Bassassin

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='1210849' date='Apr 25 2011, 01:40 PM']It could probably do with some better acts but it's still probably one of the [b]only[/b] music shows on telly at the moment.[/quote] In the tradition of lesser forums - fixed that for ya! You're spot-on about Hugh Laurie. [i]And[/i] he used to be funny. J.

I have a Boss DR660 - great little box, very versatile, millions of editable sounds & kits, assignable individual outputs, onboard FX, OK preset patterns & kits, all of which can be edited. The subsequent DR770 lost a lot of functionality and broadly doesn't appear to be as good. However DR660s are knocking on a bit now - had mine since 1995 and it wasn't new then. Looking at Ebay, there aren't very many around & prices seem to have gone batsh!t mental. Very strange. When it was launched the main competition was the SR16, and these are very sensibly priced by comparison, probably because they're still available. Get one of them! Jon.

[quote name='son of frog' post='1210218' date='Apr 24 2011, 06:30 PM']Yet still its quite nice for that price... I wish i had a bigger wallet.[/quote] I'll sell you a filthy, smashed up piece of junk for a tenth of that. J.

[quote name='Paul S' post='1210263' date='Apr 24 2011, 07:26 PM']Hence the band name - Maya - should have picked up the clue there. I have developed an interest in Mexican history and culture (and food!) as a by-product of visiting the country several times on 'plant hunting expeditions' (a long story) (actually, several long stories). It is hard not to get caught up in the magic of the place - have you visited any of the archeological sites there? Awe inspiring. In my travels I've called into Teotihuacan just north of Mexico City, Palenque in Chiapas, Monte Alban in Oaxaca and El Tajin in Veracruz. The anthropological museum in Mexico City is a study in how modern museums should be set out - absolutely magnificnt! I think it is such a shame that the only press Mexico gets these days is all the drug cartel related killings when the place has so much more to offer (10% of the planet's flora and fauna on 1% of it's area!) I've not read that book so I've just ordered it from the library, plus his others - thanks for that. Have you read 'Mexica' by Norman Spinrad? Similar - set at the same time but observes the period through the eyes of a slave who starts off with Cortez but ends up befriending Moctezuma. Anyway, all pretty way off topic....[/quote] Keeping it OT - no, sadly not yet travelled to Mexico, but when I do finally get to visit Teotihuacan I'll be a step closer to being able to die happy! Interestingly, while I certainly like the association the band name has, it was actually taken from the title of an erotic novel by Alice Joanou which (if I remember rightly) was more to do with sexual obsession than Pre-Columbian Mexico! Still, I suppose the band & music are a bit different now to when we started, so the name's historical connotations are a bit more appropriate. I haven't read the Spinrad book - thanks for the recommendation, just off to order a copy! J.

[quote name='CHRISDABASS' post='1210226' date='Apr 24 2011, 06:36 PM']What the hell do you do to a bass to make it look like this????? [/quote] Plus a substantial helping of mental retardation. Jon.

It says basswood in the specs, should've given you the links before: [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=102&now=2"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expans...d=102&now=2[/url] [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expansion.php?cat_id=119&now=12"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/anniversary/expans...=119&now=12[/url] J.

[quote name='Paul S' post='1209079' date='Apr 23 2011, 12:04 PM']Jon, I was having trouble with your Facebook player - once I started playing a track it was reluctant to stop and I think I had 3 playing at once. Or was that supposed to be what it was like? Can never be sure with Prog rock You definitely have an individual sound - I don't like what I heard as much as that first track (and that studio version is excellent) but it is a class above any other 'Prog Rock' originals I have listened to - usually (IME) it is tuneless self indulgent nonsense. What's the Mexican thing - a particular interest?[/quote] Thanks Paul - really appreciate the positive comments! Certainly sounds like a problem with the player, it should be one song at a time! Yes, it is a bit of a geek thing for me - I've long been fascinated by the ancient Mesoamerican cultures, and how they evolved such an advanced civilisation completely isolated from cross-cultural influence. The story element of the songs is loosely borrowed from a book called Aztec, by Gary Jennings - it's a superb historical novel depicting the Mexica empire at its peak, the arrival of the Spanish & subsequent overthrow & conquest, viewed through the experiences of a single character, from boyhood to old age. Obviously we had to streamline it a little for a 45-minute song cycle, but we've tried to retain that basic story-arc. The lyrics have a lot of influences & references to Aztec poetry, and when (if, at this rate) the album's properly recorded & finished, there will be short rhythmic/spoken word interludes between several of the pieces to maintain narrative flow & link the separate songs. It was important to me when composing this (it was all put together by myself & vocalist Karen) to make each section work as a stand-alone song, while maintaining continuity with instrumental & lyrical themes linking the songs. The way Pete Townshend achieved a similar thing with Quadrophenia was a big inspiration. Anyway I am delighted you like it, it's always good to get positive feedback - cheers! J.

KD Lang was the star, no doubt - wonderful voice, even if she does appear to be transforming in to some sort of lesbian Elvis. I quite enjoyed Fleet Foxes - very much their own thing, if that makes sense, and reminded me of the power of a good, overblown vocal harmony arrangement. Hugh Laurie - clearly a fine musician but singing was a mistake - a stuffy English comic actor trying to sound like an old black American guy from the 30s just seemed like a comedy skit with no punchline. So along with Hugh, the rest of the show was varying levels of wince & cringe. Vintage Trouble were OK, nothing special but played well, the singer has the voice & the moves, but the rest of the band had plainly been practicing their gurning & Twitchy-Dancing in front of the mirror. It became like a themed evening of trying too hard - the ranty bloke with the two drummers was just awful, and as forced & contrived as any manufactured boy-band, and the special needs guy in the other band needs to learn when to just sing, rather than doing the same little trick all the time. Sad fact is that if Jools is the last gasp of live music on UK TV, maybe it would be for the best if someone just stuck a pillow over its face. Jon.

