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This poem was in the order of service at a memorial service for a young Bass player I knew, taken too young. I appreciate that not everyone shares the poems view on bassists "place" in a band, but the sentiment was definitely shared by the young lad.🙂 Thought I'd share it.

Here's my JJ4 California Hardcore Aged 2011 model, it has the older ABM bridge, Delanos and 2 band active its a complete dream to play, sounds amazing ...

I came across this a few weeks back when i was looking for a VM5.... It made me melt a little inside when i decided on the surf green. i still dream about this bass!

I was wondering when someone would come along and - in an excess of feeling - step firmly upon on the tribute band landmine. It's always fun when that happens. The thing about tribute bands is that they are merely a variation on the time-honoured practice of musicians playing other peoples' songs. Indeed, until the Rutles came along pretty much the entire industry was predicated on the idea that songwriters wrote songs and musicians performed them and seldom the twain did meet. To my uncertain recollection the greatest popular singer of all time (Frank Sinatra) wrote (and subsequently performed) only one song in his career. If it was good enough for Francis Albert, it's good enough for me. In any event, the point is moot when it comes to bass players; apart from ten or so household names nearly all bassists have to dutifully play what they're given by The Talent, even when - as in the case of most 'originals' hobby bands - The Talent is a technically incompetent dullard with an Epiphone Lester and Himmler's way with a tune. All of which is is to say that my ranked musical preferences for a local Friday night out would be: 1. A tribute band 2. A covers band 3. Red hot needles in the eyes 4. An 'originals' band

When we set up to play in a pub, the people who are there have chosen to be there. They could have gone somewhere else, but this is where they want to be. Some (a few, a very small number) are there specifically to see us, some are there to check out the music because it's a music pub, and some are there for all sorts of other random reasons. Once we start playing, those punters who don't like rock music will leave. Those punters who don't like our particular brand of rock music will also leave, but not so quickly. Meanwhile, those punters who DO like what we're doing will be texting or phoning their mates and saying "great band on tonight, you should come down here". By the time we play our last set, the people in the pub will have self-selected to be only those who actually like what we're doing, and who will respond to the music ... dance maybe, or sing along, or at least applaud after each song. The gig is far more involving for the band, far more fun for everyone, far more likely to bring repeat bookings. ************************************************************************************ When we set up to play in a club (Social, WMC, whatever), the people who are there are always there. Most of them cannot imagine going somewhere else on a Saturday night, and if they do their friends will ask where they were. They are there for the venue and to see their friends, and the music is almost incidental. They sit there with their arms folded, staring at us, and daring us to entertain them. It's THEIR club and we are the intruders. Once we start playing, those members who don't like rock music will complain. Those members who don't like our particular brand of rock music will also complain, but not so quickly. Meanwhile, those members who DO like what we're doing will NOT be texting or phoning their mates and saying "great band on tonight, you should come down here", because the club is Members Only. After the first set, one of the members (almost invariably a guitarist, allegedly) will buttonhole a bandmate and explain in enormous detail what we are 'doing wrong', advise the lead guitarist and the drummer to play louder because no one can hear them, and then disappear into the smoker's paradise for the rest of the evening. After the second set, there will be a 30-minute hiatus while everyone pretends they've joined the Jarrow Hunger March of 1936 so that they can get excited about the Meat Raffle. Have these people never heard of Sainsburys? By the time we play our last set, most of the people in the club will be sitting grim-faced and glowering their sense of entitlement at us, waiting for us to finish so that they can return to playing Abba on the jukebox (last Saturday it was Phil Collins!). Those who actually enjoy what we are doing and want to dance will be intimidated off the dancefloor by the drunken poseurs trying to throw shapes while playing air guitar, and stumbling into the PA. The club gigs are well-paid and the venues are usually excellent ... big stage, loads of power, built-in lightshow, etc. But in truth if I never play another club I won't miss it. Silvie and I do all the gig-getting for my main band, and we have already decided not to bother with clubs at all for 2019. Life's too short.

