Guitars, Guitars!

I played a friends 80s Precision fretless on sunday. Sooo lovely. A fretless is my next purchase - then i can do away with musicians!

Anyone played an Ashbory bass?

Regards

Stephen

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Well, I've finally got my previous generation digicam, so here are the pics of my guitars - including my new ES335 - yes, I did it!

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Result, it looks really cool. I've never played one, so thankfully have no idea at all what I'm missing. I'm interested to know what acoustic Clive ends up with…

Tony.

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Anyone played an Ashbory bass?

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No, but I know exactly the thing you mean. It’s a kind of very short scale fretless with nylon strings and some kind of piezo pickup. I imagine it’s a doddle to play in some ways, the string tension will be low, and the action should be easy.

The area I reckon it will prove quite hard to play is in hitting the right note pitch. The shorter a string the less distance between the notes, therefore logically more precision would be require to hit them, especially higher up the neck. Certainly with my fretless I have a far better hit rate of getting the right notes lower down the neck than higher up. It is where the gaps become small that I mess up.

The Ashbory would be an interesting instrument to try out.

Tony.

Do that to my 335 and he deserves to die.

Stephen

Regards

Stephen

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Ever heard the one about the Hendrix Tribute band where the guy set fire to the wrong strat? I.e his beloved original 60's model rather than the pawn shop special?

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I find this kind of thing so funny. Even with bigger bands the guitarist usually makes a rather unsubtle guitar change for the last song, and you are sitting there thinking "ok, that guitar is going to get it later…". Tribute bands are even worse, the guitar that gets it is usually a real shed, often the guy is really struggling to play it, the guitar probably deserves it in these cases. I hate tribute bands.

There was a really cheesy sort of progressive metal / inadvertent Spinal Tap tribute band from Liverpool years back when that kind of thing was even more unfashionable than it is today. The majority of their audience was comprised of people like myself who played in the local indie bands, and went along because their gigs were absolutely hysterical, they also had their own hard core following of people who were somehow immune to irony. They had the lot, 15 minute songs about goats, wizards, druids, etc, fake blood, fire-eating, and ultra low budget guitar smashing. You knew when the guitar smashing was near, the guy had learnt the art of reassembling the bits, so he could often smash the same guitar at a few gigs. Predictably the thing stayed in tune for about 13 seconds, which is not a high percentage of a 14 minute song it has to be said, but that kind of added to the experience. God I miss them… they rocked at number 11.

Tony.

How about some Tribute band names?

Cumbersome, Fake and Trauma?
0151? (For Tony...seen Becky yet?)
Hard of hearing School?
Teardrop wets my knee?

Stephen

[This message was edited by Stephen Bennett on TUESDAY 29 January 2002 at 15:07.]

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humbucker style guitar though. Not sure what to get - but it wont be a real Gibson 335 unfortunatly. Not keen on Les Pauls - lovely guitars but heavy & too 'rock' for my taste. I want feedback at '2'

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Not sure what that says about me!

Stephen

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For Tony...seen Becky yet?

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No, not since you asked. Good that her name cropped up with all this talk of fretless basses. Becky is an excellent fretless player, she never plays for effect, in fact most of the time you would not realise she was using a fretless. As far as I know the fretless is her only bass (its an Aria SB1000). I remember years back the band I was in doing a gig with Benny Profane, I also had at the time a SB1000, and I snapped a string, so I asked could I borrow hers - I had absolutely no idea the bloody thing had no frets (it has fret lines, so at a glance looks like it has). I made a right bloody racket that night…

Dead Cowboys haven't played for ages (even by their standards), and whilst the guitarist (Greg) is a regular weekly drinking buddy, Becky seems to have gone to ground a bit socially after having one of those baby things last year. I will ask Greg when they are doing anything next.

Dead Cowboys are one of those bands who are in a happy state of semi-existance, they hardly ever rehearse, but sound great when they gig. They really are a good live band. The CD is pretty good, it got 4 stars in Uncut, so its obviously just one star away from being perfect!

