Cosmo Valdemar

WHAT A WASTE OF TIM

I think the new Epiphone Thunderbird Classic is excellent value for money - I can see little advantage in spending over three times as much for the 'genuine' Gibson. They are very, very close. However, neither sound like true 'birds to me - the current pickups are very different to the originals. Replace the pickups with some Thunderbuckers and you're in business - something I intend to do to that white Epi when I finally get round to buying it!

[quote name='Spike Vincent' timestamp='1369395554' post='2088694'] I wouldn't dream of using someone else's kit without asking first.It's just wrong. [/quote] This. Most of the gigs my old band played used gear shares and I don't have a problem with that, but even if I knew it was already agreed for me to use someone else's bass amp I would ALWAYS introduce myself first, double-check everything was ok to use and offer to buy them a drink. I can remember countless gigs where another bass player would simply help themselves to my amp. I never managed to show the same level of restraint demonstrated by the OP though... People using my amp as a resting place for bottles and glasses, well that has seen me get up on stage mid set to 'sort them out'...

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1369776397' post='2092717'] Yes, Carnies & Headlong Flight were pretty fantastic. They played Manhattan Project at the O2 did they? The non-setlist surprise song at the NEC was The Pass. [/quote] It seems they are using two setlists on this tour, mostly identical but for a few minor changes. Instead of The Pass, we got Bravado, which suited me fine. I think we were also treated to The Body Electric instead of Dreamline.

I was at the O2 show - 8th row floor seats. Admittedly murky sound at the beginning but that seems to be part and parcel of live music these days. Geddy's tone was there but a little hard to decipher when everyone was playing but when soloing or in the quieter moments it sounded great. A faultless performance, incredibly enjoyable and a lesson in how it's really done. Several goosebump-raising moments, particularly Carnies and Headlong Flight from the CA set, and an totally unexpected Manhattan Project.

Inspired by a magazine that fell out of the Sunday papers, I once felt compelled to compose a rock opera based on the stages and developments of a woman's breasts. I vivdly recall the magazine being arranged in sections that suited the genre perfectly, e.g., "Chapter 6 - The Sagging Breasts of Old Age". Alas I never got round to it, and the magazine, long since lost. Good luck with your endeavours.

The trailer looks hilarious. I'm not a huge fan of Cream but I can't resist a good music doc, particularly one about such a character. "I'm gonna put you in f*****' 'ospital!"

[quote name='sprocketflup' timestamp='1369172833' post='2085940'] Mick Karn did play some stuff fro Kate Bush yes. Not sure about Gilmour playing fretless tho. My personal fave bass player of Kates is John Giblin, his fretless work is just sublime, a joy to (try and) play. [/quote] i think Eberhard Weber played on Hounds of Love as well... And Youth.

I can't afford it but luckily my Dad got us tickets as a surprise... O2 Arena, Friday - floor seats too!

You're in good company, Jack Casady loves his as well. Lovely little basses for the money.

It's a strap button. At least, I think that's what they were... Older Fenders had them, as do the reissues of course.

I am the one who nabbed Chris' Mesa Boogie cab. I've had dealings with Chris before and can only echo what has been said on here many times already - he's a real class act and a proper gent. Again our meeting was short and sweet due to pressing circumstances. I feel obliged to buy something else in future so we can meet again in a more relaxed setting. Cheers for the cab Chris!

If your preference is for ultra-modern clear as crystal tapping sounds, the Ashdowns may sound to your ears, 'wooly'. It is true, their natural tone tends to err on the warm and valvey side, but they are very versatile. I toured with an ABM 500 and matching 8x10 for years and I would not tolerate a wooly, indistinct amp. It's becoming quite a lazy stereotype, almost up there with 'Rickenbackers have no bottom end' and 'Gibsons sound like mud'. It's all swings and roundabouts. I dislike Ampegs. And the much admired Genz-Benz Streamliner, for example, sounded awful to me when I played through it - [i]in my own style[/i] - but I don't doubt for a moment it is a very high class and high quality amp. It just doesn't suit me. Everyone's style and ears are different, and nobody is right or wrong.

Although saying that, I did once own a Rickenbacker 4004 that I returned after 3 days as the neck was seriously uncomfortable - it just felt fat and shapeless. I knew I wouldn't get on with it so back it went. That was the exception.

I don't think I've ever played a neck I consciously found to be uncomfortable, but wafer thin necks - like my old Rick 4001 and Geddy Lee Jazz - tend to give me cramp after a short period of playing. That said, I'm with Lozz on this one - a good Precision just feels like 'home'.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1368118539' post='2073490'] Ben you had to ask - now if they turn out to be reasonable, I will be in a quandry........ [/quote]