casapete

Interesting bit of trivia about this song - When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song) as the UK new number one, the band members began by tearing up pictures of Travolta and Newton-John to emphasise the fact that the pair - who had spent a total of 16 weeks out of the preceding 22 at the top of the charts - had been deposed. Geldof mimed the saxophone part on a candelabra, a jest he explained in his autobiography Is That It?: "The Musicians' Union had forbidden me to play saxophone on the video, as obviously I hadn't done so on the record. But I saw a candelabra on the piano at the shoot and I put a mouthpiece in the central candle holder and played it. The impact of video came home when during the next few British gigs kids pulled out candelabras from nowhere and began playing them during the sax solo in 'Rat Trap'".[6]

Reminds me of a bloke I sold an old Hofner to a few years ago. He said he was a 'dealer', and when I asked him was it just in guitars, he replied - 'No mate, I do all the middle aged bloke stuff - cameras, watches and motorbikes as well as guitars'. 😂 ( As I was probably pushing 60 at the time, I can only guess he was trying to flatter me for a better price)

The Covid pandemic has really made me wonder about having so many instruments generally, as well as how many basses. There's no doubt I could manage with one for everything - it has to be light as possible, well made / reliable and plays and sounds to my liking. Hence I could flog everything but my favourite Precision Lyte. However, I can never sell my 63 P-bass, so that makes it two without even considering the heartbreak of losing my Dano, Washburn acoustic/electric and a few more. That, combined with the market causing prices to be low, means they're all staying where they are. 😊

I’ve just taken a gig in July with my acoustic duo. Will be outside, weather permitting. Obviously will observe social distancing, both with the audience and each other - we’ll need to travel separately etc, but think it’s still possible. If the weather means we have to cancel then so be it, but at the moment with the situation as it is now it’s probably the only gig I have for the rest of the year. Just hope it’s a good one!

Just noticed the Clapton doc is on again tonight (6th June 2020) at 9.15pm for anyone who missed it. Cheers.

You're kidding, right? 🤣

Following on MacDaddy's selection, I love this version by Bonnie Raitt.

I had some Whirlwind cables too, probably the same vintage as yours. Lasted for years, before being nicked / lost , presumably at a gig where pack down was in a marquee in darkness at 2am or something.

I met him at a guitar show, and he made me my cables while I waited. Proper kit!

Before I discovered OBBM on here, I used ClearTone cables. Still got some, must be over 10 years old and still working 100%. They’re still made with the best Neutrik / Van Damme combo and their prices are competitive, as well as offering a 5 year warranty.

I played at a club he owned called ( I think) Jimmy Deans. Was a new venture for him at the time, probably early 90’s ish. Certainly a colourful character...

Phil Spector was an early user of more than one drummer, primarily in the studio. Hal Blaine’s drum parts were often doubled to create the ‘Wall of Sound’. Drummer Earl Palmer was also a member of the legendary group of musicians known as ‘The Wrecking Crew’ who played on so many hits in the 60’s and 70’s. I recently watched a great film about this, available IIRC on YouTube. Search for ‘The Wrecking Crew Movie’ and I think it’s still there.

I believe the recent reissue (model 1974x) is a pretty good stab at matching the sound of the original, and is available with a matching 1x12 cab to augment the combo’s 1x12. They are quite a loud 18 watts too, used mine in a band scenario a few times. Maybe lacking the clean headroom of a Fender Deluxe but fabulous Bluesbreaker tones when running flat out. 😊

Ha ha, it was an interesting thing. Mate of mine has recently bought an Ibanez short scale acoustic bass, can’t remember the model number but similar scale to the Taylor and less than £200. He loves it. There’s also the Guild Jumbo Junior for around £400 if you’re still looking to scratch the short scale itch.

Hey Frank - no, and no! Although I liked the way the Taylor played, I found it a little problematic soundwise, some ‘wolf’ tones when using it on gigs that I couldn’t EQ out for some reason. Think it may have been something to do with the bridge/pickup arrangement, as a mate of mine brought his identical Taylor to a gig I was playing and that was okay. Anyway, no problems as I sold it on eBay for what I paid for it and just put it down to experience. Hope you’re okay mate, cheers. Pete.

