allighatt0r

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270239659653"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=270239659653[/url] I really like that, can i ask you what you think of that please Jon? Is it worth a pop at? i think i would be prepared to stretch to about £75-80 How serious is that body split? would it affect the sound? EDIT: It looks like the first fret is missing...

"The equipment is currently stored Nr Bury St Edmunds" That's about 20 minutes from me....... These things look nuts. I can't shake the idea of them just being a huge amount of mud, and not alot of definition... I guess they need to be heard to be believed.

It's a bit like asking why do people buy normal trainers, when they could buy Nike trainers? Or why do people buy normal jeans when they could have Levis? Similar to what has been said before, the winning formula was the first one that came up, and so everyone has tended to tick that because that's the idea that has the most demand. If Mr. Fender had started off with a bass that perhaps, had a reverse body like a thunderbird for example, perhaps the world of bass guitars would look very different...

You could always get a luthier to take the paint off and wax it for you...

Please correct me if I'm wrong, I'm just trying to rationalise this all into something I can understand a bit easier. I need to spend time playing, and get into my head how notes sound when played together, (e.g. going from 2nd to 7th may sound upbeat and bright, whereas 7th to 6th may sound unhappy), and once I have this knowledge, I need it to be something I don't really think about, and can use in my own individual style... I need to develop my understanding, pull apart other peoples solos and analyse why they work, and use that understanding later on.

A short scale Teisco jazz/p hybrid: (me like.) [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150252223299"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=150252223299[/url] Another tiny bass, this time a satellite: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120264189883"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=120264189883[/url] A les paul sort of Kay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330239158792"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=330239158792[/url]

I don't know about you H, but even I'm getting overwhelmed reading all of this advice. Just a bit of hypothesising: I think what really develops a bass players likes and dislikes towards basses are his first bass, e.g. my first was a Peavey milestone, as i've already said, and i like solid colour basses with pickguards when i go into a shop. Whereas, someone that started off with a shiny shiny odd shaped Spector... are more likely to like that sort of thing... Basically, as i may have said before, we can't tell you what the perfect bass for you will be, and it's very very very unlikely that the bass you do end up getting will be your absolute perfect bass, a week or so down the line you'll probably be thinking "i wish this had more frets" or "why didn't i get a louder amp" But, if you do buy the Ibanez, and don't like it, i'll.... "recycle" it for you (By the way, my Cort GB74 is active and passive, you pull out the volume knob to make it passive, although i don't really like it any more. i wouldn't thoroughly recommend it. )

My first bass (and the one i still have, 3 years on) was a Peavey Milestone III, it's basically a Precision body with a jazz neck and jazz pickups, it came from ebay for £30, and since owning it i have bought some new pickups (Wilkinson Jazz types, wilkinson are a fairly budget make, designed by a guy call Trev Wilkinson) and they have made it sound great. Alot of the time, you can get a very budget bass (around the £100 mark) and it can turn out to be a bit of a corker, and this also gives you the left overs for buying upgrades (e.g. pickups, a new bridge, new set of strings, etc.) that really make it YOUR bass. But, if i were you i would keep an eye out on here for what the guys think are good budget makes, and bad budget makes, e.g. SX are a company in the US that make very cheap fender copies, and are widely regarded as very good, although they are alot of hassle to import from the US. Whereas, something like an Encore (the one you see in the argos catalogue) is often seen as a waste of wood. But of course, this still boils down to individual basses (different pieces of the same wood can make a better or worse bass of the same model) and your personal experiences and preferences (like another poster was saying about a Squier affinity) Like other people have said, make an effort to play whatever you can, if you're lucky, you might find a shop who are friendly and don't pressure you saying "are you planning on buying anything today sir?" and make a few hours of picking up basses, feeling them, listening to them, looking at them, and get an idea of the things you like. Try to keep the EQ on the amp you use flat, or it will change the sound you get from the bass. Also, don't worry if you can't play anything, everyone has to start somewhere. If you can pressure your parents into it, take a trip to Denmark Street in London, and make sure you get into Wunjo Guitars. Also, The Bass Gallery (London too). Sorry if i've repeated what other people have been saying, and remember, everyone on here is willing to help.

Thanks very much for all the great advice (and not so great jokes ) Just a couple of questions, when you say transcribing something, you just mean listening to something and writing down all the notes (in order), and then using that to figure out what they're doing and why? And, if i widdle around enough for long enough, eventually something should click, but how long it takes to click depends on the person clicking? (that was a mouthful. ) Thankyou again for being patient and giving alot better advice than other people i've asked.

