rushbo

I saw We Are Not Devo play in Wolverhampton a little while ago and they were bloody great.

I'm currently the bassist in the UK's foremost/only Roxy Music tribute band, Roxy Magic. www.roxymagic.co.uk Do you have to be a fan of the original artist, or maybe you become one? Having played the songs for a few years have made me appreciate the original band even more. Growing up in the seventies, Roxy Music were everywhere, so it was hard to ignore them. I was a fan, but I never thought to join/start a tribute band until the opportunity arose. It helps if you (at the very least) like the band - I'd imagine it would be hell on earth to play in a tribute to a band you actively loathe. How important is it to be visually/musically identical? How much latitude are you allowed? As long as you don't take too many liberties and the "signature" parts of the song are kept intact, the punters don't seem to mind. However, if I hit the fuzz pedal for the intro to "Love is the Drug" it would signal the end of a long career. Do you ‘get into character’ or is it just a gig? Fortunately, everyone is looking at our singer, who is practically a doppelganger of Mr Ferry. The band dress as if we're off to a wedding reception a la the current version of the real band. To be honest, we could dress like bricklayers and I don't think most of the punters would mind as long as the singer was in a nice suit. Does it feel musically limiting, or is it fulfilling your needs? (Maybe you have a side band?) I'm really lucky as the musical palette of Roxy Music was so broad that it's challenging and fun to play. I get to play pop, prog, rock, disco and almost all points in between. And in terms of technique; fingerstyle, plectrum and slap. Do you have any qualms about tributes ‘stifling original music’? Nope. The "real" band are playing bigger venues and earning more money than we are. Have you ever met or been seen by a member of the ‘originals’? What did they say? A few members of Roxy Music have seen the band since its inception - none while I've been in the band though (make of that what you will...) Andy Mackay really liked the band and Paul Thompson was quite keen to play a gig or two with us. Bryan Ferry wished us luck in a very gracious manner, too. What is the overriding thing being in a tribute act has taught you? It's taught me that people love live music and are grateful that they have the opportunity to enjoy it in a moderately sized venue for a sensible price. It's also taught me that most Roxy Music fans have no idea who played bass in Roxy Music. And that suits me fine. Having done it once, would you do it again? If so, would the musical angle be very different? In a heartbeat, yep. As long as I like the band, the songs are fun to play and my fellow musicians are generally lovely human beings, then I'm happy. I can heartily recommend Absolute Bowie, Teenage Werewolves (a tribute to The Cramps and bizarrely, also Bauhaus) and We Are Not Devo. A good night is guaranteed for all.

I do like the look of basses that have a bit of "history," and I don't get triggered by the fact that the wear on an instrument might be artificial. The key is that it has to be done convincingly and sympathetically. A lump hammer and a cheese grater are not the tools for this sort of job. I'm always amused by shots of the backs of reliced basses that look as if they've been dragged behind a Land Rover since the mid-seventies. Until I discovered Basschat about eleven years ago, I had one (!) gigging bass which after about twenty years of heavy use, suffered a bit from buckle rash. This means I have a patch of wear about 20cm x 5cm on the back of the bass and a few associated dinks and chips elsewhere. In spite of having a long, hard life it does not resemble one of Noah's oars. Limelight do some pretty convincing relics, but some of their "heavy" relics can end up looking like the worst kind of car boot sale fire salvage.

It's not the ugliest bass I've seen... I'm slightly perturbed by the paintjob on the headstock. Was this a stylistic choice or was the paintbrush wielded by someone with the DT's?

Sold a Squier P bass neck to Andy. A textbook transaction with great communication. Buy and sell with confidence.

Sold a Harley Benton Jazz Bass body to Matt. A textbook transaction. Buy and sell with confidence.

I've always had fantastic customer service from Chris at Smooth Hound. Very helpful.

I’ve lost count of the number of bitsas I’ve bolted together. Some I’ve punted on for a modest profit - generally just enough to cover the cost of a Balti and a can or two of Root Beer- and some I’ve kept. It’s great fun. My advice to a prospective bitsabuilder would be: Don’t just look for parts - if a whole bass comes up for a good price and you need just a neck/body/hardware etc, get it anyway. Then you build up a store of useful spares. Facebook Marketplace is great for budget basses. I’ve scooped up all sorts of nice things (Squiers, Harley Bentons, Epiphones) for not much money. Get a Dremel (or similar). They’re brilliant for drilling, sanding details and ghetto routing. I have a Tachlife Dremel knockoff and it’s ace. Don't worry about getting hardware that’s an exact fit for the neck or body you’ve got. Use hardwood dowels or toothpicks to fill any existing holes and re-drill. More often than not, the old holes will be covered by the new hardware. The same goes for pickguards- even the cheapest Chinese P Bass plate can be bullied to fit a bass with some sandpaper and a bit of patience. If you’re stripping paint, get a heat gun. Getting a poly finish off a Squier bass is no fun at all with anything else. Tru Oil is great if you don’t want to paint a body. You can get a really deep gloss finish, or a lovely matt sheen. Don't worry too much if the neck isn’t a snug fit to the body. My main gigging bass of the last 8 years has a 1mm gap between the neck and the body and tuning and sustain are great. Entwistle pickups are cheap and utterly fantastic. Prewired looms are useful if you’re nervous about soldering. An alternative is to use heat shrink tubing over twisted wires. Wilkinson hardware is great and occasionally pops up on BC or eBay for good prices. Don't turn your nose up at budget basses- I’ve had great successes working on things like Encores. I’m not fussy about bodies- if they’re in decent condition and my hardware fits it, I’ll use it. I’m much fussier with necks. Welcome to the wonderful world of the lo-budget bitsa!

