Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

msb

Member
  • Posts

    1,583
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by msb

  1. A little time spent playing something and I seem to find comfort.
  2. I’m a sucker for them simply because they look so good. I’ve got four basses with the 3 point , always been able to set them just where I want , but I like the Hipshot. The DC Jr would probably get the first one.
  3. We’ve always had a good local music scene here. In all genres. That also translates to a surprising number of older instruments around.
  4. The Levy company started here in Nova Scotia , they became famous for their straps. I was doing an outdoor show across the harbour in Dartmouth last month and a guy asked me how I liked the case. He had worked up in Antigonish for Levy Leather for thirty five years! And mentioned the leather in my case was beautiful leather. They do make a larger bass case, but they’re pricey. But they are beautifully made , and tough. A friend has been using one every week for well over thirty years now, and it’s still in perfect shape, the wear has given it wonderful patina , and all of the zippers still work like new ones. After around two years mine still looks brand new. I was looking at Levy , Warwick , and Maruszczyk this time around and the best price for what was available was the Maruszczyk. I’m expecting similar quality to the Levy.
  5. My Levy is a guitar case , my Longhorn fits perfectly , and my Gibson DC Jr will just make it , but my others will not . The Maruszczyk is said to be a long scale case , so I’m expecting most others will too. I mostly use short scales these days but still have the assortment of classics one accumulates over the years. The Longhorn and Jr are my two favourite things at this point. So I’m optimistic , my fingers are crossed. I suppose I should have gone around with a tape measure first , but we’ll find out when it arrives!
  6. I have a Levy guitar case my Longhorn fits into , and I love it. I picked it up for about 1/3 of retail on the local online buy&sell. It’s a heavy case , but I love it , and I’ve somehow managed to regularly gig despite being older than dirt. Most of my other basses will not fit into the Levy however , so I decided to splurge. Here’s the Levy case. I’ve been using for about two years now. And it’s made me a believer. It looks like it will be about ten days for the delivery of the Maruszczyk. It will be interesting to compare them.
  7. I’m expecting vintage prices to drop about the time it comes for me to start selling stuff. There’s quite a few young ones coming up though , that have totally bought into the vintage thing.
  8. Battery research seems to to be the thing , heck if they can run a vehicle they should juice up an SVT. I suppose it’s just a matter of time.
  9. I suppose any solid body with a bolt on neck is inspired by Fender. There’s no need to buy the Fender decal , but they do retain most of their value. Some have actually appreciated.
  10. The basses from San Luis Obispo might well be the finest production instruments made in the US today. They’ve been doing more and more quick limited runs at premium prices. As have Rickenbacker. Nice to see Ernie Ball recognize the growing short scale market. These will sell out quickly.
  11. I find the overall sound thinner than a standard four string bass , and it certainly suits some playing styles , but it will not replace a bass for me. People were complaining that the Bass VI strings were too light and floppy , and as it turned out … Fender listened . They now make a set that goes from .024 to .100 . I immediately threw a set on mine and found a huge improvement. I believe Campbell used a Dano VI that belonged to Carol Kaye for that solo , although I’ve seen clips of him doing the song and playing a FenderVI. But who knows , that’s just stuff I’ve read online.
  12. Go for it , but remember it’s the rhythm that drives the song , the widdly stuff is just icing .
  13. I just ordered one from BC , the other end of the country. Black leather bass gig bag , I’ve heard good things about them. Time for a splurge.
  14. After going through three hard shell cases for my Pbass I switched to well padded heavy duty gig bags . That old Pbass looks like it went through the Boer War.
  15. The pickup and preamp in the Stingray are quite unique.
  16. Whenever I see a bass player , just standing up and playing , I usually accuse them of stealing my stage moves.
  17. I ran one of those for about twenty years , never let me down , it was bulletproof! Those rigs are legend for good reason.
  18. msb

    Guilty pleasures

    And another one , a friend asked me to look at a set neck 4000 Ric , and also had an Epi Flying V . I played the V for five minutes and got the Ric. I spent much of the following weeks thinking about that V , and finally called him up. It was still there , and this time snagged it. Some may find the sight of some old geezer in jeans and sneakers with a Flying V pathetic , I’m fine with that. I love the thing (although I rarely take it out , maybe I should change that) It’s well balanced on a strap , it’s not heavy at all. And I love it.
  19. msb

    Guilty pleasures

    That looks Ampeg inspired!
  20. I still manage to gig regularly and Herself has never given me grief about gear purchases. She actually looks on many instruments as works of art. She misses the beauty of cabinets though , and refers to my Bergantino cabs as Lamborghinis .
  21. I first noticed the Yamaha Samurai shape while watching the Guess Who on tv in the mid 60’s. And it stuck. And every once in a while I’d go looking around the internet for one , but I really didn’t want to bother with global shipping. So I guess it was inevitable , when one popped up in Toronto for a reasonable price I jumped. A friend in the US had owned one and described it as a Jazz on steroids , and regretted letting it go . It’s the ultimate Japanese surf bass. It’s a bit like an upside down Ric , I’m ok with that , I love Rics. I got it! The Unicorn was on our local online buy&sell . I dawdled and a friend snagged it , and then he picked up another headless bass and offered it to me. This time I didn’t hesitate. It’s quite surprising. A lovely bass , and I’m ready if I get a call for some 80’s new wave stuff. I normally play old school blues and roots music , these are guilty pleasures , and I really love them both.
  22. I got the Bass VI bug , and then picked up a Gretsch baritone because I was having too much fun. Just the regular CV Squier , at first I found the strings too floppy but put on the heavier Fender VI set and have no complaints , pleasantly surprised by the build quality at the price.
  23. Our most popular local buy&sell is kijiji , and after missing out on a Squier Bass VI I started coming down with the gas , and shortly after found a slightly used one at L&M (the major music retailer here in Canada) . It’s the current Classic Vibe version , my only complaint was the lower strings being a bit too floppy , I heard Fender had put out a stiffer Bass VI set. Made a world of difference , had to slightly file the nut at the E string and re-intonate. Huge improvement. I love it. I mostly do blues and roots gigs so this was not likely to become a gigging instrument , just a guilty pleasure. Next thing I knew I was loading up a pedalboard for it. My wife noted I was spending a lot of time goofing around on the VI. And thought it was money well spent. And then a Gretsch Baritone popped up on kijiji and this time I managed to snag it . The slightly older 5265T model with the Bigsby. Black sparkle finish! Again Herself approved. I see both as very unique instruments , chords on the lower position on the VI will often get too muddy , they positively ring out on the baritone. I can manage to play the VI fingerstyle , but the Gretsch is just a little tighter , it’s going to take some time. Gotta say the VI and the bari have been an interesting rabbit hole to go down. Simple fun .
  24. After buying a Bass VI as a guilty pleasure I thought it might be nice to have a little reverb and tremolo , so I picked up a Fender TreVerb. Then a friend suggested a little gain might be nice , and things began to snowball. My gigs are mostly old school blues and roots music , but this has become an enjoyable goof around.
×
×
  • Create New...