peteb

Don't! You won't get anything like the right sound for the music you're playing and you will find that the damage to your frets won't get any worse, certainly not to the point that they need any work for many years! I've been regularly gigging a bass with roundwounds for more than ten years and the frets will still be good for many years to come.....

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1343230802' post='1747463'] Taking of Hendrix covers, this a great version of what I consider to be a really weak original - Freedom, covered by Steve Lukather [media]http://youtu.be/jOmgg-1B85A[/media] [/quote] Yea, good one...!

To the OP - here is a half decent video comparing the sounds of various Jazz and Precision basses as well as a Stingray: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG-xma83D9k&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yG-xma83D9k&feature=related[/url] TBH - makes me think about getting another Stingray!

Does anyone else think that Stevie Ray Vaughan's versions of Hendrix tunes (most notably Voodoo Child) are better than the originals?? I think that it's more to do with the rhythm section than anything......

Like everyone else here, I use Obbm for speaker cables - top spec & great value I use Monster Cables for instrument leads, a bit pricey but really good....

[quote name='Stacker' timestamp='1343025655' post='1743811'] Yep, had Clarky/Cairobill's red fella and that was a beauty. The 2-tone I sold to Pete on here had a slimmer neck but identical sounds, prob cos of the DiMArzios and a good neck/body contact. Can't fault 'em myself, other than mabe the retail price. [/quote] Yep, I bought Donny’s sunburst JB63 and I can’t fault it either! It looks the part and sounds like you would hope an old passive jazz should. It is pretty light and is certainly better put together than any of the Fenders that I have owned. When it arrived I took it to Jon Shuker to give it a once over and he was impressed, despite his aversion to relic’d basses. In fact, he reckoned that it was better than many examples of the real thing! The reason that I bought it was because that I thought that it would be pretty cool for blues gigs! It certainly has received plenty of attention and many people are convinced that it’s the real thing! I used it as the house bass at a jam session at a recent blues festival and had quite a few decent players playing it, many of whom remarked on how good it sounded…..

[color=#222222]I've been in the house band for many, many jam sessions! Some have been brilliant (playing with an ace Texan guitarist in a packed club with 300 enthusiastic punters) and some not so brilliant (a kid getting up who has just learnt the guitar intro to ‘Sweet Child O’Mine’ with one of his mates who knows the words but couldn’t reach the high notes with a step ladder in a pub with 15 bored punters watching).[/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]Most jam sessions tend to be blues based, partly because of the tradition of jamming in blues music, partly that the audience will be more prepared to listen and also because you can get a metal guitarist and a jazz sax player up together as both will be comfortable with the basic format. A lot of it is based on 12 bars, but there are also a lot of standards (Superstition, Hendrix tunes, etc) or songs with simple changes or grooves that people vaguely know.[/color] [color=#222222][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"] [/size][/font][/color] [color=#222222]A jam session will obviously be as good as the players who get up! It helps to have someone leading the session who knows what they are doing and a decent house rhythm section. I would disagree that jams are a refuge for poor players – you soon find out who the good natural musicians are at a decent jam session and it’s certainly is a great way of developing your ear and feel…![/color]

[quote name='3V17C' timestamp='1342532814' post='1736679'] cheers guys.. [url="http://www.ronsayer.co.uk"]www.ronsayer.co.uk [/url]is the band - nah, Paul Jones wasn't there when we did the session, just his producer and the engineer... although whispering Bob Harris popped in while we were mixing.. which was nice! [/quote] Very cool indeed! I met Ron recently at the Hebden Blues Festival - we played together at the jam session (I was in the house band that night) then had a quick beer and a chat later. He seemed to be a real nice fella and a cool guitar player. He certainly seems to be getting a bit of a buzz around him in the UK blues scene at the moment! Will hopefully try and catch you next time you gig up this way.....

Nice one - will try to listen to it tonight What is the name of your band??

Good videos on the bass player website if you want to have a go yourself (first on a series): [url="http://www.bassplayer.com/video.aspx?bctid=54313772001&bclid=27964998001&section=2"]http://www.bassplayer.com/video.aspx?bctid=54313772001&bclid=27964998001&section=2[/url] If you still can't get a decent action once you have tried to set it up, it may well need the frets dressed (best take it to a tech for that).......

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1342002758' post='1727692'] I think the term [i]better[/i] is very subjective in this thread, and not a given, as implied. If it works perfectly, and you have the sound you want, why would you change any component on an instrument? [/quote] [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1342002990' post='1727701'] From an engineering PoV it's hard to argue that the more modern designs aren't superior. From a tonal PoV it's completely subjective. [/quote] I take both of those points (and agree) but would suggest that the reason fender still use the BBOT bridge is because the market will not let them move away from the original design, even if it is now outdated! FWIW - I have still kept the BBOT on my Nash as it is actually pretty solid, works fine and to change it would devalue the instrument! However, I have changed the bridge on my 90s Fender, which is a massive improvement.....

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1342002042' post='1727662'] IMO the music that you choose to play is just as important as your ability on your chosen instrument(s). As a band RHCP don't really do anything for me so while Flea may or may not be a fantastic bass player because I don't like the music he plays I find it hard to appreciate his playing. Also I'm a great believer in the importance of the song and the arrangement over the instrumental prowess of the individual musicians. To me if as a musician you are more noticed that the songs you are playing that means either the songs themselves are weak, or you are over-playing. Either way IMO you've failed as a musician. [/quote] But surely the logical extension of that is saying that anyone who achieves recognition as being a great player must, therefore, be rubbish! I'm all for great songs but (IMO) there must be room for outstanding musicians as well......

