Lw.

Maybe you got a bad person the first time - I hope it gets sorted. I've always been very happy with their service when I've contacted them; I dropped my corvette once breaking the adjust-a-nut - emailed to ask about buying a replacement & they send me two FoC. They make such great basses, it'd be a shame if their customer service went the way of so many other large brands.

I think you'd have to be a pretty rockin' bassist to go out & play that red with white go faster stripes one! Not sure if I could pull it off, though as you seem to be driving round in a bright yellow porker maybe you're the man for the job! Nice looking basses.

That is filthy. I'd love tone like that. And a band that it would be suitable in. So you guys reckon that tone is coming from the bass not just flatwound strings & an overdriven tube amp?

Probably true that the kids are more inspired by what they can make on their laptop over learning an instrument & struggling away with bands but I still think there are a few out there. It seems to me that there are just less great bands out there to inspire or it takes longer for bands to grow to the giant size of bands like Cream, Led Zep et al. From the 80's onwards I can only really think of maybe a handful that are actual household names that are still recording & performing (RHCP, Foo Fighters, Muse, maybe Metallica), maybe the world has moved on. Still, someone must be inspiring people; I've seen several really great young bands come through Reading/London in the last year (a couple of them looked like they were about 14).

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1451864432' post='2944219'] That in itself sounds great. [/quote] Incredible really that even a big star over there was making that much in royalties; most artists never recoup and out of those that do at the major label I used to work at I'd say less than 20 artists/groups were earning office salary money.

Yikes - I can't believe they've done that to a vintage streamer (pretty much the only Warwick to hold their value). If it was mega cheap I'd still be tempted to buy it but I'd have to tell everyone I met it wasn't me that killed the puppy!

How often do you look at the front of the guitar when playing? I'm not sure if I'd even notice. My worry about blocks is that people bang on all the time about the tone of fingerboard wood so it seems strange to replace large parts of it with what is often just plastic (though I do like the ones that replace it with a different wood). I'm sure I wouldn't be able to hear the difference but if you follow some people's arguments then there may be one...

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1451723652' post='2942697'] ...apart from to produce some good music. [/quote] Producing good music having fun whilst doing it - perfect. Not sure what part of the world you're in but I'll come & listen to some obscure funk covers if you come through Reading.

2x12 sounds like the good choice for you, then just pick your brand (I'd look at tks). You should be able to hear one fine (unless you're sat on it) though you could always tilt it back on a stand if needed.

This is the way for most originals bands isnt it? Its easy to go out & play songs you know are popular; playing something that is a risk, be that your own song or an obscure cover, has got to be worthy of your time if thats what you enjoy.

As others have said; remember at the time there wasn't a great amount of pedals and effects available for bass so the signal path will have been relatively simple. Meaning this isnt something you can spend your way through. Bass -> pushed amp -> cab will do the job. I would have said P bass but in all honesty I bet geezer could get the tone out of almost any bass, so everyone else should be able to too.

Different brands but you've got the amp set-up I'm really lusting for at the moment; lightweight 1x12's & a big valve head - very jealous, I bet it's great.

Good way to start the day off - thanks for sharing!

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/268480-dha-vt1-di-eq-bass-mk2/ Yes - they're good, use mine at every gig & practice.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1449755820' post='2926529'] Tune your bass down a full step & use a capo for the half step & standard tuning stuff. [/quote] This is how I'd do it too. I've always found tracking terrible on pitch changing effects - much simpler doing it this way.

Frank Carter & the Rattlesnakes - Blossom Kadavar - Berlin Both great albums I bought that were released this year, neither of which appear on too many best of 2015 lists, which is a shame I think.

If you're on tour & just need something reliable that you won't be upset about losing I'd probably just go for a Fender-USA (though the mex ones are fine) - every guitar shop in the country will have one in stock too so they're easily replaceable if it goes walkies.

It will sound different how so is anyone's guess; larger speakers don't necessarily make more "depth" whatever you mean by that (though some might - depends). I'd use your EQ more.

Of course it depends on genre with more acoustic based music being easier to do without drums but computer generated drum sounds are getting so good now I think it's possible for almost any genre. I play in a metal/hardcore band and the drums on a lot of our demo's are actually just programmed in (they're just for sharing ideas/song learning) but most people that hear them can't tell. Many heavier metal bands than us use triggers in the drums so the FoH sound comes from a processor. I'd have no qualms about doing a different band in the future & doing gigs with a laptop plugged into the PA for the drums.

Nice - didn't realise they were still going. Great band.

Interesting, not really about royalties more about company rights & control. If this were just basic music royalties I'd say he didn't have a chance (assuming the others are telling the truth) but really this is asking; can a company transfer all rights to a different one without full board approval? I don't know but it seems a bit silly of them to me, they should have left the old rights in the old company & just put the new stuff through the new co. I kind of understand why they did it (either for ease of admin or they did actually want to put the boot in) but it seems they've created more work for themselves. Be interesting to see the outcome.

You could just buy a P neck & put it on your jazz - I'm thinking of doing this at the moment because when I flick back to the jazz from my (chunky-necked) Warwick it's just too thin for comfort.

Good Points @Cheddartom. Despite sharing a language & huge amounts of cultural history in many ways the US & the UK are incredibly different places to live, work & play music. There's a reason "breaking America" is the holy grail for many musicians, the population numbers means there is almost unlimited demand. It's just not like that in the UK; towns/cities in the UK only have so many people willing to go out & spend money on a given genre of music - I know if more than one heavy band comes through my town in a week, one of the nights will suffer because people can only afford to go to one of them. Same goes for bands that generally have a bit of a following - you can only ask them to come out & spend money on you so many times in a month before you start to question whether you're worth all their money! I think calling bands that don't gig every week not real bands is a bit snooty to be honest - like saying covers bands aren't real bands because it's just kareoke with guitars. We all know this isn't the case; groups of musicians that play music together are bands regardless of frequency, earnings or who wrote the songs.

I was considering getting a pedal board - I just use a tuner & pre-amp pedal (looper at home for writing but not much use live yet) but I just leave them on top of my amp at the moment. I don't really need any more fx at the moment but if I start using me I'll move them on to board.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1448295558' post='2914223'] Lw - There are loads of rivals around here. I think in terms of price there are 2 in direct competition (at the bottom, price wise). I don't see much advertising from them. I'm not sure what else to analyse? [/quote] Yes so narrow it down on the ones that are nearest you price level (no point comparing yourself to mega-bucks studios if that's not your demographic) then compare things like; services offered (above the norm), price offers, general cleanliness, online profile (if I type "studio stoke" into google are you the first one?), direct communication, advertising, local sponsorship (ie a stage at local charity gigs/festivals) etc... See what they're doing then make sure you're doing it all better. If you already are doing most of it focus on the online side. As an aside - looking at your website; you're incredibly cheap compared to everything down here - even the grimiest hole is £40 for three hours round these parts!