Dingus

A good wide strap ( 4 inches + ) preferably with a suede backing for plenty of friction can help with awkwardly balanced basses such as your Thunderbird .

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1360853434' post='1977442'] [/size] Quite. Best if you both just stay home, watch TV and say nothing to each other. Works a treat. [/quote] Works for me ! I quite often catch Mrs Dingus sitting there on the sofa looking at me and thinking about how lucky she is .

Wow , that must bring back a few memories ! May 1986 - I remember it well . I hope you still have that beautiful Wal Pro bass , and the dodgy moustache . I believe that look is now known as " dodgy German porn star " , and is well back in fashion .

This women expressing opinions business is getting completely out of hand ! Shoes and home furnishings -yes . Music -no ( unless they are Joni Mitchell ) . If these women they are musicians and are going to play in the band then that bodes a lot better than the much more common scenario of someone who has got a girlfriend who thinks she can sing . That one can get tricky , and is always a disaster . I think the Fleetwood Mac situation is unlikely to happen in reality , but it's worth bearing in mind that there are lots of other potential scenarios , such as Sonny and Cher or Ike and Tina Turner . As long as you realise that you are giving yourselves one more thing to potentially fall out over .

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1360800748' post='1976899'] 100% agree with that. PP I can only marvel at his mastery, while not being totally into his music. As a demo as to what makes me want to nick someone elses hands; I was at JD's to accidentally meet MK because I wanted a bass to sound like this & John put the circuit in......... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffZXnWkbkgs[/media] [/quote] John made me a bass once and he is without doubt one of the nicest guys you will ever meet , and a true master craftsman .

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1360798604' post='1976872'] I wouldn't entirely agree with that; they weren't together that long beofre the hits started (IIRC) but at the time his slap bass was very different in the mainstream, just recovering from New Romanticsm ( the NWOBHM), so it was different to the general public, most of who wouldn't be aware of Stanley Clarke et al. I'm no huge L42 fan, I liked what they did then, but I don't like slap bass as a rule; I prefer bowel distorting bass, except for Lemmy's but that's just so unique it's just awesome. Still - always ready to hear anyone else's [i]qualified[/i] (as in cited) opinion. [/quote] That's fair enough Stu , but let me try and put what I am saying in context . I am a big fan ( indeed I am a product of ) that great era of up-front bass playing in the early 80s , and I vividly remember Mark King and Level 42 when they first came out . Mark was a "hot " player , but even back then his tone was thin and wimpy because he had to use such skinny strings to play in that style . With the benefit of hindsight , once you strip away his indulgences like the slap solos ( that are all basically different versions of the same event ) he isn't really any better (or even as good as ) some of the other young British players of the day such as Nick Beggs . What I object to is people who say that Mark King is one of best players of all time , when in fact he was just the most prominent player of [i]that [/i]time . They are very different players , but the comparison I would make by way of contrast is with Pino Palladino . He is everything that Mark King is not , and he [i]is[/i] a truly great player .

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1360797984' post='1976859'] Comparing Mark King with Marcus Miller is like trying to compare Brian May with Larry Carlton - the former are musicians but also entertainers of the common people whereas the latter are much more "musicians musicians". Both endeavours deserve equal respect. [/quote] I am sure that Mark is an entertainer too , but then again Marcus Miller is also a band leader in his own right . But just for the record , I am judging Mark King purely on his musical ability not as a showbiz entity . .

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1360796876' post='1976835'] Not at all, at least in your posts you've cited people and particular songs that to endorse your point. Maybe it's an internet thing, I've just never found it in real life................. though I suppose a "yet" would be in order at this point. [/quote] For what it's worth , I've known quite a few pro musicians over the years , and on the whole they were just as bitchy as anyone else , although the older they get the less dismissive they are of other musicians doing certain things because they need the money ! I've also known a few people who have met and worked with Mark King , and they all have said that he is a really , really nice bloke and the most down-to -earth fella you could ever meet . But the fact remains that he gained a reputation as being some kind of leading virtuoso of the bass guitar , which he quite clearly is not to true cognicenti . Strip away the show pony stuff ( which doesn't sound very good anyway ) and you are left with a very capable player , but not a great one .

