Saw this over the weekend: http://williesguitars.com/index.cfm/basses/10/inventory/25
No steal at $1500 but it's near mint and $500 less than a new one. I didn't play it. Still don't like the partially-filled look (under the gloss) but for what it is, it's a nice example and looks better up close than some of the ones I've seen pics of online.
Cool................ I was going to ask if you had tried out his Hobbit, but I see it's on hold............
I like my 50th Bird. It sounds and plays great, and looks pretty damn cool up close. I wasn't wild about the wood grain showing underneath at first either, but now I like the way it looks. They do look much nicer in person than most pictures would lead you to believe.
(repeat mantra incessantly) I do not collect for fins. Or silly fretboard inlays.
i see sheryl crows embassy is up for 6k. industry suck up cooties not included. if i remember i never saw an embassy live or otherwise until i joined the pit. then they appeared in some number with hefty price tags. can someone explain what the deal is with these. thanks. :o
It's a bad mix/mishap of a Thunderbird and Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic.
(http://www.rat-man.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Focus020b.jpg)
It would also balance perfectly in an alternative dimension with negative gravity which somehow limits its appeal in this world.
(http://dailygeekshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/upside-down-nous-avons-rencontre-le-realisateur-du-film-qui-vous-retournera-la-teteUNE.jpg)
(http://www.bluray-3d.de/images/UPSIDE-DOWN-capture-movie-trailer-wallpaper.jpg)
In essence, it's the worst family constellation imaginable to raise two innocent sixties Thunderbird pups in.
Other people - none of them well-meaning! - will try to tell you that it's an endlessly (no pun intended!) cool instrument, the Cheap Trick guy playing it too and all that, and that fastening a batch of helium-filled balloons to the headstock will not only alleviate inherent imbalance but also turn heads at gigs ...
(http://images6.fanpop.com/image/answers/3269000/3269567_1371579049223.68res_453_300.jpg)
But do not let yourself be fooled: This forum has gotten carried away with being "inclusive", i.e. I cannot fathom any miscreation that would not find at least a few disciples/supporters here. Unless it's a World War-I or II-wick of course.
Oh, and yes, I do own one. Poor man's TBird for the (not only chemically) imbalanced. It's enticingly/heartwarmingly ugly. Kind of bass you would see in a Jim Jarmusch flic. Was it John Lennon who said to George Harrison that people only voted for him (George) as their favorite Beatle because they otherwise feared George would get no votes at all? That is exactly the reason why people like the Embassy! 8)
And Frau Crow has had her fair share of bad choices in the past IIRC.
No, Uwe, you don't need this for the finish.
Sheryl Crow's Embassy has been there a long time. No doubt due to the price. May be a consignment.
There was a real clean looking Grabber up on the wall but it was expensive and I've never been interested in one anyway.
Speaking of consignments, Nate showed me one that had just come in, a '64 Precision from Mutt Lange. Yeah, he's a famous producer and Shania Twain's ex, but the bass was a real beater. I wouldn't want anything that looked like that no matter how good it sounded. Yet some relic worshiper will pay big bucks for it.
Waitaminnit, Dave knows who Mutt Lange is?! The mind, it doth boggle. :o
I have always associated him with, errrm, stadium rock, no?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ5bS3_BCDs
That vid brings back memories, and not only of noise-gated snare drums either. It came out pretty much along with MTV and it still shows the Defs as this infectuously and charmingly ebullient youthful unit ready to take on the world - and you believed them too! They are the arch-example to me that a band can achieve zillion-sales-status without a single band member being talented in anything, but the whole being a lot more than the sum of its parts. BTW a characterisation of themselves they have agreed with in interviews. Post-Pyromania, I believe their music suffered from Mutt's overproduction, but I respect them. With one proviso: I preferred Phil "Naked Cowboy" Collen when he still wore leather jackets!!!
Patiently awaiting Dave's reply that he has never heard of Def Leppard ... 8)
Quote from: uwe on July 17, 2014, 09:56:47 AM
Waitaminnit, Dave knows who Mutt Lange is?! The mind, it doth boggle. :o
I have always associated him with, errrm, stadium rock, no?
.....
Patiently awaiting Dave's reply that he has never heard of Def Leppard ... 8)
He's been associated with lots of different types of music and lots of different groups and artists.
Yes, of course I've heard of Def Leppard, although I don't know an ocelot about them. I've also heard of John Cougar, Tiger Woods and Puma shoes. :P
Quote from: Dave W on July 17, 2014, 12:31:57 PM
...although I don't know an ocelot about them. I've also heard of John Cougar, Tiger Woods and Puma shoes. :P
And he ain't lion!
Quote from: uwe on July 08, 2014, 01:43:23 PM
It's a bad mix/mishap of a Thunderbird and Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic.
(http://www.rat-man.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Focus020b.jpg)
It would also balance perfectly in an alternative dimension with negative gravity which somehow limits its appeal in this world.
