Captain Bassman

Aahh sh*t... Sublimely tasteful, skilled guitarist - never flashy - and an extraordinary lyricist to boot. Something so often overlooked. Sleep well Boon. Thanks for your music, such a massive part of my life.

I have a 34” long scale Series 2 and for an average build chappy it’s a slight stretch to the first fret but not too bad. I didn’t get the choice as mine wasn’t factory ordered by me but I would imagine the 32” would be quite nice and comfortable, assuming you’ve got a spare 22k sloshing around down your sofa cushions...ouch...! That is going to be a real beauty though, no doubt.

Cachao was in there somewhere if I remember correctly?

Always loved this rhythm section. Forget the cheesy poppy MSM stuff though and check out Gloria’s album from whence this particular tune came - Mi Tierra. Just wonderful stuff if you like more authentic Latin American vibes. Changing tack slightly, Richard Nolan and Bob Dalton from the classic It Bites lineup always floats my boat.

Thank you, they are rather special. I think you’re right on the shorty and it’s got the earlier satin finish which is really nice. The long scale is burl maple. You don’t...! 😂😁

Short scale and long scale series 2s;

Gaw-juss! I've always had a soft spot for the headed versions.

Georgy Porgy Free - based on Will Downing’s version of the Deniece Williams song. This version features a certain Doug Wimbish on bass and is well worth a listen. Just started doing these as part of a new set and they’re really floating my boat.

Just found my old cassette copy of “Seven Song Demo” after many moons. Trouble is I no longer have the means to listen to it! Does anyone have a CD or MP3 copy of this? I know there’s more than a few of us on BC who knew Lee back in the day and therefore hopefully still have a copy. Happy to reimburse for any effort in satisfying my urge to listen once again to his Warwick Streamer through SWR Redhead..! Thanks!

And just to keep the excitement going whilst we await news of the new birth, here is your’s daughter...

We all appreciate that (most) audiences can be indifferent to musical nuances within songs. It’s already been stated that a basic chord progression and vocal that resembles what they know will moe often than not suffice for having ‘a good time’. For me though it comes down to personal pride in what I do. I will try to learn from the originals as accurately as my abilities will allow and this always seems to be appreciated by my band mates. Hopefully that attitude has impacted their own attitude to learning new stuff over the years too. Although most of our recent issues have been down to the vocalists conveniently forgetting that they were supposed to learn the song... Whether the punters ever notice, most likely not. But if it’s worth doing then it’s worth doing well. Otherwise you might as well not bother in my opinion.

My 30th Anniversary Series II. Number 4 of 14.

GG Epsom would be worth the visit. I popped in there just the other day whilst passing - it’s my local. They’ve the usual large selection of Fender stuff ranging from Squier sub-500 quid up to 2k + MIA stuff, and most points in between, including a Flea Jazz. Plus that rather nasty 5k+ P bass with the black sprayed edging and black raccoon mask around the pick up, if you fancy gawking... A couple of nice 2018 Rays in there too plus some Sandbergs and a Ricky. Quite a few really nice Ibanez basses 500 quid up to 1k, some acoustic stuff and that electric upright thingy on their website, plus a couple of those rather cute Epiphone Jet shorty basses at around 300 quid. You can park quite easily just around the corner in the Hope Lodge pay and display or alternatively just a 2 minute walk away in the bigger car park behind the Odeon (which is in the Upper High Street). Just my tuppence worth.

Footloose = Nathan East. Nuff said... Not easy at all at first given the recorded tempo and the fact that live it’ll always come out faster. I just learnt it in sections and forgot about the slight variations he makes towards the end of the song. I used a great vid on You Tube from Greig Fairweather to get this one down. Right now for me it’s Back Togther Again by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway as a new challenge for our female/male vocalists. Fairly sparse main groove but with that tasty fill up at the 14th-16th fret which is tricky to then get back down to the low F# in time, plus some slides and octave pops. Also the 2nd bass overdubs throughout can be a bit confusing so need to choose which stay in and how.

Oooof! Always loved that one. Was going to post it myself. So many, but: Ewan Vernal (Deacon Blue days) - virtually anything... (Warwick?) Meshell Ndegeocello - Bittersweet (Fender Jazz heaven) Mark King - The Pursuit of Accidents / Dance on Heavy Weather (gritty flanged Jaydee) Richard Nolan (It Bites) - Midnight (Zon Legacy?) Jamiroquai ‘Radio’ - not sure who plays on this but P bass burpiness Bobby Watson - Rock With You Will Lee - Walk Between the Raindrops (Fagen’s The Nightfly) Leon F Sylvers III - anything from Solar Records days. Pick n P bass funk perfection And on and on...

