![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/mcbride5.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey2.jpg)
Plug in and go
Another one for the guitar gearheads. UK retailer Play Music Today met with Simon McBride on the recently concluded European tour, and he gave the rundown of his stage setup. Letting us know, in the process, that the Engl Artist Edition amp he plays these days is a lot more closely related to the Ritchie Blackmore Signature model than to Steve Morse’s one. Surprise! Surprise!
Thanks to Gary Lidiard and Mad Hatter for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
They sure do talk fast those two chaps. The Paul Reed Smith guitars are used by so many these days. Such high quality & respect for a sublime instrument. Thanks for this rig rundown, it was rather interesting in many aspects. I just watched a 2023 John McLaughlin interview with non other than Paul Reed Smith himself. A 50th anniversary for Shakti the Indian ensemble of McLaughlin’s for anyone interested, but mostly talking between the two. A little ‘light’ music at the start & at the end & 20 minutes in all for the complete video. Cheers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b52d2hjrs5U
November 15th, 2024 at 06:28Yo,
PRS guitars are quite popular, & used by many pro’s these days for sure. I suggest that the combination of both Gibson & Fender rolled-into-one, with modern appointments is where the appeal is.
That said, players such as Alex Lifeson discovered decades ago that there was no support from either Fender or Gibson in helping-out with gear & supply, even though RUSH was huge & well-known, no-doubt helping in sales, which is really why he played a Stratocaster in the early 1980’s ( after using Gibson’s ) but with the sticker on the headstock removed…He then played PRS & a local Canadian manufactured guitar known as “Signature” & I think alternated between them for a while. He then went back to Gibson, obviously with the support & back-up, & now-days makes his own guitars lol !
Anyhow, the point is that there’s a lot of great guitars out there awaiting to be enjoyed, regardless of a brand-name. No-one makes dodgy guitars any-more, they’re all quite good, stay-in-tune, & are fully adjustable. Of course, some are better than others, but there’s few duds out there that I’ve seen.
Important to remember here that Simon has his guitars gifted to him from PRS.
Adonai !
November 16th, 2024 at 00:15Paul Reed Smith has his own band. Ted Nugent fans from his 70s heydays will find the singer faintly familiar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSKpA69sGDg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9f7ajQMUC0
Derek St. Holmes was a brilliant singer – Ted Nugent’s ego couldn’t take it, the fucking idiot.
November 16th, 2024 at 01:59Yes the PRS guitar seems to be the flavour of the month for many & no doubt for the road travel as well. However it appears certain guitarists still have their trusty vintage Fenders & Gibsons etc & still use them on recordings & when not on the road. Hearing that Gibson that Derek St. Holmes is using there says it all in regards to sound. Cheers.
November 16th, 2024 at 20:54“Letting us know, in the process, that the Engl Artist Edition amp he plays these days is a lot more closely related to the Ritchie Blackmore Signature model than to Steve Morse’s one. Surprise! Surprise!”
Steve’s custom Engl was a sound wonder, but man was his guitar tone über-processed, très americain, like a Nightmare On Elm Street Mesa Boogie. 😂 True, Steve actually used all these sounds and knew how to work with them, but whether with bass or guitar, I personally prefer a plug & play approach, I don’t want to twiddle knobs or go through sounds modes for something to sound right. Steve’s high distortion, compression and sustain also took immediacy from his guitar playing. Which befitted his style as he never played anything before thinking about it in any case.
I really like Simon’s sound and that hike in the mids he has (whereas Ritchie wanted almost zero mids) makes for more raunch and audibility even at lower volumes. Ritchie’s “bass & treble, nothing else” sonic preference for his Strats practically forced him to be earsplittingly loud to be heard to be as domineering in the DP wall of sound as he was.
November 17th, 2024 at 00:08Yo,
Herr Uwe stated…
qt.”Ritchie’s “bass & treble, nothing else” sonic preference for his Strats practically forced him to be ear-splittingly loud, to be heard to be as domineering in the DP wall of sound as he was”…
***RB has stated that all his amps were set with bass & middle frequency dials set to zero, with the treble dial full-up, along with the volume dial, at least in the early 1970’s…This offers the purest sound possible with no filtering present, so you can go louder without the amp sounding like it’s physically breaking-up from speaker-distortion, & you will cut-through the mix & be heard over the rest-of-the-band. We have to remember these were the days when amps were simpler, with only the one channel & hence one volume dial. Your volume was then controlled by the guitar, which is why you often see him rolling the guitars dial on & off frequently. No preset channel switching back then. And mixed availability of front-of-house sound production miked-in, since it was generally used for singing & miked drum purposes only, until things grew & grew & more & more Watts & channels were available. RB, JL & RG had to be loud from their rigs on stage to be heard.