Check out www.deadcowboys.com

Tony.

Rico, You must try a Rickenbacker 4001. On mine it had 'Rickosound' on the stereo output socket Ricobass = Rickosound....

Maybe we should have a Naim Forum bass players convention?

Bob (The bass)

Thanks for the link Tony - Becky baby? Yikes! You wont see her till it's 16. I had a listen to the DC previously - Scouse country - whatever next?

Low notes rule

Stephen

PS Tony - nice floor.........

Tony, it is a neck twist rather than a truss-rod thing. I have intentions of taking it to a guitar repairer in the future. Pete played it a week or so ago and found it easy to play, and liked the action... and although he didn't rave about it in the same terms as his old Ibanez after your setup, he seemed more comfortable playing it - I guess the twist isn't bad.

Bob

I dig the 4001's clicky sound. And of course, then there's one of my bass nutter heros to mention...

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

My new 4001 cost me £295.00 back in '73 the semi acoustic was about £230.00. My first LP12 from the same year cost £69.00 ( not a typo! ) Those were the days.......

Bob..

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

Rico - SM/Mullet Audio

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calling Mike Hanson

and speaking of fretless, Mike Hanson are you still playing yours?

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Yes, I still plunk away on them, although I'm just a "groover" (i.e. I don't know what I'm doing, but I try to add to the groove of the song without screwing up too much). My best friend is a much better bassist than I am, so I've been letting him do most of the playing for our recording sessions. When we just jam, though, I still enjoy taking my turn (while he flounders on the keys ).

I just happened to check back in with this thread because I was considering getting an electric guitar. I've not managed to retrieve my Hohner Telecaster copy yet, and even if I do I know that it won't be suitable for all of the guitar work that I would like to do.

What's a good, versatile guitar that I can add to my stable, preferably something that can change its sound to match my needs? There are so many guitars out there, that I don't even know where to start.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

[This message was edited by Mike Hanson on TUESDAY 12 February 2002 at 20:53.]

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What's a good versatile guitar that I can add to my stable, preferably something that can change its sound to match my needs? There are so many guitars out there, that I don't even know where to start.

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I firmly believe in buying guitars using the right side of the brain not the left, a guitar is something to be loved not analysed. Using a very analytical selection process will almost certainly result in a more than slightly bland ‘jack of all trades’ instrument. Guitars are like vintage synths (another subject close to my heart), the things that make them great are actually the things that are “wrong” with them, the imperfection is the character. Bring on the imperfection.

Assuming your Telecaster copy actually sounds something remotely like a Telecaster then you have something of the Fender single coil sound – bright, thin, pure and jangly. The exact opposite of this is the thick solid warm sound of a humbucking pickup, think Gibson Les Paul or SG. There are many guitars that attempt to combine both sounds on one instrument, but incredibly few that I personally like (Shergold Masquerader!).

I fall very much into the “find a good sound and make it your own” school of guitar shopping – my basses could not be more simple with their single pickups and simple volume and tone controls, they don’t have much tonal variation, but if the sound is right in the first place why worry?

I would advise that once you have tried a few out and discovered a sound, feel, and look that you like that you buy the “real” instrument second hand rather than a cheaper copy. A well chosen guitar will easily keep pace with inflation and is a nice thing to have lying around, so if you fancy a Strat, Les Paul, or Rickenbacker, or whatever, then buy the real thing, not a clone. Ebay looks stunning for people in the US and Canada who want a great guitar.

Go find the right one…

Tony.

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Assuming your Telecaster copy actually sounds something remotely like a Telecaster then you have something of the Fender single coil sound – bright, thin, pure and jangly.

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The guitar player in my band of twenty years ago had a "real" Telecaster, and I liked the sound of it. That's why I bought the copy, and it does sound very similar. The next guitar my friend got was a Gibson Les Paul, so that he could do the "rockier" stuff. The two guitars definitely had different personalities!

