Leaderboard

Faahhhhkkk.

Arrived today, a Players Series P bass that I bought to modify. I love my precision but being as it is the same colour as my Jazz, I thought a good old fashioned black & maple would be a good bet. Early indications are that it is light, well balanced & easy to play. The same can't be said of the cat!

Just thinking through a post I put on another thread and I thought it may be useful to open the discussion wider. I started playing bass in September, 1980, when, after starting work full time, I bought a black Hondo II Precision copy. I was playing Rock and Heavy Metal at the time but my head was already being turned by other music forms including Prog, Fusion and Jazz. As my playing progressed, like most of us, I was exploring the big names and couldn't get enough of everything. I recall reading bass magazines and hearing all these names and I would always check people out when I could (it was harder in those days as this is pre-internet and finding a recording with a certain player on it was not nearly as easy as it is now). I remember hearing names of the funk greats; Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, Bootsy Collins, Rocco Prestia and, much later, Victor Wooten etc. I also recall everyone getting excited about the tapping guys like Billy Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Jerry Peek and, later, Michael Manring. Both of these areas got a little attention for a while and I learned some slap playing (remember that Thumb Basics things with Jonas Hellborg) and tapping (I recall playing Jeff Berlin's Motherlode and a couple of things off Hamm's 'Radio Free Albemuth'. I recall a couple of years ago learning about double thumbing so I could 'do' it. Despite these forays, I never really used them because, fundamentally, despite 'enjoying' the challenge of applying the techniques, I never actually liked the music that is played using these techniques. I listen to Run For Cover by David Sanborn and LOVE that bass line but I cannot listen to the whole song. Same with Good Times by Chic; 'great' bass line but the much is a big fat nothing. I just find funk ultimately unsatisfying and hatefully repetitive. Two handed stuff is the same. Impressive as a technical exercise but, ultimately, pattern based, repetitive and not particularly nice to listen to. In modern bass playing, there is increasingly too much 'technique' for one person to be able to do it all at a satisfying level and, whilst I can (or, at least, could) slap and tap, I don't, for no other reason than I find that I don't like any music that uses those techniques. My pick playing, for instance, is very good although I never use it live but the other two have been consciously left to wither. Lots of great music out there to play, why bother playing stuff you don't like. Consequently, I don't need these techniques. Thoughts, anyone?

Currently well priced at £450 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Trace-Elliot-twin-valve-gp7-5881-valve-driven-bass-guitar-amplifier-hand-built/114079526063?hash=item1a8fab6caf:g:rGIAAOSwK9heE6ZP

The price has dropped from the silly numbers that were floating about when I wrote that review. They peaked at about £3400 in late 2018, spent most of last year at around £2600, and are now available (in the UK and Germany) for less than £2200. Google is your friend. FWIW, if the price (new) drops below £2000 it is entirely possible that I'll buy one. I was, and remain, very impressed by that bass.

I would like my second offence to be taken into consideration yer 'onor. I did wilfully meet with another bass player, in Leicester, having taking there an Ibanez six string I was hoping to sell in order to recoup some of the 1850 squid (to be accurate) that PMT nicked off of me when I fell for the Sandberg, but did instead, wilfully and with my partner in grime, Ms Alice Aforethought, exchange said Ibby sixer for a Fender Jazz bass, even though I already had two perfectly good Fender Jazz basses at home. Go easy on me….

I've been watching Stuart Copeland's excellent Adventures in Music series on BBC4, and heard part of this piece by Caroline Shaw. I should say right away that this won't be everybody's cuppa (and as I said in the title there is no bass guitar - or indeed bass equipment - content whatsoever). If you're looking for bass content, you won't find any in this post. I found it fascinating though, and am planning to have a look at some of her other work. Curious to know what others think.

