Happy Jack

Do with it? I'd tune it. And by the time you've finished tuning the third neck, it's time to start re-tuning the first neck.

Alternatively, Bonzodog was right in the first place and he's odd. Just saying ...

You're sure you mean "harmonics"? The Fishman Fission allows you to add an octave up, a 5th above that, and a further octave. Also to "dirty it up" with some distortion. It's not harmonics though ...

It is, but it's changed its style of music fairly radically and the clientele has not exactly changed for the better.

We probably propped up the bar together at the King's Head then, prior to visiting the ludicrous multi-shop DIY store known as Poores! I also used to treat myself to lunch at Angela's Restaurant (sadly long gone).

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1414509386' post='2590012'] Was that the John Bull on Chiswick High Street? I used to play there in the early 80s. [/quote] Close ... Chiswick High Road. Sad to say, the early 80's was just after I moved up to Acton High Street and the John Bull was too far to walk. Looks like I missed you.

I've spent the vast majority of the last 40 years living in and around Chiswick. Back in the 70s the main music pub for miles (and, conveniently, my local) was the John Bull opposite Gunnersbury Station. Loads of soon-to-be-big-name bands, already-quite-big-name bands, and never-gonna-be-big-name bands played there, weekend in, weekend out. The pub was permanently packed and a serious cash cow for the operators. The backlash in the Eighties against perceived links between "John Bull" and the National Front did for the name, the anti-drink-drive campaigns in the Nineties did for the crowds, and by the Noughties the renamed "Gunnersbury" pub still had full music facilities but only put on music half a dozen times a year. Not to worry though. The music scene shifted to the other end of the High Road. In the 70s the George IV was the place you went on a Saturday night if you were looking for a knock-down, drag-'em-out punch-up. By the 90s it was where you went if you were looking for the local cattle market. So when the Gunnersbury died as a music pub the George IV was nicely placed to take up the slack and for the next 10 years it did exactly that. Meanwhile the Gunnersbury got ... ahem ... redeveloped. Quite a lot of money changed hands somewhere along the way, and what was once a big coaching-type pub with a large yard became a large ground-floor pub with a bunch of new-build houses immediately behind and a bunch of expensive flats on top of it and a bunch of serious noise-related issues attached to it. No more bands, then. But that's OK because we still had the George IV. Until they did a refurb during the summer of 2014. Apparently they spent a small fortune turning it into ... erm ... well ... much the same as it was before, only now with the acoustics totally wrecked. Walk in off the street and if there are three women talking to each other at the bar you'll need earplugs. I've never heard such an appallingly lively, cacophonous room in my life. No more bands, then. ************************* And that's just Chiswick. ************************* In the last 10 years alone, I'd say that well over half the reliable music pubs within five miles of me have gone, and not been replaced. Acton, Brentford, Chiswick, somewhere beginning with 'D', they've all seen long-standing music pubs either give up having bands or give up being pubs. I mean, I admire a good Pine Furniture Warehouse Sale as much as the next man, but frankly I'd have preferred it to remain a music pub.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1414504712' post='2589924'] In the late 80s/ early 90s, I went to loads of Clapton's Royal Albert Hall concerts and paid about £25 a ticket for front stalls, mostly within five rows of the stage. I saw he has recently announced tickets for some upcoming RAH concerts but the tickets 'start' at £95, which means being up in the 'gods'. Even allowing for inflation, I reckon that's taking the pi$$. [/quote] At the risk of appearing to be morbid, that's because the supply of Eric Clapton gigs is slowly but surely being eroded ... there are fewer of them left each year.

You should hear what he says about you ...

What are the handles like?

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1414492007' post='2589711'] ... so why would the current generation bother to go to 'dingy dives' to watch a live band when there are so many other ways of accessing what they want to hear ... [/quote] Because it's always been at least as much about fashion as about the music. If you don't go to the "right" dingy dives, then you'll neither see nor be seen.

Good stuff Dan, but as soon as you click on the link you are asked to Register (with a reminder that you should "remeber" to use your registered email address). I get enough spam already ...

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1414442805' post='2589388'] I took my younger girl friend on 2 separate occasions to see some live female blues/rock acts. [/quote] Does this mean that you also have an older girlfriend, or have we been separated by a common language?

I was a bit suspicious at first, thinking this might turn out to be a 60-minute advertising puff for the new Foo Fighters album. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04n60j3/foo-fighters-sonic-highways-episode-1 Not a bit of it. A superb piece of documentary work ... amusing & entertaining, with some great characters. The music's not at all bad, and very little of it is actually the Foos (just in case you hate the band).

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1414426546' post='2589164'] Spot-on Jack; Colin's going to bring it all with him.. By the way - what time do you want to do your talk on Saturday? [/quote] Every hour, on the hour, no re-admission without a valid ticket or a stamp on the back of the hand. The artiste requests no flash photography, autographs strictly by appointment. *********************** There's a certain logic to doing it earlier in the day rather than later, if only to allow those as wants to to see if it works for them during the day ...

