Happy Jack

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1441278893' post='2857439'] One of the most famous and successful bass players in history would argue 'No'. [i][b]We don't need no education ...[/b][/i] [i][b] [/b][/i] [/quote] [quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1441282321' post='2857497'] I think its dangerous to extrapolate from the most talented 0.001% to what works for those of us with more modest levels of natural talent. [/quote] I rather hoped the smiley would be a giveaway that this was tongue in cheek. The Wall was written by Roger Waters ...

Given my well-publicised history of back trouble, and the presentations I have given at Bassbashes on the subject of bass players and their back issues, I was quite chuffed to get an email which promised to address a matter of considerable concern to me. Sad to say, it turned out to be the magazine 'Bass Player' trying to sell me out-of-date copies ...

Yup, they are particularly useful for newbs. You get stage time in a relatively friendly atmosphere, you get to play with a variety of different musicians, you get exposed to a much wider range of music than perhaps you expect. Above all, you learn to pay attention to what other musicians are doing and playing so that you don't get left behind by an unexpected change or repeat, so that you can spot when the guitarist has decided to take a second solo, etc. And you learn to wing it, to busk a tune you've never played before, to vamp on a chord while the singer tries to remember the next verse, to recover from mistakes (yours, and those of others). I've never once regretted learning these things. Yes, you can make useful connections too. Not always, but sometimes. My main band (Junkyard Dogs) still has as its core me plus two guys who met at a regular jam session, while another band (Sapphire Grooves) has as its core me plus two other guys who met at a regular jam session.

We could play Big Bottom ...

I'm on my third (and hopefully final) attempt at wireless at the moment, and I'm delighted with it: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/264519-smooth-hound-innovations-digital-wireless-guitar-system/ Put in a pair of new batteries before EVERY gig (well, why wouldn't you?) and - as Chris says - always lay out a cable for emergencies.

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1441275413' post='2857403'] I can donate an SKB 4u rack to the charity raffle. [/quote] That's all very well Steve, but why aren't you getting married at the Bassbash?

One of the most famous and successful bass players in history would argue 'No'. [i][b]We don't need no education ...[/b][/i] [i][b] [/b][/i]

Brand names? You want brand names? [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/Sundry/GuitarVan_zps4d9da8e9.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Just%20Stuff/Sundry/GuitarVan_zps4d9da8e9.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/Music%20and%20Musicians/leonid_bruk_balalaika_contrabass_sm.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Just%20Stuff/Music%20and%20Musicians/leonid_bruk_balalaika_contrabass_sm.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Have to say, this took me by surprise. I was about to type "just Google it", then I thought, no, I'll Google it. Hmmmmm. I was completely unable to find anyone supplying keys or key overlays in anything other than white and black. And it wasn't easy finding them, either. That's not what I expected. Surely there HAS to be a market for such a product? Why should you not be able to re-finish your keyboard in orange and blue if you want to? If I was younger (and had more ambition) I think I'd look into this as a business venture.

In my experience it all matters far less than most musicians think. Most of the time, what the punters "hear" is the original song playing in their heads. The band that they are actually listening to is simply providing a playlist ...

Now that I've spent 10 days poolside, you might be surprised at the colour palette that would be revealed by going topless ...

You don't get many Americans trying to buy vintage Fenders from Britain. Trying to buy vintage Wals from the USA is equally pointless, I'm afraid.

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1441194272' post='2856793'] What's the aim of the shootout? [/quote] The tweeter. It would make it too easy if they were to aim at the woofer. Happy to help.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1441190850' post='2856738'] [/quote] Ye Gods And Little Fishes! What is wrong with you people? If I had hair that colour, do you seriously imagine I'd be wearing that T-shirt?

BC Rich Mockingbird, NJ Series, 1983 [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20body%201_zpsq1qswwwu.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20body%201_zpsq1qswwwu.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I've lusted after one of these Rich NJ basses since trying Silverfoxnik's BC Rich Eagle a year ago ... all those lovely Bernard Edwards tones on tap. Eventually this Mockingbird cropped up on eBay (owned by an Italian pro player in Spain) and I realised that it was the same bass but with a different body shape. [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20full%202_zpswgabtmwq.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20full%202_zpswgabtmwq.jpg[/IMG][/URL] This is a really early model and they clearly hadn't got the build quality completely sorted. The bass plays and sounds amazing, but there are oddities like the mis-aligned tuners, which appear to be as they left the factory. [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20headstock%202_zpsn1o0tzwj.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20headstock%202_zpsn1o0tzwj.jpg[/IMG][/URL] It weighs dead on 8lbs which fits in beautifully with my obsession with lightweight gear. The colour is almost impossible to photograph properly. Bluejay tried a variety of locations, backgrounds and lighting and the bass comes out variously white, grey, a bit greenish, maybe a bit brownish ... in the flesh it's a glorious Shoreline Gold trending towards Green, with a lovely metal-flake finish. [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20full%203_zpswtru6ac1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/NBD%20BC%20Rich%20-%20full%203_zpswtru6ac1.jpg[/IMG][/URL] After years of Precisions, Precisions, and more Precisions, my most recent purchases come as a bit of a surprise. [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/Some%20Beauties%202_zpsfa66pw38.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/BC%20Rich%20Mockingbird%20NJ%201983%20CURRENT/Some%20Beauties%202_zpsfa66pw38.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Incidentally, we all know that BC Rich are based in New Jersey, so obviously the BC Rich NJ Series is some sort of homage to their home base, right? Not so much. It's a piss-take. BC Rich wanted to do a Fender/Squier thing and make their own cheap copies of their own instruments, so they opened up a production facility in Japan in the city of Nagoya. NJ? Nagoya Japan series. http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/B-C_Rich_Beginnings

So they are now looking for a backing vocalist?

I bought the Samson years ago as a cheap emergency back-up. Works absolutely fine, does exactly what it says on the box. Like Ed_S (above) I now have various high-quality units (Radial, Fishman, etc.) so I never use the Samson myself, but it has come in handy for helping out other band members and at live recordings on quite a few occasions. Sound? I've had no compliments about it, but then I've had no complaints either.

Paul say we can has drummer.

Bass ... that's the one with four strings, right?

Sad to relate, I suspect that you may be embarking on a (possibly) fruitless quest but one that will (probably) be very expensive. In my admittedly limited experience, things that sound really good when loud hardly ever sound really good when quiet, no matter how many electronic thingies you chuck at them. I'd suggest you concentrate on simply finding something that sounds really good when quiet.

Spotted in Heraklion, Crete: [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/Sundry/Lightweight%20cab%2002_zpslicgfjf2.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Just%20Stuff/Sundry/Lightweight%20cab%2002_zpslicgfjf2.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Combining the best in miniaturised speaker construction with all the advantages of an old beer crate, this one will really give the Gen 2 Barefaced range a run for their money. The enclosure is fully ported for maximum output, and itself comprises a large number of possible handles. The finish is hard-wearing and gig-proof, while the design requires no feet. [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Just%20Stuff/Sundry/Lightweight%20cab%2001_zpsx8qjy86r.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Just%20Stuff/Sundry/Lightweight%20cab%2001_zpsx8qjy86r.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Not sure about these. I find a hammer works best.

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1440897343' post='2854652'] It matters not that everyone might not have an epiphany in a musical sense , as long as some do. [/quote] Send not to see for whom the Tubular Bells toll ... they toll for thee.

The last time West Ham beat Liverpool at Anfield the top of the Hit Parade (ask your Mum) was She Loves You. Until today. It's a sign, I tells ye, a sign!