Bassassin

Best Rush album? No such thing. Having had such a long career and gone through so many stylistic shifts over the decades, there is no single collection of songs that defines them. I think personal favourite albums will hinge on when you got into them. I can do personal favourite by decade, then overall favourite: 70s - A Farewell To Kings. First Rush album I bought, in 1979, blew my tiny little mind. 80s - Permanent Waves. This transitional point between flowery prog epics lyrics to a more aggressive, pared-back & succinct style is pretty much perfection. 90s - Counterparts. Likely inspired by the zeitgeist of the time, Rush finally abandoned walls of keyboards & pop production and remembered that they were actually a proper rock band. Some of their best writing in a decade, too. 00s - Vapor Trails. Difficult, uncomfortable album - their most experimental music; and Peart's most human, relatable lyrics by a long, long way. I would say if you have not heard the remix of this album, you haven't heard it at all. 10s - Clockwork Angels. Not perfect (no Rush album is) but contains some perfect moments. Good to hear Peart writing imaginative, conceptual lyrics again. Shame it was their last, but a high note to end on. I think because of the pretty much unfiltered nature of their writing, Rush's output has always been uneven. There are a good few albums I don't think I'd go back to and listen through again - although with one exception (Test For Echo), every album has a gem or two. If I had to pick an overall favourite, it would be Permanent Waves - really this is the point at which Rush defined their own sound and stopped sounding like - in fact, being - a mishmash of identifiable influences. Their most consistently stratospheric writing and playing, and a production that properly captured the raw edge of their live sound. Anyone else ever notoce that Rush albums come in distinct pairs? IMO this is a rule that held true up until their hiatus following Test For Echo. They would always seem to make two related, or stylistically similar albums, and then move on - eg Caress Of Steel/2112, KIngs/Hemispheres, Permanent Waves/Moving Pictures etc.

Our very own Mr @BigRedX is selling his: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Burns-Sonic-Bass-1960s-With-Original-Hard-Case/193030714348 A bit modded, with a massive 80s brass bridge & stripped finish - but a crazy bargain compared to the other two.

As long as you remember that "crud" and "filler" are your subjective opinions, and not held by either the guys who wrote the music, or many people who'd call themselves Tool fans. I'm unsure whether the "Holy Gift" running order was what the band originally wanted, or just something dreamt up by overzealous fans with a Fibonacci Sequence fixation.

https://newsthump.com/2019/01/07/new-album-by-tool-will-take-almost-as-long-to-listen-to-as-it-took-to-record

Agreed - what's interesting is that Tool chose Chancellor (who they already knew from a UK band they'd toured with) because his playing style & tone were so similar to their previous bassist, Paul D'Amour. Half of Ænima was demo'd with D'Amour, Chancellor's playing on the album was note-for-note. Of their previous albums, 10,000 Days is the one I listen to least - it was a bit disappointing at the time that they'd progressed so little from Lateralus, and as so much of the album is Keenan reflecting on his mother's sad life & subsequent death, I do find it a very depressing listen.

Title track from the new album: First reaction - it's Tool, alright. No massive change in style or sonic palate over the last 13 years. Having said that, the intro must be one of their least Tool-y moments, although they don't really revisit that over the remainder of the song. There are some very familiar-sounding riffs, to the extent of sounding like specific other Tool songs. Maynard doesn't sound very interested a lot of the time. As lead "single" this is likely as accessible as the album gets, and that's probably a good thing. I've only listened to it once, and being Tool, there's a lot to take in, so my initial impression will certainly change once I'm more familiar with it, and when I'm hearing it in the context of the album.

Lovely!

Just a happy coincidence. Happy for me, that is.

Given that I am occasionally prone to medium & long-distance cycling, I most certainly do.

Didn't even spot his location. All the more annoying that this must've turned up just a few miles down the A1 from me.

Always assumed "Wes Tone" rather than West One" - but what do I know? It was Matsumoku's own brand so there's every possibility both interpretations are wrong! Used to call them "Wet One" back in t'day but that was just misjudged sardonic punnage. Or something.

And 2018, 2017, 2016 2015... Someone who really, really wanted to push someone (who, me?) to pick up a large, sharp machete and hunt them down like the monster they are. Not much actual music triggers my misophonia but this endless, relentless, hateful aural horror genuinely makes me want to kill!

