Old Man Riva

Apologies, I hadn’t realised that, and wasn’t aware of any backstory. It popped up on my YouTube feed, and thought I’d share. Was posting solely for the Freddie content, but happy for it to be removed if it’s inappropriate…

… always thought this had an understated groove.

This popped up on YouTube yesterday and is well worth a watch. The interviewer, Mason Marangella, is the owner of a company called Vertex Effects, and the channel does a really interesting blend of effect demos and also carries some really good/interesting interviews with musicians - this Freddie Washington one is great! Freddie talks about (and plays along to) tracks from various points in his career - amongst others; Herbie Hancock, Phil Collins, his time with Michael Jackson, Anita Baker, and of course, Patrice Rushen. There’s also a really nice reminiscing section at the end! Amongst many high points, for me, is the play-through of Sweet Love, by Anita Baker. His line, and playing, are a masterclass in note choice, feel and (quite often overlooked) note length… Enjoy!

Fantastic! And he still looks effortlessly cool…

I’ve watched this a couple of times now and have really enjoyed it so thought I’d share with the BC community! I think Ian Allison really gets the best out of the guests on the channel, and this is no exception. As for Tim Lefebvre, I think he’s all-round fabulous. This interview covers, amongst other things, Knower, Bowie (again), Tedeschi Trucks, and some sound advice (and examples) of what happens, and what to do, when you mess up in the studio/on stage - it happens to the best of them! Well worth a watch…

Thank you!

Yes, the B-15 sounds great. It’s one of the reissues they did in around 2010 (I think). The inputs have a 1964 voicing and a 1966 voicing - the ‘66 has a bigger output, and has more of a treble bias. Really nice for the tic-tac plectrum sound, but I prefer the warmer ‘64 channel myself. I was having a late night browse for gear on the internet and by chance stumbled across a used one that had just come in at Guitar Guitar (of all places). I phoned them first thing in the morning and they had it shipped to the closest store at the time in Epsom. I had a Mini at the time, and the Ampeg weighs an absolute ton, so trying to get the bloody thing into the car whilst half the shop stood watching was fun, to say the least! Anyway, it was well worth the effort!

I’ve a ‘66 Jazz (on the left in the pic) that’s similar to what you’ve described. Hardware etc. from ‘66, with a ‘65 (October) neck…

Really enjoyed PJ Harvey, LCD Soundsystem and Little Simz. I watched Dua Lipa, in the hope that at some point she’d utter the immortal words, “Please welcome my special guest… Frank Sidebottom!” Devastated…

Reading the thread (including the comments above made on a Facebook group) I’d say they’re both as bad as each other.

I'd agree that rates could/would fluctuate significantly depending on the gig. The surprising thing for me is that when I was doing it in the 90s the rates seemed comparable or higher (by and large) then than those being referenced now - and at the time the players who had been touring in the 80s were bemoaning how rates were higher then! If the tour had catering and the per diems were good you could pretty much leave the gig/retainer money alone. This allowed you to then cave in to peer pressure and buy nonsense items that you never needed or would ever use - hello Mr MiniDisc player, how have you been stuck in the attic for nearly 30 years after being used just a handful of times?! Nothing more sobering than being on a bus with a bunch of guys all showing off their snazzy digital cameras then realising nobody had the faintest clue how to download the images, or knew anyone at the time with a home computer! Good times...

“… that’s livin’, alright”!

One of my favourite bass players on one of my favourite albums. Bought it when it came out and it had the cool album sleeve poster inside. Also had an odd message (either on the vinyl or the album sleeve, can’t remember) that said ‘play loud’ or some such - something to do with how it had been mastered/pressed and the amount of music contained on a single LP. Always thought Pete Farndon was such a cool dude, and a real rock ‘n’ roll player - he was considered as Pete Way’s replacement in UFO at one point?! Oh, and James Honeyman-Scott’s solo on Private Life is one of life’s great musical pleasures…

“This 1-owner bass came to us via the cousin of its original owner… He played the bass locally in bands until the early 80s when he sadly passed away. Since then the bass has remained in its case with his cousin.“ Blimey, how big’s the case?! Or how big’s the cousin?!

I visited the store about three weeks ago after seeing a bass on their website I fancied trying (a ‘79 Gibson Thunderbird). I telephoned in the morning and was over there a short while afterwards as I’m only about half-hour’s drive away. The guy I dealt with couldn’t have been nicer. The Thunderbird didn’t really work for me, but I stuck around and had a plonk on some of the other basses he had - there was a short scale Japanese Jazz Bass that was cool, and not something I’d seen before, along with a host of other interesting pieces - and also had a good old natter into the bargain. All in all, it was a positive and enjoyable experience…

Scotland vs. Norway. Scotland wins …

Same here. The only Can tutorial I found on YouTube was on his channel. Nearly half-hour’s worth of Michael Karoli inspired insight to be watched again and again…

Regarding the ‘62 Jazz, it might be the angle the pic was taken but to my eyes some of the fretwork looks a little off at the dusty end. It may be my eyes, so more than happy for someone to hurl Mr Magoo references my way!

Away from bass-only content, this guy is one of my favourites. Chanan Hanspal (or ‘The Beato of the Valleys’, as I like to refer to him, to no one in particular!) is really good. He does excellent deep dives on the likes of Bowie, Zappa, XTC, The Who, and the Mighty Boosh (?!) amongst others. A lot of the theory goes over my head, but I find it fun/interesting to watch nonetheless…

I know what you mean, though the body refin gives it an air of newness. Many years ago you could get player grade basses that were priced accordingly, and were more than worth a go. Not sure what this was priced at. That’s not great re. the vintage truss rod. I’ve had a couple of challenges with instruments bought from well-known dealers over the years, having to send the instruments back. Even being a ‘give people the benefit of the doubt’ kinda chap, each time really stretched my patience.

I missed this on Will’s site when it was listed - don’t think it hung around for long. Not sure of the price? https://bassbros.co.uk/sold-basses/1960-62-fender-jazz-bass/

As someone who has never had the confidence to even look at a truss rod there were various body parts curling when I watched it - yet still strangely therapeutic! In the comments section somebody asked him about the solution and how long the process took. He replied, “alkali and distilled water, 15 minutes + 20 in the end”.

I found this oddly therapeutic to watch! Come in, sit down, pull up a chair …