them. I realise that my choices mean I will not be gigging with a 4x10, but I'm happy with that. I started this thread because I'm interested in hearing about how other people cart their gear around by public transport, not to criticise people who do drive.

(I’ve just set the comment above as the headline to the thread to alert anyone who may come across this link, hope that’s ok!)

Well I have sold the Godin A4 (slight lip wobble) and on Saturday I put the money from the sale down as a deposit on a Chowny SWB Pro via my local music shop, hopefully they will put that order in with Chowny today. This is the first time I’ve ordered an instrument without trying it first so I’m a bit nervous but I’ve done all the research I can and I think it’s the right bass for me. I just happened to be driving past Bass Direct the previous Saturday so I dropped in because I knew they had an SWB Pro so I managed to see one but I didn’t get a chance to try it, let alone buy it, because the guy in the shop was tied up with other customers, so be it, I didn’t have long anyway but just loooking at it gave me some idea of the quality. So, the guy in the shop told me 6-8 weeks after phoning Chowny, now comes the wait. Hopefully I can sell my Fenders (fretless Modern Player and Aerodyne) so I can get an order in for an SWB-1 fretless and see if having all three types of bass in short scale will actually stop GAS?

Just wanted to (belatedly) show the two beauties that I have recently purchased from fellow BassChatters. They are pretty different animals for me (both through neck, twin pickup) as I’ve mainly been a Precision or Stingray player for a long time. First up, a 1991 (I think) Made in Korea Spector NS-2A. This particular model came highly recommended to me by a fellow BCer and I’ve not been disappointed. With it’s shorter top horn, I was a little concerned that it would take some getting used to playing on a strap, but it’s been fine. It feels and plays like a top quality instrument and my thoughts of swapping out the preamp and pickups have been put to bed as I used it at a gig last weekend and it sounded great, cutting through and sounding punchy. I think I now know what players mean when they describe ‘piano like’ clarity. Next up a gorgeous 1981 Aria Pro II SB-R80. This really is in beautiful condition save for a couple of dings which are pretty well camouflaged (the joy of a natural finish). I once lusted after a ‘standard’ SB and was gutted once I tried one as I couldn’t get on with the string spacing. However, this R version with the more traditional neck dimensions feels great. I’m loving the different sounds available from this bass. Obviously a very different beast to the Spector, but still punchy and able to go from a nasally honk to full fat dub in an instant. All in all, I’m a very happy chappy and many thanks again to Maut and James for the smooth transactions.

Yup, can't disagree with that! Here's mine, beautifully refinished by @Grangur of this estate. Maybe you should let him loose on yours, too, and he'll be able to turn it into something worth nearer £400 rather than £40?

Summary: Wow, what great pickups - totally perfect - buy them now!. Bought from some bass happy chappy on a FarceBook bass group and fitted them to my VanderEnd the other day. My bass usefully has a route for either a P or a J under the scratchplate - it's messy but useful. I've been inquisitive for a while to try it as PJ rather than the JJ jazz it's been since I got it. I had scratch-it make me both a JJ & PJ plate shortly after I received the bass and it was clearly time to try out the PJ pickguard too, cue the new pick up purchase justifications. So now the EMGGB's PJ's coupled up with my Aguilar OB3 preamp (with passive tone), has made one hell of a versatile beast and I'm loving the passive sounds too. So next strap in and prepare for the worst sound description ever...hmmm, less mid honk than the typical Fender pickups, not as dark as SD Quarterpounders on a dark night and they've made me smile more than Lindy Fralin's have ever done (which I also really like lots). It does have a very smooth sound spectrum with a sweet warm and defined low end and slightly rolled off highs...it's more akin to the 'soul/Motown sound' in my opinion but clearly this Geezer chappy is a bit of a rocker so I hear....so it must be good for that music right? It's probably the most balanced pick up I've ever used across all strings. The P on it's own is defined and warm (warm is the key sound description). The bridge J is surprising, very funky and full, not brittle like some bridge pickups...it's funky, it's a fatter Jaco, Old Gregg has blessed this pickup, (funky is the key sound description). Together they're a good compliment too, smooth like chocolate, no power imbalance - they're friends, ...(Chocolate is the key sound description here!). I like em' a lot. Conclusion: Warm Funky Chocolate!

Perhaps they could do a deluxe version of the guitar with a bone nut & saddle

The DBs live in the upstairs study, amps, cabs and stands in the garage.

Where's the elf in the port photo?!

-

No, I don't have kids. heh. We have this:

What guitar amp is he using? If you haven't got the stage size and venue size, I'm pretty sure he's got the wrong gear for the gig... or at least being a knob with the volume control.

Dang! Need to get me one of those (a bass playing g/f, that is)!

Entitled "20 Iconic Bass Guitars", I'm thinking of making this available to BC members as a print in either A3 or A2 sizes providing I get enough interest... This image you're looking at is printed on bog standard A4 and really need to be seen in a bigger format, but you probably get the idea. Any criticism welcome...

