Dingus

I like this : Rickenbacker Blackstar . Only 200 were ever made back in 1988/89 . When I first started playing the Rickenbacker was the bass I coveted more than any other . I spent many hours of my young life gazing at pictures of black Rickenbackers , and this particular model takes a classic design and makes it even more beautiful . Unfortunately , a Rickenbacker may be a great sounding and gorgeous looking bass , but it just doesn't suit me as a bass to play - the shape of the neck and the abscence of any taper , along with the fact that I keep making the strings hit the pickups' polepieces and making an annoying click mean that I have never owned a Rick , but it doesn't stop my oggling the aesthetic perfection of these special basses .

[quote name='Fat Rich' timestamp='1367234319' post='2062823'] Was that a P bass? I thought it was the Jazz bass he's playing here: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu7S8wRcRNU&playnext=1&list=PL700DE817F1B9ED2F[/media] [/quote] Definitely a Precision . He switched to a Jazz Bass in the mid - Seventies . There was a transcription feature on that track in Bass Player Magazine a few years ago and Anthony confirmed that he played the same P Bass he used on For The Love Of Money .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1367182126' post='2062372'] In the end it's all subjective. The track I posted has plenty of nice electronic generated bottom end if you are listening to the CD on your hifi rather than the YouTube compressed audio on a computer. I can't imagine what any kind of bass guitar would add in a positive way to it. And there I think lies the crux of the matter. A large proportion of the music I listen to is mostly electronic. The idea of using something as imprecise (pun intended) as a stringed instrument to provide the bottom end is simply (to me) unthinkable as it just wouldn't have sufficient power or tonal control to sound correct in the overall context of the track. And while you could probably do something with effects, I'm a great believer in using the right tools to do the job in the most efficient manner, and a keyboard or computer driven synth will win every time in cases like this. As for the idea that someone like Pino could add a worthwhile bass part to this track - just don't know. I've never heard him play any music I actually like, so while it appears that he has the technical ability to produce the notes, I don't know if he has the right musical taste to play something appropriate. This is something that has been very much re-enforced recently while auditioning replacement musicians for my band. We've had to turn down several hopefuls who had all the musical "chops" to play the parts that had been written by their predecessors, but when asked to come up with their own ideas for new songs we were working on, seemingly had neither the taste or the musical knowledge to play anything even remotely appropriate. And the track you posted, I'm sorry but I found everything about that to be depressingly bland - especially musically and tonally. I suppose it would be fine if you just need something to add a bit of weight behind the guitar(s), but for me each instrument should make a more significant tonal contribution than that. Again this may come from the years I spent programming and playing synths, where every sound on every song was individually fashioned and tweaked to fit together as a whole. There is a place for the P-bass in music (although not really in anything I play) but to say that it fits with any music is naive to say the least. [/quote] Well , to address your first point , at the risk of sounding facetious , if you aren't going to have any bass guitar on a track then surely all makes and models are equal - the sound of not playing a Precision is the same as not playing a five string fretless Sei Bass . I too have listened to and played bass on a lot of electronic -based music , and sometimes synth bass is the right choice for a given situation , but in those instances where electric bass is appropriate , a Fender Precision [i] could [/i]be a valid choice of instrument as much as any other . Regarding Pino Palladino , I think you have got things a little back to front in so much as I think his uppermost skill as a player is his impeccable taste , feel and overall intellegence of his playing , rather than any reliance of so - called technical ability or chops , which he also undoubtedly has in his arsenal . He is someone who always underplays in preference to showboating in any way , unless a more flamboyant approach is what is called for . That is why he is something special , and why for a prolonged period he was reputedly the highest paid session musician in the World . I would stake my life that he could come in to the studio with any bass you care to mention and play a part on that Japanese track with aplomb . If you don't like his playing or the records he has played on that's fair enough -you do realise he played on The Lady In Red by Chris De Burgh don't you ? I would have thought that would be one of your favourites - but his skills and intuitive ability are beyond question Let me be clear that I'm not saying that a Precision - style bass is always the best choice or the best sound for any kind of music , but at the same time I cannot think of any style of music it would automatically be excluded from . Of course other basses will sound better in a whole host of situations , but in so many instances in so many genres a Precision is worth trying and will sound best . If you don't care for the sound of a Precision Bass that is fine , but it is not a reflection on the qualities of the Precision Bass so much as it is an idiosyncratic choice of your own , which , of course , is your right to make . You grudgingly say it is a sound that would be o.k to add weight behind guitars but you prefer instruments to make a more significant tonal contributuion than that . I would counter that by asking you , if you play bass guitar in contemporary music , what more significant tonal contribution can you make than to add weight behind the other instruments ? I find the sound of a good Precision Bass played well one of life's joys , and something I never get sick of . Here is Anthony Jackson playing a Precision Bass with a pick and with a phaser effect on it recorded in 1975 . Apart from Anthony's masterful playing which has it all - groove , swing , timing , invention , soul - the tone of his bass is a thing of beauty . What's more , if you transported Anthony , his P Bass and no doubt his bitchin ' afro through a timewarp to the present day . this bass sound would cut through on any synth - based track recorded today . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxoL3uQbPoc