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1360795848' post='1976812'] I still find it incredible on a musicians forum to hear musicians slag musicians on their perceived ability. As I said in the you-know-what thread; my guess is that any and all pro band musicians would only judge themselves based on their part/contribution of the whole band. I know a fair few pro musicians to different degrees and at different levels, I've never heard one of them say anything snide about another musician of their aquaintance, even when drunk. There might be a veiled inference at a part they're not happy with, but nothing blatant; they're extremely diplomatic people (IME - maybe I've had a sheltered life?). Though it's heartening to see the ones on here who do make their living as musicians generally keeping out of it. edit: can't spell. [/quote] Are you suggesting people shouldn't discuss the respective merits of one professional musician over another , and if so , why ?

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1360792468' post='1976719'] Hmmm a bit disingenuous Dingus.... 'quite good'!? I can't agree. Even if you don't like the songs, his fingerstyle lines and harmonies are really clever and funky. And as for the slap - whoa he really invented that whole left hand slap 16th chug which Larry, Louis, Marcus and Stanley didn't do. I thinky you're talking nonsense and being provocative for the sake of it. But hey let's go with it... given he's not as good as these lesser known sidemen, who are they? [/quote] I'm certainly not being provocative for the sake of it . I am not surprised that many people think it is sacrelige to say the Mark King isn't actually that good though , so maybe I am being provocative in the sense that I know it will cause controversy . But it's true , so there . I think Mark Kings 16th note percussive style[i] is [/i]derivative of Louis Johnson and Stanley Clarke - that's where he got it from - , and his melodic playing is [i]very[/i] derivative of Stanley Clarke . I also strongly disagree that Mark King is funky when he slaps : he is mechanistic and predictable . Marcus Miller is funky when he slaps , Larry Graham is funky when he slaps , whereas Mark King just sounds like he is doing the same old exercises . As I have said , Mark has his moments and can construct some good bass parts , but ironically enough they are usually the simpler ones such as The Sun Goes Down and Something About You . As to supposedly lesser players in a similar genre who can best M.K , I would point to people like Freddy Washington , Alex Al , Jimmy Earl . or Armand Sabaal Lecco to name just a handful off the top of my head . Someone like Richard Bona is [i]streets[/i] ahead of Mark King .

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1360697795' post='1974995'] Get a Corvette $$ They are incredible. So versatile too. [/quote] Those German Warwick $$ are great sounding basses . Warwicks' take on the Musicman humbucker is the best I have ever heard in terms of recreating the sound of the pickups on the early vintage original Music Man Stingrays . I personally find the Streamer body shape a bit more comfortable than the Corvette , but that's just my own preference .

I think it will happen . Eventually .

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1360784858' post='1976565'] We each have our own heroes and mine is mark king. I guess what I like about him is his playing is quite In keeping with the song without it sounding like a solo all the time I.e marcus, Stanley. Not knocking them in any way because they are phenomenal. I just don't understand why people feel the need to knock others. [/quote] I'm not knocking him , but he is what he is . It's not his fault that people who don't know better herald him as a great player when he is not . He's a quite-good -in certain -respects player who plays an awful lot of notes . He has always struck me as a very decent , honest and self-effacing guy . He can't be held responsible for some of the wild claims other people make on his behalf . The fact remains that he isn't one of the all- time greats , as some people seem to think he is . He isn't even as good at slapping as a whole host of lesser known sidemen I could mention .

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1360777977' post='1976368'] What a joke. I always think it's funny though, how some uneducated folk would write Mark King off as 'flash and histrionics'. Still, I suppose to the untrained ear and mind, his technique and style may sound confusing. [/quote] He is not all flash and histrionics by any means , despite all that stuff he does some really nice and inventive things and writes some very creative basslines , but he is certainly nothing special , despite his high profile as a player . Strip away the flashy stuff and there is not enough left to warrant the kind of acclaim and attention he gets . The rest is bullshit . His music lacks soul and always has done , and he has little real depth compared to many much more accomplished players who I could mention . I know a fair few other bass players who share this opinion on Mark King , too. He's a mugs eyeful ( or more accurately , a mugs earful ) .

I always feel that Mark King was hampered by using such light gauge strings . Despite always having state -of -the -art bass gear he always has a sound so thin that you could whistle over it . He manages to make whatever bass he uses sound exactly the same . I'm sure those skinny strings helped stop him from developing better instincts as a bass player . He is what I would describe as " a mugs eyeful " of a bass player - once you strip away the flash and all the histrionics there isn't that much substance there compared to a lot of other less celebrated players . He has had his moments , but will always lack the stature of a true great like Marcus Miller .

