Dingus

[quote name='EMG456' timestamp='1394290471' post='2389945'] Lastly but not leastly in the flats category, David Paton of Pilot - Magic as they say. Mr P also played on Kate Bush's first album and although alledgedly the bass on Wuthering Heights was played by producer Andrew Powell, it sounds suspiciously like Paton's Rick to me and indeed Paton says he played on it - funny old world. Cheers Ed [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5Hd3eGMKw[/media] [/quote] Nice to see someone name checking David Paton , Ed! A very underrated player , and Pilot were such a clever band with beautifully crafted songs and intricate studio production. They remind me in so many ways of XTC in that respect, but XTC seem to get a lot more critical recognition, and Pilot were doing it a decade earlier. Pilot's guitarist, Ian Bairnson, is a different class, too. Last I heard, David was living back up in Scotland and playing with some local bands.

I am a huge fan of so much of the music that came out of Muscle Shoals and of the musicians that made it , and have been for a very long time . I can't wait to see this documentary.

My dad loves jazz and my mum likes opera and classical music, but both of them always encouraged my love of music, whatever style it might have been. Interestingly enough, we always talked about music far more than we ever listened to it together. I suppose the only time most families communally listen to music is when it comes on the television. I know some families listen to music during Sunday lunch, but for us it would have got in the way of the arguing and spoiled the meal completely. .It seems a bit strange to me that there are so many young people now with exactly the same taste in music as their parents. It's as if the time has stood still at a certain point of rock music history and everyone has decided that enough is enough and there is nothing new to be discovered or developed, Who knows, they might be right, but to my sensibilities, young people aught to be listening to music older people don't like, can't understand and are a bit frightened of. Except for electronic rave music that just goes thump, thump, thump. That really is rubbish.

[quote name='Sara SG' timestamp='1394284782' post='2389868'] Thanks for all your answers. I will spend an evening checking and googling all those models. Will defo consider de-fretting a cheap bass. Dear Subsonic Simpleton - My regular bass IS the Squier Mike Dirnt Precision - its the one in my profile photo here. I have been playing it for 3yrs about 10 gigs a year, on most of my recordings too. I love it. It is heavy though! I have an Epiphone hollow bodied bass which of course is much lighter but not so robust for rock gigs. Wearing the Mike Dirnt bass for hours , low slung, (never sitting down!) does give me back pain, particularly because I have a microphone to negotiaite. But hey - no pain , no gain! Just next bass is unlikely to be a Precision! Any new shape puts different pressure points than the the Mike Dirnt has left. Was really impressed by some small light basses I tried on the Cort stand at the Bass Show. No attractive fretless though [/quote] I just want to point out , Sara, that on just about every model of bass on the market there is a pretty big disparity in the weight between individual examples. Your Mike Dirnt Precision Bass might be a heavy one, but you could well find another identical one that was a pound or even more lighter, and when it comes to bass weights, half a pound either way can make all the difference to whether it feels comfortable or painful to wear for extended periods of time. The density and therefore weight of wood varies a great deal , and so bass manufacturers cannot really control the final weight of mass produced basses very closely, and two basses made from different parts of the same tree can have very different final weights. That applies to basses in every price range, including very expensive custom-made ones. If there is particular style or model of bass you like, it can be worth shopping around to see if you can find one at a lighter weight, if that is an issue. Some models are inherently heavy and vary between heavy and even heavier, but most have heavier and lighter examples.

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1394144221' post='2388518'] I'm not even dyslexic and I always struggle with this! [/quote] At least you must have some interesting nights out...

[quote name='jassbass' timestamp='1394201874' post='2389105'] Im gonna get one as soon as I have the cash.i love the look and feel of my dj5,just miss active preamp to much.was goin to trade for an actiive 5 string but this option looks great [/quote] In that case the East J-Retro is a fantastic option and should give you exactly what you are after. They sound amazingly good and are really nicely made from top quality components, too. If you want to go active, it is the perfect choice for that bass.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1394184054' post='2388739'] Its a bit like saying "there are no foods that I like" or "I don't like reading". [/quote] Ironically, both those statements are exactly the kind of sound bites that Morrissey comes up with! I can remember vividly when The Smiths came on the scene and it really was one of those " what the f*** was that?" moments for most people. Whether you liked them or not, you couldn't help but notice them and their startling originality. Even before they became a cult , they were a genuine phenomena that seemed to come out of nowhere. As for Andy Rourke and his sound, it helped that Andy was a superb bass player with a great feel for music who really knew how to drive the band along with his melodic and inventive lines that were the perfect counterpoint to Johnny Marr's guitar parts .You can't imagine the music of The Smiths without his trebley, loud-in -the-mix bass parts any more than you can imagine The Who without John Entwistle or The Beatles without Paul McCartney's signature basslines. .

[quote name='jassbass' timestamp='1394183144' post='2388728'] Are they any good.2 or 3 band eq?thanx [/quote] They are fantastic- one of the best on the market at any price- and they are what Lakland themselves offer from the factory if you want to order a bass with a fitted preamp. The J -Retro's are relatively easy to fit, but if you are a complete novice to doing such jobs or( like me) , not very handy with such things , it would probably be a good idea to get an experienced guitar technician/repairer to fit it for you. It shouldn't cost much by virtue of the fact that it is an easy retro-fit and you would have the reassurance of knowing it was installed and working properly.

i love this series too, but I think there should be another series about crap albums. They could speak to the people involved in making the records about what went wrong, and also have interviews with members of the record-buying public who wasted their good money on complete dross. The dramatic conclusion of each show could be a face to face meeting between the band and some of the punters who bought the naff albums and got shafted . The musicians could offer cash refunds in the name of justice and reconciliation. I might be able to get back the £7.50 I spent in 1982 on Tales From Topographic Oceans!

