EliasMooseblaster

My longest-serving/suffering bass is a Precision copy that I bought as a kit from Brandoni about 16 years ago: http://www.brandoniguitars.co.uk/ They shipped the kits as bare wood - if you're prepared to hunt down a can of nitro in Daphne Blue then spraying the body yourself could always be an option!

Simple answer: don't avoid them! I love my Ashdowns. Their cheaper line seems to have become a staple for rehearsal studios as the old TE combos gradually give up the ghost and become more scarce. I initially never warmed to them, but I found out that the secret is to cut the bass frequencies - they tend to pump out more deep bass than you really know what to do with in a small room, but if you back it off then you can achieve a lot more clarity. I own two of their all-valve heads (a Little Bastard 30 and a CTM-100) and, especially since I paired them with a Berg 2x12, I might have actually found my tonal holy grail. I did also use someone else's ABM-something-something at a gig in Derby a couple of years ago, and was very impressed with the tone of that. Obviously, try a couple if you can (they also do a CTM-300 if you fancy going all-valve and could stand to drop a couple of hundred watts...) but I reckon you'll notice quite a difference between their higher-end lines and the cheaper ones that get kicked around rehearsal rooms!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1509063062' post='3396435'] oh wait... you mean first name or surname? The surname might just fit! Can't be... 5 letter first name, 6 letter surname? [/quote] Ah, not quite - the geographical feature was his first name. Was five letters though. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I ever knew his surname...usually it was enough to mention him by his first name, and other jammers would roll their eyes!

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1509020621' post='3396071'] Well, the guy is English and has travelled a bit... it could still be him. He certainly favours blues... Ian Siegal!!! I met him when he was playing in a small bar in Madrid many years agom and loved it! Not many people (it's a curious bar which closes the doors to customers when the tables are full, so it's never crazy busy and makes for a nice cozy atmosphere, almost personal)... My brother and I were one of the very few who could speak/understand English fluently, and when he realised that his chat went over the heads of most people but us, it was like having him playing just for the two of us. Cool guy. Chatted a bit afterwards. If Ian almost punched him... I lean towards Ian's side [/quote] His name isn't the same as a geographical feature which might be found above a beach or coastline, is it? Yeah, the Ian Siegal story should be taken with a pinch of salt as I got it second-hand from a friend, who'd was already hanging around the London blues jam circuit back when Ian was still hosting one of the more popular ones. Apparently this guitarist (let's call him Geographical Feature) was a regular and notorious over-player at this jam. One night, Ian put a new punter up to play guitar alongside Geographical, and the new punter assumed that the other players might be as polite as he was, and would solo for one or two turnarounds before passing over to somebody else. Not Geographical. In the time it took for the V7 chord to resolve to the root, his face apparently went from full-on lead guitar gurn to shocked and appalled as this greenhorn started to play - didn't he realise that Geographical was entitled to at least four turnarounds to fully express his musical vision? After the set, Geographical dragged this poor chap outside to remonstrate with him. Word got around to Ian that things seemed to be kicking off, and he thought it best to come to the new punter's aid. My friend happened to be near the door when Ian stormed back in. "You will not BELIEVE what that ***** said to me." Ian fumed to him. My friend invited Ian to indulge his curiosity. "He said, 'all these new people are just tourists. I'm a bluesman.'" Geographical nipped back in, avoiding any eye contact, packed up his guitar and scarpered. My friend believed that Ian had told the guy to sling his hook before he thumped him. So yeah, even though I wasn't there to witness things first-hand, I found myself on Ian's side too. Especially any time I bumped into Geographical playing at another blues jam.

The above quote is the kind of explanation that makes a lot more sense when you're sitting in front of a piano! What they perhaps should have added is something to the effect of, "run from D to D, playing the same notes as you would for C." The point is that that you take the same run of notes, but you shift the start (and end) point so that although the notes are still the same, the intervals have changed. Consider the white keys on a piano (which C Major conveniently sticks to): Note C D E F G A B C Degree I II III IV V VI VII I Interval T T st T T T st Note D E F G A B C D Degree I II III IV V VI VII I Interval T st T T T st T (T = tone, st = semitone) See that the two semitone intervals have shifted, even though the notes are all the same. This is enough to change the sound of the scale very noticeably. Similarly, you can shift the scale again to run from E to E, F to F, etc, and find more changes in character; some more obvious than others

That is a shame; I always liked them as well. Perhaps it's time to give Strings Direct a try.

