NancyJohnson

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='174340' date='Apr 11 2008, 09:09 AM']I expect everyone's already sick of seeing my Cutlass 1.[/quote] I like MM Cutlass basses. Post a pic. P

I used to have an Orange Matamp head that was previously owned by Davey Johnstone, Elton John's guitarist. I bought it in the mid-70s from this warehouse place in Chalk Farm, London. The place was stocked-to-the-gills with used gear that had been moved on by pro-musicians. P

[quote name='BassManKev' post='172008' date='Apr 8 2008, 08:28 AM']£449 is the going rate, at the usual english shops (dolphin, dv247 etc etc) very, very interested i am (should this be moved to effects forum??)[/quote] I only looked on Thomann for the price. The beauty of this unit is that I can sell on my bass and guitar PODs via t'eBay, which should cover about half of the purchase price (which will placate my wife). P

CD Baby is great - I've just bought CDs by Sensory Lullaby and Millicent Friendly from them. Been using them for ages. Suggest you also check out Not Lame as well...the home of powerpop! P

There was a thread here a month or two back about the X3 Pro unit from Line6. Thomann are listing this at £501 (even though it's not available yet), which compares favourably against the Bass POD Pro which was around the same price a few weeks back. If you're interested, Line6 has a proper website up and running now: [url="http://line6.com/podx3pro/"]POD X3 Pro[/url] To be honest, playing guitar as well as bass (I swing both ways in that department), I'm pretty excited about this unit...it's good to go for bass, acoustic and electric sixers and vocals, plus the ££ price comparable to buying guitar and bass POD units. The old units have been great tools for me live and in the studio. On the downside, it looks that when I finally do get around to throwing some swag at my amp setup, I'm going to have to get a bigger rack! P

After the gig I did last night (see thread elsewhere), one of the guys in the audience came up to me and commented how much I sounded like JJB. I'm using a 1979 Precision, albeit with a Seymour Duncan quarter pounder, into a POD, into an effects return on an Ashdown shortstack (2x10 combo and 1x15). I use a patch on the POD that's a slight adaptation of a patch someone wrote to emulate the Les Claypole (Primus) sound. Played quietly, it's pretty close. Live I just roll up the bass and compression, output the POD at about 80% and use the master on the amp to control the volume. It overloads nicely. I also play very hard with a pick. P

I've got an old Marshall Guv'nor pedal that I take everywhere. I don't even know if it works anymore. I've also got my old teddy bear from when I was a baby. P

A few years ago a local music store had an early '70s Fender Jazz bass...it was old and trashed...[sonic?] blue finish. This is before Jazz prices started to skyrocket. The shop clearly had no idea of it's worth. It was around £350.00. It had a set of old/dead flatwounds on and I asked if they'd restring the instrument so I could demo it. The shop declined. I got home and my wife said that if I wanted it, I should go get it. I slept on it, went back next day and it had gone. P

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='161043' date='Mar 20 2008, 07:40 PM']sorry for another imminent question, but I am genuinely interested: which bass did he use on Alive II?[/quote] I wouldn't go with the photo that graced the inside cover of Alive II, as I don't believe that it was taken from the LA Forum show...I'd read this somewhere around the time it came out - Geoff Barton (Sounds) - I think. I used to keep every Kiss cutting I could find back then! That said, the bass in this picture looks like one of the Spectors mentioned above. Incidentally, Barton was in LA on the behest of the label/management of New England (who were produced by Paul Stanley) - they were supporting Kiss at the LA Forum show. Barton, who I'm sure was cognizant that Kiss were recording, gave New England a small (albeit good/accurate) article in Sounds, while, within a week or two, a multi-page spread on Kiss appeared. Incidentally on its review in Sounds, Alive II carried the strapline 'Perhaps the greatest live album of all time'...I think for me, at fifteen or sixteen, it was the best thing I'd ever heard. P

[quote name='cetera' post='160129' date='Mar 19 2008, 10:14 AM']The two basses he used in the 'Turn On The Night' video were a black Pedulla Buzz (originally got in 1983) which he had customised with a painted dragon face on the body in 1987..... and his Jackson Axe. The Jackson Axe is either his original one from 1983, dipped in chrome, or a second one.... Actually, on the subject of his Pedulla.... he also had a white one from 1983... which he subsequently had painted with his 'make-up face' in 1987. Both Pedullas were sold in the Butterfields KISS auction for many $thousands a few years back...[/quote] ...I think you need to post some pics of your basses on the porn page. P

