Bloodaxe

[list] [*]Time: 15:00 to 16:00 (allegedly) [*]Venue: Christchurch Green, High Street London E11 [*]Nature of Offence: [b]Dr X-Ray[/b] will perpetrate approx 45 Minutes of swinging, harmonica led Jump & Blues c/o Dave Piggott (g) & Pete Abernethy (dr) (Dr Blue & the Prescription), Ray Wallen (vox + Harp), & yours truly (fretless). 1 Rehearsal, no safety net. [*]Cost: To you guv? Naffin' [/list][url="http://www.redbridge.gov.uk/cms/news_and_events/events/2011/september_2011/wanstead_festival_by_the_area.aspx"]Website[/url] It's a Council-run festival type thing, so timings are likely to be a bit flexible. Come & say hello if you're at a loose end. Pete.

[quote name='Westie9' post='1359639' date='Sep 2 2011, 11:13 AM']My most sincere aplogies but I still don't have a clue about all this 'ohms' thing. Can someone explain it in a complete moronic way please, so that my tiny little brain can attempt to compute with !!![/quote] It goes like this... [list] [*]All electronics work because they're filled with Magic Smoke, [*]The smoke is pushed around the system by means of Physics (or "Witchcraft" if you prefer something more understandable) via a system of Special Pipes usually called "Wires" or "Cables". [*]The Ohms act like a sort of kitchen tap, or a hosepipe nozzle - If you get the Ohms right, a nicely balanced amount of Magic Smoke travels around the pipes. [*]If you have too many Ohms they restrict the flow of Smoke & everything gets a bit weedy and useless (think of standing on the hosepipe). [*]If, however, you don't have [i]enough[/i] Ohms [b]too much[/b] Magic Smoke comes down the pipe, causing it to burst & it all leaks out. [/list]This last point leads to a situation that electronic engineers commonly refer to as "ItzFuktMate", so it is best avoided as they will demand a large sacrifice of Money to put a patch on the burst pipe & refill the system with Magic Smoke. [size=1](You can stop thinking about standing on the hosepipe now, but only if you want to.)[/size]

+1 for Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaames Brooooooooooooooooooooown, But a bit of Koko Taylor doesn't go amiss either.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1341383' date='Aug 16 2011, 12:29 AM']Back to the OP....I really don't know what you are getting at. It doesn't matter how much money you spend on an instrument-it's what you play on it that is important. Spending a fortune doesn't make you pro-all it means is you spent a fortune.Likewise,spending a couple of hundred pounds doesn't make you any less of a pro. Take a player like Paul Westwood,who has played with so many people both live and on record...his main bass is a Hohner Steinberger copy. I find the whole concept of 'pro-level' gear to be bogus and a pure marketing ploy to get people to spend more money.[/quote] This. Especially the last paragraph. FWIW I voted £100 to £399 - there's a staggering amount of choice available both new & especially used in that bracket. My bijou collectionette cost between £50 & £375 and I'd rate all of them as being of 'Pro' quality. Especially the two SBs. Didn't Bruce Foxton use a Hondo Rickenfaker early on? Professionalism doesn't lie in the instrument, but in the player. Pete.

[quote name='bythesea' post='1318400' date='Jul 27 2011, 04:17 PM']Looks just like the one I had back in the 80s. It was a lined fretless as well (not defretted). Lovely bass, wish I still had it .[/quote] [quote name='Randy_Marsh' post='1318904' date='Jul 28 2011, 02:28 AM']I used to own an Aria Sb1000 lined fretless. Brilliant basses[/quote] Told you! [quote name='noelk27' post='1318813' date='Jul 27 2011, 10:48 PM']An SB user wouldn't even need to see the headstock to know when this was produced (the bridge is set much too far away from the heel for this to be an '85 - circa 2" originally; circa 1.25" later).[/quote] Well, that's my New Thing Learned Today I've never had a later one to compare & contrast, tbh. Both my SBs have 1980 S/Nos., & I've no plans to get shot of either (unless a really minty Series-1 SB-900 in Padauk Red with some fancy grain turns up). [quote name='noelk27' post='1318813' date='Jul 27 2011, 10:48 PM']He's also wrong about the source of the maple.[/quote] I'm not over-surprised at the mis-identification of the timber; Maple is most commonly associated with Canada, followed by the U.S., and to the untrained eye there are similarities in the grain patterns of Oak and Ash - especially if a stain/glaze coat is involved & the catalogues states it has an 'Oak finish'. Oak's medullary rays are the big giveaway between the two. P.

