mickster

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1370541897' post='2102475'] With basses as with photography , the people who focus on the equipment to a fetishitic degree are usually amateur enthusiasts , whereas to professionals the equipment is mostly just tools of the trade to make money with . There is nothing wrong with being interested in equipment - people who are may or may not also know how to use it to make music or to take photographs with - but it is a slightly different passion than the purely artistic and creative . [/quote] I think you're spot on, Dingus. Being into music is a slightly different passion to being into basses or a particular brand of bass. I guess I was assuming that most people woud be more into the former than the latter. And of course, the two aren't mutually incompatible...

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1370534904' post='2102371'] I don't recall anyone defending Fender in everything they do. What usually seems to happen is that someone merely says "I like Precisions they do everything I want them to do" - or something similar ... ... and then what happens next is someone gets arsey because they don't like something about Fenders. You could replace 'Fender' with 'Beatles' and much the same would apply. [/quote] The Fender mention was just an example, of course. I think my point is more that I'm surprised at just how much people take someone dissing their preferred bass brand as a personal attack on them...it's this mis-identification with a corporate brand that I find weird. It's a sort of fetish. As to the merits or otherwise of the Fab Four - now that's something that I *do* think is worth arguing about

Let me start by saying that I'm v much a newbie bass player & BCer - tbh I have so little talent it's frightening, but I do love this old low-end lark & after all they tell me it's all about the journey, n'est ce pas? One thing I've noticed in my 12mths on BC, is that some people have a really strong over-identification with a particular brand of bass (I'm writing this very much with the current RIC thread in mind, but it applies to other brands (eg Musicman, Fender)) as well. I've genuinely been quite surprised at how common this is, and how personally some people seem to identify with a particular brand / manufacturer. Some people seem to be really insulted if another poster points out a perceived flaw with their favourite bass! Is this just a 'blokes with their toys' thing? I'm a photograher by trade, and you get a bit of this on some camera geek forums, where owners of (usually) v expensive cameras get a bit tribal about their kit. Not sure if its related, but these blokes (and it is almost always a bloke) also often seem to be the ones who only post pictures of their cats / dogs / children on the beach etc, and their photos in the main are, frankly, quite often bobbins. But compared to the photog world, the bass world seems to be much worse for this. People can get really arsey if you criticise any aspect of their brand of bass, and seem to take it as a deep personal insult. Or is this a sign of our times, a sign that marketing folk who have long championed 'The Brand' - even over the product itself - have esentially succeeded in getting folk to strongly identify themselves with a particular brand. Is this like the Apple fanboys, where people have been brainwashed into loving a brand so much that they become blind to a brands faults and their very egos are threatened if that brand is criticised? Hell, I love my Precisions but I feel no particular need to defend Fender in everything they do... I guess i'm just saying that I'm a little surprised at the strength of this in the word of bass players / musicians. I expected this world to be much more full of creative slacker types who get really really passionate about which is the best Fall album or whether Soft Machine actually got better after Hugh Hopper was replaced by Ken Bebbington etc. After all, isn't it ultimately all about the music more than the tools? You don't tend to see painters arguing to the death about who makes the best sable brushes. Obviously, BC is still a wonderfully eclectic place which doesn't only feature debates about equipment geekery - I've discovered some wonderful new bands on here already (Urb's Rae Forest Project and the aforementioned Softs ouevre being the latest), and I'd pay a membership fee just to read some of Silldx's regular philosophical musings / thought-arousing provocations… Anyway, just a observation I guess from a relative newcomer to this amazing community of bass players

As a start, play the root. If there's any more room, the 5th of the chord is always good. Any more room, or you want to underline the major/minorness of the chord? Chuck a 3rd in there. Still got some room? you could use a 7th - this will also emphasise the major/minorness and also let you highlight a dominant chord. Still more room? Try some passing tones (eg a 6th). Also try linking chord changes together with a chromatic passing note. There ya go...everything you need to know for bass accompaniment in a paragraph, until someone who can actually play comes along with better advice hth

The problem is, Lowender, you have a way of expressing your opinions about your favourite bands in a way that *isn't* subjective, that goes beyond you just explaining why you like something and keeps making universal claims. Just re-read your first paragraph above about the Beatles. You're making hugely contentious claims for them that go way beyond just you expressing an opinion that you like them. The Beatles thread itself went the same way. When others disagree, or post about an artist/band they like, you then seem to try to argue not just that you dont liek them as much (which is cool), but that they're wrong. This is music; it's not summat that can be 'won' or disproven. Just trust in your own taste, share opinions, and let others do the same and these threads will remain much more congenial.

You should do the steps of a setup, including the micro tilt adjustment, in a particular order as one step affects the next. Fender's setup guide [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/"]here[/url] is a good starting point if you're at all new to this. As Rhys said above, the micro tilt won't affect the relative string heights. Thats what the saddle adjustment step is for. HTH

Billy, you seen [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/197418-minotaur-straps-be-wary-if-ordering/page__view__findpost__p__1980124__hl__minotaur__fromsearch__1"]this thread[/url]? Hmmm, not the first time this year there have been issue with Minotaur. Maybe worth contacting charic / ead to see how this ended up.

Cheers for that, BF, meant to thank you on the Bass VI thread. Took me a while to get them, but a recent early 70's Miles Davis obsession softened me up and the vid you posted clinched it! Ta

Yeah, lovely stuff. I'm just discovering them, after BetaFunk posted a clip from their 73 broadcast for German TV over the Bass VI thread. Got the Cuneiform CD/DVD of it today & it's top stuff! Its a post KA line up with Roy Babbington on Bass VI.

