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Showing content with the highest reputation on 23/11/19 in all areas

  1. Ok, so here's one for all you bc'ers that think you're better than the “regular" fretted bass player... (I've got news for you... You ain't!!! Well, maybe you are but your slap tone stinks and leaves much to be desired!!!...) However, in this insane “PC-World" (no affiliation to the “Curry's" franchise) I would not want to rule out any fretted players especially with myself (the incompetent musician I am) falling into said category. So here's a beast of Signature Custom Bass that will blow the proverbial socks off of ANY bass player's hooves... and may even encourage the fretted player to ACTUALLY learn where the notes are on a bass neck without the support of those “oh so convenient" vertical metal strips that they hammer into fingerboards so that bass players can have “one too many" down at the local and still produce a “passable" performance to the eight members of the audience (but mainly to the three who are actually listening). What we have here, I think, is a Gibson Les Paul model... NAH!! I'm just messing... It's a Tony Franklin Signature Custom Model Fretless Precision Bass with passive circuitry, ebony fretboard, three way selection switch, Hipshot tuner, a Tony Franklin Single-Coil Jazz Pickup with Hex Screw Pole Pieces and a Tony Franklin American Split Single-Coil Precision Bass mid pickup. As our good friend Sir David of Dickinson would say... “This IS the REAL deal!" B-E-autiful ebony fingerboard with none of that namby-pamby fret marking business!! “... Err... which note is this..." “Doesn't matter!!! You look BOSS!!" You got Tony's signature pickups there, ya know, both of them!!... The Jazz pickup is extra special and was coated with unicorn dust before being blessed by a Goddess and then lovingly placed into this gorgeous Nitrocellulose finished Fender P Bass body... “Mmmm, Nitrocelluliscious..." It's also got those fancy Hex Screw Pole Pieces and Ceramic Bar Magnets... You know the ones... The middle pickup is also rather special as it's a Tony Franklin American Split Single-Coil Precision Bass pickup which, rumour has it, Tony Franklin invented whilst showing Jimmy Page how to de-fret his guitar and shred an axe like a real man!!! Apparently Jimmy playing fretless guitar never caught on but at least it birthed the amazing Tony Franklin American Split Single-Coil Precision pickup that is housed in this marvelous instrument today! (Or so I've been told by a mate of Jimmy's... at the pub). For hardware you got an American Vintage Bass Bridge with Steel Barrel Saddles and Fender '70s Vintage-Style Open-Gear with Hipshot Bass Xtender "Drop D" on the E... and no that last part ain't rap lyrics. The neck width is 1.625" at the nut which is synthetic bone (not sure what creature they source that from). You got a 34" modern “C" shaped maple Fender neck, of course with the gorgeous ebony board. None of that fret marker nonsense though you do have side marking dots... Obviously it's a fretless but I reckon you got the equivalent to 22 frets... or is it 21?... I dunno but the length of the board will translate to that of a number of frets that you might find on another instrument that might have frets... Passive circuitry so there's no need to worry about a battery leaking when it's been stored in your temperature and humidity controlled cupboard for fifteen years cos you ain't got the skills to play it... Basically this instrument is the Bee's knees after the Bee has had knee surgery and can now kick a bowling ball over the River Thames and into the window of 10 Downing Street, smashing the plastic cereal bowl that Boris Johnson is slurping his Wheetos from and incidentally covering the ludicrous man in softening cereal and chocolate flavoured milk...*(continued below) This IS a serious player's bass! Everything from it's high spec hardware down to it's Custom electronics and premium choice woods, Fender and Mr Franklin have teamed up to produce a real road warrior that has a build quality and sturdiness that you know was designed to outlast the A.I. war of 2027. Oh and check this quote out from Fender - “In an extra-personalized touch, the neck plate of the Tony Franklin Fretless Precision Bass is engraved with his signature." If that doesn't improve the sound and overall quality of the instrument and more importantly improve your bass playing tenfold then I don't know what would. I heard that Tony Franklin personally high-fived the guitar tech each time one of his Signature Fender P models was completed. Apparently Tony was between tour dates during this period and spent an unhealthy amount of time at the Fender Factory, much to the concern of many staff members... In case you're wondering who the fudge Tony Franklin is... He's a session bassist dubbed “The Fretless Monster" because he lives in a Bayou in Louisiana, has no skeleton, five tentacles and 58 eyes. He mainly lives on a diet of swamp snake but will occasionally snack on other reptiles including turtles and small alligators. Despite his appearance and