RhysP

Geezer definitely used Rickenbackers occasionally in the late 70's - I remember an interview with him in "Beat Instrumental" where he said he was using a Rick because the truss rod went in the neck of one of his John Birch basses & that was the only back up he had with him on the tour. I've seen footage of him using a Rick too. He also mentioned having a fretless Rick with nylon tape wound strings on it. BC Rich Eagle basses weren't £1000 in the late 70's BTW - the shop I used to work in was one of the few UK stockists & they were around £700 in 1980 as far as I can remember. Absolutely superb instruments, as were all BC Riches at that time. Update: Just found a price list from October 1980 - Eagle & Mockingbird bass: £699, Bich bass £999.

Sounds like his amp set-up isn't really suitable for the type of material you're playing for starters.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1392036998' post='2363801'] Anything else I need to know? [/quote] I might be selling mine soon..... You can't really compare playing a bass or guitar to playing a Stick, it really is an instrument in it's own right & you'd probably get on better with one if you didn't think of it as a "bass with more strings"or whatever. There are many different turnings used as well, but this is less of a problem if you're a beginner as you'll struggle with all of them.

Handful of Earth - Dick Gaughan.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1391536236' post='2358307'] DVDA?!!! I just opened this thread expecting a VERY different topic of conversation... [/quote] Me too.

I hope the pickups are wax dipped or they'll 'owl like crazy at high volume....

A great bass for a daft price - excellent find!

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but the best/favourite bass I've ever owned is my MIJ Fender Precision that I bought secondhand last year. I've had basses that were far more expensive, exclusive, exotic etc. but the bottom line is I just spend more time actually PLAYING this bass & less time messing about tying to get a usable sound out of it it than any other I've owned.

Apparently they're playing Billys "Spectrum" album in it's entirety.

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1391247187' post='2354882'] I think the Groove basses go for the bottom end of BassBus's estimate. Perhaps a little lower. [/quote] This is right - the Groove was a Budget model. I don't think I've seen one hit £300 on Ebay, most of them go for around the £250 mark, maybe a little more.

One thing I would add is: are you reducing your medication with your doctors knowledge/approval? If not it might not be a great idea, regardless of how you're feeling with regard to your condition. Believe me, I speak from experience here. If you seek medical advice for the pain you're experiencing you'll have to let them know about the fact you've reduced your meds anyway or without the full picture they might not make an accurate diagnosis.

I used to use a Rivera R30/12 & it was a superb amp - wish I'd never got rid of it. The "Fender" channel does the whole Fender/Fender on steroids thing really well, and the tone stack has a push/pull switch that alters the tone between "Tweed" & "Blackface" era amps so it's really versatile. Great spring reverb too. I used to use mine with a Gretsch 6120 & a Duo Jet & it was just awesome.

The latest episode of "Live from Daryl's House" featuring Billy Gibbons.

I can't see why people are giving the guy hassle for not allowing photos at his gigs - the vast majority of venues have strict "No photos/videos/recordings" rules but these are proving harder to enforce since the whole stupid camera phone thing took off. Most people wouldn't have even thought about taking photos/videos at a gig not that long ago, but now everybody has a camera on their phone they think it's their god-given right to do so. I can also fully understand why an artist would not want poor quality recordings of their performance circulated.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1390912919' post='2351127'] If the notice isn't still up in the Jazz Caff, it bloody well should be. I don't pay ten/twenty/whatever quid to see a band only to end up listening to someone behind me yakking to their mate, and it irritates the living sht out of me when it happens. With all due respect, the post-rock nerd was quite right to have a word with you -- if you wanted to talk to your mate, you should have gone to the bar or met up afterwards or something, but not during the performance. God knows it's always great to bump into a long lost pal, but there's a time and a place to catch up. [/quote] Absolutely. It seems like every gig I go to these days I have to have a go at some gobby, self-obsessed twat who thinks everybody is there to listen to him rather than the band. I know lots of people who feel the same too, to the extent that many of them just don't even bother going to gigs anymore because of the amount of w***ers in the audience. Years ago this seemed to be primarily a London thing but now it's the same everywhere.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1390910075' post='2351073'] So what are you suggesting, some sort of union closed shop that only allows 'good' bands to play anywhere? [/quote] The scary thing in that scenario is who decides what a "good" band is? Like it or not, a lot of the bands that draw decent crowds, certainly in University towns like Cardiff, are not what most muso types would call "good" bands.

