Doctor J

Garry Tallent from the E-Street band has been a Spector player for a long, long time.

Perhaps the question should be why some genres seem to demand a more conservative or unimaginative choice of instrument?

The weight and additional tension of the coil as it expands places unnecessary stress on the part of the cable which meets the jack, so you get constant flexing between the immovable and swinging parts of the cable which creates a break point dramatically shortening the life of the cable. If you hook it behind the strap (as one should) and through an cab handle you just move those stresses flex nodes somewhere else with the same end result.

I’d keep it, it’s a fantastic gesture by someone who clearly loves you a lot and worth a lot more than just money or some self-imposed rule. Don’t think of it as a bass, it’s an extended-range instrument which happens to incorporate some bass frequencies. Lose the low B, shift the other strings down, add a high F string and there’s something really different for you to play which is a lot more than just a bass, problem solved.

More of a Chubby Checker twist, I think 😵

Yep. That’s a “meh” from me. Shame, as Lakin’s MM + J design was fantastic, now he’s just redesigning the designed. Aside from the unusual string tree position (and I’m just curious wtf they were thinking) there is nothing of interest here for me.

Wood is organic material and, as such, every piece is different. One should never expect absolutes with it.

Intonating this one would be a lot of fun. As for the nut... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Decurtins-USA-Hand-Made-Cherry-Jazz-Bass-Guitar-Exotic-Hardwood-Long-Scale-2/174128271902?_trkparms=aid%3D1110001%26algo%3DSPLICE.SIM%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20160323102634%26meid%3D2576f821ac824fadbe73181572b5b8e2%26pid%3D100623%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D303260245395%26itm%3D174128271902%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100623.m-1

For many years all I had was my ESP 400 Series Jazz and a Rickenbacker 4003. They were simpler times with two lovely sounding basses. I still have the ESP.

I live in Ireland and have bought from the UK, Japan, USA, Germany, Belgium, France, Netherlands and more. Choice is limited here and I never would have played the variety of basses I have had I not looked abroad. Do a bit of homework on the seller and you should never have any problems which is why feedback systems are so valuable.

I did. I played 4s for almost 15 years before I decided to try more strings. I was thinking about trying a 5 and was looking at the SR3005 and saw the 6 was the same price so thought "Why not?" and went with the SR3006. It was quite a leap. I had to stop playing 4s for a while to really make progress with the 6. I still find moving from 4 to 6 and back again awkward. String spacing is a big, big consideration. The SR3006 had 16m string spacing which was great for the left hand, very hard for the right (I don't play with a plec). I kept with it as it suited the band I was in at the time. When that band folded, I went back to mostly playing 4s. They're just more natural in hand for me. The 6 is more difficult to play, harder for your hands to get around. Eventually I sold the SR as I wasn't playing it enough to keep to a standard I felt comfortable with. This year I fancied trying 6 again and got a nice deal on a TRB6. It has 19mm spacing, possibly 20mm and the neck is incredibly wide. I'm enjoying trying to get to grips with it but it's a really different beast from the SR. I find it harder on the left hand and more comfortable on the right than the SR. I don't think a 6 would ever be my primary bass, I'm too long playing 4s to really feel home on them. If I were starting off, I think a 6 would be a great thing to dedicate yourself to. There's so much you can do with them. For me, though, my hands and muscle memory are used to 4s so the 6 is a novelty item rather my number 1.

Elixirs all the way. Round and coated. Gimme zing over dull thud every time.

The BEX4 is a recent addition. Interesting instrument, for sure.

The 80’s and 90’s Japanese clan

That is very serious business. Congratulations.

In terms of comfort, you shouldn’t feel any difference between 21 and 24 frets, the nut should still be as far away in exactly the same place, it’s the same scale after all. If you’re worried about a neck feeling long, check how far the bridge is in from the edge of the body and how long the upper horn is. That determines how the bass sits on you and, therefore, how far away the lower frets will be from your torso. The number of frets will make no difference in this regard.

I saw, heard and felt that very bass last weekend when Acid Reign played in Dublin. It sounded fantastic (and was played fantastically too, I might add).

It was nice to buy again in 2019 after a few years of enforced selling. Best buy, probably this 89 SR1000 which From Japan. It was advertised as having dead electronics and a non-functioning truss rod. The electronic problem was a frayed wire at the jack and a slightly stiff truss rod was easily overcome. After a clean and a fret-job, it's a beast. I am really loving this 91 SB900. I've been looking out for one of these for a long. long time. Again, it needed a clean and a bit of work but it's so light comfortable. The neck is amazing.

3. Triumph of Death - travelled to Frankfurt in June to see Tom G. Warrior playing Hellhamner songs for the first time since the early 80’s, meeting an old friend of mine over there. A great occasion. I must also mention the Swiss Rock and Metal festival in Amriswil which proved to be a truly fantastic day out. 4. The Obsessed... twice - stood outside an empty venue in a scummy part of Mannhiem while the penny slowly dropped that the gig was not happening. I decided to travel back for the rescheduled gig in October, only for it also to be cancelled shortly after booking flights and accommodation. Luckily, it wasn’t the sole purpose of the trip.