peculiar diet he has worked with many great musicians such as David Gilmore, Jimmy Page, Kenny Shepherd and even Whitesnake, though he did try to eat them once... Basically he's good enough for a Fender Custom model and a bunch of great musicians allow him to perform on their tracks, so there ya have it... THIS BASS MUST BE AWESOME!!! The Bass is in MINT condition from New and really has only been used to motivate the partner to say “another bass guitar that you don't play..." Comes with a rather well crafted deluxe Fender locking hardcase that really does look la-di-da. Collection and trial always welcome down in bumpkin town!! Can arrange insured courier or meet part way etc... *(Continued from 7 paragraphs up) Contrary to what you might think, Boris actually congratulates the Bee on it's incredibly powerful and amazingly accurate left foot (yep, wasn't even it's right foot) and offers the Bee a job as his ghost writer for speeches, however the Bee politely declines and they part ways. The next morning Boris is back at number 10, again, eating his Wheetos only this time from a rather haphazardly taped together, broken plastic bowl. He's thinking to himself how amazing that Bee's kick was and how great it's speeches may have been if only it had accepted his offer to be his ghost writer, at that very moment Boris hears a smashing of glass and swooshing of air. A bowling ball comes crashing through the recently replaced window of number 10 and lands directly on top of Boris's already damaged plastic cereal bowl, this time damaging the bowl beyond any means of repair. Boris slowly gets up from his booster chair, wipes some of the milk from his suit jacket and picks off a piece of softening cereal from his left cheek. He walks over to the broken window and leans on it's frame, looking outward through the shattered glass toward the rising sun across the cityscape and over into the endless and unseen horizon. “What speeches that Bee might have written..." He says softly as a small, joyful yet melancholy smile begins to take shape across his face. “C'est la vie", he thinks to himself, “c'est la vie...". Anyway check out the pics below... # Air-horn noise!!!
    5 points
  2. Hey guys, I am selling this beauty because I decided to get back on the road and need a funds towards a car. Hard decision, as I wanted a Limelight for a long time and got this one in a trade here on basschat a while back, but now I am playing more heavy music where my Spector bass is being used most often. Not sure what I could say, I think most of the people here are familiar with the brand. It is a very nice Jazz, reliced in a very tasteful way, currently strung with Thomastik Jazz Flats which I love so much that every time I get a Jazz or Precision I put them on immediately. Nice and low action. Sounds fantastic live. Again, not really sure what else to say, it is just a great Jazz Bass, and does its thing really well. I have priced it for a quick sale and unfortunately I am not interested in any trades. I will throw old but functional gig bag with it, and while I prefer if buyer pick up in person, I do have a spare box that my other bass came in lying around so I could potentially pack it up for postage if buyer arrange the courier. I am located in North West London just outside M1 junction 1(Staples Corner), you are more than welcome to pop in and try the bass for as long as you need and play it through my Markbass combo. Any questions just message me.
    5 points
  3. Sod that. I'm old and foolish and hoping to play a couple of festivals next summer. If so it will be trace 4x10 combo on top of Peavey 1x15 on one side and Laney head with 2 2x12s on the other. And a tweeter box. The ideal rig doesn't just sound good, it scares people.
    4 points
  4. Best selling ad award of the year goes to : shritch, sgrath, outch, urm, urm, @Ted Theodore Logan, III Clap, clap, clap says the lonely guy at the bar at the last restaurant before the end of the universe.
    4 points
  5. Another perfect "Berg" is for sale. Light, perfectly balanced, very slim neck. I bought this in March from a fellow basschatter and it has been my No. 1 go-to bass since then, but I've never gigged it. However I've bought another bass recently with my preferred specs so this one has to go. Approximately 2 years old. The finish is immaculate. Retail price £1500+. Specs: - Frets: 22 - Scale Length: 34" (86,36 cm) - Nut: 38 mm - Sandberg light keys - Body Material: Alder - Neck: Maple - Fretboard: Rosewood - 3.7 kg - Fretboard Inlays: Block inlays - Pickups: Delano - 2 band Equaliser/Glockenklang electronics/passive mode pullswitch - Dunlop straplocks + Sandberg strap - Low impact ramp - Brand new Sandberg gigbag included Mods: the pickguard was cut to fit the ramp and there are some extra holes in the head where a D-drop tuner was fit. I used the bass with a Schaller 2000 bridge which also needed some extra holes (under the bridge, not visible). Priced for straight sale but trade (+cash either way) is possible for a STATUS S2 / S3 (4 string, 16.5 mm spacing) or a compact bass head (like Little Mark or similar).
