tauzero

[quote name='doctor_of_the_bass' post='648521' date='Nov 8 2009, 03:32 AM']At the height of his powers, Mark had 90 basses.[/quote] Blimey, how many fences did he own?

[quote name='budget bassist' post='648387' date='Nov 7 2009, 09:44 PM']how good do you expect it to sound if you actually put it IN the amp? [/quote] Pete Townshend did that on a regular basis.

For cheap ones that you can buy two or three of and leave in bass cases, the old Tanglewood ones are good (not sure about the current ones, I haven't tried one), and the Korg CA-30.

That's not a conversion. Look at the back of the paddle, there's no holes in it. Let me explain it all. The dummy headstock is because it uses conventional strings, which don't have very short overwindings like the untuner end of double ball strings. If you look at the strings as they come from the headstock, if they were anchored at the neck end instead of a little way away from it, there would be overwinding on the string between the nut and the first fret. The wooden bit on the end allows a Fender-type bent tin string retainer rather than some immensely solid metal extension. The plate on the back with the four holes is a more difficult one to explain, but looking at how narrow those bridge elements are, I think that the holes are for getting through to height adjusters. Et viola, not a conversion but an innovative piece of construction, only let down by the fact that it's hideous.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='639538' date='Oct 28 2009, 10:35 PM']I really will never, ever get my head around relic'ing.[/quote] "Beautifully restored". That explains why so many old Fenders look like sh*t, they looked like that when they came out of the factory. Why oh why don't people just buy proper basses that the paint doesn't fall off, or, ideally, that don't have paint on them in the first place?

[quote name='Stingray5' post='625686' date='Oct 14 2009, 02:05 AM']When my battery pack for my 201 broke some years ago, I went to see about getting it fixed and was informed that both the 201 and 101 were illegal.[/quote] ... by someone who was keen to sell you a new wireless unit and wouldn't mind lying to do so? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=10362"]Thread on wireless licensing issues[/url]

[quote name='neilb' post='625539' date='Oct 13 2009, 09:11 PM']I still have an old nady 201 from about 15-20 yrs ago. Are they still legal to use?[/quote] AFAIK, they're the [u]only[/u] things that are legal to use without a licence (and other wirelesses that operate at around 175MHz).

Well, he does say it's stunning. Perhaps he missed out the word "for".

You could try going mad with the finish and going for hi-tech sticky-back plastic: [url="http://www.mutr.co.uk/index.php?cPath=6_414"]Modern optical materials[/url]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='625658' date='Oct 14 2009, 12:57 AM']I had one of those in the 1970s - on the heavy side but a nice British bass. However, over-priced at £395, in my opinion[/quote] Ditto and ditto. I'd be tempted if one came up a bit cheaper than that.

Kingstanding Warriors Royal British Legion, Birmingham Load in through side doors next to stage. They don't push you straight out either. The Pickle, Acocks Green, Birmingham Load in through side doors which would be a little awkward if you were carrying anything big, but it's so small in there that you wouldn't be. Bromford Social Club, Erdington, Birmingham Another side doors to stage one. Shard End Social Club, Birmingham Upstairs. One flight of stairs that doubles back. Not far from the front door to the stairs though, and they're wide (double width) stairs. Cotteridge Social Club, Birmingham More stairs, single width, be there early so you've got a place on the pocket handkerchief car park. Rednal Social Club, Birmingham Car park is at the bottom of a steep hill to the club. You can either reverse up the hill or carry the gear up. I carry the gear, the guitarist burnt his clutch out reversing up. New Oscott Social Club, Birmingham Upstairs but there's a goods lift which will fit things as big as bass cases in. Marston Green Social Club, Birmingham Door to the dressing room at the side of the stage. E57 Social Club, Birmingham For the lounge (all I've done there), side door to the room which is ten yards from the stage. Banbury Club, Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham No stairs, not too far to walk. Heartlands Club, Nechells, Birmingham No stairs and the doors are close to the stage but they're also where the natives cluster to smoke and converse in the exotic local accent.

What's parking like round there on a Saturday? My hazy memory of Nottingham tells me it's generally crap but if there's somewhere not so bad to park, I might well make the trip up.

How brave are you? If you wanted to try rolling your own, you could get an [url="http://www.arduino.cc/"]Arduino[/url] duemilanove and program it to read the switches (you'd need to multiplex the switches) and output a MIDI signal. Shouldn't be that hard

[quote name='Musky' post='622593' date='Oct 10 2009, 06:56 PM']And there was me thinking that it was safe to call any '75 to '87 Aria a Mat. That's a lovely looking guitar, regardless of who made it.[/quote] I had a Kasuga LP copy (bolt-on like that one but sunburst) and it was lovely. Can't remember why I sold it now.

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='599246' date='Sep 15 2009, 02:21 PM']Who is JMJ?[/quote] Jean Michel Jarre, of course.

Best bet is probably to look at the band website - musically they need someone who can play the bass lines pretty much as per original (there's nothing really taxing in the set). As regards other aspects, everyone mucks in as far as gear lugging and so on goes, the set list is subject to a slow churn (it was static for two years until we ditched the singer) so it's not a challenge to keep up with the new songs coming in. Denis was talking about revamping the set list, which TBH it could do with. If you're interested, PM me with an email address and phone number, and I'll pass it on.

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='583428' date='Aug 28 2009, 12:12 PM']Yes of course - you are absolutely right. I suppose I was just pointing out the bleeding obvious - that from the listeners point of view, a 5 string gives more bottom range. I'm intrigued to know why you "almost never play below bottom E". Used sparingly and musically, those low notes can be very effective, especially when one double stops with the octave above.[/quote] Isn't "almost never" the same as "sparingly"? The band I would make most use of the sub-bottom-E range is the ceilidh band, for which I use the 4-string fretless (hence no extended bottom) and an electric upright bass, which until very recently was a 4-string. I've now got a 5-string Ergo upright and I'm going to try to get into the habit of playing from bottom D rather than from D on the A string when we're playing stuff in D (melodeon dictates that we play everything in G, D, Em or Am, and don't ask me why we play in Am but not C and D but not Bm).

[quote name='Major-Minor' post='582892' date='Aug 27 2009, 08:44 PM']The only reason for playing on a (standard) 5 string BG is to extend your range lower. If you have no use for those lower notes, stick to a 4 string.[/quote] That's not the only reason at all. It also enables you to play more across the neck, reducing hand shifts. I almost never play below bottom E and could quite happily manage without playing below it at all, but I prefer my 5-string to my 4-string. I play 4-string fretless because I haven't yet got a 5-string fretless that can match the 4-string for playability.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='583194' date='Aug 28 2009, 08:25 AM']IMO, while not the nicest bass ever made, it is the nicest bass that Jon Shuker's ever made. A fretless with five strings might possibly tempt me, although if I could afford them I'd rather have the Pagelli or a Ritter that as others have pointed out in this thread do seem to be the influence behind this bass.[/quote] Agreed about the 5-string fretless. They're all just nicking the idea off Tony Tsai: [attachment=31769:me_and_tsai.jpg]

I don't see that's a sign of shill bidding. Seller put a reserve of £600 on it, bidder 5 put in a snipe at £600+. If anyone prior to bidder 5 had put in a bid of £600+, that would have triggered the reserve so £600 would have become the current bid. As they didn't, putting in a bid of £600+ wouldn't have helped shill the item.

I've got a JD Thumb which has the lovely shallow neck - best neck I've ever played. It looks like they're only slimming them down a bit, not to the old dimensions.