chriswareham

Always been a bit bemused by the "clubs" on Bass Talk and similar forums. It just seems to be an attempt at elitism that's only one step away from the snobbery of the awful Rick Resource forum. Which reminds me of something I find a bit ironic - one of the best websites for Rickenfaker fans is the "spotting a faker" one run by a Rick fanatic who hates anything but Mr Hall's often iffy originals.

My first bass was a loaned Marlin Precision copy, the kind you would find in your Mum's mail order catalogue back in the 1980's. Awful action that no amount of fiddling with bridge and truss rod would fix, nowadays I'd get the neck joint shimmed. The width and depth of the neck made it feel like the proverbial tree trunk as well. Then had a bottom of the range Aria, with naff pointy headstock. When I broke the neck I took the electronics from the body, and discovered it was chipboard with some plastic coating on top. Not owned a bad bass since thankfully, even had a few surprises such as my Hondo II Rick copy that I only bought because Hooky had one. Expected it to be crap, but after a setup at the Gallery it plays really well.

London Dungeon - The Misfits, two bands I've been in have covered this Run To You - Bryan Adams, slowed down to a dirge like pace and switching to Type O Negative's I Know You're F*cking Someone Else for the last chorus In Her Nirvana - Death in June, scares the beejezus out of people, particularly the weird repetitive sound in the intro that we did with a delay pedal that had an infinite repeat mode

Weren't Gang Star the first hip hop outfit to play Reading festival back in the early 1990s? I saw them there, but they made the mistake of saying they were in the country to "bang the hos". Cue a barrage of bottles and other debris...

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1386324645' post='2298699'] It needs the pickup replaced with a single coil Tele style pickup set off centre in the hole, so you can see the wires [/quote] I think I know a former microlight pilot who could sort it out.

My brother has all of my Dad's old vinyl. It contains most of the 1970s output of Yes, Pink Floyd, Genesis and a few other prog outfits. The earlier stuff includes the first albums by the Stones, Who and Beatles, although most of his 7" vinyl from that era got left at parties, which is a shame. The odd thing is that my Dad gave up listening to music almost entirely in the late 1970s, as his record collection pretty much stops in 1979. Made me worry when I was younger that maybe it was normal to lose interest in music. Hasn't happened yet though :-)

One of those was my gigging amp for most of the 1990s. Coupled with a Peavey 1820 cab it was the mutts nuts. At least it was until the guitarists from my band accidentally dropped it down a flight of stairs at Nottingham Rock City :-(

Roland TR-77 analogue drum machine (with MIDI retrofit) Roland Jupiter JP-4 analogue synthesiser (with MIDI retrofit) Oberheim OB-X analogue synthesiser (with MIDI retrofit) ARP Omni II string synthesiser Solina String Ensemble string synthesiser Powertran Transcendent 2000 analogue synthesiser Synare 3 analogue drum synthesiser clone Coron DS8 analogue drum synthesiser clone Novation Super Bass Station analogue synthesiser module Novation Drum Station digital / analogue drum module Roland MC-50 sequencer (with HxC floppy drive emulator) (the x0xb0x has since been sold) Tascam eight track digital recorder Boss DR-55 drum machine Musicaid Clap Trap Frontline X-8 stereo mixer Frontline X-4 analogue effects Behringer mixer (about to be replaced by a Mackie with more channels) Demeter Compulator compressor pedal Darkglass B3K distortion pedal Electro Harmonix Clone Theory chorus pedal Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger pedal (now powered by a Voodoo Labs PSU, including the EH pedals which have been converted to run from DC) Melos Echo Chamber tape echo Melos DE-1 analogue echo Not Pictured: Hondo II bass guitar (Rickenbacker copy) Musicman Stingray Stealth Eko semi-acoustic bass Ampeg SVT CL with 410 and 115 cabs Hammond Organ (Japanese made transistor one, not an American made tonewheel one unfortunately) Hohner K2 String Vox keyboard Movement Sequence Memory Rhythm analogue drum machine Dynacord EC 280 analogue chorus, echo and reverb Melos Mini Fazer phaser pedal Melos Mini Comp compressor pedal

I only lend if it's by prior arrangement and the band sound professional. I've had too many bad experiences to lend to just anyone, including a bloiwn Ampeg SVT CL thanks to a bloke who used my amp without even asking. When told that he would be paying for the damage he whined that he was on the dole. Ever since I've taken the fuse out of my amp when not in use - just removing the kettle lead is not enough, as there's normally a spare that a determined amp ponce can rustle up.

Actually owned this for a couple of months, but I was under the impression that Rickenfakers were off limits. Rereading the moderator posts, I understand it's just the selling of real or fake Ricks that's verboten. So, seeing as I definitely wont be parting with this, here's my latest acquisition: It's a Czech made Jolana bass from the mid 1980s. The model name was "D Bass", which would have originally been engraved on the truss rod cover. Sadly someone has "anonymised" this one with a TRC made from what looks and smells like a piece of plastic from the lid of a fertiliser container! The bridge strap lock unscrews to reveal a screwdriver that can be used to completely disassemble the bass - quite a neat touch, and something that appears to have been standard for Jolana guitars. The neck is through body, and sadly the truss rod seems to be beyond adjustment, so the bass is currently having a new truss rod fitted along with replacement black-white-black three ply pickguard and truss rod cover. The pickups have separate tone and volume controls with a three way selector switch, and the pickup poles can be adjusted with the screwdriver. The neck is moderately wide, but very shallow. Despite the high action from the duff truss rod, I found it very comfy to play. The nut is aluminium, which is something I'd not seen before. If the neck will take it, then it's going to be strung for drop Bb with the heaviest four strings from a five string set, allowing it to be my main gigging bass. So I'm wondering, have any other Basschatters owned one of these?

