Misdee

It's the custom order business why so few examples exist. You had to physically go to your local guitar shop, order the bass from a paper catalogue, then wait forever with no news of when it was arriving. The old days, before the internet. Funnily enough, I saw some archive footage from the late 1960's on t.v recently, Johnny Cash or someone of that ilk, can't remember who, and the bass player had exactly this bass. It was colour footage from American t.v and the bass looked brand new and stunning. I noticed it because I've got a similar- looking black Fender 74 AVRI Jazz Bass but without the matching headstock.

What a lovely bass. In the late 1960's black was a custom order colour option for Fenders, as was the matching headstock. The original bass that inspired this reissue would have been a spare-no-expense flagship example at the time.

That's a truly stunning-looking bass, and I'm glad to hear the sound does it justice.

Rob's playing on that track is what in the world of fashion would be called "bang on trend", i.e he's epitomising everything that is considered necessary, appropriate and desirable according to current tastes in bass guitar. And of course, he's using an old P Bass with flats. Nothing wrong with any of that, and he does it all so well. Surely one of the best bass players in Britain nowadays. I think he's great.

Did you get a tax-free export price from the Japanese retailer, may I ask? I'd be very interested to hear your opinion of how good the new HAZ- inspired Legacy preamp is, as well as your impressions of the bass overall. For if there's someone qualified to give an informed opinion on Spector basses, it is you!🙂

I think all of the Black Sabbath members have had something of a reinvention in recent times. If the stark reality of their hedonistic exploits in their heyday was laid bare and judged by the morality of the present day, I think they wouldn't be so accepted by the mainstream. I've said this before but it's a bit surreal to me as someone who's been a Sabbath fan since the 1970's to see how they've become part of the establishment and are now (rightly) seen as one of Britain's greatest cultural exports. It was unthinkable forty years ago that Ozzy's eventual death would garner such blanket media coverage and widespread public displays of grief. Sabbath used to be wild, inaccessible and mysterious. I preferred it that way. It's all getting a bit much. I suppose that in later life Ozzy was as much a raconteur as he was a musician and that's what people will miss.

l cannot help but think that PIno might have done some endorsements at this late stage in his career because he has one eye on retirement, or at least cutting back a bit. He's never really put his name to anything much before, and he could have done deals with any company in the world. It's the same with Geddy Lee and Geezer Butler. They never did endorsements until the later stages of their career. It's not just a coincidence. Getting paid a percentage on sales of your signature models can be a nice little earner that requires relatively little effort on the part of the artist. I think they call it "passive income".

He used Thomastik and La Bella. I've listened to a few demos of these strings on YouTube now that they are in the hands of mere mortals. They sound really good, a lot closer to the sound of Thomastiks than the more muted traditional La Bella tone. The Pino strings seem to have a nice meaty sound, for sure, but on what I've heard so far I can't say they sound any better than TI's or La Bella, both of which cost significantly less. FWIW, just about the best flats I've tried at any price are the Dunlops. In terms of tone, they're the perfect blend of the thump of La Bella's and the articulate sound of the TI's. Not cheap at £80 for a four string set but definitely worth investigating if you're in the market for these EB PIno strings.

Back in his heyday Ozzy would have got up to some kind of dubious shenanigans with those chimpanzees. It would have been too good and opportunity to miss.They should count themselves very lucky.

In terms of the music, my favourite Sabbath was definitely the Dio era too, saw them live ect, but Ozzy was a personality cult all of his own, even back then. I agree that if Sabbath had changed their name at that point then maybe people would have more readily acknowledged what great music they were turning out in their own right. I saw Ozzy with Randy Rhodes on the first Blizzard Of Oz tour in 1980. It was pretty good but not great, just another routine gig on a Monday night in the provinces for Ozzy. I waited at the stage door afterwards to get my programme signed but Ozzy looking a bit dazed and glazed-over, wasn't very approachable. Sharon accompanied him straight across the car park to the hotel next door. A few minutes later you could see him through the window having a drink in the bar with Budgie, the support band. Probably just a quick nightcap and then straight to bed.

Rick Parfitt is looking a bit peaky at the back there. Who the chap throwing up the devils horns is I have no idea, but he looks more like our old milkman Dave than he does Ronnie Dio, that's for sure Can't see Ozzy being that enthusiastic about an embrace with Freddie Mercury either, but that's another story ...

For me the standout Ozzy performance is War Pigs on the Paranoid album. I can still remember the first time I ever heard that song on my record player when I was ten years old. My nephew bought that album on vinyl recently and he's thirteen. That's a time gap of going on for fifty years and he's into Sabbath just like I was. Black Sabbath are still the best to ever do that style of music. No one can get near them, even after all that time. Ozzy might (quite understandably) have been a bit shaky at the final gig but the rest of them were still a formidable unit. As far as I'm concerned they are one of Britain's greatest ever exports and something to be proud of.

