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PJB m-300 PJB 6B

Hello all, I’ve been itching for a gold paisley something for ages, and recently I’ve been wanting a 51/68 style Tele Bass. So I thought I’d stick those two ideas together! 💡 I’ve done 3 parts builds that I’ve sprayed myself, and 10 scratch builds. As well as copious amounts of spray work for neck breaks etc. So going all out doing some stuff I’ve not done before on this. Never down paisley, and never done any bursts, so should be interesting. This will be a fairly long on going project but thought I’d start a thread as I’ve been buying some bits. I got this body in Black Friday deal so this is the start. The neck and some other bits are on their way from Allparts. So if your a tele/precision bass, or a paisley fan then watch this space. 👍

Glorious, just glorious. Why did I wait so long? It brings a joy to our kitchen that has been absent since my family decided that Heart FM was their preferred station about 5-years ago (I know, but some battles are not worth fighting). And the songs I'm hearing that I'd forgotten, I even heard one of my old bands from 1984 the other day (a reliable sign of quality curation if ever there was one). And the basslines? Seems the editorial policy is defined by the two questions 'Is the artist credible?' and 'Is the bassline creative?' Love it. Renewed my faith in the BBC 👍

… in Cambodia. DKs

You rang? 🙂 OK, interesting thread... Yes, Haydn wrote 104 numbered symphonies - there are various other bits and pieces making the grand total anything up to about 110... but 104 is the standard list. 104 is known as the London symphony, as that was where it had its first performance and it's fun to play. I was playing Haydn 6, 7, and 8 at the weekend in a workshop - great fun and there are two bass solos in there... Okay, suggestions of 'what' to listen to.... There are good suggestions above. I always sit someone down and I do a musical history tour to cover of the various genres and try to find a style or period that someone likes. Loosely speaking, the music falls into various time boxes, bear in mind these often overlap in time by a lot...: medieval (pre 1400); renaissance c.1400 - 1600; baroque 1600 - 1750; classical 1750 - 1820; romantic 1820 - tricky... roughly 1900. You've got impressionists writing in late C19th (not romantic) and Richard Strauss writing up until 1949. Anyway, styles explode in late C19th. For 'easy listening' the baroque era is good. It splits into three roughly 50 year periods: early (1600), middle (1650), late (1700). Late is where your well-known composers are: Bach, Vivaldi, Telemann, Handel. Music of this era has a strong structure with a bass line that is controlling what is going on. Suggestions: JS Bach - Brandenburg concertos, Orchestral Suites, harpsichord and oboe concertos. Organ music try the trio sonatas And less well-known items such as the toccata and fugue in F. Vivaldi ignore the usual suspects and listen to concerto sets like La Stravaganza or La Cetera, or the Concerto di Amsterdam. Telemann wrote a lot... his Tafelmusic (table music) is good. Handel try the Concerti Grossi - there's the opus 3 and opus 6 sets of those, the 'concerti a due cori' are fun (wait until the horns come in...). English baroque composers include Avison, who was from Durham. Early baroque tends to be dominated by French and Italian composers - a lot of good recommendations in earlier posts. The Monteverdi Vespers are fun to sing. I will write a couple more posts covering different periods. If you want the 'heavy metal' department of classical music... then you're looking at things like Wagner (Entry to Valhalla from Das Rheingold), Siegfried's Funeral Music etc, Bruckner (symphonies 4 and 7 perhaps), Tchaikovsky symphonies 4, 5, and 6. Big music with tunes - Dvorak symphonies 7, 8 and 9. Really big orchestras - Mahler. Possibly symphonies 4 and 5. I'll write more later...

Just in case anyone is interested, here is a couple of projects/parts builds I’ve put together and sprayed up.

For a one-off concert have you considered sourcing a bass out there? Either through loan, hire or buy and then resell. From what you’ve said above about only you and the singer travelling there must presumably be some technical and musical infrastructure in place out there for the concert, and maybe the rest of the band? Therefore people around likely to have a bass or can access one easily. It’s the solution I went for playing in the Netherlands and I’ve done similar in return for bands coming to the UK.