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1369336139' post='2088056'] But that's my point about Rockinbetter - they are pretending to be the real thing. Or is it coincidence that they chose that name, chose an identical font, identical truss rod cover, identical headstock shape, and identical fingerboard inlays? [/quote] Out of interest, do you feel the same way about the SX basses on [url="http://www.sxguitarspain.com/sx_vintage_p-bass.htm"]this page[/url]? Do you feel these are actually trying to pass themselves off as real vintage Fender P Basses? Is there a danger that someone may confuse these with your real vintage 1964 Precision, or are they just clearly cheaper copies, based on the real thing? Who or what is being protected here? The innocent consumer who might be confused into thinking they're buying a real ric, or is it the purchaser of the real thing (such as yourself), who is nervous that the existence of copies (but not counterfeits) somehow might take away some of the 'cachet' they attribute to the real deal? And if its the latter, does that fear IYO justify all the bullying and legal threats that JH directs towards individuals and communities such as Bass Chat? Really??

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1369330841' post='2087922'] +1 to that. I realise I'm in a tiny minority on this site, but as I have said in previous anti-John Hall threads, IMO there is no difference between a Rickenfaker and the knock off Chelsea shirts and Rolex watches you see on Oxford Street. [/quote] But this isn't analagous to what JH is doing. This is not about him pursuing people making - or selling - counterfeit rics. The knock off Chelsea shirts are counterfeit cheaply produced items [i]pretending to be the real thing[/i], including a fake adidas-or-whatever-logo, and a real Chelsea badge on the front. The guitars at the centre of this are *not* pretending to be real Rics - they're just the same shape as a ric, with a completely different name & brand on the headstock. But wait, there's more. Its not even that JH is pursuing the current manufacturers of these different-branded-guitars-with-the-same-shape. He's sending threatening legal documents to people who own 30 year-old versions of these guitars and are [i]selling them privately[/i] (without pretending they're a real ric) to other people. Again, this is not about his targetting the companies making current versions of these guitars: he's threatening individuals who are privately selling guitars that were made - and bought - many years before Mr Hall [i]even had a trademark [/i]on their design (he only took this out in 1988). The ric bodyshape was not trademarked when these different-branded-guitars-with-the-same-shape were even made! But wait, there's more. This current thread is not even about the fact that JH is targetting the private individuals above. He's threatening forums and sites that even [i]mention the existence of, or display pictures of[/i], in ads, these different-branded-guitars-with-the-same-shape-as-a-ric-that-were-made-many-years-before-rics-shape-was-copyrighted-by-JH. [b]That's[/b] what people are objecting to...

Bad decision. Have you never deal with bullies before? Because of its previous announcements, BC has now been identified as a mark, as someone/thing he's succesfully frightened in the past, and now it's on his list of compliant victims who he can exert control over with some vaguely-defined legal threats. And they're *only ever* threats - taking real action costs him too much. Before you know it, you're actually enforcing his nonsense on his behalf, without him having to lift a finger... Resist. Don't be an agent for this man's BS.

Also try AxesRUs: http://www.axesrus.co.uk/Gibson-Style-s/1941.htm hth,

Good for you, Pier - a gorgeous bass Now go play the hell out of it !!

Hmmmm, think we're sailing close to the realm of audiophile-bollox here; the notion that a really really good pickup will transmit the 'pure' and 'uncoloured' tone of the wood/strings to the amplifier etc etc. Ditto the thought that using tone controls further interferes with the 'purity'/whatever of the original signal. Most of the tone wood debates i've read usually seem to end up headed in this direction, predicated on strange ideas of aural 'purity' & cleanliness. Anal-retentiveness applied to acoustics It's an electric bass fer gawdsake - a thing that needs to make snarly / thuddy noises in a band, not a sensitive transducer of the sound of gossamer angel-wings...embrace the dirt & skronk!!

[quote name='Wil' timestamp='1365510601' post='2040454'] Merril Garbus of Tune-Yards puts a looper to good use. I think she's amaaaaaaaaazing: [u][color=#800080][url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_wjrmjvfsa8"]https://www.youtube....h?v=_wjrmjvfsa8[/url][/color][/u] [color=#800080]*Edit - better link. Oh, and she's not a bassist I realise.[/color] [/quote] Wil - Ta for posting - really enjoyed that, and I'd not heard of her before.

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1363868838' post='2018626'] Are the "Custom Shop" 60s pickups the same as these? Part Number is : 099-2046-000 [/quote] Nope the ones fitted to 2012 US standards are *NOT* the same as these. I know because I've just swapped the CS's for a set of the 'Originals' in the pictutre above. The CS ones are a little darker sounding than the Originals, with less upper mids to my ear. They have lots of low end, plus some grind and some treble, but with a bit of a scoop in the mids. The Originals are more full range and 'polite', whereas CS's have a harder, darker, more modern rock vibe. Kinda. Man, it's hard trying to describe sounds with words without falling back on cheesy cliches...!

[quote name='bremen' timestamp='1361895620' post='1992634'] The opening of The Fall's 'Bombast'. It gets stuck for days. [/quote] Yes!! I thought that was just me...on really bad days I get snatches of MESmith's crazy/genius lyrics thrown in there as well...

Owen bought my MB200 amp - quick payment, straightforward sale. Many thanks Owen!

Gary bought a hipshot tuner from me. A great bloke and a hassle-free purchase. Thoroughly recommended. Cheers mate!

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1357817842' post='1928804'] The American Specials have a 'American Special' decal on the back of the head [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/media_bdbviewer_AR_258878.html?image=6"]http://www.thomann.d...78.html?image=[/url]5 [/quote] Also body not drilled for string through