Burns-bass

Nah, I grew up listening to fusion stuff and am not a snob at all. It's all personal preference, it's just I've never really enjoyed a bass solo (I can admire them though!).

I'm in an ECM quartet (Gary Burton, Pat Metheny, etc), I also play in a funk band that (sort of) has some jazz funk bits in it.

I don’t buy this. I love jazz and play it live and at home and I can’t stand the virtuoso stuff (or Joe Dart). Part of it is the register of the instrument and the challenge in shifting larger intervals. Piano, guitar and brass are just so much more suited to it. Bass solos to me just sound so forced, even when they’re technically beautiful. This is less of an issue in DB where the timbre of the instrument adds character. I also can’t stand Flea. But that’s years of being a bass teacher.

The best intermediate rig I have seen (and use) is a Trace Elliot Elf into a Barefaced 1x10. It sounds absolutely fantastic, is portable, and easy to set up. It’s also reasonably cheap for such quality gear. There are only a few knobs to turn, and they all character the sound, which makes it easy to use. I’m using this rig to do a jazz session later tonight. I’ve used it in a pub jam session for both bass and double bass. On the weekend I saw someone gigging the same rig in a surf rock band.

I think what you were doing is a really important thing. If you check out the Vintage Fender thread you’ll see how the listing of one of my old basses and the reality are very different.

If in doubt get on the phone! I missed out on a bit of a dream bass because I’d emailed.

Maybe I’ll treat myself when work picks up. I’ve got to say, Geoff does some really incredible content.

This isn’t cheap but might be of interest… https://courses.discoverdoublebass.com/p/chris-wood-masterclass (Still one of the best gigs I’ve ever been to)

My kid once hit my Bryant double bass with a toy car and took a chunk out of it. It was my fault.

Just remembered we had a wonderful chat when he bought my Stentor bass from me. Good half an hour discussing bass and life. Such sad news.

Sad times and my thoughts are with the family.

Oh, and the knobs aren’t original, the screws on the plate are changed as were all the pickup screws and I had the jack socket replaced.

If people wonder why I’m skeptical, I’ll use an example. This is an old one of mine. It was built by Steve at Electric Ladyland in Bristol who sold it for £1000 in 2001. There’s a route under the bridge that’s visible (and was previously covered by a Badass bridge). The neck and body were joined in his shop, the electrics are all rewired and the pickup cavities enlarged. The pickguard was previously an original 70s one, but has been swapped again. I sold this for £900 in 2005 and told the buyer all of this. It’s now £2600 with only a few of these things mentioned. https://www.vintagerareandretro.co.uk/store/1974-Fender-Jazz-Bass-4-Bolt-p553279599

Same as most vintage Fenders. The “experts” either ignore changes or are ignorant about them. Charlie Chandler is selling a 65 jazz with the wrong bridge, for example. I’ve seen two of my old basses selling at the moment with changes I told the buyer about but the dealer has either missed or ignored to mention.

It’s all good. I think these are vanity purchases by asset rich boomers that will hold much less value for future generations. I have one (bought when cheap) and I love it, but most of these sit on stands and do nowt. My gran used to collect vintage pottery that was hugely valuable at the time and now is pretty much worthless and fashions have changed. If I were to invest in stuff for a return I’d be buying vintage synths and electronic music stuff.