chris_b

My favourite Reggae singer. Very sad news.

I've only played 1 NYC and my Japanese Metro blew it out of the water. I hope the Japanese Sadowsky crew carry on and start up their own line of "Sadowsky's". I'm waiting to see what the Warwick basses are like but I know Yoshi's basses would be impeccable.

The point about the Japanese Metro's is that they were less expensive than the £5-6k NYC basses because they were made in Asia, had very few options, no chambering and the tuners were licenced (not the full US made Hipshots). The wood, electrics and pickups were the same as the NYC basses. In no way were they cheap or lesser instruments. Measure them against other basses at their price point the Metro's are a very high quality product. So far the Warwick made Sadowsky basses are an unknown, but they have a very tough act to follow. If it works out, they will be great basses to own.

Always has.

I find if I listen to any song a few times without playing it, I can get the structure in my head and have an idea of the patterns before I start to pick out the notes. If you already know the geography of a song the notes will come with less effort, even on the more difficult bass lines.

IMO re-runs of threads can be helpful. Over time people's experiences can change and grow their advice, which will be very useful to others.

Router, not hammer and chisel. Professional repair man not DIY.

He should have 4 strings, everyone knows Jaco did.

I agree. Also, the gig bags my Sadowsky and Mike Lull basses came in were very 3rd rate.

I roll mine with the "twist", as per electricians and PA hire company practise. I never have leads break or fail. My main instrument lead has been with me for 30 years.

Apparently WZ was writing the song in the dressing room, before a gig, and the drummer heard him singing the Werewolves bit and did the wolf cry. WZ added it to the song. You really wanted to know that, didn't you!! Also I always thought Ho Lee Fook was the one in the Kings Road, Chelsea, but I might have made that up!

Apparently Fleetwood and McVie spent the whole night playing Werewolves only for the first version to chosen. They get their usual beautiful feel.

We had music theory lessons at school, but no actual playing. Then they were dropped after the first year because it became a voluntary course and not enough kids wanted to continue. I pushed myself to understand and read music by the time I left secondary school. I was slow, but could read to a level that enabled me to play simple bass lines in a recording studio from the dots. I work with chord charts these days but the dots have never featured in my bass playing life since that first band.

Everything that Warwick does with this brand in the first months will be under the microscope. I can't imagine that bass would have got through Sadowsky QC. I understand Roger Sadowsky bigging up the business relationship, but are we seeing a difference in Warwick QC?

VW's right. Rhythm, groove and locking with the drummer are the first priority for a good bass player. I'd say, then comes good tone and only then the bass lines. You can play a great line, but it's not great if you are out of time or sound terrible.

This is exactly the difference that the guys who make these instruments say exists between maple and rosewood. And the doubters still doubt. The Wyn video is a demonstration, Michael Tobias taps his body blanks and chooses the most resonant pieces. And the doubters still doubt. The flat earth society lives.

Joe Osborn played bass on this one.

I have played for free and I'd do it again, but if someone else is making money out of my playing, then I won't be playing for free.

I've also read that Alembic believe their sound comes from their pickups and electrics. That's OK. They will know their basses better than anyone else. It might be true with basses made from many laminates. It doesn't discount the point made in my post.

That depends on the context of the gig. Are you playing in the Dog and Duck, Later with Jools, the Albert Hall or at Muscle Shoals studio. Are you a loud noisy band or a quiet musically complex band? A Flea or Freddy Washington? Fortunately there are guys making basses for all those situations because it seems to be a thing that many players can hear the differences in their basses.

In the context of a musical instrument, wood does have a sound. It absolutely does on an acoustic instrument so why should that feature of the material be absent on an electric instrument? The way every part of a bass is made and the materials it is made from has the potential to affect the sound of the instrument. Some parts will have a large impact on the sound and others not so much. Some people can hear the differences and some can't. I had several conversations with Pete at Wal about how they chose the wood for their basses and how the different woods would affect the end sound. I would believe the likes of Pete Stephens, Roger Sadowsky, Michael Tobias etc when they say that wood and construction will have an influence on the sound of a bass before the opinion of an accountant/postman [add profession here] who plays bass for a hobby. No sleight intended. Having owned several maple boards I have decided I don't like the way they wear and mark, so prefer dark wood boards eg rosewood/morado etc. edit for spelling!!

I've a set of TI's on my PJ5 and they sound very good across all strings.

A discouraging report of a gig run to social distancing rules. . . . . . . . Folk rocker Frank Turner played one of the UK's first gigs with a socially-distanced audience at London's Clapham Grand last night. Performing live for the first time in more than four months made for a "strange, emotional evening", the singer said. But with just 200 people able to attend the 1,250 capacity venue, manager Ally Wolf said it did not make enough money to cover the operating costs, even before paying a fee to the performer. "It can't be the future for live music, it can't be the future for venues,"he said. The venue had to be reconfigured, with temperature checks on the door, tables and seats brought in and drinks ordered to the table. So it might be on the cards that we won't be gigging until a vaccine is available!!

Yes. I don't know how we plugged into the Mac but we used DI.

I only play 5 string basses and the string spacing at the bridge is the only neck/string/bridge parameter where I have a preference and that's 18/19mm. I also have a leaning towards darker fretboards, ie not maple, but if the bass sounds good enough I'll wave that preference.