Dingus

These were indeed grotesquely ugly basses .

Generally speaking , a modestly -priced but well-chosen seperates system will out-perforn even fairly upmarket "lifestyle" systems . It's a bit of a difficult question to answer without knowing what budget you have and a clearer idea of what you have in mind , but a major factor to consider is where and how you will be listening to the music you play on the system . How big is the room you will be putting it in and where were you planning to place the speakers ? Will you be listening much on headphones ? Also bear in mind that you will be able to plug a laptop or P.C into the system and accesss music that way , so that is another consideration .

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1376066072' post='2169312'] I think the Ceramic Vs Alnico makes more difference than you think (I have both identicle other than the pup basses hanging right here, strung the same too), that said the 3 EQ with the ceramic sounds kind of like a 2 band but with controllable mids, this might be why I like it so much? [/quote] My point , Pete , is only that , regardless of their respective merits , they both sound unmistakably like a Stingray .

Phiilip Bailey Walking On The -Chinese Wall Eurythmics -Sisters Are Doing It For Themselves / Would I lie To You Kenny Loggins - Footloose

As other folks have said , there are so many Stingrays about of various vintages on the used market for very reasonable prices , and that isn't likely to change any time in the forseeable future , so buying a new one seems a bit of a waste , unless you have your heart set on a brand new one for whatever reason , of course . That said , that Stingray sound is , along with the Precision and the Jazz , one of the quintessential bass guitar sounds in popular music and is perenially popular . So many great players have used them and so many great records have featured that distinctive tone . They are a bit of a one trick pony , but it's a great trick and one that's entertaining enough to keep most folks amused . Stingrays never go out of fashion , and probably never will . My own take is that lots of basses will do" the Stingray thing " , not just ones that say Musicman on them . The characteristic sound of that parrallel-wired humbucker in that sweet-spot position isn't that difficult to replicate , and I've played many Music Man - inspired basses that captured the sound of a Stingray admirably well . The other side of the coin, however , is that the overall feel and " vibe "of the instrument is significantly different on a lot of those other basses by virtue of the fact that many are a different design and body shape , ect , so that is something else to consider . I am a big fan of Warwick's take on the Musicman sound , for example , and I think that MEC MM - style humbucker sounds way closer to the pre - EBMM vintage Music Man pickups that the ones on the current EBMM's , but one you put it on a Warwick bass the overall experience is significantly different to a traditional Music Man bass . My own opinion is that you shouldn't get too hung up on the whole anlico versus ceramic thing . It makes far less difference than you might think , and much less than if the bass is series or parrallel -wired , which is an option on certain MM basses such as the Sterling ,Reflex and Big Al , which are themselves a bit more versatile as a result . Bongos sound great too ,and a bit more defined and articulate than the Stingray but still with a big dollop of that signature Musicman sound . The bottom line is that [i]any[/i] Musicman is usually a good addition to someones collection of basses , and one that very few players regret .

It all depends on your budget . I can show you plenty of lightweight options in the £2000-3000 price range , but failing that , the Fender Roadworn Jazz's are meant to be pretty light , and you could fit a J-Retro or use an external preamp to go active .

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1375647670' post='2163906'] Nothing sounds like a Wal. I only ever mourn one bass that that I have sold/traded & it was my Wal. I was all set for a Sycamore faced MK1 just after Paul took over until fate intervened & I was left broke. Ah well, one day! [/quote] Isn't that what life is like ? I thought about ordering one myself when they started making them again , but then the prices and the waiting times went up , and ,on balance , maybe some things are best left as a beautiful memory . They are still great basses , but I think playing one again myself would make me too nostalgic for those days . Always best to keep looking forward . That said , I still can't think of any bass at any price you can plug in and get a great sound with as easily as a Wal .

Hi Miki, I have seen your videos on YouTube before now and I think you are a superb player . Thanks for taking the time to make these clips and post them . They are fascinating listening , especially in respect of how close the less expensive basses sound to their high -end and vintage counterparts ! Really interesting to hear the differences between the different Fenders , too . Great stuff .

[quote name='Painy' timestamp='1375623460' post='2163537'] Hmmm..... daisy Rock could work. As much as I'd like to treat myself to a commemorative dream bass, that would probably involve a trip to Mr Shuker and parting with a rather substantial sum of money and with all available funds currently earmarked for a new more practical car (goodbye beloved Alfa) I think the missus may object. A small investment in her musical future however I can probably get away with! [/quote] Are you sure you want her to have a musical future ? Why not try and steer her more towards the law or medicine ? Do you really want your precious daughter to end up as another burnt- out X Factor contestant with shattered dreams and who has no choice but to flaunt themselves for customers in a seedy lap dancing club to make a living , much like Discreet and myself are forced to do nowadays to make ends meet . If my Dad hadn't bought me a Squier Jazz Bass all those years ago things might have been very different .

