Misdee

Over the years a lot of top pro players have used Yamaha basses, and a fair few continue to do so. The players you mention are quite a roster just in themselves! I am, unfortunately, old enough to remember when the BB basses first came out in the late 1970s/ early 1980s and they were pretty high profile at the time. Paul McCartney, Lee Sklar, Jimmy Haslip, David Hungate, Abraham Laboriel, Paul Jackson and the bloke from Chas and Dave all had one, to name but a few. They were definitely prestige instruments at the time. Carlos Santana had popularized the SG2000 and Yamaha were looking to do the same for the BB bass. A lot of well known music was recorded with Yamaha basses. I really don't see them as an inferior brand at all. In fact I think they have quite an impressive heritage when it comes to who has used them and the tracks they are on.

To be fair, I think Fender's popularity is based on the fact that they are the originators of so much that we take for granted nowadays. Their invention and creativity is not to be underestimated. How much value for money they offer in the current UK market place is another matter in so much as their equipment is much less expensive in the USA and Fender are not responsible for the exchange rate and levels of taxation on retail goods in the UK. I know Fender quality control can be a bit(very) haphazard, but they are still in many ways the most important guitar company in the world. The strength of a company like Yamaha is that they have taken the innovation of companies like Fender, learnt from it and built upon it, creating their own identity in the process.

If someone asked me to recommend an decent quality instrument for a beginner I would always point them towards Yamaha as their first line of enquiry. By the same token, Yamaha pro-level gear is top-notch. I've played Yamaha basses that are easily as good as anything boutique builders have to offer, and they're more robust, on the whole. They make equally good guitars, drums, keyboards ect. Their recording studio and hi-fi equipment is very nice,too. As a brand, l don't think Yamaha has anything to prove to anybody.

In my experience basses are quite like shoes; if they are slightly uncomfortable when you first try them then after a while they will be so uncomfortable that you can't bear them anymore.

To me, Yamaha is a prestige brand, just like Fender, Gibson,et al. From entry level to high end, they can give most other manufacturers a run for their money.

Two grand is a lot of money to pay for something you are less than completely happy with. An instrument that is too heavy will always be too heavy and you will get little joy from playing it. Like many other folks, I have learnt from experience that getting a new Fender that ticks all the right boxes can be a bit of an odyssey. That said, it's by no means a set of problems and challenges exclusive to Fender.

I also like the look of the green one.

All my favourite female players have already been mentioned in this thread many times, so I won't reiterate that. Regarding why female bass players are not that numerous, if you look with a critical eye then contemporary music is just another example of an area where work roles still have a tendency to divide along gender lines. In the music business you are still far more likely to find a woman singer, (or backing singer) than drummer or bass player. There's no real reason for that except that social convention deems some roles as feminine and others as masculine. I don't think it's a conspiracy, more a persistent prejudice. Just like you still are more likely to encounter a male roofing contractor and a female nurse. A larger physical stature is a definite advantage in playing the bass, but not essential by any means. I'm a man of fairly slight build and it has never held me back my playing particularly. That said, since I got my first short scale bass a couple of years ago and enjoying how easy it is to play, it has occurred to me that that me playing that bass must be like a bigger bloke than me playing a long scale bass.

I also need to invent a credible narrative about why I need another Jazz Bass.

It's just enough money that it's not out of the question. If you consider that it's three grand for a Stingray nowadays, it's not that bad. Three and a half to five grand for a Custom Shop bass is more than I am prepared to pay for any Fender bass, and a good example of one of these basses would be a very acceptable substitute. The challenge now is (as ever) finding a light one that Fender have put together correctly.

Okay, I stand corrected. It's just that on the video there are no screw holes on the demo bass, or any mention of the metalwork in question. I've got a 74 AVRI Jazz and it came with the full kit and caboodle. Overall it's a lovely package. Not that I can enjoy playing a Fender bass with the covers on but it's nice to look at.

These are only "kind-of" vintage reissues. For all they go on about period-accuracy, it looks like they have neglected certain details. Where are the metal pickup covers, for a start? Still look like nice basses, nevertheless. It's just a shame that the pound is so weak against the dollar. I'm surprised they are priced under two grand, the way things are going. What we need is a Cost of Living payment from the government to make up for the increase in the price of basses since they wrecked the economy. It's the least they could do, given the circumstances.

Lovely bass. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Does anyone else remember D'Addario Slow Wound strings? They were terrific but they discontinued them, they said because they had upgraded the manufacturing of the regular XL bass strings so they sounded so similar it wasn't worth making the (more expensive) Slow Wound anymore. Regarding longevity in non-coated nickel strings, my experience has been that Elites Players have just about been the best in terms of retaining their brightness and punch. I don't play it very often, but I've got a set on a Yamaha BB2024x that must have been on for twelve years since I bought it! They still sound and feel fine. Still tune perfectly well, too. Maybe it's a sign of middle age but I feel increasingly less inclined to try and sound like John Entwistle and Chris Squire nowadays, anyway. Dead strings can be a bit more forgiving of my playing, too!😊

Thanks Mike, I've been watching the series with great interest. For one thing, it had never occurred to me before that the apparent tension of certain strings might change with use. For what it's worth, the first set of bass strings I ever bought well over forty years ago were Rotosound RS66, and all these years later a fresh set of Swing Bass are still the best sounding strings on the market in my opinion.

