Dingus

[quote name='alstocko' timestamp='1374828325' post='2153635'] Alright guys, I didn't say that I agree with the list, I just put it up for a bit of fun. The way that people react to stuff like this is driving me further and further away from BC [/quote] No one is holding you responsible , my friend . I'm just a Demis Roussos impersonator with a keen interest in the vintage guitar market .

[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1374848274' post='2154037'] I wonder if there is a market for reliced strings? [/quote] They wouldn't sound the same as genuine vintage dead strings . The recent trend towards coated strings is actually nothing new . In the 1970's your typical bass player was using a set of dead -as -a -doornail Rotosound Swing Bass that was usually coated in a layer of chip fat , by virtue of the fact that that was all most people in Britain had to eat due to the economic crisis brought about by the Labour Government , Hyperinflation and militant trades unions . Subsequently ,back in the 1980's most bass players were wearing hair gel that made strings die off quicker and gave a distinctive sound that can be heard on many recordings of the era by bands like A Flock Of Seagiulls and The Thompson Twins . Reliced strings would need to be treated with the[u] right [/u]kind of chip fat and/ or genuine 1980's hair gel to sound , feel and look authentic , or another Basschat ruckfest would ensue .

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1374830273' post='2153675'] I get it. You mean like this? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFwrBLUqMZ4[/media] [/quote] This is actually shockingly close to how I am begginning to look since I started indulging my taste for Swiss chocolate . Both Demis and I look like we should have been driving a white Transit van round Deptford / New Cross for a living , sometime circa 1975 .

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1374786139' post='2153309'] Yes...and no! [/quote] ...or even maybe. Depends on the strings , how dead they are and what sound you have in mind . If you want to sound like Geddy Lee then new strings will help you get closer to that sound , but if you want to sound like Rocco Prestia then old , dead strings will be more appropriate . My own research would conclude that the old string sound is definitely cheaper .

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1374780963' post='2153229'] What is EVAR? [/quote] It's like EVER , but it lasts even longer .

This list is bullshit . It's a cheap way for the magazine in question to fill a few pages without the the person responsible even leaving their computer . Some innacurate cliches and unsubstantiated generalisations accompanied by some third - hand graphics .

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1374774922' post='2153141'] Thanks for this guys. I have been looking at the FIIO one too. Do they have any latency, generally speaking? [/quote] I'm not sure what kind of latency you mean , Ped. , My FIIO has shown no sign of any hidden homosexual tendencies in the year or so I have had it , if that's what you're referring to . In fact , its' rugged little steel case is quite butch .

Hi Ped , have a look at the range of gizmos available from the excellent FIIO range ( well within your budget ) and see if one meets your needs : [url="http://fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?MenuID=105026003"]http://fiio.com.cn/p...enuID=105026003[/url] I have got a FIIO E10 DAC/ headphone amp that I use between my PC and my separates system and it does a great job on both counts for the very little money that it cost . Nice build quality too . I recommend them .

If you are willing to consider used basses ( presumably so because the the 1970's Fender you fancied was used ) then the world is your oyster if you have got £1500 to spend on a vintage - style Jazz Bass . Sadowsky and Sandberg might be styled like vintage Jazz Basses , but they don't really sound like them because of their active electronics ect . The best recreation of a vintage pre-CBS Fender I have ever played was a USA - made Lakland Joe Osborn , and , from memory I have seen them used on Basschat for around the kind of money you have to spend , or maybe a little more .

[quote name='Cairobill' timestamp='1374669581' post='2151558'] One thing I really love about the Ray is the way they feel extremely robust and ergonomic at the same time. They balance very well with no sign of nose dive, at least not in my experience. They are such a comfortable bass. Tonally, I'm getting a big thumping sound in the studio from the two band. Really heavy tone. They do sound like a more aggressive P. I've chosen not to have full on zing and the bass is doing the business. GREAT bass.... [/quote] One thing about Stingrays is that , even the tradition single H ones have got massive bottom end . I've never played a Musicman that lacked bass .

I think the apparent break up of the sound on the Louis Johnson clips is the result of the soundman in the T.V studio struggling to cope with the output of LJ'S bass and dynamic ( i.e loud ) playing style rather than anything to do with the bass itself .