I wonder why you ask? I wasn't clear whether you are looking for something to work on in your skill set or if it the job you aspire to? Or maybe you are just musing? Let's be clear, the hurdle for a working session musician and a covers band are the difference between Olympic qualification and entering the parents egg and spoon race. You can already do much more than I can and I''ve been gigging in covers bands every other weekend for years. Learning 30 songs by memory playing four to the bar and the root note in the right places gets you an awful long way. Listening and responding to the rest of the band helps a lot too. I take it seriously and practice daily and try to be professional in my attitude but technically I don't offer much, fortunately I've not been rumbled yet Being in a successful touring band is a matter of luck, no disrespect but most of us here could probably learn the whole of the Rolling Stones (insert almost any band you like) back catalogue and go on tour playing it but weren't there when Keef and Mick were growing up. To be a session musician or a professional gun for hire you need to be good, either good at one thing which you will get hired for or with high level musical skills. Growing up my best friends father was a classical musician, he played French Horn variously for the BBC Symphony, Philharmonic and the LSO and incidentally for the Beatles (on Rubber Soul) He practiced lots, hours a day, every day, he treated it like a job! He probably had a lot of talent too, had studied since a child and was a really personable man. The big skill most musicians miss though is enterprise, you aren't going to join a band unless you get out there to find other people to play with. Look for the ads, answer the ads go to auditions, prepare for auditions, say yes to playing with other people. Go to gigs and talk to people. Advertise for people to play with you. Hang around places you know the local musicians hang out or find out where they go if you do. Start your own band. Be flexible too, the chances of you meeting three other musicians whose taste exactly matches yours is close to zero.

Wow, that's a huge spread of music you don't like!

Yeh, it is a no-brainer. Ive been on the hunt for a Fireglo 4003S for some time to do a V63/RM1999 replica but I simply refuse to pay the money being asked for 2nd-hand Ricks so when this appeared I was on it like a tramp on chips. The Fireglo is actually darker than the main photo; this is more like it:-

After many years of wanting to go, I was finally able to go to The Gallery in Camden this morning to gaze upon their wares. As luck would (not) have it, I'm down in Hemel Hempstead this week for a course with work. I found out last night that despite what I had been told, the course has been moved to Wednesday and Thursday so it left me and a colleague with a day to kill. Naturally, we went to check out The Gallery. Luckily, I knocked after finding their front door locked (smart practice, I think). The wares inside are stunning. A gorgeous Maruszczyk near the door that was quite Esh-esque in spec. A Moon in Larry Graham white with a matching Maruszczyk tribute hanging across from it. I had a chat with John Chapman who seems a very nice dude and was happy to entertain some conversation on bass. Down at the far end of the store I was absolutely drawn in by the Alembic Stanley Clarke they had in at £6500. The finish on that has to be seen to be believed. Even more rare was the bass next to it, a Wal fretless six string on hold pending sale at £12,500. Looking at it, I was wondering if it had been the one that Littleeal of this parish used to own. There can't be many of those around. Whilst I don't think Wal are 'all that', it was really cool to see such a rare item in store.

Thanks. Yes, it is a Ken Lawrence Chamberbass (built in 2000). Here's a pic of the bass without the ramp. Trying to keep everyone in this thread happy. M. M.

Working For The Yankee Dollar - The Skids

A difficult one to call, but I think my favourite is .......................... And one of the best covers of Deep Purple's Highway Star is ..........................

Did not know ramps were no longer a thing. Don't be a ramp hater-player. Be a ramp-facilitator. 🙂 M. M.

Vole over Beethoven - nearly everyone seemingly

I've modded pieces of foam with a lollypop stick glued to the top or bottom (depending on how you place it) with a bit extra at the edge to make removal easy. I reckon you could make a similar T shaped piece of wood to glue a chunk of foam to which would fit under the cover and leave a little tab to grab for removal. You could even use a tonewood lollypop stick and retire on the proceeds. I want 50%.

I have just got hold of a 2014 Fender Rascal. They were not made for long and are short scale; a bit like a 4 string BassVl. I wanted it because although short scale, which I like, they are not small - the bridge is not at the end of the bass. I am very tall so some SS basses look daft on me. I also wanted a bass that worked for palm muting and playing with a pick and this is ideal as you adopt a more guitar like playing position. Although I also play “finger style” I use other things for that and this should work brilliantly in my 60s band, especially since I have now changed strings to LaBella black nylons.