I've been in touch with Jaime at the Creamery, and he's come across as very professional. He's going to be either reconditioning the existing pickups or making replacements in the same style for a Jolana D Bass: It's a thirty year old Czech made Rickenfaker, currently having a new truss rod fitted by Jack's Instrument Services.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1385056567' post='2283982'] I agree with JH about not producing a budget line. A Ric is a Ric [/quote] I think a major reason RIC wont produce a budget bass is that they don't have much they differentiate it on from the current, full price range. The last real Rick 4003 I played, in Barnets' Soundgarden earlier this year, looked cheap and had a neck that felt almost unplayable. I don't think it was the proportions of the neck and unfamiliarity that made it uncomfortable either, since I alternate between a Stingray with its widish neck and a medium scale Eko with a very narrow neck, I just think the Rick was badly made. This repeated my previous experiences with new Ricks, and I plumped for a copy instead since I still love the look but can't justify more than a couple of hundred quid on a bass bought for aesthetic reasons alone.

I think it's down to people thinking they know how to get a bargain. I just sold my last mobile phone on EBay, having decided to take the upgrade from my phone company. I checked the price the same model was listed for, and put it up for about ten percent less for a quick sale. Days after it sold, I'm still getting messages from numpties who had been watching it offering half the Buy It Now price by EBay message.

"The sound man's hungover from last night, so no soundcheck. Oh, and someone stole all the DI boxes while he was wasted last night so your drum machine is going to sound sh*t." A certain venue in London named after a colourful sea reptile. The night got worse as the first band on deliberately overran, the headline band turned up after the doors opened - minus any back line - and my band had the plug pulled on us without warning as our slot was cut short to allow the headliners to play a full set, even though the largest part of the audience was our fans.

John Hall and his acolytes seem to be slacking, as I've seen several Rick copies run to the completion of their auctions on eBay recently. This has been UK auctions, so maybe someone at eBay has finally wised up to them not being in violation of trading laws for private sellers ...

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1384447754' post='2276855'] Your dad looks a bit like Ross Kemp, and that photo is crying out to be used in a caption competition .[/quote]Could be worse. My Dad looks like Regan from the Sweeney and has no interests in common with me, in fact I'd go as far as saying he despises musicians :-(

I played in a Cure covers band that concentrated on their 1980s material. I was amazed at how well attended the gigs were and it paid well so there's definitely a good market for bands covering songs of that era. I'm based over in Enfield, not all that far from Hemel and might be interested in helping out on the programming side of things if you're thinking of doing the more electronic 80s stuff.

Those Benson Musicmasters look a lot closer to a Stingray than the Vintage ones do. The silver one is particularly decent looking, and reminds me of the 'Ray I had before my current one (although that had a silver headstock as well).

It's going to be one of those nights - the insomnia's already kicked in, so here's a piccie and description of my pedal board to while away a few sleepless minutes: From right to left: Demeter Compulator compressor Darkglass B3K distortion Electro Harmonix Clone Theory chorus / vibrato Electro Harmonix Electric Mistress flanger As I mentioned in my review elsewhere on Basschat, the Compulator is an optical compressor that's simple to setup and doesn't colour your sound. The B3K is great for harsh distortion, overdrive or a simple boost without sustain - which is what I want as I usually play fast stuff when it's engaged and want to hear distinct notes. The Clone Theory is Peter Hook's "secret weapon" and has a metallic, chiming kind of tone. The Electric Mistress is also quite metallic, and doesn't lose the bottom end (which is what the Boss pedals I used in the past used to do, even the Bass Flanger model). The EH pedals have since been converted to run from external 24V DC, and the whole pedal board is now supplied by a Voodoo Labs Power Plus PSU.

[quote name='Johngh' timestamp='1383605056' post='2266612'] I do get on with the neighbour, but it's getting to the stage where I'm going to have a word. I have a Hartke Kilo and Ashdown 1x15 and 4x10 cabs, so I suppose I could re-run the pipe the hi fi through it gig. [/quote] Did something similar at college. Guy next door had an alarm clock feature on his stereo, but almost always got up early and forgot to turn it off. The result was Deacon feckin' Blue on repeat all day as I tried to study while he was in lectures. I honestly believe he only owned one CD ... Anyway, I got my revenge by putting a tape of the Reptile House EP by The Sisters of Mercy on repeat. Through my bass amp, which was against our shared wall. Just as he and his fat arsed girlfriend came back pissed from the student union for their once-a-week five minute sex session.

As others have mentioned, bass really travels. My solution when I lived in a Victorian house that had been badly converted into flats, was to get acoustic underlay for my music room. Cost about £120, but with my amp away from the wall I could play at a reasonable volume without disturbing the neighbours. By reasonable volume, I mean that I could play along to a drum machine or work out bass parts from a computer playing through a stereo.

Err, the last *Pro* I saw was around the £220 mark. I guess that was without the case, but it was certainly not the bolt on neck model. I was intrigued by the shape, and it played very well.

Not bad. Only £50 more than they cost new ...

That track's the dogs doodads - if Primus are in a similar vein I'll have to check them out!

I prefer the simple approach. I'd be quite happy with one control on my bass - a mute switch - since I don't even use the EQ on my active bass. As for amps, I'm happy with just gain, bass, mid, treble and volume controls. If there's a graphic EQ it gets switched off or left flat. The only effect I really need is chorus, and a Small Clone is ideal with its depth switch and rate knob (I now use a Clone Theory, but never go near the edge or vibrato modes). When gigging, I only take one bass as the only need for more would be if we used multiple tunings. Always amuses me when bands change instruments as much as every song, despite playing their whole set in a single tuning...