Also, I would suggest Herr Uwe was more hinting at the fact that RB only used the front/neck, & rear/ bridge pick-ups exclusively on his Stratocasters. The middle P/U was fully wound down to facilitate the plectrum not hitting the pole-pieces.
Adonai !
November 17th, 2024 at 23:47That’s not what I have read, Gregster, re the bass frequencies, in fact his later custom Marshalls had bass and treble full up and mids cut totally/the mid control inoperative.
I was aware that Ritchie didn’t like the Strat’s middle pup and never used it. Another sound ingredient with him was of course – much like with Rory Gallagher – the use of a treble booster.
When I hear Blackmore in 80s Rainbow and reunion Mk II, I swear I hear an added bass frequency that sounds like he used an octaver much of the time. Whether that was a stomp box or something built into his amps, I dunno. At all times when playing rock he did prefer a very scooped sound with high bass and treble, but very subdued mids. Within DP, that sonic preference of his made sense for Jon’s middish Hammond sound to squeeze in.
November 18th, 2024 at 15:24Yo,
You’re likely correct Herr Uwe regarding RB’s later preferences with his amp settings. And every stage is different too, so subtle modifications to your regular settings is needed, especially to get FOH sound correct.
I’ve only ever investigated the early Mk-II sound that he had, as that’s when it sounded fantastic, & pretty much original / unique. After this time, it varies album for album to my ears. An interview I have in print from Guitar Player circa 1973 is where I draw my statements from. This interview was titled “Steal, just steal from everybody”, & has been posted in here quite recently.
The Octavier was certainly in use through the Rainbow days, & it’s most obvious at the start of the tune “Difficult to cure” for those needing a reference-point of what the sound is, as recorded at the Budokan 1984 (?), & found on Finyl Vinyl. RB’s sound did get quite muddy & cluttered at times.
Adonai !
November 18th, 2024 at 22:51The Maestro checks out his octaver:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRdBl2_27xA
For the uninitiated, this is what an octaver does, add a lower or higher octave to the original signal:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhVbeVGpZc0
I wasn’t a huge fan of Ritchie using it, I like him as ‘naked’ as possible.
November 21st, 2024 at 01:43Thanks for that Rainbow clip with the orchestra, I have never noticed that anywhere before. I didn’t ever bother with the Final Vinyl release when it was released, Deep Purple MKII had reunited & all was good in the rock world in that regard. Plus I was over the JLT era of Rainbow & little did I know what was to come, ho hum, such is life! A poor choice of songs on that double ‘live’ album also left a lot to be desired. At least the delightful “Weiss Heim” (instrumental) is on there. From what I just read online in regards to the ‘live’ album – “The instrumental “Difficult to Cure” is taken from the final Japanese Rainbow date in 1984 and features a full orchestral accompaniment. The guitar solo was re-recorded and differs from the video release”. Interesting. The drummer Chuck Burgi is demonstrating why double kick drum playing should never be over done & definitely NOT played in the wrong piece of music, especially with an accompanying ensemble like an orchestra. That was terrible with him playing all over the orchestra like that. Otherwise it was interesting seeing that performance after so many decades have passed, thanks again Uwe. Cheers.
November 24th, 2024 at 00:25@10 As far as I know, the solo wasn’t re-recorded, it was edited in from another night.
November 24th, 2024 at 11:06Finyl Vinyl had a couple of doctored live tracks, inter alia MOTSM from the Omni Atlanta. If Ritchie didn’t like how a solo had turned out live, he wasn’t too shy about changing it in the aftermath. Though Ritchie’s a little flawed solos are sometimes his best.
Truth be told, I never cared much for Ritchie’s classical adaptions, Beethoven’s Ninth/Difficult To Cure being a prime example. It sounded pedestrian and ‘meh’ to me. Banalized.
The difference between Jon Lord approaching classical music and Ritchie doing it is the difference between erotic art and porn.