The 12th South East Bass Bash will be on Saturday 29 September 2018 At Jubilee High School, Surrey, School Lane, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 1TE The first planning meeting has already taken place! (in a pub) Get the date in your diaries!

Hi all, done a few transcriptions over the last couple of years so thought I'd start sharing them with you all here, before I get my own website up and running. I'll be doing some playalongs of some of these tracks in the not too distant future also. Hope they are of some use to you. Countdown to Ecstasy and Pretzel Logic are also done, just proof-reading and layout to do, so expect them soon! Cheers https://drive.google.com/open?id=17WeLSNw4fCnT6vLav75e0Nr0f0iXx6IB

Can't see this advertised anywhere, so I've posted it up. Not strictly just guitars - there are a handful of some basses there... but may be of interest to some. The Guitar Show - New Bingley Hall, Birmingham. 24-25 February 2018. http://www.theguitarshow.co.uk/

I feel I just have to share, the excitement is growíng So, after 20 long months of waiting my Wal MK1 is finished and soon to be on the way. Update photo from Paul.

Well, last year I reached a bit of a milestone in work - 30 years! So to mark the occasion, in a moment of madness, I decided "to hell with it" and ordered myself a Limelight bass One of my fave colour combos (if not, my fave) is Fiesta Red, with rosewood board and tort plate (of course) Since having my old Squier P bass converted into a P/J, I've become a real fan of this pickup configuration A few years back, fellow South Walian pal FuNkShUi was selling a Limelight P, in Fiesta Red, and it had a Jazz style neck I tend to prefer Jazz width necks, or at least I don't mind P width necks.... but don't like them to be too deep.... So that was my order - a P/J Precision, fiesta red, with Jazz width nut. I missed out on FuNkShUi's bass back then, as I had to sell a bass before I could buy another A week later, the MM I was selling had sold (to another BC member) - but the Limelight had gone, and I had been kicking myself ever since Mark at Limelight has done a superb job. I asked him for a medium-light level of "distressing". I know not everyone is a fan of Relicing - I don't care.... it's MY bass I think it looks lovely. A quick noodle, and it feels amazing! Sounds lovely through my small practice amp too. Can't wait to plug it into a larger amp and crank the volume up Since the new CITES rules , Mark had a bit more trouble than usual sourcing the Rosewood fretboard neck - however, I wasn't in a huge rush, so I told Mark not to worry .... my new bass has been worth the wait. I'm a happy boy - but am currently in work, and can't wait to get home, to try my new bass (Pics courtesy of Mark at Limelight)

Until recently I had a TC Electronics BG250 which was - OK. Reasonably light but didn't really blow my socks off for sound quality/ Joining a band recently made me decide to get a decent and modern rig, that was compact and easily portable (I had an Ashdown ABM before, say no more). I found a Trace Elliot Elf on Gumtree, boxed and unused for a great price. Then I needed to find an appropriate cab. I decided 2nd hand was the way to go, BassDirect having a Markbass NY121 (8Ω) and EICH XS112 (4Ω). I went to Warwick Saturday morning with my Elf in the glove box (didn't you know it was that small ?). And A/B'd the 2 cabs with a nice Sandberg that had just come in. The difference was quite significant. The EICH just had more, and was also using full power from the head meaning 200w not 120w. I took the EICH home and used it at rehearsal yesterday with the Bongo. I barely made it past 2 on the volume and it was plenty. EQ flat - just perfect clarity and bottom end. As an extra bonus - the Elf fits into the port at the back, and when I put the cab cover on it holds it in place for transport.

Yup. I got my EMGs from them. Even with customs it was cheaper.

Welcome Rodd. 'Gearitis' is mostly called GAS (Gear Aquisition Syndrome) by folks of this parish. You'll feel right at home.

...And when you share a house it's hardly self-indulgent at all. Heeheehee. I really have to watch myself. It would not take much more for Channel 4 to become interested in me for one of their Hoarder Yukumentaries. I take your point however, it is nice to have everything to hand.

Welcome Rodd. Sounds like you'll fit right in Enjoy the site and ask if you need help with anything. Cheers ped

Frank, you won’t be disappointed. I also bought one unseen/unplayed. After a wee tweak on the frets/nut, as I like the action super low it is a fantastic piece of kit. Really nice thing to play.

Because it's practical. You may prefer your drumkit, but if transport and/or setup times are an issue, your tolerance to provided kits increases. Same with bass... I much prefer my own but if it's a hassle and they provide one, I go with it. It may not sound teh same, but it will not be THAT different. You're going through the PA in most cases, so your amp becomes a glorified bass monitor in those situations. I will use my own everytime I can, but if it is going to be a pain due to parking restrictions etc and I have an alternative? I'll use what they give me. I may not enjoy it quite as much (although sometimes you do get very good equipment) but we will still sound good out there even if onstage it's not amazing.

