NancyJohnson

I've gone over this many many times in my head...I believe RHCP were lucky; plain and simple. Right place, right time. While Blood Sugar Sex Magic is a good (not great) CD; fundamentally in Rick Rubin they had a strong, in vogue producer at the helm, production is strong as a consequence, but it does not belie the fact that the vocals are poor (AK simply can't hold a tune, but hey, he's a millionaire and I just work in an office, so what do I know?) and the guitar playing is very scratchy. Chad'n'Flea are however in good form throughout. Let's not forget that they released two pretty patchy albums prior to BSSM. Now ask yourself one question. Have they ever surpassed this album? If you're not a big fan, can you name more than one album they released since (without looking on wikipedia)? Sure they have this inane ability to sell through and put bums on chairs, but they're even more a cartoon of the band that they were in 1991. Arguably they were not the best of that particular genre by some stretch...musically I'd say Primus win there by some way; I'd argue that most of the other contenders (Living Colour, Fishbone, Stevie Salas Colorcode, Dan Reed Network, Jane's Addiction, King's X) worked better as a sum of their constituent parts than the RHCPs. P

I guess stringing is kind of similar to this Charlie Hunter model. See [url="http://www.novaxguitars.com/"]Novax Guitars[/url] as well. P

[quote name='witterth' post='691898' date='Dec 22 2009, 10:06 PM']I've been "trying" to sing "Roxanne" all day and just can't get there (G Minor isn't it?) my throat really hurts now!! any "tips" guys? I can do the bass part/sing ..thing but getting the key.......jesus.....am doing it I wrong?[/quote] My 2 cents: go down to a card shop and get some helium balloons. P

I'm not fast on comments here, but I love the look of that bass. Sometimes a traditional Fender style headstock just looks wrong, but the Tele/Mk1 Precision looks really nice. P

+1 again. Following my meeting with LH back in September, it's been a pleasure dealing with Michelle and Gareth at Korg. My HyDrives and LH1000 are rumbling Berkshire. P

[quote name='Lylodile' post='689021' date='Dec 19 2009, 12:57 PM']I bought a fleabass ... He signed it too... [/quote] Are you sure you didn't get someone's pre-school kid to write that? P

Does this mean they're giving up music? P

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='688319' date='Dec 18 2009, 01:16 PM']I preferred his old ones, the colours were great,.[/quote] +1 The black and rosewood version was a lovely looking bass. I don't like the transparent finishes one bit. P

Even though I still get it monthly, it is pretty sh*te. Problems? It's too small. They seem to have a hard and fast rule about only reviewing one bass and one amp per issue. Too much tab (any tab is too much IMO). The interviews don't go into a great depth unless you've got Geddy Lee or JMJ in the chair and even then they just don't seem to ask the questions a fan would ask. It's a very advertisement-driven publication and there is way to much empty space on the pages. Not enough photos of gear either and poor photos if they do publish them. This month: 28 pages of adverts against 45 pages of editorial. P

Rather than all the supposition about whether it's this or that, do we not have a secret agent in the Spalding area Lincolnshire who can go and answer all these points? Christ, the guy is operating from a recycling and reuse centre. Who cares whether he doesn't know the year or the country of manufacture, he probably has more to worry about as to how he's going to dispose of all the old fridges and CRT screens. If he didn't put the word Genuine in his advert people would have been moaning it was a fake. It's no win for the bloke. Plus, what is the point of people saying it's a fake and the backtracking by saying, 'but I could be wrong...', just to cover their asses. P

I thought I'd replied to this. I bought a Boss BR-600. The jam rehearsals were fine with the built in microphones (and even better with decent mics), plus you have the option to multitrack with it, so record backing tracks and then do vocals later. P