I've had 5 inguinal hernias so I swapped to Sandberg superlight basses and really lightweight amps and cabs. Then I ruptured a tendon in my right hand - Mallet Finger - that just didn't want to heal. Spent most of a year in a cast. The tendon did eventually heal but because the finger was stationary for so long I have arthritis in it and that finger sometimes does not obey my commands. I'm using a plectrum more often but I don't really like it. It's just not the sound in my head. I've got another superlight on order - this time a shortscale Lionel. For some reason I find plectrum playing much easier with a shortie. I think it's the instrument position combined with the shorter neck. I've got a really cheap shortie at the moment but the 'Berg will be much lighter in weight. It's very annoying though.

A diagnosis of an inguinal hernia in April prompted a rethink of all things bass for me. I decided lighter kit would enable me to continue gigging so I ditched the Laney RB7 combo and 15" cab in favour of, initially, a TCE BAM200 and two home built 6" cabs (initial designs on here). In fact, the research for lighter kit and in particular the small class D amp heads was why I ended up on Basschat. Once I'd figured out what I could or couldn't do, I got a couple of TE 1x10" cabs. I wouldn't go back to big cabs now. My main bass was a Sterling HH 34" scale - a little on the heavy side. Fortunately I have my Spirit headless bass (it's been with me for more than 15 years) so I turned to that for rehearsals and a couple of gigs, also using my Gretsch Electromatic shorty. Both a considerably lighter than the Sterling. Recently I invested (purely on medical grounds, you understand 😃) in an American P Bass which is also lighter than the Sterling. As time has gone on I've found I can do more than I initially expected although I still know about the hernia after a gig or rehearsal.

Life Is A Minestrone ～ 10CC

Mine is an awkward arm break that left me with nerve damage and 2 fingers that I can no longer feel. I was a guitarist and being unable to fingerpick any more was seriously upsetting, so on Mrs Bassfinger's insistence I switched to bass on the basis there is 33% less real estate for my remaining digits to cover. Sure enough I could play finger style much better on the bass but was prone to errors so for live playing always used to revert to a pick. However, years of bloody minded persietence and practice paid off and my brain has rewired itself sufficiently for me to be able to fingerpick normally again (I still use a pick for those songs that suit one) even with no feeling in 2 digits, and I'm back on the guitar as well. I can even pingerpick on a mandolin. No trick, just years and years of hammering at it, 90 minutes to 3 hours a day, every si gle day. I even bought a Hofner shorty so I could pradtice when wkrking abroad. The only other concession I make to the inury is that I tend to practice standing. Sitting down quickly becomes uncomfortable on my nacked elbow and shoulder and the pressure on the nerves starts to make my right thumb numb as well, although that is transitory and quickly rights itself when I get the arm moving. I've had 3 operations, and nearly died in the last one due to an unexpected reaction to the general, so unless my life depends on it I'll pass on any more surgery and put up with the symptoms.

That made me chuckle. The answer to that question is a whole can of worms best left closed, an era of my life that is well behind me, one I'd be happier to talk about had anything I played, wrote, or even wore - especially hairstyles - possessed any quality or merit

Kissinger Fool George Michael

It was a sad day when Shaun Keaveny left the breakfast show.

I have ramps on both my Ibanez Prestige SRs for many years now, still use them and still like them a lot actually.

P bass & upright bass → EBS Stanley Clarke preamp → FBT ProMaxx 112A (normally as stage monitor, or as backline if there's no PA). I'm loving the FBT. I've never seen it mentioned by bass players (I searched the entire internet loads before buying it and found nothing). My previous 12" powered speaker was an RCF 732-A, and in a nutshell the FBT is comparable in price and performance, but at 80% of the weight - just 14.8kg.

In fairness to Quincy Jones, he's never heard me.

Just a cheeky plug for my bands new video. We have changed are name to Erronaut. Hope some of you like it.. and yes that is a bass wah in the middle of the song

Get a Hofner. It's like playing nothing at all. I had to get rid of mine because it was so light and delicate i thought i'd crush it with my playing.

My rigs. Most gigs I'll use the two 210's or a lone 212 cab, but outdoor gigs I'll bring the bigger stuff.

Default mode tells me to pick something from Made in Japan but my thinking head says Perfect Strangers

I remember going into a guitar shop around 30 years ago and a £900 4-string WAL was hanging next a £800 Tune Bass Manic. One is now worth £thousands while the other worth £hundreds. If only we knew then what we know now?

