Deep Thought

I've noticed in the past that the sound on Rossy's programme is invariably crap. They manage to make even the best of bands sound lousy. I can't say I'm the World's biggest U2 fan, although they have done some classic stuff in the past, but I thought both songs last night were fairly feeble. What the hell is that wall of lights in a flight case behind The Edge??

We are finding it hard work at the moment as well-pinning landlords/owners down to a date is hard going, and a lot don't want to know you if they've never heard of you-we've not been gigging that long. We've had good results in actually turning up at the venue in person, and handing over our demo and press pack-venues have expressed gratitude that we bothered to do that rather than just using the phone. Even then it's a war of attrition-having to continually go back and keep showing your face until they give way. Getting repeat gigs once you've played a place is easier (if you're any good!), it's getting the foot in the door that's the hard bit. And venues seldom if ever ring you back when they say they will-you have to ring them. Actually this is becoming a bit of a sore point with us-I'm fairly shy, and going to places blowing my own trumpet and trying to sell myself is a real struggle for me. I've been doing very little so far-our drummer's been doing most of it, he seems to have the necessary attitude, but now he's getting the hump and me and the guitarist have to do some-which is a thing I'm having to steel myself to do, to be honest, but needs must.

You won't regret it-at least I hope not! No accounting for taste! If you do I will plead insanity and deny saying any of the aforementioned!

+1 for here-the vast majority of my musical purchases in the past couple of years have been from the For Sale page, if there's something you want and you have a bit of patience, what you want will usually come along before too long. I like to use local shops if I can, but their stock is usually so limited that if they haven't got it, getting it can take weeks. Also a lot of the more 'exotic' stuff hasn't filtered its way down this end yet-my local chap, lovely bloke though he is, knew next to nothing about a Genz Benz Shuttle when mentioned. Neodymium cabs? Whassat then? Schroeder? Epifani? Never 'eard of 'em. Strings, picks and cables, otherwise it's online for me.

[quote name='rasher80' post='417430' date='Feb 23 2009, 02:06 PM']So if you've gone from a MAG300 to a GB Shuttle, do you find that the GB can stand up next to the Ashdown?[/quote] Stand up next to it? It [i]towers[/i] over the Ashdown. Absolutely sh*ts all over it. The 10-year-old Trace was a big improvement, but this thing just wipes the floor with it. Not only in volume but in sound quality too. At about the same weight as the box the Ashdown came in. Our guitarist uses a 50watt Marshall all-tube head through a 4x10, and we have to keep telling him to turn it up. Seriously, you have no worries in that department. I'm delighted with the thing.

It just occurred to me that Stanley Clarke doesn't get mentioned here much-at least not in the threads I read! Don't know if that's a good thing or not, but he was always the Hoover or Biro of bass players for me when I was younger-the first one you thought of when 'bass player' was mentioned. I feel it my duty to add JJ Burnel-most seem to respect his contribution. Definitely never read a bad word about Norman Watt-Roy, and rightly so.

[quote name='Platypus' post='414079' date='Feb 19 2009, 11:49 AM']The Shuttle 6 costs £459 delivered[/quote] Not no more it don't. It's gone up to £519 now. I paid £459 for mine last month, damn glad I did. I used to gig with a MAG 300 4x10, weighed a bleeding ton-I replaced it with a Trace 1x15 combo, which was in comparison was considerably louder and more compact IMHO. Now I'm delighted to say that with my current rig I can carry the amp over my shoulder in a laptop bag, and a speaker cab in each hand if needs be. Trouble is a shuttle and cab(s) works out a tad more expensive than your current budget will permit-I'd say it's well worth hanging on and saving up enough to do the job properly.

I generally hate the shape of most 'boutique' basses, but I had a chance to play one of these a while ago, and I thought it was one of the better looking examples. Gorgeous bass, too, lovely to play, and a fantastic sound through an Epifani rig. Not for me, but I acknowledge that (Monty Python and the Holy Grail Frenchman voice) it's-a...very nice!

Now that bloke can sing and play bass at the same time! I was rather pleased to be compared to him at one of our gigs a while ago. Outrageously underrated. Cool that you got to meet him and he was a nice bloke.

[quote name='Tinman' post='406754' date='Feb 11 2009, 06:09 PM']I was in a bar in China Lake (don't worry if you've never heard of it, thousands live there and they haven't either)[/quote] I've not been there, but I know where China Lake is. It's in California, where the Naval Weapons Research facility is. Most of the B-29 Superfortresses still in existence came out of China Lake, where they were being used as targets, before they were rescued. It's warm in this anorak.

[quote name='YouMa' post='407209' date='Feb 12 2009, 01:03 AM']I did not realise you knew him.[/quote] Well, not really, but he has been known to ask my advice.... Somebody mentioned a while ago that they'd built a monster rig for JJ back in the 70's, which nearly blew the doors off the workshop when tested.