These got discussed at length a couple of months back, with much head-shaking & eye-rolling at the price: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=118571"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=118571[/url] I like the look of it, but pay 2 grand for it? Would I 'eck as like. J.

First of all, anecdotally the difference between Roadsters & Roadstar IIs is just a typo - it was originally meant to be Roadster II, but the mistake stuck. All it really is was an update to the Roadster range, which had been around since the late 70s - they were never available at the same time. Anyway this is a Roadstar II RB850, but the switches are a bit confusing, and it's a pity the Gallery site doesn't tell us the year of manufacture, which is part of the serial number. The catalogues I've found show slight variations between the '84 & '85 models (smaller fretboard dots on the later ones) but none of them have switches. Apparently they had coil splits activated by push/pull pots, so it's possible the pots have been replaced with standard ones & the switches were added to retain that functionality. However the Roadstar II range first showed up in '83. The RB850 isn't in the '83 catalogues, but the basses that are shown have switches for coil splitting etc. So perhaps this one's an earlier iteration that predates the push-pots. But if it is, why does it have the later, small fretboard dots? No straight answers then, but these are damn fine basses, & the price is surprisingly not that much more than you'd expect to see on an Ebay listing. Jon.

I would compromise my principles sideways, with a greased-up barrel cactus, if the money was right. J.

It is JapCrap - one of these Guyatone-made early 70s starter jobs that were sometimes badged Jedson in the UK. Here's a guitar version: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Teisco-Jedson-Tele-69-74-collectable-Made-Japan-/190525622865"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Teisco-Jedson-Tele-6...n-/190525622865[/url] Nothing to do with Teisco. J.

I think I'd break the law a bit. In secrecy, if it's punishable by death. Jon.

Actually Mr DelVar's correct, as he usually is - I was - perhaps unreasonably, perhaps not - suggesting it would be advisable for Mr Conklin to change his name. It's not without precedent, if old Uncle Leo hadn't made the decision to Americanise his own handle when launching his range of new-fangled electromatic instuments, we'd all be playing Mudguard Precisions, and then how stupid would we all feel, eh? J.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1208920' date='Apr 23 2011, 08:54 AM']However for the ultimate PJ you get this... [/quote] Nah, this is what you want - 1982 Washburn SB40 Vulture II: Except you can't have it 'cos it's mine. J.

[quote name='el borracho' post='1209146' date='Apr 23 2011, 01:23 PM']It sold for £375 Time I listed mine I think!![/quote] Depends if you're prepared to fib about it being made in the US, now you know that it ain't! The Epiphone name on a vintage instrument of any origin does help a lot, though. J.

No. I'm sure they're excellent quality instruments, but they look ghastly and have a stupid name. And I'm fundamentally very shallow. Jon.

Amazing. Is there really money to be made by ruining guitars for cretins? Jon.

The bass on Ebay is a Matsumoku build and apart from the headstock shape would have been identical to the Aria 5120 pictured [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/aria/hollow/sem/semi.html"]here[/url]. The model number's a little bit of a giveaway. The EA-260 in [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/epiphone/catalogs/1974/pg5.html"]this 1974 Epi catalogue[/url] would appear to be basically the same. This bass is also pretty common in the UK branded as Commodore - I think a couple of BCers have or have had them. The pickups on the Ebay one aren't original & I don't think the bridge is either.. Like all the Japanese factories, Matsumoku built to order, & if the customer requested that there was no MIJ stamp then that's what they'd get. Jon.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1208110' date='Apr 22 2011, 11:26 AM']Just as an aside,I know that Yamahas official line now is that the BB stands for 'broad bass',but I seem to remember that the bass was originally designed in conjunction with Bunny Brunel,hence the name. Am I alone in thinking this?[/quote] Interesting, this (if you're an anorak like me, anyway) - "Broad Bass" is exactly the sort of Japlish acronym you'd expect, but doing a bit of Googling it seems Brunel was involved in the development of the BB3000 fretless, which he apparently still uses. However according to [url="http://www.yamaha.co.jp/product/guitar/archive/"]Yamaha's guitar database[/url] the BB range debuted in 1977 with the BB800, BB1000 & BB1200 models - the BB3000 appeared in 1982, so no idea if BB would have been involved in those early models. It's an incomplete archive (my 80s BB400S ain't on it) and since it's in Japanese I have no idea if Brunel's mentioned in the text - stick it through Babelfish & the result is a part-translated mishmash of Kanji & references to mosquitos & the Soviet Union. Really. Anyway, on topic - I'm definitely favouring P/J configurations at the moment, loads more versatile than single P or J/J. Jon.

Academic since Spotify's been borked on my PC since the last update anyway. I used it a lot at first but have to say I haven't really missed it much, so they can do what they want, not really interested any more. This looks like a misstep though & I strongly suspect it'll be the end of Spotify. But so what, eh? Jon.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='1207046' date='Apr 21 2011, 01:32 PM']it looks like someones covered the top horn with their s.... actually lets not go there in a family friendly forum...[/quote] Presumably it's a Jizz Bass. J.