Marc S

I had a Roadstar II, from back in my first spell of playing (I had a 20+ year break in playing, family, mortgage, house renovation etc) It stayed in its case all through my absence from playing, and was the only bit of bass kit I'd hung on to. I had no intention of playing again really, as although I had missed playing, I was just way too busy with the "other stuff" of life, and on the very rare occasion I decided to have a quick dabble on bass - I 'd completely forgotten how to play anything, or what little I could actually remember, I found I couldn't stretch to reach notes, or I'd miss the correct string, and my timing was ragged - so back in the case it went.... Anyhow, I took up playing again quite some years back now, as my ex wife had bought our son a bass, completely out of the blue. So I started playing again, playing along with my son, and it was great! My enthusiasm now rekindled, I went out & bought several more basses and all new amp gear. I still liked the Ibanez, but found it wasn't suiting any of the bands or duos I was in... My lad loved it though - so I gave it to him (he now has too many basses too! lol). Not sure which model my old one is, but it looks very similar, but doesn't have the 2 humbuckers. You don't see many of them around these days, but they are a great design, I think. Very playable, nice fast neck (if a tad slim for my taste now). In fact, I'm sure mine was the first active bass I'd seen or played. I'm pretty sure mine came from around 1982.... I don't think you will regret buying that bass. It's a cool colour, and I'm sure it sounds & plays great. I'm glad mine is now with my son, as if I'd sold it, I wouldn't have got much for it - plus I may have looked at the empty space it occupied and thought "what have I done?" Hope you continue to enjoy it. PS. Sorry about the rambling life story of my / my son's Ibanez

Hello Bazz, Nice to hear from a fellow bassist so far away. G'day to you, or as we say in Wales Shwmae I too had one of those "breaks for life" from playing - mine was near enough 25 years! Wish I hadn't taken that break - but there you go. There are many things I probably shouldn't have done lol As Oopsdabasist says - post long & often Cheers Marc

I'm not a great bower myself - I just have a dabble. But I have noticed that of the different types of string I've tried, there are huge differences between them all. Some are much easier to bow, and some are not suitable at all.... But as TheRev says above, it is probably a combination of all 3 factors ....and maybe some other factors you haven't thought about yet? And yes, try different strings more suited to arco Most of all, welcome back to the wonderful world of DB / EUB, and best of luck

It can be hard to spot a fake, if the person doing them has got everything as close as possible to the original. I don't think it's a Squier, as I'm sure they don't do an option for through body stringing, which is what this bass appears to have. Though I could be wrong there - someone on here will know whether that is correct..... It looks pretty much OK to me. But closely check those decals - run your finger over them, to see if they have been changed and oversprayed. Look for edges on the decals. Check the quality of the finishing on the neck binding and check for any sharp-ish edges to the frets..... Look for quality of finish in general; check pots are smooth, check quality of nut - is it straight + routs are clean & neat. Check pickguard screws are dead straight, and also not loose Most of all, good luck - looks a nice bass but of in any doubt - don't buy it.... something will come up EDIT: I didn't spot the additional holes in the bridge - has the bridge been replaced? Are they holes? Is there a close-up photo of the headstock? (Front) EDIT2: Should this model of bass have the newer, lightweight style tuning pegs?

Hey Kert, you deleted all the earlier pics already (or at least, I can't see them) And I wanted to do a before & after comparison Keep going with this project matey - you'll be gigging with this bass, and wearing matching sparkly short trousers before you know it

Although I wouldn't say I was a massive fan - I've always liked them quite a lot... or a bit - depending on what year you asked me, or what mood I was in at the time lol. However, I was just going to answer as others have done - "comfortably numb" But then I started thinking more about my fave tracks. And the whole of Dark Side of the Moon is pretty awesome really - especially "Money" and "Us and them". Then I suddenly thought of "Shine on you crazy diamond" and "wish you were here" and as I started to type this answer, while thinking of the earlier Syd Barrett stuff, I thought - you can't leave out the classic "See Emily play" - perhaps my favourite of them all? Nice thread, as I'm already thinking of tracks from "Animals" and "Division Bell" but better close there See, I'm more of a fan than I even thought I was