Thing is, it is quite a sought-after bass amongst Aria/MIJ aficionados, I've always had a bit of GAS for one myself. An immaculate example might nudge towards 4 figures, but the problem is, this is a fixer-upper missing irreplaceable original parts. In this condition (assuming there's no structural damage) is probably good for about £200 - £250 to someone into these things. To me (having done plenty of car-boot gyppo-flipping in the past) that would be an excellent profit on something I picked up for buttons.

This popped up earlier this week on one of the vintage MIJ FB groups - the guy had just picked it up & was looking for an ID and info. Didn't say what he'd paid but the bass was in a state (it still is) and seemed to be a car boot/small ads blag. He probably gave someone about £30 for it. Chancers like this really f*ck me off.

Good score, looking forward to seeing how this one goes. Regarding bridges, if you do Facebook there are a few Aria & MIJ groups, someone might have one in their spares box: Aria SB Basses Aria Pro II Fan Club Vintage Japanese Guitars Fan Club Bear in mind the bridges come in two widths, the SB-Rs (and Elites & RSBs) have the wider string spacing. Don't bother asking about knobs - there aren't any! The guy casting his own replicas is going to have a massive order list!

Utter, shameless pack of lies. Completely despicable behaviour simply because to sell off an unsuccesful model cheap - indeed to admit to having an unsuccesful model - somehow devalues their brand. Oblivious to the reality that their brand is rapidly becoming a laughing stock.

Stunning example of what is now a very rare bass - unlike the ubiquitous (and awesome) Thunder 1 & 1A, the II and III versions hardly ever come up and those that do are often in a sorry state. TBH though you're probably as well leaving it with your mate - if you get it back you'll only spend the forseeable future on an empty, fruitless and ultimately soul-destroying quest for a set of the original brass control knobs... EDIT: Bonus prog point to your pal for being a Porky Tree fan.

Awful lot of money for a bog seat.

I was at that gig - as well as Maynard's curious attire (and enormous bullhorn) I remember having a seagull sh!t on me while I was in the queue, and the sound being absolutely dreadful. The SECC show a few months later was visually spectacular, sounded superb and was utterly soulless by comparison. Will be interested to hear the new album, assuming the announcement isn't one of their elaborate and typically unfunny pranks - but the two new songs they've been gigging recently don't demonstrate much progression over the last 13 years, unless you love repetitive, over-long atonal dirges. In drop D. I feel a bit sad not being particularly excited about the album - I've been a fan since hearing Sober in 1993, and around the time of Ænima & Lateralus would have considered them my favourite band. But 13 years of sod-all* is a long time, and as it turns out, I'm a lot more excited about the new Opeth album in September. *Would've been a better album title.

Washburn B20 Stage? My first good-quality bass was one of these. Should have kept it!

Cool, appreciate that!. The bass is beaten to hell (worst buckle rash I've ever seen!) and unfortunately the pickup's only working on one coil - but the frets are like new and it's a superb player - unplugged, at least! Will stick a Rautia in it when I eventually get around to doing it. Apart from filling the bloody great hole someone made in it, not sure whether to refin it or leave it with its battle scars. I quite like genuine mojo, but not sure if it suits this bass. I think the biggest challenge will be finding a pair of original knobs for it!

I might well be - I have a SB-Elite I Black & Gold project, been on the back burner for a couple of years. Someone stuck a J pickup between the original unit & bridge so it's been (badly) re-wired for that. I'll be filling the route & putting it back to stock at some point, so the proper pots, cap & switch would be great. Is the switch the original flat-blade type?

£200? Should have had his arm off. These are not budget basses: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80s-Aria-Pro-II-SB-R60-Neck-Thru-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Hard-Case-Japan/233293748764

A quick glance at the headstock confirms that yes - it's unbranded! Definitely worth 20/25, whatever the currency - even if the neck turns out to be junk, it's a decent solid timber body with a good quality pickup. It is interesting - seen a lot of copies but sure I've never seen that headstock shape before. The 21 fret neck with no dot on the last position is curious too. Agree that it's a bitsa - looks like the scratchplate doesn't quite fit, there appears to be a tiny gap just above the jack. Body looks like it's been stripped, too.