thisnameistaken

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1367964398' post='2071816'] It surprises me , too . I'm not an estate agent but I would have thought mentioning that the house has a secure sex dungeon conversion in the basement would add significantly to the value . I know in Chelsea / West Kensington they are all having them done out like that and the prices are going through the roof , despite the recession . [/quote]

[quote name='Stan_da_man' timestamp='1367945973' post='2071420'] Good examples are the Dead Kennedys albums - not the greatest tone in the world but the bass player was using a 63 (64?) Jazz! [/quote] He was always overshadowed by their fantastic guitarist but still the bass sounds pretty good on California Uber Alles.

I've never really thought about what gear my favourite players used, unless they had an attractive bass and I wanted to know what it was because I wanted one that looked like it. That's why I bought a Thumb bass. Not because I wanted to sound like Norwood, I just wanted to look like Norwood. What's funny about these gear-related enquiries is the answer is nearly always 'a Fender into whatever was available'. I don't think most influential players paid too much attention to their gear, they were too busy making music.

Great news about your hands Steve. I always liked Nick's old bass, hope it works out for you.

[quote name='tinyd' timestamp='1367915117' post='2070818'] To answer your original question, the consensus seems to be that if you're going to play amplified then the carved top will make less of a difference plus laminate tops are supposed to be less likely to cause feedback problems.[/quote] This is certainly worthy of consideration, but also bear in mind that pickups aren't the only way to amplify a bass. The Ehrlund EAP might be a mic or it might not, but it sounds like a mic and resists feedback like a piezo, so if you're willing to splash out on something like that then you will definitely hear a lot more of your bass in an amplified setting. Also bear in mind that if you plan to do any recording it might be better to get a bass that sounds good acoustically. In fact given that you're likely to do most of your practise acoustically, again, you'll want it to sound nice. Not that laminates can't sound nice, of course.

Yes all basses do sound different, but oddly enough all pickups don't. They're mostly based on the same tech (piezoelectric transducers generating a charge from vibrations being transmitted through them) and they all sound pretty similar. Still, because all piezo pickups have the same unpleasant characteristics a wise investment would be a dedicated acoustic preamp (especially one designed for double bass) so save money wherever you like and put it towards a good pre, which will go some way to helping you dial out how awful the pickup sounds.

[quote name='alistair Sutcliffe' timestamp='1367863849' post='2070401'] Mine came with some easily-removable tape on the top marking where to fit the bridge. [/quote] Mine didn't, but you can figure out it pretty easily. The bridge should be equidistant from both F-holes, and should be centred ('vertically', or string-length-ically) on the notches in the F-holes.

Wha... Happen?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1367846782' post='2070139'] Check out the Classic 70s Jazz - a fairly deep neck on those, and they`re cracking basses too. [/quote] I had a Jazz with a '70s All Parts neck on it a couple of years ago but I didn't like it. It looked lovely but it felt wrong.

While we're on the subject; does anyone know of other basses that have similar neck dimensions to the Warwick Thumb? I've decided Jazz basses are too thin and causing my wrists problems. I like the narrowness at the nut but front-to-back I need something a bit chunkier. My Thumb feels great but I'm thinking it might be wise to find a bass where the nut sits a bit closer to me.

Not really. You could get a set of strings and with the tenner left over buy some planks and start carving.

Meh. Thinking about it I think my entire board was about 700 quid and in terms of synth sounds it will totally smoke a Deep Impact. I'll never understand someone paying that much for a cheaply built box with a pcb in it. It's just stupid.

No sorry. :-)

And how old / used is this 700 quid stomp box? I couldn't believe that price and was even more surprised when it sold. There must be some dudes who really, really like Muse. Even my most expensive bass guitar wasn't 700 quid.

[quote name='marcus bell' timestamp='1367266754' post='2063529'] was my first proper bass, a 2002 squier 20th anniversary jazz bass, and i set it up time and time again, played the hell out of it and in the end it pretty much played itself why i got rid of it ill never know... [url="http://s187.photobucket.com/user/marcusbell/media/DSC00940.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] I'll give you it back if you promise not to slap any more.

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1366991738' post='2060071'] Musicman Stingray (never liked the neck shape) [/quote] Yeah I bought a Stingray fretless a couple of years back, just because I'd never had a Stingray and I didn't have a fretless at the time, but the neck didn't agree with me and it didn't sound very special either. A genuinely awful USA Jazz that I defretted myself actually sounded better.

[quote name='fumps' timestamp='1367517452' post='2066379'] Recently I posted a video of a guy I've met several times through people I know called Jon Gomm his approach to playing guitar fascinates me. People like him just does things in ways that makes me think that music is an amazing thing it has the power to delight, confuse & change lives.[/quote] I've seen him a few times, he's a great player and great fun too. I always think people who play like that have developed the technique out of necessity as much as anything else - wanting to play more than anybody else wants to play will do it - you'll end up with just yourself for accompaniment sometimes!

Hartke stuff ids really good vlowalue, their LH500 head is particularly cheap for what it is, and would be loud enough for any gig you'll ever do. Cabs are a compromise between low price, volume and portability. You can have two of those characteristics but not all three.

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1367423134' post='2065482'] Jaco did the horn arrangement on this tune too BTW... [/quote] And much of the horn arrangement will be familiar to anyone who's heard his recording of Fannie Mae. That's the one thing that irks me about Jaco - he seems to re-use his music all over the place. A lot of the bass part can be heard on his other recordings too. The main thing I like about him is the talent he's got for syncopation. Oddly, this is also why I like Flea.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' timestamp='1367406482' post='2065160'] Shane's done a couple of bits for me and his work is bang on - down side is he can talk for England and you'll be there until you die but if you don't mind that you can get him on 01924 277930[/quote] Yeah I've never got out of there in under an hour.

There's no rule that says you have to like Jaco. Most of his trademark licks feature in Joni Mitchell's 'The Dry Cleaner From Des Moines' so if you don't like that you probably won't like most of his playing.

I would really like some guidance on thumb position too. I'm pretty happy with my intonation everywhere else these days so I keep buggering off up there to see how I get along, and I seem to do OK until I have to move up higher, say moving my thumb up to C on the G and then it all goes pear shaped. I don't get many excuses to practise that stuff though so I suppose I just need to make a note to do it.

I'd heard of Jaco when I started learning bass but I hadn't heard him play, and then I saw a copy of his live album 'Invitation' in a second-hand record shop so I got it. And for about two years after that I couldn't stop putting in those Jaco licks in everything I played, so I suppose he had quite an influence on me. I don't sound anything like him these days, although I do still listen to him sometimes. I do get tired of hearing those over-used licks of his but when he was really in the zone and improvising he was peerless. I think people see the rock 'n' roll stories and forget how all-round good he was. And not just as a bassist.