It was a sad loss to me, Bob 😥 . Although I was only a freelancer (or “stringer”) and it didn’t pay the rent, I got enough to cover costs and generally see live bands and interview the demi-famous without burning my wallet. Nice people, too – they’d have a Xmas party for contributors with a free bar and the editorial staff would brave Camden Market in December flogging off the CDs sent in by the record companies in order to finance it.

I’d stopped working for them before ’99 because of a sprog killing my gig-watching ability. While I was there, they were part of Mirror Group and sold on to Nexus Publishing when The Bouncing Czech fell off his boat. All I could find of Nexus on the Web is that they do some tedious-looking online journals. If Paul Quinn, Andrea Thorn et al ever look in this way (or do that very vain thing of searching for your own name on Google), say “Hello”.

Funnely nuff, does anyone in Blighty remember Making Music magazine? They used to have their annual Reader’s Poll and, seeing as I worked for them, I couldn’t help pointing out to the Ed that “Best Bass Player” top three was always Flea/Billy Sheehan/Nathan East. All good, but coincidentally…
1) No RHCP album in ages, but Flea does feature in vids a lot for a bass player
2) Billy Sheehan, despite being in a band no-one bought in this country, leans against an Ampeg rig on the back cover pull-page ad every month (in stretch denim and black leggings, yeeeuuw)
3) Nathan East, busy touring and not recording, grins out of the centre pages clutching a set of Elites stainless strings.

So I wondered aloud if a lot of six-string bedroom onanists voted for bass players purely on the basis of “If they’re paid to endorse something they must be good” and knew stuff-all about the instrument. Unfortunately, Ed printed the letter, so I might as well say it again and get shot twice 😛

Can you compare Michael Angelo to an average slap bass player?

Also, I think they draw big crowds because you guitarists like gimmicky things (such as Michael Angelo 😆 ) In my experience it tends to be guitarists that really rate the Ego-bassist as well: Les Claypool, Billy Sheehan, Stuart Ham and the like

A good exhibition guitarist like Eddie Allen or Michael Angelo will always draw a huge crowd, clapping and cheering them on, your average slap bass player is a Billy no mates.

Hang on, I’ve mentioned a number of times my dislike of the gdakka-gdakka technibores. If only they could show the same restraint as the usual exhibition-guitarist… 😆

[quote=”Tim”]

(for a bassist at least, why are bass effects more expensive?)[/quote]

Artificially high to keep you lot in check, nobody like’s to hear a bass player on full flange, with Excited Echo, and a bit of Phase Shift with a whiff of ‘Octave Octane Over the top Overdrive’, except other bass players of course.
We went to a exhibition at the NEC couple of years back and there was a bloke playing that ‘Slap’ bass, p’ting p’tang p’tuck p’ting, and he went on for hours.. and hours… and hours.. i can still hear it now,
Bloody bass players 😆

[quote](for a bassist at least, why are bass effects more expensive?)[/quote]
Volume of sales. Bass players supposedly don’t want the same type of FX as the sixers (why not? f’r’instance, I think a touch of reverb sounds great on bass. The player for “Lush” had it added from the main desk at gigs) and different frequency ranges are involved etc. All that re-tooling for a market where a high percentage of players never give the subject the slightest thought.

Similarly, left-handed instruments are more expensive and often not offered with options, interesting colours etc 👿

I think that proves a point, you have to hear these things (very interested in Blues driver) Although I do agree on Boss’s kickability, but for the price of 5 Behringers…

(for a bassist at least, why are bass effects more expensive?)

Ive been replacing my effects over the past few weeks, changing from a Boss ME50 over to individual effects, ive bought mostly BOSS, cos i know the reliabilty and quality is there, also re-sale is always good on a BOSS pedal.
But after i had made most of my purchases i read an article on the latest line of Behringer pedals, it was a very good reveiw and the pedals were only £15 each, so i went and bought a tremelo pedal and a Blues driver pedal, and they are both excellent.

£15 isnt a lot to risk on a pedal, but saying that all the other 4 pedals got dreadfull reveiws.

I did have a Behringer VAMP, which was rubbish, got rid of it very quickly.

Yes, I mentioned in reply to 601’s Q about Behringer. I haven’t got one, but I bought a BTS 600W stereo PA to replace my blown English 400W mono. It piddles all over the English PA, Chinese or not, and cost a ridiculous fraction of the money. I wouldn’t have wall-to-wall Behringer gear, but it’s got to be worth a look.

Like Tim, I’ve made a (forced) habit of buying what’s great value for the money rather than nice logos and street-cred. I wouldn’t turn down the usual big names of course, but there is a certain satisfaction from finding a nice guitar or amp for little money thanks to a bit of research and ear’ole training.

Hey, thanks for the link.

I’ve always seen Behringers for silly-low prices and assumed they were only worth that, maybe look a bit further now.

Also, totally agree with the whole sentiment of your post, my bass doesn’t look great and only cost £200 but the guy I used to play a for (a professional musician by trade) wanted to borrow it for recording. I think the moral is test everything and judge them on what you hear. As long as build etc are reasonable I don’t see how you can go wrong.