Even if a Precision Bass can provide enough raw material to boil an egg , once you have burnt it then you have got nowhere left to go when you want another egg . For the same money as a decent U.S.A Precision you could get yourself a reasonably functional Thai bride off the internet , and for Custom Shop money you could get a girl from the Ukraine , and either of them will boil , fry or scramble your eggs indefinitely . Sometimes Fender basses aren't always the best investment .

As a shop - bought option , I have had one of these since 1999 and it sounds great and still works perfectly http://www.monstercable.com/productdisplay.asp?pin=2308

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1367161934' post='2061940'] Really? Care to make a YouTube play-along to prove it? [/quote] I could do that , no problem if I had any equipment to film myself with . Unfortunately , after the whole Paris Hilton / Kim Kardashian / Pamela Anderson sex tape scandal phenomena Mrs Dingus has got a complete ban on any video recording equipment in the household . But why on earth do you think a Precision style bass wouldn't be appropriate for that music ? Do you actually know how a Precision Bass sounds and can sound in the right hands ? Are you telling me that if Pino Palladino or Freddie Washington was hired by the artist to play bass on that track and they turned up with their Precision Bass that they wouldn't be able to do an appropriate job ? How so ? The track is crying ut for some bottom end , and a Precision Bass will always give you that . Even if you wanted some more adventurous and melodic playing , a Precision can do that too . Why wouldn't a bass that can sound like this sound good on that track ? : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh85DA5w8V4[/media] To me a Precision is a pretty neutral sounding bass , kind of the closet sound you can get to the sound of the lower strings on an acoustic guitar . Are you sure that you aren't making the mistake of associating the Fender Precision with it's vintage heritage going back to the 1950's and therefore having trouble relating it to this example of a decidedly post-modern music form , when in fact , judged purely on its' sonic qualities , a Precision Bass would be a perfectly good - perhaps even ideal - bass to use on that track ?

I suppose all of this begs the question " what is a bass guitar supposed to sound like ? " . I suspect you would get a different answer from musicians who are not bass players to that which you would get from a lot those that are bass players , and to most other musicians the sound of a Precision Bass is usually the kind of sound they want to play over and how they want the bass to sound .

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1367159480' post='2061892'] Unless that's a Fender Precision he's playing then it's a no. [media]http://youtu.be/0M3YFK3sJ54[/media] [/quote] Wrong , my friend . If you listen closely to the lyrics you will hear that the whole song is actually a lament about saving up through the long cold winter to buy some Thomastic flatwounds to put on his Morin Khuur ( that's what they call that thing like a cello he's playing ) so he can sound more like James Jamerson . Just another Mongolian P Bass wanabee , I'm afraid .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1367158289' post='2061877'] How about this: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjpg5PuaGBw[/media] [/quote] Fender Precision would sound absolutely great on that . Why wouldn't it ?

I would say that a Precision Bass [i]could [/i]actually play any style of music you could think of , but it wouldn't neccesarilly ultimately be the best sound in every or any given musical setting or situation . I can't think of any genre of music where the sound of a Fender Precision Bass would automatically be excluded by a consensus of common sense , good taste and / or judgement , and I would defy anyone else to come up with one , but I can think of a number of circumstances in which someone would probably prefer a different sound and find it more appropriate than a Precision . Get a Jazz Bass too , would be my advice , then you really can do everything .