Hello Ralf, and welcome to basschat I don't know much about AER. But there seem to be many lightweight bass amps & cabs around these days. I like Markbass, Epifani, and TC Electronics gear myself. I particularly like my 2 Epifani 1x10 cabs. Despite their small size, and light weight they do pack a punch! plenty of other options too, from the like of PJB and Barefaced etc etc Personally, as I get older, I'm really glad equipment is being designed with portability in mind EDIT: Genz Benz and Vanderkley are also names that come up regularly and seem to have many fans All the best Marc

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1478683194' post='3170811'] ......Nothing wrong with not wanting to be in a band at all, but when it all comes together and it's a great feeling. [/quote] Absolutely! If you're happy noodling at home, experimenting and jamming along to whatever you want to - fine Yes, bands can be an absolute pain, and other people's egos can be frustrating to deal with, but that goes for pretty much any other walk of life too. It's the same if you play any team sport, or join an event involving other people (I used to get similar stuff when organising country walks for heaven's sake lol) Yes, you can sometimes get drunks coming up to you, saying their Dad plays better than you. BUT you can also get complimented on your playing, or your sound. And hopefully, the whole sound and vibe of the band. Last Sunday, I played 10 songs at an open mic with a new band I've been involved in setting up "The Soggy Mountain Boyos" - they're fab guys, maybe at last I've met the best band members - it can happen. People loved the songs we played, they loved the sound. I got complimented on my slap style DB playing - that's never happened before, so it felt great (I've only been playing slap DB a few weeks, and the band has only been together just over a month. At the end of the summer, I played my biggest gig yet, at the Elvis Festival in Porthcawl. The venue was big-ish, but it was rammed. The place rocked from the opening bar of the opening song, and it was a brilliant atmosphere No amount of noodling at home could ever even come anywhere near the highs - but that's my opinion. I'm sure there are plenty of players on here who've played live and loved it, even if there are only 10 people in the audience, it's possible to have a great gig....

When I started playing BG as a begiiner, I was quickly able to use all 4 fingers on my left hand (probably because I'm left handed, but play a right handed bass). On DB it is of course, the preferred technique not to use your 3rd finger I discovered this on various youtube lessons, and tried to train myself to play the "correct" way, and not use this finger on DB Usually, if I concentrate sufficiently, I'm able not to use it most of the time However, there are times when I'm a bit lazy with technique, and moreover, times when I just find it seems natural for me to use all 4 fingers like artisan says above, I've probably just switched over from playing BG...... bad habits, but hey ho, old dog, new tricks etc etc

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1478267443' post='3168039'] The bass intro to Princess of The Streets is a work of art. [/quote] I second that - one of the best intros I've ever heard

Not sure what the actual width was, but I recently played a Steve Harris sig, and compared it to a few other Precisions in the same shop The Steve Harris was the widest, and deepest / chunkiest of the lot. It reminded me of an early '70's P I had years back, which was wider & chunkier than other P's I had tried at that time - mine had a maple board.....

Hello Markus Welcome to basschat Good luck in your search for a '59 Precision - I'm sure it'll be expensive But if you want one.... that itch won't go away Cheers from South Wales Marc

I'm careful with all my equipment, and try to look after it as best I can. I've rarely had a brand new bass - mostly second hand. It's funny, I know, but if the bass was mint when I bought it, I wanted it to remain so. I once had a near mint Rick, and I was way too precious about that, so rarely gigged it (twice I think) Nowadays, I either gig my Squier CV P or my Fender Roadworn P or J. So I'm not too bothered if they get an additional ding or scratch. The Squier is near mint still.... so I suppose I'll be annoyed if/when that gets its' first scratch or ding!

If you have found a sound & style that works for you, then that's great. But as for any differences in the sound of the bass, I quite often slide up to higher notes, and I like the sound of the slide itself. The slide and the notes at the dusty end of the bass are integral to some songs, like RHCP "Give it away" or Macca's bassline on "Come Together". In fact, those are 2 of my fave bass lines, and I can't imagine either without the slide to the dusty end You may not use that end of the neck much, but never consider it out of bounds EDIT: Also, when playing "Come together" I quite like the sound of a slide back down from the higher end of the neck, to the lower