meterman

Thank you, top advice! Yes I've had physio in the past which has mostly been really helpful. But only so far, I'm always aware of my left shoulder and shoulder blade area. Yoga is something I enjoy, my wife's been a professional yoga teacher for 30 years so I'm in good hands. But there's a fair amount of positions I have to leave out of my routine due to it aggravating my left shoulder and neck area. We've just moved house so I'll try and find a new physio once lockdown is all out of the way. Thank you so much for the advice, really appreciated. Pint for you if you're playing round our way anytime 🍺 Actually the McCartney thing doesn't bother me really. If I was a young nipper in a trendy happening band I'd probably think twice about it, from an image point of view. But I'm old and er, 'road worn' now so I don't have to care about who played what or what basses look like on me. I'd play anything. (if I could lift it up off the stand without my neck and shoulder giving me grief, that is)

Some fantastic advice here, thank you, I'm very grateful! Re: thin neck and narrow string spacing - I'm fine with that, my main bass for years was a Shaftesbury Tele bass copy which had a neck like a flipping mandolin, it was skinny like some of the 60's Vox necks and I got away with it live and on record. The bass I have now, my beloved MIJ Squier Bullet, has a wide P-like neck which I love but atm the scale length and weight is just a stretch too far. I think I've got some sort of trapped nerve in my shoulder or something which I need to get seen to. Even turning my head I can feel it One of my favourite bass tones on record is "La Femme D'Argent" by Air, and I read an interview with Nicolas Godin where he said he played it on a borrowed Hofner Violin bass. I realise Air are a proper Marmite band but the bass on that track sounds great to my ears. Am seriously considering a 2nd hand Hofner Ignition if I can find one. The Family Man / Robbie Shakespeare connection seems to be pointing me in that direction. Do like the look of some of the short scale Ibanez Artcore basses though, and of course the Danelectro short scales. You've all given me a lot to think about. Massive thanks, everybody 🙏

Hiya folks, hope you’re all warm and well and lockdown isn’t driving you all nuts. I need to ask the Basschat collective mind some advice about lightweight basses. My left shoulder is knackered through a combination of old rotator cuff tear / weakness after a biking injury. It’s bad enough at the moment that if I pick up my bass with my right hand it’s painful in my left shoulder straight away. Even sitting down to play is painful. Reaching for a low F on the E string hurts, for instance. I’ve had recurring trouble with this shoulder for years and sometimes I can’t play bass at all. Just wondering if I’m destined to only play a Kala U-bass for the rest of my days or if something like a Hofner Violin bass might work for me? Anybody here had a similar problem? Or do I just man the flip up and hammer the co-codamols any play through it? 😆 A mate of mine switched from Jazz bass to a Violin bass after his back and shoulder problems got serious, and I’m wondering if I might have to make that decision too. I remember seeing old pics of Robbie Shakespeare playing a violin bass so I know they’re not just for Macca fans. Anyone else here gone through the same kind of thing? Thanks in advance 🙏 - Lee

Haha, I liked the silver sparkle but thought the black stripes ruined it.

Listened to Incredible String Band this morning for the first time in ages. Old school freaky hippie business 😆 and I love it

That blue is a great colour for a 'bird, mind 👍 Reminds me of Fender's old 'Maui Blue' a bit.

Can vouch for the little Tanglewood Elf. I got mine from a charity shop, and for a couple of years it was the only bass I owned. I still play it now, it's a fun little thing. 25.5" scale so perfect size for a 5 year old, and not always expensive on ebay, Gumtree etc.

If you do manage to get a Bullet bass then please do the full NBD with pics etc. 👍

I did have the original off-white controls and pickup covers on for 24 hours but changed them out. It is a strong look though. If the neck had been rosewood I'd have fitted a tort scratchplate. But black / black / maple is fine for me

Thank you! I tried but could not find any black pickup covers to fit the pickups so I had to Sharpie them. I'll spray them black at some point. I do love how Fender somehow ended up making basses that looked like the slightly wonky MIJ lawsuit era instruments that were trying to copy Fender in the first place.

Am I the only weirdo who doesn't have any bass OCD triggers? Maybe I'm just a basic simpleton. I own a bass, it has strings on it, it works, I play it. That's about it really. (Probably get chucked off the board for admitting it, right?) 😂

Serge Gainsbourg.

I guess my MIJ Squier Bullet can join the club.

I would absolutely love one of these. The styling is quirky af and it just really appeals to me. I’ll probably have to wait until there’s a Squier Affinity version of it though, finances being what they are right now. The pickup looks the business. If I could get one, or the Guild version, I’d put one on my Bullet bass today. A mate has a Starfire bass with the similar pickup and it sounds immense. Very much would like to see a run of these basses 👍

Finally got my Bullet bass pickguard on. B/W/B looks better on this bass than the original 3-ply white. The original guard was thicker material and heavier, but the new one is still great quality and cut to fit perfectly. All screw holes lined up 100%. Can fully recommend Brian / earlpillanz if you're needing a custom replacement pickguard 👍 And now he's got a template for the 1984 MIJ Bullet pickguard so if anyone wants to change theirs, he's the man to go to.

Hopefully tomorrow my new 3-ply b/w/b Bullet bass pickguard is arriving. Can't imagine there will be many 1984 MIJ Squier Bullet basses around in a black / black / maple configuration. Brian's been spot on when I've had pickguards from him before, really fast turnaround, can't wait to get my bass back in action

With a decent setup, the Squier Bullet Mustangs are brilliant little guitars. I bought a s/h one cheap that had been modded and I modded it further. Loads of fun to play, and not get too worried about dinging a £100 instrument up. I did have to change the bridge, but that was the only real expense. I'd have bought an orange one if they'd been available then, they look superb. 👍

"The Raven" 🖤👍

He's got a band and some session players, I've seen videos of him in the studio, he's defo the real deal. He had an album out last year that was a little too authentically lo-fi fo my ears but it's all really good stuff 👍

Yes I know it's Monday, but listen to "Friday" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLAN6NOPCxA - from "Pachyman At The Control" a great recent reggae record. Not sure why the video won't embed?? Anyway, it's ace 😎

@TheMaartian they are a great live band too (if garagey rock and roll is your thing)

Perpignan's finest, The Limiñanas - "Calentita". It grooves along like Serge Gainsbourg atop the Velvet Underground on half a microdot. And the phoned-in Spanish lady on lead vocals has the best lines: "Beba Fanta / Chupa Chups / Marijuana / Marijuana / Marijuana". And the guy with the matching suit and record player combo? I want a job like that, please. 👍

Could you not get your 4-track repaired? Or maybe do what I did and buy a restored vintage Tascam 244 off ebay to transfer my old tapes. I planned to sell the 244 after doing the transfers, but I couldn't resist having a dabble with recording some new tunes on it and I was hooked again. D'oh! For recording certain things (drums for instance) it's great. But buying a refurbed one, doing your transfers, then punting it back on afterwards wouldn't be so bad, no?