josie

Mr Josie and I are cats - we would only ever do anything together if we both actually wanted to. In terms of gigs, that has included some good ones - Robert Plant, Crosby Stills & Nash, Alison Kraus, Blue Oyster Cult, Queen (sadly Paul Rodgers era), Roger Waters, The Cadillac 3 spring to mind in no particular order. But I'm much more into music than he is - several of the above I have got him to listen to recent recordings and agree before I bought tickets. I would never dream of dragging him along to a gig which he would then spoil for me by grumbling. Any more than I would have suggested going with him to the local chess club.

From the other point of view, I really hope Lucas (of this parish) doesn't regret selling me two GMRs, each for half to a third of what they're worth. If it's any comfort to him, I'm in love with both, and the only time they're going anywhere else is as named items in my will.

Welcome Beesmanjohn, and never be afraid to ask. There are sure to be others who will learn from the answers to anything you ask. Probably including me A lot of wisdom here, and often interesting differences of opinion too. Ask away!

There are two separate threads going on here: wanting a better sound and wanting New Stuff. I know that, for me, to get a better sound the most important thing is to spend a lot of time playing the bass guitars I already have. I've successfully deflected wanting-New-Stuff onto guitar picks (TimberTones have just brought out a new line of glittery carbon ones...) which I can buy with pocket money, and which Mr Josie will never notice Mind you, I "need" a better amp, and if a GMR fretless 5 walked up to me it would go no further

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1485027349' post='3220588'] Is that a GMR on the left of the second pic? [/quote] I wondered that. It looks very much like my GMR fretless 4 (apart from the frets and the fifth string of course). I'd love to have a GMR fretless 5.

Yes see GP, but they won't always take it seriously. My physiotherapist has a bass player ex-boyfriend and takes my RSI problems completely seriously. She spotted early signs of arthritis (in my knees) when I was 56 or so - and said anyone over 50 is likely to have some. Seriously, try soaking your feet in warm water with epsom salts for 15 minutes every day, or every other day. Magnesium deficiency is a major cause of arthritis. And the body takes it up better by skin absorption than through the stomach. My knees have been like new since I've started doing this. And it feels good at the end of a hard day too

For my 60th birthday party I organised a charity concert for an excellent local special needs school. I hired the Garrick Theatre in Stockport, Kyla Brox opened and Virgil & the Accelerators headlined. All three asked for half normal price, which I was happy to pay. Musicians, venue staff, family and friends all had loads of free food and a tab at the bar. Punters bought tickets and heard great music. I got sponsorship for most of the expenses and sent every possible penny to the charity. Everyone was happy. The musicians thanked me for how well I had looked after them, but it seemed to me just what one should do. Musicians are important and should be looked after well. Especially as guys of that caliber were doing me a favour by coming at all. let alone at half price.

Good skills to have! Welcome.

[quote name='synthaside' timestamp='1484768427' post='3218323'] He wants £400 for it its a 2002 aerodyne Jazz (nonexport) surface jack model .... i think that's slightly under priced but not enough to warrant It [/quote] My 1992 Aerodyne cost £500, with a few scratches but functionally perfect, so that sounds over-priced for the condition. Could you get a luthier to quote for fixing it and offer him £400 minus the quote? It's unlikely anyone else will appreciate what it is and offer him any more than that.

Gigged my fretless for the first time last night! Just one om number to a small audience, but I'm proud of it. We did "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", with slightly dull acoustic rhythm guitar, good vocals, superb harmonica, and me laying down an extreme slide bassline to re-interpret the shimmering sound of the original. Went down well with a discriminating audience who expect a high standard. Happy cat

My favourite ever blues/rock power trio, Virgil and the Accelerators - sadly never really famous, used to sell out on the Continent but less successful here - played covers sets under false names between tours just because they loved it. (They also headlined my 60th birthday party - which was a public charity gig with Kyla Brox opening - between tours partly for the same reason, although I did pay them, but they refused to take more than half their normal fee.) Victor Brox regularly plays local (Stockport) pub gigs in between packed houses on the Continent and at major UK blues festivals. With just as much professionalism and joy. A superb musician and a lovely man.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1483743825' post='3209880'] Anyone bringing anything to sell? Should I bring pocket money? [/quote] If anyone falls in love with my 1992 MIA Fender Jazz Plus 5 I could be persuaded to let it go. It's a fine beast, but we just don't suit each other somehow.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1483102349' post='3204712'] You still haven't amended the spelling mistake in the title...it's driving me mental!! [/quote] Figured out how to do it, that's useful - thank you.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1483005803' post='3204003'] I'm really picky about bass weights as my back is knackered, and I've had multiple hernias, but I hope to find another light 5 that suits. Lots of 5 strings seem to have about 48mm nut widths which is too wide for me. [/quote] It might be worth looking out for a GMR 5 (see GreeneKing's post above). Their BassForce is light, slim, and doesn't sound like it. The build quality is superb too. Hard to find though. There's a good-looking GMR Flow-In 5 - much bigger and heavier - on eBay at the moment, wrongly described as a BassForce: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GMR-Custom-Bass-Force-V-Guitar-Rare-Only-One-like-That-Bartolini-Handmade-/262771383688? (I have one of each, so I'm sure - and immune to GAS )

