Bassassin

I was in a similar position to you when I joined my first band, many, many millennia ago... I'd been playing 3 years, was reasonably competent & could play loads of other people's lines! My advice would be to go back to the bassists whose work you know - and try & get inside their heads. Work out why they play what they do, how it works within the song as a whole, what ideas & techniques they'll regularly use to construct a bass part, and then try & apply those ideas to composing your own lines. For me I think this approached help train the "composing" side of my brain - you'll find it becomes easier to hear a bass part in your head when you listen to a song. Jon.

I quite like that shirt & would wear it... Although it probably says something faintly worrying about me that I read the topic title as "Felching T-Shirt"... Jon.

Most musicians - whether they're in an "originals" band, or playing covers, will be playing someone else's music. Bands, on the whole don't tend to write by committee - therefore there will be one or maybe two main songwriters. The other players may, or may not, contribute to arrangements, and might compose or interpret their own parts - but that doesn't make them songwriters. Therefore I don't see that there'd be much difference between playing covers & playing songs your guitarist wrote, in terms of integrity - or, more accurately I think - personal compromise. I'm a songwriter - or at least, half a songwriting partnership - but I'd play covers, or someone else's original songs for money. I'd only be compromising myself if I gave up writing, recording & playing my own stuff in order to do so. If I wasn't a writer in the first place - which, in my experience it seems most bass players aren't - then there would be no compromise, no loss of integrity. It's just playing music. Jon.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='210419' date='Jun 1 2008, 10:43 AM']What did surprise me was the interviewed celebs trashing the Tommy movie.[/quote] It was the [i]Tommy[/i] movie, as much as anything else, that got me into music as a kid in the 70s. Quite telling that one of the slebs slagging it was Noel Gallagher - who I've always felt utterly failed to "get" The Who on any level beyond their 60s haircuts. I thought it was a great documentary, some of the early archive footage was superb, & some great insights, particularly from Townshend. Jon.

No pic of the actual item makes me a bit suspicious of what he's trying to do - reminds me of scams a few years back of auctions for Xbox 360s, where folk ended up paying £300 for an empty cardboard box... Then again, what is the "actual item"? No, he's definitely "at it", his main drawback being he's a sub-literate retard. Scam, but a really stupid one. Jon.

I wouldn't go that high for it. Don't know where he's getting the Teisco thing from - it ain't one, & if I know my JapCrap, the neck, at least, isn't even Japanese! The neck's from a Kay P copy, it's made from a weird sort of ply that's sometimes called "strip mahogany" by Japcrap geeks. These old Kay P's are thought to be Taiwanese, from the early 70s. I had one of these, the neck was very hefty, & the fret job wasn't great. Not the worst thing I've played, though. I don't know if the body's from the same bass originally - I've never seen one of these with that sort of pickup, although these appear often on early JapCrap basses, from Precisions to Rickenfakers. Btw despite the double row of pole pieces, these pups are actually single-coil. The body's probably ply (although I do have a "proper" wood JapCrap P with the same finish) and I really don't like the look of that split. If it is properly fixed though (which the seller reckons it is) it shouldn't be a worry or affect the sound. If you're not bothered, it'll certainly help keep the price down. And speaking of price (and taking postage into account) I personally wouldn't pay more than £35 - £40 for it - you'll get a way better vintage JapCrap/KoreaDiarrhoea P than that for your £80. Jon.

It's "no longer available for sale". Like I said - Hmmm. J.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='208683' date='May 29 2008, 10:56 AM']Mind you - and this is true - for ages when I was a kid I thought Israel had a King called King Born because they made us sing 'born is the king of Israel' at school.[/quote] Not "[i]Our Father, who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name[/i]"? "Eye-ban-ezz" appears to be the most common pronunciation - anyone want to try going into a guitar shop & asking about an Eee-ban-yeth, just for a laugh? Hartke - I have no idea, I'd assume because it looks like it has a Germanic origin, that it might be "Hart-kuh" - but it's probably not! Anyone noticed some people say "Rickenbocker", or "Rickenbarker"? Weird. And one that's always confused me is Tokai. "Toe-kay"? "Tok-eye"? However you try & say it, it sounds wrong. Academic, because if Ebay has its way with the evolution of spelling it'll soon be "Tokia". Jon.

From what I've read the only way to fix it - if it's slight enough - is to remove the frets & plane the board flat, re-shape it & then refret it. I've heard about necks being clamped straight & then heated, don't know if that would work. Jon.

Wish it was just a bit nearer, I'd go check it out. Very small pic, taken from an odd angle, though. Hmmmmmmmmm. Jon.

Norty norty, very norty... John Hall's gassing up the Hunter/Killers as I type... J.

Metal's a big part of my background & musical taste, & is a significant influence on my band - but I wouldn't define myself as a metal bassist. Funny, that. Jon.

[quote name='Jonny Walker' post='208405' date='May 28 2008, 09:37 PM']Maybe originally but JC's lines are allot more complex than they used to be (not a bad thing) not sure that Paul D'Amour could cope with the new stuff.[/quote] Certainly Tool's music's a lot more complex these days & I suppose Justin basically played D'Amour's bass parts on [i]Aenima[/i] - most of that album was written & demoed before he joined. I do think that has sort of established JC's playing style - and also his writing style on [i]10,000 Days[/i]. His playing's great - entirely appropriate for Tool. J.