We do What's Going On - Marvin Gaye and Let's Stay Together - Al Green near the beginning of our first set and they always go down well

She’s here!! Obligatory family shot: Have just been having a play for the past half hour or so, going through the available tones and I’m very very happy. Classic Precision growl with the split coil, more trebly bark from the bridge humbucker and blending them together kind of smooths out the characteristics of both for a less aggressive sound, at least to my ears. 2-band preamp with a treble knob which functions as a tone control in passive mode. All basses should have this IMO. So far I’ve got the preamp set identically to my Electra VS4 - treble up about 2/3 of the way and a very slight bass boost in active. Switch to passive and everything mellows out by default. Lovely. Previous owner strung it with new Rotosound Swing Stainless Steels 45-130 which I’ve never tried before but I like them well enough. I’ve got a fresh pack of Dunlop Flats which have gone churlishly unused for over a month so I’m considering putting them on. Action is perfectly playable but just a touch higher than I’d like so I’ll be lowering that at some point either today or tomorrow. The neck is somewhere between a satin and gloss finish, but more on the glossy side of the spectrum. May have to get that taken down a bit but so far it’s not nearly as obnoxious as a typical “true gloss”. There’s a scratch on the back near the neck bolts which I knew before buying. A slight downer but who’s seeing the back anyway?? What a back though: And there we have it. All in all I got a bit of a bargain for an incredibly well built, unique bass. I’ll be going on tour for a year with a theatre show from July and I can only take one bass with me. This is definitely the one. Now my MTD is feeling a bit of sibling jealousy .

Wicked tunes...if these don't get people dancin' you may want to check their pulses...

That's really hard to say after several beverages.

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My Kindle library now has Weekend Rockstars in it. 😎🎸

To celebrate it needs Rage against the machine blurting at massive volume on it. None of your smooth love bass lines

I haven't really touched any of my other basses since getting it (I think it might be the one)

I was so excited about this pedal when it was first announced........ then saw the form factor and then tried a GED2112 that I didn't get on with so eventually lost interest. I've always had a "want to love them more" relationship with Tech 21. Love the ethos and approach, like the VT Bass, never really got the bass driver or RBI . After seeing the responses on this thread I ordered one for Andertons on Saturday and it arrived yesterday (nice one Andertons) I don't know if its the marketing or photos on the website but the form factor is in fact excellent - the pedal is a compact sling in a gig back pocket and go. Not 100% sold on the knobs but time will tell. and....... It does all the things out of the box that I want in an overdrive/pre pedal and more..... sure it's a baked in tone but what a tone and it really is touch sensitive. Agree about the clean channel but in certain situations it's going to be an always on pedal. It's my favourite Tech 21 product by a million miles..... it's pricey sure but it will take a compressor, tuner and overdrive pedal out of my signal chain and I can go direct to the PA without a DI Box. Very excited about using this in a live environment.

Oops, that's what happens when you don't read the whole post :-/ I'll get me coat.

If it's in the right key and tempo you'll be fine. Good luck.

Still cold from the back of the UPS truck is my new Harley Benton PB-50 which will soon be disassembled for some minor modifications: swap bridge for a more traditional looking example, reshape the headstock and apply amber tint to the neck. I may upgrade the pickup at some point but it’s perfectly adequate for now, and I will probably change the scratchplate for a white one. Also I’ll fit some flatwounds. I’m impressed so far, the neck in particular is fantastic. The set up is pretty good, it was even in tune. For £300 this would be a decent bass, for a little over £80 it’s incredible. The only gripe I have is with the pots. The tone knob did nothing at all at first, although the more I turned it the more it gradually came to life and now works - weird, it’s as if it just needed some motion to get it going. The volume control works, but instead of gradually decreasing the volume as you roll it back, it stays at a constant volume for about 80% of it’s travel before just falling off a cliff with a silent final 20% of the turn. Not a massive issue as I’ll probably change the pots. I was kind of annoyed at first, but then again have to remind myself it’s an €85 instrument. I think we are so spoiled with decent cheap gear these days we have high expectations even of budget stuff! So yes, I’m happy, and with the completion of my self build Precision two days ago that’s two new basses in 48 hours, can’t argue with that!

I shall call her Raven

Outstanding work, Sir!

Not to mention the many replicas of the likes of the AC Cobra, E-Type Jag, Lotus 7 etc which while not BEING the original, often,TBH, perform better......

