Cato

[quote name='jonnybass' timestamp='1461134329' post='3031648'] I used dr hi beams since 1993 until 18 months ago, then switched to Dunlop super steels. Not sure which is better but I love the feel of super steels right now. [/quote] I've gone the other way, I went from Dunlop Super Brights to Hi Beams. I don't know if the Dunlops are super smooth but the texture of the Hi Beams felt really abrasive at first after the switch, to the point where I thought I was going to get blisters for the first time in about 25 years. I'm loving them now though.

Didn't he switch his endrsement to Dunlop Super Brights? Maybe the Fat Beams with the photograph are 'vintage' stock. Or maybe he endorses both and I don't know what I'm talking about?

[quote name='TrevorR' timestamp='1460846189' post='3029335'] It's really funny, I'm always incredibly impressed with Wooten's playing, precision and his technical mastery of the instrument but I've still never heard any of his solo playing that's really moved me on an emotional level (unlike, say, Abe Laboriel's solo stuff which shares a lot of similar elements). One of those players I've tried hard to like/love but just never managed to. I always kinda feel like I ought to but it just never happens. [/quote] He's got a couple of gems from his solo albums but ,for me, Victor's best work is with the Flecktones where he's very much a bass player in a band as well as a virtuoso musician showing off his best chops. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Tq7Bm6IM-g

My favourite Dee Dee quote about basses ( and the only one I'm aware of ) was something along the lines of 'I prefer maple boards because they bounce better'. I don't begrudge Fender giving him a signature model posthumously because I imagine his estate could do with the cash. I also think it's the prettiest precicion in the current range. I do think there's a smidge of hypocrisy from Fender in that they seem to be cashing in on his name now but never offered him any kind of endorsement while he was alive. Partly because at that time the Ramones, whilst a cult band with a strong following weren't seen as the hugely influential legends they are now, partly because at that time Fender liked to associate itself with virtuoso players & partly because Dee Dee was a massive drug addict.

I know nothing about Vantage but there's a hint of Alembic there which I find very attractive. Double P pickups are always intriguing too.

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1460789522' post='3028696'] Bass played solo is like one of those blokes you see doing a marathon in a diving suit with lead boots. Novel and laudable to a point, but ultimately a futile exercise best achieved by another means. [/quote] I think bass solos can work, but the style in which they are played is important. The Victor Wooton stuff, where he seems to aproach it like a classical guitar works, jazz solos where it's used like a double bass seem to work and even the occasional slappy, tappy fill can sound great. But I agree with you in that examples like this just trying to play it like a distorted skinny stringer rarely sound anything other than awful.

My first 'proper' rig was an HA3500 through a Carlsbro 4x10. Sounded a lot better than my mates Trace Elliott combo.

To be fair there is an American tradition of having high profile guest performers slaughtering the national anthem at sporting events. There seems to be some sort of ongoing competition among the performers as to who can insert the most additional notes into the original piece. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHpXkyL6s0E

On the wiki page for 10538 Overture it says Weller sampled the riff for 'Changing Man'. Whether they actually mean sampled or whether Weller just had his band play it I don't know, but I would guess that the royalties were sorted out long ago.

I think Fender are using the latest version of their noiseless pickups on the Elites. Other than that I'm struggling to find any differences between the two, Elite seems to be a rebrand of Deluxe.

[quote name='SiriusBlack' timestamp='1459866026' post='3020367'] bottom line is, JEast is about £160 plus MM52 is about £110. is it worth investing that sort of money on an OLP. maybe it is. i need to find out i guess :-) [/quote] My personal theory on these things is that you'll see a more dramatic improvement from modding the electrics of a cheap bass than you would a more expensive one. It is worth remembering though that the value of the mods (pretty much regardless of how much you spend) is rarely reflected accurately in the resale value of the bass.

I can't call it. If I don't like my tone I'm not going to enjoy playing, but if the bass is badly set up I'm going to be frustrated by that too. Good job it's all hypothetical.