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1414350835' post='2588559'] Unfortunately I am going to have to pike out. Damn shame but too much else going on. Next time :-) [/quote] There goes my 'Dave Swift' moment then ...

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1414424375' post='2589148'] The thing that fascinates me about vintage instruments is how come the supply seems to become more abundant with the passage of time. [/quote] Only to certain instruments, though. I used to know one of the better fakers in Denmark Street. His work was simply awesome. Even with him standing next to me showing how he'd aged certain bits, it still looked like a '54 Strat to me. And that's one of the biggest giveaways. He reckoned there was far more interest in any '54 Strat than in a '56 or a '58 (I have no idea why) so all of his fakes were '54 Strats. In case you're wondering, his speciality was Sonic Blue with heavy nicotine staining ...

I have bought, sold and collected a very silly number of vintage basses (especially given that I'm neither an expert nor a pro trader!). I started by collecting vintage Hofners, at the time when people thought they were badly-made and you could get them cheap. And I did. The first bass I ever bought for myself was a Hofner 1963 Re-Issue, new, from Macaris on Charing Cross Road. It was lovely, but it had (by definition) no history. I sold it and started buying Hofners from the late 50s / early 60s. They had issues of course, which needed fixing of course, but there was a direct, physical connection to the early days of rock'n'roll because they were there. I suppose it helps that I was there too, wearing shorts and sandals and wondering where the next ice lolly was coming from. For me, that makes a huge difference. Many basses later I bought a 1965 Precision in CAR. It represents (rightly or wrongly) the "sound in my head" when I think of bass. I grew up absorbing the sound of the 60's Precision, without (at the time) knowing what 'Fender' meant, or 'Precision'. Every time I play that bass, it nails it. It absolutely hits the spot. I'm well aware that a significant part of this is because I know that it's a '65 P rather than because it actually sounds better than a modern bass, but it doesn't matter. It does it for me. Why the silly prices? Because there are loads of other people out there who feel the same as me. Far more than there are all-original 1965 Precisions ...

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1414183770' post='2586976'] Probably the least desirable Gretsch ever made in both it's bass & guitar versions. [/quote] +1 I recently found a 6070 from 1963 and it's a bit special. That Committee did nothing for me at all. [quote name='great harry' timestamp='1414232216' post='2587270'] Is that an additional strap button off centre on the back? [/quote] I wondered about that too. I spent an hour on Google trying to find any information at all as to what that is, and came up with absolutely nothing.

Have you actually tried playing a real DB? No matter how hard any maker tries with an EUB or similar, they can never capture the sheer physicality of a DB. Bloody hard work, but intensely satisfying. If your back aches you may want to modify your stance. If your shoulders and upper arms ache then best get used to it, though it will get better with time and experience. But you can say goodbye to the bass twisting as you play it. One big advantage of such a large instrument is that you lock into it intimately, and you and the bass stabilise each other. I actually find DB easier to play than my KK Baby Bass for this reason.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1414309064' post='2587977'] You know, tonight proves were not friends. The band has been together for 9 years.I have been with them for 3 and we have a new drummer. Tonight I noticed that we did not even speak or interact with each other until we started our first set at 9:00. It was a 9:00 till 1:00 with two 15 minute breaks. I guess those hours are unheard of for UK bar bands. Blue [/quote] We gigged on Friday and Saturday nights this weekend. Friday could have been a good night to not interact seeing as there was an atmosphere following a stroppy email I'd sent that afternoon (subject not relevant to this). In practice, we had six people arriving in three vehicles (and a bus) to do a load-in to a small venue and then a complicated set-up. I simply can't imagine how any band could manage that without the need to "speak or interact with each other". There were a couple of awkward silences, but any interested on-looker would have seen a bunch of friends chatting and exchanging banter as they got themselves ready to play.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1414255990' post='2587619'] I don't want to give a talk, Nik, but I'll set up a double bass in the theatre and do some one to ones - or even one to fives if anyone wants a go. [/quote] Would you like me to bring a DB down so that more people have a chance to try what you show them?

You or Colin should still have the box of prizes left over from last year's abortive Tombola ...

Not quite green? NOT QUITE GREEN? Putting green strings on doesn't count, OK?

I used to own [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20SOLD/Shuker%20Horn%202010%20SOLD/IMG_6502.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20SOLD/Shuker%20Horn%202010%20SOLD/IMG_6502.jpg[/IMG][/URL] I still own [URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/SGC%20Nanyo%20Bass%20Collection%20SB320/SGNanyo7_zps7870951d.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/SGC%20Nanyo%20Bass%20Collection%20SB320/SGNanyo7_zps7870951d.jpg[/IMG][/URL] And I still can't understand why no one has yet posted any photos of a Ricky in SnotGlo ...