Bassassin

[quote name='Doddy' post='1202143' date='Apr 16 2011, 09:05 PM']I hear this excuse a lot (along with 'I don't need to know this stuff to play in my band'),and I don't buy it. Just because you like a particular type of music doesn't mean you should avoid an essential part of it's language. When I started playing I had to use my ear to learn the music that I was into and wanted to play,but I still learned how to associate the bass with the stave....and believe it or not,it actually helped with learning the music that I wanted to play and made it easier. Which is cool if you have the luxury of being able to spend time learning the tunes as a band. But,like I often say,there are many situations where this isn't an option.[/quote] "Excuse"? Hilarity at your presumptuousness (I'm being polite) aside, both of your responses are pretty much irrelevant to me - which was the point of my post. And I didn't "avoid" anything - I was a teenager with a short attention span & wanted to play in a band & get out gigging - reading would not have helped, and plainly it's been in no sense "essential". I'm not for a moment suggesting what has been absolutely fine for me would be to anyone else, which was, again, fundamental to the point of the post. J.

[quote name='karlfer' post='1202179' date='Apr 16 2011, 09:55 PM']80's CMI? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190523169751&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url][/quote] 70s. It's had a Strat pickup bunged in it & someone's stuck a bit of plastic on the top to cover the 6 pole pieces. Quality. J.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1200820' date='Apr 15 2011, 03:19 PM']Why don't people say 'pain in the arse' anymore? Just wondering.[/quote] I don't know. But I wish they would because personally - and call me callous if you wish - I have very little concern about the discomfort of donkeys & mules, and their plight is of no real interest to me. Much like reading notation. I did start to teach myself a year or two after I started playing bass, because I thought I should - but quite quickly arrived at the conclusion that it wasn't going to make me better at playing the music I wanted to play, & I gradually lost interest. I did get to the point where I could laboriously work out a piece of written music note-by-note, but I've always had an aptitude for learning by ear, and for me that was the quickest route to playing what I wanted to play. On one level I sort of regret being a lazy little sod & not making myself get to sight-reading standard but I don't think it would have had much of an effect on what I've chosen to do musically over the years. On-topic (because Reading Music Is Good/Bad [i]isn't[/i] the topic), I've never knowingly met a guitarist who didn't have some idea of what they were doing - in fact I'd say all the guitarists I've played with have been very musically aware & competent. I hesitate to say "literate" because as far as I know, none of them have been readers/writers. As a composer (not "writer"!) all of my ideas come from noodling around on the guitar (or very occasionally, bass) until I hear something I like. I know all the major/minor chords but also play various weird made-up shapes that I have no idea of the names of, & more often than not it's this stuff that inspires or even becomes the basis of my compositions. I prefer to record complete arrangements to give to the band to learn/interpret - I think that way they get to hear what I hear rather than having to try & explain it verbally. Jon.

[quote name='tom1946' post='1202017' date='Apr 16 2011, 06:42 PM']How can you tell it's plywood? [/quote] That huge black overspray on the forearm contour is to hide the edges of the ply layers - there will be one the same on the belly carve on the back. Go & find a pic of a proper 'burst finish Fender, you'll see the burst just goes around the edges. Ply bodies (or sometimes veneered butcher-block) are really easy to spot once you notice this! J.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1201986' date='Apr 16 2011, 05:44 PM']Does anyone even agree with the 70's bit? never mind the MM bit.[/quote] Unlikely - most 70s P copies tend to have maple fretboards. And yes - that's almost certainly a plywood body, so I guess times must've been 'ard back then, & Leo just had to make do. Jon.

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='1201823' date='Apr 16 2011, 02:10 PM']Looking at them pics, to me they seem much more like the Shine Ricken-clones, 22 fret, that bridge and bridge pickup cover. Just without the Duncan pickups, and with the binding and Ricky headstock.[/quote] This is exactly what the current Rockinbetters are like: [url="http://www.twangguitars.com/rockinbetter-rg4003-bass-guitar-fireglow-1529-p.asp"]http://www.twangguitars.com/rockinbetter-r...glow-1529-p.asp[/url] Actually, didn't notice the Bass Collections have the extra fret until after I posted, so scrub the "authentic" bit of my first comment! Still really pretty though, I'm a total sucker for checked binding! J.

[quote name='Stacker' post='1201708' date='Apr 16 2011, 11:54 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Collection-California-Deluxe-Bass-Guitar-CHEEKY-/380327034476?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item588d41fe6c"]Faker[/url] Apart from the pups, it's the closest Rick-resembling contemporary faker I've seen. John Hall will be wetting hisself when he see this![/quote] Most authentic & prettiest modern copy yet, certainly this version with the checker binding anyway. These did come up a month or so ago (prob. in the Rickenfakers Ebay thread) and from what I can see they are the same as the most recent iteration of the Rockinbetter wannabe, with the exception of the aforementioned binding on this one. And the 250 or so extra quid it'll cost you. They're on the Bass Centre site with even more tongue-swallowingly mental prices: [url="http://www.basscentre.com/bass-collection/page/2/"]http://www.basscentre.com/bass-collection/page/2/[/url] Big pic of the checker-bound one: [url="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r437/gtrguitars/bass-cal-dlx-body-ebay.jpg"]http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r437/gt...x-body-ebay.jpg[/url] Jon.

