kerley

I think that is it, there is just a curiousity to always try different basses. For me personally it would probably be better to lease/hire and change whenever I want at a monthly cost. May not seem efficient but would mean I could try all sorts of basses and the cost would possibly be no worse than the selling costs, losses and hassle. I may be onto something there as GAS seems to be a widespread problem! (and the more interests you have the bigger the problem - I am also just as bad with cameras and bikes)

As I am not really interested in looking at basses I can't afford (along with the noise so not really worth trying them) I would prefer it to be squashed into one day and have all of the classes, shows etc,. back to back. I could then spend 30 minutes looking around the gear and the next 10 hours attending the various performances.

The Shadows of Motown book is all notation though. Here is one although may not be any better than the one you have [url="http://www.basscamera.com/marvin-gaye/aint-no-mountain-high-enough"]http://www.basscamera.com/marvin-gaye/aint-no-mountain-high-enough[/url]

I think my problem is that I like playing different basses, and I like the whole purchasing a new thing process (bit of research, looking around, listening, waiting for it to arrive etc,.) I am just the same with cameras, bikes and any other things I get interested in. Usually happy enough with the items I already own but always fancy something different. Sometimes the replacement is better, sometimes worse but i never think it will make me a better player, rider, photographer etc,. Think I need to get into Buddhism or something...

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1330005511' post='1551260'] Bands and singers have mimed since the first days of TV. That wasn't really my point. It was more that it seems to quite common these days to hear 'At least they were playing live' as if this is the exception and for that fact alone the band should be applauded.[/quote] That has also been common for a long time. I remember that very point being made regularly in the 80s.

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1329997873' post='1550993'] It's a really sad state of affairs when the most common positive comments I've read are, 'At least they played live". How have we come to this? [/quote] Guess you would have to track back to when miming to songs on TV became the norm. 1980s?, it certainly wasn't that recently anyway...

Been a Smiths fan since 84 but for some reason (which I am ashamed of) never took enough notice of the bass parts and never tried playing them. They really do fly along and great fun. Nowhere Fast is the line I has learnt this week.

It is like any job in a way. Some people could do much more with their job/life than they do but settle at a certain level (I am definitely in this group!) Adam Clayton is presumably happy enough to play the role he does and maybe doesn't want to go into other fields. That doesn't mean he can't or couldn't play more technically and creatively challenging music. Who knows, in 4 years time you may see a Clayton covers Pastorious album...

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1329916716' post='1549613'] Just to get people's hackles up further, I think the best Blur album (and actually rather good) is ThinkTank, which of course was after Graham Coxon left. [/quote] Agree. An album far removed from any brit pop connotations. Plus comes in a very nice CD case too...

Before saying Coxon is the only talented one you would need to look beyond Blur and the diverse things Albarn has been involved with. Gorillaz, Good, Bad and the Queen, Operas, film scores etc,. I have always seen him as a talented and diverse musician myself --> [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Albarn"]http://en.wikipedia....ki/Damon_Albarn[/url]

The clubs are for those desperately seeking a sense of belonging and feel they share something with others by choosing the same bass (most probably)

I prefer no fretlines as I also found I didn't use/need them. Although I didn't find them distracting as wasn't looking at them anyway. For me it is purely a muscle memory thing, your hand/fingers get to know the positions just as they do the frets. Just need to know the positions a bit more accurately that is all with no frets to save you. Plus, the main reason I prefer no fretlines - it looks cooler (can't find a smiley to denote shallowness otherwise would have put one in)

[quote name='mercuryl' timestamp='1329484408' post='1543151'] Nope. USA Standard will do just fine. Will have "that" Precision sound which you can fake if you like, but only really comes out of a USA Standard P. If it's not set up right, then it can be fixed. Get your £1,000 or so out and welcome to the top table. [/quote] You had me for a minute there as I actually thought you were being serious.

Do you also walk straight past the real world on your way to the USA Standard models

The main problem with trying out basses side by side in a shop is that they will all be setup differently. No shop is going to go to the length of setting all their basses to the same amount of relief, same string height etc,. Whatever bass I buy I always spend 30 minutes messing with it to get it how I like it (lowering nut slots, lowering saddles, intonation, neck relief) What's to say that by chance the cheapest P Bass was setup more to my liking that the most expensive which would cloud my judgement? Obviously you can still hear and see the differences but may be mistaken in to discounting a bass because it doesn't play as well as another one.

