ossyrocks

Two albums with John Mayer, Born and Raised (quite good, a “grower”), and Paradise Valley (never liked it!). The best John Mayer stuff is the Trio, Steve Jordan on drums and Pino Palladino on bass, phenomenal.

Really? Well I've got most of those and didn't ever put two and two together. I'll dig 'em out.

Well and truly down a Sean Hurley rabbit hole now. I’ve not really looked into him before. I play a P with flats, a lot. His tone is a little “dry”? Also a bit more top end than I’ve got used to. Interesting.

I have a LM3, and a TE Elf. I’ve been using the Elf out of convenience mostly, it’s just so tiny and fits in a gig bag. At rehearsal the other day, I had this feeling that it wasn’t doing what I wanted it to do, somehow lacking in the mids, and not quite defined enough. It’s still a good amp, but it got me wondering if I just should use the LM3 more. Anyway, Friday night, I went to see a band because a great bass player I know had let me know they were playing. What’s he got on stage?, an LM3 and a MB 1x12. How did it sound? Frickin marvellous! It’s convinced me to use mine more, his sound on Friday is more in the direction of what I have in my head. I might keep an eye out for another…… Rob

I know exactly what you're saying, it's a question of risk, and minimisation thereof. That one was about as minimum risk as you're likely to find with a custom colour vintage Fender. I personally would not buy one, unless I had a tale/story/background like the one above. I know for a fact that Musicground have sold 100's if not 1000's of fake custom colour vintage Fenders over the years, many of them weren't just refins of genuine guitars, they weren't even Fender bodies or necks in a lot of cases. They did the same with amps. The water is very murky indeed. Rob

No harm in knocking, he might still be there. I bought some vinyl on Lancaster market a few weeks ago, and whilst cleaning them, I found an old postcard posted from the USSR in the early 70’s to an address nearby. It was quite a tale, of drunkenness, vodka, and Russian girls. So I posted on local Facebook groups asking about the address and who it was posted to, as it would be nice to return it. Lo and behold, they still lived at the same address, and I delivered it again, 50 years later. They were chuffed to bits.

Tony, that’s four miles from where I live! I could be there in 10 minutes. Do you want me to go and knock on the door? 😂

I’ve been into vintage gear since the early 90’s. The general direction of prices from then until now has been one of outperforming what you can get at the bank, by quite a long way. However, there have been major bumps along the way. A big bubble built up before 2008, when for instance early 60’s Gibson 335’s got to over £30k. Then the crash hit. A couple of years later I was at a show looking at a ‘62 335 in nice original condition priced at £12k. There were a lot of dealers and collectors stuck with stock that was probably worth half what they had in it. Since then, prices have recovered, but it’s taken a long time. If you could hold on to your instrument/investment and were not in in need of the cash, then in the end you broke even or better. But all those with cash flow problems took a very deep bath. The last two years have seen an acceleration in prices I haven’t seen since the late 2000’s, and I can’t help thinking it might happen again. For instance, last February (2022), I bought a nice all original, lightweight ‘73 Precison from ATB for £2600. What would that guitar be now, even from the same dealer, only just over 12 months later? I’m still looking at vintage instruments, and still buying the odd one, but I’m being really cautious. I think the 70’s is where to look now, and have the most potential, but also it’s less of a risk as they are just so much cheaper than 60’s guitars, and if the worst happens, then the hit will be smaller. Does that make sense? Rob

Bass players have always been a little more conservative than guitarists in their tastes, and the depth of their wallet. But there is no doubt that guitar prices have been going up a lot lately, and the prices of basses follow on behind. Check out this guitar at ATB for comparison. ‘62 Fiesta red strat, in many ways comparable with the ‘61 P above. https://www.atbguitars.com/1962-fender-stratocaster-fiesta-red-ohsc-2 Rob

The wiring looks untouched to me. It's really rare to see that these days I think. I would have been tempted to pop a pickup out, just to see, but the chances of those being changed or messed with, given the rest of the bass, are miniscule. How's the pickup height adjustment doing for you? I mention this, as my '73 wouldn't adjust at all because the foams were so badly deteriorated after 50 years. I had to change those out and it's sorted now. Rob

