NancyJohnson

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1496351319' post='3310823'] Mike Portnoy summed it up. Ringo changed what a drummer could imagine playing. Ringo went further than rhythm drumming and became part of the arrangement, part of the song. 2 drummers changed drumming, Earl Palmer and Ringo Starr. [/quote] I thought you'd done a typo there. You do realise that I was getting ready to go to bed, don't you? Now I need to investigate.

[quote name='DBerriff' timestamp='1496347725' post='3310788'] [url="https://flic.kr/p/T9ijYN"][/url] [/quote] Hmm. I don't want to get into a chicken or the egg type of discussion, but, well...

[quote name='bumnote' timestamp='1496348760' post='3310795'] The remark was actually made by Liverpool comedian Jasper Carrot. Another internet myth bites the dust. [/quote] Damn. He still sucks.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1496342770' post='3310752'] And your drumming heroes are..? [/quote] In no particular order; Mike Portnoy, Neil Peart, Steve Jansen, Mick Tucker, Buffin, Mark Wren, Will Calhoun, Tony Thaxton, Andy Sturmer, Adam Wade, Jamie Postones (some bias here, as he's a mate an' all), Jimmy Chamberlain, Josh Freese, Terry Bozzio, Danila Guglielmi. Kind of struggling now.

Christ on a bike, Ringo Starr is a sh*t drummer. I didn't realise that there might be some truth to the legend that Ringo wasn't even the best drummer in The Beatles. He just doesn't/didn't seem to have a clue.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1496324785' post='3310524'] Ringo Starr..? [url="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Within_You_Without_You"]Wikipedia: Within You Without You ...[/url] [/quote] No, you misunderstood. I was using the Ringo element as a metaphor, much in the same way as GH only got a song or two. I know full well it's a Harrison tune...my mumma didn't raise me as a mouth-breather.

There used to be a decent guitar store in Reading that stocked Sandbergs (or more to the point, they had Sandbergs in there). I played a few and they played and sounded great, but visually (and here's the kicker), that headstock is a dog. Every time I see a Sandberg I'm always draw to the damned headstock. Incidentally, I have a mate who is a Sandberg endorsee. He's recently been taken to converting his basses to two strings (E & A); removing the E & G machines and stringing them in the A & D positions. He sounds immense even though he barely comes up to my shoulder.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1496316920' post='3310420'] One had to 'be there'. [/quote] I remember a bloke I used to play with always said that they [i]had [/i]to give Ringo a song, more out of sympathy than anything else, but for love of [i]whatever [/i]where were their heads at to include [i]Within You Without You[/i] on the album? This is my first listen to SPLHCB and it sticks out like a sore thumb. Anyhoo, given that The Beatles (Wikipedia tells me) barely stepped out of the studio in 1967 and that the Magical Mystery Tour followed around five months after SPLHCB, for me at least, I think I'll put together a 50 minute playlist, let's call it [i]'Sgt Pepper's Magical Mystery Tour 1967'[/i] (see what I did there?) and cull some tracks from both and make sure Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever are included.

I'm a little too far down the replies here to really have any impact on the thread itself and I would profess from the outset that I'm really not really a Beatles fan as such (I do get warm and fuzzy hearing Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever, along with A Day In The Life as my mum used to play these to me when I was a kid). Since the material became available on Spotify, I've bookmarked the albums and have had brief forays into the catalogue, but the appearance of the Sgt Pepper reissue has prompted me to have what constitutes a 'proper listen' with fresh ears. All in all, it's a nice listen with the exception of [i]Within You Without You[/i]. It just ruins the flow of the album and had my finger hovering over the fast forward botton. Shockingly awful.

Last night at rehearsal we jammed around something new for the first time; it has an eight bar intro, but annoyingly we only recorded a version with a four bar intro, so I've done a nasty edit below. Warning, it's a new song, so lots of mistakes and it was recorded on a little field recorder, so sound quality isn't great. At present, the bass line over the start is just based around F#/C#/B/F#; frankly I don't like finishing the sequence on the same note on which the next part starts (even if, as in this instance, that final F# is played off the 9th fret on the A string). We played the start maybe thirty times while I tried to make it a bit more interesting, but for the first time in yonks, nothing came up. I've tried today, nada. In my head, I kind of know what it needs, but my fingers are doing the business...Any suggestions? [url="https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BwPWKz0CLJz-U3FNbGs2amJiakU"]https://drive.google...U3FNbGs2amJiakU[/url]

[quote name='Rich' timestamp='1496048999' post='3308300'] Red Lion Brentford, South Hill Park, Cellar Bar... man, this thread is bringing back some really great memories. [i]*wistful sigh*[/i] [/quote] When you start out you think that at some stage you're going to hit paydirt and be playing to sold out rooms. The Cellar Bar could be so good; they have no problem selling out for Friday night comedy, hell, I've seen pretty much every mainstream comedian there at some stage or another. Music not so much.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1496073396' post='3308554'] I am no Gibson expert but didn't they stop making them in that year, untill recently with different specs???? I could be wrong but I believe there was some changes at least in the pickups. Ain't the new ones have exposed polls I don't know the other difference. [/quote] In 2014/15, the pickups were changed to the same as those in the EB series (with the visible polepieces), they dropped the three point bridge (and moved to a Babicz FCH unit) and there was the addition of three microswitches to the tone circuit that allowed coiltap options. Of the latter, I played one in New York two years ago and honestly couldn't tell if the switching options actually made any difference whatsover!