November 24th, 2024 at 20:53@ 12 – as woeful a comparison that I have ever seen. Blackmore did NOT do classical music per se. He was a rock ‘n roll guitarist, period. Jon Lord was much more of a serious ‘classical’ musician than a rock musician as we all know. There is NO comparison. Blackmore’s take on Beethoven’s Ninth & Grieg’s Hall Of The Mountain King are for enjoyment, nothing more & nothing less, biff it up a little for the masses & to enjoy oneself. You might as well go all the way & take a swipe at many other rock or classical musicians who dabbled a little. Why not take a dig at Sky the band? John Williams & Kevin Peek on acoustic & electric guitars. Oh & don’t forget Francis Monkman. Were they being serious then or simply enjoying themselves? What about Curved Air the ‘rock’ band? Are they just having a bit of fun within the rock ‘n roll circus? Come to think of it wasn’t Jon Lord doing just that with DP etc? Cheers.
November 25th, 2024 at 05:14Well put, Uwe. And quite a relief. Even as a young devotee (and boy was I i to everything Ritchie back then!) I didn’t really see the point in Difficult to Cure. I would have loved to play it to everyone with a big smile on my face, finally showing them the highpoint of musical evolution, silencing the critics of the devine one for ever…but in fact I found that piece not moving, the orchestra just pompous, the ideal banal. Plus Ode to Joy had been covered to death before. Gimme Blues from On Stage over that anytime. Fynyl Vynyl was a mess mostly.
November 25th, 2024 at 07:09Finyl Vinyl was “ein unrühmöiches Ende” for Rainbow, Max, a loveless affair.
Herr MacGregor, some of Jon’s attempts with classical music may have been overambitious or even failed, but they were never banal. None of the bands you name have been as trite in their renditions of classical music as Ritchie was with Difficult To Cure, Hall of the Mountain Grill B-B-Q or Swan Lake.
You say Ritchie did it for enjoyment of the masses. So do Rondò Veneziano.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRGxL0_o2ko
I stand by what I wrote: porn. And the one in poor taste to boot.
November 25th, 2024 at 08:11I guess that is why I rate Jon Lord’s ‘Before I Forget’ as his best work then. Bach Onto This & Tender Babes, say no more. I suppose rock musicians shouldn’t go there though, or should they? Lord & Blackmore eh, can’t beat, might as well join them. As to the lower than low grading from you, is that the best you can do Uwe? Cheers
November 25th, 2024 at 19:51Jon has a real feel for classical music, Ritchie apes it. There is a difference.
I have no issues with rock musicians going classical if they do it justice, Herr MacGregor, Bach Onto This is great as is Tender Babes, likewise ELP’s Fanfare For The Common Man which even its composer Aaron Copland liked. And I prefer Jon’s Windows, that totally unwieldy yet brave and ambitious album, to Ritchie’s lackadaisical and ham-fisted reenactment about beautiful gods radio broadcasting joy or whatever these Krauts mean when they sing “Freude schöne Götter funken” in their indistinguishable längwitch … 😁
But something like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l4dApn9AeA
is simply rubbish compared to the original:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSVSlddJMn8
Ritchie is gifted in so many things but playing a classical tune that transcends novelty effect is not really in him. I believe Steve Morse does that a lot better as he has shown in his performances of the Concerto.
November 25th, 2024 at 22:07Yo,
Finyl Vinyl is a scrap-book collection of Rainbow tunes from all eras, both live & studio, as the photographs in the inner-sleeve indicate…And if you were lucky, the album also came with a then relative family-tree poster including pre & post DP A Rainbow roots.
If you have to have only one Rainbow album, this is the one. It also includes “Jealous Lover”, an unreleased gem that would have easily made the charts imo. Big mistake to let it go.
It was a farewell album, & it works well imo. * And we must remember that post RJD era, the studio albums were hit & miss & inconsistent. Finyl Vinyl is not hit & miss, it hits you straight-between-the-eyes yo !
*** And its also interesting to note that as a visitor coming here, the so-called “fans” that are the regulars generally speak volumes about the music they don’t like, so it’s difficult to determine what is apparently good music, since everything is disliked…( Unless of course GH is playing on the track, then its musical orgasm perfection LOL )…Confused…
It may be time to listen to other stuff for a year or two, & then you can appreciate once again.
Hmmm…
Adonai !
November 25th, 2024 at 22:44I’m always surprised that Anglo-Americans who enriched the musical world (with more than a little help from Africa) so much by introducing the concept of GROOVE can simply ignore the fact that Rainbow is rhythmically stiff and static. In all incarnations, Rainbow sounds so Teutonic and rigid in its rhythms they might have stemmed from Germany, which in my book is NOT a good thing. It always explained to me why Rainbow were so (reasonably) popular in Germany, we like Marschmusik.
