Doctor J

Interesting comparison, using Metallica. They were pioneers. In the 80's they were pushing the boundaries of music to somewhere it had never been before. Underground bands playing thrash now are pedalling a music form from 40 years ago, one which already died on its arse in the early 90's. What they're doing has likely already been done as well as it's ever going to be. Think about it, it'd be like Metallica copying Glenn Miller and the like in the 80's instead of establishing their own sound in a contemporary genre. How big would they have been then? A lot of what made Metallica stand out was that they brought something which had never been heard before and it was of exceptional quality. That's what made them remarkable to me back then. Can a new band playing old music ever attain a similar status? Personally, I don't think so. No matter how good the quality, they don't have that new factor, just an interpretation of what as already been done and that's why they're in tiny venues. I say this as someone who is often in the crowd at these gigs at tiny venues. Could a band bringing something genuinely new and high quality "make it" these days? I'd like to think so, just don't think it'll be something which has already been done to death for 40 years.

I suppose we'll have to.

It didn't start as an argumentative thread, just a guy expressing an opinion and then a couple of posts took jabs at the poster rather than engage in debate with the point of the posts, no?

Fresh off the press, track 4, The Chicken's Head, is probably the most easily accessible and singalong 😀

If he was just some dude playing bass tastefully, you would never have heard of him. His appeal is doing the tasteless and artistically void. Fair play to him, he found a gap in a very crowded market and made something of it. He's a stunt pilot, though, not the lad who's going to get you to Malaga in an Airbus.

Think of it in the sense that he's an entertainer rather than a musician. He's not making a career out of playing music, as such, but rather using a musical instrument as a prop to show off high-level muscular co-ordination exercises, not unlike a gymnast, say. There's clearly a market for it but just don't let the presence of a musical instrument trick you into thinking it's musical 😉

Pfffff... twice the work if you want to defret it

Three down, on to the next one.

Might make sense to put this info together in the same place

You won't find anything better for 550 quid

Acebassmusic is spot on. You need to know what it is you're looking for in a bass, first. If this will be your first 5er then the principal feature to consider, in my opinion, will be string spacing, but everything plays a part in you being happy with what you buy. Before you spend a penny, understand what type of sound you want, then make time to go to shops and play as many different 5ers as you can to see what you need in terms of string spacing and playability. Only then start worrying about brands and which models can give you that. My favourite 5er was a 04 Bacchus Standard 5... but that's not much use to anyone but me 🙂

Wait just a second... Did Bob Ferrari invent Magnum? 😲

The yellow adds brightness while orange is famous for rich midrange.

Could be that day they ran out of Made in Japan transfers or the person doing the neck that day forgot to put it on. The bass looks very clearly genuine otherwise. There are plenty of pics here to refer to. https://en.audiofanzine.com/electric-fretted-bass/fender/precision-bass-japan-57-reissue/medias/pictures/p.5.html

Name and shame, 100%.

Lovely. I've had three Rays over the years and never even touched a Sterling. They're a very rare bird over here. I'd love to own one. The slimmer neck is right up my street.

Do you have an EMG blend pot as part of the system? There's a part on it specifically designed for you to solder older pickups onto.

This is the best song I've ever written about losing my job due to cloud computing

It may be the value of your capacitor, rather than the pickup. That might be a substantially cheaper solution.

Can you elaborate on the difference? How far away is each pickup from the strings?

More than once. I started on bass, it was always the instrument I was drawn to the most, but none of my guitar-playing friends were any use at writing songs. Widdling? No problem. Riffs? No, sir. After a couple of years, during which I was bassist in the school band, I bought a cheap Aria Cat from one of them and started to learn guitar. In my first real band out of school, I was the guitarist, much to my displeasure. A few years and a few bands later, where I was bassing again, a friend and I were trying to get a band together playing what is now known as stoner, I suppose, but wasn't well established at all, back then. We were on a serious Sabbath buzz and wanted sound like Master of Reality slowed down. We tried for ages to find a drummer who would play slowly but everyone we tried either couldn't play slow or didn't want to play slow. I'm talking sub-50bpm type of slow. Zero interest, but it was the music we wanted to make at that time. Eventually, I decided to give it a go myself. I started to learn to drum and we got a bass player instead. The band folded before we really got it together but it was great fun while it lasted and I still love the music we made together. In my next two bands, I was the drummer, before getting a bass gig again. In both cases, it was the music which drove me towards learning different instruments. If you're in a similar position, I'd say go for it. Why not? You'll learn a new instrument and you'll learn more about music, be exposed to band and musical situations you wouldn't be under current circumstances. Since those times, I been in more bands on guitar and drums than I have on bass, but I'm a better bassist because of my understanding of what the guitars and drums contribute and how they do it. These days, I live in the countryside and have room in the house set up a studio, with a fully mic'd kit, some amps, some basses and guitars and basses and I record songs from start to finish where I play everything. I'm even dabbling in keyboards. I will always see myself as a bassist first, but it makes my life a lot more interesting being not just a bassist. Always go where the music leads you.