Resurrecting old thread alert.... This came up out of the blue on my You Tube feed. It’s from a Spotify special marking the 30th anniversary of Songs From The Big Chair back in 2014. Small studio setting, small crowd but the quality of the performance is absolutely sublime. Superb, tasteful, restrained musicianship throughout and quite true to the original recordings. Roland Orzabal’s voice is in great shape, no sign of his pipes wearing out with age, and Curt Smith’s tasteful playing on a couple of nice vintage hollow bodies. There’s a 40 minute set plus chit chat in the complete video but here’s Head Over Heels. The Working Hour in the same video is worth checking out too - a tour de force. Makes me so grateful that we have music in our lives...Enjoy.

My first visit was in mid-95, just for a browse you understand... and I walked out with a gorgeous blue Warwick Fortress... that I didn’t really need but absolutely fell in love with and wish I still had. The basses were defo downstairs then with the Acoustic Centre in the back of the shop. @NancyJohnson I was at the Doug Wimbish clinic too and I remember the other main topic of discussion that eve was the sad news of Bernard Edwards passing, maybe only the day before? My last visit there resulted in me bringing home this beauty... ... not the Tanglewood acoustic but the GB! August of ‘99 and I still have it, still one of my 2 main gigging basses and the gig bag is still going strong too! I visited the Birmingham shop a couple of times too - bought at Stingray there, again completely unplanned - but the Bass Centre just had that effect on you. Wonderful times, wonderful people and a wealth of stars just willing to drop in at any time to play, buy or simply endorse the shop. No disrespect meant towards the likes of Bass Direct and the Bass Gallery who still do our community a fantastic service but sadly for our modern, digital, internet-convenience world something that will not likely be experienced again.

My first bash too as a long time lurker and sometime poster/commenter and I really enjoyed it. Big thanks to all involved in organising, running and recording the day. Great to meet some faces behind the avatars - my neighbours in the hall Paul (Prowla) and Colin (ezbass), Hen Barn and Rod Funnell - all lovely blokes, great fun to chat with. The spot the bass test was bizarre and real shock. Everything I thought was a Rick or a Jazz-type wasn’t and everything I thought was a P bass turned out to be a Rick! I managed to get 4 right but that was an absolute fluke!! Bass highlight for me was that exquisite tiny little thing that Jez (Jabba) built. Incredible build quality and absolutely thunderous tone from such a compact bass. I want!! Tick V G all round!

Leaving shortly!

Still working on it but really hopeful of attending. If so I can bring; Alembic Series 2 medium scale ‘Fire & Ice’ Alembic Series 2 30” short scale and maybe a couple of British built 80’s vibe beauties just to balance the scales? Rig-wise if I can fit it all in, I have an RH750 and 2x Berg cabs, or maybe my old Aggie DB750, if I can safely lower it out of the loft... Still provisional but hopeful!!

Never made a SE Bash due to other commitments but trying to figure out if I can possibly wangle my way to this one. Looks like it’s going to be really well supported and a very interesting line up.

I know Chapel from old. My aunt was married to Bert Hoyes who owned that store before he passed. She still lives there and so do her 2 kids, my cousins. My grandparents also moved up there from Romford with 7 kids back in the 50’s and my mum remembers when the flood hit. I spent many (happy?) childhood days in Chapel visiting the rallies and chucking brown coins into the slot machines and riding the bumper cars! Sorry to hijack the thread! Back on topic - wonderful Wals you have there!

Did you buy them in Stow’s Stores by any chance?... 🙃

Ok so versatile can mean different things to different people, of course! 😄 Treble back a quarter, mid at centre detente, bass up a quarter, 5-way switch in the middle (amp EQ generally flat, room depending) does it 99% of the time for pretty much every song in our set, as far as out front sound is concerned. Punches through out front and sounds full and clear for the rest of the band. Leave everything as is, flick the 5-way back towards the bridge for the classic MM single H honk (or faux Jazz bridge sound), or flick it full towards the neck for a very passable P bass with the tone at half. Roll the mids off, crank the bass a bit more and 5-way at neck position = very passable P with tone off. No other bass I’ve owned or currently own can do this as effectively in a live context. All in my opinion and experience of course. i love my Stingray! ❤️❤️