Misdee

I can still remember the day I bought Shadows and Light and brought it home and played it. I had heard Weather Report and some of Jaco's solo stuff, but this made much more sense to me. Within the context of Joni Mitchell's songs I could really appreciate Jaco's genius for the first time. To this day, Jaco's work with Joni is a benchmark I judge other bass players by.

Something I gleaned recently is that while Yes were creating Close To The Edge, Steve Howe was very much in the thrall of John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. That influence had never really occurred to me despite having heard that album hundreds of times, but now it makes perfect sense. It's also a reminder of the astonishing brilliance of John McLaughlin as a guitarist. By the time they wrote Sound Chaser the band were absorbing some of the influence of Return To Forever and Weather Report. To me this is an interesting perspective because Yes get categorised by a lot of folks as coming from a predominantly European symphonic tradition in terms of their musical influences. This is not true, and Steve Howe in particular has always been a lexicon of guitar styles from a variety of genres and eras. The rest of the band were as hip as anyone at the time, too. Yes had plenty (maybe a few too many) of twiddly bits, that is undeniable, but even the twiddly bits were quite diverse.

Not quite, no. What makes a decent Fender-style bass is a whole other discussion (argument). But at least Fender want to sell you a Fender. Joe Dart has got EBMM to sell you a Fender, at a premium price. What does that tell you about his esteem for Music Man basses? He tried one for a while and decided it wasn't for him.

The fundamental question about the Joe Dart Signature model MK2 is what will this bass do for you that a Fender (or other brand of your choosing) Jazz Bass won't? The answer is ... nothing. Joe Dart, Jack Stratton et al will be wetting themselves laughing at plebs on internet forums agonizing over the minute differences between this EBMM offering and any old other Jazz Bass. Joe is a terrific player who can get a tune out of any old bass, and does. That's the joke. He couldn't give a monkeys.

I never knew she played the bass, although I do remember her saying that her favourite band is the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I would have liked her to be Labour leader, but I think her chance has passed now. I really want to order a Serek bass but the current rate of exchange makes it just too much money to be a good deal. I will have to console myself with a Fender Mustang in the meantime. The Midwestern is a bit too lo-fi hipster looking for my taste, but a Lincoln or Sacramento would really float my boat.

Joe Dart is taking the proverbial. He's got EBMM to make him a Fender Jazz Bass and call it a signature model. I suppose the joke is on whoever buys one. That won't be me.

I take your point entirely about giving you some consistency with a range of amps. I have also had a bit of a journey with learning how the blend control interacts with the other controls. One of the good things about the Sansamp is the way it can faithfully recreate the subtle distortion you get when you dig in playing through a valve amp. I have learnt that dialling the blend control back a bit really enhances that sound.

I wish I had bought a white Status Series 2 back in the late 1980's. I remember seeing one on TOTP circa 1987 and thinking how it seemed to capture the style of the time so perfectly ☹️ But then again why stop there? I wish it was the late 1980s, full stop. Nowadays it's only a cocktail of ibuprofen and medicated shampoo that's keeping me going. I'm genuinely upset that Status are winding down production. At least they are very much going out on top and doing it out of choice. Regardless of the trend towards vintage gear, there is still plenty of worldwide demand for Status basses.

I totally agree. I was just trying to say that the BDDI adds a very definite character to the sound, some (not me) would say a bit too much. I use mine primarily for recording. To be honest, I can't understand why so many people use the Bass Driver and similar preamps through an amp. Why not just buy an amp you like the sound of in the first place? I suppose if it makes the sound better then fair enough, and with so many bass players using distortion nowadays ( it wasn't always that way, I remember when most bass players were trying to get as clean a signal as possible) at least with a BDDI you can rely on a bit of fuzz with plenty of bottom end. Whatever you want to use it for, I think the BDDI is excellent value for money. To me it sounds as good in its own way as much more expensive competition and it's very nicely made.

Re the Gus basses, I've been looking into them this afternoon. I really like the sound and a lot of the design features. I really like the overall shape and the ergonomics. What I don't like is the tubular metal top horn and bottom bout. If I analyze what I couldn't reconcile myself to then it is that. It just seems like an unnecessary gimmick. Otherwise I might buy one. The Status Streamline, in comparison, is futuristic ( bearing in mind that the future is what happened circa 1983) but the aesthetic is practical. Form follows function, to paraphrase the much- vaunted Bauhaus principal. The thing about graphite basses is what are you looking for in terms of sound? Do you want it to sound like a wooden bass but with the advantages of graphite construction, or do you want it to sound unashamedly like it's made of carbon fibre? To my ears, Status basses sound like carbon fibre. The scant YouTube demos of the Gus bass I have seen sound much more wooden and organic. Neither is better than the other, just different. My reference point for graphite bass tone will always be the Steinberger L2. That's my ideal. Status basses don't sound like a Steinberger, but it's very definitely a graphite kind of tone. In contrast, I had a custom Zon Legacy Elite as my main bass back in the 1990s and it was distinctly and deliberately un-graphite like in its tone. When you see that a Gus bass is about seven or eight grand, you realise what good value Status basses are/were. I'm not saying the Gus Basses are overpriced,by the way, just that Status were a very reasonable price considering the world class quality of the basses.