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' post='676957' date='Dec 7 2009, 06:14 PM']What do you think of the 12 string??[/quote] I'd wanted a 12 for donkeys years and I just got a bit lucky after I did some work for Waterstone. Since I got it, I could count the number of times I've taken to jams on one hand. Lovely bass (even though I wish I'd gone for a black one), amazingly never goes out of tune and [after some tweaking] sounds immense, but in truth it doesn't lend itself to the style of music I play. Minus points, the weight and the neck dive...neck dimensions are a killer too (5cm at the nut and 7cm at the twelfth fret). Also, because there's no chamfering on the body, you get some horrible ache on your right forearm after you've played it. Lovely. P

It's been a bit of a transitional year with only my Waterstone surviving the last twelve months. Gone is my old Precision and in come four replacements. Anyhow, here's my current crop. L-R Frank Einstein Modern Prometheus Waterstone Tom Petersson 12-string Fender Geddy Lee Signature Jazz Lakland Darryl Jones 5-string Music Man Bongo 5HH Cheers P

I'd be interested in your experiences with this unit...especially if anyone is using it direct into the effects return. Reviews seem favourable, decent price etc. Cheers in advance. P

[quote name='bethnalgreen' post='672859' date='Dec 3 2009, 09:11 AM']According to [url="http://www.wellers.demon.co.uk/30th.htm"]http://www.wellers.demon.co.uk/30th.htm[/url] it was 1977.[/quote] Holy crap. 30 years ago. P

They do look nice. I like the pinky one the best...it would arguably look better still with a black pickup in it. P

If being a fan constitutes the liking a couple of singles, then it was Elton John at Hammersmith Odeon...Christmas 1972/73; whatever year [i]Step Into Christmas[/i] came out. My mum took me (I returned the favour many years later by taking her to see Kiss at Wembley). I was very young and probably couldn't differentiate between him and Rolf Harris at that age. First proper gig as a fan? Rush, at the same venue, on their first UK tour. God knows what year it was. 1978/79? Anyone? P

I part-exchanged a [b]Travis Bean 2000[/b] series bass against a wretched Ibanez at ABC Music, Addlestone about twenty years ago. [b]Serial number 222[/b]. It had been customised (BadAss 1 bridge and an ebony board). There were slivers of ebony inserted fore an' aft on the bridge to fill the space. I really would like it back at some stage, or at the very least know where it is so I can have a play. Cheers P

I think the most basic of searches here, Talkbass, Harmony Central etc. will give SX basses a resounding two thumbs up so far as value for money goes. I have however heard a couple of horrendous stories concerning the flimsiness of the packing materials should you wish to buy direct and import from the US (buy a case at the same time). Personally, I've only ever looked at these from the perspective of getting one on the cheap, putting a nicer neck on it and customising it a bit...I'm not a fan of the headstock (there have been several varieties) and the high-gloss finish neck doesn't work for me. P

Kiss had a reputation of tuning down to D then speeding the tape up to achieve regular pitch. P

I do understand the whole 'I just don't get it' argument about basses that look like this, but I really like the look of a well used bass - the example here is quite [i]beautiful[/i]. What I'd really like to know is just how good an instrument of this age looks and, more importantly, sounds. I've read so much from owners of vintage gear waxing lyrical about the sound of old Fenders; your sound is such a personal thing; I just want to sound more like Geddy Lee with a hint of JJB dirt. Pickups change, pots change, wiring changes and I doubt I would achieve this on a 47 year old bass. P

[quote name='iamapirate' post='657188' date='Nov 17 2009, 04:48 PM']...and lived to tell the tale?[/quote] We stank, the venue and crowd sucked. We literally died a slow cold death over forty minutes. P

[quote name='KASH' post='656768' date='Nov 17 2009, 10:39 AM']How is it? Sound? the venue in general? We're a London band so we don't think many people from London will come down to see us when they can do it closer to home. Does it pulls a good crowd of locals?[/quote] We had a gig set there but my old band bottled it. I saw Richie Kotzen there a couple of years ago. Nice venue, good acoustics, great vibe, easy parking. Stage about 3 feet high, reasonably wide. Ash played there a few days ago on their A-Z tour, so even a few years on it can't be that bad! P