RhysP

I've seen Fairport dozens of times, both at Cropredy & on tour. Absolutely superb band & a great bunch of musicians (past & present) - Peggy is a legend & Simon Nicol is a very under-rated guitarist. Missed them in Cardiff last night as I just didn't have the money.

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='1142747' date='Feb 26 2011, 07:58 PM']At last! This is apparently mine... Ships Monday![/quote] Great news! That looks beautiful & I'm sure it will have been worth the wait - review asap please!

Bryan Beller is a monster player. My friend Steve (a drummer) has recorded with Bryan Beller & as a result I will never be able to play in any kind of musical situation with Steve ever again as I'd just feel totally inadequate. I have to say I think his tone in those clips is bloody awful - probably works OK in a band context though.

I was incredibly disappointed by his book; to me all it basically consisted of was a roll call of his famous mates and lots of boring & clichéd tales of how many times he's got really pissed with them. I found nothing in there to suggest it had been written by a wonderful wit & raconteur, which is how he seems to be regarded. His stint on Planet Rock was pretty much the same too; he only seemed to play stuff by his muso chums or things that he had played on himself. It came across as one big ego trip to me.

The important thing is whether the singer is struggling with the songs in standard tuning. If he's not then I'd play the stuff in standard tuning - why piss about if you don't need to?

[quote name='Soliloquy' post='1134313' date='Feb 20 2011, 01:55 PM']Try to avoid USPS, it'll be Royal Mail when it gets this side of the Atlantic, they'll keep you waiting for days and days before writing to you to go and collect it. You'll then have to pay import duty, VAT and their fee before they'll release it to you.[/quote] That's never happened to me. Everything has been delivered to the door & I've paid the import duties & tax there & then. [quote name='warwickhunt' post='1134089' date='Feb 20 2011, 09:50 AM']I'm double checking on the USPS option. Did you get full insurance cover?[/quote] The bass wasn't very expensive so I just took the risk. I didn't see the point in spending as much on the shipping as the bass cost just to get it insured. From all the stories I've heard over the years even if you have insurance cover it's an absolute nightmare trying to get a courier to pay out in the event something happened to it. I've been really lucky though & never once had any issues with having gear shipped either from abroad or in this country. If I'd had something destroyed I'd probably feel differently.

The guitars & basses I've had shipped from the states I've had sent by USPS & I've had no trouble at all. Very reasonable prices & very quick too - my Hamer 12 string bass was in my hands 48 hours after buying it!

I find Labella Slappers to be the perfect combination of warm & zing for me. They're nickel wound so not as harsh sounding as steels. They're not expensive either - I get mine online from Stringbusters. I play mainly Proggy/metally type stuff as well.

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1127523' date='Feb 14 2011, 07:54 PM']Looks like I'm going to be there, us BCers should all wear hats on a jaunty angle to identify one another [/quote] So those two Basschat t-shirts I bought were a complete waste of money then.........

Three basses & I haven't been in a gigging band for six years. All the gear I have now I've bought since my last gig. I'm not one of those players who thinks there's no point in playing if you're not in a band.

Maybe you're morphing into Wayneprogdude.......

Matt, Dug Pinnick has used a few different set-ups over the years, so it depends what sort of era you're thinking of. The earlier albums he was running an SVT stack for the bass end & using Fender Twin guitar amps for the high end, splitting the frequencies from his basses (mainly a Hamer 12 string & a Fender Jazz at the time) with a crossover. This is the rig he was using when they played St. Davids Hall in 1989 (the "Gretchen goes to Nebraska" tour) & the sound was f***ing immense! Here's some info on his recent set-up: [url="http://www.12stringbass.net/master.htm?http://www.12stringbass.net/DougsRig.htm"]http://www.12stringbass.net/master.htm?htt...et/DougsRig.htm[/url]

[quote name='barend' post='1122189' date='Feb 10 2011, 12:36 AM']Does someone know which bass John Giblin is using on this video?: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvg_4XIZ5cA&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvg_4XIZ5cA...feature=related[/url][/quote] That's not John Giblin, it's Alan Thompson. Not sure what the bass is, but he's been using them for decades now.

[quote name='silddx' post='1117304' date='Feb 6 2011, 02:38 AM']No-one will buy it, it's got a fish on it.[/quote] Chris Squire?

[quote name='7string' post='1116608' date='Feb 5 2011, 03:14 PM']IMO, some people (like Jeff Berlin) don't like the fact that some bass players get recognition and fame without having a 'proper' musical education. You don't have to study music theory or read it in order to play bass and sometimes those players hit the big time. I think there's a feeling of 'injustice' on his part.[/quote] That simply not the case. He's stated many times there are many styles of music where you can make a very good living without needing any formal musical education or knowledge whatsoever & he has no problem with that.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1115347' date='Feb 4 2011, 02:33 PM']Jeff Berlin speaks a lot of truth and sense. Do I agree with everything he says? No,but I agree with an awful lot of it. He's one of the most accomplished players on the instrument,and is obviously very confident in his ability,and this is often seen as arrogance. I've read interviews with players who I consider a lot poorer than Berlin,who have come across as being a lot more arrogant.[/quote] [quote name='Bilbo' post='1115410' date='Feb 4 2011, 03:00 PM']JBs problem is that he forces people to deal with the fact that doing this music thing properly is hard, there is no quick way of getting there, only proper study. Whether you agree about metronomes or no is a minor point. His critiques of music schools who take you r money and offer little in return are legit but threaten a lot of people who are making a lot of money. He is going to raise the hackles of some. Personally, I like his candour.[/quote] I was going to post something but these two posts sum up everything I was going to say - thanks Doddy & Bilbo.

[quote name='deaver' post='1114434' date='Feb 3 2011, 08:11 PM']Is Jason Marsh famous?[/quote] He's a member on here ("Jase") - why not PM him & ask him?

I stopped using DR strings years ago as I got fed up with returning duff sets. Bass, electric guitar & acoustic guitar sets were all the same. Gamlins in Cardiff stopped stocking DR strings because of the amount of sets they were having brought back.

[quote name='matski' post='1112281' date='Feb 2 2011, 12:58 PM']*ahem* Keanu Reeves....[/quote] He was in a pub in Pentyrch last week. Nobody bothered him because they all thought there's no way it could possibly be Keanu Reeves. Apparently he has a mate who lives in Cardiff & he was visiting him.

Mike Mills is a great player. He used a Rick 4001 on the earlier albums then switched to a Precision. He's always had a great bass sound.

[quote name='amnesia' post='1112487' date='Feb 2 2011, 02:52 PM']Marcel Jacob (RIP)[/quote] Not only a fine bass player but also the inventor of the Cream Cracker.

[quote name='Paul S' post='1112175' date='Feb 2 2011, 11:47 AM']I bought a TE head from Shonks - Steve Shone - and was captivated by some of his tales - he's been a pro for 40 yrs and toured with some big names - Tina Turner, Kim Wilde... sure he won't mind me mentioning it.[/quote] Shonks is Steve Shone? Well I never....... I was listening to some of his playing last night on an old Gary Boyle album ("The Dancer").

Out: Ashdown ABM C110 combo. In: EBS Gorm ET 15 combo. Musicman Stingray 5.