4000

I’ve had about 3 active basses go dead due to a wire coming loose whilst playing too. The Schack circuit was a bugger for that. I got fed up of checking my wiring before each gig, so they were moved on.

Most of the non-musicians I speak to have no idea what a bass guitar is, or how it differs from a normal guitar.

I’ve had a battery fail mid gig. I’ve also had one decide to leak on me at a bass bash and so fail that way. It happens.

Thing is, whilst I don’t disagree, isn’t that what most Internet forums consist of?

Bloody hell, that is cheap. I had one and it was a pretty nice bass.

This is true. I remember a friend first seeing me play in a pop/punk band I was in at the time. When he saw me playing on my own at one of the bass bashes, he was a bit shocked and said he would never have expected me to be able to play like that. I play differently again in the band I’m in now, for which I decided to use a very specific approach and sound. I’m sure there are lots of players out there who can do all sorts of things you never see them do, although whether that makes them any “better” is another thing entirely. The best bassists simply make the music they’re playing work, however they play, IMO. One other thing is that you may also be better at different things at different stages of your playing life. For instance playing bubbling funk lines was never one of my strengths, but the last time I was actually called upon to do it was nearly 3 decades ago. I haven’t played or practised that style since, so now I couldn’t bubble my way out of a paper bag. 😉

Different bassist. The “Rickenthanger” was a John Birch IIRC.

It was meant tongue-in-cheek. 😉 He used one finger actually.

Yes, I know it’s a P, but....

Let’s put it this way, I never again want to hear another Hawkwind song sung by her. 😉

I was at one of their all nighters at Brixton. Don’t think it was that long ago though. Lemmy played, and Samantha Fox sang! A very mixed bag.

Couldn’t agree more that most band play for too long, although I think 45 mins is a bit too short for a band with a legitimate back catalogue. There are some bands that can play longer (particularly Prog bands where the tracks are long anyway; I can manage 2 hrs of Yes quite happily, although I’m a huge fan of them so that isn’t too surprising) but they’re in the minority. The couple of times I’ve seen Babymetal they played for an hour, and that was perfect. The thought of watching a 3hr Springsteen gig just fills me with despair.

He said the necks moved too much when he was travelling; because his action was so low he was constantly having to tweak them. I think you’re thinking of the bass that failed at Live Aid which he sold to the Hard Rock Cafe as punishment. This should keep you occupied 😉: http://www.thewho.net/whotabs/gear/bass/bass.html

So kind of Vietnam War & Peace. 😉

I thought that was loosely based on War and Peace.

IIRC, FTU was going to be the lead in to Undertow (hence the title) on ATTWT, but was left off.

There are many I regret selling, but the only one I actually managed to buy back showed within a day why it had gone in the first place. Wish I hadn’t sold my Wal Custom for £550 though! 😂

Saw Hiromi with Stanley Clarke at Ronnie Scott’s a few years back. Fantastic gig.

Jon says he just chooses words for how they sound in context, which is different to most people’s approach. I really like the slightly abstract feel they have. Have to say, in terms of Genesis solo albums, I rather like Anthony Phillips’ stuff.

Probably!😂 I was discussing this recently with a friend; we like some of the same bands for completely different reasons. There’s often an assumption that the reasons will be the same.

Strangely for such a big Genesis fan, I’d never listened to Tony’s solo albums. Having just listened to A Curious Feeling, I found it just captured all the bits of Tony that I’m not keen on; it veers from incredibly bland to too twee, IMO, apart from the odd bit that sounds like a rejected outtake from ATTWT.

This any use? http://walbasshistory.blogspot.com/p/the-beginnings.html

He liked buying basses. 😉