[quote name='Calderone' post='160044' date='Mar 19 2008, 05:11 AM']that's the lobue !!! thanks for your replies .... Hey what about the Axe he used on Turn on the night ? that was really chrome !!!! i've never seen that axe before ![/quote] The You Tube video I just watched is pretty pixellated, but there's at least two basses on that video - an Axe bass - it looks like a Jackson one (simply from the headstock design) - and maybe the Pedulla Buzz? He was using a Pedulla finished with his made up face on it following the unmasking...the You Tube clip is pretty awful quality. That said, when I watched the You Tube clip my first impressions were that it looked like a Modulus Graphite/Flea bass (although I doubt it!). P

Two or three shots..well three. P

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='159554' date='Mar 18 2008, 01:07 PM']I love this thread! BTW who made the Axe bass for him?[/quote] Steve Carr built the prototype. There was a Kramer production model. Incidentally, I've e-mailed Micki Free to see whether he still has the bass mentioned earlier in the forum. For me, it's one of those important instruments - one of the first I really recognised as being associated with a musician. P

[quote name='cetera' post='158827' date='Mar 17 2008, 10:35 AM']Apparently Gene lent the Charlie Lobue bass to Micki Free. Micki was in various bands in the 80's & was a friend of Gene's. He was later in 'Crown Of Thorns', a superb rock band that Gene & Paul Stanley managed. The band also featured Jean Beauvoir (Plasmatics) and Tony Thompson (Chic)! From what I hear, Micki never gave it back and it's unknown as to whether he still has it. [/quote] Christ! Micki Free. I loved the first Crown Of Thorns CD - must dig it out again. Have to say I was more interested with Jean Beauvoir being involved more than anything else. Great update. Cheers P

[quote name='cetera' post='158514' date='Mar 16 2008, 07:01 PM']That replica in the first post was mine. I sold it recently What do you want to know about Gene's 2nd Spector? It was made for him around the same time as his first one in late 1976 I believe, though he didn't use it much until the early 80's.... It's not much different from his first one, except the longer top horn and a mirror scratchplate. Stuart is correct, Gene used a Charlie Lobue bass from the first tour in 1973/4 through to 1976 (Rock n Roll Over Tour). He also used a Gibson Grabber/Ripper from 1974-1976 (Hotter Than Hell Tour to Alive Tour). Gene started working with Spector in 1976 & I believe the first recording the 'original' Spector was used on was the 'Love Gun' album. The original Spector was eventually sold at the Butterfields Auction for many thousands of dollars.... Gene still has the 'second' Spector referred to as the topic of this thread....[/quote] Do you know what happened to the Charlie Lobue bass? I loved how that early bass looked, especially with the armour. P

[quote name='Stuart Clayton' post='158461' date='Mar 16 2008, 05:16 PM']That bass you speak of was custom made for Gene by a luthier named Charlie Lobue, who also made guitars for Paul Stanley. Gene's Lobue bass was used for the first 3 KISS albums, and the Alive shows (as I recall), then he switched to Gibson Grabber/Ripper basses, before using the Lobue again (for Love Gun, again, as I recall), then he had a couple of Spectors built. The bass in the photo is a Spector, not a BC Rich. Stu[/quote] I didn't realise I could view the photo larger...yup, I concur, it's the Spector - the logo is discernible on the headstock. While trawling the web this afternoon (trying to find out about Charlie LeBou), in my defence, there is a BCR that looks almost identical to that bass. P

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='158349' date='Mar 16 2008, 11:17 AM']I think you'll find that the bass pictured is a BC Rich and not a Spector. P[/quote] ...also, while we're on the subject of Gene Simmons, who was the New York luthier who built the bass he used until he started endorsing Gibson? The bass had a distinct Gibson Melody Maker shape, it was originally brown, then was refinished in black. The last time I saw it was during the Destroyer tour and in the Phantom movie it had a silver thing stuck on the top half of the body. P

I think you'll find that the bass pictured is a BC Rich and not a Spector. P

Cetera...you need this. [url="http://tinyurl.com/2l5nbp"]Gene Simmons Axe Bass[/url] P

I knew there was something new coming, but to be honest I've been a little bit lazy about going through the web locating what exactly it is. Good link. Cheers P