Stingray5

'Best of' lists will always be subjective though usually good for an argument or two! I would widen the scope here by adding: - Percy Jones (Brand X) - Colin Hodgkinson (Back Door) - Danny Thompson (John Martyn a.o.)

[quote name='Chris2112' post='362835' date='Dec 24 2008, 02:48 PM']I hear a lot of people really like Status necks on Stingrays. If I had a Stingray I'd go for one right away. Not just for the sonic benefits but because a graphite neck gives me a peace of mind that wood just doesn't![/quote] I hear ya! I know from other previous BC posts how converted 'Rays have been improved. I may just have to add one to my GAS list.

Looks like a nice bass. I always thought those carbon-graphite necks looked so cool but never had da noive to go for it with my StingRay.

Wow - bargain! But I really can't justify a second one at the moment. Now had it been a fretless......Yowzah!

They don't seem to appreciate the value of bass...!! [url="http://www.myspace.com/fallingredband"]http://www.myspace.com/fallingredband[/url]

[quote name='chris_b' post='356402' date='Dec 16 2008, 09:32 PM']Allbang's was a great shop. Good quality gear and friendly staff. If it's the one I'm thinking of, Tempo changed into the Flying Pig music shop. I don't get up that way much these days but it was still there a few years ago. Did anyone make the trek up to Charing Cross Road on a Wednesday for the early edition of Melody Maker, to get first dibs on the Musicians Wanted adverts?[/quote] Ah, of course.... I knew Tempo rang a bell for some reason. You reminded me that it did indeed become Flying Pig, which is where I bought my TE combo 10 years ago. I remember the ads for Allbang & Strummit but I don't think I ever made it to the store itself.

2 steps forward, 1 step back?

[quote name='bassace' post='356098' date='Dec 16 2008, 04:01 PM']We used to get the train from Reading up to London to window shop. I can't remember too much, but can recall quite a few shops up Shaftsbury Avenue including one that sold Trixon drums. Saw Adam Faith in there; he was very tall. There, I told you my memory wasn't too good. At the Picadilly end of CCR was Denman Street that had Foote's where you could go down to their basement and see rows and rows of double basses. I bought my first one there, carved not laminated for £35. It wasn't too good but that's all I could afford. I chatted to a nice black guy and when he left the shop the assistant said 'that's Ray Brown'.[/quote] I also got my double bass (now long gone) from Foote's. As I remember they were in Golden Square at the time (1977). In fact, I had lessons with the manager of the bass department, Ron Berkshire. I lived in Brixton back then and used to go to The Plough pub on Stockwell Road where drummer John Steven's used to run the Jazz nights. Walked in one evening to the delight of finding John with Jeff Berlin and Alan Holdsworth getting ready to go on. Great night. And all for free! Also used to see Soft Machine bassist Roy Babbington there and chatted with him about a few lessons. Sadly, I had no car at the time and he lived too far away. I envy you, bassace, for having met Ray Brown. Nice one!

[quote name='Earbrass' post='355726' date='Dec 16 2008, 10:36 AM']Of course, when I was a lad it was all just fields. But try telling that to the young people of today....[/quote] ...aye, and we used to live in a hole in t' ground and lick road clean wi' our tongue...!!

[quote name='leschirons' post='355858' date='Dec 16 2008, 12:26 PM']Burns, as you said, under Centre Point was where I saw my first "star" in the flesh. I was in there with my brother who was our guitarist, and, out of the Rolls Royce stepped Bruce Welch and Olivier Newton John, with a guitar case. He was dropping it off for Hank Marvin for some repair work. I wasn't in awe of stars but couldn't take my eyes off Olivier Newton John. She was seriously fit. That was 40 years ago when I was 16.[/quote] Ah, I remember when she was a trio: Olivia, Newt & John!!!! Actually, I well remember her too. Cliff Richard had a TV show in the 70's and it seemed she was guesting on their almost every week. She hooked up with a fellow Aussie (or Kiwi?) named John Farrar who in turn helped form Marvin, Welch & Farrar. They had a great sound for the time with some very tasty vocal harmonies too.