I'd say no , but yes , but then again probably not . Edit : It's Sunday morning /afternoon . Let me have some Alka Seltzer and a blood transfusion and I will get back to you later . I can confirm at this stage, however , that Precisions = good .

An Imperial Stormtrooper would[u] never [/u]play a Fireglow 4003 . It just looks so wrong . It would have to be a Blackstar ( renamed by Rickenbacker as the Death Star for the Galactic Empire market ) :

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1367084478' post='2061175'] Nobody wants to see that, and THAT is exactly how I can make money from it. Pay me to stop! [/quote] You are destined to be a wealthy man , Milton .

I am deeply disappointed , Milton . Both I and Mrs Dingus were expecting you had taken the plunge and created some kind of a paysite to earn money from your previously - mentioned chronic masturbation "problem " .

[quote name='iceonaboy' timestamp='1367078702' post='2061076'] I love my Jazz, but I also love my Precision, so what to do?......feck it, I will keep them both! [/quote] If you've got a good Precision and a good Jazz Bass there isn't much you can't cover in terms of styles and genres of music . All I really need .

If people want to ask questions about a bass you own , then that is fair enough , and I would be happy to supply information , but if people are pestering you with hopelessly low unsolicited offers to buy equipment from then that is pretty offensive . I suppose if you have a particulalty rare or valuable bass that someone wants to register their interest in if you ever decide to sell it then that is o.k too , but they would have to be making a realistic offer .

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1367080766' post='2061108'] Is she any good for metal? [/quote] She does a lovely job cleaning the cooker . Does that count ?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1367077706' post='2061059'] I've been asked how much my bass cost, but no-one's offered to buy it. [/quote] I've had that happen to me about Mrs Dingus

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1367015805' post='2060423'] What exactly is so good about it for £4k?! [/quote] Short answer : nothing . These Aria's were decent basses , but not worth four grand in any way , shape or form . I am sure they are made to high standards , but they are still not worth four thousand pounds Sterling as an instrument , especially when you look at what else you can get for that money . According to the recent review in Bass Player magazine the pickup is microphonic , too , which would render it useless to yours truly even if Aria gave me one for free ( unlikely ) .

[quote name='bassatnight' timestamp='1367068552' post='2060877'] I was essentially trying to put him off as I realized he was a chancer, my point is really people randomly asking about your equipment then asking laughable prices and becoming aggressive when you clearly know what it is you have and it's worth [/quote] Do people really do this ? I'm shocked ! Tell them to f*** off . I make a point of , for the most part , not telling people what equipment I have and haven't got for various reasons , and if people carry on like this then it seems like a good policy .

[quote name='arthurhenry' timestamp='1366988715' post='2060003'] Yes, I went to the LA one once. There was also one in Birmingham - any memories of that one? [/quote] I used to go to the one in L.A at Calabassas and then in Studio City after it moved . Chris Maury who was the manager was the most decent bloke you could ever wish to meet and it was similaly fantastic shop as the London one . The shop in Birmingham was smaller but when I went there not long after it opened in the early 90's they still had plenty of interesting stuff in there .

I too remember the Bass Centre at Wapping in the 1980's/90's and it was indeed an amazing place . Such a shame it had to close , but I think maybe there was a drop off in trade due to the advent of the internet and more people buying stuff directly from the States , etcetera . Back in its' heyday they used to do a roaring trade - you would go in one week and marvel at all the jaw-dropping high end basses you couldnt afford and then when you went back a couple of weeks later they had sold them all and a whole new bevvy of beauties had taken their place . Every time you went there there was always some major or minor bass celebrity in there , and it was fun trying to discreetly figure out who they were if you didn't recognise them . As other folks have pointed out , they were really friendly and laid back in there, too , which I'm sure helped them be so successful . Barry the owner was a nice guy who really cared about the customers , and for a while in the 1980's I modelled my hairstyle on his . My favourite shop in the World ever . Bring back the Bass Centre !

It's easy to mock this young lady's facial contortions and stage moves but cystitis can be incredibly painful and debilitating condition and anything which brings some relief is not to be dismissed out of hand .

[quote name='Kinder' timestamp='1366885892' post='2058471'] They're all off their rockers / t!ts. Or both. [/quote] They're combining the two by rocking their tits off .

[quote name='lonestar' timestamp='1366824666' post='2057770'] I lasted about 30 seconds [/quote] I know someone who can help you with that : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLEah6S0dvY