Russ

I replaced the SVT-7 with an Ashdown RM-800, which was bulletproof and survived gigs, two tours and an international move without missing a beat. I've recently replaced it with a Mesa Subway WD-800 as I like the tone a bit better (valve preamp!), but the Ashdown served me very well.

I had an SVT-7 die on me mid-gig back in 2015. I love the tone of Ampeg gear. But I'm not likely to ever own another due to their recent reliability issues. Supposedly they've addressed it more recently, but once bitten and all that.

You had to wear those up high. I think it was the rules at the time. Plus, tucking the bass into your armpit mitigates neck dive.

Digging the Westone, the bass face, the Marshall bass combo, the pink Tele and the curly cables. And untuck that T-shirt!

Yup. A ton of electronics went into those basses. Plus, many of the people who played them wore them way up high, Mark King-style, which also helped with the balance issues since they were held near-horizontal with the upper bout practically tucked into the armpit.

I think a lot of them had that Alembic Series II influence, which had short semi-symmetrical horns, but the body was so big and heavy that it still managed to counterbalance the neck!

I remember playing a Thunder III Mk2 many years back, and, apart from it being quite neck-heavy and unbalanced, it was a pretty spectacular bit of kit - a proper bargain basement Alembic wannabe with loads of tonal options. They did come out with another bass, the Genesis, that addressed the balance issues. I think it was basically a headed version of the Super Headless, complete with the string-popping cutaway on the treble side. Fantastic gear for the time (let's not forget this was the era of the likes of Marlin and other plywood rubbish), and very collectible these days.

My Bongo 5 fretless is a hair under 8lbs - it has the new aluminium hardware, which makes a big difference - my older, fretted one, with the traditional steel hardware, weighs 10lbs. EB have been listening to their customers when it comes to weight, hence the new hardware on most of their basses. The Sterling seems to have been left out in the cold though, since it's the only bass they make now that they don't offer the lightweight hardware on. Maybe you could look into the Joe Dart? It's basically a stripped-down Sterling with a plain natural finish, passive electronics and a volume knob, and not much else. Supposed to be in the ~7lbs weight range.

As I posted on the other thread, nothing's changed. There's no new agreements and there seems to have been no further discussion. The 19 countries mentioned already had allowances for non-EU musicians to perform there, but most of them are extremely short-term (in one case - Austria - you can only perform there for one day) and there's still nothing that's been done about carnets and cabotage.

This is what everyone's been able to do anyway. Nothing new there. And still nothing has been done or is likely to be done about carnets, cabotage or anything like that. They're just putting something out there to make it look like they've done something about it and they haven't. Under this lot, the era of small bands piling into a Transit to go and do a few gigs in the Netherlands, France or Germany is basically over.

No, it's bull excrement. Nothing new has happened or been negotiated, they are just listing the 19 countries that already allow for some degree of short-term performance-related work. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-musicians-touring-oliver-dowden-b1897476.html

I think the "Fame" brand was something to do with the Mayones people. I used to see them a lot on Thomanns's site. I think they're from the same Polish factory. I was curious to give a Mayones bass a try - I've been listening to Aussie pop-proggers Voyager a lot lately, and their bass player Alex plays a Mayones Jabba and gets a fantastic tone out of it. So I got the chance to try out one of the Hadrian Feraud Jabbas last year. It was very nice, although, IMO, no better than most other "super-Jazzes" I've played over the years. It was nice and light though.

Yep, I have a NS-5 CRFM that's just like that (but in blue), with no battery compartment. Probably an early 2000s model, I think they introduced the separate battery compartment about 10 years back. If it's a price you're willing to pay, go for it. They're very nice basses.

Very Tower Of Power-ish groove, nice. I massively prefer Vic's tone on the Sire. It actually has some low end! I've always loved his playing, but hated his tone. His Foderas are works of art, but they've always sounded way too thin and snappy for my taste. Maybe his mate Marcus could put in a good word for him with the Sire people.

