simon1964

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1083998' date='Jan 10 2011, 10:39 AM']Classic Vibe 1 million to 1[/quote] Agreed - If you're looking for a budget Fender derivative the CV beats everything else hands down IMO.

[quote name='51m0n' post='1084000' date='Jan 10 2011, 10:41 AM']I wouldnt rule out Markbass if I were you though, they are proper loud and sound exceptional to my ears....[/quote] +1 to that.

I love the Smiths and I've finally persuaded my covers band we should do a Smiths number. Somehow, we've ended up doing "What Difference Does it Make?", which is possibly the most straightforward (dare I say boring) bassline of any Smiths song! Even so, it fits the song perfectly and has a great feel to it. This Charming Man will have to be the next addition...

[quote name='sshorepunk' post='1075596' date='Jan 2 2011, 06:52 PM']All done! All I can say is amazing! The bass sounds so much more crisp and lively! and the mid sweep gives a good increase in tones available! Tony[/quote] Agreed - fitted one in my Stingray, and they are incredible bits of kit!

[quote name='bigthumb' post='1075086' date='Jan 2 2011, 10:44 AM']I wonder if anybody buys their [i]Signature[/i] basses? Most of them look dreadful and probably cost the same as a family car![/quote] Agree on most of them, but the P-nut signatures look fantastic.

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' post='1074740' date='Jan 1 2011, 08:40 PM']I've noticed in the technical data that it says that they recommend two nine volt batteries, are they battery hungry, do they last? Or is one battery ok, two overkill? I've got them in mind for another twin neck and it could be a costly beast to keep on the road![/quote] I only use one, and hardly ever have to change it. Two would be overkill IMO

[quote name='cameltoe' post='1074642' date='Jan 1 2011, 06:59 PM']Any advice on trying to get some recognisable tones from this thing would be good too. I can get a sort-of Stingray sound from it, but can't get it to sound like a Precision, it's always too grindy. If I could, I could use it in place of the P from time to time. Cheers![/quote] I find I can get a good P tone on mine by using the neck pickup in passive mode, set to series, with a bit of treble rolled off.

I've got an active EMG P pickup in my 70s reissue. Personally, I like it. It sounds like a Precision to my ears, but with a bit more clout, and a bit more definition. Its not a vintage P tone, but is closer to the tradition P tone than, for example, Quarterpounders (IMO!).

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1067515' date='Dec 23 2010, 09:58 AM']Not totally, but it's VERY random around that time. Dots and binding is 99% likely to be 80s though...[/quote] +1. The other thing to remember is that the S8 only dates the neck. Fender notoriously had a lot of parts which were being mxed and matched into the eighties, so to an extent the date is subjective. Is the date the year the neck, body etc were made, or when it was all assembled at the factory (pots often date later than the neck/serial), or even when it was sold in the shop?! Frankly, assunming its genuine, its safest to describe it as an S8 serial Fender, and buy it on the basis of whether its a nice bass rather than getting too hung up on whether its '78 or '81 or somewhere in between.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1067375' date='Dec 23 2010, 01:09 AM']Well the neckbinding being normal the dot inlays were a custom order..And the Barts were fitted mid 80's.. The neck pocket is stamped J Torrin, who i believe made great jazz necks at that time...[/quote] Are you sure its not J Torres on the neck stamp? - he seems to be the name most Fender buffs talk about from that era. If its genuine, this is likely to be early eighties as others have suggested. The serial number is at best a guide to the year from the late "S" serials onwards. By the early eighties Fender were mixing and matching a lot of different stock parts, and the gold hardware suggests early eighties. Personally, I would be very surprised if the Barts were fitted as standard though

[quote name='bassatnight' post='1066697' date='Dec 22 2010, 12:38 PM']A very underrated band who a lot of people have covered, much like another great underrated band Talk Talk.[/quote] Definitely, and Colin Moulding is a very underrated bassist too.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1063319' date='Dec 19 2010, 10:52 AM'][url="http://www.flickr.com/photos/musicstorelive/5269190968/in/photostream/"]It's a bit Happy Shopper in places[/url][/quote] The binding is only on the body wings on Ric basses, not on the heel of the through neck, so this is correct for a genuine Ric. It looks OK with a stock Rickenbacker bridge, as that extends down to the bottom of the body. It looks weird here because of the Badass bridge which has been fitted.