Is it that you guys don’t hear that or that you simply don’t mind? It’s my core problem with Rainbow, it doesn’t swing or bubble under the surface. Harmonically dramatic, it is rhythmically mostly dead. I can live with the Scorpions or Rammstein being rhythmically dead and static, they’re Krauts who don’t know any better, but with an Anglo-American act it really grates on me.
Blackmore’s Night by the way is like that too, rhythmically static and dead, there is nothing cooking underneath.
November 26th, 2024 at 16:56@ 15 – how could I forget that Don Airey & Roger Glover along with Ritchie did the arrangement for ‘Difficult To Cure’ aka Beethoven’s Ninth. Poor ole Ritchie getting the blame for everything, again. Ho hum, such is life. Cheers.
November 26th, 2024 at 21:50…with the exception of Gates of Babylon, Uwe, arguably their best effort ever.
I still cringe when I think of the stompng end section of Still I’m sad on On Stage…even back when it was released I couldn’t believe you put something like that on record. The opposite of finesse so to say.
Grooovy he ain’t, the man in black. A pity because Stormbringer – the album – showed it could be done to great effect.
November 27th, 2024 at 06:49Herr MacGregor, I accept your point, dilution of responsibility is no excuse, so the co-arrangers and -conspirators Roger and Don are to blame for not preventing the worst as well! Not that they really could, Roger and Don are both fine players on their home turf, but – how shall I put this descriptively? – they both wouldn’t have likely made the shortlist as new members of James Brown’s backing band if you know what I mean.
https://media2.giphy.com/media/WmXaVcRMhvTiM7fTCZ/giphy.gif
Don is a little angular in his playing, Roger isn’t, but he needs a sympathetic drummer like Paicey to really swing and he didn’t have that with Messrs Powell, Rondinelli and Burgi in Rainbow, fearless timekeepers they were.
It was Jon Lord who once said that many rock band and orchestra collaborations fail “because the orchestra is required to do things it simply cannot do, so many sound leaden”. That is exactly what happened with the orchestral arrangement of Difficult To Cure.
Alas!, Ritchie should have taken some advice from his ole pal Jon on how to make a shuffle rhythm swing with orchestral instruments carrying a classical melody, don’t you think?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3aW1pJeddg
Not everyone can (or should try) everything. Ritchie was real good at this, as the German proverb goes: “Schuster bleib bei deinen Leisten”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEaxow3PoO0
Mind you, that song only rallied to kill the king, not poor Beethoven!
http://www.viennatouristguide.at/Friedhoefe/Zentralfriedhof/Index_32A_Bild/B_32A/beethoven_ganz1.jpg
In hindsight, that hospital staff looking somewhat perturbed on the back sleeve of Difficult To Cure were probably all fans of classical music trying to come to terms with what Blackmore (+ Glover & Airey) had done. 😁
http://www.hipgnosiscovers.com/images/496_difficulttocure_lp_uk_rear.jpg
Anybody remember him and that hit of 1970?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTbknyBjYnA
I liked that as a kid.
Later on as an adolescent this version “Come with uncle and hear all proper, hear angel trumpets & devil trombones …” gripped me more, Alex had true style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKmCIJ2l8qc
November 27th, 2024 at 06:50Hi guys 😊
I really need a very good advice!
We have the opportunity to go se Ian Paice and the Perpendicular band, in a town not very far away from where we live.
Have been checking them out on YT, and of course Ian P is phenomenal! But – the rest of the band….
Especially the front singer, oh man he really tries to sound like Ian G, but he does not…
Do you know if they are better than the recorded performances on YouTube? And what do those of you who have seen them really think ☺️
November 27th, 2024 at 10:58😊
You‘re right, Max, the orchestra worked on GoB and the string quartet also on Rainbow Eyes where it really added something.
I never liked Still I‘m Sad. Not with the Yardbirds, not with Rainbow, heavy-handed as their version was. It‘s a novelty tune to me akin to The Stones‘ Paint It Black.
Why Blackmore‘s Night have never done anything with an orchestra is beyond me. It would work with a lot of their songs and likely sell like hotcakes in their usual markets. But Blackers probably shuns the work involved, lazy old sod he is.
When Blackmore is forced to play a solo to something funky like he was on some Stormbringer tracks, the results are often spectacular. Out of his comfort zone, he can really peak.