Anyone have any further news to report? I'm getting to the point where I need to order several sets of new strings...are SB back up and running or should I think about looking elsewhere?

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1509011157' post='3395959'] Dress like The Corrs and play Cannibal Corpse. CANNIBAL CORRS!!! [/quote] ^ This has made my morning. Thank you.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1508967768' post='3395759'] Drummer writes a simple message to him along the lines of "thank you, but we think you're not what we're after, good luck, etc". Nothing offensive or anything. [b]Then the guy just went on and on about how we feel threatened because he is better, and he's got so much experience, etc etc.[/b] He sounded insane. He was a little odd in person, but after I saw that... I was very glad we didn't waste any more time with him. Seven or eight messages later, he disappeared. I hope for good. [/quote] When I read this bit, I had to stop and check the location under your picture - I know a guy who used to respond in exactly this way to any perceived slight against his playing, but he lives in North London, last I heard! Before this chap got himself banned from most of the blues jams in the centre of town, he did approach a singer I knew and asked if she wanted to work with him. When she politely declined, he apparently told her she was turning down "the opportunity of a lifetime"! I've also heard that his greatest claim to fame is almost being punched by blues impresario Ian Siegal.

For additional peace of mind, I can assure you that nobody's noticed that my fretless has Tony Franklin's name engraved on it. Just as well, because my own fretless playing wouldn't fare well in a comparison with Mr Franklin. That said, most people don't even seem to notice that I'm playing a fretless, so I think you're quite safe having Mr Miller's name written discreetly on the headstock!

Edwyn Collins' less successful follow-up single?

[quote name='thegummy' timestamp='1508600206' post='3393235'] I had a look at the Schecter Diamond P and was initially loving it but then I read people who own them saying they don't actually sound like a P bass. [/quote] Not sure about the Diamond P per se, but I've owned the remarkably similar Model T for a few years now and I'd say it's pretty damn close to a P bass. Comfortably in your price bracket too. I guess there are two main reasons people say it sounds different: 1. the P pickup is slightly further back (though I believe that's a common feature of P/J basses) 2. the Duncan pickups are, by definition, not Fender pickups. Personally I like the SPB-2; it's not for everyone and it's very different from a Quarter Pounder (SPB-4). If you're after a modern sound, it does have a nice, bright honk which just begs for a good set of rounds!

[quote name='KingBollock' timestamp='1508446431' post='3392343'] I have actually got a 100W soldering iron, somewhere, but I have never even plugged it in. [/quote] Gordon Bennett! At least it might make a good backup if your boiler's struggling this winter!

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1508423588' post='3392103'] Possibly lead free solder has been used and your iron isn't hitting the melting point. That or you are using too fine a tip and all of the heat disipates too quickly into the parent metal when you strike the joint. [/quote] [quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1508423898' post='3392108'] With lead free solder it is worth paying for the higher grade one with silver in it. It flows and conducts much better. [/quote] I have been using lead-free solder, and my iron melts that easily enough, but then I think I paid all of a fiver for it in Maplin. Perhaps it's worth me investing in some of the fancy silver stuff!

Hofner Violin Bass. I was never a massive fan of the appearance, but a lot of other people had always assured me that they were lovely basses with a great tone. So when I chanced across one in a shop, I felt beholden to give it a go. There's no denying it was a very flexible instrument, with a wide range of very usable tones on tap (and some less usable ones, admittedly), but the whole thing just felt far too small. Almost a bit claustrophobic to play. I've no objection to narrow necks (my main gigging bass is a T-bird), but the combination of thin neck, short scale length, and tiny body just made the whole thing unworkable for me.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1508245453' post='3390791'] Polite [/quote] I'm told I have a way with words! It just strikes me as a little odd that there should be a "wrong" direction to bend - if your bends are on pitch, and you're not accidentally dragging the string off the top or bottom of the board then that would seem to be the "right" direction to me. That said, if you know somebody who can explain why one or t'other way is wrong, I'd be very interested to hear their reasoning!

Hmm... E and A, I tend to pull down towards the floor; D and G I push up towards the ceiling. I've always thought it was a question of which direction gave me more fretboard to push/pull across! Frankly, if you're hitting the right pitches with your bends, who gives a monkey's?