Dunlop Nickel 40-100 ( black label) are my string of choice on most basses for the last 10 years or so. I also have D'Addario XL 40-100 on a couple of basses so I can give a reasonable assessment of the relative feel of the two sets. I would describe the tension of the Dunlops as "normal" and the D'Addarios as slightly more taught by comparison. The Dunlops certainly aren't low tension like DR round core strings or indeed Dunlop Super Bright strings. To me they feel just right. Just like the D'Addarios, they give a good all-purpose tone and they work well on a wide variety of basses. In my opinion they don't die off too quickly in so much as that they aren't overly bright to begin with. Once they are played in a bit they stay usable for ages, providing you aren't looking for Rotosound RS66 clank. I don't notice much difference to the D'Addarios in that respect. I know that Billy Gould from Faith No More uses exactly the same Dunlop 40-100 and he gets an exceedingly bright tone. Some would say too bright. They are/ were a reasonable price too, the current economic chaos not withstanding.

I can empathize with this. I have found that overall, I am much happier playing a less expensive bass with shortcomings than an relatively expensive model where I am, more often than not, agonizing over its imperfections, real or imagined.

These Le Fay basses have got a really distinctive sound, exceptionally clear and precise with a top end that sounds very extended but in a natural way. The tone sounds like it's coming from the wood and overall construction of the bass rather than just hyped up electronics.

Fair enough, I hadn't realised! I'm sure that if you had cash in your hand (18 grand I am now informed) and you visited some vintage dealers you might get a better deal for your money maybe, providing you could find a suitable bass. Thinking about it , I see far fewer vintage Rickenbacker basses for sale than vintage Fenders. I suppose the law of supply and demand means that old Rick's will go for big money. It just seems like there's always more demand for old Fenders . Without wishing to be controversial, in my experience it's hard enough to get fairly recent Rickenbacker basses to play well ( for my taste anyway). What chance would I have with an old one?

£14 grand? That's a beautiful bass, for sure. But if you are after a nice vintage Rickenbacker I'm sure you could do a better deal.

A lot of punters just want to say that they have seen The Legend and been in their presence. The standard of the music and overall of performance is not even a secondary consideration. I find it hard to think of any current Legendary Acts of stadium-filling stature that are still worth watching. The Rolling Stones, The Who, AC/DC, all acts that are trading on past glories that I wouldn't pay £5 to watch in my local park. And as for poor old Phil Collins, when I see the pitiful state he is in nowadays I feel quite upset. He looks like he needs to be in a nursing home more than he needs to be on stage. That said,I saw BB King in concert at a fairly small venue in 1986 and he was amazing, still the best live act I have ever seen. The whole performance was a masterclass in musicianship and showmanship. You got the feeling he had done a million professional gigs, and this was one of them. He wasn't trading on his reputation, he was showing everyone how he got that reputation. So I suppose that shows we shouldn't pre-judge.

Very good shout. Some people should never grow old and fat. Robert Smith is one of them.

Wow, what a great film! I was a big Ian Dury fan at the time, and I'm an even bigger one now. I can still remember buying New Boots And Panties bringing it home and being thrilled by the swearing. Ian was such a complex but likeable character. In retrospect, Ian Dury and the Blockheads were, like XTC, The Police and The Jam in so much as at the time they rode on the coattails of the punk movement. Funny thing is, listening to those classic records Blockheads now, such is the musicianship that they are closer to Steely Dan than the Sex Pistols!

Most artists go on way too long, but how would we know they were finished if they didn't keep trying? Paul McCartney hasn't made any music worth listening to for decades, but if he had packed it in thirty years ago we'd all be saying "what if..."

My favourite era for P Basses is the late 60's/ early 70's, primarily because of the neck profiles. I don't enjoy playing basses with a 1.75 nut width, so the pre -CBS Precisions are not really my cup of tea. An A or B width nut is much better for me. I certainly think a good Fender from my preferred late 60s/early 70's era sounds just as good as the Pre-CBS examples. (To be honest, I think a lot of the modern Fenders sound just as good as the old basses. But that's a whole other discussion/ heated argument 😄) I don't own any old Fenders nowadays but I have had far too many over the years to be romantic about them. I think you can find gems ( and duds) from every era, and what constitutes a gem(or a dud) depends to a great extent on the tastes and expectations of the player. I wouldn't pay the going rate for a vintage Fender bass nowadays because to me it's Rolls Royce money for an old Ford Capri instrument, but others may have a different view.