Prior to my current squeeze, I quit a band, went back to them and then quit again. I just couldn't stand the way the inter-band relationships worked within the lineup; it was much like the Clarkson, Hammond and May version of Top Gear, with me being Mr Sensible (May), the frontman/guitarist (Clarkson) and drummer (Hammond). When I'd spend time with the drummer or the frontman, they'd be your best mate, but as soon as the other arrived, they'd be a ****. It was always 2 vs 1. I'd say conservatively that I did about 3/4 of the writing - these were decent songs, some of which I've pulled forward into the new band - but most of the time this material was met with frontman derision, with the drummer gurning away in the background. After I left. they made tepid approaches for me to come back, and stupidly I did for a little while and it just reverted back to how things were. None of them are playing now. #happywiththat

Call it 'Individual Cheese Portions'.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1495474194' post='3304024'] And a little bit of nostalgia of course. Also, our brain does have a tendency to see things differently, when there is something expensive involved. All these put together are a recipe for bass love. I don't believe in the word MoJo. [/quote] You know, you've hit the nail on the head here. I'd also chuck in something else here. Listen back to some of those 60/70s recordings attributed to bassists synonymous to Fender; the tone on an awful lot of them is pretty dreadful, but hey, vintage=great, doesn't it? Everyone forgets that 1970s QC was pretty poor at best and a lot of dogs came out of the plant.

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1495998849' post='3308043'] Damn this thread, I have spent an age looking at Thunderbirds today have a serious GAS attack now....... [/quote] Buy mine.

Do this: Take a photo of the bass against a plain white/light coloured background. Save the image to your PC desktop. Open Google and navigate to the images page and drag the photo into the search engine. You might get a match. As things stand (with that image), you're just getting a best match of Squier Precision Bass, which clearly it's not!

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1495869938' post='3307136'] Beautiful bass. All the best with raising the cash. Let us know how you get on and definitely when the great day arrives. [/quote] I need to shift my Thunderbird Gothic first (it's in the For Sale section kids) and the order will be in.

[quote name='ivansc' timestamp='1495869121' post='3307122'] I have a japanese prototype of the Gibson Explorer. Got given it in Nashville in the early eighties by "friends" at Massman Drive at the time. It came with a bolt on fender style neck and a Precision split pickup. At the time Gibson were practically giving away solid body colour thunderbird and Explorer basses, all of which were utter cack. Sadly they never put the bolt on version I had into production. I have since added an EMG P/J set to it and it was my main bass for over thirty years. Great instrument. And I have only ever played ONE T'bird bass that was better, even though it had received the headstock "customisation generally found on these! [/quote] I'm interested in what constitutes a 'Japanese prototype' in this instance. Orville made basses under license in Japan. Photos would be nice too.

Not again.

I could probably cite four or five bands/players. Steve Priest (Sweet), Overend Watts (Mott The Hoople/Mott/British Lions), Gene Simmons (*cough*), Geddy Lee, Glen Matlock (Sex Pistols, but more importantly, The Rich Kids) and Martin Gordon (Sparks/Radio Stars). I remember learning all (and I mean all) of Geddy Lee's parts for Rush/FBN/COS/2112&ATWAS; hours and hours of work when I should have been studying for exams. I'd have this recurring dream where Rush would be playing a gig somewhere and there'd be a tannoy announcement, 'Due to unforseen circumstances an injury to Geddy Lee has resulted in the band having to withdraw from tonight's show.' and I'd be there in row 20 shouting, 'Me! Me! I know all his parts!'

There's a place in Bracknell called The Cellar Bar; it's in a complex called South Hill Park a stately home-cum-arts centre. The location is great, even though it's in Bracknell, it has a big/modern theatre and the little block to th bottom right of the photo below houses a great little recording studio. Nestled undereath all this is a myriad of ancient service corridors and the aforementioned Cellar Bar. I should just say the load-in is awful; the main doors are a bit of a schlep from the car parking, the doors are a pain in the butt, there's a narrow steep staircase, more doors. Load out is equally bad, but you're more tired. I've played there maybe a dozen times, different bands etc. They do live music a couple of nights a week, but nothing is ever promoted and once or twice, we've been on the support card here with three or four bands and there's been one or two people in. It could be so good; it has a great PA, it's loud and tight, but it just doesn't work. No one seems to care about live music in the town, bands just rock up and play. I just took decision of never again a couple of years back when we stepped in at the last minute after some bands dropped out and only two people showed up. Two f***ing people. They've asked us back, but ne'er again.

Ooh, one other thing on the '80s, Bananarama (and I suppose Kim Wilde et al); has anyone really noticed that there was a degree of chaste about their (very) public persona? They didn't have to get their kit off to garner interest. Different times and probably better for it, really.