There was a time when I wanted to learn everything and be as good as anybody at everything. Then I grew up.😉 Seriously, I didn’t often need to slap, and although I was not bad at it was never going to be Mark King (which would be pointless anyway unless you were in Level 42), so that pretty much fell by the wayside. My fingerstyle (and the slap to be honest), suffered badly when I started having problems with my right arm, although I was always more of an Entwistle than a 16th/32nd note groove machine. I was never interested in tapping, or certainly tapping whole tunes, which on bass I always thought sounded a bit pointless, so never bothered much with that. Thankfully my pick playing was always very good. I did wrestle for long periods with trying to play other people’s styles, but eventually grew to realise that many of them didn’t feel natural and/or I wasn’t great at them. I play best when I’m being me, and the more I accepted that, the happier I became. I remember Dave Gilmour saying something similar. One pivotal moment for me was playing before Martin Turner at a festival. I played the gig and sat and watched his set. I loved what he was doing in the context he was doing it, the band was great and his sound was great, and I suddenly realised that I actually approach things in a not dissimilar way with a not dissimilar sound. I then realised that if I’d been watching me, I’d have liked what I was doing, which for someone who has always been very self critical was something of an eye opener.

I can only do the basics of slap & tapping, never interested in solo-ing and I've no idea of jamming jazz.... However, I've never been without a band, have toured the world and can lock in tight with a drummer as well as turn up on time and be a good bandmate. I guess it depends what you want out of it. I LOVE my basses, playing bass and providing solid basslines in a band. I prefer the traditional role of a bass guitar in blues, folk, rock and roll, rock etc and the grooves in proper original r'n'b, soul, funk etc. Never had any interest in playing lead solo lines, playing 10 string basses or the like.... Everyone is different and gets something different out of it and that's great/as it should be. Personally, I prefer to play my role in a band communicating great music to large groups of people and the inherent energy and emotion that brings...

Wasn’t sure whether this should be in here or in Repairs & Technical but here goes…. The restoration of the electrics on my '83 SB-R150 is finally complete and I'm very pleased with the result. Huge thanks go to @Prostheta for his wizardry and patience and also to Rautia Pickups for the pair of MB-1E replacement pickups. This bass was originally listed for sale on here several years ago although I subsequently found it through an ad elsewhere (EDIT - I was actually given the heads up by @Fionn of the ad on FB). Turned out that the BC ad was indeed still live. I purchased it because it was in such beautiful condition, including the original case. The big (very big) and obvious issue was that the original pickups and electronics had long since been removed and disposed of. After conversations with Prostheta as to what was or wasn't possible I decided to push on with trying to get it restored to as close to stock as possible. The first pictures show the bass as I bought it, then with everything stripped out. Note the packers that had been fitted inside the pickup cavities to take the screws for the previously installed Armstrong pickups. Fortunately after some careful chipping away I managed to clear the old glue off to reveal the original pickup screw bushings. As you can see the loom (including 6-position Varitone and preamp) that Prostheta provided is a work of art and it seemed a shame to have to try and cram it into the seemingly tiny electronics cavity in the back of the bass. It was a squeeze but it went in and it is beautifully quiet running. No humming, no buzzing, even sat directly in front of the amp with the volume up to gigging levels it is uber quiet. Finally there are a couple of pics with this now complete bass taking its place alongside my R60 and R80. I may look out for a set of black or bronze pickup screws as the silver ones do stand out a little but all in all I'm thrilled with it. It sounds great with a powerful preamp and a huge range of tones and I know it’ll be good for years. I'm a happy chappy and I hope you enjoy the pics showing the seemingly simple but oh not so simple transformation. 😀

I thought id go with the two classic colours of Christmas a month or so ago...

While it's the antithesis of my punky roots, this evening is all about Donald Fagen. Cheeky bottle of red and Donald. Joy.

I wonder if we might setup a slightly more friendly ‘Gear Watchers’ type setup. Instead of failing the year by purchasing, we list everyone taking part in the first post, then the month they’ve been ‘abstinent’ from next to it. You buy/acquire something, the month updates to the latest. That way, some of us might get to the end of the year with at least 2 or 3 months completed haha. Less impressive, but perhaps more friendly to ourselves. Si

So as part of my journey of documenting gigs, the guys out my band got together for a little run through of tunes... so I took my cameras down to try some stuff out. Still learning... oh - and this is a lot easier when you aren't on stage too! My main learnings on this one... is my motorised slider was so slow... you can't even tell it was moving. FAIL!

