Happy Jack

... what should I go after? By 8-string I mean four pairs tuned EADG, not an ironing board. I played a John Diggins monster at the Bassbash, heaviest bass I have [u][i][b]ever [/b][/i][/u]picked up, but it did sound simply immense. Tried out one of the current Hagstrom 8-strings yesterday but it was thoroughly [i]meh [/i]and really rather badly made too. Bumped into Dave Swift and asked his opinion. He really rates the old Ibanez Musician and Ibanez Studio 8-strings but says that they're really heavy. Given the size of the man, if he thinks they're heavy then I stand no chance. What does the Basschat massive recommend?

You need to broaden the range of music you're prepared to play.

Love the toilet flush at 5:10. Also the World's Biggest Scrunchy at the first fret. As to the bass itself, really not my thang but it's clear that he has his head sorted as to what he's doing and why, and that's really all that matters. I have to say that, quite apart from not liking ERBs and such, I really hated the tone of that bass. Nothing to do with it being an ERB or with his playing, just many miles away from what I look for in one of my own basses.

Or maybe a Chesterfield extended-range 6-string sofa with extra buttons.

Outstanding!

It worked better at no.51.

Nine months and counting ... we should run a sweepstake not on the date of this bash but on the date when a date is set. http://youtu.be/LU-cqBzqGHc

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1443572265' post='2875914'] I'm not suggesting running around with a cement bag to tone up but atrophy is common with unused muscles and might explain the need for lighter and lighter basses with some folk. [/quote] OK, I get it. Back trouble is caused by your bass not being heavy enough.

One of many reasons that I'm glad I didn't grow up in the 80s.

Hofner 500/1 = 5lbs Hofner 500/7 = 5lbs Miller Fretless = 6lbs SGC Nanyo SB320 = 7.2lbs Mike Lull P5 = 7.5lbs Status Streamline 5 = 7.5lbs Fender Precision (1976) = 7.5lbs

Well that's a very crude way of putting it but ... erm ... yes.

Point it at them, then!

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1443518298' post='2875374'] Is there a simple solution (no hooking up laptops etc) [/quote] [quote name='ambient' timestamp='1443521630' post='2875426'] An M-Audio Oxygen 25 can be bought for about £50 off eBay. They're nice and will work with a laptop running whatever software you prefer, Logic Pro, ableton etc. [/quote] Communication fail.

Yup, that's how the really big superstars operate. Don't talk to other musicians or describe what you want from sidemen, don't bother with rehearsals, just turn up and play - it'll be alright on the night.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Nady-SGM12-Shotgun-Condenser-Microphone-Shotgun-Mic-New-/361392575625?hash=item5424ad1489 Attach it to an existing pole (lighting, banner, whatever) pointing at the back of the room.

eBay "Roland Keyboard" Used UK only < £100 Ignoring unfinished auctions (where the price may well end over £100) I get three immediate solutions to your problem. None of them will ever feature in a Rick Wakeman live show, but they'll all do pretty much what you've described.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443512867' post='2875310'] Paul McCartney should really stop spreading nonsensical Beatles myths :-) [/quote] [size=4][color=#252525][font=sans-serif]"I think George thought my bass-playing was a little bit busy."[/font][/color][/size] [size=4]I suspect that's the quote you have in mind, neh? It's from an interview he gave in 2000, 30 years after the song was recorded, 20 years after it had become a commonplace for people (especially critics) to claim that Harrison thought the line too busy.[/size] Macca never said anything like this during the 70s, neither did Harrison. You might want to check out "I [color=#ff0000][i][b]think [/b][/i][/color]George [color=#ff0000][i][b]thought [/b][/i][/color]..." as a piece of logical positivism. Paul has always been the custodian of his own and the Beatles' legends. When the legend becomes the truth, print the legend.

I've never had any trouble at all when playing through a Fender Rumble. Mind you, I've never actually played through one. But this is the Internet so why should that stop me from (i) having an opinion on the subject, and (ii) posting extensively as if I'm an expert?

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1443389444' post='2874377'] Have you ever heard the version from the Concert For Bangladesh? - Klaus Voormann does a great job with it although he simplified the A minor twiddley bit. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ei6VyjlgxZU[/media] [/quote] [quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1443506229' post='2875254'] The bloke who wrote it was, and he doesn't like it either :-) [/quote] So there's a source that tells us that Harrison thought Macca's line "too busy" (though I'm pretty sure that comment has nowhere been directly attributable to Harrison), yet when he gets the chance to re-do the song and with an old and trusted friend on bass, what does he ask Klaus to do? Replicate Macca's bassline. This is just another of the myths to emerge from the acrimonious Beatles break-up. Things may (or may not) have been said that were over the top and not really meant. Incidentally, don't all the musicians playing with George in that clip look deliriously happy to be there.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Metal-Axxe-Bass-Guitar-Warped-shape-Active-Electronics-/181850799774?hash=item2a5726fe9e

Valve amps cab be very sensitive to the mains power supply. I've played in pubs where the mains was so poor (and, frankly, so dangerous) that my rig was receiving well short of 240V. IME this doesn't just affect power tubes (as you might expect) but also the pre-amp valves in my OTB500. The cut-off point seems to be as the power supply trends down towards 180V. It isn't a gradual or intermittent thing either; the amp works fine until it just stops without warning. If you use rack gear on stage then you could do a lot worse than to buy http://www.thomann.de/gb/samson_powerbrite_pb10_pro.htm or similar. I have a Phonic PPC9000E in my rack (sadly discontinued) and it was the LED display that first alerted me to the real problem. None of which will prevent what happened to me at the Ealing Beer Festival last year. The organisers had floodlighting on pylons, only to be switched on at the end of the evening to encourage punters to go home, and to make the clear-up easier for the staff. All the power for the event was being run off a serious diesel generator. We were halfway through Spirit In The Sky at the end of the set when they fired up the floodlights. The sudden current draw produced a huge dip in supply elsewhere in Walpole Park and my Matamp just stopped dead.

I'm surprised at how little actual amplification the BigHead offers. The sound is excellent, but it seems to have very little headroom.

The Real Book.

Not bad at all, especially given that he'd been dead for two years by then ...

I asked him to do my Miller fretless, and he said he didn't have the right Allen keys with him!