Sean

[quote name='WarPig' post='362905' date='Dec 24 2008, 03:49 PM']haha yeah, ive had a few infractions, one was for a rick-roll link, which to be fair if Maki or Mungi posted it everyone [b]would of[/b] laughed.[/quote] Would [b]have[/b] - "of" is a preposition not a verb. There's your very generous Xmas prezzie from me, credibility with irritating pedants. :-)

Well, I took the new blue Euro to rehearsal today and the only comment it got was, "urrgh, gold hardware, how tacky is that?!" [From someone in a function band ] Anyway, it sounded great; fat and thick in the mix and the only instrument I've had that has nailed the tone in that Scissor Sisters' song, Take Your Mama Out. It's totally the wrong instrument for a couple of the swing numbers we did but I just couldn't be bothered to put the DJ with flats in the car today. Massive sound and extremely comfortable to play, can't go wrong. Anyone else find that the fingerboard just sucks up the lemon oil, like painting emulsion on a new wall! Gallons of it!

Just played my Spector Euro 4 through an LH500 with a AE210 Bergantino cab and I was very impressed. I would definitely get one as back up. I thought it was really warm and rich, I could easily live with it.

[quote name='Josh' post='357090' date='Dec 17 2008, 04:04 PM']how good must a mass produced £800 bass be if it has made me want to get rid of a bass of much higher value and craftsmanship?[/quote] £800? £1500ish from Thomann! ***Sorry for the short successive posts tonight, my broadband keeps dropping out and long posts or big files seem to make it worse. I think.*** I'm not going to mess about with photos tonight either - too much hassle until this connection is smoothed out. I can assure you it is lovely though.

Cetera, are the body wings of these half maple, half alder in equal layers or are the maple bits thinner veneers? They look like half and half.

I have to agree with Peter, I'm amazed at the balance between the P and J - every other P/J bass I've had, I've ditched because the balance was poor and the J only ever barely coloured the P sound. With this you get the full articulation that you'd expect (want) with such a set up.

Well, I've stopped for a break now, I'm getting sore This is the most [i]different[/i] bass I've ever owned and it's instantly like-able to play. The pre-amp takes a bit of getting used to but I've found a few settings that really work with the bass by itself but it'll be Saturday at rehearsal before I find out what it sounds like in the mix and I'm guessing that this is where its magic will be. If anyone is wondering what an ex-Sound Control liquidation bass is like when it arrives, it's exactly like a new one but a tiny bit dusty; this even had the original Sound Control sticker on it and I'm guessing that by the windings these are the original factory fitted strings and there's lots of life in them and very little tarnish. What brand/type are they? Anyone? Also it's a killer P/J config but it makes me want to join a rock band.

Well, it's arrived! Value for money is [i]un-be-lievable[/i]. I can't find a flaw anywhere and I'm stupidly picky. fabulous fret work, not a buzz anywhere and the intonation is spot on so no input from me makes me really happy. The action is what I call medium-low which is how I like it and now I'm off to put it through its paces for a few hours. Photos tomorrow. Thanks to WH and a special thanks to LukeFRC.

My tracking number says it out for delivery today. I'll just have to waitand see what's in there - it was collected late yesterday afternoon.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='355516' date='Dec 15 2008, 11:52 PM']sean i wouldnt worry too much. Everything will sort itself out, they are a good company in an established base, not some scamming student from brighton/birmingham.[/quote] Thanks Luke. I'll give them a ring today and see what's happening.

The blue one is still on the wall in RDM as of this afternoon and I've been told it's on the way to me. Payment went thru too. It's going to be a long night.

Please leave feedback accordingly. Many thanks Sean

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='355190' date='Dec 15 2008, 05:05 PM']Unusual that they are both in Edinburgh and the guy also has a load of stuff that looks like music store gear! Do you have your bass and how are you finding it?[/quote] It's not arrived yet. It's shipping today - missed the Friday collection. It's coming TNT and I'm hoping it'll be here on Wednesday. I'm preparing myself for a bit of a culture shock as I've always been into the classic Leo-derived bolt-on neck basses like Js and Ps and Laklands. I liked the feel of the Peavey neck-thru I bought (from WH) but the pre-amp just didn't cut it. Incidentally that bass is now in Southern France with a very happy new owner.

The blue [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=260331015124&Category=4713&_trksid=p3907.m29&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1"]one[/url] is still on ebay! So that can't be my one , then?

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='354708' date='Dec 15 2008, 12:00 AM']Can't be ars*d with waiting for a used one and seeing as how I've sold one of my Warwicks... I've bought a new Euro 4 (a tad worrying as it's unseen and unplayed). [/quote] Ultra Amber? Where's it coming from?

[quote name='bremen' post='352782' date='Dec 12 2008, 03:12 PM']Wasn't just me then! ho ho, wouldn't it be funny if we got banned from Ebay for our cheeky 'enquiries' when none of the scammers we've reported have had their collars felt![/quote] If you have a look at his feedback and see what he has actually sold it's hilarious. Novelty lighters and garish belts!

