EliasMooseblaster

Probably should have put this one up with a lot more notice, shouldn't I? CHERRY WHITE are making their début in Northampton this coming Thursday, with a free entry gig at the King Billy Rock Bar. We'll be on around 9.30, in between sets from Cambridge's Bouquet of Dead Crows, and the more local Stevie Jones & The Wildfires: [attachment=239023:northamptonMar2nd.png] There is a Facebook doohicky at https://www.facebook.com/events/1398372546873970/ . Kicking off at 8pm and not costing you a penny.

One month away today, ergo bump.

I own, and still regularly perform with, an Epiphone EB-3: that is, one of the long-scale SG style basses, which are notorious on bass forums around the world for this trait. And rightly so: one of the easier solutions, of trying a strap with more grip, just means that the guitar still tips its head downwards, and just takes your shirt with it. I have, however, realised that my playing style has inadvertently fixed the problem for me. I play with my fingers almost exclusively (mostly because I just can't keep hold of picks) and tend to rest my thumb on the end of the neck. As a result, the weight of my right arm tends to sit across the body. This is remarkably effective at counteracting the amount of weight your fretting hand then has to support!

Expensive option, but might be worth it for the look on their faces: "Oh, sorry guys, did you say a [i]Fender[/i]? Well, this is awkward...only I've just gone and bought a Ritter..."

[quote name='Tee' timestamp='1487665151' post='3241535'] I think there is a lot they could do with regards to heritage basses. Decent reissues of the T bird, also in non reverse, with nickel hardware, two part bridge etc. Release an EB-3/SG bass with varitone switch. Maybe an SG with the 60s body but with 70s pick up positioning, also as an EB-0. The previous design EB bass (2012?) could have been released in a one pickup config, like the G&L L1000. Perhaps some new colours, sparkling burgundy? Reissue the Les Paul signature bass. [/quote] All of these, and maybe some of the long-scale SG models? I know the 30" model is more iconic, but reissuing something like the SB-400 or the SG-Z might open up a market with a lot of modern players who won't plump for anything shorter than 34". Nowadays it seems the only long-scale SG type you can get hold of is the Epiphone copy (which I still like, admittedly). Incidentally, I don't know whether anyone else has popped their head round the "Thunderbirds!" thread nearby, but it seems it's fallen to Epiphone to try and recreate the original '60s-style T-bird pickups, rather than Gibson themselves.

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487592870' post='3240947'] Interesting point with number 2. A certain Mr Steve Harris famously uses flatwounds and has them changed before every gig / session. I guess for him then it's about the feel of flats rather than the sound? Also probably helps that he no doubt gets them for free. [/quote] Given the amount of processing and treble added to his tone between the guitar and amp, I've often wondered whether Mr Harris has missed a trick and not realised he could probably get his tone using rounds and backing off his tone control...

I guess if you knew absolutely nothing about electric guitars...I did know a chap who received a very cheap Argos electric guitar starter set as a gift. There was no badge on the headstock so he just assumed it was a Fender Stratocaster. (I'm beginning to wonder if this is the same bloke...)

1. Anyone else familiar with Birdeatsbaby? Their most recent album has been gathering a fair bit of attention lately, and deservedly so. I first met them when we organised a gig together; hardly knew anything about them but two years later I've got their last two albums on regular rotation. This one's a bit of a favourite: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TafWo76nHt0 2. One of my more ridiculous gig stories is also my journey from London to Louvain-la-Neuve to see Hooverphonic in concert before Geike Arnaert quite the band. I know we have at least a couple of Belgians on this forum who will be familiar with their oeuvre.

[quote name='therealting' timestamp='1487256384' post='3238422'] Why not both? Most of us have bought instruments because they look cool for one reason or another, and most of us have decided not to buy otherwise fantastic instruments because they didn't like the way they looked. What's wrong with getting a bass because you like the way it looks? Is getting a newer bass that has been reliced to look old any less honest than buying an older bass that has been refinished to look new? [/quote] I could understand it one way 'round; less so the other. That is to say, I could understand turning down an instrument which sounded good and was a delight to play because you couldn't get on with the appearance. Conversely, investing in an instrument for its looks, even if you knew it sounded terrible, seems like a daft use of money to me. And I speak as someone who is really very shallow when it comes to the appearance of guitars and basses!

