matski

Something blatantly obviously recognisable to the masses: Billie Jean, Another One Bites The Dust, Money etc., etc., ad nauseum

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1320313914' post='1425086'] Lakland’s most successful designs are their own, the **-94, **-01 and **-02 basses are not Fender copies. [/quote] True, but they are VERY similar to the MusicMan StingRay (body shape, pickup choice, headstock...)

I was born in 1968 too, so am watching this thread with interest... I must admit I was thinking about a YOB bass a while back and casually surfing the web to see what was available - it did seem that mostly there were Fender Telecaster basses and Gibson EB3s available. There must be old Precisions, Jazzes and Rickenbacker 4001s out there somewhere too surely.

I know of loads of central European bands - but then I do live in Warsaw [quote name='orys' timestamp='1319794421' post='1418592']Most of the posts were "eastern european related" musicians from USA (like Urbaniak, who lives in New Yourk for more than quarter of the century)[/quote] Not any more he doesn't - he lives in Warsaw too. I know this because I visited him at his apartment a while ago. Anyways, here is one of my favourite Polish bands - but I am biased as they are my friends and I'm in the video... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVrp_ysypHg&ob=av2e[/media] And finally, on the subject of not understanding lyrics if they are in a foreign language to your own: I played with a band here for 2 years without understanding 90% of what the vocalists were on about - it's no big deal for me.

*raises hand* I play some basslines on keyboard live too. I use an Akai MPK49 in combination with my MacBook Pro, and favour softsynths such as the GForce ImpOscar & MiniMonsta, Arturia ARP 2600V & Minimoog, and Native Instruments Massive and B4.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1319301148' post='1412504'] I like Jazz necks too but my Precision's neck is very shallow which makes it very comfortable to play. It's a MIJ 57 re-issue. Do they have shallower necks than other Precisions? [/quote] Yes, they do. I have a 57RI too and the neck is shallow - a bit like a pre-EB StingRay. By comparison, my '79 P bass has what is commonly referred to round these parts as the baseball bat neck: quite a deep and rounded profile. However the width at the nut is thinner (40mm?) so it's not too much of a handful.

Has anyone mentioned Rob (The Bass Thing) Jones from The Wonder Stuff?

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='1376166' date='Sep 17 2011, 08:37 AM']I don't understand what the fuss is all about. I remember him using them in the mid 80s.[/quote] This. I thought it was pretty common knowledge. In fact the Music Man he used for at least the first RHCP album was a Cutlass I. Have a look on YouTube for their first couple of vids - 'True Men Don't Kill Coyotes' etc - and you will see it in action. It's the bass totally covered with stickers.

[quote name='silddx' post='1374526' date='Sep 15 2011, 02:21 PM']Krupa and Sheema are full time members of TGU and I work with them on their solo projects, and other TGU projects. I play with Tim and Hami a lot, he is a stunning drummer with the most incredible timing! Tim is also a fantastic musician and producer.[/quote] Last time I saw TGU live - a couple of years ago I suppose, when Moonshout was just released - Krupa was singing, but there was no Sheema on bass and sitar. Instead there was bloke called Matt (I think) taking over Sheema's duties on both her bass and sitar. He had the same sort of dress sense as Shaggy of Scooby Doo fame!

[quote name='gjones' post='1340947' date='Aug 15 2011, 05:14 PM']And it plays like butter.[/quote] That phrase has always really bugged me. For me it conjures up a mental image of 'squidgy and greasy' - surely not a good characteristic?

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1340837' date='Aug 15 2011, 03:26 PM']Are we talking about an 82 Squier by Fender JV Made in Japan series? I am confused.[/quote] It WAS... Now it's a 'Bitsa'. Actually, maybe 'Frankenstein' is more appropriate... [quote name='JTUK' post='1340919' date='Aug 15 2011, 04:51 PM']But I am confused..is it a 82 copy of a 57 or a 2011 copy of an 82 copy of a 57..????[/quote] Err.... See above... [quote name='Johnston' post='1340935' date='Aug 15 2011, 05:04 PM']On ebay it's a Professionally custom modified and restored much Fabled and rare JV Squier by Fender built by Tokia and therefore worth 3xs the price of any normal JV and 10 times better than any MIA Fender Precision. . Honestly it's the best bass you have ever played but you have to sell it to make room because you have too many basses and want to keep those basses that are not quite as good.[/quote] Nice one! Ooh, you are quite the cynical one, ain't ya?!

