99ster

[quote name='JimD' post='45909' date='Aug 15 2007, 04:30 PM']Not really - a graphite neck is a composite of graphite reinforced plastic. It really is essentially plastic. A painted wooden bass is essentially...wood. To go a step further, the composite neck couldn't exist as a playable part of the instrument without the plastic. But a wooden bass works without a finish (but isn't very durable). Phenolic is short for phenolic resin - I don't think these fingerboards have any wood anywhere near them. Bakelite is an early plastic made from phenolic resin.[/quote] Exactly. When anything is described as being 'graphite' or 'carbon' (the same thing essentially) - be it a guitar neck or body, an F1 car body or an expensive road bike frame - they are all made of plastic, with a small amount of carbon fibre added to give increased strength & stiffness. It's basically just like the glass fibre used for boats & canoes, but using the more expensive & stronger carbon fibre instead. A high tech plastic yes - but still plastic.

[quote name='The Funk' post='45892' date='Aug 15 2007, 03:54 PM']Did Ampeg's first bass guitar model predate the Fender Precision?[/quote] They did an electric upright in the early 1960's called 'The Baby' & then this one first appeared around 1966. But the fretless version (also around 66) was important as the first purpose built fretless bass guitar - which is why guys like Rick Danko used it until Fender brought out the first fretless Precision in 1970...

I'm sure I've seen that one before on the Bay... I've got some great video footage of the legendary Rick Danko playing a fretless one live (looks mad as it's a big old beast to sling round yer neck). And Jah Wobble also used one for a while - there's footage of him playing one on The Old Grey Whistle Test with P.I.L. A big fat sound - but not something I'd want to wrestle with!

[quote name='The Funk' post='40000' date='Aug 1 2007, 02:04 PM']Alex gigs with his Avalon U5 into a power amp. It's not cheap though.[/quote] +1. Got an Avalon U5 recently. It is absolutely fantastic. Which is why it's become the industry standard DI for many top 'name' bass players & high-end recording studios. But - it is also a (very expensive!!!) big heavy box that needs to be cased properly if you want to gig it. The rack kit for it is a rip-off price as well (I use a £20 Alu video camera case that is a perfect fit).

Well done Chris - that's an absolute cracker! Polish? Try 'Fender Meguiars Guitar Color Restorer Cream Polish' This guy in the US is a good place to get it from: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Meguiars-Guitar-Color-Restorer-Cream-Polish-New_W0QQitemZ130139447866QQihZ003QQcategoryZ47077QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Meguiars-Guit...VQQcmdZViewItem[/url] [i]And no - don't put a Badass bridge on it![/i]

Been lamenting this poor thing in the eBay thread.... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4257"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=4257[/url]

[quote name='thumbo' post='45142' date='Aug 14 2007, 09:01 AM']I've never heard any Curtis Mayfield before but I'm diggin it. I want to buy an album, which one is best to start with?[/quote] The theme track to the film [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Superfly-Original-Soundtrack-Curtis-Mayfield/dp/B0009VY6VE/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3/203-5550544-4765536?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1187110212&sr=8-3"]'Superfly'[/url] is brilliant.

Looks like it's been at the bottom of a canal for the last 10 years! Seriously - that would cost you a lot more to fix than you could buy a nice '78 vintage Musicmaster bass for - in perfect condition! In fact there's a nice looking '77 on eBay now for £400. To get this poor thing back to the same condition - properly restored for £400? No chance. RIP.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='44716' date='Aug 13 2007, 09:49 AM']A friend of mine had his Martin DM acoustic guitar up on ebay... lovely guitar, just a few months old, great condition. Ebay cancelled the auction with hours to go, due to keyword spamming. Apparently the problem was that he put "as new" in the title. [/quote] It is infuriating when scammers seem to operate quite happily on eBay - whilst the rest of us are quickly jumped on for infractions of their bizarre rules. I got a heavy-duty warning & was threatened with having my account closed for adding an informative & sensible URL in the description of a 'Want It Now' item - i.e. I wasn't even selling anything!!! Go figure?

[quote name='paul, the' post='44417' date='Aug 12 2007, 12:55 PM']Bootsy Collins for his playing with The Houseguests, the SINGLE GREATEST funk band to ever have existed. This is the equilibrium of FUNK. It's in between the uptight slavery of the JBs and the over-the-top cheese-funk of George Clinton. It's simple, raw, honest funk with astonishing bass lines and excellent tone. Perfection, just ahead of The Meters. Oh!, looky here, I've found a clip: [url="http://www.last.fm/music/Houseguests"]http://www.last.fm/music/Houseguests[/url][/quote] Love that track! Did they ever do an LP?? Is it available on CD??