Yes, his early sound is apparently down to playing through a guitar cab with a torn speaker. I think by the Black and White era he had a few more quid and probably had decent amplification. He's used all sorts of stuff over the years, including Trace. Nowadays he's an Ashdown endorsee-recent pics from the current European tour show about four rack-mounted ABMs of some sort (Ashdown labs?), although they might be customs as I don't recognise them, with ABM 4X10's and what I think are 1X 15's or 1X 18's.

I don't mind a bit of Johnny Cash, and some of the lyrics can be hilarious, but on the whole it doesn't do a lot for me.

I got a Shuttle 6.0 a few weeks ago-I am utterly blown away with it. Cannot believe this tiny little thing you can pick up and wave about with one hand will produce this enormous sound-and a dirty rough sound, just what I want. Also it's got the best sound when playing with fingers that I've had with an amp-I've always struggled with that in the past. To think I lugged my Trace combo around, and this has waaay more wallop and I can carry it around in a laptop bag! Just got a pair of custom Ashdown 300 watt ABM 112's with Celestion Neo's in them, with them the sound is just astounding, and I can just about carry one in each hand! Happy days. Marvellous what they can do wi' technology today.

Some songs it comes really easy, some songs I have to work at, and some I just can't sing and play at all. Sometimes I have to make a conscious effort to know where to play certain notes, on a certain point in a phrase for example. Often it's easier for me to sing over busier bass lines than more sparse ones-big gaps between notes where timing is an issue can cause problems. I ended up the singer in our band because initially I was the only one who could sing and play at the same time. I don't consider myself much cop at it, but I think I get away with it. I'm considering vocal lessons although they appear quite expensive. It means more to me if someone says something nice about my singing than about my bass playing-although I'd never want to be a non bass-playing singer.

Precisions (not Jazzes) do it for me. Modern basses don't. I see all manner of modern designs, sometimes I think 'Mmm, that looks nice' but I've no desire to own or play one. I owned an Ibanez SR500, probably considered by many to be a better bass in terms of weight, playability, range of tones, thickness (or thinness) of neck, type of pickups etc. etc. than a Precision. When I picked up the US Precision I now own and played it, I thought 'Well, might as well trade the Ibanez in, because I know it won't get played any more'. The Precision just suited me so well. I now own two and can honestly say I don't have any desire to own another bass, with the possible exception of an original '70's Precision. I tried a chap's Fodera Monarch a few weeks ago-gorgeous bass, great sound, but no use to me. I can treat a Precsion like a tool, I can dig into it with a pick and not worry about it. I know there are companies who probably make better basses, but I just can't get excited over them. I've said it before and it's already been mentioned in this thread, Fenders are like Harley Davidsons. A classic design, largely unchanged apart from minor details for decades. Other companies make a similar product which probably does the job a lot better, but if you're into Fenders/Harleys, you don't want anything else, and if you're not, you don't understand why anyone would want one.

[quote name='Jono Bolton' post='395387' date='Jan 30 2009, 01:43 PM']I'm not a fan of the 70's-style logo[/quote] I am. I much prefer it to the '50's style one on the US made Fenders. I wish they'd go back to the old 70's 'TV' logo.

Forgot Rory Gallagher.

Dave Gilmour John McLoughlin Bob Mould Joey Santiago Buddy Guy Zappa Joe Bonamassa Larry Miller Jeff Healey Robert Johnson George Thorogood Joe Walsh John Lee Hooker Robbie Krieger

[quote name='largo' post='400674' date='Feb 5 2009, 09:09 AM']Some might disagree about covering that top, but I'd stick a black or tortoishell scratchplate on it.[/quote] No, I'm with you. If it was going to have a control plate like that, it should have had a scratch plate. If they weren't going to put one on they should have left the top plain. IMHO.

I use Planet Waves cables and like them a lot-I have an angled one and it's been fine so far. No doubt somebody will point you in the direction of OBBM and his cables, which I understand are excellent, but sometimes you just need to go into a shop and buy a cable, and for that I've found them fine. Straplock-wise I like Schallers, although they are not a 'fit and forget' item-you need to keep an eye on them to ensure the nuts aren't coming undone (I always carry the appropriate spanner these days) and that the strap buttons aren't coming out of the body-their screws are a bit thinner than Fender ones, and I've had to reglue mine in more than once-the alternative is drilling out the Schaller buttons a bit which I may try next time. All that having been said, I wouldn't gig without them.

I met Jason How, their chief exec. last year at the Manson's guitar show in Exeter. Very nice bloke indeed, very helpful. I'd say go for it-if you speak to him ask where Mike Bennett's JJ Burnel photo is!!

Welcome from another bass playing biker (98 VFR800)!

I lengthened mine when I started getting tennis elbow-I find if I flex the elbow at all it hurts, so I can keep my arm straight with the strap longer. I'm convinced I'm playing better because of it too.