+1's for Geddy, Entwhistle, Cass Lewis ([i]awesome[/i] player), Geezer for "proper" metal, Lemmy - [i]so[/i] much more than just bass playing though! A big personal favourite - Dennis Dunaway from the original Alice Cooper group, one of the most inventive & versatile pick players I've ever heard. Currently I really like Martin Mendez from Opeth - very adventurous & melodic player, always tasteful & never inappropriate. Also Colin Edwin from Porcupine Tree - solid, versatile & sometimes a little bit surprising. This is starting to sound like wine-tasting comments! Justin Chancellor's good - but he does play very, very like his predecessor, Paul D'Amour. He didn't play much like that in his previous band, Peach. Jon.

[quote name='Higgie' post='207939' date='May 28 2008, 11:46 AM']Picken-Axer [/quote] Pickenhacker, surely! J.

My back hurts just looking at them... Jon.

[quote name='stewblack' post='207830' date='May 28 2008, 09:45 AM']The frets are put in ok though? Just need dressing, or is there a problem with how they sit in the neck?[/quote] It looks like a fairly tidy job to me - the wood's fine, some of the fret ends are a bit ragged & some frets are very slightly too short. They all seem to be seated OK - maybe a couple are a bit proud. I will admit to being slightly out of my depth here - I'm fine doing setups & adjustments when there aren't any actual problems (or they are slight, bodge-able ones!) but I have zero experience with jobs like re-fretting & dressing. J.

[quote name='thedarxide' post='207540' date='May 27 2008, 08:19 PM']Was going to keep this to myself, but I missed the refret the first time I read it [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-copy-bass-Japan-vintage-70s-Maya-Cimar-Columbus_W0QQitemZ120265872960QQihZ002QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Jazz-copy-bass-Japan...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url][/quote] That's mine. A real pity about the frets, because it's a lovely-looking & decent-sounding thing otherwise. And no - I [i]didn't[/i] do the refret! Jon.

[quote name='double dave' post='207194' date='May 27 2008, 01:11 PM']I Have a particulary rare Hofner 500/1 with 'level frets' which apartently, according to Hofner amongst others, was made like that but is a rarity.[/quote] For a lined fretless board, I really like that. Have you got a pic of the whole bass? J.

I think I can help... I made my own for my Kasuga Rickenbugger: A kindly Rick-owning BCer sent me a clear, top-down photo of the real thing, which I fiddled with & edited until I had this: [attachment=9076:cropx1.jpg] Through trial & error (and a bit of actual measuring!) I worked out the appropriate dimensions for my headstock - then I used my graphics prog (I used Paint Shop Pro but any image app should do) to print it at the size I required. I then used the printout to draw a template on a bit of 3mm Perspex, which I cut to the appropriate shape with a jigsaw. Perspex is pretty brittle, but cuts, sands & polishes really easily so it was quite straightforward to get a good result. I imagine the same thing done with scratchplate plastic would be easier still. J.

[quote name='Zerofret' post='206857' date='May 26 2008, 09:31 PM']Thanks for the info Jon. My eBay username isn't the same as my Basschat name so there's someone else out there masquerading as yours truly - it's not just the guitars that are fakes! I hear that the Kays are pretty darn bad. Well this one is worse than that but for all of that, it has something. Even with its complete dullness and lack of everything you'd want in a bass guitar with no sustain to speak of and damped to high heaven, I'm still determined to play it live. Got to go, the nurse is here with the medicine. Steve[/quote] I must admit I'm a sucker for borderline-unplayable weirdos myself occasionally - if one of these came my way, it would be a challenge to try & get it playable & gig it! I do quite like the pickups. Kinda relieved you're not the Ebay Zerofret - although he's pretty straight-up & seems fairly knowledgeable about JapCrap! J.

[quote name='beerdragon' post='206128' date='May 25 2008, 07:48 PM']If you click on the Mad dog link, they are selling them for £180[/quote] They pop up from time to time (with a different brand) through one of the German Ebay sellers - they're about £140 delivered, if I remember right. J.

Hi Steve - your bass is a Kay KB-24. If you go over to the "Marketplace" section, there's a Ebay sub-forum, wherein you'll find a thread dedicated to Rickenbacker copies in all their bizarre & wonderful forms - and the occasional Kay does pop up. Also - unless your username's a coincidence, there are one or two auctions in there you might find familar! Jon.

Well, call me shallow, but for something that looks like that for £200, I'd live with a slightly mismatched control cover! Looking at the pup routs, any jaggedness I can see looks more like a poorly resized & compressed jpeg, rather than the actual wood. I'd really like to see one of these in real life - if the £200 it sold for is representative of market price, then I'd guess it's a slightly norty Korean or Chinese-made Marleaux knock off. [b]Edit[/b]: Found the "manufacturer" - it's listed at €449: [url="http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-instruments_de.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/hk-instruments.de/Products/NewBass4"]http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-ins...oducts/NewBass4[/url] Just for fun, here's their bass range: [url="http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-instruments_de.sf/de_DE/?ObjectPath=/Shops/hk-instruments.de/Categories/E-B%C3%A4sse"]http://www.hk-instruments.de/epages/hk-ins...es/E-B%C3%A4sse[/url] J.