Ironically, Blackmore is not really against funky rhythms or swapping Roger for Glenn nor always raving about Glenn‘s knack for syncopation would have made no sense. The thing is that a lot of funky players can’t really rock and vice versa. Rainbow rhythm sections with the notable exception of the initial Elf guys were always handpicked by Blackmore to perform straight rock, there wasn’t a Glenn Hughes or Ian Paice among them who could also play funky.
November 27th, 2024 at 13:30Re Purpendicular: Yes, they sound better live than on YouTube, Karin, I have seen them three times. Their drummer is of course excellent. As for the rest of the line-up, it is except for the singer in constant change, but they are always skilled musician who know their stuff.
Of course it’s not like seeing Purple or even the Don Airey Band live, the commitment is missing.
And then there is the business owner, Robby Thomas Walsh, whose singing and stage demeanor I find an acquired taste. I actually think that his David Coverdale is better than his Ian Gillan, he also seems to enjoy Mk III and Whitesnake material more, I believe it’s closer to his heart.
Purpendicular are ultimately what it says on the tin: A tribute act with Ian Paice drumming. If you like what Paicey does, they are worth watching once; whether I would see them for a fourth time I’m not really sure.
November 27th, 2024 at 23:58PS: One thing you can say in favor of them: They sound less rusty and tighter than Reunionbow and their singer has a grasp of what he is singing about.
November 28th, 2024 at 00:06PPS: But none of the zest and entertaining gung-ho’ and over-the-top’ness of Glenn and his Mk III revue – with Purpendicular all is a bit well-behaved and docile + not dangerous.
But then I’m not really a great fan of tribute bands of any ilk, count that in with my evaluation. I’m sure there’s people who think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread and enjoy an evening of Mk I, II, III, VII and Whitesnake classics. That is a mix you don’t get anywhere else, especially not with Little Ian drumming.
November 28th, 2024 at 00:24@25-27
November 28th, 2024 at 07:39Thanks sweetie 😊😘
Now I just have to convince René! He isn’t sure at all it’s worth the money 😄
@25-27
November 28th, 2024 at 07:44Forgot completely:
In ‘She took my breath away”, what kind of bass is Roger G playing? It looks very strange to me! 😊
Karin, I recommend seeing Purpendicular! Over the years I attended at least halfa dozen of their shows and never went home disappointed. I am very much into club shows and here’s a real chance to see Ian Paice at work from a few steps distance. Worth the ticket price alone! Plus they enjoy what they do and add a lot of improvisation and little extras. Ian Paice brought the idea to cover Roadhouse Blues with DP from there I think, they played it as a part of Black Night with Purpendicular. I find their looseness very enjoyable and there is a lot of fun to be had…including a chance to chat to the guys afterwards.
November 28th, 2024 at 09:19@29: A Steinberger L2 Fretless, my dear:
https://www.12fret.com/wp-content/gallery/steinberger-l2-fretlesss-bass-1982-cons/cache/steinberger-l2-fretlesss-bass-1982-cons-full-front.jpg-nggid0518283-ngg0dyn-845x0x100-00f0w010c010r110f110r010t010.jpg
Popular in the 80s, it was a revolutionary design by a US designer and industry engineer (not: musician) named Ned Steinberger consisting of graphite and carbon-fiber, Wiki writes
QUOTE
The best-known Steinberger design is the L-series instrument, sometimes described as shaped like a broom, boat oar, or cricket bat. Initially produced as an electric bass and later as a guitar, the instrument was made entirely of “Steinberger Blend”, a “proprietary” graphite and carbon-fiber mix in two pieces: the main body and a faceplate (the “blend” being an off-the-shelf carbon fiber “system” from the DuPont product line). The headstock was eliminated, the tuning hardware instead installed on a tailpiece mounted to the face of the guitar body. The tuners utilized a finer than normal 18:1 gear ratio, with 40 threads per inch, which gave slower but more precise adjustment and helped reduce string slippage. Depending on the tailpiece, calibrated or uncalibrated double-ball end strings were used, with the former required in order to use the transposing feature of the TransTrem vibrato unit. The rationale for the overall design was the elimination of unnecessary weight, especially the unbalanced headstock, and the use of modern materials, such as graphite, for their advantages over wood. L-series basses came with one or two pick-ups; a high-impedance DiMarzio or two low-impedance EMGs, with the L2 having two EMGs. In 1990, the design would win Ned Steinberger a “Design of the Decade” award from the Industrial Designers Society of America.[5]
The all-synthetic construction gave a very smooth sound and feel, immediate note attack, and very even tonal response. Depending upon the preferences of the listener, this was either a good thing, as it made the instrument sonically clean, or a bad thing, as it made the instrument sound synthetic and unnatural. Steinberger was and still is proud of this dichotomy and one of their slogans was “We don’t make ’em like they used to.”