[quote name='ossie' post='1318284' date='Jul 27 2011, 02:21 PM']Cheers, will do. Probably stick with a Fender, although it is a lovely looking thing. [/quote] You might wish to rethink that... From the photos it looks to be a 1979-81 'Batwing' SB-700. Not a 1985 with that headstock. Through neck, passive, series/parallel switch, original knobs. Could be a de-fret, but the factory did produce fretless versions & they usually are lined. Even if it is a de-fret, if it's been done well it'll be a hell of a player (if it hasn't been, a competent luthier with a radius block can make it so very easily). Nice nick too, and with a factory hard case, which should be branded 'Aria Pro II' and either 'Super Bass' or 'The Advanced Electrics' Best bit IMO is that the seller is kicking off with a very sensible start price. I'll be watching this to see where it finishes - too many start with a silly price & fail to sell as a result - just 'cause the 're-issues' retail for £1200-£1500 doesn't automatically mean that originals are worth £750+ The construction quality of these make Fenders look like the mass-produced-to-a-price-point instrument that they really are. They're a bit Marmite, but there's plenty of people around these parts that are down as saying 'lovely bass, used to have one, wish I'd never sold it'. At the end of the day though, it's your money & your choice. Pete.

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1308721' date='Jul 19 2011, 02:29 AM']Don't want to teach granny etc, but treat Nitromoors with respect. A bit on the hands/arms only takes 15 seconds or so before you feel it, so you really don't want this stuff in your eyes. Wear safety specs![/quote] Goggles preferably - specs tend to have gaps . TBH, the Green tin is fairly innocuous if you get it on your hands, & a quick rinse under the cold tap soon gets rid of it. However... the Yellow tin is a much more dangerous animal. You'll know if you've got any on you as it won't just tingle a bit, it'll get rather uncomfortable very quickly. TOP TIP - DON'T use water, it has no effect; instead have some white spirit/turps sub handy and make like Our 'Enry & splash it all over. Don't clean brushes out in hot water either, Methylene Chloride (aka Dichloromethane) fumes readily when warmed up & it'll do you no good at all. Don't even think about putting any newspaper/rags etc on a bonfire. I did it [u]once[/u], never again (shades of Dulce Et Decorum Est*). Pete. [size=1][color="#808080"]*Google it.[/color][/size]

Alas other prior commitments mean that I can't make it again. Bugger. Pete.

Just heard that for the first time, I'm more familiar with the Motorhead version tbh but never learned it. Cracking proto-punk tune either way. Anyway... I reckon the lick in question goes (stop) A-G-E played from the first octave of A on the 7th fret. So in total it goes something like: A-D-DD, A-D-DD, A-D-DD, (Stop)A2-G2-E2 & repeat. P.

[quote name='wombatboter' post='1292468' date='Jul 4 2011, 05:31 PM']The only time when I feel jealous is when a great bass-player plays this one incredible note in the right time and with the right feeling...Then I think : "I would never come up with this myself". This is not a depressing jealousy, it's one which urges me to become "better" in what I do... I try to find comfort in my own playing and I try to find new goals...[/quote] Pretty much sums it up for me. Although I'd substitute 'humbled' for 'jealous'. Pino's good at that. I can't be doing with the whole 'jealousy' schtick tbh. If someone's successful then that's usually down to having been in the right place at the right time & meeting the right people - i.e. a bit of hard graft + a lot of pure luck. No point getting all green-eyed over it. Equally no point in thinking that (insert famous but mediocre player here) is somehow 'not worthy' of their success, 'cause they obviously are - 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong Do what you do & damn the torpedoes. If commercial success comes out of that, all well & good. If it doesn't... so what? Are you enjoying what you do? If Yes, carry on; if No, change it until you are. If you're playing because you have an overweening desire to be successful then you're probably doing this for all the wrong reasons. On the subject of Slap... I didn't get it when it first broke out in the late '70 & early '80s and I still don't. I don't have a lot of time for shredders like Billy Sheehan either. Amazing player, but rarely does he move me. P.

A quick Google of "Marine Engineer Scam" landed this: [url="http://www.suite101.com/content/car-buying-scam-using-paypal-a215956"]http://www.suite101.com/content/car-buying...-paypal-a215956[/url] Note the comments/replies at the bottom. Caveat Venditor & all that.

1st One Day International on BBC R4 Longwave (197m). Only way to listen to TMS.

[quote name='muttley' post='1283765' date='Jun 27 2011, 10:04 AM']Can anyone tell me more about this instrument? It was made in Japan and I'm guessing early 80s but catalogues I have seen on-line don't picture this exact version with the 2 matching pickups. TIA .[/quote] The first digit of the serial number is generally the year of manufacture; 0=1980, 1=1981 etc. - I'd expect to see a 3 or 4 at the start of yours. There are variations to this rule of thumb however, & it all goes to buggery once production moved to Korea. Pete.

For cable: Van Damme. Plugs: Neutrik. Iron: 25W Antex. Solder: 60/40 Lead/Tin Rosin Core (electronics grade). Both are readily available from a variety of sources (quite a lot on Ebay), Google them & shop around. Depending on how much you want, aim for as near to £1/m for the cable - you might find you need to buy 10m or so to get near that price, but having some spare cable in stock is no bad thing. TOP TIP: Get cable that's a different colour to anyone else's in the band - that way you know which one's yours. If you use 1/4" jacks for speaker connectors, get speaker cable in a different colour to your instrument leads, that way you don't confuse them with patch cables. Soldering just takes practice & a bit of common sense, but try & get [i]proper[/i] 60/40 electronics grade solder, not the 'lead-free' stuff that's everywhere. It's a lot easier to use. If it's all too much hassle though, give our very own OBBM a PM & he'll sort you out for a very reasonable sum. Pete.

Move the decimal point two places to the left & it'd be about right. Hateful things.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1280420' date='Jun 24 2011, 01:08 AM']Beyond my ken, I'm afraid. FWIW, I'm believe that everyone everywhere should play whatever they like. It would just be nice if [i]some[/i] singers could deliver a blues in such a way as the words make some kind of sense as a communication. Or write some songs about something that happened yesterday rather than fifty years ago. [/quote] Broadly agree. I do find it wryly amusing [i]and[/i] a bit naff to see a 50-something cab driver from Essex proclaim that he 'was born in Chicago in 1941'. Still a good tune though.

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1279113' date='Jun 22 2011, 10:00 PM']Curious as to why you list Red House, and the plead for him not to do it? Is it because its not in the correct alphabetical place?[/quote] No, just because of all the slow blues tunes that are available it's [i]always[/i] ******* Red House that floats to the top. Bit like the Allman's take on Stormy Monday & the Santana version of Black Magic Woman. Been there, played 'em, find 'em all stultifying to the nth degree. Love the originals of Stormy & BM Woman & I'm quite happy to do them in that style - especially the rarely heard shuffle at the end of the latter - beats a hack-job of 3rd Stone From The Sun any day. I guess I'm like Bilbo & his opinion of Fever & Route 66 - they've been done to death 1,000,000 times over & ought to be allowed to die quietly. YMMV naturally. Last night's Blues Jam at the [url="http://www.coachandhorsesbluesjam.com/home.shtml"]Coach & Horses[/url] landed me with: Mystery Train, Flip Flop & Fly (except it wasn't - the tune was, but the lyrics weren't) Bright Lights Big City Shame, Shame, Shame (Jimmy Reed) & Reconsider Baby (Lowell Fulson) & 4 others that I'll have to wait until the website's updated on Friday to find out what they were. Three sets is good going! Usually only get one, but there seemed to be a shortage of bassists. Suits me. P.

A bit of a list... Ain't Nobody's Business - Jimmy Witherspoon (Freddie King too) All Your Love (I Miss Loving) - Otis Rush (but go with the version by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers) Baby What You Want Me To Do - Jimmy Reed Black Magic Woman - Fleetwood Mac (but everyone goes for the Santana version) Born Under A Bad Sign - Albert King Boom Boom - John Lee Hooker Boom, Boom Out Goes The Lights - Little Walter (also Pat Travers) Bright Lights, Big City - Jimmy Reed Bring It On Home - Sonny Boy Williamson (Led Zep as well) Crosscut Saw - Albert King Don't Start Me Talkin' - Sonny Boy WIlliamson (check out Rory Gallagher's version as well) Dust My Broom - Elmore James Further On Up The Road - Bobby 'Blue' Bland Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters Help Me - Sonny Boy Williamson Hideaway - Freddie King I Can't Quit You Baby - Otis Rush (& Led Zep) Key to The Highway - Little Walter (also Clapton & others) King Bee - Slim Harpo Linda Lu - Johnny Otis (but seek out the Foghat Version) Little Red Rooster - Howlin' Wolf (also the Stones) Mama Talk To Your Daughter - J.B. Lenoir Mercury Blues - David Lindley/Alan Jackson/ My Babe - Little Walter Nadine - Chuck Berry Need Your Love So Bad - Fleetwood Mac (original by Little Willie John, great cover by Irma Thomas) No Money Down - Chuck Berry Pack Fair And Square - Big Walter & His Thunderbirds (better known by the J. Geils Band) Phone Booth - Robert Cray Pink Cadillac - Bruce Springsteen (but the Jerry Lee Lewis version is the one IMO) Pride & Joy - Stevie Ray Vaughan Rock Me Baby - B.B. King Rocket 88 - Jackie Brenston Rollin' & Tumblin' - Muddy Waters Red House - Hendrix (pleeeasssee try & avoid this one!) Satisfy Suzie - Lonnie Mack Smokestack Lightning - Howlin' Wolf Spoonful - Howlin' Wolf Stormy Monday - T. Bone Walker (but everybody defaults to the Allman Brothers version) Sugar Coated Love - Lazy Lester The Sky Is Crying - Elmore James (SRV/Gary Moore) The Stumble - Freddie King The Thrill Is Gone - B.B. King The Hunter - Albert King Third Degree - Eddie Boyd Tulane - Chuck Berry Walkin' By Myself - Jimmy Rogers That & those already suggested ought to get you started If you look them up on YouTube, play YT Roulette with the suggestions down the right hand side - you'll have a set list as long as both your arms in no time. Pete.

[quote name='Bass Culture' post='1273487' date='Jun 18 2011, 09:37 AM']Just noticed that this thread has consecutive members - Bloodaxe and Mike - posting. How coincidental is that?! Out of 20,000-odd BC-ers![/quote] Coincidence? ... or Conspiracy?

[quote name='RhysP' post='1273049' date='Jun 17 2011, 06:42 PM']Wasn't the original bass line played on a synthesiser?[/quote] Reputedly. 5-string fretless would be the way to go with this one.

Now there's a thing of beauty. Just needs one addition though:

Gig bag here too. You can get more stuff in it & it leaves the hands free for carrying the rig to the bus stop Pete.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1263108' date='Jun 9 2011, 07:21 PM']Because [s]Jaco[/s] Bill Wyman did it that way.[/quote] Fixed. I did it to my SB-1000 because I was totally unaware that there had ever been a factory fretless option. I also felt that a significant portion of the learning curve could be bypassed by defretting an instrument with a neck I was already familiar with. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5094&hl="]The conversion[/url] ended up being a bit of a saga, but I learned a load of stuff doing it & the end result is truly 'mine'. Pete.

Brilliant OP, that man. If it doesn't get you dancing in your chair, call an undertaker It was a favourite of Pete Young's back when Jazz FM was good (especially after 10pm). Killer line-up too, had no idea it was Robben Ford. P.

It does us good to get kicked out of our comfort zone every once in a while. though it won't feel it at the time With the relatively short time available to you (& allowing for Real Life stuff), it might be wise to take a raincheck on the 'fire & passion' side of it at the moment. Tough, I know - maybe even impossible, but I find that stuff comes only when you have the utmost familiarity with the material & can consequently start to stretch out & make it truly yours. I also believe that you [b]cannot[/b] make the magic happen. It won't be forced or cajoled into existence. The occurrence of 2+2=5 is a very rare thing indeed, & very fragile too. When it happens it's fan-bloody-tastic. But it'll happen on its terms, not yours. As to the bigger picture re: where you want to go etc., only you can really answer that, and half past two in the morning is a crap time for navel-gazing, trust me. Yes, there's a degree of vanity/narcissism/shallowness/selfishness to what we do, but so what? I'm happy if any of the following criteria are met: The dance floor is rammed. I get paid, Other players I respect are [i]genuinely[/i] appreciative, I have a 'good' tone, that I can hear, The promoter/landlord wants the band back, I get paid, If it's a sub gig, no-one outside the band realises it's the first time I've got up with them (usually with no rehearsal). Word gets around the I'm usually up for a sub on very short notice, & the 'phone rings a bit more often. Of course, if [b]all[/b] of those criteria occur at one gig, for a couple of days I'll sport a grin so wide that cheshire cats will run a mile Shallow? Vain? Moi? Actually I do this stuff primarily because I love it & can't imagine [i]not[/i] doing it. External praise & reward are great, but they're really the icing not the cake. Being a 'musical child' as you put it is surely the ideal state? We know a bit, but equally we know we're actually at Level 1. The trick is to realise that there aren't any levels beyond 1. Besides, if you know it all, whatcher gonna do about it? When you know everything, there's nothing left to know, so what's the point? Might as well take up knitting instead! See what you've done Nige? You've got me spouting cod Zen wibble at stupid o'clock & I ain't even drunk or stoned Off to the Woodshed with ye! It'll be fine. Pete.