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Andy Lewis

@andylewis.bsky.social

1.7K followers 340 following 5.5K posts

Music producer, bass player, DJ. Soho Radio presenter. Weller band alumnus. Helped invent Britpop.

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Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · Nov 17

“Clear off, Lewis. No-one wants to hear what you think” says a bitter looking pilot officer in another Commando comic strip

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 37m

Looks like the paint is chipping off as it is. It is the kind of job a guitar restorer might be able to do in a trice with the right solvent and tools.

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 43m

They are amazing basses. But heavy, expensive, amazing basses.

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 47m

Still useful in the 21st century.

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

An A10 Warthog of a bass. I keep meaning to pick one up but they've got too expensive now.

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

-ghastly hideous noises of nuclear war, if that's what's required, which the Typhoon can't do. I mean, you can't play Two Minutes To Midnight by Iron Maiden on a WAL. You can on a Rickenbacker.

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- The British involvement may only have been Rotosound strings on it, but my Rickenbacker 3001 was the sound of my Britpop years. And so it is with the F35. It's a lot more versatile and cheaper than trying to make the Typhoon stealthy. Also, the version the RAF want to buy can make the-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- a Rickenbacker 3001 that someone's made out of transparent acrylic. Versatile, stealthy, expensive... but if you could afford one you'd get one, let's be honest. With the right outboard you could make it sound like pretty much anything and work in any style of music you like. -

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

-(Stretch Armstrong's got nothing on this) when bass synthesis became really good. You can hear the bass but you don't know where it's coming from. The US had invited the UK to get involved with developing a thing that became known as the F35. In the world of bass guitars, this is -

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

-you'd bloody well hope that something you'd spent a whole load of money on would do the job you wanted it to do. Anyway, it meant that the RAF became dependent on one kind of plane. Meanwhile Stealth technology was entering its next generation and was definitely becoming a thing. A bit like -

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- Anyway, the RAF now had flying WAL basses, and they kind of worked. They were modified to fit the political and military climate of the times, and did a pretty good job dropping bombs on and firing missiles at more or less what they were aimed at. And still do... but then-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- Even as they took to the skies in 2002/3, the Typhoon was getting expensive modifications designed into it. The equivalent of sending your WAL back to the factory for new hardware, more versatile electronic circuitry and the ability to have different gauges of strings put on it. -

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- did the equivalent of ordering 232 WAL basses. Obviously they were late arriving.I mean WAL could only make a few a month. In any case, the order was reduced before the first ones arrived. They looked great and sounded great playing "Wouldn't It Be Good", but by now the kids were into Girls Aloud-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- Yes I KNOW it was a *european* effort, but most of the preliminary work was done by British Aerospace and it was sold to the public as securing British jobs. It would've been cheaper, much cheaper, to buy F-16s or FA-18s that American companies were already building. But instead the UK govt-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

-They were ruinously expensive, heavy things. They oozed quality workmanship but were a sod to play and sounded great in the contemporary pop environment but rubbish in every other circumstance. Now here's how to stretch an analogy... The Eurofighter Typhoon was a flying WAL-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

Andrew Snowden MP won't remember the WAL. It was arguably the last volume (in that they made three or four a month) produced bass guitar in the UK. It was conceived in the late 70s and made for the 80s pop market. Dennis Smith of Secret Affair got one which served him well in Nik Kershaw's band-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1h

- Pretty much everything I need for a whole bunch of options including the sonic equivalent of a nuclear strike in the shape of a Rickenbacker eight-string. I have invested over many years building up a selection of equipment that gives me choices. I am the United States Air Force of bassists.-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 2h

- I've got one of each. I'd like two Jazz's but can't afford another. But occasionally I need a beefier sound. A Rickenbacker fits the bill nicely. A slightly woodier beefier sound? I reach for the Epiphone Jack Casady. You want me to sound like the 80s? A Japanese Westone fretless is at hand.-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 2h

-All the best bass guitars are, arguably, made in the USA. Fender, Rickenbacker, Gibson. You name it, they're American brands. Sure, they're made all over the world too, but that's because *everything* is nowadays. There isn't much that doesn't sound good on a Fender Jazz or Precision-

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 2h

MP Andrew Snowden is probably the kind of person who thinks all bass guitars are the same but also believes given a choice British bass guitars would be the best. He doesn't know that- aside from a few bespoke custom manufacturers that make very expensive one offs-we don't mass produce them any more

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 2h

A short thread about procurement

I own a lot of different bass guitars. They all sound different and play differently so I make a choice depending what music you're performing. But if you can only afford one or two, it makes sense to get the most versatile and best value you can get for the money

UK Defence Journal @ukdefencejournal.org.uk · 2h

A video released by Andrew Snowden MP has sparked bemusement after he accused Labour of misunderstanding fighter aircraft while misidentifying one himself in the same video.
ukdefencejournal.org.uk/tory-mp-conf...

Tory MP confuses fighter jets while accusing Labour of same

A video released by Andrew Snowden MP has sparked bemusement after he accused Labour of misunderstanding fighter aircraft while misidentifying one himself in the same video.

ukdefencejournal.org.uk

Reposted by Andy Lewis

Rob Morgan @durutti74.bsky.social · 2h

From TOTP this day in 1967, here's "Autumn almanac" by The Kinks

youtu.be/c_GolTRR0TU?...

The Kinks - Autumn Almanac (TOTP 1967)

YouTube video by Uncle Waldemar

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 13h

The coolest by far. In every way.

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 16h

This was one of the worst things I ever read about. Horrible man.

Reposted by Andy Lewis

Tim Worthington @outonbluesix.bsky.social · 1d

Who were Boys Wonder, and why is everyone so excited about their album coming out several decades late...?

Here's the answers...

timworthington.org/2024/11/06/d...

Don’t Write An Essay On It, Mate

Who were Boys Wonder, and why are so many people excited about their album coming out decades after it was supposed to? Get your friend to buy a copy!

timworthington.org

Andy Lewis @andylewis.bsky.social · 1d

I had a biology teacher the spitting image of John Nettles (esp in the top right pic) who did himself no favours by driving an ancient Citroen 2CV. Predictably he was called Bergerac. Brilliant teacher though. Biology was the only science I really had any competence in, and it was all down to him.

archivetvmusings @archivetvmusings.bsky.social · 1d

Happy Birthday John Nettles, born this day in 1943.