    3 points
  6. Took my 20 year old ABM 500 down to deepest Essex on Thursday for a much needed look at.What can I say.the team down at Ashdown were amazing,got there at 7.30 am coffee straight on ,nice chat with Mark,what a lovely chap.Guy the tech started on my amp before 8 bells ,Replaced all the pots new bulb holder .and a general tidy up ,everything sorted,Very impressed with the way they work and attitude towards their customers.ABM s are built to last and can always be repaired whatever ,apparently.So came away with an old new amp,at a very very reasonable price.Thanks Gents,Very much appreciated.😊
    3 points
  7. I’m reluctantly selling my lovely Fender USA 77/78 Precision in the rare mocha brown finish. It’s a beautiful bass and as you can see it is in excellent condition. I did sell this once and then bought it back as I love this bass but needs must. The bass is totally stock, original finish and includes the bridge cover (but not the pickup cover unfortunately) and thumbrest. Check out the stickers under the scratchplate and pot codes. There’s some slight tarnishing to some of the hardware but all functions as it ought to with lots of life in the frets and trussrod. It has recently been set up with a light fret dress and attention to the nut. It now plays perfectly. It weighs a tad under 4.4kgs so a great weight for a bass of this era. It even has the sales voucher from when it was sold secondhand back in 1989! It comes with a modern vintage style Fender case. It sounds fantastic with that real P bass growl when the treble is full on or a smoother tone when rolled off. The only real wear is where the bridge cover has sat on the area around the bridge, minor scuffs and blemishes elsewhere and a beautiful clean neck. No trades and I’d prefer pickup. I could be persuaded to post at buyers cost and arrangement but only in the UK. More pictures on request. Cheers
    3 points
  8. Just needed a lighter guitar to practice on. Ended up with one of the best bassesI've ever played. Feels boutique, sounds classic Fender. Workmanship is stunning. Active and passive. Massive tonal range and four pounds lighter than my Spector. If there was such a thing as an ears-shoulder-and-fingers doctor I'm sure he would prescribed this bass.😁
    3 points
  9. My recently purchased MIM FSR I love it
    3 points
  10. Ha!! Good man!! I was hoping one of you beautiful bc'ers would “pickup" (no pun intended - but you got one anyway!!) on the irony of a “Fretless-Precision". 10 points to Stub!! And as for it being good for metal, I would say it's better for wood... Much more wood to metal ratio on this bass. You might wanna check out the Kramer plenty of metal there. You're welcome...
    3 points
  11. Firstly, thanks to everyone who's taken the time to contribute to this thread - it's been enormously helpful for me and gives me a few things to try out. Sadly, funds don't run to much in the way of additional gear so new subs are out of the question till after Chrimbo. Fascinating as the KRK Ergo and Lyngdorf thingies sound, they are way out of budget (I have a pretty decent Linn system at home and the Lyngdorf is quite tempting.....but back to cold, hard reality for a second). Next year i think we'll be looking at going with active subs and tops, and I'm tempted by the Beringer XR18 if i can find a buyer for my Bergs and the Genzler Magellan.... But for now, I have some good suggestions for how we make the most of what we have - thanks again, everyone 😎
    3 points
  12. 3 points
  13. come on guys, we've all had a few drinks, let's not spoil it for the bride and groom.
    3 points
  14. I can see what they are trying to do, it’s a bit generic sounding, like a poor mans jamiroquai/Brand New Heavies/Incognito, but with a good band, live it could be a lot better and more dynamic. The singer needs to be put out of his misery or find the auto-tune software on his computer. I would say with a kick-*ss singer and a good band it could be good.
