OutToPlayJazz

Hotwires are still very reasonable.

I just bought the Squier Classic Vibe 60's Precision today in sonic blue. It's cost me £220. Not a lot in bass terms, but why? This thing is the best playing and sounding Precision I've ever played, and that includes the [rather expensive] 08 American Standard I had last year. It has the trad P bass sound with a more modern zing with it & a great slap sound, too. The neck is very close to the average jazz neck thickness & the build quality is utterly stunning! Rich.

[quote]This wouldn't be the case if those who spent their time studying theory actually churned out some decent music! All I hear from you lot is God-awful jazz, cheesy muzak style funk, or the sex-offender of the music world - fusion. Maybe its coincidence that the majority of artists that I like aren't theory geeks. But maybe its not. Learning in itself isn't the villain here. It's the fact that those of you who have the dicipline to learn theory don't have the dicipline to just play the root when required. Typical jazzers. Always showing off.[/quote] It's not just jazzers who read music. Take me, for example... I can play my cello or double bass in an orchestra, string quartet, opera, show, etc... I can play my violin in all the above situations... I can play the piano, accompanying my pupils... I can play my electric basses/double basses in jazz bands, shows, big bands, wind orchestras, rock bands, tribute bands, etc, etc. [b]All of the above earns me money. [i]Because I learned to read music[/i].[/b] Now I'm not saying that all of us have to do the above & I understand full well that there are hobbyists who want to play for fun. Fine. Nothing wrong with that at all. But accusing music readers of being only into jazz is a bit rich [b]tBBC[/b] to say the least! I'll leave you with one little thought... Reading opens doors. You can play things you never dreamed of playing. And... You don't have to memorise things over an excruciating period, either. Think on it. Rich.

Yes, I own lots of them & I do swear by them! I've been playing Status instruments for nigh on twenty years & for the types of playing I do, there's nothing better. The build quality is second to none (I have a 19 year old SII which has definitely stood the test of time!) & the sound is amazing. Not only do you get massive growl from the graphite necks, but order with the right tone block in the middle & there's more tone than you're ever going to need. Headless models are perfectly balanced & you never need worry about any variance in the neck with temperature changes. No movement ever. Period. And if you're fed up with basses with weak output from active preamps, look no further. The Status preamps are if anything, overpowered. More shove, again, than you're ever going to need. Speaking of the preamps, the electronics are bullet proof & will last a lifetime. Possibly the best bit about Status is that you get the best possible customer service. The company is run by Rob Green & his wife Dawn. They only have another couple of employees on the wood/graphite production side. Rob deals with electronics, hardware & setups. That way, you're guaranteed that every bass coming out of the factory has passed through Rob's hands and Rob's idea of quality control is nothing short of anally retentive! In fact, I know of one international customer that ordered a KingBass retroglide which had a slight imperfection in the graphite weave on the back of the neck. Rob had the bass back under warranty & made him another. Free of charge. So if nothing short of perfection will do, you know where to go! Hope this helps Rich.

At that price range you could get someone like Jon Shuker to make you one. Either that or stay mass-produced and play right-handed

Usually I'm to the drummer's left (hi-hat side), which is why I've got eardrum damage to my right ear. Noisy bastard drummers!

Wow! Admit it - You just built that in order to blow girls' underwear clean off, didn't you??

Hey Glyn, That looks really nice. Bet it sounds biblical through your MarkBass. And the bridge is huuuge! Rich.

Oh yes, David. It is just as sexy as a Status! I've had a Vigier in the back of my mind for a long time now, but haven't got round to looking at them yet. When I get a chance to get to Nick's I'll do the full try out! Congrats again on another stunner, mate!

Obviously I check the sustain with long notes, chords & harmonics, but I do have a "blast" as well, in order to see how fast & comfortable the neck is. Also, I always keep in mind that manufacturers nearly always put heavy guage strings on basses as standard, but if I can play freely & fast on a stock bass with stock strings, it's going to be even better with the much thinner strings I'd be using. Method to the madness! Rich.

[quote]I'm no pro, but it does puzzle me that guitar and bass seem to be the only instruments where a lack of musical knowledge seems to be a badge of honour.[/quote] A very valid point well made, Simon!

They're definitely Mexican. And have a look at the price!!! Yes, I agree the Fiesta Red Jazz looks kinda cool, but that price tag is utterly shocking!

Obviously there was always going to be a clear split in opinion on this subject between the hobbyists & the pros, TBBC.

Hey Martin (Merton), do you happen to know what the string distance from the pickups is meant to be on the Groove? I've got it set the same at the front soapbar on my S2's at the moment. Rich.

That is quite simply gorgeous, David! Is it one of the new wooden necked ones with a phelonic board? Also, is this instead of the S2-Classic you were talking about? Rich.

As someone who's read since the age of 7, reading is second nature to me, but I think it's all down to the particular situation you find yourself in. If you're mainly playing in 3 chord tricks with rock/blues bands, you'll pick a lot up without reading. So in this particular situation, perhaps it's not as necessary? But in my own case, I can drop into any playing job, sight read the parts in any style. How useful is that?! Makes me ultra employable. But again, this is from the standpoint fo a professional musician. If you're back in the pub band, perhaps it's not going to be as important to you? From a technical standpoint, I loathe tablature. It's great for getting the novice playing things they like to hear, but it completely bipasses sound fingering techniqes. I see so many bass players who could be sooo good but are held back by a total lack of technique. If they took the trouble to read & work through a good db tutor book, they would be open to so many more possibilities on this front. The problem I had in my late teens was actually the total reverse. I'd never played anything I hadn't read, so when it came to playing in bands/at jams, I had to start from scratch and learn to improvise. So if you're always wondering if you should perhaps take a stab at reading, go on - Have a go! Rich.

Depends on how good you want to get. As an example, coming up to my finals I was practicing up to 12 hours a day all those years ago. When I was principal double bass in the Britten Pears Orchestra we would be playing at least 10 hours per day in the run up to concerts. Now I'm either teaching or playing all the time, it's really nice to find the odd hour to do some playing - But generally life is so frenetic that I rarely get that. Just have to be on the ball when I'm on the payroll for playing! Rich.

I liked the expansion to the MusicMan range. Some nice new ideas there. Fender take note! Rich.

Merton beat me to it... But then again, you knew I was going to say that!

Oh dear. Just... Sad.

GAS already sorted. (Hit the ground running in 2009!) Bought a Status Streamline a couple of weeks ago (utterly awesome!), a Status Groove 5 & an Ashdown Rig to leave in the van for one of the bands I play with. Oh, and ordered a Squier Classic Vibe Jazz. That'll do for now...

I've had both the 30 & the 100 Cubes. The 30 was great for shows & general playing at home. The 100 is excellent for jazz jobs. It copes with the lesser volume really well & I use it a lot for gigs. Where the 100 will struggle is with anything louder than theatre or nice quiet jazz players. If you play in a more traditional band like a rock three/four piece, spend your money on something like an Ashdown Mag 300 combo. But if you have the uses for it, the cube is absolutely excellent value with excellent sound quality as well. Rich.