UNQUOTE
When Steinbergers came out, they sounded like nothing else, unique. Traditional basses were/are made of wood and that always affected/affects the sound, a note would sound different depending on where you played it (unlike on a piano, you can play the same note on a bass in various places, a guitar octave low G for instance at the 15th fret of the E string, the 10th fret of the A string, the 5th fret of the D string or simply the G string empty, it’s always the same note in the same octave, yet sounds a little different every time). They sounded extremely even, a bit like a keyboard bass synth. That attracted some people and turned off others and like many novelty things overstayed its welcome pretty quickly.
From a design perspective though, the Steinberger L models deserve to be an exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC (as they indeed are).
“Paddle basses” that aped the Steinberger “rectangular body and no headstock”-look were extremely popular in the 80ies, German guitar & bass companies Hohner and Warwick being chief producers. These were however made of wood which kind of defeated the initial design idea.
Roger Glover would continue to play a Steinberger L2 for a while with DP Mk V,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alsIx2AfJS8
albeit a fretted one:
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/Zz8AAOSwTZ9c1cOY/s-l1200.jpg
As did Geddy Lee of Rush,
https://preview.redd.it/does-anybody-know-what-this-bass-is-that-geddy-is-playing-v0-480r8s06f3ub1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=a6685544b19e7c6502cb46bed3fcfd02ecca9253
a band with male/INCEL fans mostly, who continue to frequent the forums of other bands, I hence do not want to bother you with them further, as did some long forgotten actor from the first Dune movie:
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/the-police-equipment/images/4/4a/Gettyimages-85846314-1024×1024.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20210622115839
In the above DP live gig vid @39:20 you hear Roger solo with his Steinberger L2. It’s a clean, even and pleasant sound, but a bit boring and doesn’t have much oomph. When the issue of lacking deep frequencies was raised with him in an interview in a German musicians’ magazine around the time, Roger scoffed: “Between Jon’s organ and Ian’s bass drum, what do I need deep frequencies for? It only clutters up the sound!” This from the man who in the 70s played with Martin bins on stage to get the subwoof frequencies from his Rickenbacker 4001 as evidenced on Made in Japan.
Of course, Roger eventually saw the errors of his ways and by the TBRO tour had reverted to a regular-sized wood body bass with a graphite-reinforced neck (best of both worlds, but still a little sterile) from French maker Vigier. He plays Vigier to this day.
And while listening to the audio of that Munich Mk V gig while typing this, I real wonder why we are left without an official live document of Mk V to this day. The band playing was top notch, very groovy and Joe – though no Ian Gillan or David Coverdale in terms of stage charisma – sang well.
November 28th, 2024 at 12:46@30 + 25-27
Thanks so much guys 🤗🤗😘
November 28th, 2024 at 14:02He has just ordered the tickets to Kolding, I’m so excited 😍
He wouldn’t have done it without your recommendations I’m sure!
I owe you some yummy coffee 😃
If Max is a rabid fan, who am I to dare disagree? Go and enjoy.
November 28th, 2024 at 14:15Link for the Dune actor with the Steinberger didn’t work:
https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/imageuploadedbytalkbass1417488614-314862-jpg.516924/
November 28th, 2024 at 16:17@33
November 28th, 2024 at 20:14Ok 😄 I read it as you also recommended the concert 😉
“As did Geddy Lee of Rush,
November 28th, 2024 at 21:29https://preview.redd.it/does-anybody-know-what-this-bass-is-that-geddy-is-playing-v0-480r8s06f3ub1.jpg?width=640&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=a6685544b19e7c6502cb46bed3fcfd02ecca9253
a band with male/INCEL fans mostly, who continue to frequent the forums of other bands, I hence do not want to bother you with them further, as did some long forgotten actor from the first Dune movie:” I will go with the ‘hook, line & sinker’ saying here rather than the modern social media term’ clickbait’, well it is the same thing isn’t it? Karin watch out for the band Rush & all their insidious aficionados. Dastardly creatures they are, marauding, plundering, trashing & and any other word relating to an unholy alliance with the devil and also wanton destruction of planet earth. Their drummer is the individual who writes the lyrics. Work that one out. The other two guys ponce about the place as if they are trying be ‘Bon Jovi’ or someone similar. Avoid the male trap there big time. A very ‘angular’ band (Uwe’s wording) not female friendly at all. As for that other guy from Dune, well the same applies there too, surely. Cheers.