    3 points
  15. Well, @scrumpymike and I have been discussing this for months and, based on the fact that the best way to accelerate progress is to kick off a build thread, here is the thread. Do you remember this? @scrumpymike's Rascal: ...that he wanted me to re-body? Mike loved the sounds and the switch options and the neck...but couldn't get on with the sheer bulk of the body shape. So, using timber from the last tree that his life-long-lumberjacking friend Merv cut down before he retired, I rebodied it to produce this: ..which, happily, he loves. Now, although the mod was made to be fully reversible, Mike tells me that there is no way that he is ever going to do that. So what to do with the left over body... Indeed. And that's where this project comes from. There's not a lot more to add - yet
    2 points
  16. Took the tiddler to see Frozen II this morning. It was, of course, a properly good Disney romp and perfectly targeted at its demographic. The big songs are equally bombastic as Let It Go and will be torturing parents for months to come. BUT by far the best thing was that the creators have sneaked the ultimate 1980s rock power ballad video right into the centre of the film. One of the characters, Christoph, sings an “I’ve lost my girl” tear jerker called “Lost In The Woods” which musically and visually pulls out every Total Eclipse Of The Heart, I Wanna Know What Love Is, Against All Odds cliche... from the framing of an opening shot in the forest which has a branch and pine cone in the foreground so it looks like the character is singing into an old valve condenser mic on a boom stand, to the walking in and out of rays of light.... from a close up with the character’s hair blowing just right in the breeze as he stares off into the distance to the silhouette of a lost love in the distance which turns out just to be a shadow... it was all there perfectly done. None of this would possibly resonate with an 8 year old but this middle aged bloke was grinning from ear to ear. And then when the Bo Rhap style choir of reindeer turned up in spotlights around Christoph’s head I nearly wet myself laughing! Well played Disney. I’ve already suggested to @cetera that he should include it in the set list for the Rock Anthems and Power Ballads show, “Leather & Lace”, with which he tours the country!
    2 points
  17. Well it was initially a disenchanting and deflated landing on the BB planet, when it arrived from the Alien merchants from Planet evilbay - it was a neglected PO💩 to be honest with a poor set up. So a big clean down, Tonerider fitted with some spare cream covers I had, a new Kiogon loom (thanks John), bit of love and a good set up and we have something much more presentable in the BB lower range. Enjoying it lots now - even if it is telephone box red - very decent P vibes to be had, action is good.,...not so much a alien 👽
    2 points
  18. Cheers Spondon, will definitely persevere I think as its an awesome bass, just need to ensure I don't play any other for a bit. Cheers Mate. and others who have commented. Regards, Chris
    2 points
  19. So plugged in and stuck the Walkabout through it for about 45 min. firstly it works! so how does it sound? well I started off with my Sadowsky jazz - any my first thought was “I’m glad I stuck a new set of strings on my Christmas list as these are on their way out” - it sounded clear and balanced, none of the low mid hump that my Walkabout cab has. Turning up the bass boost it takes low end really well. Switching to the bridge pickup... erm well the lights downstairs make the pickups hum so that was really really clearly amplified. so far so hmmm ... it’s not blowing my socks off - and I really need new strings - but then the penny dropped that it’s not doing anything but reproduce what goes in - and that’s the point! switching to a Warwick SS1 and the thing sounds bright and snappy - it sounds like the bass but in a really nice way. The bottom end on this bass is a bit lower than the typical fender style bass and there’s a lot going on in the high mids- through bad cabs the lack of low end and peaky high mids that sound amazing though a fender style suddenly start fighting this basses core tone - not a problem with this cab, the lows are there and the high mids aren’t hyped. It sounds good. next was my latest accidental acquisition- a Lakland 55-94 which is my first 5 string. Now this sounded nice, it took tweaks to the 3 band EQ very well too. Through the Walkabout cab this bass struggles - it’s baked in tone and the walkabouts baked in tone clash big time to the point where you can’t tell differences between pickup settings easily and both the E and B strings just don’t sound right somehow, like they are on a different bass... the BCCAB I can clearly hear the pickup selection differences - and all the strings sound like they are on the same bass - horrah! next, and the real test was back to the jazz and putting the HX stomp in the signal chain. And when it came to using cab models it excelled. why does this matter? Because typically I use the stomp straight to the PA with IEM, and having a rig that gets reasonably close to the PA will be invaluable for setting up patches! so after45 min I am well happy (though still need to sort my grill) - thanks @stevie for all your hard work
    2 points
  20. Being a nosy beggar I tried to look at the 'old' Facebook page, seems it is not there now but the new one is , although just some very thin-looking musos...!