I am guessing that this policy is created by someone who thinks like you and doesn't understand why someone like me just won't do it, which is probably why when making a sales decision it is important to consider that not everyone is like you. The thing is - I don't mind asking how much something is, assuming someone is there, which is not always the case. When I have a look round I want to see if there is anything in the price bracket I am looking for that is interesting. I have no interest in engaging or finding a salesman just to find out that first step. Say I wanted a jazz bass. I go into PMT, there is a wall of maybe 10-12 jazz basses, from squiers right up to some custom shop thing. I would look at that, and I want to see what of those basses I should be being tempted by. Say If I have £800 to spend, I want to know what is up to £800, but maybe there is something really nice at £900, maybe I would be ok with that too, a salesman can't know that. Say I can afford all of them. Some of them are nicer than others, some of them look better than others, some are cheaper than others, some look horrible but play well. He could tell me the prices of those basses, but there is no way I will remember them. So yes, I will still go there for something I already know the price of and have already decided on to try and buy, but it completely stops the idea of an impulse purchase. Its just not practical, that is why shopping online is such a joy, you get to know the price. People always say the internet killed the high street, but that is rubbish. The high street killed the high street, it was just it had nothing to be compared against until the internet came along.

I usually check out GAK website as well if you are going down the on-line route. GAK will price match any other UK price. I've even driven down to Bass Direct from Glasgow area just to get a look around it. Its an amazing shop and sometimes a drive is what's required when spending good money on a bass. My first stop to try basses out is Guitar Guitar in Glasgow. If i like something i'll buy same bass from GAK. Dave

Mine has the 'nappy' bit at the bottom, where there is a bit that goes underneath to keep it on. I also don't have the standard feet. I have that on my speakers and thought it was worth having. Very happy with it, and them.

No cross purposes - a bass and treble dial don't have a centre frequency, a bass control goes from some frequency to zero, and a treble goes from some frequency to the highest the amplifier can do (or the highest you can hear) - there is no 'centre' to that. If you have a parametric control, or mid control, it has a centre frequency, which is the centre of the range of frequencies above and below where the largest effect has. If you write a frequency on a bass or treble control you have made an arbitrary decision what the frequency is and how you measure it. For instance if it is a bass control, maybe it starts at say 600Hz, you certainly can't hear that, but the lower it gets the more noticable it gets. So do you call it 600Hz where you can't here it, but it actually starts, or do you call it 400 by which time it is down 3dB (so its half of what it was), or do you say it is 200Hz by the time it is 10dB down (like really reduced), or maybe at 100 by the time it is 20db down? There is almost nothing of it then. So you make a decision and say 'we are going to call this 400Hz, which is the point that the output has been reduced by half', and that is what the bottom and top knobs do on an amplifier.

🧝‍♂️ 👺 🤦🏼‍♂️

Attendance & Gear List: 1. @Frank Blank‘s No Longer Acoustic Corner - Rob Allen Mouse, ACG Harlot SC, ACG Recurve SS, Ibanez SRC6, QSC K12.2, Helix Stomp, HX Edit. 2. @rich’s Garden Of Delights - Shuker custom 5, Tanglewood acoustic 4, EBS Neo 2x12 & probable new amp (tbc) - both basses strung with nickel Elixirs. Possibly some FS stuff, details tbc once it hits the paid Marketplace. 3. @wrinkleygit, Jabba’s Semi Hollow Fretless, ‘72 Gibson EB0, SWR Working Mans 10 combo & 1x10 ext cab & a set of h’phones. Both basses strung with Labella flats 4. @scrumpymike Setting aside a bunch of FS stuff to give SW Bashers first shot and minimise packing and shipping work/costs. Unless cash flow dictates earlier sale, this will include: a couple of BF cabs (either SC Gen 3s or Two10s, to be decided); BF One10; Maruszczyk Elwood 30" scale; Spector Bantam if still unsold (already posted FS); Eden WT550 if still unsold (already posted FS); Ampeg PF800. 'Keepers' also on display will be: the other pair of BF cabs; my no. 1 gig bass 'Rascal Mervyn-Lyte; 'Rascal Lyte Mkll - provided I can decide what it's going to be in time for AndyJr to build it; my no 1 gig amp (Subway 800+); my old no 1 gig amp (Genzler Magellan 800). All of which will hopefully bring forward the day when Mrs Scrumpy can finally join her old man in retirement 😁 5. @Pea Turgh My Frankenstein Jazzguarman(!) strung with D’Addario XL Chrome flats. My black bitsa (same strings). Probably my Peterson combo which I’ll flit between selling and not selling (still). 6. @stevie Ibanex SR1200-VNF, Ashdown RM500, BCbass 112, plus some other bass cab developments (probably) 7. @yorks5stringer Gretsch Electromatic, Markbass CMD101 Micro Marcus Miller 8. @Andyjr1515 Not yet sure what I will be bringing except my athletic physique and chiselled good looks (and if you believe that.... ) 9.@stewblack Trace Elliot Rig of Death. Ric inspired 'tributes' various amps and basses for sale unless they shift here first. A hernia (probably). 10. 11. 12. 13. @Teebs Not attending but definitely hinnocent. 14.

