Grooverjr

But he is also just one letter away from being a winter olympic sport! Like my mate Ike Skating

Wikipedia confirms. I saw him play several times when he was in Lush. Can't remember him...must have been looking elsewhere on the stage.

Could any shed felters name the bassist from Felt? I'm going for the one on the right

I've finally got round to taking a couple of pics of what was, one upon a time, my first bass. It started life as a standard 1982 (I think) black MIJ Squier Jazz. I got it in 1988 when my dad bought it for me. I was 14 and in my first band doing your standard blues and rock covers but I loved JJB so while it wasn't a P at least it was black. Mod 1: Paint Graduated from that to a thrash band in 1990 (I think). Their old bassist was very good, fingerstyle and I was not so good and mostly pick so there were uncomfortable Burton / Newsted comparisons in the air. What to do but style it out? I had a friend who was pretty artistic and she said she'd custom piant my bass. I had no money but I did have a few pots of paint from the old days painting my Dungeons and Dragons figurines so I gave them to her, along with the bass and a couple of stencils that came free with a PWEI 12 inch and some of my favourite comics. She came up with the genius idea of pouring the paint on then using a matchstick to scrape it off and leave the black showing through. Unfortunately, she also took forever and I had to take it back for a gig before it was all done so there is an unfinished Freak Brothers by the neck pocket - poor old Franklin never got his hat. It also got some dings and scrapes along the way but I still love the effect today and it reminds me of being a teenager. I'd say it's likely to divide opinion and most people will probably hate it but I'll bet there's nothing else like it anywhere. It also goes well with the floor in the pics! Mod 2: Pickups I didn't play from about 1994 to 2020. Too busy moving around all over the place. Come the pandemic, my son was bored and I remembered that my old bass was still in my Grandma´s loft. I dug it out and amazingly, given it hadn't been in a bag or box, it was still in pretty good nick. Local luthier gave it the once over, new strings and my son's going to become the bassist I never was. Except he put it away after about a week, so I picked it up and started noodling and re-caught the bug. I got hold of a little amp and soon realised the old pickups were a bit weedy so got some Quarter Pounders and now it was making a proper noise, especially the neck. It also reduced the buzz somewhat. Mod 3: Neck and Hi Mass bridge. Tried a few other basses, started learning how to play properly and realised that, for me, a J neck is just too cramped at the money end. I also really love the look of a roasted maple neck. A roasted maple P neck came up on BC so I bought that and a hi mass bridge and some new tuners while i was at it. A couple of the old tuners had bent being whacked against things like van doors, ceilings, amps, the rhythm guitarist's head etc. When I took the old neck off I found a little sliver of wood taped into the pocket which must have been the factory shim. When I got the P neck in, it took a lot of playing around to get the action right. I even took it to a local luthier in Mexico who made it worse (it came back convex) and charged me for the privilege. Eventually I realised that lower tension was the way to go and dug out an unused set of rotosound tapewounds that I ended up not using on another bass. The nut was already cut for some very beefy strings so they sat perfectly and I was able, with a bit of shim cutting and lots of truss rod jiggery pokery (heel adjust truss rods - just no!) to get the action decent at about 2mm at the 12th fret. And now, it's the perfect old jazz and reggae bass. It makes a lovely noise and plays very nicely. The action being a bit higher than I would normally have helps with some upright slappy noises (technical term) and neck pickup with a bit of distortion gets a nice Flabba vibe. It's not light but it stays at home so no real issue with that. It's literally just the body, wiring and pots / cover (took the nobs off when the paint was done) that are original. Obviously not up to the levels of most of the mods in this thread but it's changed with me and I love it just as it is.

That's definitely a coloured pickguard. I'd say get the bass you want and have it painted by an artistic friend. That way it's unique and you can have whatever you want incorporated into the design. I have a bass that was pianted using paints for lead figurines 30 years ago and it's still good. Not Rasta, defintely not 'pretty' but I'd bet it's the only bass that combines PWEI, Freak Brothers and Epicurus the Sage and I wouldn't change it for the world.

I can only dio 5. Don 'Felts' Felton: Northumberland's finest Andres Terciopelo: specialist Mexican cartel tunnel felter, but he cut his teeth on the sheds of Monterrey - all three of them) Shedrack: Biblical felter, thrown into the fire for refusing to see to Nebuchadnezzar's garden man cave. Vanessa Feltz Mark 'Shedders' Shedford: did all the sheds for his Madness bandmates. I heard Suggs had a particularly tricky multi-storey one.