Lately I've been falling in love with the look and sound of big-bodied, hollow electrics. I'll have to try them out to see what they're like.

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I would advise that once you have tried a few out and discovered a sound, feel, and look that you like that you buy the “real” instrument second hand rather than a cheaper copy. A well chosen guitar will easily keep pace with inflation and is a nice thing to have lying around, so if you fancy a Strat, Les Paul, or Rickenbacker, or whatever, then buy the real thing, not a clone. Ebay looks stunning for people in the US and Canada who want a great guitar.

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That's good advice. I picked up both of my basses on ebay, for pretty reasonable prices (about $150US for the Ibanez, and $200 for the Steinberger). I'm considering a Ricky 4001 right now, and I'll probably sell my Ibanez fretless if I get it (since my Ibanez sounds a lot like a Rickenbacker, just not as good). I've always loved that snappy sound in a bass guitar. If it's a fretless, I prefer a more subdued approach, and my Steinberger does the business in that department.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Thomas

I also scooped a Godin LGX on eBay, which should be arriving on Monday. Here's a picture from the previous owner:

It's a beauty! I love the sound of the LGX: very full and complex, much like a Strat. It's also got that "electric acoustic" feature, which I'll have to play with to see how it sounds.

Now I have to practice my bass and guitar playing more. Speaking of that, I recently got some software called Band In A Box. Astonishingly, it can play music in a "natural", improvised fashion. It's great for boning up on playing with the various styles; you don't have to get your buddies together for a jam session. If you're interested, check out www.bandinabox.com.

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

Speaking of desirable guitars, I'm also interested in some kind of hollowbody "jazz" guitar, like a Gibson 335 or maybe a good copy from Silvertone. Again, I'll wait until I can play it better (unless I happen upon a deal, of course ).

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

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Now I'm trying to decide whether to keep my Ibanez fretless. The tone is alright and it's great for slapping, but the intonation is currently atrocious. I don't know whether a setup would help it enough.

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Slapping (on an Ibanez fretless)?!?

If you've changed string gauges since the bass was last properly set up, the bridge will need an adjustment to compensate for changes in diameter (check to make sure that all strings seat properly in the nut, if using a heavier gauge than "stock"); any other problems related to intonation are in your hands (quite literally).

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Slapping (on an Ibanez fretless)?!?

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It's really quite silly. I know twat all about slapping, yet when I pick up this bass it just starts happening. With most basses I have to find a "sweet spot" to do the slapping, but this one allows nifty, percussive effects almost anywhere.

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If you've changed string gauges since the bass was last properly set up, the bridge will need an adjustment to compensate for changes in diameter (check to make sure that all strings seat properly in the nut, if using a heavier gauge than "stock")

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Actually, I've never changed the strings (even though I've owned the bass for over a year). I purchased it around the same time as my Steinberger, and I always liked playing the Steinberger more. Coincidentally, I was just playing the Ibanez, and I noticed that the strings shed myriad bits of black "dust" onto my fingers. So it probably needs a new set of strings badly! However, I don't want to put any money into it if I'm about to sell it. I'll wait to see what the guitar tech says, then make my decision.

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any other problems related to intonation are in your hands (quite literally)

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Although that's theoretically true with a fretless, I'm still at the point where I use the fretlines as a guide. When you check the open string, its octave, then its second octave above that, there's an extreme difference between the middle note and the outer two. (Curiously, the open string and second octave are quite close.)

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

BTW, I broke down and bought a Gibson Epiphone ES-335 Dot on eBay. It plays very well, and it looks lovely too. It's a whole lot cheaper than the 60's vintage Gibson that I had my eye on (although it's not quite in the same league).

-=> Mike Hanson <=-

[This message was edited by Mike Hanson on FRIDAY 12 April 2002 at 08:48.]