Dingus

I like Yes a lot , but Dream Theatres music has always been impenetrable to me , despite several attempts to give them a fair chance. It seems like modern Prog rock by numbers to me. What's more, their music is so boring that they seem to have that rare unwanted gift for making a minutes worth of time last for more than sixty seconds. The phrase " full of sound and fury signifying nothing" is most apt for their music. My brother is a big fan of the early Dream Theatre stuff , but then again , he likes Enya and Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals too, and is a bit weird in a whole number of different ways ( trust me, you don't want to know what he does with a Pot Noodle and a bread roll).

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1385107161' post='2284461'] birdseye maple is by definition not the best wood for making necks out of. I've no idea why EBMM do it so much [/quote] Scientific opinion is split on whether figured maple is actually less stable in reality. From my own experience, I have come across so many dodgy wooden necks that I cannot help but say that graphite is far, far less likely to give you the same problems, especially over time. Yes, graphite can go wonky , but it is rare . Wood , on the other hand, only needs to bend , twist or warp a fraction of a millimeter to start to be a major pain in the arse or even a total disaster if you are particulaly unlucky. I got rid of my graphite-necked basses around the turn of the Millenium, and I sometimes struggle to remember why, but I think it was something to do with letting go of the past ,accepting it wasn't the 1980's anymore ( still kept the hair , though) . and going back to the simple life I had as an early adolescent playing my Fender Jazz Bass. Of course, Sod's Law dictated that the Jazz Bass I bought to replace my graphite basses had a neck on that I nicknamed "the barometer", because I could literally have sat in my room with curtains drawn and told you how the weather had changed by the direction the neck had shifted in . It was a nightmare. I spent far more time adjusting that bass and its' hopelessly useless ( hopelessly useless? Yes it was hopelessly flawed and it was useless trying to fix it) neck than I ever did playing it. It was a beautiful bass in many ways , but I am still grateful every time I pick up any of my current crop of Fender basses and they all play perfectly up and down the neck . No bass with a graphite neck would have performed so badly in the same respects.

Function band playing '80's stuff cheese and disco? Call it Thatcher.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1385145920' post='2285064'] Not sure what CK has against major thirds. Jamerson used them plenty. [/quote] J.S Bach was quite fond of them too, and he knew how to write a bassline.

Knowing scales and arpegios is extremely useful in learning how to play the bass, providing, of course, you also learn the appropriate ways to apply them to playing music. Even if you just learn the scales and arpegios in isolation , they won't do you any harm , and probably do you a lot of good in the long run. Getting familiar with scales and arpegios can be very helpful in tuning your ear to the different intervals and the relationships between them , too. Without wishing to be provocative or controversial , when it comes to playing music, the more knowledge you have, the better. The more you know, the greater capacity you have to be creative. I'm not saying that you can't play or be creative without some knowledge of theory like scales ect, but the suggestion that not knowing them makes you more creative is sophistry, I'm afraid. As I have said before on Basschat (and someone accused me of being elitist,) , people who don't know any theory are using exactly the same rules of music as those who do, whether they realise it or not .

Could I take this oppotunity to shamelessly plug the fact that I having a string clearout and now have Lakland stainless steel, DR Sunbeams and D'Addario XL's 45-105 sets to sell ( all great stings, by the way , and not dissappointing) , all cut for a string-thru-body Fender tuning configuration , hardly used. PM me for details , or see my ads. Buy them and I will use the money to buy new , as yet untested sets of exotic strings that also inevitably won't suit me for one reason or another and keep this thread going indefinitely.

[quote name='Perry' timestamp='1385129197' post='2284782'] I intend to buy a P Bass. Looking around the net and have seen some negative views on the USA being overpriced. I've always wanted one and it will be a long while till I have the same amount of money to spend on a bass again so I would appreciate your advice. My budget is around £1000 - £1200 I don't mind a used one. Thanks in advance. [/quote] Hi Perry I don't think the current USA Fender Precision Basses are particulaly overpriced , and I would say that providing you get a good example that is well put together, ( always that proviso with anything made by Fender) then they can in fact be a bit of a bargain , especially if you compare how well they perform compared to custom-made boutique equivalents costing a lot more, usually . If you are looking at buying new or used , the post-2008 American Standard Precisions are superb basses , and the post- 2012 models have the added bonus of Custom Shop Vintage pickups. Even without the Custom Shop pickup , if you find a nice example of these basses they play and sound excellent , have good quality hardware ( high mass bridge, lightweight tuners ect) , are usually a reasonable weight and just generally tick all the right boxes . You get a great case with them , too , and they are a solid investment all- round. Used post- 2008 Am St PBasses pop up regulaly for sale on Basschat at very reasonable prices , and usually get snapped up pretty quickly , so it could be worth keeping an eye out on here.