Nudge nudge - If you go to a second poster featuring basses, I hope you will remember the first ten of us by way of a loyalty discount on ordering a second poster. - Wink wink.

I used to buy some of the Hi-Fi magazines of the seventies and eighties. I even took some of the magazine covers off and put them up as posters in my bedroom so that I could drool over the turntables and tape decks that were beautifully photographed and displayed on thick glossy paper. I think you need to identify which type of speaker enclosures you have before you decide on placement as the reflex (ported) types can be tricky. Infinite baffle (sealed cab) type enclosures are a little less fussy about placement. One of the tips from back then that I tend to use on a set up is to not follow the shape of the room by squaring up to the corners, especially on multi speaker systems. Instead, I skew the footprint by a few degrees within the room and get less hot and cold spots. My latest living room amp did its own eq set-up with the speakers in this position and I rarely find a problem. Sometimes I need to tweak the eq for older media because there were vast differences in how the recordings were made but I always come back to the setting that the Denon has stored in memory for the room. Yes. Domestic audio is definitely another fuel source for GAS. You might have noticed that I was resisting @HowieBass's invitation to get exited about flagship speakers. @ all the older members; Does anyone else have a problem with how Hi-Def is sometimes seen as Hi-Fi? It's a slight thread departure but I don't believe that Hi-Def is always faithful to the original sound. Most of the time it is fine but every now and again you get a harsh reminder that micro-processors are behind the sound. For instance; why can't many disc players cope with tracks on audio discs that are intended to run into each other? Why can't there be the smooth transition that was intended? Sudden stalls and occasional aliasing are commonplace too but no-one else seems to find them as annoying as I do. Meh! My turntable might need the fluff cleaning from its needle occasionally but I can hear that it needs cleaning before it skips or distorts too badly and it gets cleaned before the build up of surface crap around the tip of the needle is even visible. Unless there is surface damage on a vinyl disc my music is NEVER interrupted. Sorry, the red mist was beginning to descend upon me. I'll go and have a cold shower. Heeheehee

"Complicit" gets to the heart of it for me. If I listen to this music, am I somehow endorsing the views of the musicians? If I buy (for example) eggs laid by caged hens, I am absolutely complicit in the cruelty to those hens, because my money is going back to the people who inflict that cruelty. (That example comes to mind because I've been dealing with it this weekend.) If I listen to Motown, am I complicit in their exploitation of black musicians? I now know that my most ever favourite blues rock guitarist is a Trump supporter - should I let that ruin my intense delight in his guitar playing? Those two are actually different - one is historical and one is now - that seems to matter, but should it? If the music promoted the nastiness, then no. I would never play in a UKIP band, or buy their cds even if I liked the sound. Personal connections are different - I'm lucky that I only have music I wouldn't otherwise like, made by friends, so I go with it for the sake of friendship. If I had negative personal associations with a particular musician, I probably would reject their music too - but that's about emotional resonance, not complicity.

And perhaps an Aria SB1000 tho, the ones you chose are more First Division iconic than the SBs (much as I love them). Fantastic pic BTW, totally love it.

Anyone got any dry straw...?

Squier neck means that selling it as a "fender bass guitar" is upbranding.

I’m going to say it.... Johnny Rod’s version with WASP is better.

The advantage for me is as all my main electric basses are 5’s and that I only use the EUB live occasionally and then only on a few tracks, the mental translation is easier. In all honesty, the B string isn’t as authoritative as the others, and you need to be much more precise with your right hand technique to get a low C or D to really bloom. Maybe as I progress as an upright player I might get more out of the low B, but for now it’s little more than a visual/tactile reference when moving from the electric bass. My only DB experience prior to the KK is a Stagg EUB, so I don’t really feel the extra width as the KK neck isn’t as chunky as the Stagg.

I am about to join the Limelight fraternity. I have just ordered a ‘57’ Precision in candy apple red with gold anodised pickguard. The waiting now begins.😎

That's fair, but in my experience of non-driving drummers (who, of course, have the most kit to move around) they just stand there looking like lost puppies until someone loads their gear and takes them home. That is definitely selfish behaviour, and I will not put up with it any longer.

I've not seen any of these "in the flesh", but have been seriously considering either the 420 or 620. I've owned a couple of late 70's 2619's in the past (same specs), which were real LP Killers, fantastic guitars, and with the addition of the Tri-Sound switches, they add some really useful, and easily accessible sounds. The 2619's pre-dated the "AR" range (even though they were "Artist"), and the specs are slightly different, the "AR"s tend to have thicker bodies, more like those of the LP / Yamaha SG, where the 26** series had thinner bodies. Some of the previous reissues of their 70's/80's range guitars have been superb, so I wouldn't expect anything less from these.

Yeah.

What mates..?

Gibson 2018 SG Std. Walnut

write and record your songs. One day, if you have the time, form a band to play YOUR songs. All the very best wishes for your daughter and to you and your wife.

I'm going to continue spamming this with my three