Norris

Like you said, it's active only. The switch alters the tone but it doesn't make any sound without batteries in it. It put me off active basses - every bass I've bought since has been passive. It's always drained batteries quickly. I bought it second hand in around '86 Edit: I'll check the jack socket power switch when I get it back. Although there's only one if I recall, which disconnects both batteries

Propaganda Duel (same girl, she had eclectic tastes!)

Ignore particular 'smiley' or 'frowny' shapes on your eq. Use your ears not your eyes

Thanks for a great informative post. However my mk 1 doesn't have an LED. I ended up putting a small piece of gaffer tape on the battery lead of the one that flattened quickest so I knew which one to change

Inspired by The Admiral (and a similar story with very fond memories) I'm going to chip in with another. It might be a bit electronic for most tastes... Thomas Dolby - The Golden Age of Wireless

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1423936646' post='2690617'] Yup - a Series 1. The thinking on the dating-by-serial sketch has changed in the last year or so... It used to be that first digit = year, but it's got a bit more complicated as it looks like they changed the system in 1980. The new interpretation runs like this: Pre 1980 — MM-Y-NNN, where MM is the month (05 = May, 11 = Nov etc.), Y = Year (either 7, 8 or 9) and NNN = the production number for that month (not necessarily restricted to SBs) 1980 7 beyond — Y-MM-NNN(N), where it goes Year/Month/Prod. This should apply to Clarky's. At some point the production number went from 3 to 4 digits. [/quote] Thanks for the info. I've not seen it for some time but I'm pretty sure mine is pre-80 but with a 00 serial number. I should get it back soon

[quote name='Clarky72' timestamp='1423860072' post='2689910'] By the way its a 1977-80 Batwing era, series 1 SB10000. http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/bass/sb/sb.html [/quote] That's the chap. Thanks for the link

It's a very old (analogue!) photo so excuse the quality - and attire/haircut

I'll post an old photo of it later

If I recall correctly, yes the serial number is on the back of the headstock

/followed I'm going to have to reassemble mine at some point Mine doesn't have an LED. I assume it's a similar vintage to Clarky72's. Mine doesn't have the recessed jack socket like some I've seen.

I know I've already had one, but... Talk Talk - The Colour of Spring

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1423766708' post='2688854'] Déjà Vu by Crosby Stills Nash and Young. Every track a winner. [/quote] Good call

... it's away being reconditioned so I can't post a picture of the tone circuit box. If you can post a picture of yours I'll see if it jogs any memories

On mine it's a box full of potting compound with connector pins sticking out. You can't get to the circuitry without digging it all out. I found that one battery would run flat quicker than the other and once it got to that stage would only produce thin farty noises

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1423751178' post='2688604'] I haven't heard 90% of the above and will not be searching them out Etc. [/quote] One for you then... Marc Johnson's Bass Desires

There is some great stuff being listed. My contribution is The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love This was the first bit of Hendrix I ever listened to. As a kid I had heard he was meant to be a great guitarist and in the very early 80s I bought a second-hand album off a school mate of Axis + Are You Experienced? When I got it home I put Axis on first, and started listening to the opening track EXP. I remember thinking to myself what the hell have I bought. The first track of noise and feedback was then followed by Up From The Skies. The contrast was mind blowing. I wish I could un-listen to it all just to experience it again.

There's another one - The Power of Love by Jennifer Rush. There are decent female vocalists out there but I can't say I enjoyed accompanying our one Come to think of it we were a bit like those awful "almost sounds like the original artist" compilation albums you used to get in Woolworth's

In my defence I was on a salary and didn't have a choice in the set list. If it was in the charts and we could make a sound that resembled it, we did it. It was a great crash course in bass playing though!

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1423678988' post='2687888'] ^^^^ Denise LaSalle - 1985 I have it on a cd..........I'll get me coat........... [/quote] Saddo And of course Frankie including the twee bass intro (which my sister named her daughter after!)

After regularly playing Losing My Religion by REM for about 4 years I finally lost my will to live and simply refused to play it any more. One of the few songs I've ever got quite so sick of. In a previous band we used to do pretty much everything in the charts. The one that really sticks in my mind is (don't mess with my) "Toot toot". I can't remember who did it but it was sheer drivel!

It's another good reason to brush up on your music theory It's probably best to find a riff that fits the time signature or make one up. Then repeat it while you count the beats in the bar (more theory) - out loud if needs be. Keep it going until you are steady and "on top of" the beat. Unusual time signatures will always need concentration though

We play good stuff - mainly 70s rock, but my listening tastes are a lot more varied. Most of the stuff we play I've heard to death. I enjoy playing it but would rather listen to something else

In the mid eighties I was doing a summer season at Butlin's in the concert room six nights a week. We had the parents + kids crowd and played most stuff in the hit parade of the day. We got a lot of written requests, often from younger kids but also from adults that couldn't spell. Some were hilarious and the guitarist kept a lot of the best ones. My favourite was for the Eurythmics classic "A Mulititud of Angles"

The Edgar Winter Band - Frankenstein. It's a doddle now but took many hours to nail it