He's alright, yeah. Squire, on the other hand, could hardly look more bored! If people have paid the least you can do is pretend to be interested. Liked the song, though, and was not aware of the album so I'll go and have a listen.

While you're there can you check for my glasses? They're never where I left them either 😀

As others have said it's easy enough to do with Fender / Squier as the necks are basically the same. I bought a Fender P neck to put on my old Squier J and it does fit but it has taken a lot of mucking around to get it to set up just right so it would.probablu be wiser to avoid the old.atyle.heel adjust truss rod if you are going that route. I love the result, though. Plays great and no.noticeable.increase in neck dive

I don't think anyone has mentioned Rock DJ by Robbie Williams yet. Sounds like the cleaner was playing around on the desk and they came in in the morning and went "f*** it, that'll do. Robbie, can you mutter some shit over the top and let's rinse those idiots for as much as we can get". It also spoilt what was potentially the greatest piss ever after 5 hours stuck on a bus. The relief, the joy, but wait a minute, what's that on the tinny speakers? Rock f***ing DJ. In a small Bolivian bus station. I couldn't get away from it! And that is why, although there are many others that I deeply dislike, including plenty mentioned here, only Rock DJ rises to hate. It's personal. Oh, and Reggaeton. That whole thing can just die, immediately. Nonsense with absolutely nothing to redeem it.

One of my favourite Stranglers tunes. My daughter thought it was "a toilet seat" when she was about 5! I'm not sure if the story that A Flock of Seagulls got their name from this song is true, but it would be a very weird name to come up with otherwise.

Was that the name of the band? 😆

As someone who only found BC in 2023, I missed this the first time around so have just spent a lovely half hour reading through this thread. Along with Ozrics, my two most favourite long term bands. I have never stopped listening to them since I was in my early teens, whatever else I have been listening to, which has been very varied. Saw them when I was 4 at the famous Battersea Park gig and then my mate's brother in law got us into them seriously when we were 12 or 13. Saw thm twice in the tour to support 10 (overlooked album for me - Never To Look Back and Too Many Teardrops are great) and JJ was immense. I was a total JJ fanboy and he was why I started playing bass and why I only played with a pick for years. For me, Black and White to Feline is one of the most consistently creative periods of any band. Even Gospel has its moments and if you've read the Song by Song book there's a lot more to hear. Fully agree with the comments about Hugh's guitar work. Lots of humour in the lyrics as well, and you can actually hear what they are, which is nice. Over the years I've come to appreciate the way the songs are quite basic structurally but the way Hugh, JJ and Dave work around that basic structure and the note choice is endlessly fascinating. I get that people would not say they're prog but I suppose the point is that they were always more adventurous and broader in just about every way than the punk they were labelled as. Never bothered me what they were labelled as, they're just a great band who tried stuff. Didn't alway work, but then Prince made some dross as well! IMO it only ever worked with the original 4 of them. Post Hugh even my JJ love can't make me like it and Hugh's solo stuff is similarly lacking. That's my Friday night sorted - backwards from La Folie and see where I get to!

Tim is a lovely chap. Bought a bass from him and he was really responsive, clear, easy to deal with and kept me informed the whole way. Like the stealth packaging as well! 100% recommended from me, top stuff.

I think that's unfair. Scott has become a real pillock over the years (Dude) but I find Ian quite endearing and his enthusiasm is infectious. He also gives some pretty solid advice and teaching.

I will not look at the new website, I will not look at the new website, I will not look at the new website. Who am I kidding? Of course I will look at the new website😁

I agree. Even if just to look at and remind you of old times (the good ones)

I am now back at home and finally had a chance, through the jetlag, to have a proper noodle last night. And, unsurprisingly, I absolutely love it. This preamp is a lot more natural to me than the filter version I had on my Skelf and the pup combo works really well. It makes some truly lovely noises and there are lots of tasty sounds that combine real low end weight and proper snarl. Also loving the 33 inch scale which is really comfortable without being cramped.

That's a cracker. Great job. Always nice to see when a lovely old instrument is kept alive.

Lovely finish, indeed. The tonal range of a passive ACG is something special.

It is an investment, for sure, and I had to drop a few things to make it happen, but I see it as a lifetime commitment to beauty, craftsmanship and pure playability. Had it not been a significant birthday I don't think Mrs Groover would have been as relaxed about things.

Rounds - Newtone Diamonds. Sound great out of the packet, last well, good price, supports a small manufacturer who is also a decent bloke. Bad side is they are mostly made to order so not great if the gigs are soon.