(http://dailygeekshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/upside-down-nous-avons-rencontre-le-realisateur-du-film-qui-vous-retournera-la-teteUNE.jpg)
(http://www.bluray-3d.de/images/UPSIDE-DOWN-capture-movie-trailer-wallpaper.jpg)
In essence, it's the worst family constellation imaginable to raise two innocent sixties Thunderbird pups in.
Other people - none of them well-meaning! - will try to tell you that it's an endlessly (no pun intended!) cool instrument, the Cheap Trick guy playing it too and all that, and that fastening a batch of helium-filled balloons to the headstock will not only alleviate inherent imbalance but also turn heads at gigs ...
(http://images6.fanpop.com/image/answers/3269000/3269567_1371579049223.68res_453_300.jpg)
But do not let yourself be fooled: This forum has gotten carried away with being "inclusive", i.e. I cannot fathom any miscreation that would not find at least a few disciples/supporters here. Unless it's a World War-I or II-wick of course.
Oh, and yes, I do own one. Poor man's TBird for the (not only chemically) imbalanced. It's enticingly/heartwarmingly ugly. Kind of bass you would see in a Jim Jarmusch flic. Was it John Lennon who said to George Harrison that people only voted for him (George) as their favorite Beatle because they otherwise feared George would get no votes at all? That is exactly the reason why people like the Embassy! 8)
And Frau Crow has had her fair share of bad choices in the past IIRC.
What am I going to do with you?
...sigh...
Yes, the original Embassy is the poor man's Thunderbird. The guts (pickups, hardware, etc) are the same as a Thunderbird, but you can pick up an Embassy for about 2/3 to 1/2 the price of the comparable Thunderbird. It's the Mercury to the Ford. And nobody seems to mind guitar players like Steve Marriott, Johnny Winter (RIP) or John Lennon playing those old Epiphones. And yes, Tom Petersson did play this one. So did Jon Brandt. And our own fur85. So.....there!
(http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b170/gweimer/Gary_5.jpg) (http://s19.photobucket.com/user/gweimer/media/Gary_5.jpg.html)
Quote from: uwe on July 17, 2014, 09:56:47 AM
They are the arch-example to me that a band can achieve zillion-sales-status without a single band member being talented in anything, but the whole being a lot more than the sum of its parts.
They may have intimated the same thing in interviews but the guitarists in Def Leppard have always been a cut (or more) above their contemporaries; Phil Collen more so than the rest of them, though I always preferred Steve Clark, his being the more melodic of the two (not forgetting Pete Willis, who was also good, but even more of a drunk than Clark). Also, unless their first album was completely ghosted in the studio, they were far ahead of anyone around their ages when they recorded it. Later on, Mutt may have made them more pop than the metalheads would have liked but I would say Def Leppard started out a pretty good rock band with very talented guitarists.
I miss Steamin' Steve Clark :-\
I thought he made that band..........
Quote from: uwe on July 08, 2014, 01:43:23 PM
It's a bad mix/mishap of a Thunderbird and Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic.
(http://www.rat-man.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Focus020b.jpg)
It would also balance perfectly in an alternative dimension with negative gravity which somehow limits its appeal in this world.
(http://dailygeekshow.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/upside-down-nous-avons-rencontre-le-realisateur-du-film-qui-vous-retournera-la-teteUNE.jpg)
(http://www.bluray-3d.de/images/UPSIDE-DOWN-capture-movie-trailer-wallpaper.jpg)
In essence, it's the worst family constellation imaginable to raise two innocent sixties Thunderbird pups in.
Other people - none of them well-meaning! - will try to tell you that it's an endlessly (no pun intended!) cool instrument, the Cheap Trick guy playing it too and all that, and that fastening a batch of helium-filled balloons to the headstock will not only alleviate inherent imbalance but also turn heads at gigs ...
(http://images6.fanpop.com/image/answers/3269000/3269567_1371579049223.68res_453_300.jpg)
But do not let yourself be fooled: This forum has gotten carried away with being "inclusive", i.e. I cannot fathom any miscreation that would not find at least a few disciples/supporters here. Unless it's a World War-I or II-wick of course.
Oh, and yes, I do own one. Poor man's TBird for the (not only chemically) imbalanced. It's enticingly/heartwarmingly ugly. Kind of bass you would see in a Jim Jarmusch flic. Was it John Lennon who said to George Harrison that people only voted for him (George) as their favorite Beatle because they otherwise feared George would get no votes at all? That is exactly the reason why people like the Embassy! 8)
And Frau Crow has had her fair share of bad choices in the past IIRC.
I identify with some of what you've posted here. When I was a kid, I probably liked the Fantastic Four more than any other superheroes. Even more important, George Harrison is my favorite Beatle/ex-Beatle. I'll admit the other Beatles were rather good, too. The Embassy is looking more appealing all the time. It does seem like my kind of bass.