That's great, that is. The tuners are a wee bit sticky-outy (technical term) but I would seriously rock the snot out of that bad boy. The "inlays" look ace too. Even the rather idiosyncratic pseudo-headstock looks very cool, in situ. Have a cup of tea and a biscuit. That's a job well done sir.

Here's a pretty crappy pic of my lovely Precisions... Top left is my current main squeeze - two Squier basses bodged together with a a Kiogon loom (V/T/3 way toggle), Entwistle pups and a comedy decal. Next left is another FrankenSquier with a Wilkinson bridge and a gen-u-wine Fender P pup. Middle is Old Red - same as the white one (almost) but with a gorgeous, skinny, left handed, Jazz Bass Neck. Far right is a cruelly molested Fender Cowpoke. Active circuit removed, toggle switch and V/T loom installed, Entwistle pickups and a custom Tort plate. Front and centre is a Bass Centre Bruce Thomas Sig with Deep Talkin' flats fitted.

Stalk Talk

There is so much going on with this bass, that a piece of exotic, highly figured wood, would have just added to the chaos. It's a bit like ordering a pizza - you choose two or three toppings, so you can really taste them - if you just heap everything on it, you get a weird, unpalatable mess. You can still eat it, and bits of it will taste great, but you'd only ever order it once.

Some people will look upon this bass and their hearts will be filled with joy. I'm sure it sounds great and the build quality is magnificent, but it really is my worst nightmare. For context, when I see a nicely worn in Fender Precision with the early 70's logo and a tort scratchplate, I get a warm, tingly feeling.

When I die and go to hell, possibly because of all those Joni Mitchell albums I borrowed from Birmingham Music Library and taped without permission, this is the instrument Lucifer himself will hand to me. I will then join four other doomed musicians holding dreadful, unsuitable instruments and will be condemned to play "Mustang Sally" to a half full room of bored partygoers, until the end of time.

"It's 2050 and the three former members of Primus entertain the other residents of their retirement home with their latest composition 'More Mashed Banana Please, Nurse.'"

Intention: Appeal to everyone Outcome: Appeal to no one This is what happens when the seven-year-old child of the SEO of the company has permission from Daddy to "design" an instrument with no idea of ergonomics and absolutely no sense of aesthetics. Rickenbacker and Fender should take Jackson to court over this - not regarding copyright infringement, but about crimes against humanity.

Everything about this is true. I used to retch, every time I saw one of those Fodera-style single cut things and run to the safety of my P-basses. Nowadays, I'm still not a fan, but they don't make me suppress my gag reflex like they did earlier in the century. I'll probably end up selling various body parts and organs to fund the purchase of one in a year or two. For a brief moment I was the proud (?) owner of this, which polarised the opinions of my nearest and dearest...

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Airport Convention Eu! Guided by Vices

Have you tried your local Wilko? I bought a set from there when I had a similar issue and one of them did the job. Currently £2.50.

Stick a chorus pedal on there, unfollow this forum, then just walk away. You'll save loads of money. Pedal acquisition is a very slippery slope - you start off by buying a cheap Flanger "to see what it sounds like" but before too long, you end up selling all your kids' shoes on FaceBook Marketplace to fund the purchase of some boutique pedal that will "take your playing to the next level," which turns out to be just a Tube Screamer in a different box. A bargain at £275.

I really think there should be a section of this forum, purely devoted to incredibly neat boards. I feel a Zen-like sensation of calm and stillness when I see a well ordered, compact pedalboard. This is lovely - kudos, sir.

This looks brilliant. I have no idea what you've done, or how you did it, but I'm delighted it works. I thought I was being super-technical when I hotwired an external patch selector switch to my Zoom B3, but this is next level. Or even the level above that. My FX needs run as far as "a bit of chorus" on a song or two and that's about it, but I love seeing stuff like this and I'm a bit in awe of anyone who can bend their brain to configure a selection of bits from Maplins [citation needed] to make it work so well for them. Shouldn't you be working for NASA?