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='1065294' date='Dec 20 2010, 11:41 PM']DR Sunbeams are my first choice strings but if I have to buy local, it's Ernie Ball Slinkys.. Not as good as the Sunbeams but IME, if you like the DRs you'll like the EBs.[/quote] +1. EB Slinkys are excellent nickels, and often overlooked IMO.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='1056878' date='Dec 13 2010, 01:33 AM']I can contribute to this thread by saying, one of the local music shops in nottingham had/has a Bolin... however, I never played it.... That is all![/quote] Yep - Music Inn on Alfreton Road. I've not been in there for a while, but its been there a long long time if they've still not sold it. Huw from the Beer Monsters (Nottingham rock and blues band) plays a Bolin five String, but its the only other one I've seen in the flesh. Very nice it is too.

[quote name='RhysP' post='1055881' date='Dec 12 2010, 11:56 AM']"S" prefix starting with a 9 puts it at mid 1980 at the earliest - more likely to be sometime in 1981.[/quote] Actually, S9***** is a much wider period than that. It could be anywhere from late 78 to 81 - see the info on the Fender website here: [url="http://www.fender.com/support/usa_instruments.php"]http://www.fender.com/support/usa_instruments.php[/url]

Another +1 for Jon Shuker.

I play about 50/50 pick and fingerstyle. I do tend to dig in harder with a pick, and get more volume. But that is mainly down to the fact that I tend to use a pick where I want a harder more aggressive stacatto sound to cut through. I actually use two types of pick. Heavy tortex for a percussive sound (think JJ Burnell or Bruce Foxton). But as you say, that can sound "scratchy". For something less aggressive I would recommend the Jim Dunlop Nylon picks 1mm guage. You still get the extra attack of a pick, but with a bit less trebly twang. I've never really thought about how hard I hold the pick, but I guess I do hold it tight enought for there to be little or no give when I hit the string. Again, that's probably because I use a pick if I'm looking for a more percussive sound.

If you're mainly wanting chorus, compression, and tuner, the Boss ME50b is worth a look. And I think it has an aux in. Very easy to use and set up, and an easy to use tuner. The weakness on the Boss are the overdrives which IMO are not that great.

[quote name='Johngh' post='1050472' date='Dec 7 2010, 01:11 PM']I'm glad this has come up. I looked into a national bash last year, and had the idea of inviting a few "names" along. One of the problems is obviously they will want a fee. And the problem will be covering the fee's if not enough members turn up. I think I'm right in saying that the Basschat coffers arn't exactly overflowing ( Ped will duff me up if I get this wrong) so who will pay the difference if we don't make enough dosh. I'm not trying to put the dameners on it by any means, I quite happy to get involved in organising this if we can get it up off the ground. If you charge say £10 a head entrance it may do it. I was looking at venues near where the M1 joins the M69. The A14 junction isn't that far away from there as well.[/quote] I would definately be up for a National Bash. The M1 / M69 junction is a pretty good shout for people travelling by car, but would be difficult for public transport - presumebly Leicester is the neareset major train station?. You might be better to look at a venue in Leicester, Coventry, or Birmingham itself?

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='1049635' date='Dec 6 2010, 05:35 PM']there's the Nottingham Bash, and I think there have been some in Scotland?[/quote] There have been 3 in Nottingham now. The last one just a couple of weeks ago, organised by Tait. There are pics on the thread somewhere. I also went to the Yorkshire Bash in Harrogate earlier this year, which was an excellent day.