Spoombung

I think he has a unique way of attacking the strings and you can hear this whatever bass he plays. He often starts and ends a phrase with a triplet then follows that up with a string bend or a chord made out sliding harmonics. I still love his playing and he'll always be my favourite bassist but I've found his later compositions rely heavily on the droning bottom C he tunes to... and the pieces often sound like cod Indian/ethnic things... which is definitely not to my taste! The switch from 4 to 5 string has also made his playing more 'invisible' or 'inaudible' in my opinion. The other thing I'm not too keen on is his Ibanez sound which is a sort of fizzy, scratchy top end and a bit-crunchy bottom (all courtesy of the piezo pickups). This means his arsenal of special techniques don't come across quite as well as with the Wal (which as an instrument has an uncanny way of turning very subtle finger noises into very rich, musically usable sounds and astonishingly loud harmonics). One doesn't notice him quite as much on the Ibanez, that's for sure.

Anyone read this yet: [url="http://nsfreepress.com/story/music-devalued"]http://nsfreepress.com/story/music-devalued[/url] $167 for a million plays on Spotify....

Nice. I've never seen one of these basses in the UK before, unfortunately.

Hmmm... no response from yourchoiceguitar in over a week. Perhaps it's a dead company?

Good info guys, thanks

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1323636720' post='1465337'] I've just put Wizard 64s in my Jazz bitsa, and they sound great. Really nice traditional jazz tone. If you want something darker you might be better looking at the 84s or even some of the split coil jazz types like the Delano ones. [/quote] Yes, I think it's simply a case of making the wrong choice; I should have ordered the 84

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1323617157' post='1465054'] just copied and pasted my transaction - Amount: $345.00 USD Currency conversion: £227.80 GBP = $345.00 USD Exchange rate: 1 GBP = 1.51448USD Goods cost $330, he added $15 bucks to cover fees, PayPal took £227.80. Seemed a fairly hassle free way of going about things. [/quote] Paypal didn't charge you at all? They only charge if you are in receipt - is that right?

[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1323612494' post='1464999'] It is a bit of a minefield because there isn't a universal exchange rate and some banks charge a set fee for exchange and/or a percentage. I had a 'mare a few years back when I sold a bass to a guy in Canada because we agreed on a price in £ sterling which he then converted (using an agreed conversion rate) to $ and paid me through paypal (splitting the paypal fees). We hadn't accounted for the fact that paypal absolutely extracted the urine with their conversion rate (which wasn't easy to establish at the time) and ended up having to renegotiate the price because he had set an upper limited in $ based upon the conversion rates that we had been using on-line. All sorted in the end but a pita to get right. [/quote] Yeah, after reading the Paypal blurb I'm still none the wiser how it relates or updates with the exchange rate!

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1320781693' post='1431408'] yourchoiceguitar definately! Adam is a great guy, and can get you any Barts you want! [/quote] ah, thanks. Here's the [url="http://site.yourchoiceguitar.co.uk/index.php?userID=1689&licenseKey=bb413589b204a57cac2ad3b963f8f762#"]link[/url] for anybody who needs it:

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1323606373' post='1464863'] What was in it? [/quote] It was a from a Nanyo Bass Collection bass. I'm after a fatter and more lively pickup in the bridge position...

Great info - thanks! [quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1323607370' post='1464895'] I've just bought something for the USA via Paypal and the seller said the charges were 4%. I'll take him at his word. I believe the credit card charges are variable and it entirely depends upon which one you have. if you have a Post Office credit card there is no handling fee or any extra charges involved for purchases - just a straight conversion from US to UK. You just need to make sure the exchange rate is ok. I always use that when I travel abroad (not cash withdrawals, though). There is a website called 'Money saving expert' that goes into this in some detail, as well as many other things. [url="http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/"]http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/[/url] [/quote]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1323454677' post='1463651'] surely a single coil will normally be thiner and 'tinny' sounding compared to a humbucker? [/quote] Yes, of course, but it's thinner and tinnier than the single coil and I had in there originally... which is obviously very disappointing.