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1487182402' post='3237865'] Not quite DIY then though... [/quote] Yeah, the only truly "DIY" bit on my old kit was finishing the wood. (Until I upgraded the guts a few years later, anyway)

[quote name='Donnyboy' timestamp='1487158030' post='3237573'] It's a no from me.. I was expecting to be impressed but they just don't do it for me. I didn't like the feel or tension tbh. I've got a set of black nylons in a drawer that I might try for a laugh. [/quote] Sadly I've got a ladder in mine...

[quote name='Rikki_Sixx' timestamp='1487155911' post='3237535'] I'd love to try a DIY kit (or just buy a ton of parts) sometime. I'm not too concerned about the woodworking aspect of it as most of the work is done (to varying degrees of QC!), but it's the electronics I'd be concerned about. I haven't used a soldering iron since high school, and I've forgotten what little I ever learned about circuitry! [/quote] [quote name='prowla' timestamp='1487163328' post='3237655'] The electrics in a plain P-bass are simple. [/quote] Better still, on the Brandoni P-bass kits, they come pre-wired with the pickup taped to the scratchplate!

Just a quick bump as this one's coming up this weekend!

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1487081469' post='3236837'] 'Is anybody getting bored of reliced instruments?', you can't ignore the fact that Fender have been doing the Roadworn stuff for pushing 10 years now? (think they started in either 2007 or 2008). [/quote] [quote name='dlloyd' timestamp='1487081805' post='3236841'] They've been doing relics for 22 years. [/quote] So through the second-hand market, I might be able to get my hands on a genuinely road-worn Road-Worn!

[quote name='DangerDan' timestamp='1486722721' post='3234059'] The only problem with checking FOH sound during soundcheck is that an empty room doesn't sound the same as one full of punters. There comes a point where you just have to trust the soundguy. [/quote] It is for this reason that I have started chalking markers on the floor to dictate where punters must stand. Strange resonance from one corner of the room? Two or three large people in there, please. Smaller people? Near the front, but please don't stand in the line of the guitarist's speaker lest you limit his projection to the back of the room. Punters are obviously not allowed to move from their designated spots during a song. If anybody wants to go the bar or needs the loo, they'll have to wait, otherwise I throw down my bass and scream at the offending punters for denigrating the music by interfering with our finely-honed live sound, and could they not have waited [i]just ten more minutes[/i] for our introspective musical contemplation upon the majesty of Andromeda to finish? Clearly not. Hurry up and we'll start again once you're back from the gents' and standing in your chalk circle. [i]Da capo, [/i]lads, [i]da capo.[/i] And a-one, two, three...

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1486722547' post='3234057'] ever heard a german girl trying to say "squirrel" ? [/quote] See also a French person trying to say "smooth." (They get their own back by challenging us to pronounce "grenouille" correctly...)

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1486592876' post='3233181'] You need arms like an orangutan to play a Thunderbird! [/quote] This is a very good point - don't know how tall your friend is, but there is something about the way long-scale Gibson-style basses sit that puts the 12th fret a lot further out than it would be on a Fender. Consequently, first-position playing either requires you to hang the bass really low on the strap, or be blessed with long arms!

Time to begin with the obvious question: Is it any good for meat(al)?

I enjoyed that, very interesting take on the song - and a lovely upright tone, as you say. I didn't think the strange key change in the piano line during the second chorus really worked...maybe I've missed the point, but I didn't feel like it added anything to the song, just seemed to be dissonance for dissonance's sake. Very nice arrangement otherwise though! Have just listened to their cover of [i]Teen Spirit [/i]as well - great stuff, though I shouldn't have made the mistake of looking at the comments beneath...!

