bassbiscuits

Got a Hiscox hard case from Owen - good comms, item exactly as described. Happy to deal with him again.

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1459792476' post='3019700'] Hi all, Post a depressing visit to Bass Direct, I was spending the 1hr 30 in the car on the way back wondering...if you could ONLY have a bass that played like heaven OR sounded like it, which would you choose? I think it's playability for me, I mean, even the worst of basses sounds roughly like a bass, right? As long as it plays well, I could see me coping with it but so many basses that I tried today sounded INCREDIBLE but played in a way I disliked. It's all personal preference, so I don't expect us to be able to define what's good tone and bad tone and/or what defines 'plays well' (the forum would implode if we all agreed) but I'm curious to know. Cheers, James [/quote] why was the visit depressing btw?

Tone definitely. I've had super playable basses in the past, but their tonal shortcomings did my head in. I'd make the effort to coax stuff out of a harder to play bass if the sound it produced was worth the effort. If the sound isn't making you want to play, its never going to bring out the best in your playing, in my opinion.

I can cope with thick or thin really, but I think a big thick handful of a neck actually sounds better than a dead skinny one. Within reason obviously. But I don't really get on with wide (rather than thick) necks - those early 50s P bass fretboards are too much of a stretch for me.

Adam Cohen's (Leonard's son) latest album is great too.

Nice - I've got the same but with a tort plate. I do spend quite a lot of time just gazing at it!

I've got the AG4J hot set on my fender USA jazz and I've got to say the sound incredible. It was fitted with them when I bought it from Bass Direct, and for me it was the best sounding bass in the shop, having tried out a shed load of them that day. The bass itself is pretty loud and chimey unplugged but the pickups make it sound great plugged in - as a P bass devotee it's made for a really fat jazz sound, with all the J bass definition and clarity but a good slab of P bass punch.

I tend to use the bridge position and middle mainly, with occasional ventures to the neck pickup. One of my strats has a humbucker at the bridge which is a good bit louder than the single coils, so it actually works nicely to use the middle pickup for the verses and general rhythm, and then flicking to the fatter gainy bridge HB for soloing.

That's beautiful! I've recently found myself without any gibsons thru various sales / part ex's, but I still secretly fancy getting another! Bet those Custom Shop versions are immense. Nice one.

My last gig was Marc O'Reilly at the Donkey in Leicester. Never heard of him before but we were the support band so we stuck around to watch the gig. It was stunning. A sort of blues/folk and even slightly gospel overtones to some of it, and it went from delicate hushed stuff to flat out bluesy grooving. Just a trio too so everyone worked hard to cover a lot of ground. Drummer and bass player were brilliant as well as Marc himself. I think they've just been signed to Virgin and have a new single out called Bleed. Give them a listen if you get a chance.

I started out listening to Steve Harris and grew up on Iron Maiden's Live After Death video, so I warned to learn three fingers from the outset ( tho I think Harris uses all four!) Ive got it sounding quite smooth with the three providing a continuous strum pattern, but I don't often really need to use three for the speed of it with the music I play nowadays. I don't reall think that much about what my right hand pattern is to be honest - I bet half the time I'm using just my index or index/middle or any random one of the three main fingers!

It does seem that way yeah! I'm happy with it so far - once i get my head around using it with a computer etc i'll be a happy chap. I actually won this amp at a recent Blackstar event at my local music shop (Music Junkie in Leicester) where I'd gone to try it out in the first place. I was rather surprised to say the least! They have a lot of the Blackstar range there if anyone fancies trying one out too. Top result.

I guess I'm quite lucky I'm that I'm currently playing in a couple of different bands which really does help balance musical fulfilment with paid work which I'd be foolish to turn down. My money-earning band is a rock covers act, and while some of the tunes aren't really my cup of tea, they go down well and keep us in regular work. But I've also recently begun gigging with an originals band, which has got some really cool support slots lined up with genuinely interesting other original performers, and it's a real treat to explore things musically and not be focused on money. It's got a great vibe and doing art for its own sake fills a very particular gap for me that isn't filled by the cover band. But then it also enables me to see the many positives of the covers band and enjoy it for what it is too. I think musical fulfilment is a lifelong quest, rather than something you feel you've reached and need to explore no further.