Slim, even though I've got pretty big hands, I just find it that much more comfortable when everything's within effortless reach. I also like muting the e string with my thumb over the neck (more comfortable on a slimmer neck), which I used to think was a bad/lazy habit, until I saw Stu Hamm doing it on an intstructional video. I now think of it as 'advanced technique'.

I put the 70s in my Squier Jazz. I was originally going to to go for the Nordstrand equivalent, but Bass Direct were out of stock & I couldn't find another European dealer who stocked 70s Nordstrands. Anyway after some research I settled on the 4J70s and I've been absolutely delighted with the results, just the right amount of growl & aggression & absolutely perfect for the funk/soul I mostly play these days.Also ( whisper it) a very superior slap tone. Got a good deal on them from Bax as well (though I think they may have been old stock - the ones I have seen advertised recently have 'Aguilar' branded covers, whereas mine are plain). As to the comparison video - one of the best I've seen, though it must have taken hours & hours to film.

I'm sure someone will have mentioned it before and I'm equally sure that they're great instruments but I find the word 'buzz' in the Pentabuzz name very off putting. It's like calling it the Neckbow or the Badlycutnut.

I put a Babicz on my Squier jazz as part of my first effort at pimping a bass. It's a great bit of engineering, no chance of the saddles slipping, no sharp edges and with only one height screw per saddle it's probably slighty quicker to set the action. Looks good too. Made absolutely no difference to the sound of the bass though, at least not to my ears. The 'full contact' bit is a bit of crock as well as it sits on the earth wire which prevents the bridge having the advertised 'full contact' with the body, lots of contact maybe, but not full.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1459110188' post='3013641'] I'll see your out of control saxophonist and raise you an out of control Harmonica player [/quote] Many years sgo I saw Alanis Morisette headling the Phoenix festival. The gig was slightly ruined for me because she seemed to have an almost compulsive need to blow into a harmonica everytime there was a pause in the vocals, coupled with a seemingly very limited and similar sounding range of harmonica riffs. Mind you this was 20 odd years ago. By now she may be a much more accomplished & versatile harmonica player.

Saw Lost Prophets about 12 years ago and feel slightly tainted when I admit I enjoyed the gig. Also seen Rolf Harris live twice, once in a club in Plymouth and once on the Pyramid stage at Glastonbury. Bit of a classic case of 'if I'd known then what I know now...' for both acts.

I've been listening to Curtis Mayfield quite a lot recently. Fantastic voice, great song writer too. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJf31LHU98A Also discovered Esperanza Spalding thanks to a thread on here - another beautiful voice http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aRC3YY3svs

After reading this thread I downloaded 4 Esperanza albums via Amazon Prime music. Very pleasant indeed, think I'm probably going to buy the others come payday.

Don't try to force it, you'll end up looking like you've escaped from a secure unit.

From hazy memory hasn't 'I'll be there for you' got a middle section that no-ones ever heard? You could just do the 30 second theme tune version & most punters will be ecstatic without confusing them by playing the rest of the song.

I think Pino has to take the crown. These are the associated acts from his wikipedia page, which barely mentions the lesser known US R & B and neo soul acts he's worked with in the last 10 years. The Who, John Mayer Trio, The RH Factor, The Law, Spinal Tap, Jools Holland, Paul Young, Genesis, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Richard Ashcroft, D'Angelo, Joe Walsh, Don Henley, Roger Daltrey, Hank Marvin, Simon & Garfunkel, Erykah Badu, Adele, Nine Inch Nails, Joan Armatrading, Geraint Jarman, Mango, Gary Numan

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1458218968' post='3005690'] Conversely though I absolutely definitely would buy this... [/quote] That could be the basis of a whole new form of tab. Pink string,turqoise fret.Blue string,orange fret etc.

I know Ritter know what they are doing when it comes to guitar construction, but that top horn looks worryingly fragile to me.