BrunoBass

I'd mention Les Nemes from Haircut 100, some nice tight funky playing on their track Favourite Shirts. Like JT, an SB1000 user too, I think?

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1222374226' post='292200'] My extremely vague memories (I wonder why ) of the Birmingham music scene in that period tell me it was John Mulligan on bass at first who later moved to keyboards. And the original vocalist was not Dee Harris but a very tall guy who called himself Luke Skyscraper. And +1 on John Taylor being good. [/quote] Mulligan was replaced on bass in Fashion by a chap called Marlon. I seem to remember him playing a fretless Wal in TV appearances. It was the Mulligan / Marlon / Dik Davies / Dee Harris lineup that record the 'Fabrique' album.

Where Are We Now. Poignant stuff.

A good friend of mine plays a Nate Mendell Precision Bass. He's not a fan particularly, he just wanted a P Bass and that was the one that suited his needs the best; he actually plays in a '50s Rock n Roll wedding band. On the other hand a mates teenage daughter bought a Pete Wentz Squier bass a few years ago, because she was a fan and as a collector she wanted it. She doesn't actually play bass. Then again im not sure Pete Wentz does either. By the way it always amuses me that Pete Townsend plays an Eric Clapton signature Strat, despite Rickenbacker building a Pete Townsend signature model...

Thanks all. As someone said, the important thing is that I'm happy with my bass, which I certainly am.

Bit of an odd one, this. Last week I bought a new Music Man Stingray from a well known national retailer. I love it, it's an amazing instrument and I'm very happy with it. I read on Basschat that you can enter the serial number on the Ernie Ball forum and they tell you the instruments date or birth, which I did. It turns out my Stingray was completed and shipped to the UK distributor Strings & Things on 27th April 2010. That's over five and a half years from being shipped to being purchased! Is that not a bit strange, or is it just me? It certainly seems a long time to keep stock of what I would assume to be a popular, fast moving product.

Last band I paid to see was the Bootleg Beatles on their last tour, stunningly incredible as ever. Saw up and coming pop metal band Fall From Glory too recently - very good young band, good songs, strong female vocals, I was impressed!

Another guy from that era who was good was Les Nemes from Haircut 100. I heard Favourite Shirts recently and was impressed by the funky tight playing on that.

Thanks for all the useful advice guys, much appreciated. A new (better) amp is out of the question right now, so I think it's a question of persisting with EQ and seeing what I can do. Just spent the afternoon practicing (with headphones) and it sounds awesome - if only I could transfer that tone to high volume!

I play a Music Man Stingray as my main bass and a Squier Dimension as my backup bass through a TC Electronic BH250/115 combo, both live and in rehearsal. I don't really use effects, no compression, just an occasional touch of fuzz from a Big Muff on the couple of songs that require it. I play 95% of the time with my fingers. I'm having real problems getting a good tone, which is becoming increasingly frustrating. I always put all eq flat, on both amp and guitar, and just tweak the amp eq to suit the room we're in. I try and keep the mids around 12 o'clock and roll back the bass and treble, to cut through and not tread on my band mates toes frequency wise. I always keep the gain just below the clipping point. But still it sounds horrible; clangy and harsh. In rehearsal and the pub gigs we play I've never had to take the master volume past 7. Now at low volume (1-3) I can get a great sound, with all the middle-y honk that I love my Stingray for, and also when playing with headphones plugged in to the amp it can sound fantastic, but as soon as I get up to about 25% of the volume the trouble starts, which leads me to believe that it's the speaker that's the issue here, although it's not distorting, more a deterioration of the tone itself. This applies when playing both my Stingray and my Dimension. Those of you with experience in such matters - what do you think? Is my combo at fault? Is the speaker size a problem? It's driving me mad. I realise my particular amp isn't a high end model but it surely it should be capable of a decent, useable tone? Any advice gratefully received.