Except under current rules you can't post offers on the thread. Why would anyone want to do this? You can already make an offer to someone selling something

Just to get the taste-buds going, here's Mrs. Scrumpy's menu. Mrs Scrumpys menu.pdf

Im not a huge Ed Sheehan fan but this is great playing from Santamaria. Imo.

For me its about playing what I like and what gives me pleasure. The whole point of picking up any instrument is in that statement. I have never lumbered myself with stuff or so called technique that I dont need and would never use, why waste that time when it can be spent on some aspect I enjoy and will utilise? I spend enough time doing things that are a chore, like work etc so why turn my enjoyment or hobby into a chore simply because its a current trend? If I was, or wanted to be, a session player learning all the techniques out there would be a must, but I couldnt think of anything worse, so I dont need to. I also play drums, and an article in a drum mag made me think hard about this subject. A top drummer suggested getting rid of stuff you dont need or never use, not just equipment but technique. He reasoned why continue to practice stuff you either dont like or never use? Be great at some things rather than being average at everything. I bought into that in Bass playing and drumming.

I don't need to try one. Any bass where the pickups look like they came from a low budget 1980's sci fi horror film are a definite no from me.

Play the music you want to play using the technique you want to employ. You don't need our approval or any kind of justification. Just go with it.

I've been playing bass for something like 45 years now, and have never slapped at all. Never been asked to, it simply doesn't come u in the sort of music I play. I see no need to be 'versatile', I'm not a pro who needs to be able to take any gig that's offered. For the first 40 years I played finger style, never even thought about playing any other way, then I knackered my right hand in an accident and lost the use of my middle finger, since when I have played with a pick exclusively. I've got over feeling that 'I'm not a proper bass player anymore' now A couple of weeks ago, I met up with a chap who wanted to give me a Jazz bass in exchange for one of my Ibanez six string basses, he tried mine first and was playing finger style and then some slap. He sounded good, knew how to play alright. Then I tried the Jazz bass, pick in hand and he was impressed by my pick playing! Goes to show we are mostly impressed by the things we can't do ourselves.

Blimey. Weird, beautiful and absolutely bonkers all at the same time! Serious singing skills.

I think all BCers should wear a Christmas hat , or at least a hat , that way we could all be just a bit unsure ......

New bass day. Schecter Dug Pinnick Baron-H signature. I've waited a long time for this.

Purrfectly co-ordinated pair 😊

MIM Jazzes used identically-sized sets of pickups for a long time, but that was phased out in 2001 so shouldn't be the case here.

Nope. You run the usual vox/instrument inputs to the desk, and then take an XLR for L/R Main Output, one to each sub-woofer. They do the crossover bit internally and divert what needs to be diverted to their respective tops.

Story of my life. The E's always wear off too quickly.

I really liked the EBS Multicomp for slap in dual band mode. You can attenuate the high and low bands with micro pots inside the pedal, handy for getting that smooth sound on pops.

A bit off topic, but an ex-guitarist of mine (I won't call him a friend...because I can't stand him) would take a set of screwdrivers and hex keys with him whenever he went to buy a guitar, so that he could dismantle it and make sure that it was as described. He once left the salesman in a vintage guitar shop in Denmark Street with a '70's Strat in several pieces when he removed the neck to check that it was as "all original" as claimed and could see that it had been refinished and the date on the neck didn't match with the date on the body. Told me that he'd normally politely point it out, reassemble the guitar and decide whether to ask for a discount, but on this occasion he'd had half an hour of being told that it was definitely all original, they knew what they were talking about because they were the experts, so he just gave him a look of disgusted contempt and walked out.