    2 points
  21. Mexico eh. P Bass Special Deluxe Series FSR (over 400 gigs with that now) & Road Worn Jazz
    2 points
  22. Due to some, ahem, domestic rearrangement, I've got my 'toy' record player in the living room and I'm working though my vinyl. Playing them in order, so totally random (unless I had some sort of plan ~20 years ago) So far: Help! - Beatles (mono) Selling England by the Pound - Genesis Elysian Encounter - Baker Gurvitz Army Live and Heavy - (Classic compilation, various 70s heavy rock bands) Flash - Jeff Beck Sergeant pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band - Beatles (mono) Boston - Boston PXR5 - Hawkwind The Freewheeling Bob Dylan - Bob something. (mono) I'd forgotten how utterly impeccable my musical taste is 🙂
    2 points
  23. In the spirit of fairness I informed the seller that he had underpriced it: he replied that he was comfortable with it and wanted to proceed. I paid a little extra regardless... I believe in karma.
    2 points
  24. It's not that hard to let go anything, but letting go a Spector...now that is hard. Especially one like this.
    2 points
  25. Mine finally arrived after a month of waiting - very happy with this little monster - the tracking is insanely good - actually better and more expressive than any MIDI solution I’ve tried so far - and while I LOVE the Meris Enzo - the tracking on the C4 is really stunning - with the added bonus of stupendous sounds too 😎
    2 points
  26. Also used this setup at an open mic on Thursday where I was resident bassist. It didn't seem especially loud when standing in front of it but one of the participants told me afterwards that it was 'parting his hair' when he was listening from the back of the room. I bought mine for fun if I'm honest but it has proved itself a capable gigging amp too.
    2 points
  27. You've got me thinking now. Surely a 'Precision Fretless' is an oxymoron... P.S. Is it good for metal?
    2 points
  28. Weird resurrection stuff. It's funny how, after such a strong start, things went downhill so quickly. Guitarist and erstwhile producer involved in a low speed motorbike accident a few months ago, shattering his collarbone and arm broken in two places. Prior to this we'd tracked a load of bits, but everything went south while he got straight, so it was somewhat of a lumpy mid-section. Fast forward to November 2019 and he can finally throw on a guitar, so we're back on it again. He's busily cutting and pasting and I'm staggered with how good these results are, most of which I have little or no memory of actually tracking as much as ten months ago. So as 2019 draws to a close, I can only say, hell, 2020 has got to be better, eh?
    2 points
  29. Excellent, where’s my popcorn and comfy chair? Always love an @Andyjr1515 build thread.
    2 points
  30. Best ad description I ever read, period. Oh, and nice bass btw
    2 points
  31. And the wadding is there to cushion the sound, and also make it “warmer”.
    2 points
  32. I read “great price" and was hoping to score this for under £50... I might have been a tad optimistic... Seriously though... That IS a MM that's priced to mooove!! GLWTS (that stands for Gluten, Lactose & Wheat Tolerance Suitable)
    2 points
  33. Actually the Entwistle tone I prefer is his Tommy era tone of a P Bass through a Hiwatt which I get with a Tech21 Leeds pedal, but you are correct in regards to his latter tone. I will buying one not because Entwistle used to use one but because it looks like it is going to be more versatile than the YYZ and the SH-1 both of which I did consider purchasing. But more importantly if it is close sounding to the PSA-1 which I tried some five years ago then that will be the reason for my purchase.
    2 points
  34. PS a real sound engineer would use SMAART. But when you are rolling something like that out, you generally have the luxury of time and a room that isn't full of punters or other sources of noise to get your starting point (because the room will still change as soon as people enter). Try doing something a RTA reading in a pub with a load of pink noise or a sine sweep or even something like a DriveRack and you won't be very popular. And of course, in smaller venues, the second you start introducing people into the equation, the whole thing becomes a pointless exercise. Not being rude - but the "taking me for an idiot comment" isn't helpful, especially when what you describe in your posts is generally for domestic use (hifi nerds), suggests optimum speaker placement (in a pub you go where you are told) and overall, not viable in the situation for which we are talking. For pub gigs, you are best off playing a prerecorded song that you know inside out, hear for any hot or cold nodes and adjust appropriately. I also tend to run chromatics on the bass and hear or watch on RTA for any hot notes and likewise adjust. At least people won't be as annoyed hearing a bass player running notes up and down the neck...