Apologies if this has been asked before but I couldn't find much specifically related to it or anything that would give me a straight answer. Also not sure what topic area to ask the question... 1. What is the cheapest way to purchase a bass in the USA - ie, the cheapest way to convert sterling to dollars electronically? 2. Would you send money transfer via your bank? (This is not cheap for me as the Co-operative charge 8%). 3. Paypal? Anybody got experience with this? 4. Credit card? I know this is the safest but does anybody know about the charges incurred? Thanks for any advice...

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1323368994' post='1462654'] [size=4][color=#222222][font=Arial]I actually found Bruford quite annoying![/font][/color] [color=#222222][font=Arial]There he was, having pretty much hit the jackpot as far as being a rock musician goes, in a well regarded band with great players, great music and a number 1 album! As someone said in the Chris Squire thread, it must have been a blast being on the Yes tour bus at that time with Squire and Rick Wakeman in tow![/font][/color] [color=#222222][font=Arial]Yet, all he can do is moan about Squire being always late and that the manager is supposedly a bit of a cockney wide boy![/font][/color][/size] [/quote] Yes, he did come across as a big moaner. He seemed to have nothing but humourless disdain for his fellow musicians - as if he just put up with them for the sake of it. I also got the impression he had almost no understanding of songwriting: the monologue was all about musical playing standards, chops, American versus British - and a belief that the British favour amateurs over 'professional' every time. What a crushingly, boring viewpoint...

I've had a 64 in the bridge position for the past 3 weeks and I've got to admit I find it a bit thin and tinny, unfortunately. In rehearsal it sounded very thin compared to another bass I had fitted with a Bartolini humbucker. I might have to swap it for an 84...

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1322928117' post='1457416'] I have unfortunately! Fripp is painted as rather a malevolent, unpleasant sort of a fellow and Bruford comes across as possibly the dullest man alive! [/quote] Another agreement here. What puzzles me about Bruford's autobiog is there is absolutely ZERO affection for any of his colleagues - just dry observations about the record industry. Very public school.

[quote name='Heartbreaker' timestamp='1323027620' post='1458460'] My 82 Wal, didn't get on with the tones & it was very heavy. Unique colour though, like Marmite I guess. [attachment=94481:Wal 81 2.JPG][attachment=94482:Wal 81 1.JPG] [/quote] Good grief. Great colour for Norwich supporters (there are some here).

I've tried tuning in 5ths - I gave up on it. It suits fixed keys - usually the bottom string serves as a drone. A capo is handy (probably indispensable) for changing key (but not [i]within[/i] a song). Tuning in 5ths is no good for key changes unless you have gigantic hands. The hand stretches are too extreme. It works on mandolins and smaller instruments but not on bass - apart from one-off songs.

