BigRedX

Be very wary about buying a second-hand Logic licence. Unless it comes with a box and all the install discs its cloned and probably won't work. Also the latest version Logic X is only available as a direct download from the App Store and is linked to your Apple ID so can't be transferred. The file format has changed from Logic 9 so while Logic X will open up older versions projects (7, 8, and 9) older versions won't be able to open Logic X songs.

Unless he definitely needs to be portable, I wouldn't necessarily consider a MacBook. When you go portable you sacrifice the ability to upgrade the memory and you also pay a premium for lightweight portability. Put it another way an iMac which costs the same as a MacBook will be more powerful and have a bigger screen - and as a Logic user I know you can never have too much screen real-estate. What ever you get buy the fastest one you can afford and if possible get the maximum amount of RAM the machine will take. Also check that your audio interface has drivers available that work with the latest version of Mac OS.

Why? He looks a lot sharper dressed like that, than the naff t-shirt and shorts posted earlier.

But that wasn't really a musical collaboration. Belinda Carlisle simply needed a band to mime behind her on TotP.

In that case John Bonham on just about everything recorded in the 90s with sampled drums. Even I had my own set of John Bonham drums made up from a couple of hours with the first 4 Led Zeppelin CDs and an Akai S2000.

That old chestnut again. From the many interviews I've read on the subject if NWR's playing actually made it onto any the Frankie Goes To Hollywood records it was as a series of individual notes which had been sequenced using the Fairlight's Page R. IMO that doesn't even count as a performance let alone a collaboration.

It's got to be said Martin makes some very fine bass guitars. The multi-coloured LED system is very useful. My fretless has orange LEDs for the standard fret positions and double yellow ones at the octaves.

In all the early publicity shots, he's shown playing guitars that looked very much like the production models of the time. However once you get into the period where he was using the more customised guitars with the low-impedance pickups and various gizmos that allowed him to control the overdubbing mechanism that used live, the guitars do look as though they have flat tops rather than the carved top. Also the Les Paul Recording model which is the closest to the guitars that he was using in the 70s and onwards all have flat tops (or at least significantly less carved than the standard Les Paul models). Having said that when I saw him live in 2008, he was playing what looked like a stock Gibson carved top model.

The Epiphone version (Thunderbird PRO-V) barely counts. It's a Thunderbird in name and approximate body shape only. Everything else about is completely different to the original Gibson version. Also these days it's existence is barely acknowledged. There's no photo of it on the Epiphone web site and it's just mentioned in passing when looking at the spec for the Thunderbird PRO-IV. There was a Gibson Thunderbird 5-string - the Studio 5, but again that had little in common with the original Thunderbird. Of course if these are good enough for you, then you might as well buy any of the Thunderbird-shaped instruments that are available from other manufacturers.

Two important things to remember. 1. Probably the most important factor in getting Mani's bass tone is being Mani. 2. The reason why his tone is so good is not the tone in itself (if you heard it on its own in one of those isolated bass tracks you'd most likely wonder what all the fuss was about), but the way it fits into the overall soundscape of the other instruments. So unless you are playing in a Stone Roses tribute band where the other band members had completely nailed the sounds of the people they are copying, you'll find that you are going to have to alter the sound to fit with what the other members of your band are doing to make the bass sound right.

Be prepared to be amazed then. Remember that when they were first produced the Flying V and the Explorer were desperately unpopular. It took almost 20 years before you started seeing lots of musicians in well-know bands playing them. They are already selling half the price they were when originally released. At some point they will become affordable while still being unpopular and then someone will come along at make it his or her "own" guitar of choice.

I have to say I have a bit of a soft spot for the Firebird X. Also I guarantee you that some time in the next 20 years there will be a big-name guitarist who uses one of these as their instrument of choice, causing the price of the few remaining examples to go through the roof, and whoever owns the Gibson brand at that point to hurriedly bring out a re-issue that incorporates none of the important features, and only just about gets the shape right.

As much as I like the idea of new instruments that sport all the correct features of the model they are based on, as an owner of a Firebird with banjo machine heads, this is one original feature I could live without. The minimalist look to the front of the headstock is great, but the machine heads themselves are horrible to use and the case for the Firebird is twice as big as a standard guitar case simply to accommodate the extra depth of the machine heads. As for that Les Paul SL, it really does shown that aesthetics are completely subjective. Personally I think it looks horrible. It has all the grace of the worst kind of 70s Woolies special guitar - although considering that in real terms it probably costs less, I shouldn't really be surprised.

And I'm completely the opposite. When I was getting into music in the 70s the for the vast majority of my favourite bands if the bass player wasn't sporting a Rickenbacker then it was a Gibson - usually a Thunderbird or EB3.

Before anyone else mentions it: Scott Walker and Sunn 0)))

I never bother with a drink on stage anymore. At best it will be ignored, forgotten and warm by the end of the set. At worst someone will knock it over.

Unfortunately nowadays "Made In America" for mass produced instruments mostly means overpriced, for the build quality.

Can you keep the bit that stops the pop-ups from the user names? I find them really annoying and the fact that they aren't working at the moment is a relief!

You could aim pretty much all those criticisms at Fender and Rickenbacker as well.

I don't see why it's a problem. There's plenty of other basses out there and according to your post you already own some that you like. So why are you apparently so desperate to find a Precision that you "bond with"?

Is that for the Schaller bridge? I would have thought it would be cheaper to buy direct form Schaller, or through one of their UK dealers.

The easiest way to buy a Tune would be if you were friends with a Japanese musician who could act as an intermediary for you. Unfortunately a lot of Japanese companies aren't geared up for selling outside of Japan and will generally ignore you as a foreigner because it is just to difficult and/or embarrassing. Having said that Tune basses do show up in Ishibashi's U-Box (their second hand selection) and they are pretty good at dealing with potential buyers from outside Japan. The only thing you need to watch with Ishibashi, is because of the time difference between Japan and the UK, instruments can often be sold locally in the time between you seeing it on the website and their customer services dealing with your email enquirery. There was a very nice looking (and relatively inexpensive) 10-string Tune bass that showed up a few years ago on Ishabashi. Unfortunately at the time I didn't have the cash spare to buy it.

Can someone who actually knows something about physics and tension forces prove or dispel this for once and for all?

You can get dimmable LEDs but you may need to change the dimmer switch to an LED-compatible one.

Tune Japan also make a one-piece 8-string bridge. I fact I'm surprised that they haven't been mentioned more in this thread. If I was going to buy another 8-string bass I wouldn't make any decision before trying a Tune. However if you think the Schaller bridge is expensive you shouldn't do a currency conversion on the Tune one! That means AFAICS there are only 4 different 8-string bridges with individual intonation adjustment for each string currently available. What is the problem with the T-O-M style 8-string bridge? The generic one fitted to the Dean, Schecter, Spector etc. basses is a perfectly functional unit. It's just the horrible tailpiece that makes it look so ugly IMO. As the Warwick bridge is essentially for Warwick basses only, there shouldn't need to be any reason to adjust the height of the saddles individually since the radius of the bridge and fingerboard should be matched. The Schaller one appears only to be sold as an after-market part there is no way of knowing what the fingerboard radius on the bass is going to be so the saddles have to be individually height adjustable.