I know Paul from back when Electric Wood were at Wycombe and he is a top bloke and an excellent craftsman , too . It's really not his style to be offhand in his responses to anybody , and I am sure any delays or oversights on his part are entirely due to the fact that he is essentially a one -man operation nowadays , probably with just about as much work as he can possibly handle , judging by his waiting times . Wals are indeed uniquel and wonderful basses,, and are still worth the money that they cost new nowadays when you compare them to other similaly-priced high-end bassses , most of which sound two-dimensional in comparison to a Wal

I pick up my own bass and grumble the action is too low , too high , too much fret buzz , not enough fret buzz , too high from the twelth fret up , too low from the twelth fret up ... I could go on . There is nothing anyone else could say to me about my bass that could even come near what I have tormented myself with the past thirty -odd years .

I've just had a quick listen to Grace Under Pressure , and it's pretty good overall , but a bit patchy overall in my estimation . Some aspects of it are a bit awkward - the clumsy attempts at socially - aware lyrics and the mixed results when it comes to trying to ape what were contemporary bands of the day l such as The Police - but overall it's a brave attempt to evolve the sound of the band . My own opinion is that , for reasons I struggle to understand , Rush's songwriting skills took a nosedive after this album , and that their records started to have increasingly few tracks on that were worthy of them in their prime , until Snakes And Arrows had none ! Clockwork Angels is at least an improvement on that low -point . When all is said and done, though, they are still Rush and will always command my attention because of that .

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1375554980' post='2162896'] You have just nailed my exact same sentiments!!!!!!!! Could not agree more - his Fender/Sansamp combination over the last few years leaves me cold. [/quote] I read recently that Geddy has got a Spector bass recently ( I don't know what kind , presumably / hopefully an NS -style one ) , and he is really enjoying playing it at home . It would be great for him to make a radical departure and play something like that on the next Rush album .

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1375553004' post='2162873'] Yup...love this tone too. My second favourite recorded Geddy tone to the Wal on "Power Windows". [/quote] Geddy was in such great form in those days . He inspired a whole generation of bass players all over the World during that era . His sound and overall approach to playing the bass from Signals onwards were a really interesting attempt to incorporate some of the more modern sounds and styles for the bass guitar that were becoming so prominent in popular music in the 1980's . To be honest , his more recent sound with his Jazz Bass and the Sansamp is much less appealing to me . I like his sound and approach on Counterparts , but since then his sound has been less exciting to me . He used to have a markedly different tone on each new album , but for a long time now he seems to have settled on a kind of modern rock bass by numbers sort of sound i.e a Fender bass with a distorted top end , and I think it's time for a change .

I love the tone on that track , too . It was indeed , as far as I know , the Steinberger . I have read Geddy saying in interviews that ,in retrospect , he was less than completly happy with his sound on that album and that he feels the Steinberger lacked a certain bottom -end warmth , but it sounds great to me . The pick-like attack is entirely due to Geddy's uniquely aggressive fingerstyle approach . To properly replicate that sound , though, you would need to roll up the sleeves of your jacket and a World -class mullet hairstyle .

I always wanted a Rickenbacker when I was kid , but as soon as I played one I knew they were not for me . I love that classic Rickenbacker growl - it sounds amazing - , but the playability and overall design of those basses in an aquired taste , to put it diplomatically . Someone should start making high quality basses that look and sound like Rickenbackers but are much better made and more ergonomic . And I agree with BRX , you use a Ric to sound like a Ric . It's a specialist sound that is so stylised that you can't turn it into a mainstream middle -of-the-road bass sound . Does the O.P mean he dislikes and is dissatisfied with that Ric sound , or is he disenchanted because he feels his particular bass doesn't have enough of that sound , or isn't a good example of it ?

The music isn't really my cup of tea , but this chap is clearly a very , very good player . I would love to hear him in a different context .

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1375373167' post='2160504'] Agreed with the 'pro' bit above. Re: the wheel, I personally just love how easy it is. I usually just use a very strong allen key or even a screwdriver....I've only had to do it twice and it worked a charm. [/quote] I use a screwdriver in mine , and it is no bother , but I find the Am. St. Fender necks just as easy to adjust with the supplied truss rod tool . I suppose the real advantage of the wheel is that if you don't have the dedicated tool then you can use whatever else you can find that will turn the wheel . Sadowsky were the first basses I remember seeing with the wheel , from memory .

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1375317300' post='2159811'] Time and time again I see people talking about great bass parts and time and time again I see articles written about the best bass songs and the coolest bass players etc, etc. And they almost all have have the same thing in common. They're mostly bass parts that are either [b]loud[/b] or [b]busy. [/b] I'm not saying every BC'er feels that way, but think about it... When was the last time anyone raved about a bass part that was low in the mix ? I Second That Emotion has a killer bass part but it's buried and no one considers that one of Jamerson's classic tracks. If it were louder, it would be. Meanwhile songs like London Calling, My City was Gone, Orion, Another One Bits The Dust, Money, Pigs, Seven Nation Army, Beat It, Go Your Own Way -- they're all revered for their bass parts and many of them are cool but they're hardly anything special -- they're just "up front" and that's what makes it cool. [/quote] . The fundamental difference between I Second That Emotion and those other lines you mention is the way in which they are memorable , and why . Jamersons line is beautifully complex in terms of its' agility , timing and syncopation . The other examples you cite are relatively simple but memorable "hooks " that have a very different but more immediate appeal .

