Grassie

Don't get me wrong, I love Fenders, but seriously, how do Fender justify their prices? How can that be worth nearly three grand? I'm lost for words... Can someone clarify this for me please? A precision bass is generally two body shapes (contoured / slab). A jazz bass is one body shape. Their bodies are mass produced, no? Or do they hand carve the custom shop jobbies? How much work actually goes into these custom shop basses? I have visions of a bunch of yanks bolting together off the shelf parts, handing them to the relicing guys and then patting each other on the back and saying to each other "that's a beautiful piece of craftsmanship there, man." Makes me angry. When you consider what you can get from [b]British[/b] luthiers for half the price.... There's no way that is worth £2799..no effing way...

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='1363902' date='Sep 6 2011, 11:06 AM']"Never understood that metal detector. Was it a heavy metal Cucumber ?" - In the demo version of the film [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGfZOpzfxFM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGfZOpzfxFM[/url] (about 9 min) it's a load of small change in a hadnkerchief. For some reason it became a foil wrapped cucumber in the full film. There are a few other details that make more sense once you've seen the demo. There is also a deleted scene where a roadie is seen wrapping said cucumber. I am a total Spinal Tap nerd.[/quote] I, on the other hand, must be part of the 1%. Never seen it.

I'll be reserving full judgement until I hear the album, but Rain Dance Maggie is a grower. The thing with the new guy Josh Klinghoffer is he is one of John Frusciante's close friends, and also toured with the Chili's as a second guitarist on their last tour or two, so, to me, he's the natural choice as John's replacement. Apparently, he adds some good bv's to the new record, and plays keyboards too, so I think everything will be fine. Let's face it, the Chilis won't be getting in any old shmuck to replace Mr. Frusciante, will they? He's got to be good to get anywhere near that band. But I think they do need a different producer. Rick Rubin has worked on every album RHCP have put out in the last 20 years. His producton style is...well...pretty minimal (I've read stories of him helping bands to set up the gear for the right sound, then buggering off for days at a time, and just letting the band play to the engineer), and I think it's their sound and not the band that is getting a bit tired. Of their more recent output, I find their more atmospheric stuff like "Desecration Smile" works really well, so I would love to hear them hook up with someone who would give them a whole new edge, but still retain that unique RHCP vibe. I'm a fan, and want to stay a fan. Hate it when my favourite bands bore me...

Gallien Krueger MB210, 350w, 16kg, £480.

Aston "Family Man" Barrett once said "Nothing above the fifth fret". Wise words...

[quote name='chris_b' post='1329763' date='Aug 6 2011, 11:54 AM']I would still plan on getting the 210 extension cab.[/quote] I think that is my plan, although having sat down with the GK earlier and thoroughly "worked" it, I think it will be loud enough. It certainly moves air, and my original concerns were down to the shock of the new, and the fact that I've never played through a modern rig before. Having said that, I'm glad I didn't go for the Ibanez Promethean...

Thanks for your explanations guys - very helpful. Judging by my drummer situation it's gonna be a while before I can try the GK in a band setting, but I'm hoping that because I've managed to jettison a guitarist and go for a three-piece band, I'll still be able to cut through nicely. I'm going to have a fiddle with it later (no sniggering at the back), to see just how much I can push it. The reason for switching to a 2 x 10 was purely a weight saving decision, as my back is not as strong as once was. My understanding of power ratings is (was) quite limited, (no sh*t), so thanks once again.

Thing is, my last rig was a Hartke HA5000 head with a VX410, rated at 220w @ 8 ohms. This seemed a fair bit louder than the GK, but would clip and start to distort at around 11 o'clock. I must add that the HA5000 didn't have a gain, just a master volume plus various mid, high, low, mid-high, mid-low etc. controls, so I'm not used to gain (I'm sounding a bit naive I know, but I know what I sould be hearing). Maybe my ears have been so atuned to that rig, that anything like the GK is bound to sound different. 2 x 10 vs 4 x 10 is a big difference, modern neodymium speakers as opposed to old school magnets... I've also yet to try the GK in a band setting, but finding a decent drummer for my new band is turning into a nightmare, but that's for another thread...