As so often happens with high-profile people perceived by the wider public as hedonists, effectively Ozzy became a stuntman for excess and intoxication. I think a lot of the shock about his passing is based on the common assumption that, despite his obvious frailty, he was more robust than ordinary mortal men. By the time of his death Ozzy and Sabbath were household names and fully embraced by the mainstream media, but I remember when Ozzy and Sabbath were a cult band and hardly ever featured on TV ect in Britain. That was the real Black Sabbath and the source of their legend. In an age where rock stars could get away with behaving badly, Sabbath were a bit more dangerous than most, albeit that they were mostly dangerous to themselves. Never mind The Osbournes, I wish someone had made a reality show about Ozzy's life back in those days. It would've been the most interesting documentary ever.

Wow, only just seen this on the news. I'm shocked and I don't know why because he's obviously been very unwell for some time. Puts a different perspective on things if he knew he was getting close to the end. No exaggeration to say that Ozzy and Sabbath were a big part of my life and my imagination going back to when I was a kid in the 1970's. Ozzy was a cult icon even back then, before the rest of the world joined in. It's the end of an era, but his legend will only grow. Sabbath's music has already stood the test of time, and I have no doubt people will still be listening to them a hundred years from now. A one-off original, the genuine article. Rest in peace Ozzy.

I would have to say accordion, on the basis that to my ears any accordion is too much so a lot of accordion is unspeakable.

I too assumed it was PIno until I found out otherwise by accident, Mike. PIno does play on some tracks on that album, though. For my taste, one of the great bass lines of the 1980's .

That's a common misconception, Mike. It was David Paton, formerly of Pilot and Alan Parsons Project ect. who played bass on Nikita. Apparently he got to the studio early one day, was just playing his Stingray along to the backing track to test out a new piece of equipment, Elton heard it and loved it and the rest is history.

Talking of Elton John, it was great to see David Paton in the band. Looked like a vintage P Bass he was playing. Another great unsung bass player. So clever, so tasteful, so inventive. It must have been around that time that he was playing on tracks for Elton's Ice On Fire album, including Nikita which was a classic example of an ,'80s big hit where the bass guitar is so prominent like you seldom hear on pop records nowadays. Fair play to the BBC for putting all this footage on again. I've really enjoyed watching some of it. If so had the time I'd probably sit down and watch it all.

I've got a Yamaha BB2025 and the low B is awesome on the P-style pickup, even with the relatively light 120-gauged string I like to use. I suppose it depends on your definition of a P Bass because the you can definitely hear elements of that Fender sound in the Yamaha but it's got it's own distinct identity too. There's so many factors to considering what makes a low B string sound sufficiently uniform with the other four strings. I think the bridge design plays a huge part and the bridge Yamaha designed for those basses with a narrow witness point over the saddle really helps give clarity and even harmonics in the notes.

I've never understood why some folks see Adam Clayton as an inferior bass player. To anyone who understands the subtleties of the instrument he's a very good bass player. He knows how to create a hook with his bass parts- something that eludes a lot of virtuoso players- and when U2 were at their best his bass lines and gritty tone used to really drive the songs. There's an awful lot to like about how he plays the bass.

In my recollection U2 were already proselytising about various causes by the mid-80's. I think Live Aid just confirmed to them that it could be an integral part of their identity as a band. It also encouraged and confirmed Bono's egotistical delusions that his opinions were important. It was a transitional point in history where musicians pronouncements on issues they were usually completely unqualified to comment on became important as their music and the clothes they wore ect. Righteous causes became an essential accessory. We are still suffering the effects in the present day. Musicians have to subscribe to certain opinions and values or risk being ostracised.

I owned a JV Squire Jazz back when they first came out. It was a very nice bass. Not sure I would pay what they are going for nowadays for one, though. I've never played a Fullerton reissue from that era. I just recounting what was written about them at the time to the best of my recollection. With bass guitars as with most other things in life, people, myself included, can get nostalgic about anything.

I really enjoyed watching some of the footage again. I remember that day vividly, watched it on t.v at home and then went out for a pizza with a friend. I didn't agree with Bob Geldof's version of events at the time, still don't now. He certainly never got a penny out of me. Very few people ever have. Before you all rush to judgement, never mind Ethiopia, I've had a hard life too. It's about time someone had a rock concert raising money for me. The first thing that struck me was, by the standards of 2025, how amateurish and home-made it all was. It was all the better for it, too. The second thing that struck me was, bloody hell, don't all the artists look young! Then what struck me was, if they've all aged forty years, so must I have too! Some very tasty basses and bass playing on display. Those were the days! I particularly enjoyed Martin Kemp playing his Wal (underrated player in my opinion), Paul Denman with Sade(also underrated) and Adam Clayton with U2. It was a bit of a culture shock seeing Status Quo having to use all their formidable gigging experience not to trip over each others leads during their choreographed stage moves. Even buskers have got wireless systems nowadays.

I've been quoted two years a while ago for either a standard model or master built/custom shop (right handed). Sounds like Sadowsky Germany are pretty accurate with their estimated delivery times. That is very valuable to know. Thanks. I hope it was worth the wait🙂👍