I'm reading Bruce Springsteen's autobiography (excellent!) and this incident from 1968 caught my attention - other BC peeps might like it too: ... he pulled out an unstrung hollow-bodied Gibson with the longest neck I'd ever seen. I brought it home, cleaned it up and strung it. It was a strange piece. My guitar strings barely reached around its distant oversized tuning pegs. ... My Gibson only had one pickup and the frets were awfully far from each other, but the sound ... the sound said, BRING ON ALL COMERS! ... One night, some kid who knew his guitars shed some light on the "miracle" in my miracle Gibson. He walked up and congratulated me on the brilliant idea of stringing an old Gibson six-string bass with guitar strings and playing it as a solo instrument. I nodded coolly while thinking, "Holy sh*t ... it's a six-string bass!" I'd been soloing like a madman for months on a bass guitar! No wonder its sound was so thick and its fret board so impossible. It worked!

My first bass was a 5, initially "because I fancied it", and I loved it, and still do - it kept me motivated when the learning got hard, and still does. It was a while before I started using the B string to real effect, but it was there to ease into, rather than at some point deciding to make the switch and struggling with it. I do have two 4s, a Jazz Aerodyne and a GMR fretless, and I love the sound and feel and look of both far too much to get rid of them just because they're missing the B string I don't have a problem switching between them now, although I did at first. [quote name='GreeneKing' timestamp='1482834300' post='3202930'] recent acquisitions have been a 20th Anniversary Ray 5, A Bongo 5 HH in radiance red and a GMR. [/quote] Just out of curiosity, what model of GMR and where did you get it? They're a bit like hen's teeth, and not as widely respected as they deserve to be.

So far my GAS has been strictly Guitar Acquisition Syndrome (and 2016 got away from me a bit with 6 ). But I have a nasty feeling 2017 might require a new amp. Especially with the North West Bass Bash coming up - I'll be very surprised if I come away from that without a shopping list.

After many hours of playing scales, I can improvise decent fill runs. After many hours of playing scales with my eyes closed, I can improvise decent fill runs while watching the drummer and the lead guitar player, so I can get the right groove and link between them. 2017 promises many hours of playing scales on a fretless with my eyes closed. Hoping this time next year I'll be able to say I've nailed it.

Bruce Springsteen's autobiography - half price at Waterstones - couldn't walk past it. To read during the holiday. Gibson Les Paul Special double cut-away (Lucille look-alike) signed by B B King. The time of year is just a coincidence though. I won't get my hands on it until into the new year, for now I'll have to make do with feeling smug

TimberTones have just announced that they are withdrawing all their rosewood picks from sale from 02 Jan. I might just pounce on this: http://timber-tones.co.uk/rosewood-guitar-pick-collection-424-p.asp I've just bought a 1995 Gibson Les Paul Special with a rosewood fingerboard, and it came with the warning that a CITES export license would be needed - luckily I have no interest in exporting it

It happened to me too. Luckily the guitar that fell was my Cort "Strat" and it only dropped a few feet, onto a padded surface, and narrowly missed my Jazz Aerodyne on a stand below, so no harm done except to the wall. Long screws and rawl plugs, so definitely the wall's fault, a main wall in a well-built 30s semi. I don't like keeping my guitars on hangers anyway, except for my acoustic 6-strings, because I worry about the weight all bearing on the shoulders of the headstocks - two of my 5-string basses are seriously heavy. I'm sure I've seen a review of one bass somewhere which advised against keeping it on a hanger for that reason. But most peeps seem to do it, so perhaps I shouldn't worry?

When I was a small child I had one which was a model church with a tall hollow tower in which little boxes (about the size of matchboxes) were stacked. You pulled the bottom box out through the door each day. Each box contained a figure for a nativity scene. The earlier boxes had the less important figures (three of the early ones were sheep, I'm sure) and the last three were Joseph, then Mary, and on Christmas Eve the baby Jesus. It came out every year for many years and I never got tired of it, even when I knew exactly what each figure would be. I can still see it clearly 55 years later!

+1 to bass drum and to drum machine, although before that's useful for solo practice you have to already have some idea of what you're listening for. I also find eye contact with the drummer helps me find and keep the groove, especially in an open jam where nobody's played with each other before. My jam playing (well, all my playing) has got a lot better since I spent a lot of time learning to play at least basic stuff with my eyes closed rather than glued to the fretboard.

Top ten would take more time than I have, but top is Carmine Rojas.

Thanks all. I popped into Johnny Roadhouse Manchester this morning (dangerously close to my work) and picked up the best they had, a D'Addario "instrument cable". I haven't had a chance to plug it in yet, but given the limitations of my amp I'm sure it will be fine. Love the advice and support here!