Wow! That sounds like an experience with a big impact. I'd love to have been there. I've not heard the piece live at all, but now feel compelled to tell you about the first time I heard about it - and about Sorabji at all. Around 1980 I was drinking coffee with the guys at the college of music when Geoffrey Douglas Madge (whom I vaguely knew) entered the room and yelled: "Guys! I just got permission to play OC!" I guess I was somewhat happy for him, but was mainly stumped. Many hours of explanation, reading and listening later, I started a quest to get hold of as much Sorabji as I could, but it was nearly impossible back then. In the mean time, Madge performed it live in Utrecht and that performance was sent live on the radio and was released on vinyl. That performance, to my mind, was much better than his later recording of it. I've never found the LPs and must just feel lucky I got hold of the Ogdon version after some time. Wow, I think we're on a roll here, providing @miles'tone with exactly the information he craves ... 😁

I like the look of them too I bought the Hondo Alien specifically because it has an aluminium neck which I thought would be more likely to survive travelling - I keep it in my camper van. I prefer the look of the Hohners. I don’t know how easy they are to find, I think I was the sole bidder on mine 😂

Still haven't called my Trunk of Punk selection in yet. Regularly get my comments about what selection has just been played read out though

I'm keeping my steinberger XP for when I'm too old to carry a j bass. Im so tempted too sell it but it's so light.

Hohner B2B is bolt on. Also has passive with PJ pups, not EMG which sounded more organic to me. It was always my preferred model. Finding one is another matter, of course.

I wouldn't discount the Aguilar TH series either. Like the Darkglass it doesn't have a valve, but the drive feature is really good. The TH500 or TH700 would be on my list for sure. If you want something bigger and with loads of headroom, someone is selling my old Mesa M6 in the classifieds here. I actually sold it because it was too loud and clean and preferred the furry, bloomy tone of my old Walkabout. Heavy compared to modern class D amps though would perhaps be a lethal weapon with a Barefaced 6x10.

I converted to BBC6 around 2010 purely by chance...Unthinkable now but at the time the station was facing potential shutdown. Personal faves are Mary Anne Hobbs, Iggy Pop on Sunday and for both tunes and banter Radcliffe and Maconie....Crisps on the Radio...pure genius

Currently planning out an ampless setup. Stomp XL on its way. Currently thinking "Bass > HX Stomp XL (with Tech21 dUg in loop 1, Darkglass Alpha Omega Photon in loop 2 with presets MIDI controlled) > PA/IEM (and possibly an amp running a homemade shaker platform)". I may go "Bass > HX Stomp XL (with Tech21 dUg in loop 1, DIY TS-50 preamp in loop 2) > Darkglass Alpha Omega Photon (with presets MIDI controlled) > PA/IEM/etc." depending how the TS-50 and MIDI control of the Darkglass turns out. I've too many amps knocking around so there may be a cull there and just replace the lot with something FRFR, probably QSC. For personal practice I'm just using a single studio monitor at the minute and it sounds excellent.

With Zappa as your reference frame, I'd say: keep to the biggies first, and take it from there. Bach has been mentioned already, and forgetting the play-along bit, some names I'd add could be, starting with older music so as to hear music developing: Palestrina and Monteverdi for yer renaissance and early baroque. Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli Monteverdi: Orfeo, Scherzi musicali (with that glorious song "Non cosi tosto" a.o.) Bach: what has been mentioned already plus say the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio and the Brandenburg Concertos. Also give "Bist du bei mir" a listen. It was traditionally, wrongly, attributed to Bach (but he simply couldn't have written it) and is absolutely gorgeous despite its awkwardness. If you play Haydn (say Die Schöpfung (The Creation), piano sonatas and a symphony like no 104) and Händel (operas like 'Julius Caesar' and 'Oreste' and oratoria like The Messiah for example), then do absolutely not forget Henry Purcell - a great composer. My brain refuses to remember pieces right now, but he's up there with the very best. Mozart: late works like his Requiem (which turns away from the perceived lightness of many an early work, and reflects Mozart's understanding of and love for Bach). I'd do the "light" stuff later. That's all for now. Brain is closing down, so best hit the Submit button. Enjoy! Edit: rectified a few wrong entries.

Nice looking 66 precision came up on reverb in the uk, they saying it’s all original, I keep telling myself not to look 😁