Self-teaching? I'm not sure how I would define self-teaching. Over the years, I've heard people make the comment, "he's self-taught, y'know" about someone that's a very impressive musician and this gives me a mental picture, rightly or wrongly, of someone who has never bought a tuition book, never taken advice from anyone, not taken any of the gems that are posted here to heart and has just listened to records and worked it all out from there. I've had quite a few lessons over the years and I'd recommend anyone to have them but there's a big responsibility (if that's the right word) to go out there and discover educational/tuition material for yourself and to work out your own development with an instrument. There are some superb books that approach learning in a very structured way, come with a CD and contain lots of the wisdom of the author - is this self-learning? I don't think so. Sure I have to do the research in deciding which book would suit me best and I have to muster the motivation to sit down and go through the lessons therein but I've effectively paid to have the author teach me. Whether I've been to see a human tutor or got a lesson out of a book, I still have to put in the hard graft of learning the stuff in my own time and it's up to me to find the motivation. Any lesson, whether it is with a tutor or by yourself should have a decent structure for you to get the most out of it and it should logically work toward "the next step" whatever that may be within the context of what you're learning. Say for instance, if you are learning rhythm reading we would learn to read quarter note pattern and then eighth notes and then sixteenths and then syncopated stuff etc rather than just leaping in at "flysh*t" Tower of Power stuff. The reason why you should have lessons with a tutor (a good one) is that it's a real person with whom you can interact and they can spot if you are developing any bad habits that might restrict your playing or even long term, give you an injury like carpal tunnel or RSI. Also with a book, it only explains something one way whereas with a tutor you can ask him to try to explain stuff in a different way. Tutors can be expensive though if you have a tight budget and books relatively cheap but a mixture of the right types of both and time spent practising will be hugely beneficial to everyone. Tutors can inspire more than books for obvious reasons and you might find that if you get the right tutor, he or she will be your mentor for many years or even become your wife/husband. Hopefully you can form some sort of coherent reply from my ramblings, I'm sure the usual suspects will come along to expand soon enough.

I was in a covers band from 2002 - 2006 and we used to do Secret Girl by Brad and Starting to Hurt by Ryan Adams. Loads of people used to ask about Secret Girl and who originally did it, it's a great song.

I know of a black cherry Euro 4LX that is one of the last SC liquidation ones that is going very cheap. Thanks to WH's fabulous networking to find a blue one, I managed to hear about this other one. Let me know if anyone's interested.

here are the messages I sent to the seller and the answers recieved... Q1 [quote]Hi How old is the bass and do you have pictures of the back and a good close up of the bridge? Many thanks Sean[/quote] A1 [quote]It is a few years old but nothing bad. I dont, Why do you need it? Ill get some taken if you need them. - maxehooperjrsq[/quote] Q2 [quote]The older the better for me :-D I'm looking for a 70s one if possible. I'd quite like to see the bridge close up to see which design it is, there were a couple of different ones. Not that any one is better just different. really cool if you could sort out a pic from behind to so I can see the battery compartment cover and neck joint. Is it 3, 4 or 6 bolt on the neck joint? Many thanks Sean[/quote] A2 [quote]Yes, I can see what you mean. I have a 1972 Fender bass. It has a 4bolt one which is connected through the metal plate. It has the battery fited in through the electronics (It was an already customised one that was in Sound Control at the time) It seemed easier and nicer so I took it. - maxehooperjrsq[/quote] Vague to say the least. And what on earth is all that crap about Sound Control and the battery compartment about!?

I don't see this as an either/or choice at all. Generally those people with good reading skills have a good ear that has been developed and if they are working out a bass line from a recording use their ear. The ability to read and know what notes you are playing is vital if you are communicating with other musicians in a creative environment, as is the ability to do things by ear. Learning what notes are where on the fretboard is very important and there are some very good exercises based around octave shapes and the cycle of fourths/fifths that help you learn these. There are people who don't read, don't use tabs and rely on their ear and [i]some[/i] of these seem very anti reading and reverse snobbish about it but I never ever met anyone who said that they regretted learning to read music but I meet people all the time who wish they had learned. If you can read and you have a good ear then you'll always have gigs

A very important thing that I find is a huge help when practising is to keep a log/diary/journal or whatever you want to call it and record what you've done, for how long and make some comments about how you found it. Be brutally honest with yourself, record metronome speeds and make notes of what particular things you get stuck with. Spend a bit less time time on those things you are good at and focus on those things you struggle with, this may sound obvious but staying with exercises you can breeze through is not going to get you to progress. Make practising a habit and schedule it like you would going to the gym or some other social activity. As little as half an hour to an hour a day makes a huge difference in a month if it's efficient and good practise. Spend time reviewing what you've done and ask yourself what you've done well, what didn't go so well and what you will focus on next time. Two-three hours a day is really going to see you move on in leaps in a few months if it's good practise. Plan your next week of practising and try your best to hit those targets. Keep it interesting, ear training, rhythm reading, technique exercises, metronome work, work on new songs, practise your singing, work out little ditties by ear. Keep it structured so that you get the best out of your time but warm up properly and enjoy it; enjoy the satisfaction and semi-meditative effect it all has when it's going well and also the mental "burn" it can give when you're really getting in deep especially with new rhythms on tough metronome exercises. As well as making a written log, record yourself. It's necessary all the time but if you do it once in a while you can track your improvements. Think of your playing as a child growing up, you see that child everyday and your perception of its growth is negligible but an uncle or aunt that sees the child once a month perceives lots of change. You need these recordings as snapshots of your progres and they can give you a pat on the back when you listen back to them and see the improvement between each consecutive one.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-CSL-IBANEZ-JAZZ-BASS-GUITAR-SOLID-BODY-NO-RSV_W0QQitemZ220325854759QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item220325854759&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A1|39%3A1|240%3A1318"]CSL Jap Jazz[/url] really hard to see that blemish on the neck for what it is. Great colour body.