I can totally understand why the O.P feels a bit miffed , but allow me , if you will , to offer a slightly different perspective that may offer a little consolation . Yes , the shop could and probably should have either taken the neck off or at least removed the pickguard to make this adjustment , and should have asked the owners permission before chamfering the pickguard . However , that said , the pickguard is easily replacable with an identical one , and having the modified one could actually be an advantage in practice , as it should allow truss rod adjustments without the hassle of removing the neck or the pickguard . A friend of mine actually paid a luthier to perform that exact same modification on his Fender Custom Shop 1960 reissue Jazz Bass not too long ago . It's actually much easier to cause problems on a Fender bass by removing the neck frequently and the screw holes becoming slightly enlarged than it is to get a replacement scratchplate if you want to return this bass to original condition . Like other folks have said , see if you can get a new pickguard out of the shop for free or at a discount . Looking on the bright side , this could be an oppotunity for the O.P to learn how to make his own truss rod adjustments , and thus avoid the perils ( and expense ) of "pro " setups in future . Let's face it , anybody can call themselves a professional when it comes to guitar setups , because there is no professional body or authority to regulate such claims . The reality is that many of them are bloody useless . As for the EBMM truss rod wheel , I really don't see what advantage it offers over a conventional truss rod that adjusts with an allen key . With a conventional truss rod you need an allen key to adjust it , whereas with an EBMM you can use anything that fits in the holes on the wheel ... like an allen key , for instance ! The problem with the truss rods in all EBMM basses I have ever adjusted is that the truss rod has to be[u][i] very[/i][/u] tight in order to straighten the neck . Not good in the long - term .

BRX has hit the nail right on the head , but I would just like expand a bit on what he has said . The prevailance of pick playing was partly an attempt to make the bass more audible , but also due to the fact that the bass guitar in the early to mid Seventies was still a relatively young instrument - barely twenty years old - and there was far less of an idea of what was " correct " standard technique on the instrument than there is now . In light of that fact , playing with a pick was a known quantity , familiar from playing the six string guitar , so it was the easiest approach to adopt for fledgling players .It's also important to remember in this age of the Internet that the dissemination of information about how to play was so restricted compared to nowadays that learning correct and more involved bass playing techniques such as fingerstyle and slapping was far more exclusive than nowadays . Fingerstyle playing as we now know it was developed by American musicians who adapted techniques from jazz double bass playing . It's significant that it was American musicians who developed these techniques because of the far more mainstream role that formal study of jazz music plays in musician's development in that country . It is primarily because of that cultural relationship between the skills required to play jazz music and the wider musical community in the U.S.A that , watching old episodes of Top Of The Pops from the 1970's , you often hear and occasionally see black American bass players who are technically and stylistically streets ahead of their pick - wielding British counterparts .

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1375218733' post='2158503'] Some great input here chaps, much appreciated... I wonder just how much of a current 'vintage' fenders value is simply the equivalent of inflation over the instruments lifetime? I'm guessing if one was looking for appreciation value in an instrument available new today, you would have to find something that was as new and original as a fender P was in the beginning. I mean we're not talking about a new take on the bass guitar, we're talking about an entirely new instrument as it was back in the 50's... Investment aside for a moment...and maybe I'm just a blinkered old bass enthusiast... I've got an itch for an old jazz... I think i'm just trying to justify it... Rob [/quote] Basses are getting relatively cheaper over time . Fourty years ago a new Fender bass would have cost the equivalent to about £1700 for cash . A comparable current American Standard Fender is at least £500 - 600 cheaper than that at the moment .

It all depends what you mean by investment . Do you mean appreciating in value so you can eventually sell for a profit , or do you mean a minimal depreciation so you will get a healthy proportion of your money back if you want to sell ? The answer to the first scenario is "no , not in the forseeable future but eventually maybe, to some extent " . The second hypothesis is the most realistic in the sense that a good Fender will always sell for a decent price and they are perenially popular . I can't think of many basses that are as saleable as a U.S.A - made Fender , particulaly if you chose a desirable model and colour .

How about this one : [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pulwa9s7Q_4[/media] The feel of the bassline on this track really reminds me of Rutger Gunnarson with ABBA , who were so popular at the time this was recorded .

Now is the time to turn to your lightweight Bongo , Gus . Get well soon . If it cheers you up at all , a Saudi prince wants to buy Leeds United . You heard it first on Basschat .