This might be the daftest question I've ever asked on (this part of*) Basschat, but it's been bothering me for days now: is there a tougher grade of solder, with a higher melting point, that some manufacturers use in their instruments? I opened up my Hagstrom in the hope of changing the pot configuration, and for the life of me, I can seem to unsolder the original joints! I'm fairly sure the soldering iron is fine - it's 25W, I've used it for plenty of jobs in the past, and it's still melting the solder in my coil. I know heat is being transferred because I can feel the casing of the pots getting hot. Is there something else I've missed? *[size=3]I've probably asked something really chuffing stupid on other boards...[/size]

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1508238857' post='3390697'] As far as I'm aware there is no requirement for last orders at 11 o'clock any more (all that changed with all day opening). My Local is licenced to serve drinks until midnight mon-thu, and til 1am fri-sat. They are only licenced for live music up to 11 IIRC. However, they choose to call time at 11. [/quote] There are certainly more places with later licences now - I know when they first bought in the legislation for late licensing, a standard licence meant you could sell from 11-11 each day, but you had to apply for extended hours. I don't know how many hoops the landlords/ladies had to jump through to be approved, but some clearly decided it wasn't worth the hassle. On the other hand, most of the Wetherspoons in my neck of the woods serve until midnight, and probably the most successful music pub in the area is much like your local - midnight in the week, 1am Fri and Sat.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1508234090' post='3390650'] Point well made! Yes, the early ones are dual rail humbuckers. I for some reason never put two and two together! - I will however need to go listen to some Paul Gray now! Loved his TB tone! [/quote] Feel free to share any particularly pertinent examples with the rest of us - I do love the sound of a good 'bird!

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1508169967' post='3390224'] My favourite bassists are mainly P players, but when it comes to the two, I can't decide and thus I tend to be a PJ type chap, or at least 'two pickup' basses. There's something about the combination that seems to offer a tightness to the sound that I can't really describe. I think my favourite combination which is going off topic is a pair of dual-rail soapbars. Would that be J Bass on steroids? [/quote] Would that be more or less the same as a pair of humbuckers in Jazz bass positions? If so, you've basically got a Thunderbird!

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1508185518' post='3390397'] If the pubs are in residentially zoned areas, is that why you don't have 4 hour gigs? Blue [/quote] [quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1508185777' post='3390403'] Probably is in many cases, most of the pub gigs I play have strict curfew times, often half eleven or midnight - pub gigs after midnight are very rare in my experience. A lot of places don't want us to start until nine as people eat in pubs and want to enjoy their meals in peace. [/quote] There's actually a historical reason for calling last orders at 11: I believe limited licensing hours were brought into force during one of the two world wars. I think it was the second, as the government realised it was advantageous not to have workers drinking until the small hours in the middle of the week, and also to get everyone into their homes with the blackout curtains up before the night-time bombing raids began. It was always assumed that the law would be repealed after the war ended. But, just like the hugely elevated tax we pay on alcohol in this country for similar reasons, the powers that be "conveniently forgot." (Of course, twenty years after that, with the explosion of amplified music in pubs, you had to start considering the neighbours as well, so perhaps ironically there was a good reason to keep an 11pm curfew in place!)

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1507749124' post='3387762'] Over time I'm getting the feeling that my local bar scene and cover band culture is different than in the UK. First of all our patrons are music and people lovers. I never see anything remotely like this "drunken idiots" crowd you speak of. I'm not sure what it's like in the UK, in the States if you get charged with drunken driving even if it's a first offense your looking at no less than 10K after everything is said and done. [/quote] One difference which is worth noting: over here, your "local" pub/bar is often within walking distance, especially if you live in a town/city centre or suburb. No need for a designated driver when you can just roll home after closing time!

[quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1507903145' post='3388704'] Follow-up now that we're home - here's a couple to get you started: [/quote] Hadn't heard of either of those chaps before - both were exceptional. Thanks for those!

Ralph McTell. No, really: it seems everyone knows Streets of London, but a lot of people are very surprised when you point out that he had some exceptional acoustic fingerpicking skills. I'd like to present the jury with Exhibit A: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28UrFz5PKto"]http://www.youtube....h?v=28UrFz5PKto[/url]