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1394136811' post='2388410'] MB1. ..."Charlton Heston put his vest on!" [/quote] Probably a bulletproof vest. No big mystery as to how Andy Rourke got such a great sound with The Smiths. Like Witterth says, a nice Precision Bass with the tone up full, amp set fairly flat, fresh strings ( Rotosound RS66 or similarly bright stainless steels would be a good choice) and a pick will get you into that territory.

Does anyone else share my slight concern that, on the back of all this positive publicity for the London Bass Guitar Show, slightly dyslexic bass players might end up buying tickets to LGBS events ?

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1394129046' post='2388280'] How many times have I heard this from a disappointed Mrs Axe... *sigh* [/quote] Unrealistic expectations...

Lee Sklar.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1394127280' post='2388247'] According to Trading Standards: [i]If you offer a replacement for faulty goods that have been returned by the customer, the cancellation rights under the DSRs will run for seven working days from the day after the customer receives the replacement goods, provided you have previously complied with the information giving provisions in the DSRs.[/i] [url="http://dshub.tradingstandards.gov.uk/dsrexplained"]http://dshub.trading...uk/dsrexplained[/url] [/quote] Even better, then.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1394127318' post='2388248'] And D'Addario Chromes are the stiffest of the lot. Or certainly one of the stiffest, anyway. Or 'low-compliance...' I can never remember what the correct terminology is. [/quote] You can call it what you like, but stiff is stiff.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1394122929' post='2388179'] It's in the terms of the guarantee that apply. The 'return in 7 days' or whatever expired once you'd accepted the first item (and presumably were happy with until it broke, or you'd have sent it back then...). The replacement item is also guaranteed, of course. If it's faulty, get them to accept it back for either a refund or another, satisfactory, item. If, however, you're simply disenchanted, despite it working properly, I'd say that you've no redress. I'm not in any way a legal expert; this is simply how I think it works, given the information in the OP. Hope this helps (but that's unlikely... ) [/quote] Everything depends on how long you had the original item . If you had it more than seven days then you are probably not entitled to a refund under the distance selling regulations on the replacement, providing the replacement is perfect. If the replacement item is clearly and incontrovertibly defective then the retailer is obliged to act. Furthermore, [u][i]if[/i][/u] the replacement does not meet [i]reasonable expectations[/i] ( this is where things can get a bit tricky) of satisfactory standards , then you would have a case for saying that you had lost confidence in this product and/or their service and request a refund. If the replacement item is substandard, state your case to the retailer as to specifically why it is so in your judgement and see what they say .

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1394099554' post='2387835'] The good news Rob is that the past is over.... [/quote] No , the past is still alive on Facebook!

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1394060270' post='2387620'] Gold looks great on some basses and not so good on others. Chrome looks great on some basses and not so good on others. Black looks great on some basses and not so good on others. Are there other colours? If so they look great on some basses and not so good on others. . . [/quote] Exactly this^. Some basses look right with gold- Pedulla, Spector, Alembic- some basses look right with chrome - Fender , Music Man - some basses look right with black - Warwick Thumb. You just have to exercise some taste and judgement. Some folks do have shocking taste, though, and very poor judgement. Without naming any names, I am often horrified by some Basschat member's ideas of what is stylish. Still, each to their own, I suppose.

Those basses will almost certainly be fitted with a set of standard gauge 45-105 strings from the factory, but you should be able to use other gauges without any adjustment or alteration to the nickel steel nut. However, it can sometimes take a bit of experimentation to get the correct angle between the string on the winding post relative to the steel nut, which can, like all steel nuts, be prone to rattling a bit if that angle isn't quite right. A bit of trial and error usually sorts it out, so don't panic if after you change the strings there is a bit of rattling in that area. Even without messing about with the angle of the string, sometimes leaving the strings to "settle in " to the nut under tension seems to sort things out, too. Don't ask me how or why it works , but it does( sometimes). As to what flats to use, I am not the greatest expert because I use roundwounds, but a lot depends not only on what kind of sound you like but also the kind of feel you want the bass to have when you play it. Flatwounds tend to feel a lot stiffer to play than roundwounds in an equivalent gauge, and some brands of flats feel subjectively stiffer than others. Flats also put a lot more tension on the neck of your bass, ( so much so that it can in some circumstances cause structural problems in the long-term) so that is also something to be aware of in terms of the overall setup of your bass. It is quite likely you may need to adjust the truss rod a little bit if you switch from rounds to flats. You can still string through the body with flats, but that will give an [i] even more[/i] taught feel to an already taught string. A lot of folks swear by Thomastic Jazz Bass Flatwounds because they are low tension compared to most other flats with a feel that suits players used to roundwounds , and they sound great to most people, too. They are expensive but excellent quality and a set should last years.

Excellent purchase. I think the Bongo's looks match it's sound, and I am a big fan of both. Definitely one of the best ultra modern-sounding basses at any price, including very expensive boutique examples, and the Bongo has the advantage of looking and sounding unique.