That's an Aerodyne model - very popular &, like all Japanese Fenders, excellent quality.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1390842038' post='2350187'] I grew up aspiring to Jaco, Jeff Berlin, Stan clarke, Geddy Lee etc etc etc...seriously is there anyone on this forum that aspires to play like Eva Gardner? [/quote] I very much doubt if the average basschat member is in the demographic that Fender are aiming this bass at. There are precious few female bass role models for young girls who might be thinking of taking up the instrument as it is; I think giving an affordable signature model to somebody like this who has a high profile gig with a very successful pop star is a pretty healthy thing to do for the instrument in general.

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1390838417' post='2350110'] ....though there's clearly no harm, and probably a lot of good, can come from meeting up with other bassists. [/quote] I'm not sure I'd agree with this - I met up with another bassist once & less than two weeks later I broke my foot.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1390836586' post='2350074'] Were it not for such shortcomings, I would not - in 1978 - have found myself urinating next to Mr Wreckless Eric and our subsequent conversation about Eddie Waring (who coincidentally was in one of the traps) would never have taken place. [/quote] I'm trying to imagine a situation that would have both Wreckless Eric & Eddie Waring in the same mens toilet - an "All-Star" edition of "It's A Knock Out" maybe?

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1390832167' post='2349990'] If it was my signature model I had been collaborating with Fender to create and it ended up as a Squier, I would go mental . Why does Pino get a Custom Shop model, Tony "used to be only very moderately famous for a short while in the mid-1980's "Franklin get a made in the USA bass, even Nate Mendel gets a made in Mexico effort, and yet I am in the bargain basement with a bass being assembled by former rubber plant farmers on an archipelago somewhere east of Java? That is what I would be asking them. [/quote] I'm sure Fenders answer to your question would be "Who the f*** are you?"

[quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1390835766' post='2350060'] I'm learning - a lot. Been playing at home and learning songs and some theory but got an audition for an experienced pub covers band and was taken on as the bassist. I feel to some extent like I faked my way through as the other 4 guys have been playing together 20 years and I've been playing less than 2. Rehearsals and gigs are coming up. Now I've set up my MIM p-bass as per Fender catalogue specs and to my ear it sounds just great. But what does a dog sound like compared to a peach? I don't really know. I wanted to ask if there was any charitable soul, or a thirsty one in need of beer, who would be willing to spend an hour playing my setup (p-bass, ME-50B pedals, Laney Richter 300W amp) and either tell me its junk and I'm wasting my time, tweak setup to get the best out of it, or offer me £100000 for it being the best rig ever played (unlikely..). I'm quite happy to travel and bring my gear but I'm just a bit stuck not knowing any other bassists in the area to ask, and I'm not sure it is the kind of thing to learn off the 'net so to speak. Cheers, Rich [/quote] If they took you over 4 other "more experienced" guys then it was because they preferred you. If they're an experienced band they'd have noticed pretty quickly if you were faking it so stop worrying & give yourself a pat on the back for getting the gig - well done! Did you do the audition with the same gear? If so the band already think it sounds great. If you've got your Precision set up to Fender specs & it sounds great to you then it'll probably sound great to everyone else. By all means get somebody to listen to your gear if it'll ease your mind though, there's probably somebody here who could help you out.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1390835422' post='2350053'] She used to be married to Frank Sinatra I think... [/quote] Mickey Rooney too.