I'm sorry if you feel that way. I'm just genuinely surprised about the Sigue Sigue Sputnik business. Maybe it's me that was/is out of touch with the consensus of informed opinion. I'm glad you enjoyed them. 🙂

Not sure what this is supposed to prove. 😀🙂 Okay, my mistake. It must be me then.

Modulus are a funny one. I think the name was bought by a music shop somewhere in the Midwest. I'm not sure who is actually producing the basses and to what standard. I might have to look into that! The downside at the moment is the weakness of the pound against the dollar. Buying British never seemed more appropriate.

Gus Basses. Never played one, but I must say that the aesthetic doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I'm sure to some folks they look stylish, but I would feel a bit ridiculous playing one in public. To me they look like the kind of thing Sigue Sigue Sputnik would've used on TOTP circa 1987 ( had they actually been successful). What do I know though? We're living in strange times where inherently modern things are considered old fashioned and the only way to be current is to look to the past. But that is complicated by the fact that the modern age is now old enough that people can look back at that era as being vintage. I'm sure buying basses never used to be this complicated.

The thing about the BDDI in its various guises is that it has a (very) distinct sonic personality. It's not trying to be neutral or transparent. It's aim is to impart itself on your tone. And as with most things that are distinctive, some people will love it and some people will be less enthusiastic. I've tried all sorts of preamps in all sorts of price ranges and I end up coming back to the BDDI precisely because it is so stylised in it's tone. I like that it's idiosyncratic and occasionally difficult to work with. That's preferable to being bland.

The most important thing is that Rob Green stays well, that almost goes without saying. But what a loss to the industry! I've got a Streamline bass that I had made for me a while ago and it's a superb bass. A unique design with a sound to match. I've had other Status basses and they were all very enjoyable. In a bass manufacturing world of vintage- fixated retrogression, Rob's basses are uncompromisingly modern, and refreshingly original with their own identity. It's the end of an era. Never mind Status Graphite, I remember reading the review of the Rob Green Strata Bass in Sounds magazine. That must be 40 years ago. I also remember seeing that actual bass for sale secondhand in the Bass Center in about 1987. Rob Green retiring also raises the question, if you want to buy a new bass with a graphite neck who would make you one? According to some folks on Talkbass, Zon are hopelessly back-ordered and unable to deliver completed instruments within a reasonable time frame. I am scratching my head trying to think of other options.

I've got the V2 version and it's got a bit too much zing for my ears! The top end has always been a bit too sharp for my middle of the road taste. I have to set the treble and presence about 11 o'clock and even then the Bass Driver never sounds how I would like to it to unless I use a compressor with it, but when I do that it sounds exceptionally good. It's a terrific pedal with so many practical uses. Maybe your bass just needs some new round wound strings.

You can tell Neil Murray is posh because he's from Scotland but he doesn't have a Scottish accent. Rockschool was a seminal experience for a whole generation of young musicians. I thought it was great at the time. Looking at it again now, I am still of the same opinion. You've got to remember, it was a era before the internet, YouTube ect and accurate information was a lot harder to come by. Most folks still didn't have video recorders. You had to watch it and remember it! Kudos to the BBC for such an innovative idea and having the balls to see it through.

The Pat Peeves of my imagination is playing the pubs and clubs of the North East and still telling the story of how he nearly auditioned to be the original bass player in The Sweet but missed the train to London due to a mishap involving a crate of brown ale, a glamorous barmaid and a pair of silver hotpants.

I've got the Diamond BC1 and it sounds wonderful with whatever bass I use it with. Subtle and very chunky sounding is how I would describe it. Makes your bass sound like the ones on your favourite recordings. A compressor for enhancing your tone more than for squashing it. Thoroughly recommend. The Cali76 is superb, too. You really can't go wrong with either. The best two compressors I have tried, but I must say the Markbass Compressore sounds great in the demonstrations I have heard. The EBS Multicomp still sounds good to me, but is no longer the market leader it once was.

Does anyone else keep looking at the title of this thread and thinking it's about a bassist called Pat Peeves? I fall for it every bleedin' time...

He might also be reaching a stage in his life where he doesn't want to be burdened with material possessions that no longer bring joy or satisfaction. Or he might just need to free up some space. If it was my bass I would be looking to get that kind of money for it if I could. And I wouldn't be feeding any Ethiopians with the proceeds, either. Let's face it, the way prices are going up in the shops at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if musicians in Ethiopia record a song for charity to help people in the UK get adequate nutrition.

Without wishing to muddy the waters, I seem to remember that Overwater claim it was one of their basses that was featured on the actual recording of Do They Know It's Christmas? This bass is incontrovertibly the one played by John Taylor in the video, but if Overwater are correct then it's not necessarily on the final version of the song. I seem to remember Chris May was at the recording studio on the day. It's all getting to be a long time ago so forgive me if I am wrong, but I have got a definite recollection that Overwater promotional literature used to mention this accolade amongst their other achievements.

That finish was achieved by chemically treating the wood ( sycamore or maple). Over time it turned out that the finish discolours. A lot of the lighter stains like the one on the bass Martin Kemp used at Live Aid have taken on a greenish tinge. ( Last I heard that bass belonged to Iggy Pop's bass player back in the early 1990s).