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1360769148' post='1976174'] I hate to admit it but I agree on Geddy. He can play. He 's good, but nothing particularly original or amazing. In other words, nothing Entwistle and Squire and their imitators hadn't already done. As for Mac -- this is what you're missing. It isn't his technical skill. Anybody playing for 2 years can play pretty much any of his bass lines. It's the COMPOSITIONAL skill. His ideas, voiceleading, phrasing, harmonic sense are all brilliant. Now if you don't get it, you don't get it and it can't be explained so you do. It's a little like the intro to Beethoven's 5th . It's one of the most powerful musical statements the world has ever known. But somebody can say, "Eh, it's only 4 notes. I CAN DO THAT." [/quote] Geddy Lee is a brilliant bass guitarist . Yes , he drew on the influence of Entwisle and Squier , and not least of all Jack Bruce , but he developed his own unique style and approach to playing the bass . His agile , agressive and highly intellegent style has been inspirational to generations of bass players , and quite rightly so , just like Paul McCartney . They are both superb players , albeit in very different styles . I don't subscribe to the idea of Paul McCartney being a simplistic player either . If you listen to some of his work more closely he is capable of all kinds of clever twists and turns in his the choices he makes in those basslines . I agree with you wholheartedly though , that Maccas' genius lies in his compositional skills .

[quote name='bassanton' timestamp='1360709393' post='1975344'] This: [/quote] I don't usually go for natural wood on a Fender - style bass , but on this bass it looks right . I could see myself with one of these .

Who is Sue Ryder , and why has she got all these cheap basses ?

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1360768991' post='1976169'] Some of those wars are over rights to wood sources, maybe we should all go phenolic. [/quote] I'm all in favour of that , but what kind of phenolic sounds best ? Is phenolic as good as it used to be ? What kind of phenolic would Jaco have used ? Are they worth the money ? The only way out of this is to go to a Soviet - style system where you work for years to buy a State - made bass designed by a comittee of bureaucrats . The bass will look like a cross between a Fender Musicmaster and a council estate , and will play and sound awful that you will wish you were giving birth instead of trying to knock out a tune on it . We will all agree that the Beatles and Elton John are great artists , because they will be the only pop music we have ever heard .

Sometimes in an idle moment I think to myself " What would the World be like if all the effort people put into fighting wars and hurting each other was put into helping each other and making the World a better place ? " . Then I go on Basschat and see people falling out over whether a maple fingerboard sounds brighter than a rosewood one ( it does ) and I know why my dream of World peace will never come true .

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1360670013' post='1974181'] I'm afraid the entire piece is utterly stultifying for me. Every band like this seems to sound the same. What do they put these guys on? Horse tranquilisers? Duddle-uh - duddlediddleduddlediddle duddle-uh diddlydi - diddlydi di di diddly di-do dah dumb. WHY DO THEY ALL SOUND THE f***ing SAME! Because they spend all day transcribing Coltrane solos? And although I love the Haslip / Holdsworth / Pasqua / Wackerman outfit, I have to say Jimmy's solo on this piece is bland, uninspired, compositionally very weak and totally boring to listen to. [/quote] Jimmy Haslip and a lot of other players who unquestionably have fantastic ability seem to fall into this kind of smooth jazz / fusion[i] muzak [/i]by default . It's a bit of a shame , because I'm sure Jimmy Haslip and many others players in this genre would be great playing in some more unfamiliar situations and different genres of music , and I bet they would enjoy it, too . I know Jimmy has played with some mainstream pop artists in the past , and I would like to hear him in that kind of a situation again . John Patitucci is another prime example . His solo albums for the most part leave me cold ( more than half an hour of one would probably leave me comatose , to be honest ) and for all their technical brilliance he doesn't play anything on any of them that is as effective as his bassline on Walk The Dinosaur by Was Not Was or his tasteful accompaniment on Everything But The Girl's Language Of Life album .

If you're going to allow PJ basses into the equation ( but take only the sound of the Precision pickup into account ) then I would have to say that the Yamaha BB2024X takes some beating in the ultimate P Bass sound stakes . The neck pickup on those basses sounds [i]massive [/i], albeit with a character slightly different to a conventional Fender Precision .

Weekend World aside , this thread has reminded me just how grim television was on a Sunday back in the 1970s . There was mainly religious programmes of one kind or another on for most of the day on all [u] three channels .[/u] It was dreary beyond belief , unless you had a thing for Thora Hird ( I didn't ) . Wasn't part of Nantucket Sleighride used for World In Action , too ? That was on ITV on Monday nights at about 8 o'clock . Mondays were grim , too .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ivk0x1vThY

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1360613151' post='1973477'] I've got a rather good Pbass, made by Mike Lull. [/quote] They look like lovely basses .