If you meant 20:20 this evening I’d say there’s a decent chance. A full year? Not without some kind of legal threat hanging over me.

Yes. At the very least, you would hope that an authorised retailer can get it from their authorised supplier for less than someone paying the foreign retail price plus 100 quid shipping plus almost 200 quid tax. If not, then they are shafting their dealers, retailers and, as a result, their end customers.

I wouldn’t say that. A friend of mine wanted to get a Bass VI and priced it from Ishibashi, including shipping and added around 25% import duty. He went to the local Fender retailer and asked them to price match. They said it they wouldn’t even be able to get it from the distributor for the same price. Perhaps they should look their distribution model, also, and try not to screw their bricks and mortar sellers as well as their customers.

Aja - Steely Dan Snowden - Doves Ether Song - Turin Brakes Blood - Faith No More You Must Be Prepared To Dream - Ian McNabb to name but a very small handful

I have all my albums ripped and usually listen via some miniature electronic trickery but, last year, I built a unit for the sitting room in which I could shelve the best 298 of my CDs, freeing them from their cardboard prison in the attic. I struggled to get below 500 and with utter ruthlessness and much bloodshed got to just below 400. At this point I compromised and used the floor under the unit to store the additional CDs, a move not intended in my designs. Picking just 10? Absolute barbarism. But let's try. I recognise there's a definite late 80's/early 90's bias to these but I think this period is when I enjoyed music as thoroughly and purely as I have at any time of my life. There were times when I could listen to a single album for months on end without tiring of it, so I've tried to include those ones, rather than the ones I listen to the most right now or try to concoct a list which shows how enlightened I am. So, in order of release date... Masters of Reality - s/t I had a C90 with this on one side and Trouble's s/t on the other which didn't leave my walkman for a long, long time. This was blues and rock mixed in an energetic and sleazy way I had never heard before. Which brings me on to... Trouble - s/t The decision to omit Black Sabbath was a tough and probably illegal one, but this is the best Sabbath album not released by Sabbath. This album is perfect. Every second of every song is just right, the pacing of the track order, the way there are no gaps between the songs, it's just perfect. Obituary - Cause of Death The birth and evolution of Death Metal was incredible to live through and I could have picked Leprosy or Spiritual Healing or Blessed are the Sick or Slowly We Rot but I've gone with this sublime mix of brutality and Murphy's melodic lead playing which elevates Obituary's music in a way they never did before or since. Megadeth - Rust in Peace Megadeth & Sanctuary in 1988 was my first gig and the one which inspired me to play bass, so this was a very special album in my lifetime, another one which made for daily listening for an extended period. There still isn't anything else which quite sounds like this. Incredibly inspired and inspiring. Coroner - Mental Vortex Coroner showed how a thrash band could move to a more considered and melodic version of their former selves with taste and class. This album is clinical and passionate in equal measure and still gives me enough joy that I'm going to Switzerland to see them play in a few weeks. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence I bought this, unheard at the time, on the strength of the Cynic connection, using the logic that if these Cynic guys were good enough to play on Human and Testimony of the Ancients then this would be worth hearing. I wasn't wrong and this remains an astonishing achievement in making ridiculously technical music and making it memorable and musical and considerably changed my perspective of what was possible in music. Honourable mentions to Human, Focus, Control and Resistance, Testimony... etc. Beastie Boys - Check Your Head At their peak here, they could take practically any style of music and make it sound like them. I love when a band explores beyond their primary genre and tries something new and this album could have been an exercise in commercial suicide but it's just too good. With their commercial renaissance still a couple of years into the future, I was lucky enough to see them play to about 700 people in Dublin where they played hip-hop, punk, rock and their jazzy noodlings with equal aplomb, during a great period for a great band. Kreator - Renewal Again, the sound of a band abandoning their comfort zone and taking an artistic chance which didn't pay off commercially. Like every thrash band at the time, they had to find something new to do or face extinction and Kreator chose the dark and cold. It's another unique exploration and something which resonated loudly with me for a long, long time, if barely anyone else. Living Colour - Stain I loved Vivid, wasn't mad on Time's Up, but when Stain came out it really worked for me. It's a harder sound which, finally, really suited their lyrical subject matter. Like Kreator, it didn't work for most of their existing fanbase but it has stood the test of time for me. E.S.T. - Symphony I was fortunate enough to see E.S.T. twice and missed them greatly. When this came out, I was a little apprehensive about picking it up. I need not have worried, this re-imagining of E.S.T.'s music does for me now what many of the above did for me as a young man. It's compelling listening and pulls me back to listen again and again.

Why would you ever be embarrassed of not being as good at something in the past as you are now? It’s all part of your life and what makes you who you are now. Most people never bother their hole. You did something. Be proud of it all.