Thank you. I've been playing it so long it's practically a part of me, but my back disagrees! Once my current bass is done being overhauled, I've got two more in the process of being specced out - fretted and fretless 6-strings. I've asked Martin to make light weight a priority - I like the tone of the dense African hardwoods like wenge, bubinga, ebony etc, so we're going to use those in the necks, but the body wings will be chambered to the point of being practically hollow, and Martin has suggested paulowina as a lightweight body wood. I've heard it's pretty soft, one step above balsa wood in terms of durability, but he's confident it will work well. They're also going to have fairly unique finishes for Sei basses (stained quartersawn ash, with coloured hardware). So I might have something to show you on that count in about 18 months - can't wait.

Here's my son modelling my beautiful Sei singlecut 5, that I got in 2003: It's currently back at The Gallery with Martin for a bit of long-term maintenance, including some weight reduction - I've owned the bass for 18 years, and my back was in much better shape in 2003. These days, a bass with a full wenge body doesn't seem like such a good idea! All the hardware is being replaced with lightweight Hipshot aluminium stuff, and there'll probably be some chambering going on. The aim is to shave 2lbs off and add at least another 18 years to its playing life!

+1 on the Peavey G-Basses. Fantastic instruments. Their reputation has pushed their prices up recently though. I think this Klos lot have missed a trick - most bass players who'd be interested in a graphite-necked instrument would probably be more likely to play 5- or 6-strings, and they're not offering them, nor do they appear to have any plans to.

Sorry for the bit of blatant self-promotion, but this is me (on a fretless MM Bongo 5) on a track from our upcoming album (it's the only one I played fretless on, alas)...

Amaranthe always seemed like prime Eurovision fodder to me, especially in the post-Lordi world! They're heavy enough for the hairy headbangers and yet poppy enough for the masses. One of those "something for everyone" bands. Bonus points to you for the first mention of The Cardiacs on this thread.

Yep, but she only ever did screaming, she never really did the melodic thing. Her successor in AE, Alissa White-Gluz, is worth hearing though, as, like Tatiana from Jinjer, she does both and does them pretty well. Angela resurfaced recently and did a song with Amaranthe (whom she manages). It's pretty good, she's still got it.

There is a well-documented link between extreme metal and cookery. Observe:

Youtube didn't come out until 2005. But yes, the "chiaroscuro" vocal thing has been around for a while. I mean, you can go back to stuff like Cemetery Gates by Pantera to hear that sort of thing, and that came out in 1990. I think the Jinjer example is a little bit different, as most people don't expect to hear a full-throated death metal roar coming from a woman.

Extreme metal is the musical equivalent of a splatter-gore horror film, and, like the Evil Dead or any of Peter Jackson's early films, mostly has its tongue firmly wedged in its cheek and is mostly not to be taken too seriously. If you could quite happily watch a horror movie and then come out with a Mary Whitehouse-style comment like the above, you're doing it wrong.

Jinjer have basically created their own video genre on Youtube - the "Pisces Reaction Video", full of people who are lulled into a false sense of security by the gentle intro, which inevitably turns into a fishy-gape "WTF" moment when Tatiana changes gears for the chorus... Incidentally, Eugene from Jinjer is one hell of a bass player. Some extreme metal musicians are nothing like their stage personas when offstage. George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher from Cannibal Corpse is a prime example.

Bip-bip-ding! I like some really heavy death metal stuff. Grew up on a diet of Cannibal Corpse, Deicide, Slayer, Neurosis, Bolt Thrower, etc. Spent an inordinate amount of time at the Marquee stagediving. But, the older I get, the more I like a tune to go along with my brutality. I find myself listening a lot to various Scandinavian and Eastern European progressive death bands (Opeth, Ihsahn, Leprous, Riverside, Kauan, etc), as well as the likes of Devin Townsend and Steven Wilson (there's always a Devin or Porcupine Tree song or two in my playlists). There's also some great prog metal stuff coming out of Australia - Karnivool, Voyager, Caligula's Horse, Plini and so on. I've also developed a new appreciation for "poppy" metal, and am on a big Amaranthe and Beast In Black kick at the moment!