Lately i've been dipping into theory, learning scales and how scales are created, how chords are made and what makes a major chord a minor chord (flat 3rd right?) Now this is all very well, i feel like i'm getting a grasp on the logic of music, but what i don't understand is how to translate a scale into something that sounds fluid and musical. I'm playing notes that fit together because they're in the right key and scale, but they don't sound musical, they sound like notes. I've tried humming along to a recorded chord progression, making a solo with my mouth so-to-speak and what i'm humming is passable, but translating that to the bass it sounds completely rubbish. I've borrowed a book from my brother called Power bass (soloing secrets) by Bunny Brunel, but to me it's just giving me what scales to play and when, not how to make a solo out of this scale. For example, the first example track on the CD is a simple blues progression in C (I, IV, V) and Bunny is telling me to use using the Mixolydian scale. This is all very well but i still don't understand what notes to use when and how to make this scale sound decent. Does anyone understand? is there some sort of secret or do i just have to keep practising and getting frustrated until one day it clicks?

Ah sorry, i didn't notice all the interest in my trick! What i was referring to is: When you are on the page you wish to extract the picture from, go to Tools > Page Info. Then click the media tab, and the image will be (from my experience of the cafe press pages) one of the 400 x 400 background images somewhere near three quarters of the way down the list Once you've found it using the little preview at the bottom, you can click Save As... and save it wherever you like, just make sure you have the right file extension Sorry to leave people hanging on that!

Our gig last night was a wedding gig two miles out into the sticks from Beccles, in the bride's families back garden, in Suffolk. When we got there we had to set up in a fairly odd layout, we had the drummer in the front, and the singer all the way to the left, i was directly behind the drummer. He vowed never to be in front of the amps again. As we were unloading the van into the marquee tent, the brides father approached us and asked who the bassist was, and then told us that he is/was a bassist, and he played in a band called The Half Dead Live Band, and that they had been on telly a couple of times. He then asked me what bass I had, and I told him it was nothing special at all, and he told me i could use his pre-CBS 1965 Fender Jazz, that he had even been on telly with him. I jumped at the opportunity, and then felt more nervous than i ever have before a gig knowing he would be watching me, and i would be playing a very special bass. When it materialised and i plugged it in, i nearly fainted when it wouldn't make a sound, only to find out it was a dodgy cable I tuned it up and it sounded great, even at low volumes. It was sunburst, had a tort pickguard, a tug bar, three control black knobs with the white lines, and had a signature that had been burnt(???) into the finish beside the controls. It was a dream to play, and really sounded great. I felt unworthy. I played our whole hour and a half allocated time with my fingers, something i've never really done before at a gig (i felt it would be totally sacrilegious to play it with a pick) and really enjoyed the feeling of being more in touch with the bass, and consequently, the music, it gave me. Everyone enjoyed us, and was either dancing or nodding their heads/tapping their feet, and i'm glad to say the father of the bride (i wish i had caught his name) was dancing to Saw Her Standing There, and Johnny B. Goode, etc. We played two encores, and had a lot of fun. I wonder when they're next going to have a wedding in that family, and if they'll invite us back. I begrudgingly handed back the bass to it's rightful owner afterwards, and thanked him repeatedly. He asked my how it was and i couldn't think of strong enough adjectives to tell him. It really made my night. Very possibly my best gig ever.

I definitely prefer the V series basses. and the RFBs have interesting takes on the fender headstock. But my god... Those single cuts are a bit of an acquired taste aren't they? "Each instrument is crafted from selected tone woods and [b]mated[/b] with premium quality hardware..."

Thankyou for an great review. I saw a picture of the jetking a while ago and could never really justify getting one because i didn't know much about it at all, you've really helped me out.

Order [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bass-Culture-Entwistle-Collection-Guitar/dp/1860745938/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1211565010&sr=8-2"]this book[/url] and be stunned and amazed by the Alemics with "backward bigsby" tremolos. I'm not sure if you have to pull them up to lower the string tension, or just push down and have the note rise in pitch... Either way, every bassist should have access to that book.... it is very drool-worthy.

I hope this is alright, sorry for the poor quality, this is soemthing like a copy of a copy of a copy of a copy It's a surprisingly simple song to learn,but to make it sound really polished takes a little while I've only just read the name of the author, i met Terry at the Institute on the open day last saturday! a great bassist. and also quite interesting, he plays left handed with the strings upside down. A really friendly guy all round. Here's the two pages i have:

I have a photocopy of Abide with me somewhere, i could dig it out and scan it in when i have some free time if you would like? I saw a guy with some bagpipes in one tube station, i can't for the life of me remember which one, but i remember that, to my ear, he wasn't playing anything musical at all, he had the technique down and could make all the right noises, but he just seemed to be playing random notes I'd say Take Five would be a great song to learn for busking, it's something anyone would know, if you could figure it out.

Ahuuuuuuuu!!!! I like the skull inlay, i wonder if they do it in any other colours? The stripe down the back of the neck looks very cool too. i wouldn't pay a grand for it... even if i had the grand spare.