@36
First of all, what are INCEL fans? 😊
Rush?
November 28th, 2024 at 22:58Dear MacGregor, I’m dead meat for the moment! My mind is overwhelmed and I’m so exhausted 😵💫 please enlighten me: work what out?
🤗
Herr MacGregor can be so pleasantly predictable, herrlich! 😈
I was starting to get worried by the lack of reaction to my inflammatory remarks. If you can’t be notable, you should at least attempt to be notorious. 😊
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxDXrewhZsE
PS: How do you clear a disco dance floor at 4 am in the morning when everybody is having a great time?
Play a Rush song. 😬
November 29th, 2024 at 00:05“Ok 😄 I read it as you also recommended the concert 😉”
I was doing my best to be balanced and fair. As I tend to be.
November 29th, 2024 at 00:07I do blame the Steinberger bass guitar for Geddy’s sudden surge of adrenalin in the ‘modern’ era of Rush. 1984 and his running across the stage all of a sudden, ala Bon Jovi & all those other bands. Cringe factor to me, but I would say that wouldn’t I being a ‘stand & deliver’ aficionado. I imagine the lightness & toy like feel of that bass guitar relieved Ged of all that burden of the Rickenbacker, that weight, size & all. Suddenly he was off, free to roam the stage when he wasn’t singing & playing the keyboards. Thankfully Big Al didn’t get too carried away with all that & just concentrated on the riffs & superb guitar solo’s while rolling his eyes at Geddy’s new found fitness regime. Although I do have some memory of Lifeson trying that out a little, occasionally. Karin that is what that dreaded Steinberger bass guitar did to certain musicians, it sent them all a bit ‘wally’, so to speak. We do wonder how Uwe survived though when he purchased one. Cheers.
November 29th, 2024 at 08:15I never bought a Steinberger L2, but I did play one at a music fair once, it didn’t feel cheap, rather like the piece of design ingenuity it is. It also had an extremely intensive sustain. But I have a preference for large basses like the Gibson Thunderbirds and Explorers. Or something that looks like a Napoleonic uniform like the Rickenbacker 4001/4003 models.
That said, as a collector of Gibson basses, I own a Gibson 20/20, a bass Ned Steinberger also designed when Gibson took over his company (Ned wasn’t as good a business man as he was a designer!) in the late 80s. The 20/20, only produced in small numbers, was made of wood though. Derided at the time by Gibson’s more traditional target base, it is meanwhile a collectible cult favorite:
https://www.flyguitars.com/graphics/20-20_470.jpg
Not a toy either. Actually surprisingly heavy (maple) and substantial in feel, also quite long, with an authoritative if slightly clinical sound (active electronics for the pick-ups, I’m not a fan of those). Due to the elongated upper horn of the body they balance better than the Steinberger L2s ever did.
November 29th, 2024 at 16:10“First of all, what are INCEL fans?”
An apt description might be:
Men without girlfriends or wives, who still live with their mother (most Rush fans do) and spent too much time with computer games online, blaming women in general for their state/situation. INCEL is an acronym for involuntar(il)y celibate. Rush fans find it hard to relate to other people (—> autism), women especially. Women OTOH find listening to Rush (—> weird time signatures) often a traumatic experience.
November 29th, 2024 at 16:21@39
Uwe, what kind of music are you playing when you’re playing the bass?
@40
Ok MacGregor, so Uwe actually plays the Steinberger?
Guys please help me, the bass Roger G plays in the very pleasant song “She took my breath away”, what kind is that then? It looks really strange to me 🤔
November 29th, 2024 at 16:42Ok, just listened to a Rush song, really like the instruments playing, REALLY REALLY dislike, noooo that is too gentle: REALLY hate the vocal from the bassist 🫣
November 29th, 2024 at 16:49If he could keep quiet and they could get someone like, ohh I don’t know, maybe Ian G then it would be really REALLY nice 🥰
@ 38 – but surely the males would stay & dance on………………well at least attempt to depending on what song & the time signature. It would only be the ladies who would take offence at the male oriented noisy rock music from Rush. Cheers.
November 30th, 2024 at 03:46@42
November 30th, 2024 at 11:33Oh Uwe, now I remember 🥺
I remember some awful and horrible school shooting in USA, it was a son of a teacher, came to the school where he attended himself and where his mum worked and killed many pupils 😓😓
It was so awful, but with the description you gave of INCEL, I clearly remember the young man described as such.