‘76 Jazz popped up just now on ebay, no affiliation. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USA-FENDER-JAZZ-BASS-1976-Near-Mint-ALL-ORIGINAL-SUNBURST-with-hard-case/125886025376?hash=item1d4f644ea0:g:VCwAAOSwwcFkO90w&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA4LQ7zNy+17vharPOUOCQiiQ6B1A6JSAgjdiEhLyltpwZ+0RoZfVtHMgizKhOnlZvo+szEKzF4nR5ZwtTQ6wuyGxrK+JWNhCPXVUXIAUqjxoHvakzBP94B8gFaUoV+rzWFpaytrmzMt8GN+ZYUyC7+xpuQu/RMq1IfGg4YwXJKBZeK9tU8Hpf7ikYDQunAqP77uXhk/3Unqsjejj4wz0RTD7Q7gXAFVyuLBQz0UoYM3bLfEHyOZlVPXc3tq4yXfIxOUYaq1ZEqsBn5eOMByibsG1CXI8ZlIWdbVFapUNExj2P|tkp:Bk9SR-SLm6LxYQ&LH_ItemCondition=4&pageci=f6e591b5-318f-4e72-bbd3-0628a67de622&redirect=mobile Nice bass by the looks of it, and not an unreasonable price, also open to offers, and will ship. hmmm. Rob

Congratulations! Lovely bass. I really like early 70’s Precisions.

The new Mark Bass line is only just starting to hit shops here. I saw a new 1x12 in Promenade Music this week, but I think that’s the only one they have yet, despite being quite a big Mark Bass dealership. I honestly don’t expect them to sound much different to the earlier stuff, in fact, if they do, then that’s a big risk for them to take, as lots of people like “that” sound. Used Mark Bass stuff is reasonably priced, and holds its value, especially the cabs. So maybe pick up a used cab, which is still very lightweight and toneful, and you could move it on for no loss if you don’t like it. I am aware that people have had difficulties repairing the amps, to the point where if they they fail, then you’ll probably be just better buying another amp. I have a Little Mark III, I bought it cheap secondhand, and I would always carry a backup if I was using it. If it fails, I won’t be trying to repair it. Rob

I’ve played guitar in bands for decades, laterally my own three piece with me singing and playing lead. I’ve played with lots of bass players during this time, all of whom were quite different in approach and tone. There was one bassist who I really enjoyed playing with, and he had that thick thumping tone which I felt most complemented the tunes we used to do. Others were more modern players, one even a slap virtuoso, and I liked their tone less. At the time, I didn’t think much about it, but when I picked up bass, it was a P bass with flats that first grabbed me. I like jazz, blues, soul and funk, and for me there’s no better tone for it. I do have a Jazz bass now too, but even that has flats on it. I guess the best tone is subjective and is different for everyone, but that tone is what I find most inspiring and rewarding and it encourages me to keep picking up the bass. Rob

I’ve done “the tour” today. JG Windows, huge shop in a beautiful Victorian arcade. Loads of staff, hardly any punters. I don’t know how shops like this survive these days, but I’m glad they do. Probably only 5 Fenders, the best being the American Professional series. No amps at all and only one cheap acoustic bass. I did have a little play on a Boss Dual Cube thingy, but it felt like a toy more than anything else. The built in drum machine was interesting for about 10 minutes, but it’s very limited. My Rumble 15 sounds way better for practice. Then onto GuitarGuitar. A much better selection of basses from Squiers, CV’s, Players, Vinteras, Am Prof and one Custom Shop. Also had a couple of nice looking Laklands. There were a few Aguilar TH heads just sitting on the floor, not wired up to use. My mouth did fall open when I checked the price on the CS Precison……..£4999 !! Is that what they are now? In the last 14 months I’ve bought a ‘73 P and a ‘78/79 P, both excellent, which add up to exactly the same money as this one CS bass. Lastly, PMT. limited selection here too, maybe six Fenders, Am Prof being the best. No acoustic basses and very few amps, none of which I would consider worth looking at. Stayed about 10 minutes and that was pushing it. So, it does seem they’re all geared up for selling electric six strings and guitar amps, but very few basses. At least I’m going home with a new cab, but that was from a member here to whom I detoured on the way. Thanks for the info though chaps, Newcastle is a nice place to visit, lots to see and do, great places to eat, and the Spoons is very cheap for drinkies. Even saw that red headed geordie lass off Gogglebox coming out of Spoons. Rob

The Newcastle trip has started nicely. There’s a Barefaced Two10 in the boot of the car already! Rob

What have you got on it? Mine is TU2, SYB-5, LMB-3.