Hi everyone. Maybe someone can clear this up for me. I've just taken delivery of a brand new Gallien Kreuger MB210 combo rated at 350w @ 8 ohms or 500w @ 4 ohms. I've tried it out, but for the power rating, it seems a little quiet. The sound is fantastically clear and has a surprising amount of bottom end, there are no buzzes or hisses either. I've noticed a small label on the rear of the unit which says: Full power: 580w average power: 128w. What exactly is the 128w refering to? Is this a 350w amp on it's own, or what? I have to wind the volume knob round to 3 o'clock to get it to "gigging" level, with the gain at 12 o'clock. I am confused....

+1 for Mick Karn. Jeff Ament is pretty cool too, innee?

[quote name='Gust0o' post='1304644' date='Jul 15 2011, 12:31 PM']I forgot to add, to my previous contribution to this thread, that fingerstyle is the only method for Youtube - unless you want swamping by the ill-tongued off-spring of our transatlantic cousins, the utter, utter f***wits. "Nice cover bro but nxt time use yo fingers like a man". [Insert "I wore my fingers out on your mum, so can only use a pick" joke][/quote] Now that has made me laugh!

Started playing in 94 using fingers only. I used to be of the opinion that if you were playing with a pick then you were somehow less of a musician. 17 years later, and I have recently found myself struggling to get a consistent, even tone using my fingers. I had problems last year with pain in my plucking hand whenever I played fingerstyle (mainly constant eighths and sixteenths), and the band I was in was playing more songs which required the use of a pick for that "attack", so I found myself playing more and more with that tricky little bit of plastic. Now I'm finding that I'm rarely playing fingerstyle at all, my overall tone has improved, and I can get more sounds from my bass by picking at different positions across the strings as I ever could playing with my fingers. I use a fairly light gauge pick as I find the flexibility allows me to play up-down strokes quicker and more precisely than using a heavier gauge as I tend to "catch" heavier picks on the strings. There are many players about at the moment who play with a pick, but who get a fingerstyle tone that impress me a lot. Foo Fighters Nate Mendel and Kings Of Leon's Jared Followill are two of them. Watching Nate play recently, I noticed that it looks like he's "stroking" the strings rather than picking them; he plays with such a gentle touch but still gets a monster sound. And I love Jared's tone full stop, that boy can get a little funky with it too (I love that little solo section in the middle of "Charmer"). He doesn't play the obvious and his tone is so warm and rounded for a pick/Thunderbird combination. Picks rule!

Pino Palladino. Michael Manring. Mick Karn. Gary Willis. All these fretless bassists have one thing in common: they play with a great amount of SOUL. Jeff Berlin. This bassist is just an R-SOUL.

My main bass influence is and always will be Mark King. But I can't do what he does for two reasons. 1) I can't physically do it to that level. I'll chuck the odd pop in when needed, but to whack out polyrhythmic lines like Mr. King does so effortlessly and cleanly is just beyond my capabilities. 2) I don't want to. There are a number of people on youtube (you know who you are) who have copied [i]every single [/i]hammer-on, pop, gliss, slap, whatever that gives Mark his very distinctive style. These bedroom/dining room/living room warriors have taken his style and added absolutely nothing of their own to it, even going so far as to use the same guitars, amps, effects, strings as Mark. I'm not jealous of slap players, I'm jealous of players that have the motivation and patience to improve their playing to the point where they have their own voice on the bass guitar and as a result beating off gigs with a sh***y stick. I have to say I'm really enjoying Foo Fighters Nate Mendel's playing at the moment. Very tasteful, but still not playing "obvious" bass lines.