Have found myself with one of these lovely little amps - they are marketed as being the latest in "desktop music" and basically have the range of guitar sounds from the regular ID Core range, but with the addition of bass and electro acoustic voices for recording and practice, plus Bluetooth connectivity the link up to computer tablets/smartphones etc. It's cool. I only picked it up yesterday so haven't had the chance to explore all its capabilities, but even the preset guitar sounds in it are great, and the delay/reverb effects particularly are head and shoulders above the other stuff I've used before. I play guitar and bass, and want to do some recording, so in theory it covers a lot of what I need. The bass sounds are loud enough for home jamming / playing along to stuff I'm learning etc, and are very clear and convincing, especially for recording, as well as sounding great thru headphones too. It isn't loud enough for gigging on bass, but clearly that's not really what it's for. The guitar sounds are the real gems tho - with one toddler and another baby on the way I don't get to switch on a valve amp at home anymore, but this has some killer, realistic and very usable guitar sounds and enough volume to give it some welly when the family is out! There's a lots of stuff online at the Blackstar website about the more complex functions it does, but even as a 'plug in and go' practice amp I'm really impressed with it so far.

Depending where you are in Dorset, there's an exceptionally good guy I've used a lot based over the Hampshire border in Portsmouth ( sorry my geography ain't great!) He's called Simon Jones, or SGL Guitars. I live in Leicester but still arrange to get stuff to him for major work because he's amazing. Seriously worth checking out.

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1458893452' post='3011840'] Saw him support the Clash and Ten Pole Tudor a few times. Always fun! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Tl7BZYC5qI [/quote] Peter Singh! A local legend when I lived in Swansea. I jammed with him at an open mic night there years ago when I still lived there. I never understood why he's in Twin Town (also set in Swansea) but played by a different bloke - Martin Ace, the bassist from Welsh prog group Man.

I went to see a gig by someone called Lisa Dominique, who was the pin up girl in Kerrang! in the late 80s. I can't remember the music at all, but i was a teenage boy so i couldn't take my eyes off her! I've also seen Dolly Parton live, which was better than expected. Only went to accompany Mrs Biscuits but it was actually cool.

There's a singer called Karine Polwart, who has a number of songs which make me cry, because they are just a really moving combination of music, melody and words. Follow the Heron, and Waterlily, for example. Also Adam Cohen's So Much To Learn is proper lump in throat stuff.

Jumbo or medium jumbo frets 9.5" radius fretboard or flatter Through-body stringing at bridge Reasonably chunky neck Preferably some tort on there somewhere! Two of my three basses tick all these boxes, so i'm a happy chappie.

I had one for about six months - a beautiful looking white Korean made thing. The built quality wasn't a problem, but the weight and sheer size was. I couldn't get thru a full gig wearing it. I never thought my P bass was particularly lightweight either at 4.3kg, but swapping to that halfway thru a gig was like nestling into an old pair of slippers. I got a chance to play Basschatter Norris's real Gibson T Bird at the bass bash last year and I'm happy to say it was nothing like the Tokai - it was sleek, slim and rather dashing.

Bruce Springsteen's If I Should a Fall Behind, Billy Joel's Goodnight Saigon and Johnny Cash's Hurt all do me in.

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1458151528' post='3005166'] We have just been offered a support slot for Mark Morris (he of Bluetones fame) this Friday in Leicester, I am really excited as the song "If" by the Bluetones has to be one of my all time favourite basslines I'm all excited now [/quote] Cool - whereabouts are you playing? I did a support slot in The Donkey in Leicester last Saturday for a headliner called Marc O'Reilly. Hadn't heard of him before but honestly it was stunning music. Turned into an amazing night out.

What an epic night out I've just had. Depping on bass for an originals band for only my second gig with them, a support slot which went amazingly well - in a proper music venue too where the audience actually listen to what you're playing. And the headliners were frankly stunning - chap called Marc O'Reilly and his band from Ireland. Could feel the knots in my mind loosen from hearing them play. A grand night out.

My 'the one' is really 'my two' main basses, but I've had one of them for 22 years and one for 10 years, so I think they're both fairly permanent.