Just in case you’re not aware, the Epi Jack Casady is a semi hollow electric bass, so if it’s the acoustic type of sound you’re looking for it won’t nail it. Cracking basses though. 🙂

Honestly think my next gig may be NYE. Hoping so as it’s local and a good payer too. That’s if I can remember how to set my gear up and play of course....😉

My Kingman sounds great too - use it through a Fender Rumble 100 and it seems to suit it well. You can definitely hear the ‘acousticness’ come through. Unfortunately I may have to sell it soon due to the Covid situation, as I’ll not be able to afford the luxury of having 2 electro acoustic basses much longer. 😕

That reminds me - bought a late 80’s Strat a while ago for £400. Kept it for a while but didn’t gel with it, so decided to give it a good clean prior to selling it. Found that it contained a full set of Kinman vintage pickups, which the previous seller either didn’t know or forgot to mention. So I priced it up accordingly and got £650 for it, new owner chuffed to bits too.

My best buys have usually concerned stuff I've bought that has eventually become worth a lot more! I acquired my 63 P-bass for not a lot of money, but it was in a right state after being left in a loft for a few years. Spent a fair bit getting it into shape, and it will be with me till the end. ( Originally belonged to an ex-bandmate who sadly got killed in a road accident, and his widow approached me a few years later to see if I wanted it.) Bought a very rare Marshall Bluesbreaker combo in the late 70's/early 80's for (IIRC) £80. It was a really rare 4x10 version which are like hen's teeth. Sold it for a paltry £150 I think - it let me down on a gig and I got fed up of it. Nowadays would be worth maybe 10K !! Got my 1959 Les Paul Junior for what would now be considered a song - think it was £400. This was at a time when they weren't particularly desirable, but to a Keith Richards fan like me it was priceless. The going rate for them now seems to be around the £3.5 to £4k range i think. Again, won't be going anywhere though. Probably the best thing I've got is my late 60's Marshall 1974 18 watt guitar combo. Bought for £45 in the late 70's, and now worth a fair bit. A friend who had a music shop was asked by his Marshall sales rep if he knew anyone who had one to sell, so he contacted me to see if I was interested. Told him thanks but no. He rang back and said the Marshall guy wanted it for a famous client of theirs (who had hired the same model for his blues album) and would I accept an offer of £4k? Must admit I did consider it, but again politely refused. Certainly the best guitar amp I've ever had.

I’d be very (pleasantly) surprised if my band manage any of our scheduled gigs before the end of the year. As the majority of our work is in theatres, I just can’t see how it will work with social distancing, and that’s if there are the theatres still open. Like a lot of other workers in the entertainment world, we will be some of the last to return to whatever ‘normal’ will be. We have 8 professional band members and 3 sound and lighting crew all relying on these gigs for our living, so it’s a massive blow to us. (And just to rub it in, I should have been playing at the TT races on the sunny Isle of Man this weekend - just hope we get the chance to rearrange it for next year. )

I agree with most of the above posts regarding using them purely acoustically. However, I’m struggling to think of any that are made without any provision to amplify them, so am guessing manufacturers believe they are designed to be / best used plugged in ,unless playing on your own for rehearsal etc. There doesn’t seem to ever be a lot of love on here for electro / acoustic basses - ‘I’d rather just take my Precision with flats’ etc being the usual kind of comment. For me I do think they have a different enough sound from a solid body electric, and perhaps more importantly they look different too! I’ve had my Washburn AB20 for over 25 years and used it on many acoustic duo and band gigs. It always sounds great and often gets commented on by people in the audience. Also got a Fender Kingman too, which sounds fab. I use Fender 8060 acoustic bronzewound strings on both.

Just bought a bass from Mark, and the whole thing has been so easy. Great communication, bass exactly as described in the listing and he even arranged to courier it to me despite having a preference for it to be collected! This is what makes BC a great place for buying and selling, many thanks Mark. 100% recommended! Cheers, Pete.

He did! Actually used a small trampoline during his set, whilst playing guitar too. Think it was a bit of a gimmick TBH, bit of theatrics etc. He partly blames this and doing flips as well for recently having both hips replaced!

Think he's being a trifle modest - I've seen him play piano on all his gigs I've been to over the last 40 odd years, and whilst he's no virtuoso he can certainly play what's needed. 'The sun hasn't set on this boy yet' and especially 'Goin back' are wonderful.