Cat Burrito

I have a friend who is a well respected wood burner with a couple of books published on the subject and he is itching to get his hands on one of my basses. I won't let him! Very talented guy but no.

My house is a series of old rock n roll art - I have tour posters from the Stax Revue to the Rolling Stones, autographed pictures, original art by rock stars and lots of music related canvases. If it wasn't obvious I'm divorced and live alone

I took a break between 2000 - 2004 and I've come back to playing with more enthusiasm ever since. I guess it depends on how much of a distraction all 4 bands are. I felt I needed a total break but many just scale it back. I was struggling with three bands a while ago but cut it back to one as I just wanted a breather but to still perform. Ultimately only you know yourself

Dare I say from the off? I've been playing for 25yrs plus so I pride myself on hitting the ground running. Worst night ever & it still would only take a couple of tracks.... probably also helped that I'm in my 5th year with the same band

I just watched it on 4od. No real surprises & I think once Royal Mail are finally sold off we'll have a lot more problems with mail delivery to look forward to. Better the devil you know?

Whether it's someone's taste in sexual partners or someone's music collection we can always be surprised by the choices others make. So musically some want to produce albums, some of us do music videos whilst others are into cover bands. Personally I've always been very driven by music & it's no surprise when I see old friends I haven't seen for 20yrs the first thing they always say is a variation around the "I'm pleased you're still playing" theme. I stopped trying to analyse or understand my motivations a long time ago. It is inherently just something that is a huge part of me.

[quote name='zero9' timestamp='1365767952' post='2044159'] For a more contemporary example, check out Imelda May. Her bassist is a fantastic slap player. [/quote] Currently on tour with Imelda's husband Darrell Higham and Slim Jim Phantom as part of Katmen

As a young player I always used to believe in one band one player but as I've got older I noticed a trend for others to play in a few projects. I took it up to 3 bands myself back around 2007 which on top of work / life was high end acceptable for me. I went back down to 1 again in 2009 which I've done since... until a few weeks ago I started mucking about with some rockabilly guys, so 2. With one gigging and one not we'll see how it pans out but I guess it depends how much of your time you want to donate to playing. These days I like travel and a few other pursuits too so after 25yrs of playing I like to do other things whilst not wishing to stop playing.

I've only owned the Jack Cassady one and that was because I liked the bass - I'm not really into any of the bands he played with and not for a lack of trying. It was just a really decent instrument. I think with Fender you can actually get away with flipping the scratchplate over and 99% of the time it's hey presto, you have a halfway decent replica of your favourite player's bass. Most people will only pick up on colours anyway. That said a lot of the signature models out there seem to play really well. I'm not an Iron Maiden or Pink Floyd fan myself but both those basses recently played well on the examples I tried. If I were in the market for a bass and especially if I were a fan of the player I guess it serves a purpose.

He's not going to starve off the back of those postage costs!

Lee Rocker

I guess it depends on your age and the circles you move in but I clicked on this thread thinking The Chain. Seems to be in the lead so far. I suspect people over a certain age think that & the younger players think Muse.

Having upgraded a few bases over the years customised tends to fit the description better. Obviously putting a £150 pickup into a £150 bass would generally be considered a clear upgrade but as a rule upgrades don't increase sale value and certainly when you go to the vintage market the original parts are what gets the best price. To be fair a lot of these upgrades tend to be better quality parts BUT as you say, it all comes down to personal tastes in the end

I've been playing on the Americana scene for the best part of 10yrs now. The R5 R5 R5 cheeky run formula covers a lot of tunes but there is more to it than the jokey references to that. That said 99 times out of 100 the trick is to keep it simple. If you play upright bass or have a P bass with flats with this the key to the sound. A lot of nonsense is spoken about needing certain amps but the trick is to keep it sounding old school. I've borrowed Fender, Peavey, GK & all sorts of amps and generally the tone fits right in. A bit of foam under the bridge too sounds great. All that said, if you have a Jazz or an Aria bass or something different don't worry, roll back the tone a little and play closer to the neck and you'll get closer to the sound. Probably don't need an active pickup but again it really doesn't matter if you have that. I played at Bob's Picking Parlour in South Carolina a couple of years ago and these days those boys just show up with whatever they can get their hands on. In terms of note choices I obviously stay largely around the pentatonic but feel free to put little flavours of everything from chromatic notes to rockabilly and it makes it more interesting for both the player and the song. Hope this helps

I only use mine for driving but have worn both them and sunglasses onstage very occasionally depending on my mood.

I read that this morning, also battling with MS. Their single "I Touch Myself" was always always a great tune that I was reminded of when Austen Powers came out.

Also worth checking out Lee Fields if people like Charles Bradley

We played in Lewes as part of Record Store Day so we did an acoustic gig in a record shop and then rocked out more with a full band amplified at the after show party. Both sets were well received and it was a great day

Funny guy! I used to organise everything in my previous bands but it is seriously fun sapping. I do co-run the websites but it's hardly a chore

My experiences are with these 4 excellent pickups; [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]£89 Fender original pickup - Good but I don't think modern Fender pickups are the best on the market[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]£130 Seymour Duncan Antiquity II - by far & away the best. Expensive but amazing tone[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]£52 Seymour Duncan Vintage SPB-1 - superior upgrade to Fender stock & classic vintage vibe[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]£55 Wizard Trad - raved about on here but I preferred the SD range. Woody thump but less pure / classic[/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]I play rosewood necked P-basses with flats too & definitely favour old school tones[/font][/color]

[quote name='thunderbird13' timestamp='1365679600' post='2042713'] I’m interested in learning this technique after watching the Lee Rocker DVD [/quote] Is the DVD useful at all? I've been looking at it. I love Lee's playing and hugely admire anyone who does that double slap technique but I could never find a teacher who played that style. Huge rockabilly fan but I don't play that style myself

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1365404929' post='2038963'] I would advise phoning Wizard and discussing your pup needs. It's what I've done a couple of times in the past, he was very helpful and got me sorted on both occasions. [/quote] Plus one to this - he (Andy, I believe) was really helpful when I spoke to him

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1365266699' post='2037450'] You are getting me all wrong on this [/quote] No offence taken but it just seems that the times people can comment on here about Fenders and 70s Fenders especially without someone piping up to say they aren't the best works out about 99% of the time. I play with Rotosound strings too so I effectively get 2 bites of that cherry! I think I got both your comment and your intent but saying people buy Fender "just for the logo" is bound to ruffle a few feathers which masks what was actually a pretty fair point. It's not a big deal and I don't intend to comment any further.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1365264799' post='2037417']But if you want something that says Fender on it then buy a Fender , by all means . [/quote] I don't think people only buy Fenders for the logo & comments like this could be seen to be just a little antagonistic. Just as one point Fenders hold their market value much better and having sold on really nice instruments by makes like Hofner & Epiphone they just don't get so much back. Granted there are other makes out there every bit as good as a nice Fender but if people want to buy a Fender, let them. There are plenty of wonderful nice basses in all shapes and sizes to suit all tastes

£1500 for a '76 is ok depending on condition. With the recession in full swing remember it's a buyers market. I wouldn't worry too much about good years or years to avoid - typically people criticise late 70s Fenders but I have 2 really good examples. Just try before you buy & ask on here if you are not sure. If you want a museum piece be prepared to spend more (typically sold with pictures showing the original wiring & original hard case) where as a heavily gigged bass with replacement parts sees the price drop right down.