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1342000291' post='1727609'] I'm actually yet to hear anyone claim that a design fault is evidence of an instruments superiority, especially when talking about fenders, why would someone claim that? Having said that, if you're talking about BBOT bridges, then it clearly isnt a design issue, as they still make fenders with them, and as I've said, I've never experienced a single problem with them. If you're talkinga bout the nut access location, then yes, not the best design as i raised earlier, but it also doesnt make it superior. I think I'm struggling to see your point in the context of this thread, which is probably me, missing something. [/quote] What I'm trying to say is that the BBOT is an outdated design from 50+ years ago, which Leo never used on any of his later creations (he went for a hi mass one). Fender still use this outdated concept because the market will not let them move onto a better design! Part of the beauty of the original fender design is that is easy to upgrade if you want. So, if you don't like the bridge it's very simple to bolt on a new one, it's easy to change pick-ups (unlike a rick, alembic, warwick, etc thru this partly down to design and partly due to popularity creating a market for aftermarket upgraded parts).......

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1341995452' post='1727486'] Couldn't agree more which is why my other basses are carbon fibre, active, fancy EQ, high mass monsters. Some people seem to hate them because they're modern when in fact they were designed a little over 30 years ago. Unfortunately a lot of people these days seem to want that "classic Fender sound" more often than not, and an unmodified Fender is one of the best ways to give them that. Plus image seems to be more important these days, playing something a bit different seems to be frowned upon in a lot of genres. [/quote] Don't get me wrong, I think that the basic fender concept & sound is still great and that image wise it works for many genres. I own a fender and a couple of fender type basses, but I have upgraded the bridge, dropped in better pick-ups and an active circuit! The only one I have kept 'straight' is a heavily relic'd Nash jazz.....

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1341909384' post='1725837'] I don't see this as a minefield, just a matter of choice. BBOT bridges were cheap, simple and effective. That was Leo’s whole design ethos while he was at Fender. If you rate your sound with a BBOT bridge that's good, and you don’t need to look any further. But if you do, high mass bridges can increase the resonance travelling between the strings and the instrument which can improve their tone. That's good too. Interestingly, after he left Fender Leo never used BBOT bridges again. [/quote] This.... Personally, I don't know why some people insist on seeing design faults or outdated components as evidence of an instrument's superiority - it's like Harley Davidson riders in the motorcycle world!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1341847424' post='1725034'] Mesa seem, IMO, a bit stubborn, but they can get away with it because they make amps with great tone. What the world needs is a slightly more powerful Walkabout, with the same pre, a similar power but higher (eg 500-600W), with speakons and a switchable pre/post EQ with a separate DI level. It'd be £1500+, but it would sell. [/quote] You mean like the old mpulse 360 (except for the speakons)??

Never really listened to them so can't compare their old stuff to the new but c'mon, Moves Like Jagger is a decent pop song!

Mesa Boogie m-pulse (second hand) is worth considering!

Waiting For An Alibi I Don't Want To Go To Chelsea Bed's Too Big Without You

Sold a pedal to Gavin recently - easy transaction, top bloke!

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1341259932' post='1716084'] This whole modern requirement of a flat EQ to sound great is crazy. You might well be missing out on a fantastic amp which needs a small tweak. Also, not all amps at their 'flat' setting are actually flat. Don't get me wrong, it's easy when it's good at 12 o'clock, but the EQ is there for a reason. [/quote] Plus 1 FWIW – when I was originally looking for a lightweight amp and first tried out some Mark Bass amps in a shop I was pretty underwhelmed! However, a couple of mates of mine were using MB stuff and I had to admit that they worked well with a band live, so eventually I bought one. I’ve tried out most of the lightweight amps around and there are not many that I rate, but the LM3 has a certain warmth, plenty of power and it just works live (including at higher volumes) unlike Genz Benz, etc (IMO). It isn’t a simple plug & play amp and you do need to play about with the filters to get the best out of it, but there is a decent sound in there if you persevere! Like most people, I must say that I’m not at all keen on the cabs. If I had to choose, I would still have to say that I prefer my Boogie mpulse, but these days I find myself taking out the LM3 more often than not! We used it at my wedding party a few months as the house bass amp with five (rock) bands using it. Everyone who played thru it [b]and[/b] the sound engineer remarked on how good it sounded. I know that one of the guys who played that night is now thinking of getting one….!

[quote name='untune' timestamp='1340313297' post='1702859'] Check out Henrik Freischlader! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ImtsezbpqE&feature=related[/media] [/quote] I do like that...!

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1340224214' post='1701472'] Make that +2 [/quote] Well a -1 from me, which makes +1 For me, the Ed Freidland book is alright for real newcomers to the blues but is just a bit too basic - tell me something that I don't already know! [quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1340211595' post='1701189'] Last tip. Less is more. [/quote] Not necessarily - feel is everything but sometimes more actually is more! The trouble with playing a simple type of music like blues is that it can get a touch boring if you're not careful and sometimes a bit of flash can be very welcome [quote name='Doctor J' timestamp='1340284038' post='1702274'] I don't "get" Joe Bonamassa's blues. I've listened to several albums but he just leaves me cold. [/quote] General rule of thumb: early Bonamassa = good; recent Bonamassa = boring! I’m afraid that no one can churn out that number of records and maintain any sort of quality control For those who don’t like blues with lots of lead guitar – I’m afraid that a large part of the blues market in Britain (& Europe) is for SRV, Rory Gallagher, Bonamassa, etc, basically guitar led stuff Try listening to Henrik Freischlader, King King, Ben Poole – loads of great new blues acts around!

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1339445159' post='1688693'] Depends on your interpretation of 'Funky'. [/quote] You can interpret 'funky' in many ways However, the OP was talking about Little Feat & SRV but we've had people putting forward Offspring & the Artic Monkeys!