Shaggy

"Fantasy" signature bass; Mick Karn Wal Mk 1 fretless with tulipwood facings "Real" sig basses; +1 on the Pino Palladino Prec Lemmy Rick 4001

Re my earlier coment about fretless boards - has anyone here got a recent fretless 'Ray? The boards are Pau Ferro (I think) which I assume was chosen as being preferable to rosewood - any opinions? Every time I see a fretless 'Ray I want one! Back in he '80's I had a fretless Precision with a maple board (yes, like Sting's) - looked ultra-cool, but roundwounds took the lacquer off and chewed the wood in no time, besides playing very "dead".

Best Disco bassist? Me, for kitting up as the biker from "Village People"

[quote name='charic' post='52447' date='Aug 29 2007, 05:41 PM']Wow! How did you cope with going from 2-3 notes? Im still struggling with that [/quote] I moved from playing one string (the big fat one) to playing 2. Pretty chuffed with that, but it means I sometimes have to look at my left hand, which interferes with my "Billy Idol" sneer.

Am I the only one to find this possibly the most hideous bass ever built? And this from an Ovation Magnum owner, which regularly crop up on Bunnybass.com - "Galleria of amusing basses"

Don't remember the Hamer, and the fretless Precision I mainly remember seeing him with was a natural / black plate / maple board - very cool. Then he had a fretless Ibanez Artist Musician - I bought one at the same time and wish I still had it!

Are the maple boards on EB MM's lacquered or oiled? Lacquered board on my Sabre still pristine after nearly 30 years. IMHO you can't beat maple on any Fender-derived bass aesthetically, never noticed any tone difference except on fretless (when it has to be ebony).

[quote name='Marcus' post='50679' date='Aug 25 2007, 07:54 PM']......... As my wife points out......... "You can only lay one at a time"[/quote] You've been going to the wrong parties, mate............. +1 on GAS sneaking up on you during periods of non-gigging, and this forum being the sweetie shop to my inner kid - just bought my 3rd bass within a year on this site! Having said that, always a more pleasurable experiece here than the dreaded fleabay.

Most of the tab sites seem to be back as usual exept for Bassmasta, whch is one of the better ones. 911 tabs is a good search site. Just to get my pennyworth in, I saw the Jam live (Deeside Leisure Centre 1980, on the "Setting Sons" tour) and they were awesome. Only trouble was, the place was full of 2000 mods, with me in my "rocker" gear standing out like a spare pr*ck............

Well, unless you're at least slightly gear-obsessed then you're unlikely to be on this forum. I find basses deeply sexy objects (OK so I have a problem, but at least I know it. Doesn't everyone sleep with their basses?) I read a review by a guy who said the fave bass he alays came back to was like making music with an old friend, who guided and even taught him how to play better - I guess we're all looking for that "holy grail" bass. Let's face it, if we all took the sensible attitude to driving we'd all be in Toyota hybrids. Hmmm.....characterless hatchback or my '73 Norton Commando? No-brainer - it's an entirely diferent plane of skill and experience.

The sun shines on the righteous in Wales. Anyone recommend a good finger-nail strengthener?

Joined a punk band in '77 when like Sid (Vicious) I could barely play a note. Never looked back - you only progress in a band. (I can play 3 notes now!)

JayDee Supernatural - love/hate styling (OTT '80's) but play & sound cool Also played a mate's pair of Wal Mk 1 Pro-Basses recently; Shergold styling with naff headstock but the holy grail of fretless tone. Yes,I'd love one!

I wanted to post on this thread, but the wife vetoed it

Real name Greg. Been playing bass 30 years (began in Cambridge’s first punk band!), now in South Wales, started as I wanted to be mobbed by nubile groupies. Still waiting, goddammit. Occasionally been known to work as a Cardiac Radiographer in between playing pubs and rugby clubs (In “Men behaving badly” the guy Martin Clunes suspects of sh@gging his girlfriend is a Radiographer so we’re obviously perceived as a glamorous lot). All of my basses and motorbikes are old and scruffy. Don’t like new and shiny. What I wish I’d known back then – wear earplugs. Eh?

Jeez, previous posts make my 30 years of bass ownership pretty seem pretty inadequate…… Starting in 1977; 1. Kalamazoo copy of Fender Mustang (late ‘60’s) Kalamazoo was Gibson’s budget brand at the time (USA made though), and it showed; nasty chipboard body; the pickups and hardware exactly as EB3 (ace, apart from bridge), sounded like slapping a log with a dead haddock. Looked the mutts nuts though, and as a young punk I loved it. 2. Columbus Jazz bass copy. Had to get a long-scale as my arms had finally grown. Slightly better materials (plywood this time), stuck the neck pick-up from the Kalamazoo on it which gave it a huge dub sound. Swapped it for a bike. 3. Ibanez Artist Musician. First “proper” bass – I wanted one because Sting had one – and the only one ever bought new – from Hessey’s in Liverpool, of Beatles fame. Fabulous bass, if a bit characterless. Swapped it for a motorbike. 4. Fender Precision fretless copy (unknown custom). Learned my DIY re-finishing, routing, and pick-up installing/re-wiring skills on this one – boy did it look a mess by the end. I did a really nifty “F—ker” label on the headstock in “Fender” script which fooled everyone. 5. Gordon Crook custom fretless 4, Wal-shape, neck-through, Sapelle mahogany body wings, two “J” pick-ups, active. Got this dirt cheap being scruffy as anything and an unknown make, and it was a real gem. I made a decent job of re-finishing in satin poly and changed the p/u’s for Bartolinis (also cheap s/h ones), and it saw me through most of the late 80’s - 90’s. Wish I still had it. 6. Music Man Sabre (1980) – see avatar. Hankered for a fretted bass again about seven years ago, after getting back into hard rock. Now my main bass, just does anything, and for funk/slap blows anything else I’ve tried away. 7. Custom/Music Man “Stingray” fretless (1980/2001); The Sabre had a MM factory replacement maple-f/b neck, but also had its original rosewood-f/b neck still with it which had a split fingerboard due to over-tightening of the truss-rod. I had a luthier put a fretless fingerboard on it (African Blackwood) and did the rest myself – body in Bubinga with Thuja burr top, Seymour Duncan p/u and active EQ. Really pleased with it, although I made the body about half an inch too thick so it weighs a ton. (see pics) 8. Ovation Magnum 1 fretless (1979). Always wanted one since I saw Barry Adamson of “Magazine” using one, strange ‘70’s styling but a really soulful, individual voice, built like a tank, and the fastest neck I’ve ever tried. 9. Listerud Totem 7-string custom (2004). Bought this on BassWorld, and just sold in on BassChat – I’d been considering a 5 as my band was doing a lot of low-B stuff, saw this and figured it’d be the last ERB I’d ever need. Awesome, awesome bass, but just too many strings for a dyed-in-the-wool 4-stringer like me. Just bought (on BC of course) and soon to collect, a ’73 Precision modded to fretless and to P-J p/u configuration. My first genuine Fender ever, and like the Beedster it could be a case of full circle and back to basics. Interesting thread - do a similar one on amplifiers?

I like it! Tho' I am famed for my lack of taste