No worries Karin: There is no woman ON EARTH who likes Geddy‘s singing, well perhaps his mother and his wife do, the man is and always has been a vocal contraceptive.
But Rush fans aren‘t really into reproductive activities in any case, it distracts them from counting out weird meters, comparing Ayn Rand quotes and doing 1.000 pieces-puzzles of Neil Peart‘s drum fortress of solitude. 😂
Xaaa – naaa – dooo …
https://youtu.be/cLi8fTlDEag 🤣
November 30th, 2024 at 14:40What kind of music I play, Karin? I‘ve done lots of things: Hard Rock/Heavy Metal, devotional music in church, Neue Deutsche Welle/ New Wave, Britop, Indie/Alternative, Grunge, Rolling Stones Tribute. Looking back, it was probably most rewarding to play in a Britpopn band and in the Indie/Alternative outfit. You have the most freedom in creating melodic bass lines in those and I like that.
When I‘m not playing in a band, I just play whatever comes to my mind on bass unless I have to practice a new part.
November 30th, 2024 at 19:48@ 41- I thought you owned a Steinberger. I remember joking about it a while ago when they came up in a discussion here, in the sense that at least you could take it with you when you depart this world, it would easily ft into your coffin. I am disappointed to say the least. Maybe that Gibson would fit in. Regarding my ‘toy’ comment I do remember a guy from many decades ago saying he played a Steinberger briefly & it felt a little awkward & sort of cheap, like a toy. Something like that anyway. The dreaded 1980’s strikes again. Cheers
November 30th, 2024 at 21:25A real Steinberger with its strange composite material feels and handles a bit like this guy would:
https://i.makeagif.com/media/7-13-2023/dNC2Wn.gif
“Toy” or “cheap” isn’t really describing it, more “strange” and “out of this world”.
https://bassmusicianmagazine.com/2020/10/one-of-the-most-radical-instruments-ever-made-the-steinberger-l2/
I was never really a fan nor did I hate them, no real explanation why I don’t own one. It’s certainly a modern classic.
***************************************************************************
Karin, to the defense of INCELs and/or Rush fans, high school shooters are a fleeting minority among them!!!
https://preview.redd.it/m5ldqpponk531.png?width=1080&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=4bec613b718f31ae267583325ee7bf3e996adf68
December 1st, 2024 at 02:15@47
The vocalist form Rush is married?!
What kind of hearingaid is his wife using? (🤭)
And tell me honestly: don’t you like Xanadu?
December 1st, 2024 at 07:09Well ok the motion picture wasn’t good at all, but Gene Kelly was roller scating and everything and ONJ was singing beautifully! (Not to mention the songs written and produced by JL: Don’t walk away, The Fall, All over the world and the unforgettable I’m alive!)
(Don’t think bad about me here, Deep Purple is still and will always be my all time favourite)
@48
December 1st, 2024 at 07:14Very nice 👍🏼
No Deep Purple?
@50
Yeah of course, I just remembered where I had heard about the INCEL people 😊
Just like it’s not all Danes who are enjoying Carlsberg Beer 😉
December 1st, 2024 at 12:18But a lot of us really really love good coffee 😍
“The vocalist form Rush is married?!
What kind of hearing aid is his wife using?”
😂 The wrath of the Rush community will be upon you, Danish heks!
************
“No Deep Purple?”
I’ve played songs like SOTW, Space Truckin’, Black Night, Lady Double Dealer and Sail Away live in often impromptu cover bands over the decades, but generally I go out of my way to avoid being put in a situation where I have to play anything DP. In some strange way, it devalues the music and takes magic away from it for me.
I’d feel creepy in a DP tribute band.
December 1st, 2024 at 16:47@54
Oohhh I dare live with the danger! 😅
As long as I’m not a 1000-piece puzzle I don’t fear anything 😁
Oh ok, I do get that!
On the other hand Uwe, the dvd ‘Come Hell or High Water’ in the audience, there was a young man, really enjoying the music, and if I’m not completely mistaken I believe he is the other bassist, next to Roger at the wonderful ‘In concert with the London Symphony Orchestra (Live at the Royal Albert Hall)’! Wouldn’t that be something?? Playing next to Roger Glover himself?
Personally I wouldn’t mind singing next to Ian G (but he might be dreadful sorry and having big troubles covering his ears while he also wants to hold onto the microphone 😂)
December 1st, 2024 at 19:20