Totally agree. I have watched a few reruns of Top of the Pops from 1976 that have been on recently and the music situation was extremely dire. The show was filled with bland, pop ballads. It needed a kick up the arse which is what it got (along with politics, fashion, art etc,. as mentioned above) Anyone who questions the worthiness of punk needs to watch a few 1976 TOTPs...

I find that smaller practice amps can sound better at home. I think it depends on the room (carpet, soft furnishings) and the placement of the amp (floor, on stand etc,.) I had a Marshall MB15 that sounded great in a large garage but just went all boomy in the house. A Tourbus 10 on the other hand is great in the house (just wish it had a mid control)

[quote name='Stompbox' timestamp='1328964775' post='1535343'] Is it more expensive to publish mags for us guys, or is it simply that women are more sensible & won't pay the crazy prices? [/quote] The advertising makes up most of the profit for the magazine. A lot of womens magazines (fashion based - Cosmopolitan etc,.) have full page adverts on pretty much every other page from the likes of Chanel and Prada who have huge advertising budgets. The circulation of the magazines is probably also higher too.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1328646171' post='1530688'] To all the people who are complaining about the price of things: how happy would you be if I said - with no knowledge of what you do and what it entails - that I didn't think the work you do isn't worth the salary you receive? I'd wager you wouldn't be terribly happy with me. [/quote] I don't even think the work I do is worth the salary I get so you will not offend me! Anyway, that is not the point. Nobody is questioning whether they are worth it, I would imagine they are actually underpaid for what they do. Calculate the number of hours taken against the price a Fodera sells for (taking away shops profit margins, shipping, advertising etc,.) and I would guess the hourly rate is not great.

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1328631128' post='1530347'] Next time I speak to Jason or Joey, my main two contacts at Fodera, I'll let them know that, now they are more successful, they should give up their fancy New Jersey adresses (where they've lived for about 30 years+) and consider moving to the wilds of Nebraska so they can reduce their prices to the greater benefit of the bass buying / playing public. I'm sure they'll be most receptive [/quote] I'm sure they will :-) The point here is that the basses they make will be exactly the same wherever they choose to be based. They happen to be based in one of the most expensive places (in spectrum of whole world) so have to pay the wages, premises and everything else that goes with that while at the same time making no difference at all to the end product. To me that is an extra expense that does not have any positive factors to it...

It is a good point though. If you had the money to spare you would buy one so the question to ask is why? The answer tells you why others would buy one, why there is a waiting list etc,.

Not sure what acting in a capitalist system has to do with it. If I ask my neighbour to make me something, the more time he spends making it makes it 'cost' more. Whether that is a monetary cost, a cost for goods in return or just to show how much he loves me* *I don't think my neighbour does love me as we haven't even really spoken but if he ever makes me anything I will be able to gauge it and let you know.

Agree, racism is probably too strong a word, but it is making a decision based on who made it/where it is made so it does come into it. That is not really what I was getting at though. It still stands that the same product can be made to the same standard pretty much anywhere. The question is, could the buyer accept that the same quality of instrument is costing 2,000 instead of 10,000. The fact it needs that Fodera / made in USA badge means it is worth the extra 8,000 to the buyer. That is where I agree it is consumer capitalism.

No, I am not trying to tell you where to buy your goods and buying from the west is clearly not racist. What I am saying is that some people value a product on the country in which it is made rather than on quality/workmanship alone and seem to think it will be better made solely because it is made in the US for example. That is the racist aspect. And yes, buying on price and quality does not equal capitalism. Quality takes more time so costs more in any way you look at it.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1328613101' post='1529872'] Why unfortunately? As has been said in this and other threads, it's about (1) Brand perception, and (2) Whether you can afford it or not. Consumer capitalism. [/quote] Why unfortunately - because it is based on racist grounds rather than grounds of quality. Nothing to do with whether you can afford it and nothing to do with capitalism.