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1374667548' post='2151507'] Hi Dingus yeah I've been busy with other things - including a lot of bass playing. I see you have yet another classic avatar!!! V impressive! I agree with everything you say about the Bongo - fabulous instrument. I have one with 5 strings and a piezo but it spends too much time in its case. I have 3 gigs this weekend so I may give it an outing!! I also agree with your comments on the Classic v standard 2 band Ray. There are good deals to be had on the standard ones but the Classics are fabulous aesthetically and playing wise - amazing that some of the detail including figured necks and old fashioned chrome battery boxes appear to have come via forum requests while they were developing the models - and some of the initial colour options. [/quote] Glad you like the avatar . She's having a Civil Partnership soon , but that doesn't mean that I can't share my appreciation of her assetts with the wider bass- playing public . I would love to see a Special Edition Bongo with switchable series / parrallel electronics and coil selection . I had a sneaking suspicion EBMM might do something like that for the 10th anniverasry this year , but nothing came of it

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1374666721' post='2151485'] Well I guess there was 'Pictures of Lily' for a previous generation. Not you of course Dingus, you are much too young for that! [/quote] I am , sad to say , old enough to have seen Green Day play live back when they were an unknown band playing to twenty people in a student bar for free , and countless other times in similaly modest circumstances . They must be about the same age as me . Back in those days they used to do a post-modern ironic cover of Goodbye To Romance by Ozzy Ozbourne . If you had told me twenty -odd years ago that they would become a 21st Century supergroup I would have laughed at you .

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1374665270' post='2151448'] I'm 20 years older than the rest of my band (the better band of the two I'm in). This is fine by me as I think most music deals with universal and ageless themes of love/loss/parting/anger/frustration and general madness. I don't feel awkward about it, even though I am older than Drummer's mother. But now they want to do Longview by Green Day. I wasn't familiar with it, but at first I thought 'ooh good, this has an interesting bass line' But now I'm wondering if I'll look a bit ridiculous stood there while they're all singing about teenagers lying around w***ing. (Not that the rest of them are exactly teenagers though!) When it comes to this bit, I think I will look more like the mother in question: 'My mother says to [url="http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/greenday/longview.html#"]get a job[/url] But she don't like the one she's got' So this has got me thinking .. are there any songs you can't get away with after a certain age? Or is it OK as long as you're not actually singing the lyrics? I'd be intersted to hear what the rest of you think. [/quote] Hang on a minute . Are you telling me that there are people writing hit songs about being a lazy teenager and lying around and w***ing ? If I had known that at the time I could have been the Cole Porter of my generation !

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1374655442' post='2151285'] I've been following this debate/ruck with interest. I have an early 2010 Classic Stingray and it is without doubt a fantastic instrument. It has the same pre as all post 79 2 band Rays with the addition of a couple of features to stop you frying the pre (listens for all the vintage guy's sharp intakes of breath and cries of its not original then - all I can say is whatever floats your boat - and I know what floats mine). Pete I'm also shocked. I had a 79 ray bought new in 79 - it's what turned me against fender basses - to this day!! And the 2010 is everything the 79 was but built better, with more consistency and a rather good after sales service. The biggest sound shifter with these basses is your amp,it's settings and the strings. You can lose the top end shimmer easily just by cutting or boosting your tweeter. To get the Louis Johnson slap sound you need a sabre or two pick up ray and have both pick ups on. I have an HH Ray and love it totally. I get a lot of compliments about the sound of both instruments and one is played sometimes in a classic genre populated by the most anal of anal retro gear and instrument buffs. They often concede that the 2010 Classic (it is fitted with flat wounds and sometimes has the mutes on) sounds live how an old Precision sounds recorded - or possibly compliments the music even better. For me it's one of the best bass sounds known to man. As a self confessed Musicman enthusiast I don't currently have a pre EB. That they are good there is no doubt - I used one for about 10 yrs so I know. The modern basses do everything the old ones did but have the advantage of great build quality and possibly broader sounds plus you get that 'new car' feeling and vibe from them. I'm afraid a brand new car has always done more for me than a tatty vintage one but that's just my personal view!! [/quote] Hi Dr T , haven't heard from you in a while . My take would be that , yes , there are some slight differences between the old and new Stingrays , but like I said before , they are far more similar than they are different , and they all sound unmistakably like Stingrays . I would buy an EBMM Classic without hesitation if I wanted a nice two band Ray and even then , the reason I would get the Classic is more for the look than the sound . A regular EBMM Ray would sound close enough to an original Stingray for me , I think , but for my taste a Stingray has to have the old-style bridge with the mutes , despite the fact that I would never use the mutes ! As it is , my Reflex does the Stingray thing job for me . I can't comment on how Stingray neck profiles have or havent changed , but one thing I will say is that I keep reading that the Reflex / 25th Anniversaryt has a Bongo neck profile . It doesn't ! The two are quite distinctly different . I love my Bongo too , but for my tastes I seldom use the active EQ except for some very slight tweaks occasionally . The flat sound of the bass is usually perfect for what I want . Despite coming out in 2003 , there is something about the Bongo that takes me right back to the mid-late 1980's , both in terms of sound and its' overall "vibe" , whenever I play it . It would have been a massive hit with players of that time if it had been around back then in that era of hi-tech basses , so I suppose it's a bass that is ahead of it's time that came out twenty years too late , if that makes sense !

