Cat Burrito

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1495134102' post='3301602'] So - does it only mute open strings? Sorry.. it's been a long day and my head hurts. ha ha. [/quote] I was rather hoping other contributors would weigh in with their experiences but from my limited trial earlier it seemed to have an impact on the fretted notes too whilst I was playing. That said, I don't understand why / how that would be the case but it definitely sounded more Motown-y, I was playing it on a Fender P-bass which was strung with roundwound strings (a recent change for me after 20yrs of flats).

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1495133712' post='3301596']*squints at photo* How does it have any effect on non-open strings? Am I missing something? [/quote] You'll have to google them for a bigger image, sorry about that! If I put it right over the nut I thought the open strings sounded pretty good.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1495130537' post='3301558']How much are these ones I have a gruv gear one it is OK but to expensive for what it is imo[/quote] I paid £8.50 for mine including prompt UK delivery. Probably worth adding to my original post that I played around with it on one bass at home so I wouldn't want anyone thinking the OP was some kind of review. I certainly don't regret the purchase and my initial post does rather read as me damning it with faint praise.

Those reissues were advertised really cheap a couple of years back. Everywhere seems out of stock now.

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1495127731' post='3301529']The seller is a member here.[/quote] No surprise there

[attachment=245565:ibass.jpg] There doesn't seem to be much mention of these on Basschat? I picked one up on EBay. They seem okay, I'd seen a few pros using them but as said, little mention here. I think foam under the bridge sounds as good and is cheaper but an okay little gimmick to use on a few tunes. I seem to have to place it right on the nut in order for it to have any impact. Any experience with them?

Thomman do some nice European upright basses for under £1k, delivered set up. I too would avoid the Gear 4 Music plywood jobs. There is a lot to be said for the EUBs if the look isn't too important.

*Moved to Effects as it is more appropriate. I'm sure it was an innocent mistake by the OP.

If it gets desperate, I've found chrome looks very well aged with a gentle rub of a dry brillo cloth. I've done that with replacement hardware on my old vintage basses in days gone by.

I think you just experiment and find a balance. I use both and try not to get too drawn into any of the countless rows across all the forums in the "pick vs fingers" debate. A bit of practice and you get used to flipping between the two at any length.

I have used mojo before and they were great so I'll be watching this thread like a hawk. I love the chrome pickup look too.

I don't think it particularly matters, either or. I've only ever moved a couple of threads and they've been much more obviously wrong like "I have a new car" in General Discussion rather than Off Topic. I wouldn't be too phased by seeing that in either. You may get a more technically correct response in the amp column but more opinions in general discussion.

Sounds like a nightmare gig that was overcome. I had an amp die on me back in 2010 and we wound up putting the bass through the PA. Suddenly it doesn't feel so wrong to keep a bass dep in the boot of the car, Tarantino style... I must remember to feed him though!

We've played London's O2 Country to Country 3 times now and lucked out with some great billings. We were followed last year by "Special Guests" which meant playing to a capacity crowd. I didn't get nervous but just tried to relax and enjoy it, knowing the next show would be back to playing at the Dog & Duck to 20 people on a wet Thursday in Sheffield or Coventry or Bristol etc. You'll have a decent stage and great sound so just relax in the knowledge that you have a great opportunity.

I thought it looked great. I like gold top finishes but I never went wild on the finish on the original JC bass. I wound up selling mine on. This is much more up my street, although because I have the Hofner verythin long scale bass in cherry, I wouldn't entertain buying one myself. A hit for me though. edited for mistyping hit as bit!

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1494432548' post='3295957'] Well....dont. But dont assume anyone who does use it is being vindictive. [/quote] Mikel, I think you may be reading far too much into my comments. I haven't suggested anyone is vindictive, because I don't think this has anything to do with anything other than a bit of banter. There are lots of comments on this thread about thought Police and people being offended but no actual examples of anyone saying anything stronger than "I personally don't like the phrase". Trust me, as someone who parents a child with Down Syndrome I've learned to develop a much thicker skin than to get upset over a word that seems to be in fairly regular use. However much like people are free to use the word, some are free to not like it. And that is pretty much rule one of Basschat, we can agree to disagree.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1494409062' post='3295661'] As you say, why naturally assume it is has anything to do with being retarded? It probably relates more to bastard, that is a closer match to the much maligned over loud, widdle merchant guitarist. And I for one have no problem with that word, despite being born out of wedlock. Sometimes you just have to assume that any banter is not personal or vindictive. [/quote] It wasn't an assumption, it was an explanation given online on an American site about 10yrs back. Googling it now confirms it is about "brain dead or retarded guitarists". I accept others may feel it has different origins but there is certainly a school of thought that says it doesn't. As I said, I am not denying anyone free speech, I just prefer not to use it myself.

I get my basses professionally set up so the tuning is pretty stable. I check at the start, maybe a couple of times during a set but if it is particularly sweaty or a door is open I get paranoid and check it a bit more. I think bass is more forgiving than guitar when it comes to tuning.

Although predominately a bassist I would class myself as a multi-instrumentalist, in that I have had stints in bands playing everything from mandolin to guitar. When I started playing there was a snobbery over bassists who'd started on guitar and plenty of examples of brilliant players who'd started on guitar to contradict that theory. I'd add that a couple of my favourite bands have songs with great basslines that it actually turns out the guitar player played the bass part (I often play Kiss' Torpedo Girl at soundcheck which was actually played by Ace Frehley not Gene Simmons). I think the view often comes from guitarists grabbing our basses off of us at rehearsal and then playing lead bass in a worrying attempt to prove a point! I think with a bit of discipline a guitarist can play good bass and vice versa. The trick is to recognise they are actually quite different instruments.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1494354739' post='3295310']Agreed, but the difference is that most guitarists dont have an illness, any jokey term is not used because they are ill and an easy target, because they are not. Its a joke. If it were aimed at someone who was ill that would be entirely different. [/quote] I understand why musicians have a cheeky knock at each other, that was never my point. My issue is solely the origins of the word being given a new life. I guess as a moderator I could have taken an issue with this a long time ago... and I didn't. I don't feel personally comfortable with the word myself so choose not to use it but I wouldn't want to restrict the freedom of other's speech. I do think there are cleverer terms we could be using though. And Les, I guess it is open to a number of different interpretations and I massively prefer your one.

In my family we actively hate the phrase retard as my step son has Down Syndrome & it is nasty term occasionally used by thick people to describe my step son. Thankfully although still common place in the US, it appears to be in the decline here. The Guitard is clearly a play on that word. I've never publicly challenged anyone for choosing to use the word but I personally find it distasteful and wish people wouldn't use it. Banter can have it's place (I love a laugh and a joke with my friends) but banter can often be a polite phrase for bullying too. That's not the same thing. It always used to be drummer jokes, it seems to have shifted to bass and onto other instruments. I respect all roles within a band but this is more to do with egos and people who don't live up to the role. Thankfully the guitarists in both my bands are class acts. I have worked with a couple of difficult singers in the past though. [quote name='mikel' timestamp='1494339533' post='3295106']Thats why Billy Connelly starts his latest tour shows with "Shaking all over" For anyone who is not aware Billy has Parkinsons, amongst other things. He refuses to be beaten down by his illnesses so he laughs at them, to make them smaller and less threatening. It's what the Brits do.[/quote] The difference is that Billy is taking ownership of his own condition and I agree that is the best of what Brits do. Laughing at easy targets though isn't (not that I'm suggesting that is what YOU are saying but I think this is where some tend to get it slightly wrong).

My father-in-law has an original '73 Fender Precision in Mocha brown that I guess has my name written all over it. It has the original case & till receipt but has had an active pickup fitted in the 80s and will need a re-fret. I guess I've aged similarly.

I last got sacked 27yrs ago. I was hanging out with a girl too much & not hanging with the band. I'm still on good terms with my ex-bandmates and the girl. I laugh about it now but it made me realise if you want to stay in a band you have to tow the line. Back then the girl was more important.

Around the time I started playing, I thought this band showed promise but if you have a band full of alcoholics and heroin addicts, one death of a bass player is likely to kick the whole thing into touch. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTwcM8f-ygI[/media]

Cool story. I like his blue T-bird too.