[quote name='silddx' timestamp='1322754670' post='1455470'] I like Robert Fripp's thoughts [b] The Road To Graceland by Robert Fripp[/b] [b] I[/b] Music is a process of uniting the world of qualities and the world of existences, of blending the world of silence and the world of sound. In this sense, music is a way of transformation. What we do is inseparable from how and why we do what we do. So, the transformation of sound is inseparable from a transformation of self. For example, we attract silence by being silent. In our culture, this generally requires practice. Practice is a way of transforming the quality of our functioning, that is, a transformation of what we do. We move from making unnecessary efforts, the exertions of force, to making necessary efforts: the direction of effortlessness. In this the prime maxim is: honor necessity, honor sufficiency. [b] II[/b] When we consider our functioning as a musician, that is, what we do in order to be a musician, we find we are considering more than just the operation of our hands. The musician has three instruments: the hands, the head and the heart, and each has its own discipline. So, the musician has three disciplines: the disciplines of the hands, the head and the heart. Ultimately, these are one discipline: discipline. Discipline is the capacity to make a commitment in time. If the musician is able to make a commitment in time, to guarantee that they will honor this commitment regardless of convenience, comfort, situation and inclination of the moment, they are on the way to becoming effectual. An effectual musician is a trained, responsive and reliable instrument at the service of music. [b] III[/b] So, practice addresses: 1. The nature of our functioning; that is, of our hands, head and heart. 2. The co-ordination of our functioning; that is our hands with head, our hands with heart, our heart with head, and in a perfect world, all three together in a rare, unlikely, but possible harmony. 3. The quality of our functioning. [b] IV[/b] It is absurd to believe that practising our instrument is separate from the rest of our life. If we change our practice, we change our lives. Practice is not just what we do with our hands, nor just how we do what we do, nor why we do what we do. Practice is how we are. [b] V[/b] A practice of any value will be three things: 1. A way of developing a relationship with the instrument; 2. A way of developing a relationship with music; 3. A way of developing a relationship with ourselves. So, the techniques of our musical craft are in three fields: of playing the instrument, of music and of being a person. I cannot play guitar without having a relationship with myself, or with music. I cannot, as a guitarist, play music without having a relationship with myself and my guitar. And, by applying myself to the guitar and to music, I discover myself within the application. [b] VI[/b] A technique simulates what it represents, and prepares a space for the technique to become what it represents. For example, the manner in which I live my life is my way of practising to be alive. There is no distance between how I live my life and how I practice being alive. [b] VII[/b] Once a quality is within our experience, we recognise its return and may allow its action to take place upon us. But how and why it is present, or comes to visit, is rather harder to describe. If this quality is present with us, description becomes easier: we describe the world in which we live. If we live in the way of craft, the craft lives in us; as we describe this way, the craft reveals itself through us. Any true way will be able to describe itself through its craftspeople. [b] VIII[/b] The quality we bring to one small part of our life is the quality we bring to all the small parts of our life. All the small parts of our life is our life. If we are able to make one small act of quality, it wiil spread throughout the larger act of living. This is in the nature of a quality - a quality is ungovernable by size and by the rules of quantity: a quality is ungovernable my number. So, one small act of quality is as big as one big act of quality. An act of quality carries intention, commitment and presence, and is never accidental. [b] IX[/b] Once we have an experience of making an effort of this kind, we may apply this quality of effort in the other areas of our life. The rule is: better to be present with a bad note than absent from a good note. When our note is true, we are surprised to find that it sounds very much like silence, only a little louder. [b] X[/b] If music is quality organised in sound, the musician has three approaches towards it: through sound, through organisation, or through quality. The apprentice will approach the sound, the craftsperson will approach the organisation of sound, and the master musician approaches music through its quality. That is, the master musician works from silence, organises the silence, and places sound between the silence. [b] XI[/b] Where we are going is how we get there. If where we are going is how we get there, we are where we are going. If we are where we are going, we have nowhere to go. If we have nowhere to go, may we be where we are. [b] XII[/b] Music is a benevolent presence constantly and readily available to all. May we trust the inexpressible benevolence of the creative impulse. [/quote] I sense Toyah's influence.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1322764520' post='1455648'] Is anybody going to post photos then??? There's nothing worse than a tease.. [/quote]

[quote name='GMR' timestamp='1322754664' post='1455469'] Hi chaps, glad you like our basses. We have indeed moved the whole company to the UK. We thought, we'll try to go against the flow, and rather then try to find some way's of making bigger profit producing them using cheaper labor or materials for example , we'll forever try to improve our 'babies'. Quality of finish, materials and components used are very important to us, thus the move. Also having the showroom or 'the HQ' as we call it, on Denmark Street, means easy access to our basses for people interested. Specially voiced John East preamps are being fitted as a standard feature now. Also there's a wide range of different pick up options available, although I do swear by Bassculture Pickups. They hand made , by Christoff in Germany, near Dusseldorf. Lovely guy as well. P-up maniac :-). Daniel [/quote] I'm definitely going to have a proper look as I've had my eye on one of these basses for a long while. Nice to know they're in the UK now.

Yeah - that was my impression too; great construction and design but very sterile sounding pickups. Maybe they've changed that now?

Love your basses - great balance and shape - and look forward to checking them out properly...

I see they have now moved to the UK. Surprising....