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1374613210' post='2150985'] The biggest missed opportunity bass wise will always be the graphite necked Flea Ray [/quote] Yes ! EBMM would have been fighting customers off with the proverbial unhygenic stick if that had come about . Don't give up hope though ; there is still the chance that the Dingus Signature model may come to pass - Bongo with a graphite neck and big knockers

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1374611438' post='2150961'] But he was playing in California one night , russia the next! [/quote] It's a bit of a contrast , but I remember the bass player for Run Rig ( kind of like the Flea of the Outer Hebrides ) saying in an interview in a bass magazine he had the same problem with his Stingray , and he will have been playing in Inverness one night and Dundee the next . And yes , I admit that I am enough of a bass guitar anorak to read interviews with the bass player from RunRig .

[quote name='Gordon Thudmaster May' timestamp='1374570587' post='2150145'] What would be a suitable Headphone to use, does anyone have any recommendations! [/quote] Do you have a budget in mind , and would you want to use the headphones for any other purpose as well , i.e with a hifi separates system or such like ?

That promo looks like it was made by a professional television production company and is he best of its kind I have ever seen . Any couple looking for a band for their wedding watching that video will be falling over themselves to book that act , as will party planners ect . I would be very interested to hear what your bookings are like after this clip gets seen a bit . I wouldn't be surprised if you end up having to turn jobs down due to too much demand . Good luck with it all .

Always bear in mind that some folks are more sensitive to movement than others . I am aware of the sightest shift because I am very particular about the action and overall feel of my basses , whereas some players who use a slightly more "meaty" action or who like a little more relief in the neck are less likely to be troubled by small shifts . I know for a fact that the main reason Flea gave up on using Stingrays was because he got sick of the EBMM's necks constantly needing adjustment , hence the shift to graphite - necked basses . My pre- EBMM Stingray needed fairly regular attention , and shifted by big amounts , too , from what I remember , so it's not just EBMM era basses , either . The typical Stingray profile is a shallow "D" , and there just isn't enough girth to make it rigid enough , I expect .

If you find a British builder that offers something you fall in love with , you are usually getting much more for your money with a British - made bass . , no doubt about that .

Some PJ's work better than others . and it depends on whether you mean a traditional Fender - style bass or not , Marcus . A Yamaha BB or Spector NS or Pedulla MVP are all different propositions to a Fender Precision with a Jazz pickup stuck on the back . And then some Fender - style PJ basses have had more care and attention to get the sound balance between the two pickups right than others . You would need to be more specific .

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1374573380' post='2150197'] I'd say Western music prior to symphonic orchestration and church organs also lacks bass for the same reasons. Early bass instruments are large, low in volume and difficult to play. Cathedral organs would have been the only time many 17th/18th century Europeans felt a deep rumbling low note. Howard Goodall places the first proper bass run with the Waltz. [/quote] This is the correct asnswer . Bass instruments require a certain degree of technology and inovation in order to work properly and be audible . Nige is also right that much Asian music uses a drone which functions in much the same way a Pedal Tone does in Western music . That drone combined with the low frequencies that are generated by the drums and precussion create a sense of "bottom end " in much Asian music . As Nige also points out , Asia is a big place , but I suspect that by Asian music the O.P mainly means music from the Indian subcontinent . From personal experience ,there are no bass instruments in the Brazilian samba bands that parade at Carnival , but the bottom end generated by the drums is so massive that you can literally feel the air hitting you and the bass is massive , so in practise it is quite possible to have a susbstantive bass prescence in many forms of music without neccesarilly having dedicated bass instruments ,

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1374579707' post='2150352'] Neither of these materials fill me with confidence with regard to structural integrity [/quote] That is very perceptive of you , because in my experience , the necks on both pre and post EB Stingrays are not that stable , probably because they are so slim and have no extra stiffening features . Maybe the reason EBMM have moved towards a fatter neck profile is to try and combat the tendency of these necks to shift with the slightest change in the weather . The oil finish doesn't help with that , either . Very sensitive to heat and humidity .

[quote name='wombatboter' timestamp='1373725245' post='2141005'] Great bass-lines on Wild things run fast.. a unique style Larry Klein displayed, far away from Pastorius but totally on the spot, I love that album. [/quote] I love that album and Larry's bass playing that L.P , too . Have you heard the Freddie Hubbard albums he played on immidiately before he hooked up with Joni ? Some amazing stuff on those .