It's not the price, it's the ad. No info whatsoever, mis-spelled "guitar" even though it's spelled properly on the header. Two poor photos. Not really an ad to make you think that you would be dealing with someone who know's what they're talking about eh? No info on any damage or possible inclusion of case. If I was selling my gear, I'd want to put as much info as possible on there so that potential buyers would know what they're getting for their money. Would you try selling a car on ebay like this? FOR SALE CAR FORD FOWCAS You wouldn't buy it either...

Saw this earlier... [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/guitar-/270776091414?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3f0b834316"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/guitar-/27077609...=item3f0b834316[/url] FFS!!! Not that I'm in the market for one of these, but come on!!!!! Make an effort dude! No-one is going to buy this you div!

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1273723' date='Jun 18 2011, 01:16 PM']Yes. From what I've heard, Dirk left because he wasn't happy with the music that they were making rather than any personal fall outs. When he left, the rest of the band moved in the direction they were trying to pull but he was resisting. Without him pulling the other way, they completely changed music until they were unrecognisable in a very short space of time (apart from Boyd's increasingly annoying warbling which is still recognisable).[/quote] I think that Incubus have become a band that just oozes quality. From what I've heard of the new stuff (the two singles) I can't fault them in any way. They are writing (for want of a better word) mature, elegant, classy rock songs that have an instant appeal. Sure, they're not writing stuff like "Glass" or "Redefine" any more, but why should they? They (and countless others) have done that. There is nothing worse than a band releasing the same, tired old albums again and again for the duration of their career. It bores the f*** out of me. If a band can't do something different after three albums, then they lose me. As for Dirk leaving, well, yes, it certainly had an effect on their music, but not as sudden as everyone seems to think. "Drive" was not typical Incubus at the time, and was the first hint that this band could be more than just a one trick, pubescent-rap-funk-metal band that was rapidly becoming old hat. And this was in 1999, some 4 years and a further album before Dirk quit. Brandon's voice has gotten better and clearer, as evidenced on the "Adolescents" single, and Ben Kenney can groove like a mofo without having to resort to out-dated slap. I love 'em. Nuff said.

Nothing physical like that, but I recently came out of a band due mainly to boredom. Hooked up with a guy I used be in a band with years ago, and he asked me if I'd like to do something with him. It could have gone swimmingly had it not been for the fact that we both work shifts for different companies, but on opposing shifts, so when I was on earlies, he was on lates. Generally, shift work is a pain in the arse when the rest of the band work "standard" hours.

Being a child of the 80's I really like stuff like Radio Ga Ga. The memories that song brings are priceless. I particularly enjoy it when a band takes itself out of it's comfort zone and makes an album that the "die-hards" would struggle with (Hot Space notwithstanding). The producton on The Works is pretty groundbreaking, and coming from a band who were renowned for breaking new ground, this shouldn't have been much of a surprise to long time fans. I always like bands to take a risk - when Def Leppard released Slang in 96 the die hards slagged them off something rotten, but I absolutely rate that album as one of their best. When a band realease the same album over and over, I just lose interest after album 3. As for John Deacon - the master of understatement and quite right to retire or whatever he wants to call it. While the other two wring Freddie's legacy for all it's worth, JD keeps his dignity and respect. Love to hear what he thinks now though - BGM should really kiss his arse and get an interview with him.

Not in a band at the moment, but the last band I was in I wouldn't drink because I used to drive myself to gigs. Oh, and the fact that our singer would drink (amongst other stimulants), and proceed to make a complete t*** of himself while singing and throwing shapes like he was playing Wembley Stadium. We were a rock covers band playings pubs. On the Isle of Wight. No need for both of us to look like c***s...

[quote name='Bobby K' post='1212293' date='Apr 27 2011, 08:07 AM']Got some Silvo wadding and it was just the trick Amazing how much crap actually comes off the frets!! [/quote] T-cut does it for me, but make sure you mask the wood on the fretboard properly, t-cut will bleach rosewood.