Conan

[quote name='grumpyguts' timestamp='1488986746' post='3253518'] How does Mark King do all that stuff and sing at the same time? [/quote] Well, writing the material himself helps of course, but still - amazing coordination and skill. I think the job is actually harder in a covers band as you have to sing and play bass in a number of differing styles. The songs written by (or sung by) bassists tend to be the easiest!

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1488986270' post='3253512'] Nice one Conan. [/quote] I wore out two cassette copies of that Tone Loc album! Brilliant

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MegK4YXKWzw[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95-Sdq2EKrg[/media] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZQQGX24Teg

[quote name='LewisK1975' timestamp='1488905578' post='3252823'] Indeed - Good though innit. He must've been knackered loading all them in and out. [/quote] And hauling lights for a four hour show...

One of the older models of Barefaced Compact would suit your requirements perfectly. Usually around the £300 mark on here too. I run a Little Mark 2 through a generation 2 Compact and I'm very happy with the tone, volume and portability.

That's what a "relicked" instrument should look like! Fender [i]et al[/i] take note. BTW, how to spell the word relicked? Should it have the k? Without it it should surely be pronounced like "released"? Or Maybe a double c? Relicced? Nah, that looks awful. I shouldn't worry myself about such things.

Very odd spacing on the control knobs! For some reason that would really irritate me... not that I could afford one anyway. I owned a four string Jabba for a while, and while it was beautifully put together it just left me slightly cold for some reason. Nothing I could put my finger on, just "not right" for me no matter how much I tried to love it My loss.

[quote name='Jono Bolton' timestamp='1488560122' post='3250081'] Any G&L. [/quote] Got to agree. Some are worse than others, but c'mon.... Then again, back at Fender:

It takes a hell of a lot of practice for sure. I don't feel I've "got" a song until I can literally forget about the bass (letting muscle memory take over) and concentrate on the singing. And that's just doing backing vocals! Generally I find that singers are not very understanding of what it is like to play an instrument and sing at the same time - especially a rhythmic instrument like bass or drums. It's particularly hard if you are playing covers, and especially songs from a range of bands where the singer might be a bassist (relatively easy), guitarist (harder) or just a vocalist (really hard as they often have no concept of rhythm, metre, syncopation, etc.!). That said, one of the hardest vocalists to do when playing bass is (IMO) ironically Phil Lynott! Then again, most of his bass lines were significantly different when played live, so even her must have had that problem!

[quote name='Tech21NYC' timestamp='1488899531' post='3252759'] Geddy has not used amps on stage for years... [/quote] So all these were just for show? Aaawww...

I've noticed similar in Rush videos. Geddy Lee's action seems to be ridiculously low, and yet he really digs in! When I try to set an action as low as that I get terrible fret buzz and choking... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWCVIb_ku_Y

Sometimes, more is more

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1488471487' post='3249257'] Parcelforce.... don`t insure musical instruments. [/quote] Do any of the major courier/delivery companies? Whenever I have read the small print the outcome appears to be the same. They are happy to take the money when you pay for enhanced "cover" though.

That's awful, and it's always a worry when you courier stuff. However, I can only speak as I find and I have used Parcelforce a number of times and had no issues. Maybe I have just been lucky?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3xU0fnjUcg

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1488294401' post='3247595'] I'm weighing up getting some quarter pounders [/quote] I see what you did there...

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1488390032' post='3248567'] Mate of mine has the J&D jazz bass. Said it had cheap hardware and a lousy fretjob. Once he'd sorted that out it was a nice bass. [/quote] There are a few slightly sharp fret ends, but I think it's a bit harsh to criticise the quality of the electronics and hardware in a bass costing just over a hundred quid. What exactly was he expecting?

I would say that £200 would be right at the top end of the range you would expect to pay. Not exactly a rip-off, but £150-180 might be more realistic. Second-hand TE gear is one of the best bargains out there!

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1488412404' post='3248820']I need to be in the right frame of mind as I know it will generate lots of ill-informed flack. [/quote] Ill-informed flak? On Basschat?!?! Surely not....

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1488380136' post='3248434'] You don't seem to have a fretless jazz on there. Get yourself to your favourite bass retailer and solve this problem! [/quote] I know! These people who call themselves "completists"...

[quote name='mingsta' timestamp='1487982716' post='3244893'] Overture 1928 by Dream Theatre. I learnt it fot my friends prog metal side project. There were more notes to learn in that one song than about ten of the regular verse-chorus-verse type songs in my pop covers band. I never really nailed some of the insanely fast runs that myung does. Anyway, certainly made me appreciate the technicality of the peops who play this genre of music. I also find that I have trouble really committing to really learning a song well unless I know that it's going to be gigged. [/quote] Yeah. One of the few songs that I've ever given up on learning in full was their Pull me Under. Most of the song is fine, but the ascending/descending runs in the bridge sections are just impenetrable to me. Someone far more technically minded than me will probably wade in and say "Oh, it's just a myxolydian-locrian heptatonic minor Armenian scale, played [i]andante con moto[/i]" or some such - which will only make me feel worse. The other one I gave up on recently was Rush's YYZ. Not just coz it's hard (which it is) but because I just couldn't be arsed and knew i would never be gigging it!