Both those pictures in the O.P look like '70's Jazz Basses to me . I'm a little confused as to how a 64 Jazz Bass relic would have block markers. Anyhow, regarding the difference between the two basses, a lot depends on how faithful Fender have been to the originals. Ostensibly at least, the 75 Jazz would have a slightly chunkier neck profile than the '64, and the positioning if the rear pickup closer to the bridge will give the'75 a significantly tighter and more agressive tone. The pickups on the75 could also be wound a little differently ( that is if Fender have been mindful of how the original model would have been ) with ceramic wire instead of standard copper. There are a whole host of other differences that there could be , such as the CS 64 is likely to have a nitro finish whereas a '75 Jazz would have a polyester coat, but it is totally hit and miss which details Fender will have been accurate to. If certain things are important to you, I would recommend doing a bit more research before deciding , but the CS'64 is far more likely to be faithful to the original specs , generally speaking.

Has anyone ever tries Thomastic Jazz Bass roundwounds? They look interesting , but are in a very perculiair set with an . 89 E string . I wonder what they are like . It's a lot of money to waste on a wierd set of Austrian light gauge strings. No doubt I will give in to my curiosity eventually.

Regarding the pickup placement, Rocco's bass will probably have been an experimental prototype . It may well be that they decided the production model should have the pickup in the tried and tested Precision position , seeing as that design has been quite successful for Fender so far...

Some potentially good news (at last ) for Lakland string lovers is that I have got three sets of almost brand new stainless steel roundwounds 45-105 for sale. Drop me a line if you are interested .

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1384771676' post='2280394'] There have been "boutique" Ricks - IIRC jon Shuker built a pair of 6-string 4003-shaped basses for someone on here a few years ago and John Birch produced more than a few back in the 70s. However once you start fiddling with the quirky things that make the Rickenbacker design unique it starts to loose all the character that made you want one in the first place. Take the 4004. On paper it has addressed the majority of criticisms aimed at the 4001/4003 models, but it doesn't really look right (and apparently doesn't sound the same either) and consequently isn't very popular. [/quote] I've seen a few "uber-Ricks" over the years, but nothing ever reached the mainstream market. If someone did come up with a workable design it would be an intriguing prospect.

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1384877971' post='2281774'] Rounded, and also very lovely to look at [/quote] To me , not much in this World is more beautiful to look at than a nice Rickenbacker bass . They sound great. too. All they need to do is make them more playable and they will have a hit on their hands . I can't abide the way the strings hit the pole pieces of the pickups on a Rick . That alone makes them useless to me. Even before I played the bass, I was fixated by Rickenbackers, and I would so like to own one , but it would only happen if they came out with a new, modernised design that incorporated a lot of the old basses best qualities , but in a better package, kind of like Musicman did with the Bongo.

I have some vague recollection about a Fender Rocco Prestia signature bass in the late 1990's , and this looks to be one. They are extremely rare , and probably quite collectable. You can see Rocco playing one in the Bassday 98 video. They were only made for a very short time and very few were ever sold. Could be that you have made a very lucky purchase. Good for you ! I think it looks great with the white pickguard. That is the colour plate an early to mid-70's natural ash Precision with a maple board would have shipped with , and it looks correct to me. Looks like a fantastic bass all round , in fact . Enjoy it.

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1384814324' post='2281175'] Apologies, spied this late - but you're spot on as to why the software wasn't letting you post. It just wants the price - if you're trying to convey anything more fancy it needs to go in the body of the advert. Glad you got it sorted. [/quote] No problem , Gus, the offers are flooding in ! Mrs Dingus might be able to buy those leggings she's got her eye on in Top Shop.

Ads now posted . I had to simplify the price to just the figure and not mention postage or my three sets for £30 special offer. Thanks for all the advice. Job now done.

First ad accepted !

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1384812434' post='2281127'] It just doesn't like you [/quote] Join the queue then...

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1384811881' post='2281108'] Try not putting an commas, full stops etc. within the price figure [/quote] I've put " £11 per set + postage " and just " £11" and it still won't work.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1384811574' post='2281103'] Maybe you will just have to give them away for free could that be why you cant put a price? and who is this Victor bloke is there some conspiracy going on I don't know about lol [/quote] Victor maquerades as a bass player but mainly just fannies around doing tippy-tappy stuff that is no use to anyone, and if I wanted to give the stuff away I would have to state a price. , even if it was nothing .

Yes, Mark, I did that, and it just keeps telling me to put a price.