Cairobill

Hey leftyhook. Was that club called Rainbow? I was born and raised in Singapore and learnt to drink there (and at other places). Saw lots of amazing american funk bands there...

Saying that, I'm in line for a rather nice custom built singlecut...mwuhahahaha. Not a Fodera though!

Uniquely expensive . Although I suppose there are other brands that creep into their realm. Ritter possibly Alembic? I'm not anti fodera, I just think on the timeline of maturation of the brand they have gone into a weird zone and one which they can't really get out of. Supply and demand is one thing but when the only people that can afford your basses are the wealthy (or very disciplined) your brand's perception will morph into something slightly unappealing (just check out some of the characters in the fodera club threads). It's the same with Wals, when they went out of business, the whole fetishistic buzz became unbearable. They were unique and often great basses but the hype surrounding them was frankly nauseating. It's great news that they are back up and running and charging a reasonable amount for a good bass and that the hysteria surrounding them has abated. I often suspect the hype and hot air that drives this fetish thing for basses is driven by wealthy collectors and to become a 'collectors brand' is not appealing, at least for me.

I'm finding the whole Fodera thing slightly weird nowadays. Whereas I used to think they signified a serious 'artisan' bass player, they now bring to mind a bank/hedge fund manager type in three quarter length shorts who is desperately excited about owning the 'best bass money can buy' and being in the club. The Garrison singlecuts are excellent basses but the pricing is giving the brand a strange vibe in my opinion...

Yes, this thread has me recalling the moment I stepped into the Sin-E in Cork after the smoking ban and realised that smoke effectively deodorised the fart smell that beer drinkers emit. Yuck...ho...

Balls, just discovered that he (used) to live a 5 min drive from my house!

Seconded, report him.

I think it's pretty hard to avoid the conclusion that the hardcore slap thing is the bass version of Yngwie Malmsteen. Generally awful music with technical pyrotechnics being performed for a not terribly large paying audience. It's not my cup of tea but it's a niche! Yngwie does something very fast... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS_IYe5JTZ4 And here he pushes it to the MAX http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6628929648939980168

I own both and I think along the same lines as Molan. I use my jazz bass for more straight ahead tones (roundwound strings) and finger playing while the Ric (an old 4001) is my pick bass (with flats) that I use in my originals band. It nails that McCartney sound but needs a specific approach to play comfortably. Answering your question, if I needed to dep or just jam, I would probably take the jazz. But the Ric is special and I couldn't do my stuff without it. And talking about cost, I would buy that Bacchus jazz in the for sale section if I needed a jazz, by the way. It's a steal. A decent Ric will cost over a grand and you MUST try before you buy, Some of them are pretty grim instruments.

Jazz basses all the way. Apart from a rickenbacker, but that's a whole other story!

A great double bass teacher in SE London is Dave Chamberlain. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of jazz. He's based in Crystal Palace so not too far from you. Drop me a pm for his mobile. Cheers, NIck

Enjoy the ACG Victor! Thoroughly recommended BC'er...