Quote from: OldManC on July 17, 2014, 05:24:51 PM
They may have intimated the same thing in interviews but the guitarists in Def Leppard have always been a cut (or more) above their contemporaries; Phil Collen more so than the rest of them, though I always preferred Steve Clark, his being the more melodic of the two (not forgetting Pete Willis, who was also good, but even more of a drunk than Clark). Also, unless their first album was completely ghosted in the studio, they were far ahead of anyone around their ages when they recorded it. Later on, Mutt may have made them more pop than the metalheads would have liked but I would say Def Leppard started out a pretty good rock band with very talented guitarists.
I'm not knocking the Leps. I saw them on their first album tour opening for Rainbow, their singer still baby-chubby. They were a noisy, over-enthusiastic garage band then, but somehow ... charming! A year or two later again opening for Priest. Man, had they beome better (this was before Pyromania)! I thought for the first time that these guys might be going somewhere. Then finally a couple of years later as headliner, post-Hysteria: Stadium-honed, they had morphed into this brilliant pop hard rock entertainment machine. And Steve Clark was definitely the musical highlight. Phil Collen is a disciplined technician, but doesn't have much soul. Plus too often half-naked. Leave that to Mark Farner and Jim Dandy.
I happened to catch the last part of Joe Elliott's and Rick Savage's interview on Tavis Smiley recently. Def Leppard was one of those bands that I listened to in the 80s, but didn't listen to much after that.
http://www.blabbermouth.net/news/def-leppards-joe-elliott-rick-savage-guest-on-pbs-tavis-smiley-talk-show-video/
Pete Willis was a hot shot Schenker disciple. Too bad about the booze. I remember digging "Rock Brigade" and "Wasted" when the first album came out. After that, not so much. I DID pick up their greatest hits a couple of years ago. I think I listened to it once. ;)
I thought Pyromania a damn fine early 80ies AOR album with still some grit - along with Rick Springfield's Living in Oz, Balance's In for the Count, Hughes Thrall, Journey's Escape and Frontiers, Loverboy's Get Lucky and Keep it Up, and Billy Squier's Don't Say No.
With Hysteria, they just spent too much time on it. It was lifeless - as if it had been programmed note for note; it made Kraftwerk sound like the Grateful Dead. :mrgreen: Mutt Lange had stifled them by this point. Those songs sounded so much better when they played them live on stage on the following tour.
Quote from: uwe on July 18, 2014, 10:12:50 AM
With Hysteria, they just spent too much time on it. It was lifeless - as if it had been programmed note for note; it made Kraftwerk sound like the Grateful Dead. :mrgreen: Mutt Lange had stifled them by this point. Those songs sounded so much better when they played them live on stage on the following tour.
Yep.
Speaking of Rock Brigade, dig the flying V bass. Don't see those every day.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE0qIuT2uBs
That's cute. You can hear the Mott the Hoople influence. Elliott is a Mott nerd. And they sure gave Schenker era UFO a good listen too.
my biggest gig was doing video for the Lepps on their 2005 us tour, they are so much better live than on their overproduced recorded output. I agree on the steve clarke/Phil collen comparison, but steve's replacement Vivian Campbell is pretty amazing. the rest of the band never soundchecked, but every day Viv would give us crew an amazing half hour solo blues improvisation show, the highlight of which was often an awesome half speed ballad version of Lizzy's "Don't believe a word" you never really got to see his talent in the show though as he was required to play steve's parts note for note, the only time he was let off the leash was for the last 8 bars of "Love bites" which I would look forward to as he would do something different every night.
and Joe is not just a Mott nerd, he's a full on 70's rock geek, when you get into conversation with him about bands he likes he sounds like a rabid fan not a rock star, I remember him jumping up and down with glee like a little boy when he heard they'd got Cheap Trick in to do support for a few shows.
GREAT band, the Def Leps. Lotsa Hamers too. I think there are some early videos where the entire band is playing Hamers.
I actually have three of Rick Savage's personal custom Hamer 5-strings with his name on the headstocks. Great basses.
I also have a really cool early shot of the original band where two of them are wearing t-shirts of the two radio stations I was a DJ at back during those days from when they stopped by to do interviews.
Marquee Club, spotty oiks, pre first LP... they did a fair amount of support work (Hagar one time I remember) that I saw them play... they were a Northern NWOBHM band so didn't see them that much... got the first single on its second run and had most of their releases up to Hysteria... lost interest... never seen again...
This was still the era of NWOBHM where that drummer bloke from that metal (ica) band also lurked around, I think... he was certainly around the Marquee a lot...
Try and listen to the original single version of Hello America (first official release) and not the LP version (which is OTT production-wise) and this is more like they sounded in those days...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zE9Q2d7ORVU
Saw Girl a few times (Marquee again, plus supports) when Phil Coleen was with them... they were a good live act...
Quote from: gearHed289 on July 18, 2014, 08:46:42 AM
Pete Willis was a hot shot Schenker disciple. Too bad about the booze.
Well, his emulation was then obviously not just restricted to the musical traits of my countryman.