Stingray5

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='299319' date='Oct 4 2008, 01:08 PM']I definitely admire them, but I'm probably a minority voice in finding their song writing a little insipid and lacking in passion. I've found myself listening to many of their tracks waiting for the climax or waiting to understand the point of the song and the light bulb never really flicks on. Undoubtedly thats more a reflection of my poor musical understanding than them as a band. Having said that, I love the bass tone on Aja. Something I've used as a benchmark for my own gear testing.[/quote] I kind of get what you mean, crazykiwi. When I first realized much of their lyrics included a lot of 'in-jokes' and references to their own school and college friends etc, it left me feeling ever-so-slightly left out. Rightly or wrongly, I later accepted this as simply a part of the quirky world of Steely Dan.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='299083' date='Oct 4 2008, 03:29 AM']Ahh..when i post i always know i will get a wealth of knowledge from my bass brothers .I will check Donald's album out...Yeah SD were so innovative..fantastic bluesy guitar playing.. , as a time in music, the 70' s never stop amazing me with these amazing people. Stingray5 i think i mentioned The Allman Bros, dont know if you have heard these guys.. i recommend an album called Begginings..Some 70's hammond rock, but some turns into Jazzfunk.. Very cool.[/quote] bubinga5, yeh I know very well The Allman Bros. Beginnings is basically the first two albums sewn together. Have a listen to 'Live at Fillmore East' (originally a double LP set) which includes a stonkin' 20-odd minute version of 'Stormy Monday Blues'. A lot of people bought the album 'Brothers & Sisters' for the bands biggest hit 'Jessica' (...hello 'Top Gear' fans!). Someone also mentioned Zappa -- another huge love of mine. Check out his version of the Allman's "Whippin' Post". Regarding Steely Dan again, my function band often sound-checks with 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number'.

Ah, one of my all-time fave bands, I discovered the 'Dan back in their (and my!) early days in the early '70's. They'd just released their 2nd album 'Countdown To Ecstacy' and the first track -- 'Bodhisatva' -- totally blew me away. I've been a major fan ever since. They were always considered a 'muso's band' - although more correctly a duo I suppose, with top session sidemen, not the least being Larry Carlton on guitar. Of course, as you've mentioned above bubinga5, the magnificent Chuck Rainey played much of those great bass lines. Great melodies, lyrics, vocals, chord sequences, musicianship, style - the whole package. If you've not heard it, you should also definitely check out Donald Fagen's solo album 'The Nightfly' - the best album Steely Dan never made! Right, I'm off to play along with 'AJA' again....

M.U. members get £10,000,000 Public Liability insurance plus equipment insurance up to the first £1,000 (register and add further amounts as appropriate). Not to mention a pretty decent magazine and diary!!

I don't have an mp3 but here's a link to 'Hey Baby' (Bruce Chanel) on Youtube. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4w1Mp6Mce4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4w1Mp6Mce4[/url] If required, you could use Ripzor.com to d/l the video (flv) to your system. Hope this helps.

Did anyone else notice the sellers of this item, thefamebureau, show their address further down the page as 21 Denmark Street, London. Isn't the Bass Cellar at 21/22 Denmark St.

So what hand do you wipe your bass with? Personally, I use a lint-free cloth!! (ok, it's an old joke... )

Yep - me too! Write left-handed but play bass and guitar right-handed. My son is the same - he's a lefty but plays drums (and some guitar) right-handed. I've tried writing right-handed with only a small degree of success, but when it comes to playing bass or guitar, forget it... definitely only a righty.

+1 for 'Kind Of Blue' - classic Miles. +1 for 'Tutu' - modern Miles. You might also want to check out 'In A Silent Way' (written by Joe Zawinul). Nice album featuring Miles regulars, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock, among others.

It was 1969 (I was 15 - there, that dates me!!) and a friend loaned me a red 'Top Twenty' when I switched from guitar to bass. I think he actually bought it in Woolworths. Not long after, at one of my first gigs, the bassist in the band we were supporting said I could use his Fender Mustang bass. Wow, what a difference. That lead to my own first 'real' bass purchase - a Hayman 4040. Wish I still had it! (And the rest...!) If I had all the money I'd spent on bass guitars - I'd spend it on bass guitars!! (apologies to Viv Stanshall)

Welcome, Paddy. Interesting stuff here.... enjoy!

Maybe not entirely the usual configuration bass rig, regarding the combo and extension speaker, though I do vary whether I have the combo on top or bottom depending on venue etc. I know the 15" speaker traditionally should be at the bottom but I prefer the controls at the top. Besides, as it is, the sound is pretty awesome either way. [attachment=12536:TErig1.JPG] Used in conjunction with either a GT-6B or a Quadraverb GT/Behringer rack tuner: [attachment=12537:TErig3.JPG]

PM'd

[quote name='mike257' post='257454' date='Aug 7 2008, 06:22 PM']Cheers for all the opinions guys, there's obviously a lot of love for hiscox here! I'm down to these two then: The [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/shop/flypage/product_id/15119"]Hiscox[/url] for £67 with the postage OR The [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_flight_case_wood_bass.htm"]Thomann[/url] option, which winds up at £54 including the shipping. Skintness sways me towards whatever's cheapest, but I'm open to being convinced Anybody tried the Thomann ones?[/quote] Really, for the difference in price between the two, I'd def go for the Hiscox. Aside from strength, the other reason is the weight. They're not called LiteFlite cases for nothing!

Very nice! Go for chrome knobs. They will sit nicely with the chrome bridge. (Never seen a black MM bridge). --- Ahem -- er -- just had another look and of course the black knobs do also look nice with the black pickup and selector........