    2 points
  35. There is no non-selfish reason to play music to people really, whatever your motivation it is about your enjoyment, so what you want is as valid as what anyone else wants
    2 points
  36. How the hell do you lose a himalaya? To lose more than one is just careless.
    2 points
  37. I used to have a constant debate with my old guitarist about covers vs originals. Nothing wrong with doing covers, but I much prefer the creative process of writing and creating original music. He just couldn't get his head around the fact that I wasn't interested in "pleasing a crowd", and for me, the enjoyment came from the creativity involved. He would say I only wanted to play what pleased me and not the crowd so I was being selfish. I would argue that he only wanted to play covers to get the adoration of the crowd, therefore it was him being selfish. Hey ho. Perhaps both were true.
    2 points
  38. Voila 😂 Normally use either or the ‘69’s but all sound grand ( Jazz and Clover now sold)
    2 points
  39. It is to my ears too. Apparently it was made by our local "BBC", called NRK. It probably was broadcast at one point. Which reminds me: we lived in times when it was possible for national TV to give us for example a one hour prog gig... ...on Saturday... ...at 8PM. Whoa!
    2 points
  40. 2 points
  41. He’s touring with Feeder at the moment so you may not get an immediate reply Gotta say I do like the one @Sibob posted earlier, it’s sexy
    2 points
  42. Thanks Al, got it second hand as new with flats on for £450 SO a real deal. Perhaps will just persevere? Don't really want to let go since its a beauty, if I can just get used to it... ta m8
    2 points
  43. Sounds like me when I went to the main dealer with my car cos the window was stuck open. The mechanic showed me where I had accidently hit the button that stops the elctric windows being opened or closed. DOH!
    2 points
  44. Have you tried the Behringer on stage? Some of their amps are quite good if you take the power ratings with a pinch of salt.
    2 points
  45. In my experience, even when you don't have a sound engineer or the luxury of setting up the sound in an empty room, there are many occasions when rooms have an area, frequency wise, of major resonance - I.e if you play, say an A on the bass (and it's often the bass which is heavily affected) it sounds much louder than any other note. As a result that note enters the mikes and is also 'over amplified', in the worst cases causing a feedback loop. Being able to isolate the frequency and reduce it accordingly is essential to avoid boominess (might need an adjustment of FOH EQ on the PA even if the vocals don't cause a problem). The worst example I ever heard was a club in London, the room in which we played had walls and ceiling rather like a 60s/70s design school gym - the sound was incredibly boomy and the guitarists needed to cut their bass but retain their low mid - as only vocals could go through the PA. Both guitarists had vintage style amps with only bass and treble controls, and guitars with a standard tone control they couldn't do it, other than marginally, by pick up selection - this is a time when an EQ pedal is very useful. I was able to adjust my bass sound to compensate (from the amp generally and bass on the fly song by song)
    2 points
  46. DFS, their sale never ends (apparently?!?). 😉
    2 points
  47. I absolutely love it to bits. For me and what I need from a bass at the moment it really delivers. It is extremely lightweight and comfy to wear. No neck dive. The neck isn't skinny or fat but 'just right'. Because of where the pickup is it isn't remotely muddy but has a gorgeous bite to it that sits perfectly in the mix. An absolutely joy to play. As simple as a bass can be but just puts a smile on my face whenever I get it out of the case. I wasn't sure about the 3-point bridge initially and intended to replace it but I have got used to it now and don't find it a problem. It even smells nice! 😁
    2 points
  48. It's all about the image!! That's why I rock with high end gear!! It gives an illusion of talent... At least that's what the salesman told me whilst he was running my card through the machine...
    2 points
  49. This one started life as his "number 2" bass. It's a 1968. It soon became his main instrument as he preferred it. It was sunburst to begin with, John then took the finish off late 70's and it remained that way until 85/86 when it was refinished to be the black (with gold hardware) Magic Tour model.
    2 points
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