Cat Burrito

Okay, so I had a couple of threads in the past with now expired Photobucket links to basses I'd long sold on. I notice we don't seem to have these "own collection" threads quite so much these days but the keyword here is retro. Anyhow, my wife went out with the kids the other day & I snapped this phone pic. I played around with the colour and I thought I'd share it. From left to right we have Eastwood EEB-1 Ampeg-a-like bass (strung with flats), Rickenbacker 4003s in ruby red, European blonde upright bass, my Gibson Thunderbird, CIJ Fender 50s Precision and Hofner longscale Verythin. I believe this covers all the basses (ahem!) that I need, although I will add a USA jazz at some point. I did spend 2-3 years playing 2 Squiers to show myself it is the player, not the bass, but it's nice to have the gear you want. If anyone is still reading (& curious), I run it through an Ampeg rig, the Portaflex all valve PF50t head being a favourite.

I think it is good to experience both but generally it is better to be around musicians that force you to stretch yourself more.

http://www.casehardin.com/ I run the website and it isn't the easiest to navigate behind the scenes but I am pleased with the end result.

The few times it has happened it has been because it has been a great night and the landlord is happy. I would always query it though.

I have both pro and ex-pro members in both my bands. It has caused me to raise my game and hasn't been an issue. Recently one said to me that I may not be pro but I was "pro attitude" which I took as my biggest compliment. It may be @OP that it just didn't click or it may be that he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder.

Phone EBay so you can at least speak to someone. I've had this once and when I started saying "I've been a loyal customer for years and this has damaged my view of EBay", they credited me £25. The seller gets a strike against their name but that is it. Technically you can take them to small claims but it isn't really worth it. Frustrating, but it happens. You have right on your side but they are extremely unlikely to hand the bass over.

The MXR micro amp is small and just a pure boost that doesn't colour the sound in any way.

Living in a rural location, there isn't a gig I can do with public transport. At best some London shows where backline is provided and I finish before the last train mean I can drive to a West London tube and take a bass on the tube. At best this is a couple of shows a year.

I picked up a Ric 4003 recently too and I found it sounded superb through my all valve Ampeg PF50T head and Portaflex cab. Those Rumble amps are pretty good though so I'd work out what, if anything, you don't like and go from there.

It depends on how big the band is and what kit people have. I'd suggest it'd be in the interest of the band to keep costs down so not bringing 15 guitars, the extra cab and the 20 piece drum kit would be the order of the day. A case of everybody working together. We hire splitter vans for tours but it does eat into the costs. Long gone are the days of band members hiding in the back of the van because they don't have seats and we've been stopped by Police.

Last night, despite a slightly messy split, I depped for my old band at a garden party... I'd left 2 1/2yrs ago but the olive branch was always there. Surprise gig of the year for me & I'd definitely do it again, if asked. Life is too short for silliness.

I depped for my old band at a garden party... I'd left 2 1/2yrs ago (a bit messy) but the olive branch was always there and despite the fact half the set was new to me & the drummer couldn't remember a couple of the older songs I could, we really nailed it. Surprise gig of the year for me & I'd definitely do it again, if asked.

All mine have cases and couldn't share as they are different shapes (T-bird, Ric, hollowbody & P). I leave a couple out on display (one upstairs and one downstairs) to ensure they get played regularly and I the ones that can go out in a gig bag do so, just for local gigs.

I used mine with an Orange SP210 which always drew favourable comments and it also worked equally well with a couple of different Ampeg SVT cabs I used to own.

Having spent nearly 20yrs on flats, I'm another convert with [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Nickel wound D'Addarios too. I found flats are great for old soul, country, reggae and roots but to play more classic rock it needs to cut through a bit more. I believe Steve Harris changes his flats for every gig to keep the brightness. If they work for you, great. I'm a big believer in you can play anything on anything. [/font][/color]

In my teens / twenties we had some rather mad young ladies following the bands I was in. These days it tends to be middle aged vinyl obsessive divorced men (slightly sadder caricatures of the band itself). I figure at our level beggars can't be choosers!

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1504008170' post='3362060']A quick tot up of my gigging rig puts me at £1500. £4K seems an awful lot of money to me.[/quote] I was gigging two Squiers and a second hand rig for a while but I now own a couple of £1500+ basses (I only take one at a time) and a £1200 rig - factor in cases, pedals and part ownership of the PA and it is quite easy to get towards that figure. [quote name='TimR' timestamp='1504008170' post='3362060']If I was that worried about it I'd get it insured. I think last time I looked into it it was £50 a year.[/quote] Good advice. I have had insurance in the past although gave up when I went down to the Squiers. I think we'll be giving that venue a miss for future bookings but some of the bookings are a little on the less "fine dining" side of pubs.

Not really an issue at our level. Even with my bigger band, we're talking a few quid at most. I think websites look best if you are up to date but I have no problem with a few older videos / photos / recordings showing what the band once was.

We played one of the roughest pubs in town last night and I worked out my kit was worth nearly £4k. It was a concern and at one point a drunk guy leaving managed to knock over our PA head (which nearly started a riot!). In the past I have known players buy cheaper Squiers, just to gig at the rougher shows. My take is that I have some nice basses and they are meant to be played, but we really did watch the kit like a hawk. The rest of the band have good gear too. Just wondered what the general feeling is on this.

[quote name='buff' timestamp='1503835700' post='3361103'] This is great as well [/quote] He's very cool, the triple necked acoustic bass quip is very funny. And I love that Dictator rig.

After ranting Dave's video proved such a popular thread on here, I thought I'd share this as this guy made me laugh twice in this short video. I've not come across him before but he is certainly a character. I love the bass too. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ6sTWDNP58[/media]

[quote name='Dandelion' timestamp='1503667741' post='3360167']Mr Health and Safety would like to discuss that plug socket though... [/quote] Ha! I thought about photoshopping that It looks worse than it actually is. [quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1503666120' post='3360130']Also, Rick-o-sound or mono? I'd be all over that split signal myself! [/quote] Glorious Mono. I had the two inputs on my old bass and whilst it's nice, I found I didn't use it. [quote name='project_c' timestamp='1503679988' post='3360303']thread needs more Sneaky Pete[/quote] I couldn't agree more. He's a regular on my bass playing Instagram page. [quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1503732437' post='3360547']Are you thinking of Stinky Pete from Toy Story?[/quote] Sneaky Pete was the pedal steel player from the Flying Burrito Brothers. After the music industry he worked on a few films (like Empire Strikes Back) and his playing can be heard on John Lennon's Mind Games. Sneaky Pete the cat has a less impressive legacy. [attachment=252136:R-2746004-1299165960.jpeg.jpg]

Okay, so technically this was a few weeks ago but I was playing it, not posting about it! Plus there was another wave of anti-Ric commenting on here so I laid low. I owned a Mapleglo Ric at the height of my GAS but sold it on as it wasn't getting played. Having a much smaller arsenal of kit now and having spent the last 15 months playing in a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band, the prospect of owning a Rickenbacker was becoming an option again. My good lady found them a bit flash but I notice the stylings of the special models (4003s) have dot inlays and no binding which looks more 60s-ish, to me at least. It needed a set up but sounds and plays great. Owning a Gibson Thunderbird, my two thru neck USA basses couldn't be more different and offer some nice variation. And for any Ric haters, mine's guarded by Sneaky Pete, the one eyed mad cat, so pick your battles carefully!