[quote name='chris_b' post='355514' date='Dec 15 2008, 11:48 PM']This was a long time ago, but, did anyone go to the Burns music shop (the guitar and amp maker) which was under Centre Point? I played my very first bass through an amp in that shop!!! It was a Rickenbacker. They had individual booths to try out the gear and all the assistants wore ties![/quote] Wow, yeh, the Burns shop. that's one I did forget about. Probably because I didn't really go in there much. We used to regard it as 'outside the zone' or 'a bit posh and not one of the lads'. Chappels of Bond St was another (later on though, my classical guitar came from there). Ah, the naivete of youth!

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='355424' date='Dec 15 2008, 10:10 PM']Also in a musical bent, does anyone remember a basement record store a couple of hundred years from Centrepoint called Simons? They were on the Wardour Street side of Oxford Street. I always remember everything was hideously cheap in there...usually European imports.[/quote] I remember Simon's. I worked for a record retail/wholesale company who used to stock them up. Loadsa deletions and cut-outs, many from Warner Bros and CBS as I recall. I used to also work for a record chain that had stores in the city and west end. We had a shop in Dean Street too and one time (c.1976) I decided to pop in one evening (they were open late) and to my surprise a band was setting up to play in store. It was Landscape with a very young looking Andy Pask on bass. Blew me away they did.

[quote name='lonestar' post='355399' date='Dec 15 2008, 09:43 PM']Before it was taken over by the leather jacket shops Carnaby St had some pretty cool shops, well cool to a teenager with hippy tendencies anyway. Shops selling wave machines and Roger Dean posters, plus a shop selling really cheap imported albums. Strange thing was that they were in single rather than gatefold sleeves. I had a couple of Genesis and Yes albums from there. We often called there en route from Denmark St on the way to warm up in the Sony showroom in Regent St where you could stick on a pair of headphones and listen to Santana on a really expensive system.[/quote] Hah - I used to do the same in Lasky's hifi store on Tottenham Court Road!

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='355265' date='Dec 15 2008, 06:44 PM']I started going up there 1977/78. Cheap day return from Egham to Waterloo - early 80s was all about the Virgin Megastore, Forbidden Planet, a swift visit to as many guitar shops as my then girlfriend/now wife would tolerate, then over to the Hard Rock Cafe for a late lunch/beers, then home before the rush started. I remember a lot of the places you've mentioned. I do remember a dealer that was in the building on Charing Cross Road that became Turnkey (there's an alleyway by the side of it)...for some reason I seem to remember it as being FD&H Music (may be wrong). They were a big Ibanez dealer - I bought my sunburst Ibanez Roadster bass there and my then guitarist bought his Ibanez Paul Stanley Iceman. I remember when they were closing down they had a few Gibsons going at very low prices - I remember a pink Gibson Flying V for £225.00. Have avoided the area for some years - wasn't there a shop called Rhodes Music? P[/quote] Yeeeh - Rhodes Music. That's the other store I was trying to think of. They were in Denmark Street. And FD&H - that was Francis, Day & Hunter. Though they were actually publishers as I recall. [Off topic, sorry] I loved 'Forbidden Planet' too. I remember going in there one time after 'Star Wars' first came out and they had some of the original props on show. There was also a similar store in Carnaby Street called 'Dark They Were And Golden Eyed'. What an awesome name for a shop. Beats Marks 'n' bleeding Spencer!!