Wow someone actually has one! Nice review Mod_Machine, plenty of detail, iI have a couple of questions though. How much did you pay for it (if you don't mind disclosing) How heavy is it? Is it "ow my shoulder is gonna fall off heavy" or "am i even holding a bass?" light or just somewhere in the middle? Did you need to do much setting up to it? what kinda range of different tones can you get from either pickup? and am i right in understanding you fitted a pickup cover/string bridge? how does that look? any chance of a picture? Thanks.

How much does a kidney sell for these days?

I've had experience of a few pubs where the landlord has absolutely flat out loved us, and yet the pub has been fairly deserted and anyone in there is fairly un-bothered whether we were there or not, but we're trying to filter them places out. We do have a wedding this weekend, and we're frankly very unsure what it's going to be like. It always feels bad not to be liked, especially by the family of the happy couple, so we are going to do our best to judge the people in the room and hopefully cater ourselves to them. (perhaps even digging out Brown Eyed Girl... oh the joy. ) I think the best option (if it's possible) is to go and scope the place out beforehand, when another band is one, and see what the atmosphere is like. But that's rarely an option.

I think the ton of views are guys looking, then feeling unworthy of saying anything... The world needs more female rockstars.

I managed to get to the Bass Gallery in London on Saturday, and, although i only managed to get my hands on one rumble plank (it's hard when you're brothers going into a shop and wanting to play the bass, the shop owner seems to be confused when you both want to try things) But nevertheless, it really impressed me. It was one of these: I knew I had seen it before, it was sort of previewed in the Jan/Feb Bass Guitar magazine, where most of the info (as far as i can tell) was just copied and pasted from the Zoot myspace... Anyway, what i'm getting at is has anyone else tried one of these, who else are selling them, and is the £450 he quoted a good price? (i saw over his shoulder on the computers price list the numbers 350 and 500, so i'm guessing that's the price range he's allowed to sell at...) Is it worth trying to make a trip to the Zoot headquarters in essex? or is it just a sort of factory, not a visitors place?

Wow thanks everyone for all the replying. i do like the idea of telling them straight, but i don't think they would take it from a lanky eighteen year old. I've always wondered what it would be like to own my own music shop. I would love to work in one at least. Some kids wanna be Astronauts, some want to be bin men (read: environment workers ) but i want to be a music shop assistant! I have a dream!

I went to London on Monday, after looking forward to it for months, and really enjoyed myself, I got the tube from Epping and went straight to Charing Cross Rd, with one goal in mind for the morning: Denmark Street. I was with my brother (aka: Rodders) and we decided to start at the top and work our way back towards Borders, starting at the shop opposite the 12 Bar Club (i forget the name, it could have been Regent guitars. ) where we tried a couple of Italia basses, a Modulo (precision with a twist) and a Maranello (Les Paul with a twist). The modulo was definitely my favourite bass of the two. It sounded really good nice, with the tone rolled off it was strong and warm, and with the tone full on it was punchy and bassy. My only dislike was the strange gold string that ran round the edge, it looked ok, but was odd and uncomfortable when i felt it against my wrist or arm or leg.... After that we wandered into a couple of other shops, only to walk to the bottom of the shop, find around five very un-interesting basses and walk out again. So we crossed the road to the Bass Cellar. We walked in, half expecting to be greeted with a hello like the other shops all had, and we were treated as if we weren't even there. We wandered round and saw two Rockinbetters and some nice basses worthy of time spent playing them and possible money spent buying them, but the hostile vibe coming from the owners meant neither me or my brother wanted to even ask if we could try something out. We were unimpressed. Biggest collection of basses in a shop? Smallest collection of w**kers. So we walked a couple of shops down to Wunjo Guitars. By far the best shop in the street, we weren't in the store two minutes and the friendly scottish guy came up to us and said "hey guys, anything you want just grab it and plug it in! enjoy yourselves!" so we stayed there a fair while and i got my first try on a Gibson Grabber. I loved it. My brother desperately wanted to visit Vintage & Rare guitars, so we went to the back of there and played the most expensive basses either of us have had the pleasure of holding. The owner came over and talked to us, quite impressed by my brothers style (he surpasses me in technique by miles) and was subtley and very in-directly asking if we were actually going to by something (so subtley that my brother didn't have a clue...) but when he realised we weren't, he was still happy to let us try whatever we wanted. I loved the Gibson EB-0 in there. There was no sign of the expected mud. My brother wasn't impressed that i wanted to run it through a bit of distortion though. We had a great time, and I really can't wait for my next visit to the Capital. Just a shame about the Bass Cellar. Anyone else had better experiences in there? Sorry for going on for so long, I really have written an essay.