Pete Bish

Cut this during lockdown on my 2004 Sandberg Basic. The only real difference I can detect vs. the newer models, is the bridge. Still sounds and feels superb, even after all these years. It's extremely versatile and very well engineered. None of the component parts feel cheap, and it's lovely big slab of ash.

Thank you Jean-luc! Little update: turns out the original tuners on 77-81 Musicmaster are quite specific. Open-geared, but slightly stubbier than a typical Jazz or Precision. The plate has its own dimensions, too. Found someone selling 3 out of 4 on eBay for not silly money. Weighing up whether I should go for it and keep searching for that last one (hmmmm). Or, just get some vintage-style Fenders and accept it won't be completely right. I'm not sure how much bearing original tuning machines have on value. Perhaps you guys know better. Cheers!

I hasten to add that - guttingly - the tuners are not original. Just a standard open-geared no-name product. Assessing my options here, too.

Thank you for the comments, everyone. Genuinely appreciated. I have a couple of questions, then... 1) Can I be sure this is a Nitro paint job? I could be wrong but thought dropped by the late 70s. 2) Bridge: I could probably remove much of the corrosion and have it looking better. But would that be a bad move? 3) Scratch plate: The screws are a mish-mash, and one or two are of the countersunk variety. Tempted to replace all with something uniform. Thoughts? Also, the chip in the plate is rather other ugly. Would a complete replacement badly affect value? 4) The finish (big one): The big scratches do look like checking, as has been suggested. If I did attempt to drop fill with superglue, would it be wise to drop a bit black colouring in first? Black super glue is also an option. There are many other scratches on the body, front and back. I was tempted to START the whole process of restoration by cleaning the body and then polishing with a mildly abrasive cleaner like Meguiers Xscratch or Swirl Cleaner ... just so I can see the wood from the trees really...see what scratches remain. Is this a sensible approach in people's eyes? Thank you again, one and all!

Good evening Ladies & Gents, I have recently acquired a rather nice - but badly abused - Fender Musicmaster Bass (1977). It's a lovely player, but the previous owner/owners severely mistreated it. Looking to restore as best I can, but the main issue is the finish... As you can see, there are numerous scratches front and back. I have my ideas, but I'd be grateful to know what steps people would take to repair the paintwork ScratchX, drop filling, micro-meshing ... whatever you guys reckon. Thank you in advance! Btw, the botched Barclays thumb rest thing is especially ugly, I know. But that's a pretty simple repair by comparison.

Metallica - Orion Hey everyone. I decided to give this track a stab. It's an old favourite, and there are definitely some special moments. The classical interlude and final solo especially. It's not a 100% perfect cover. A couple of slightly cringey mistakes. Either way, the whole process of learning and recording it has certainly improved my playing. Hope you enjoy. Very best, Pete.

Hi Bilbo. To be honest, I wasn't really sure myself. I listened to the recording and watched a few live videos. Inconclusive. ... Steve's so fast that you can't really tell. Or at least I couldn't. In the end I was reasonably confident he played the low E during the intro, then shifted to 7th fret E for the verses. I unexpectedly came to this conclusion while working out the fast fills during the guitars solos. Just before the third fill, if you listen carefully, there's a subtle drop in pitch - that's when he reintroduces the low E. Not 100% though 🙂

Hi Everyone. I made an attempt at playing Wrathchild by IRON MAIDEN. Not gonna lie, I found this quite tricky to learn. It's pretty relentless, and there are lots of fast runs and fills. I hope you enjoy.

'Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness' was an absolute slam dunk for the Smashing Pumpkins, around '95 I think. A huge double-disc concept album - but with massive hits on it too. The follow up, 'Adore', was an entirely different piece of work. Virtually no commercial appeal at all. Was an extremely emotional and atmospheric piece of work though. Beautiful in places, and sad. Although I guess you could argue that 'Mellon Collie...' was itself the follow-up to the rather successful 'Siamese Dream' If hadn't noticed, I've been reliving my youth during lockdown 🙂

Affable guy. Produces quality content, and has obviously worked extremely hard to achieve what he has. I strongly suspect this new programme is his best yet. Has to be. In fact, I was just thinking the other day - you could argue he's one of the most influential bass players alive today. Not as preposterous as it sounds. How many individual musicians have his reach. An entire generation of players will know him. It may be mostly comedy/light entertainment, but Davie504 is another. We live in a different age. In the future - rightly or wrongly - being a YouTube, Instagram musician will just be an accepted path. The debate is over. NB. Mark from Talking Bass, he in my view is the superior *teacher*, especially in the realms of theory. His explanations are well-organised and well-paced. Just my 2ps.

Can't see anything wrong with it, really. Naked bass parts always sound a tad squiffy ... no distortion to mask the imperfections. It's the human element - the feel, the inconsistencies - that make real music in my book. Noise gates, over compression, punching in etc etc; it creates a polished piece of work, yes, but it kind of kills the soul. Imagine if they did that, because they were able, to all of Geezer's parts.

I had a go at: 'Murder on the Dance Floor' (Sophie Ellis Bextor) Great Guy Pratt line. Think he's demonstrating it in his next video. Will see where I went wrong 🙂

Only a very small % of all recorded music features slap bass. So yes, I think people place too much emphasis on it. But it's easy to understand. Slap turns the bass into a kind of 'lead' instrument. It's an extremely distinctive sound, fun to play and - yes, if we're honest - people generally quite impressed by it. Slap is also a bit more dynamic to watch. I reckon that's why it features so heavily in videos demo'ing /selling gear. But it's a bit of a luxury really. The number of videos on YouTube about 'Slap Technique' ... gosh, so many other more fundamental things one could be learning (I am guilty though). That said, I do have a bit of a thing for '80s-style slap', even though it could be a bit thin-sounding and was often backed up with a synth. The thing I like about it is that it involves more 'thumb' and less 'pop'. I think it's more challenging to play as well. E.g., RATM - Take the power back Kajagoogoo - Too Shy I know it's apples & oranges, but the point is both songs have repeating parts that aren't wildly complex. Except it's so much harder to make the latter sound tight with the music. Requires far more care and precision, with both hands. Just my 2ps on slap 🙂 Great thread.

Hi Everyone, My name's Pete and I've finally decided to join this magnificent community. For a bit of background: I started playing in my teens. For many years it was massive part of my life; writing songs, playing gigs ... such fun times. For some bizarre reason I kind of stopped playing when I was around 23 (I know, why?). I guess I opted to focus on my career and it just slipped away. However, I've recently been getting back into it -- in a big way. Last year I bought a new bass and decided to practice and play a few tunes. Something that surprised me is that I've found the learning process much easier this time round. Being as bit older - I'm 34 now - I guess I've been clearer on what I wanted to accomplish, and more disciplined. Anyway, the truth is I'm having an absolute blast right now. I've recorded a couple of YouTube covers since Christmas, just for fun. Thought I'd share them with you good people... Street Fighter II - Guile Theme A bit sloppy in places. But this was my first go. Really nostalgic song for any 90s gamers out there. Jimmy Nail - Ain't No Doubt I watched Guy Pratt's 'Lockdown Licks' video where he demonstrates this track (which he co-wrote). Something about it just grabbed me; I was compelled to learn it. And then one thing led to another and I decided to record it, too :-) Be grateful to know what you guys reckon. I'm going to try and do some more. Coming back to music, I realise I've got a tonne of stuff to learn; technique, theory, recording, tone ... it's a laundry list. No doubt I'll be on here talking to fellow bass players about such things. I'm really looking forward to it! All the very best, Pete