Monday, April 30, 2007
The Mark Hoppus Copy
One of the first build projects I undertook. The concept was based on the Fender Mark Hoppus signature bass that was issued for the Blink 182 bassist. The body is from USA Custom Guitars, who were very accomodating to route the non-standard 'P' pickup in the 'J' body. I chose a nice light blue for the finish. The control plate is a 3-hole, "stack-knob" type. (The "real" Hoppus has a one-piece pickguard, and there is no tone control.)
The neck is a MIM Precision that dates to around 1995, and the tuners were replaced with after-market Schallers. The neck doesn't feel like a typical 'P', and the measurements bear this out: they tell me that it's in the range for width side-to-side, but thinner (and staying thin) front to back. It looks pretty but it growls. The pickup is a rather powerful DiMarzio Split 'P', which provide great tone and very full sound. I find it to be very comfortable to play and the tone control gives a very wide range of... tone.
The neck is a MIM Precision that dates to around 1995, and the tuners were replaced with after-market Schallers. The neck doesn't feel like a typical 'P', and the measurements bear this out: they tell me that it's in the range for width side-to-side, but thinner (and staying thin) front to back. It looks pretty but it growls. The pickup is a rather powerful DiMarzio Split 'P', which provide great tone and very full sound. I find it to be very comfortable to play and the tone control gives a very wide range of... tone.
Friday, April 20, 2007
(Less than) Six Degrees of Separation
The discussion started with Judas Priest and ended with Humble Pie with quick detours to "Dream Weaver" and the pre-Buckingham-Nicks version of Fleetwood Mac. How? Quite easy and simple, or maybe not.
We were talking about "Electric Eye" from the Screaming For Vengeance (1982) album, and how I had once played, and very much enjoyed playing, that song in a semi-cover, semi-original band. We also talked of how this might have been a Classic Album (as seen on VH1), but it turned out that is was another of their releases (Britsh Steel) that was profiled.
While looking at their discography, I noticed a tune called "The Green Manalishi" and remembered that it had been written by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac fame. This live album also contained their version of Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust".
Looking at the earlier Priest albums (that I wasn't quite as familar with) I recognized a song called "Better By You Better Than Me" written by a G. Wright, and I knew I had heard that one before! A quick Google turned up the fact that the G. stood for Gary and this was his pre-solo band Spooky Tooth, a late-60s, early-70s outfit that was largely compared to Traffic for its style of music. I had once owned 2 or 3 of their albums on vinyl, and that song was one of my favorites.
The band went through a huge number of personnel changes in the short time it existed and featured musicians who had previously played with other prominent bands, or would do so after. One of the names that stood out was Greg Ridley, who later went on to play in Humble Pie. Another was Mick Jones who ended up forming Foreigner. One more? OK. Luther Grosvenor, who did a short stint with Stealer's Wheel (and then after changing his name to Ariel Bender) was the guitarist for Mott the Hoople. One last one: Chris Stainton. Look him up and you'll find he's played keyboards with everyone, from Joe Cocker to Eric Clapton.
So there you have it: today's bit of trivia.
We were talking about "Electric Eye" from the Screaming For Vengeance (1982) album, and how I had once played, and very much enjoyed playing, that song in a semi-cover, semi-original band. We also talked of how this might have been a Classic Album (as seen on VH1), but it turned out that is was another of their releases (Britsh Steel) that was profiled.
While looking at their discography, I noticed a tune called "The Green Manalishi" and remembered that it had been written by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac fame. This live album also contained their version of Joan Baez's "Diamonds and Rust".
Looking at the earlier Priest albums (that I wasn't quite as familar with) I recognized a song called "Better By You Better Than Me" written by a G. Wright, and I knew I had heard that one before! A quick Google turned up the fact that the G. stood for Gary and this was his pre-solo band Spooky Tooth, a late-60s, early-70s outfit that was largely compared to Traffic for its style of music. I had once owned 2 or 3 of their albums on vinyl, and that song was one of my favorites.
The band went through a huge number of personnel changes in the short time it existed and featured musicians who had previously played with other prominent bands, or would do so after. One of the names that stood out was Greg Ridley, who later went on to play in Humble Pie. Another was Mick Jones who ended up forming Foreigner. One more? OK. Luther Grosvenor, who did a short stint with Stealer's Wheel (and then after changing his name to Ariel Bender) was the guitarist for Mott the Hoople. One last one: Chris Stainton. Look him up and you'll find he's played keyboards with everyone, from Joe Cocker to Eric Clapton.
So there you have it: today's bit of trivia.
