Muzz

I had a 79 4001 Jetglow (Geddy fantasist, obv...with a side order of Bruce Foxton) which was a big 'it's either this or a party' birthday present in 1980, and my first 'proper' bass. I loved it at the time, and when it came to a big birthday a few years ago, I had some money to splash out on an indulgence bass. It was one of the Walnut/maple ones (4003W), and all other considerations aside (the body ridge, the pickup cover, the daft bridge), with my eyes closed, it wasn't a £1600 bass (I note they're £2400 now...) - the nut was cut too high, there were dead spots on the neck, it wasn't resonant or 'alive'. It looked absolutely fantastic, but the thing didn't play or feel any better than some £200 basses I've played. The sound was a disappointment, too; thin and reedy, no umph to it. I could possibly have persevered, taken it to a luthier maybe, re-jigged my amp EQ, and all that, but after spending a good chunk of money I would've felt like a mug. I'd definitely try before you buy, maybe I got a Friday Afternoon bass, but someone passed it through QC...even with a good one (and I'm sure there are some), those ergonomics haven't changed in the intervening years, but my tolerance of them had...

You might think you're cool, but you'll never be more iconic than a particular mic stand... Or an amp...

I've described at length elsewhere my disappointment at returning to a Rickenbacker after I'd had one as a kid - luckily it was a new purchase and went back for a refund the next day (it wasn't just I didn't get on with it, it was rubbish for £1600) and that's probably the worst, but, like Lozz, I've loved Stingrays when other people play them...I've had three or four, but they're just not me. I've had an Alembic and a Sei, and while not disappointed with them, 'underwhelmed' is probably near the mark. Same with Overwater. Having had a lot of basses, I now know enough about what suits me to not even consider some of my previous 'dream' basses, as I know they really, really wouldn't last long - I'm including Foderas, Statii, Wals and any Jazz clones, no matter how esoteric or Pixie Dust Enabled... And on the upside, that's saved me a fortune... 😀

Aaaaand about three hours after I'd posted somewhat gloomily...we have a gig this Satdy night. It's a biiiig pub, so plenty of room (not somewhere we've played before), reading between the lines I think the landlord is stealing a march on his competitors to be the first in the area with live music. I got the set list through this morning, quick rehearsal tomorrow evening for an hour, more to remember how to set the PA up than anything*, and we're off! 😁 My other half said 'Don't let people get too close', so I had to point out to her yet again that I'm a bassist; social distancing has never been an issue... 😐 * And just run through some middle 8s and endings...oh, and the singist/geetard's 'creative interpretations' of the songs...tho that's never stopped us before... 😐

Well, that's Stacker told...although given that he last visited more than five years ago, I'm not sure he'll take it on board... 🙄

Yeah, we've a few gigs booked for Sept - Dec, but most landlords are sitting on their hands till the 21st...

They could've put it in straight...

It's always the way, isn't it? Within 24 hours of me parping on elsewhere on here about how I don't like painted basses, this is the second one I've seen which makes me think I've spoken wayyyy too soon... 😐 Oh, and that board is fantastic, too...

It's like taking a new Ford out for a test drive, returning it and telling them it's not handling well because there's 10psi in the tyres, and them asking you for a deposit to pump the tyres up...they'd be out of business by the end of the month... Not that I've ever bought a new car. Or a new Fender, come to that... 🙁🙂

Ohhhh, that's far too sensible...I prefer a withering look, with perhaps a regretful shake of the head if they're not focusing sufficiently to register the look.... 🙂

I've mentioned this before, but we played a rugby club a few years ago, and our singist/guitard was using his iPad to control the PA, inears mix, etc, and a hammered girl came up to bellow in my ear (mid-song, naturally; these days I just point to my inears and shake my head sadly) 'Play some Abba!' This to three 50-year-old blokes doing a (fairly eclectic, I'll give her that) mix of acoustic/guitar-based songs*. Telling her we didn't know any was, of course, no use, because she pointed at the iPad and said 'Yes! You do! Play some Abba!'. Oh, and we don't have a set list, so that solves telling someone to fornicate off on that front. Any other requests get 'Maybe at the end', which works a treat; either they've moved on, forgotten, passed out, or we can say 'Oooooo, run out of time, sorry.' And as for the 'Can I play your bass?' one...I've stopped even acknowledging that... * Our favourite (and worrying most common) request is for Tina Turner. I take the time to answer that to point at the singer and saying 'Does he look like Tina Turner?'

There's lots of tales told about speaker cones (Hugh Cornwell says it was (possibly) an 810 ('a cabinet the size of a door') which blew one speaker after another) and the natural High Pass given by a guitar amp EQ, but Martin Rushent must take a good chunk of credit for getting that sound onto the album - it's compressed to death, and I'm sure there was more that went into it...and let's not forget JJ's technique, too...I've chatted to Jon Shuker about it, and he says JJ gives his basses a LOT of grief...in a good way, obv... 🙂

You'll struggle to get that on the bus...

5? 4 are plenty...

DI into the PA and use your current setup as a monitor? Cost = £20 for an XLR...

You know I said I didn't like painted basses? I make an exception for black ones...and now that. Lovely. If I see it by the side of the road I'll pick it up and let you know. Eventually. 😁

Listening to these tracks (and there are some belters), I can't help but notice there's a hefty percentage of gnarly P-basses in there... 🙂

Stick an SVT on top of it, that'll hold it down, then you can enjoy the benefits of a light rig...oh, wait...

We can debate genres and inclusion and exclusion all day, but I'll just leave this here...

I don't have one right now (I've had...a few...), but the sound is what I have. All my basses (mostly Shukers, but even a Dingwall) have been tweaked with Split-P pickups in (mostly) the right position, and in my hands they all sound like aggressive Ps played with a pick. I'm a sucker for nice wood and I don't like painted basses (yeah, shallow as a puddle, me 😐🙂) and slim necks are my thing, so I don't really need a Fender one any more. Having said that, I've got a JJB Precision on the way from Jon Shuker (again, with my preferred neck profile) which will be a P made the way I want it.

Yep, it'll be fine with the single cable...and yeah, the cab'll go ridiculously loud, so unless you (and anyone else in the band) don't have functioning ears, you'll have headroom to spare; my ST will drown any drummer (and more than kept up with two Marshall JCM 100/412 Marshall guitards in a classic rock band) with a 300w (Walkabout) head...

You are John McVie and I claim my five pounds...

Not far off this sort of thing...

I used to work with a chap who traveled a lot as part of his job, his name was Trevor Cunningham. His surname occasionally caused some issues in far-flung foreign climes, but the best was when he tried to check into a hotel only to be told there was no reservation in his name. After a few minutes trawling through the list, the receptionist found it; he'd been booked in as Terver Contninong. So far, so 'probably a language issue'. Except this was in Dallas, Texas.

I take this on the 'why would anyone?' front as a parallel to relicing... FWIW, my Shukerbird has a Shuker logo on the headstock, because Jon put it there when he made it, and there's nothing left of the original Epiphone apart from the body wood and the neck plate...which still says 'Epiphone'...it's a neck plate, why would I change it? If anyone's thinking about logos, 'Fender Precision' is an anagram of 'Reinforced Penis'...just sayin...