Paul S

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1400918931' post='2458108'] Edit: Also have a mini headstock tuner which means I don't need a tuner pedal! [/quote] I find these difficult to use when everyone in the room is making a noise - it seems to pick up from everything else and get confused - have you found this, Mark, or have I got it placed on the wrong bit of the headstock? But, otherwise, at the moment I am bass>lead>amp (with tuner going into the back). I do like the simplicity of this set-up. Means a single trip to and from the car for rehearsals, too.

On eBay - white with black headstock. Looks nice. I have one of these and it is really nice - active with the same kind of bass boost/cut-treble boost/cut arrangement as the Westone Thunder basses. But can be flicked over to passive and they sound good like that. Under 9lbs, great neck. Postage is dear but, for anyone near Cornwall who can pick up, this could be a bargain. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171338953993?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/171338953993?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649[/url]

Can I have cash instead?

Same experience here, really. Put an Artec on board my old SGC Nanyo Bass Collection as one of the controls was a bit iffy and it did the job ok. But not in another bass - my Precision Lyte had a knackered preamp when I got it, put in an Artec, wasn't that happy with the sound. Put in an East U Retro and now it is gorgeous with a huge variety of sounds. But then the East unit was over £150 more expensive.

Also Parcelforce charge a handling fee. i just bought a bass from Japan and the handling fee was £13.50 on top of the VAT. No import duty for some reason, though.

I've broken strings twice at rehearsals, which I take as meaning it could have been a few hours away from being at a gig, so I always take a back up bass. I do have a spare amp, but that is for when/if my main one goes to the menders for anything. For gigs I take a Behringer BDI21 by way of insurance.

I saw him a week or so back at the Cliff's Pavilion in Westcliff. I am by no means a fan, either, but didn't want to pass up the chance of seeing him live and local. Whilst I could do nothing but admire the techniques he used I didn't actually enjoy the music or the gig particularly - just not my cup of tea, really. Someone described him as a dischordant Hank Marvin which, although a bit cruel, actually fits quite nicely. He appeared to play Danny Boy out of sequence because the rest of the band changed instruments for what they thought was the next song, only to quickly change again. Speaking of the rest of the band, I thought Rhonda Smith's playing was amazing - a masterclass of restraint - yet her solo was completely inappropriate.

I gave in to a major bout of GAS and bought one of Kukkunyan's Aria Pro II CSB 450 'Black N Gold' basses about 10 days ago. Paid with Paypal, which has to be the most straightforward way to go about paying in another currency outside of credit card transactions. He did everything right, got it sent off from Japan really promptly with good tracking. It arrived in Parcelforce Coventry 7 days ago - just 3 days after posting in Japan!! - and I notice this morning it has now cleared customs and is headed dahn sahf to here. Could have been quicker, I guess, but it could have been a lot slower, too. So far it has been a fairly trouble-free experience, although until the box actually arrives and I open it up, I will still be slightly on tenterhooks. I think sometimes you have to take things at face value and go for it.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1400530600' post='2454760'] Black sunglasses on a BB tribute gig ain't a concession, They are more important than the right crotchets and quavers. [/quote] As it happens it was the wearing of sunglasses - perhaps cheap sunglasses - that was one of the problems with ZZ Topps. The bassist evidently couldn't see what he was doing and was standing in a very awkward way in order to peer underneath the lenses. Played a few terrible wrong notes, too.

Another DP fan. For me DPmkII was the best - something about the mix of personalities/sounds/whatever just gelled. Made In Japan is, for me, as good as a live album can possibly be. I didn't ever see them at that stage, sadly, but caught them for the first time on the 'Burn' tour which would have been 40 years ago. 40 years!! That was a good gig - The Kursaal at Southend. I remember a rather well-endowed young lady with no kit on rushing onto the stage and leaping on Richie B, who quickly spun his guitar round and played on the cheeks of her bum. Coverdale/Hughes were a pretty good combination. I saw them again when Steve Morse first joined - they were good but not the same. Gillan's voice was already shot by then.

I would chuck a Squier Silver Series Precision into the pot, too. Affordable, lightweight, superb woody old-school tone. I had one which, straight out of the case, was the second nicest sounding Precision I have ever played (the nicest being my Squier JV0..). But, for a simple pick-up change - my vote would be for a Wizard Trad. I tried lots and lots of pickups in my go-to bitsa P bass and this ended up being the one that gave me the sound I have in my head as the perfect P bass tone.

Out of curiosity how is his surname pronounced? I made the error of thinking it was of Italian derivation, so che-teh-rah but, accordingly to Wiki he is of Polish/Hungarian extraction. And a nice old live clip of 'I'm a Man' - 'doing what a bass player is supposed to do' http://youtu.be/j8vY3vAbAdQ

Well, that's a bit of a puzzle.

Aside for whether you like the concept or not, I think tribute bands are the same as any other bands - there are good ones and there are poor ones. Particularly memorable - I saw the Illegal Eagles many times with their original singer Ray Brown who was simply phenomenal. (anyone know what he is doing now?) I've seen the Counterfeit Stones who put on a really great show. I've seen ZZ Topps and was bitterly disappointed - they seemed to concentrate so much on looking the part that the music suffered, not very tight for a 3 piece and the sound (where I saw them) was terrible.

I think my first stop would be the Behringer BDI21. Just a tiny little movement from 12 oclock gives a nice boost and can shape the sound really well. For home play I think it would be ideal. The J retro is a great bit of kit but, at over £200 more, possibly overkill for the OP's intended use.

I use a GenzBenz Streamliner 600 and Barefaced Midget for rehearsals and smaller gigs. Very portable, never been short of volume or rounded tone. Slightly more bite than the Compact. I use both cabs for bigger gigs or if I just feel like using both (paired the tone is sublime) but the Midget on its own is really good. From a cold start I would now buy the Super Compact and just have the one cab but, having made the investment, I'll stick with what I have.

I used to have a B2.1U, changed to single effects, then bought an MS60B, now don't use effects much so used it mainly for the tuner. Which i don't find to be very good at all, so now I use the Korg Pitchback that I had when I used single effects. But that is another story. I found the MS60B easier to program than the B2.1U, and the quality of the effects I found to be much better. I quite liked the chorus/flange/phase bank, for example, and the amp and eq models also. Once you have combined and fiddled with the various effects to get a sound you want you can save it to a patch then flag them up for use with the footswitch. So then you only have to click on the footswitch to sequentially click through the various saved patches you have chosen. That worked ok in a live situation, but my use of effects was generally very limited - a different one for a few tracks then basic sound for most. I didn't ever switch between effects during a song but I think that would be possible by just saving the patches in the right order. You'd need to be very organised, though!

Could you shim the neck at the furthest edge of the pocket so that it sloped backwards a bit more?

I'm in for this, too. Looks like a good day...

It is my pleasure to be the first to start a feedback thread for Aurelio. He bought my Squier deluxe jazz in the simplest of transactions, delivered it to him just this afternoon and received a big wad of cash in return Enjoy the bass, Aurelio!

DTK still not coming to Essex, Gary?

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1399987874' post='2449617'] I have never felt the urge to film myself playing and post it, but the people who do have saved me months of time in working bass lines out. For that I thank you one and all. [/quote] This. Usually even if they are wrong or badly played you can get a handle on something just by watching the playing position. Increasingly my ears are not so good so any help I can get is great.

I'd buy it off him for £60

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1399890925' post='2448605'] The listing was ended because the item is no longer available. Possibly sold elsewhere, or someone made the seller an off-ebay offer. [/quote] Sorry, not clear was it - I meant Lemmywinks' mate's Raven.