Over the past year or two I've been gradually renovating my old 1982 Fender Precision JV '57 reissue bass, as it had been pretty neglected and was in quite shabby condition. Here's a list of the work done to date: • Body stripped and refinished in high gloss transparent black (showing the Sen Ash grain) • fitted Gotoh 201 bridge • fitted new black scratchplate • fitted new chrome knobs • replaced non-functioning tone pot • replaced rusty old DiMarzio pickups with Fender vintage P-bass pickups from another Japanese 57RI • replaced rusty old tuners with Fender vintage style long-shaft reverse winding tuners • replaced twisted, battered, dodgy-fretted, knackered truss-rodded original neck with another Fender Japan 57 RI neck (thanks to Mr Burrito Bass!) So considering that the only original parts left are the body and the volume pot, does it still qualify as a JV '57....? It certainly sounds the part!

[quote name='TheBear' post='1338430' date='Aug 13 2011, 08:52 AM']I got the chance to get my hands on a Custom shop Pino Palladino Precision Bass.[/quote] Was that at Paul's Bass Matters in Nijmegen? If not, you should go and visit them as they have a CS Pino bass in stock as well as a few other P basses which you could try as a comparison... Paul is a Fender expert! www.bassmatters.nl

[quote name='MB1' post='1320290' date='Jul 29 2011, 10:58 AM']When the music stops you sit on a chair? then somebody hands you a parcel covered in newspaper and your only allowed to tear one piece off? all to the music of Stars on 45.[/quote] Well, I thought it was funny...

I have the same situation with my Stingray 5: the saddle for the G string will eventually drop over time. Good to hear of a cunning cure for it I supposed it was due to some particular frequency of resonation, which vibrates the screw in its thread, and gives it just enough movement to enable the pressure caused by the string pushing down on the saddle to work the screw out. Or maybe it's just haunted too...?

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='1307703' date='Jul 18 2011, 11:33 AM']There's pretty much no way you're going to get a traditional Fender / Stingray / Rik / whatever type sound out of a graphite necked instrument[/quote] *adopts pantomime audience voice* "Oh yes there is!" [attachment=85092:DSC02132.jpg]

I was at a gig on Friday night and also found it very hard to distinguish between the instruments that the bass players from the three different bands were using. I certainly wouldn't have known which was which in a 'blind' test. Bear in mind that this was at one of the best venues in the city, with a very good sound system. Bass 1: Alembic Orion 6 string Bass 2: some old 60s Hofner thing (not the typical McCartney violin bass) Bass 3: Warwick Stuart Zender signature (played by Mr Zender himself)

Well, judging by the fact that the 2 basses I currently have out on stands (as opposed to in cases and stashed away) are the P bass I bought in 1984 and the StingRay I bought in 1986, I'v have to say "no".

KEEP THE STICKER! A little known fact: Fender spent literally tens of dollars on the services of Californian masters of Feng Shui, who concluded that the exact size and positioning of the sticker improves your playing by a factor of 1, will lead to enrichment of your soul, and could lead to all-night sessions of primo 'ficky-ficky'. This is why many Rickenbacker owners keep the "Made in America" stickers on their instruments. Unfortunately Rickenbacker didn't get it right as their sticker is deemed to be 'too angular' and 'too expensive' by those in the know.

[quote name='Big_Stu' post='1286824' date='Jun 29 2011, 07:12 PM']IIRC - steam & gentle twisting pressure against the neck's twist.[/quote] Cunning! So only a job for a luthier with a sauna I s'pose...

I was playing in a band where I needed to use a 5 string tuned in the usual way (BEADG) and also detuned to ADAD - but I only had one 5 string so just used the BEAD strings on a regular StingRay 4 stringer. As I have a brass nut on the SR4 I just let the strings sit on top of the nut grooves. The action was a bit high, but not playable. Why don't you try that, just to see what it's like? Maybe it will be fine...

[quote name='chris_b' post='1286179' date='Jun 29 2011, 10:40 AM']A luthier can tell you if it is repairable. They have all sorts of tricks for fixing this sort of thing. Get it straightened then you can sell it.[/quote] How can this be done exactly....? Not being snidey, just curious...

[quote name='4 Strings' post='1281021' date='Jun 24 2011, 02:20 PM']Back to the OP - Its the strings! These have the largest effect on the sound and he has very old flats. If there's a blind test with three similar basses then he has to use the same strings. Its absolutely impossible to tell the difference between such subtleties as tone woods on an electric bass with such steamroller sonic effects from different strings. All new basses will sound more brittle/brassy/thin (enter adjective here) than an old war horse as they'll have new strings. Also I would willingly tell Marcus Miller he's wrong about maple fingerboards sounding brighter. They look it, definitely, but its impossible for them to sound brighter as the wood is softer and less dense than rosewood. Similarly ebony, being darker is supposed to be warmer but its properties are harder and more dense and so will sound brighter (remember those aluminium necked travesties in the 80s?) Perception is everything. As someone else posted, an old guitar is going to sound great as soon as its known to be old. I don't get the soaked in vibrations thing either, certainly not for mass produced lumps of wood an inch thick.[/quote] STOP THAT!! You'll be telling us there's no Father Christmas next!