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My band mates are some of my best friends. In fact we’ve been in bands together, of all types, since 1993, mainly because we are friends. I can’t imagine it being any other way anymore.

He’s said previously that he swapped it with Geezer, I think for a Thunderbird IIRC. Which is probably the reason why Geezer doesn’t want to “give” it him back.😉 it amazes me how Glenn can still sing like he can at his age. There’s a version of Burn on YouTube with Bruce Dickinson from some years back, and the notes Glenn hits are unbelievable.

I started playing in 1980 so this was all formative stuff for me. I’ll never forget the Level 42. I’d never seen anyone slap before, so Mark King came as a bit of a shock. 😁😂 Bow Wow Wow remain one of my favourite bands. Was your cab sealed, no ports or vents? That’s how mine was. It sounded bloody awesome, had real bark, like nothing else I’ve ever played, including all the later TEs. Only 200w handling. I forget if it had Fanes or Celestions. Celestions I think, but I could be wrong. I hired the 8 x 10 combo specially to record with, back in ‘85-ish. I absolutely loved the sound.

Er, check out Level 42s first appearance on OGWT. Or Bow Wow Wow at Sefton Park. Or me in the studio in 1985. It’s real. The first two rigs I remember them doing were this and one that had a 15 or 18 in a big bin, plus a 12 or a 15; can’t quite remember. Jack Bruce used one. Or did he? 😂 I have an earlyTrace ad in an old International Musician mag that shows both. This was when the cabs were just painted wood. The funny thing about it is it was only 250w. 😁

Oh yes!🤟Maybe I’ll have to buy it anyway, just for the bass. 😉 That’s one of the slightly confusing things about Made In Europe, because to me the bass sound on that is like a cross between this bass and his usual P sound, which is kind of clunkier (rather than clankier😉). As I said before, probably just studio eq, but still, enough that I’m never quite 100% sure. Of course he could have overdubbed it all anyway for all we know. 😂

I think that’s the only old Sabbath album I don’t have. I’ll have to give it a listen. I think that’s the only Ric he had at the time.

Glenn and original Ric, Glenn and new (old) Mid/late ‘70s Azure 4001, Glenn and new (old) mid/late 70s Fireglo, Geezer and Glenn’s original Ric:

I suspect this was a mixup. The bass he used in Purple was a late ‘72/early ‘73 4001 in Fireglo. It has a skunk stripe and to me, on photos at least, the inlays look like the full width acrylic rather than the full width crushed pearl, which would date it as early ‘73. I’ve never seen a sharp enough picture to be 100% sure though. He swapped that bass with Geezer Butler. It’s the same bass Geezer used on the Never Say Die live video, although he only used it because he’d forgotten his main bass! A while back Glenn bought an Azure Ric and IIRC mentioned he’d bought it because he missed his old one. Glenn has said in various interviews over the the years that Geezer wouldn’t sell it him back, as, in Geezer’s words, “I don’t sell me basses” (although I may have read recently that in the end he did, I can’t quite remember). Whilst it’s perfectly possible he previously had another Azure, it wasn’t the bass he used in Purple.

FWIW Roger apparently thought his Ric sound was too clanky and distorted. As was pointed out to him when they remastered the album, it’s a sound many would kill for. Thankfully I don’t have to as I can nail it with my main bass, if I so desire.😉

So far as I’m aware Europe was the P, despite the cover pictures, although I’ve always wanted to ask him to confirm 100%. Although the bass mix sounds different to all his other live P stuff I’ve heard, I’m pretty sure that’s just the studio at work. His Ric didn’t sound much like Roger’s. In fact when I first heard Burn (LP) I thought his tone wasn’t that great (unlike Roger’s on Machinehead, which is awesome). Listen to the isolated bass on YouTube. However when he switched I didn’t think the P was that great either. Live is a different matter, and the sound on MIE is fabulous. Recently he’s used Rics, Ps and Jazzes and usually sounds great. Rogers bass on Machinehead was stock. He didn’t do the twin Jazz pickup thing til after. This was his bass while recording Machinehead and as per the live ‘72 dvd:

That is bananas! Huge Hawkwind fan, never knew that.

Actually, he originally used the same 8x10 combo as used by Leigh Gorman. It was a combo, but a very big one. I once recorded with one. It was tremendous. I used to own half that rig (very early pre-vent 4x10 and GP11). Loved it to bits; best cab I ever owned.

The day I get to use a £6k monitor is the day someone gives me a ‘59 Les Paul out of the goodness of their heart!

We play gigs all the time that have either no monitors or fairly useless ones, or we have to provide our own pa. We’re an acoustic band and our own (small) monitors were bought originally for vocals, acoustic guitar and mandolin only; they’ll cope with bass, but they don’t sound great for it. And quite frankly, although I’ve mainly used my Tech 21VT Bass pedal direct into monitors at most gigs, I really don’t like the sound (my bass sound and tweeters really don’t mix). Where we are lucky enough to have soundmen, we often have complete amateurs (in fact we’re far better at setting up our monitoring than most soundmen we get). So yes, it’s perfectly easy to gig without backline and I do it the majority of the time. Am I happy with what I sound like without backline?Generally no, not really. On the rare occasions when I take a (small) rig (Tech21 VT500 and Barefaced One10), I’m generally much happier with the sound, play better and enjoy the gig more. IEMs are something I’d like to investigate in the future, but given that none of the band are very tech-y I can’t see us transitioning without issue. And then of course there’s cost, and we’re currently struggling to even pay for recording.

Thanks for the heads up on this. Just ordered my 2nd One10.

And that’s my 2nd One10 ordered. 🤟

Awesome. Said it before, I’ll say it again, I love his tone and playing. If I could get a Jazz to sound like that, it’d almost be worth the pain I’d suffer playing it (in fact it almost tempts me to get another, even though I know how much pain the body shape has historically caused me). Problem is, I’ve never managed to get a Jazz to sound like that! Awesome band too. Love Heep in that era. Demons & Wizards and Magician’s Birthday are just epic records.

Really? Hmm. Might be the time to order that second One10....

I used to have that dream all the time, where the entire bass folds up. I could never fix it either. I just lump it in with all my other anxiety-related dreams, which is most of them. 😂

The intro bit, where he first comes in, used to be one of my test lines when trying a new bass. Love his playing and tone on that album.

Most of my favourite bassists play with a pick, so I’ve never understood it as a criticism. It works for Anthony Jackson, Steve Swallow, Bobby Vega, Leigh Gorman, Entwistle and Squire, JJB and many, many others.