leftybassman392

Another shout for K&M. Had them in the bands and in the studio. Can't speak for the Studiospares clones but the K&M's are the real deal. Well worth the extra as you'll probably never need to replace them. Full range of spares available too.

Re. the OP track: I get the Alanis references (circa Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie sounds about right), and the Soundgarden references. Not so sure I agree but I can see where people are coming from. Nice song well played (and she has a perfectly good singing voice), but as I said the last time a Tal Wilkenfeld thread came up a couple of months ago, it's not doing much for me. She's Tal Wilkenfeld so success at some level is pretty much assured (and I wish her well with it), but not for me.

If you say so, but there are one or two comments dotted around that seem a little at odds with that conclusion. As I said already though (twice by my count), everybody's free to waste their money as they see fit and that's fine by me.

If I’m honest I don’t really get the ‘mojo’ thing either. If I buy an instrument that’s had heavy use then that’s fine (and in fairness some of my own instruments, owned from new, wear their history on their faces a bit). As long as it plays and sounds like I think it should there’s no problem. That said, ‘mojo’, to me at least, is a sign that the instrument hasn’t been well looked after by at least one of its previous owners. It just mystifies me that people see it as a buying/selling point in and of itself. To repeat for the sake of the overly sensitive; I don’t have a problem with it, but after 30-odd years of playing and teaching for a living I still don’t get it. Sorry.

Ongoing neglect is the key I think. Best way is to give it varying degrees of low-key abuse from the outset. No need to drop it down the stairs or anything; bunging it into a carrier bag with all your pedals and cables for a few years ought to do it. And whatever you do, never, ever put it into a protective case or gig bag. Kiss of death! Short sleeves and lots of sweat would be good too. Just remember not to wipe it down after a gig is all.

Never had the good fortune to meet him in the flesh, but the comments from those who have are a telling testament to the man. A sad loss to the BC community. R.I.P.

I think you may be doing yourself a disservice. As I said earlier, it’s all a question of choosing the right adjective. The way you’re saying it kind of suggests that ‘professional’ is an unspoken-but-assumed part of the description. Not so. What’s wrong with using ‘amateur’, ‘hobby’, ‘part-time’, ‘budding’ or any of half a dozen other words? Seriously, people sometimes get properly exercised over this business, and I really don’t think that’s the right way to see it.

I agree with Jack: people do overthink it. I guess part of the problem lies with the word we generally want to put in front of it. My musical activities were my primary - indeed only - source of income for nearly 15 years so I thought of myself as a professional musician, but really it's just an adjective. Anyone who plays any instrument at any level could justifiably call themselves a musician in my book. I know people who are, frankly, a bit up themselves about this kind of thing and like to crow on about the years of study and the hours of practice, and about how anybody who hasn't done the same can't really be a 'proper' musician. It's a valid perspective I guess, but in truth you could say much the same about speaking a foreign language, working with wood, cooking or even driving.

I don't know about the cab, but if his bass cabs are anything to go by it should be good. I haven't heard the Metheny album you hate so much. If you'd care to put up a track listing I'll dig some of it up. It is jazz though, so the rules are a bit, erm, different. I loved flatwound strings for Jazz, but won't be putting any on my Strat anytime soon. Oh, and I liked the Sophie LLoyd piece. Well worth a few minutes of anyone's time IMHO. (Warning: rock guitar content.)

Been a member there from the outset. I agree that'll take a while, but I've already posted quite a lot of stuff over there. The gear section has a bit of activity. @ezbass of this parish is quite a regular poster and a big fan of the Telecaster. (It's a type of guitar... )

The problem I have with artificial ageing on an instrument is that somebody at the manufacturing plant has been paid to do it, and that consequently you the buyer will most likely have been charged for it. We're all free to waste our hard-earned as we see fit of course (and if you like this stuff then by all means knock yourself out), but it makes no sense to me when the money could have been either saved or spent to make it, oh I dunno, a better bass perhaps? It's very similar to my take on personal number plates on cars. Some like them; I'd sooner spend the money on kit that actually has a function beyond perceived visual appeal.

Time to break out the vocal chords perhaps...?

Crikey! A lifetime ago. Used to live on St. Richards Road down at the Mongeham end. Left for good on my 20th birthday. That was 45 years ago. We used to go back to visit one of my sisters pretty regularly, but when she died last year our reason for going largely went with her. I have another sister in St. Margaret's but we don't get on really. We have some family matters to attend to during the day but will be in town in the evening. May check out some of the places you mentioned, but will probably wind up somewhere for a meal (prob. Frog&Scot or No.81). If you think you might be up for a beer or a bite, then PM me your mobile and we'll see what we can organise.

Are you playing locally this weekend? We're down for the weekend (Friday and Saturday) dealing with a bit of family business and might fancy a night out somewhere.

There's a strong likelihood that a lot of others will feel exactly the same. Easy for me to say I know, but try not to overthink it. Yes it probably will be crap for the first little while, but patience and a positive attitude will definitely help get you past that stage. Enjoy!

Apparently not. The general consensus around seems to be that Led Zep should be handed that particular gong...

He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother, covered by lots of people (most notably The Hollies), but first recorded by Kelly Gordon. Strictly speaking this was arguably a cover too since he didn't write the song himself, but he was the first to record it so please yourselves I guess... As a sort of 'did you know?' addendum, That's Life (made famous by ol' Blue Eyes hisself) was actually written by the self same Kelly Gordon (actually co-written with Dean Kay if we're being picky, but all the same...). In a curious piece of irony, Kelly's recorded version of the song turns out to have been on the 'B' side of his version of 'He Ain't Heavy...'

I come from the Bob Willis school of bass ownership. For those who don't know, Bob Willis was an England cricketer of the '70s and '80s. He was one of the best bowlers of his era, and one of the worst batsmen. When asked why opposing bowlers seemed to find the edges of his bat with such regularity, he would routinely reply that he'd paid for them so why shouldn't he use them? So it is with me and the knobs, buttons and switches on my basses.

I was born in Dover and grew up in Deal, but I still have relatives who live near Tunbridge Wells. ( As it happens they live just across the border in East Sussex but I try not to hold it against them.) Welcome to the forum; you’ve come to the right place.

Hi there and welcome. Whereabouts in Kent are you?

On the bright side, it definitely means you're not cackhanded. 👍

Fake news! Of course it's a four step 65 thingy organ. I checked it myself and I'm never wrong about these things.

I'm one of 2 out of 4 lefty siblings, and I have a lefty nephew as well (although his mother isn't).

Update: Mwahahahahahahaaaaaah!

Technically a triangle is ambidextrous. So is a crash cymbal. Lefthandedness comes as part of the deal. As to the organ, congratulations. For now. So one out of three. Could be worse I suppose.