I thought of posting this following the discussion about 'Denmark Street' and a certain bass retailer a short time back, then promptly forgot. Now seeing Happy Jack's post with the old Selmer catalogues and talking about Bell's Music and Pan's Music, I couldn't resist. I'm wondering how many BCers used to frequent the various music stores around Shaftesbury Avenue, Charing Cross Road and Denmark Street, etc. For myself, I used to get the bus or tube and go 'up West' to check out as many music and guitar stores as I could in one day. Shaftesbury Avenue had the two-floor [i]Rose-Morris[/i] 'superstore'; [i]Guitar Village[/i] was opposite; down the street was [i]Take Five[/i] plus the dynamic duo of [i]Music City[/i] and [i]Sound City[/i] - not to mention their little brother [i]Drum City[/i] on Charing Cross Road where [i]Maccari's[/i] also still are today. Right around the corner on New Compton Street there was the small [i]Orange[/i] shop. Denmark Street had [i]Andy's[/i], of course, plus [i]Roka's[/i] and later on [i]Rod Argent's Keyboards[/i] and [i]Hank's[/i]. (Can't remember a couple or so others here!?). The original [i]Fender Soundhouse[/i] (another two-storey superstore) opened on Tottenham Court Road (where I bought a lovely Epiphone 12-string acoustic) who then down-sized with a move to Soho Square becoming the [i]Soho Soundhouse[/i] and tied-in with [i]Turnkey[/i] on Charing Cross Road. Lastly, you had/have [i]Ivor Mairant's Music[/i] just off Oxford Street. So, anyone else know the above-mentioned stores - or maybe fill in the gaps of those I missed? One other thing was who else might have had any work done by an excellent Chinese (I think?) guitar repairer and luthier named [i]Sam Li[/i]. Around 1973, I had a Gibson EB2-D bass in sunburst which I took to Sam for a complete re-finish -- in blonde with black binding!! Looked great and was a superb job but why I did it, I don't know. I sold it just a few short months later.

[quote name='chris_b' post='354840' date='Dec 15 2008, 10:26 AM']Bells was still there until about 5 years ago. It's a discount golf store now! I heard that Eric Clapton brought his first guitar from there.[/quote] Wow, I thought they'd gone years ago. Back around the early 70's my brother and I used to wait in anticipation for the Bell's van to pull up with whatever it was we'd sent off for. One order I remember was a 4x12 Sound City cab; all brand new and still covered in plastic as the delivery guy hauled it up to the front door. Only problem was who was gonna get to blast through it first!

Ah, memories of thumbing through the old Selmer catalogue. My mate at the time (c.1966/7) bought an Egmond semi; can't remember the price but it was almost certainly in guineas. Now how about the old 'Bell's Music (Surbiton)' catalogue, anyone?

[quote name='Buzz' post='350602' date='Dec 10 2008, 12:36 PM']May I present, The Backstroke Of The West: [/quote] So where can I get me a 'ratio prosperous drive'???

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='349830' date='Dec 9 2008, 04:00 PM']I think that's a pretty fair advert, Col. He's made it very clear that the bass is NOT in all-original condition, he has specified certain areas where there are definitely replacement parts and others where he can't remember. Unexpected holes and marks hidden beneath scratchplate and bridge? Well I wouldn't have known about them either ... I play the damned things, I don't dismantle them! And he's had it a long time, too. I have basses I've only owned for a year or two where I struggle to remember exactly what work was needed at the time. Give him a +ve and enjoy the sound of a really lovely bass. For £1000 I don't think you'll suffer too much. [/quote] +1 Nice bass by the look (and sound!) of it.

'Fragile' is a brilliant album, along with 'The Yes Album' and 'Close To The Edge'. All huge influences for me at the time and still played regularly.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='347918' date='Dec 7 2008, 03:29 PM']I think it might be the cover from Emerson lake and Palmer. but i could be wrong. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake_%26_Palmer_(album)"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerson,_Lake..._Palmer_(album)[/url][/quote] Spot on, beerdragon! It's the first ELP album.

Hey, thanks for that. I used to have the vinyl of 'Five Seasons' years ago. Nice to have it back again.

Yeh, a Hayman 4040. I had one of these in the early '70s and it was a very nice bass as I recall. Bought brand new for £155 (I think I still have the receipt somewhere!!) That's me with the Hayman at the East London Festival (c.1973/4). My bass rig behind me was an HH IC100 head and a HiWatt 2x15 bass bin (a big old bugger! ). Incidentally, can anyone recognise the bit of backdrop in the left of the picture and what (Prog rock) album cover it comes from?

[quote name='stevie' post='346229' date='Dec 5 2008, 10:44 AM']"... My dentist and my wife say I have to sell it ..."[/quote] Think I'd sack my wife and let my teeth fall out!!

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