Bassfinger

A very loose approximation of my '69 precision, but this one I'm not afraid to use out of the house.

Its the Retrovibe Route '51 in 9.2k flavour. I chose the cream bobbin for a classic period, albeit Fender incorrect, look.  Very reasonably priced, adds a little more punch over the original pickup while maintaining that single coil clarity. 

I did consider a humbucker, but didn't want stray too far from the original sound (plus Im not afflicted by any hum on mine). The Retrovibe stays fairly true to the original tone, beefing it up a bit without changing the essential character of the sound.

Being an HB underneath is nothing to be ashamed of.  A decent body is a decent body, and the tree never knew nor cared which brand of bass it would end up in.

The pickup is beautiful too!

To my mind punk was, and still is, divided into those that just made a noise and were in if for the shock value/money, and those that were genuinely good musicians. I'll let you decide who goes where on that one but it's probably apparent who goes into what camp there.

There was a small sect, more post-punk, that tried to be the latter but weren't good enough musically to pull it off. The Undertones, perhaps?

I run less high end and a little less mid when pick playing, which is most of the time.  

But it's as much a taste thing as anything sunstantive about the right way or otherwise to set up for some sexy pick action.

4004LK.  I could scrape togeher the cash, at great risk of divorce, but finding one is tricky. Then if I ever did get one I'd  be frightened to gig it.

A bit of a spread. My Geddy Lee was nearly a grand, and my '69 Precision somewhat more, but generally my fleet hover around the £400 mark.  

The cheapest, a used Ibanez,  is the one the boys in the band love the sound of, so thats my main live tool with the added bonus of it not being heartbreaking if it were to get damaged.

So, going my my impartial bandmates, none of who play bass and have no axe to grind, the cheapest is the "best" sounding - no correlation with price there!  Conversely, I find the Geddy Lee is the nicest feeling to play.

As well as the 10 mill liability cover the MU also give 2 gees of equipment cover for free. That works out perfectly for gigging purposes for me.

To be fair, the Court ultimately ruled in LZ's favour on appeal for Stairway, making it twice they had won in front of a judge.

To be double fair, they never made any big secret about the sources of their of trad and blues inspiration and would happily discuss it if asked in interviews. They weren't deceiving anyone.

And they pretty much shut all the detractors up with IV.

On 20/02/2022 at 11:19, scalpy said:

I’m a sucker for anything with Derek and Susan, plus it’s one of my favourite zep tracks so 👍 from me. Just wish someone in my band could play harp like that. 

She has a cracking voice for the blues.

NRC, better known as eBay!

Am I the only one that prostrates themselves before God as thanks that Brian May hasn't released his own signature range of wives?

And the Brian May glute strengthener was an absolute waste of money.

I love PJ's. Turn down the superflous bridge pickup and they make excellent basses.

9 hours ago, peteb said:

 

So more in Cambridgeshire then and only a half hour drive from Bedford / Luton, etc. Might be more of a scene around there??

 

Luton might be a bit much for even the most streetwise Bronx native.

I eagerly await the Brian may official Y fronts. I've got a pointy stick on hand to keep the groupies at bay.

1 hour ago, dclaassen said:

I even take regular showers...

You're not Norman Bates by any chance? 🤣

Are you signed up to Facebook? Theres bound to be some group pages, musicians wanted pages, that type of thing for your area.  I don't do Facebook myself but got my current band because Mrs Bassfinger spotted a "bassist wanted" post on FB.

Slap on a fake beard and a deep voice, get rhe job, then reveal yourself halfway through the first gig.

Also makes you wonder what sound engineer selected a random spot on a wall as an appropriate and representative place to have a meter.

From an engineering perspective I'm not even sure that some of these designs function all that well as bridges. Looks will do it for me too, but only if it's not a retrograde step in holding strings at an accurate height and in consistent intonation. If the design introduces an oppotunity for flex and rotational movement (no names, see if you can work it out) then the appearance alone wont sell it to me.

Aside from looking very pleasant, none of these appear to offer anything that the ubiquitous BBoT provides, provides well  and provides at a brilliant low price. 

The BBoT is simplicity, functionality and e engineering elegance personified.

Do you good folks think that it is cost, or no gain in utility that holds back these alternative designs?

7 hours ago, NikNik said:

Holy stinky poo!!😃😃

Now that's provenance! The note is probably worth as much as the bass.

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

People get paid for gigs?

Aye. It's the closest thing I have to regular employment.

Never met JPJ but im guessing he's  a regular sized guy who just happens to play enourmous basses?

50p a mile per vehicle at least.  Weve only ever been offered one a long way away, which came about due to circumstances I shan't go into here.  They paid us for fuel, Premier Inn, dinner and brekkie, so while it wasn't exactly profitable it was quite enjoyable.