[quote name='blablas' timestamp='1452097124' post='2946374'] [url="http://www.musicradar.com/news/guitars/cool-and-classic-basses-music-man-cutlass-bass-573243"]source[/url] [/quote] Thank you

[quote name='Cato' timestamp='1452032472' post='2945821'] Larry Graham's nephew. [/quote] Who's Larry Graham? only joking... 😉

So yes, having always loved the sound and look of the Stingray and feeling flush I went a-hunting yesterday. I've played the Ray 34 before but never the real thing and I wanted to give one a go. Fell in love instantly, especially with the neck which is perfect for me. So a thousand fat ones laid down on an all black rosewood 2eq, hopefully arriving tomorrow. Can't wait!

Please can someone who knows better than I explain the difference between the Stingray and the Cutlass please? I always had a thing for Stingrays, in fact I've just ordered one 😆

Who's Drake?

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1451785193' post='2943468'] I wonder how eh Paul As there's probably 10x the numbers of Rics in the US than the UK you stand a much better chance of getting a good one,hell it's even better with US Fenders. They average $800 2nd hand I would suggest keeping the tax and duty factored into any purchase you might make,if you're happy with the deal and you do have to pay at customs the purchase isn' tarnished. Course I think you're thinking of other options [/quote] 😉

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1451923096' post='2944625'] "band" based music really isn't that popular anymore (among the under 40s) compared to the 60s, 70s and 80s so there isn't a whole lot of high profile bass players around to inspire anyone kids are far more likely to be inspired by DJs etc. playing the music they like [/quote] I agree that kids are less interested in bands these days, but in my opinion it's because it seems to more about solo singer songwriters like Ed Sheerhan, Frank Turner and newer names like James Bay. Go to any open mic night... In terms of bass players now, yes there isn't anyone in the same inspirational league as the aforementioned, although the likes of Chris Wolstenholme are highly rated by some of the younger bands I encounter.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1451611823' post='2941872'] Risky !! Well aye and naw, say you were looking for a Ric. Plenty of them to choose from in the US and prices hover around £1100 sometimes less. You buy the right one but get nailed by customs and pay £280 so for arguments sake it costs you £1400 but you've had the luxury of finding a good one. Most Rics I see for sale in the UK are £1500 - £1700 and you're generally limited in the time to try them or it's buying sight unseen. By playing a few over there you'll get a better grasp of what to look for faults wise. Saving £100 - £200 or maybe even £600 is still a big chunk of change. [/quote] You must've read my mind regarding the Ric..... 😉

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1451426417' post='2940445'] Could happen or you could try the old dodge of taking a beater out with you and bring a shiny new one back. If you do get nailed make sure you have a receipt or Customs will decide on a value,with us normally paying £ for $ an $800 (£530) bass could get valued as high as £800. You'd then be liable for 20% VAT + 3% Import Duty. Course you may get lucky in which case Good on You [/quote] Thanks. Sounds risky...

It makes me want to go to his gig and see how amazing his tone is... Seriously, if you're happy with your tone don't listen to someone who most likely is jealous. My band plays rock covers and I use overdrive 90% of the time, ranging from very subtle to full on fuzz. Depends on the style I guess. Works for me!

Apologies if this has been covered earlier in the thread. I'm planning to visit the US this year and wondered how easy it is to pick something up there in person instead of having something shipped over? Will customs and excise likely pounce when I re-enter the UK?

Very sad news. A true one-off, there won't be many legends left soon... 🙁

The band have just added Let It Roll by Velvet Revolver to our set, which is great fun to play. I think Duff McKagen plays it with a pick but I play finger-style so it's quite fast and furious! We've also added Royal Blood's Out Of The Black and I love playing the section at the end - great fun!

I spent 20 minutes with one in GuitarGuitar Birmingham a few weeks ago and was really impressed. I've never played an EB Stingray so I can't directly compare. However with Bass Direct doing the 2 band EQ EB Singray for £899 I'd probably head in that direction.

[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1450350248' post='2931855'] Didn't Mark play on a Elton John & Midge Ure Album ? [/quote] Pretty sure he played on this http://youtu.be/ix1W065XA0k