Hiscox, definitely. If you've not seen it, check out the video on their website, showing six grown men standing on one of their cases, complete with guitar inside: [url="http://www.hiscoxcases.com/products_hiscox.htm"]http://www.hiscoxcases.com/products_hiscox.htm[/url] And yes - I [i]have[/i] tried this at home along with my precious StingRay5 tucked inside...!

[quote name='Bassassin' post='256155' date='Aug 6 2008, 12:19 PM']I wouldn't swear that particular one was a Matsumoku - you'd need to get hands-on & pull it apart to find out. Unless it has a Matsumoku neck plate, which some did. Hondos can be confusing - I have a really well-made Hondo Les Paul copy - set neck, carved top, good quality fret job etc, from probably about 77/78 - there are no identifying marks on it, and I [i]would[/i] say based on the quality it's JapCrap, & probably Matsumoku - but for the fact the hardware is absolute trash, and identical to that on a Korean plywood Hondo LP I had. This bass does have a very similar shape to some Vantage models - but check out this thread, on one of my favourite JapCrap boards: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4307"]http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4307[/url] By the early 80s, Korean factories were producing very accurate copies of Japanese original designs, As well as Vantages, there are also some rather nice Washburn Wing lookalikes from Korea. This is further complicated by Japanese copies of Japanese designs - check this out for some intriguing copies of copies. The Japanese "Wings" are Moridaira, the Korean ones from Cort: [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4281"]http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/viewtopic.php?t=4281[/url] JapCrap & KoreaDiarrhoea - the truth is out there. But f*ck knows where. J.[/quote] Thanks, J, for that clarification. Some very interesting stuff on the Matsumoku boards. On that side of things, I've mainly had Westone basses (Thunder IIA, 1A, Jet) of which my one remaining Westone is my fretless Thunder II. I had the fretted version too up until a few years back (nice pair!) when I had to sell it for other purchases.... big regret!! The Aria SB series basses were (not surprisingly) one of my other faves of the 80's period and at the time I had my eye on an SB1000 also a 900 (saw Jack Bruce playing his SB1000 -- with Billy Cobham -- around '81). Cheers, Steve.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='255429' date='Aug 5 2008, 02:51 PM']It is a Hondo, an [url="http://www.bossarea.com/aria/hondo/page4.jpg"]H1015,[/url] to be exact. - and they're not too bad. This is early 80s, post-copy era stuff, Hondo were trying to go a bit more upmarket with original designs, some made in Japan (Matsumoku was one of the factories they used) & DiMarzio pickups fitted as standard. 70s Hondos were pretty much universally Korean-made plywood trash & deserved the poor reputation, but later ones like this are a bit higher up the food chain. This particular model of bass turns up on Fleabay very regularly, usually sells for well under a ton, if you're interested. Jon.[/quote] Ah, a Hondo it is. I'll bow to superior knowledge [] and withdraw my previous post claim to it being a Vantage bass. [DOH!] In my defence, m'lud, I'd say I was lead by the Matsumoku connection; both have same hardware etc and similar looking bodies.

[quote name='coasterbass' post='255192' date='Aug 5 2008, 10:51 AM']...although your bandmates may laugh, they will never ever thank you enough when you rescue their b*lls from the chopper midgig! [b]Its the bassist's role to be the prepared and sensible one....[/b] [/quote] Sooo true, coasterbass! I have a well-stocked double-wheeled tool-box type thingy, sometimes referred to by a couple of bandmates as 'the shopping trolley'. It's got myself and others out of trouble a number of times with spare leads, fuses, strings, tools, etc. Don't leave home without it!

I usually take at least a couple of basses (in rotation) if only to give them an airing! They start sulking otherwise! That said, it depends which band I'm going out with. My function/covers band - I usually take my Stingray 5 and Fender Jazz and will normally play a set with each. For further sets, I'll pick either depending what's being played, though if I were to pick just one bass to go out with it would be the Stingray 5 for the low B - and because it's simply a brilliant 'all-rounder' bass!! I also play in a Prog rock band and usually take three basses for specific numbers - Stingray 5, Tune TWB-6 and Stingray 4 fretless.

Westone is not far off but in fact I believe originally it was a [b]Vantage[/b] bass - at least the body looks like it. Along with Westone, Aria and a number of other brands, Vantage basses/guitars also came out of the famous Matsumoku factory in Japan. The headstock leads me to believe the neck may possibly have been replaced at some point, though I'd have to ask, "why bother!?!" Check out this pic by way of (body) comparison: [url="http://imagestore.ccn-irc.com/images/66-1131493614-IMG_0725.jpg"]http://imagestore.ccn-irc.com/images/66-11...14-IMG_0725.jpg[/url]

Dings in the body are fine by me; I don't mind that 'lived-in' look. I'm not saying a ding the size of the Mariana Trench is ok, but I don't lose sleep if the bodywork has seen better days. (Talking about the bass - not me!! )

It's not the norm. Shops don't usually 'hire' gear out, especially the stuff they're trying to sell. Maybe some do with s/h stock and even then it would have to be on the basis of how well they know the customer. If they were to hire/loan out gear, I guess it would be under contract along with a deposit of some sort for security/damage etc.

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='249771' date='Jul 28 2008, 04:50 PM']echoing his comments, if you want a black pickguard (check my profile for pics) I'd happy do a swap/loan type thing! I suppose same with you Stingray5![/quote] To be honest, I'd still have my white pearl and probably swap out the two every 6 months or so, for a change of look. That said, [i]IF[/i] the guard was up for grabs and [i]IF[/i] it was something you'd like as a permanent replacement, I wouldn't stand in your way... Of course, shockwave may have other thoughts now...........

[quote name='BassManKev' post='249674' date='Jul 28 2008, 03:43 PM']no no no, black is just classy [/quote] As I say, that's just me. The black knobs are cool too, to be fair.