matski

The recent bad news news about Mick Karn's poor health has reignited my love for his unique style of playing, and I realised I had never really read very much about his background as a musician so I have also been surfing the web looking for snippets. I came across a great online article from the archives of Bassplayer.com. Now I had always assumed that as he is not only (in my opinion) a master of the bass, but also a saxophonist etc., that he must have had extensive musical schooling. Well, I couldn't have been more wrong! To illustrate my point here is a quote from that interview: 'Because they were self-taught and developed their skills in tandem, the young members of Japan were also ignorant of much that more-conventional musicians take for granted. "When we first went into the studio, the engineer told me and Steve we were very tight," Karn recalls. "We were absolutely horrified; we had no idea what he could possibly mean." ' Isn't that just great? The full article can be found here: [url="http://www.bassplayer.com/article/mick-karn-sonic/jan-00/5942"]http://www.bassplayer.com/article/mick-kar...nic/jan-00/5942[/url] Apologies in advance to the 'theory and reading skills are essential' members of the board

Don't laugh, but I vaguely remember reading an older thread on a similar subject and one suggestion that stuck in my mind was to use toothpaste as a gentle abrasive to remove surface scratches... If I remember correctly, Jean-Luc Pickguard confirmed this by saying that this is an old trick used by people to buff up the clear plastic cockpit parts on Airfix model planes and suchlike...

[quote name='steve-soar' post='859154' date='Jun 6 2010, 06:00 PM']That was truly awful.[/quote] But it [i]was[/i] educational: I learnt where all those drunk embarrassing uncles at weddings picked up their dance moves...

How long before the Rickenbacker legal department get on their case, do you reckon....?

[quote name='Beedster' post='854439' date='Jun 2 2010, 08:28 AM']Interesting points about an 810 being easier to move, but that's most certainly not my experience having used a couple. OK, it might be easier if you can slide or roll it, but not if you have to get it around tight corners down the stairs into a basement bar.[/quote] I used to own the Ampeg fridge 8x10 and at one point was living in a first-floor flat which was only accessible via a metal fire-escape type staircase with corners.... Getting that cab in and out of that place required Herculean strength and an ability to powerlift in the style of an Olympic weightlifter. Sounded bloody excellent though...

How about the TC Electronics Combo 450 - it's the RH450 and the 2x10 all in one handy box (with a handle and wheels...) www.tcelectronic.com/combo450.asp

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='852782' date='May 31 2010, 05:37 PM']See? I find that pic very questionable, while the stickers look right, I am certain that both the JV Jazz and Precision had the truss rod adjustment at the base of the neck not on the headstock, unless this is a rarity, I find it very hard to place it.[/quote] You are not wrong, but this bass has been tampered with a lot in it's lifetime. Originally the truss rod was only adjustable at the bottom end of the neck and the headstock end of the truss rod was hidden under the little teardrop wood inlay - just like the ones pictured above - but this bass was out of my hands for a long while, and the guy who had it changed it. It's not pretty, but it does make adjustments easier... If I could be bothered I would remove the neck and take a pic of the hand-written date on the base of the neck which dates it to '82 and the stamped 'EX' which identifies it as an export (from Japan) model. Surprised you didn't notice that the tuners were also not the right ones, after our previous discussion a while back about extremely stiff reverse-winders On this pic the tuners are the Schallers which I replaced with the period-correct wood-gouging vintage type.

[quote name='gareth' post='852592' date='May 31 2010, 12:47 PM']some owners were embarrased about having a squier rather than a fender and sanded off the squier references[/quote] ...or put stickers over the Squier logo, left them on there for 20 years and are now stuck with impossible to remove residue on the headstock.... [attachment=51041:DSC02136.jpg] A word of advice: never lend a bass to a bloke who plays in a punk band [i]just for a little while[/i] and expect to get it back in decent condition years later....

How about these...? 1978 Fender P [attachment=51037:78_Fender_P.jpg] and 1982 Fender JV P [attachment=51038:Fender_JV.jpg] Not to mention these.... 1979 StingRay [attachment=51039:SR4.JPG] and 1983 Cutlass I [attachment=51040:Cutlass_I.jpg]

This is a piccie of the headstock logo situation on my (real) '82 JV Precision. [attachment=51036:headstock_front.jpg]

If I read your original post correctly and you have an '83 StingRay (ie pre Ernie Ball), then you are going to SERIOUSLY regret it if you sell it. And then you will have a hard time finding another pre-EB to replace it if you change your mind later. Fender Jazzes are always available and you can always get another one at a later stage. Keep the Stinger and persevere! I don't have long fingers either, and have sometimes had moments of thinking the 'Ray is playing me rather than the other way around - but when you do conquer it.... You are ready to take on the StingRay 5!!

Nope - straight to the bass.

You need one of these: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=89043"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=89043[/url] Instant drop D at the flick of an, erm, clip

[quote name='Rich' post='816690' date='Apr 23 2010, 07:38 PM']Well, I thought mine was going to be the first phaser to grace this thread......but no. [/quote] I'm with you guys on the MXR Phase 90! Phaser is probably my favourite type of modulation.

Just spotted this for sale on eBay: [attachment=50109:Picture_1.png] I am dumbfounded...

I have the same issue with the same type of tuners. One thing I have noticed is that when the tuners are screwed tight to the head of the bass, the actual middle section of the baseplate of the tuners tends to bow out slightly from the wood of the head. I haven't investigated thoroughly (cos I'm lazy) but what I think may be happening on mine is that the threaded 'screw' of the tuner is in contact with the wood of the head, causing friction which makes it hard to turn the tuner peg itself. If this is the case, then I guess some sort of spacer between the tuner and headstock is the solution. Alternatively, over time they will gouge themselves a channel out of the headstock... Have a look at yours: are your tuners slightly bowing out from the head of your bass too or are they sitting flat?

Derek Forbes from Simple Minds: specifically the New Gold Dream album.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='818029' date='Apr 25 2010, 12:25 PM']Strap is packed and ready to go PauBass [/quote] The postman's going to have a nightmare with that address. Unless he's on mushrooms.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='818059' date='Apr 25 2010, 01:52 PM']Sorry I was completely distracted by the fact that Spiderman was dancing perfectly in time to the track! [/quote] EXACTLY!! He fits in perfectly with the background dancers on the balcony, eh?

£450, 2 days to go and no bids so far.... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Spector-Legend-4-String-Bass-Chrome_W0QQitemZ290424069515QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item439e9f9d8b#ht_553wt_1044"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Spector-Legend-4-Str...b#ht_553wt_1044[/url]

[quote name='throwoff' post='807416' date='Apr 15 2010, 04:39 PM']I often use a pick, can be a real subject of contention to some bass players though. Personally I use a pick most of the time and use my fingers occasionally, in fact I only started finger style as an extra tool. Now I find im equally good at both but still pick up a pick (!) 80% of the time[/quote] +1 to this. Really gets on me tits, bass players getting all prissy about pick-stylee players. Who gives a monkey's how you play? Do guitarists do the same? "Oh, that Hendrix chappie was okay - but he played with a pick you know..." Don't think so. I have a 'high-end' bass store across the street from me (well it's high-end for Warsaw - it sells Laklands and ThunderFunk, and the occasional boutique model) which is usually populated by goatee-stroking jazz buffs discussing the latest developments in double-thumb techniques - I love to freak them out by picking up their most expensive bass and start playing some quick runs using a pick, throwing in some power chords and popping with middle and ring fingers simultaneously. :brow: