Cat Burrito

[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.

Big Ampeg fan here too. I have 2 cabs to ease the weight but at the last 2 festivals I have had an Ampeg SVT 8x10 backline supplied.

The last 2 bands I joined had the name which saved on arguments. I think avoid joke names as invariably the joke wears thin. That said most bands grow into the name. My band CaseHardin took the name from the serial killer lead character in Boston Terrain's book "God Is a Bullet". [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1493299911' post='3287278']Only problem is the amount of people who simply can`t get it right. [/quote] I think this is a common problem with most bands. We've been Casey Holden, Case Harding etc etc etc

Yes

Would suit a player rather than a collector.

A wider strap will distribute the weight more evenly. I think a few of us have suffered over the years.

I've been exclusively using just one Thunderbird since last October (for [b]lots[/b] of gigs, rehearsals and all my home use). However, about 4 gigs ago as a one off I took out my P-bass. I thought the OP was suggesting they just owned one bass but then this is Basschat after all!!!! Personally I have 3 in reserve.

I agree with the general conscientious but would add if it is an opening act on a multiple band bill 20 minutes is not unusual. Normally 30-45 mins as a rule though.

I've had 3 shows recently where neighbours have tried to complain. In my local the NIMBY stormed in all irate, saw it was heaving and did an immediate neck winding in of is wn neck - very comical.

On the Hard Rock front AC/DC were cloned by Kix and Rhino Bucket, amongst others.

For me it would either be a Danelectro or a Hofner violin bass - no weight to either.

It isn't quite clear what is meant by classic rock. I've never played Mustang Sally or Sex Is On Fire personally. I've been involved in 50s rock 'n' roll bands and country bands that played pubs rather than rockabilly / country circuits. Away from my originals band I have a Creedence Clearwater Revival band that plays pubs over the tribute circuit. Classic rock but a bit different.

...but have since discovered. I stumbled across these 90s Southern rockers with their Lynyrd Skynyrd / Black Crowes vibe this weekend. I was completely oblivious to them at the time despite being into the likes of Cry of Love at the time this would have come out. How'd I miss this? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhGUVmbIGQ8[/media] The singer is apparently now in Black Star Riders and I saw them live a few years back / have their albums without realising his past / the connection. Who'd you miss at the time, only to then get into at a later stage?

My first bass was an 80s MIJ Fender 50s P-bass. I re-bought one last year. Having played with flats for years I'm just enjoying a return to roundwound strings. It's all good though. Great basses.

Vinyl has been my preferred format for years. I appear to have accidentally become fashionable in the last 18 months or so. I'm not a fan of RSD. Everyday is record store day in my house, rather than once a year where I see a queue of hipsters and guys having a midlife crisis!

EBay is always my first call http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Quality-Replacement-Scratch-Plate-Pickguard-For-Gibson-Thunderbird-Many-Colours-/112250900183?var=&hash=item1a22acced7:m:miZP-N33wA5OvOc4Yxr1W_g