[quote name='Paul S' post='1200372' date='Apr 15 2011, 10:23 AM']A tune and three quarters, even. I like it a lot. How do you get that growl on the bass - is it the bass itself, the amp, an effect, your fingers, or all of the above?[/quote] Thanks Paul - appreciate it! The tone's pretty much a combination of everything you mention - the bass here is an 80s Washburn SB40 with passive P/J pups, with the J rolled off a bit. That goes into my standard Growly Rock Tone patch on a Korg AX3000B - which is a bit of drive, a bit of compression and slightly boosted upper mids, if I remember rightly. After that it's a GK700RB-II 1x15 combo and a Hartke 2.5XL cab, EQ is pretty much flat at the moment but the entire rig has a predisposition to being growly & raucous anyway! This song's one of the few I play with a pick, mostly because of the open-D drone / counter-melody bits on the softer parts, and quite a bit of palm-muted chuggy unison riff stuff elsewhere. If you like the song, there's a rather nice studio version on our [url="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maya29/190452804313584"]Facebook page[/url] - it's on the Band Profile section, right at the bottom of the song list. J.

Excellent new topic, good to see some pics of your Birchenbacker - and as a Damned fan from way back, I heartily approve of your new band's name! Jon.

[quote name='FlatEric' post='1200228' date='Apr 15 2011, 08:10 AM']The man, himself - live! Like it. Aside from the track, absolutely facinated by the mic stand. . . . . how is that done? Answers on a postcard. [/quote] It's a lightsabre. So the band members don't forget who's boss. J.

Another practice room camcorder job: One of our oldest & heaviest songs, nothing fancy bass-wise, but a tune and a half, in my unreliable opinion. Jon.

[quote name='ash' post='1200097' date='Apr 14 2011, 11:19 PM']I bought the John Birch above from Ebay[/quote] Excellent, always good when something exceptional goes to a BC member!. Please take loads of lovely hi-res pics then post them in Bass Porn (dig out the Rampant Rickenbuggery thread, why not?) - including whatever's under that curious back scratchplate! J.

"TM"? Whatever happened to.... [size=6]TIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM?[/size] Jon.

Hard to say because it depends on demand/interest at any one time. The Vox brand's collectable in itself, and high-end MIJ stuff like this can be quite dear - look at the prices Aria SBs & 80s Ibanez can fetch. However making an offer is quite a different matter, depends how cheeky you want to be! I'd say if you could blag one of these for under £200 it would probably be something of a bargain - but that's a total guess! These hardly ever come up on Ebay so I have nowt but speculation to go on, I'm afraid! J.

These are probably Matsumoku but I don't think it's confirmed. Not that it matters, they're lovely MIJ through-necks, these are rare as the proverbial & I'd love to get my hands on one! Jon.

Just spotted what looks like a somewhat butchered one of these on Ebay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/guitar-project-/260765775275"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/guitar-project-/260765775275[/url] Headstock looks a bit different but the body shape, neck & inlays look identical. Might be a mess under that novelty scratchplate though. Jon.

[quote name='RhysP' post='1195897' date='Apr 11 2011, 04:16 PM']The top one is a total rip-off of a Gittler.[/quote] It's certainly a similar design philosophy, but I don't know if I'd call it a total rip-off. [url="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/52/Gittler_guitar.jpg"]Gittler guitar[/url]. Jon.

CMI (Cleartone Musical Instruments) was Marshall. It was a sub-brand Jim Marshall started up to sidestep a dodgy distribution deal Marshall were tied up in at the time. I think on the whole they were more budget-oriented products but would've been made alongside "proper" Marshalls. Jon. Edit: £250 on their website.

I won't be bidding (new bike GAS takes precedence at the moment), would really like to see someone on here get this one. J.

[quote name='karlfer' post='1195019' date='Apr 10 2011, 08:29 PM']Don't know if anybody has clocked this one. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110672355633&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...e=STRK:MEWAX:IT[/url][/quote] Total stunner - that's a Yamaki, this is only the 3rd one of these I've seen, in fact they've only started turning up in the last year or so. Apart from the Hi-Gain type neck pup these are closely based on the pre-'73 4001, with checker binding and gorgeous crushed pearl full-width inlays. I thought I'd got over my 'Faker gas but oh no... J.

Here's a project - by the sounds it needs a new truss rod & the fingerboard re-attaching properly: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110672949044"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=110672949044[/url] It will get pulled so anyone interested should drop him a note. It's probably originally been a Shaftesbury or Cimar - with the work it needs though it shouldn't be too dear - £200ish maybe. J.

[quote name='4 Strings' post='1194174' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:47 PM']Apart from snobbishness, I would add blandness. I've never played a bad one either (haven't played many I'll admit) and heard only good reports but ... what is there to attract? Seems rather characterless somehow.[/quote] Blandness? [i]Characterless??[/i] Actually - apart from the freakshow stuff, I do agree, about modern ones particularly. Very competent, consistently well-made, the budget ranges are excellent for the money - but they do lack something. Absolutely love my SBV, though. Jon.

Here's the KA wiring schematic thing: [url="http://www.kentarmstrong.com/schematics/KA_Wiring_Instructions.pdf"]http://www.kentarmstrong.com/schematics/KA...nstructions.pdf[/url] It says red & the bare wires are earth & the white is the signal - I'd guess on yours the red & bare go to the volume (probably stuck on the pot casing) and the white to the switch. Looking great, by the way. J.

[quote name='chaypup' post='1193180' date='Apr 8 2011, 07:14 PM']Bassassin - you may already know about this site but I just found it and, WOW it has a lot of gorgeous Matsumoku basses on there! [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/index.php"]http://www.matsumoku.org/ggboard/index.php[/url][/quote] It's a good site & forum, excellent catalogue archive too. You'll find one or two posts from me on the forum, I should think... J.