The fasting showman

We could do with an old copy of Music UK. I'm casting my mind back to when I started playing in the '80s. Some brands from then that specialised in small combos: Badger, V amp, Pro Amp , Custom Sound, Alligator, JHS?

...along with Garry Tallent, Mike Mills and Jerry Peek from Steve Morse's band. Back in '85 my 16 year old self wanted one too. They often turn up at great prices, I've never had the good fortune to try one out.

My guess is that it's a clipping diode passive fuzz circuit like some Gibson EB0s had in that period. Maybe Fender tried it out too? Total guesstimate!

It's interesting to think that by the time Herbie was in that band he was just that bit older in the industry than the artists he played for. Like Dave Richmond and Danny Thompson, to mention another couple of the UKs greatest bass players who were contemporary, he'd been in the forces ( National Service I'm guessing? ) and served as a musician. A fascinating time frame, to have been there at the start of rock n roll and pop music as we know it up to now, and participated in the music industry at such a vibrant time.

Totally agree, he's playing with amazing soloists on that album yet his character really comes through boldly and the production puts him in a great place in the mix. It's my favourite showcase of Herbie's playing and sound. Much as Bowie used the obviously brilliant Willie Weeks / Andy Newmark rhythm section on Young Americans, I think he struggled with a few different live band lineups after David Live until he recruited Murray / Davis and Alomar. Tony Newman and Herbie Flowers were a hard act to follow. RIP

Nice to meet you Rob, doubtless I'll kick myself for selling it...I'm currently in the where are they now file so glad it'll get used in anger. My 700rb will suffice. As I was saying, the Backline 600 shares a lot of circuitry and parts with the mk3 and 4, because of their price point they're often neglected and treated as a utility item. If you get a good one they're great amps, often dirt cheap.

True. I guess the obstacles to me obtaining thump, punch or definition have ( in my case) usually been external factors away from gear choice or settings.

To me, thump is what happens when you play with a drummer that listens to your part and locks in sympathetically. It's a percussive quality and definition as opposed to a foggy vague rumble. Good band members can elevate mediocre equipment; suddenly you find yourself locked into a grid and it's all easy. Again, a definition in the sound rather than instruments bleeding into one another. The relationship of sound quality to playing in a good musical environment and arrangement are experiences I look back on fondly: the exception not the rule! So often I have had great sounding gear yet I've been playing with musicians who don't see the big picture, it's very hard to sound good in a volume war or with players that don't replicate parts from gig to gig, rehearsal to rehearsal, or are oblivious to the interplay between sounds and parts, chord voicing etc. So with eq and choice of bass / amp and cab I strive for thump, as in definition and the note length and diction I intend to put across. As to whether it comes off is down to the musical situation I'm in. Won't be the case for everyone I'm sure but true for me.

https://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/the-rhythm-section/8696 I'll reattach this one from the '70s

I think with Bowie's EMI deal, and it being an era of aspiration, as I said before the intention from '83 would have been for a backing band mentality; less creative but more of a churn out the hits, play stadiums etc. I don't think George, Carlos, Dennis, Tony Visconti and Co would have fit into that. I think Bowie publicly stated that he took the wrong route many times. It's horrible feeling like you've been chewed up and spat out though. I'm still sulking about the bands I was in last year ( one that I left through choice) and they were rubbish in comparison! Leaves you unsure of whether to bother still playing at all.

I'm really glad someone from the Basschat collective managed to attend and meet him, we were on holiday. I'd have to say he's my favourite living bass player. To me, the era of Bowie's music he played on, prior to the 'Let's Dance' star and a backing band dynamic ( to my ears anyway) was a team effort where everyone from Tony Visconti, the musicians and Bowie himself interacted so well. From a recent interview where he mentioned the BC Rich, was that the bass on 'Ashes to ashes' I wonder? There's an interview I once read where Andy Newmark was discussing playing on 'Double Fantasy ' and he mentioned that there was an awareness that whatever went to tape was going to be heard by a lot of people for a long time, but also you were playing with an artist that worked very quickly. I can imagine the late '70s Bowie band must have felt like that. Trying to be creative, to put your art and identity across but within the confines of popular music. That's as good as it gets for me. I hope he stays in the public eye more, he's a greatly appreciated musician.