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='44586' date='Aug 12 2007, 08:41 PM']I've followed this thread and still struggle to comprehend how this amp (and all of its brothers and sisters out there) can be getting glowing remarks (regardless of tone) when you can't actually use the thing! You seem to be saying that this is bordering on a common occurrence with this particular model of amp... astonishing (regardless of tone) why anyone would buy one. If I purchase an amp I expect it to turn on and go every time. I shouldn't have to buy another piece of equipment to plug it into to get it to work, or not as the case appears! I'm not knocking you or anyone else for buying one... actually I may be; but am I alone in finding this totally bemusing?[/quote] +1. And it costs how much? Yet there's no UK tech suppport/service agent? WTF?

One of the best microphones for bass cabs is the Electro Voice RE20 (or the newer version RE27) – but they cost a fortune new in the UK (though they often pop up on US eBay at much more sensible prices), other people swear by a big Neumann Valve condenser. Probably the best ‘cheap’ option is an AKG kick drum mike – a D112. Loads of people love these for bass... As mentioned by Dood - always best mixed with a good quality DI signal (ideally via an Avalon U5)...

[quote name='aido43' post='44445' date='Aug 12 2007, 02:46 PM']Looks great to me--I love the precision body . Saw Pratt playing with Roxy last year and he was great--although the show was billed as intimate it was really a warm up for some bigger gigs and the band were a little under-rehearsed--happens a lot over here.[/quote] That 12 year old kid playing lead guitar is pretty impressive!

[quote name='Merton' post='44389' date='Aug 12 2007, 11:49 AM']Is graphite a form of plastic then?[/quote] When they call it a 'graphite' neck they mean a plastic/carbon weave composite neck. This is basically a plastic neck with carbon fibre woven into the plastic during the moulding process to make it very stiff/strong. It doesn't matter how a manufacturer tries to dress-up the description by calling it 'graphite' - bottom line is it's a plastic neck.

[quote name='barneythedog' post='44381' date='Aug 12 2007, 11:15 AM']This guy may well be genuine, but would YOU buy this from him ? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Music-Man-Bass-Sub-2-EQ-Active-4-strings_W0QQitemZ280140586997QQihZ018QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Music Man[/url] Maybe needs to work on his sales technique a little ?? [/quote] I wonder why he'd got no bids???

It's a [b]Status Vintage GP[/b] - with 'GP' being Guy Pratt: [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/"]http://www.status-graphite.com/[/url] [i](can't add a direct link easily as the awful Status site uses frame sets - but there's info about the whole range there)[/i] They're about £1,500 new... Nice looking bass - but I just can't get my head around the whole plastic neck thing.

And while we're at it - let's have some love for this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrHezTLex2s"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrHezTLex2s[/url] and this... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqK7Ck57nv0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqK7Ck57nv0[/url]

[quote name='OldGit' post='44357' date='Aug 12 2007, 09:15 AM']Cool! Let's hope someone knows OG[/quote] Joseph "Lucky" Scott. That's the dude - he played with Curtis throughout the 1970's.

[quote name='outsider70' post='43510' date='Aug 9 2007, 10:19 PM']Does anyone know if the 70's reissue bound necks are any different in thickness/profile etc than regular Jazz necks, say from the 62 reissue? If so how much difference is there. Cheers Tony[/quote] I've not played either of the Jazz re-issues... but I can tell you that an original 70's bound neck is very different from an original 60's neck profile. An original 70's bound neck is a thicker, rounder profile - but slimmer at the nut. An original 60's neck profile is flatter, smoother & 'feels' slightly fatter at the nut (though I may have to measure it to see if it really is). The very early 60's ones are a bit different again... So I would guess that the re-issue would follow the same format...? But I may be quite wrong!

[quote name='Beedster' post='42752' date='Aug 8 2007, 09:19 AM']Sorry to add this, but our guitarist turned up to a rehearsal a few months looking like death warmed up and said that the guitarist in his old band had died from an electric shock while rehearsing. Much as I do not wish to undermine the expertise of the chaps above, trial and error in such a situation clearly runs the risk of error. I would get someone in who knows what they're doing to check out your kit. The problem is probably simple, however, a simple electrical problem can become a complex and dangerous one when an inexperienced person starts trying to solve/fix it Chris[/quote] It happens. A good few years ago I remember a young kid getting killed onstage at the 'Green Dragon' in Stratford-upon-Avon (don't know if that's still a music venue?) - a total nightmare. I think his mum started a campaign to try & get all the venues to install circuit breakers, etc. Wise words Chris. Electricity is not to be trifled with.

If you put the USPS tracking number into the Parcel Force site it will recognise it & give you more accurate UK info...

[quote name='cetera' post='42821' date='Aug 8 2007, 11:31 AM']That may seem expensive.... but then it won't have been played... Bwah hah hah!!! [/quote] Harsh....but fair!