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1486549587' post='3232612'] I learned a set of 10 tunes (originals) for a one-off gig. We knew there would only be 1 rehearsal as the artist was visiting for a short solo tour, he's normally based in Berlin. Got the set list in December and we all worked through it to learn it as best we could. The gig went very well, artist was pleased, etc. but I just cant get the tunes out of my head now. I wake up with them going on, they visit at quiet times during the day, and at bedtime. Any tips on clearing the tunes out? Cheers MBA [/quote] I usually find I have to go and listen to them again. It's almost as if my memory's got a partial recollection of how they sound and is nagging me to go back and refresh that memory. Doesn't clear them out straight away, but makes the nuisance of their running 'round your head a bit more bearable until they do finally fade. (For example, I've got a short snippet of [i]Straight Arrow [/i]by Spirit looping in my head this morning...any excuse to put that album on again!)

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1486482628' post='3232175'] From what I've seen of Brandoni (and yes AFAIK they are still going) they are in completely different league to the kit linked to in the OP. [/quote] What do you base that on? My Brandoni kit was bare, unfinished wood (I found their website; it looks like they still are), as is the kit in the OP link. The only main differences I can see are that the Brandoni was alder rather than ash, the headstock came ready-shaped, and they were nice enough to do all the wiring and tape the pickup to the scratchplate for ease of assembly.

[quote name='GarethFlatlands' timestamp='1486295862' post='3230606'] [url="http://www.kitbuiltguitars.co.uk/guitarkits/jazz-j-bass-build-your-own-bass-guitar-kit.html"]http://www.kitbuiltg...guitar-kit.html[/url] These look interesting but seem a bit too cheap to be good. Has anyone tried them? I got some paypal money and wanted a jazz and also a project to work on, but I lack the woodwork skills to do much more than assemble a kit. And even that might be beyond me! [/quote] I have no experience of the kits from KBG, but the Precision copy which I have owned for about 15 years, and which was my main bass for the majority of those years, was built from a kit. Essentially, it's like doing a parts build, except that all the parts come to you in the same box, so you don't get much scope to customise what you get. I got mine from a company called Brandoni - no idea if they're still active. I stripped it down and gave it a refurb a few years ago, but apart from that brief period, it's remained in active service throughout and it's an excellent instrument. (There are some "before" and "after" photos up at [url="https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/precision-bass-refurb/"]https://thecrowfrombelow.wordpress.com/2015/07/22/precision-bass-refurb/[/url])

Schecter Model T? Not the easiest to come by, but you could probably grab one for about half the prices quoted in your OP. P/J Duncan* pickups, with a neck profile much closer to a Jazz than a Precision; you can pay a bit more for an active version, but I've got one of the passives. When I was shopping, the options were blonde body/RW board or sunburst body/maple board - conveniently enough for your criteria! I tried both and went for the blonde/RW model myself, but I remember the burst/maple one having plenty of 'snap' to it. *not a Byker Grove reference...

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1485955528' post='3227974'] Am I missing something.? It just looks like a black P bass with some red on it and a black headstock. Whilst saving money and not glossing the bass. One of the more pointless exercises from Fender,s marketing team. [/quote] Kind of reminds me of the Epiphone "Gothic" series that came out around the peak of "nu" metal's popularity - basically the same old LPs and SGs but with a matte black finish. Admittedly the black satin finish on this one looks quite nice...but I think it's a bit bold to call it a "brand new model"!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1485882045' post='3227479'] I'm not familiar with them but it's very possible, now how many people are using one without a pedal or sansamp etc? [/quote] I be two of them lad. (As long as you ignore the tuning pedal, and the overdrive which I just kick in a solo boost...) (PS a quick interweb search suggests "FMV" is indeed one type of passive tone stack - [url="http://pickroar.com/1003/the-tone-stack-explained-in-english-for-humans/comment-page-1/"]http://pickroar.com/1003/the-tone-stack-explained-in-english-for-humans/comment-page-1/[/url] - basically three bandpass filters, as opposed to your fancy, new-fangled cut/boost job.)