True. I just checked out a couple of videos. One was a guy just playing the unit without any indication of the patch. It was clearly recognisable to me as the MF-101 sound though. One of the bass synth models has both saw and square available if you feel like your MBSS is lacking.

How about posting a live video of your band and let the ridiculous tribute band bass players see what makes you so much better.

Coo! Lovely good shape too. Not the modern characterless ones...

Many thanks to Derreybass who tried out the cab I've pasted his review into the second post so people can read it without having to search pages of text. Here it is below too to save you checking back. "I borrowed Phil's quick build cab one Sunday afternoon as it turned out that he was practising at the venue I was to be playing in that evening with a worship band. Normally I play through a Barefaced Big Baby 2 and a Peavey Mini Mega 1000w amp. The hall in question is very lively accoustically and can very boomy and difficult at times to hear what is being played particularly on bass. Bearing in mind what Phil had in mind when he designed the cab I was quite intrigued as to how it would behave in the room in question. The Big Baby also has masses of low down response and massive volume when required. I started playing the first few numbers through my normal set up things were useable but a bit on the boomy side then I switched to Phil's cab for the final numbers it was quite noticeable how the sound was came through and was easier to hear as the small cab handled the mid range and higher bass without the muddiness. I think the design he set out to make worked very well and met the requirements he laid down. I did miss the real low down response of the Big Baby at times but it was easier to hear what was being played through Phil's cab in the very tricky conditions the hall presented. A couple of these small cabs would be very useable and a relatively cheap high quality set for any one. Highly recommended. Having seen him make it at the Bass Bash a quick answer as well. Well done Phil."

"Tribute" bands = sad nonsense. Don't care how good/"accurate" they are. Does anyone eat "tribute" (i.e. fake) food or drive a "tribute" car? Ridiculous.

Big fan, let me know where you're playing. The Faces were a super-group before the term was invented, awesome musicians.

It sounds like a potential con, but it may have been that his account was compromised (perhaps?). I can never understand why anyone would bother to make a few hundred quid, but perhaps that's me. What would be useful, if you're happy to do so, is to list all of his fake accounts and I can add them to my banned buyers list if/when I ever list anything again.

All good sir! The quilter would be my choice if I was in the market at the minute.

I wouldn’t have a problem with the reselling, it seems a bit cheap but if I am happy to sell at a price it isn’t up to me what someone does with it after it is there’s, but if paying by PayPal there are no other options then sending to the name and address on the PayPal account

Later With Jools is crap because it never features exactly what I want to hear.

As someone who deps a lot and uses deps quite often I'd advise that having structure and basics nailed is your first priority. If you know that and don't get lost anywhere then you're not going to throw the rest of the band. Once you have that sorted you can look more closely at finer details. Personally I chart songs and then "jazz it" a bit so I don't carbon copy another players bass lines but it is definitely worth listening to what the original player does on original songs and at least try to capture the same feel he or she goes for.

Sandberg are on my list for if a windfall comes in... Been waiting over a year for one that may never come though! Played one at the bass guitar show a few years back, VM4 I think, nicest playing bass I've ever tried.

And just think of what the shops have to put up with. My mate could fill a very entertaining book with some of the punters he gets.

I suspect that we'd end up listing bad experiences in every music shop in the country and, eventually, the world. Every shop is going to have a bad day at some point and ,given the amount of gear that basschatters seem to get through, we've got to be statistically more likely to be dealing with that shop when the bad day occurs than most.

I am an engineer (chemical) and often use tight in reference to my work, to be fair it’s when describing the boss at the bar though.

OT, but can't resist: do you know the album "Grayfolded"? "Grayfolded is a two-CD album produced by John Oswald featuring the Grateful Dead song "Dark Star". Using over a hundred different performances of the song, recorded live between 1968 and 1993, Oswald, using a process he calls "plunderphonics", built, layered, and "folded" all of them to produce two large, recomposed versions, each about one hour long." (Wikipedia)

Well I've disowned the clean channel completely, with my setup there's no way I can get it to sound good with flicking between them. Mainly because the dirt is so bright I have to cut the treble - but for a clean sound I want the opposite and could use a treble boost. It's far less of compromise to have bypass as my 'clean channel'!

I'm in a Police tribute. We take the whole thing seriously. I look quite a bit like Sting, I try and copy how he moves on stage and play replicas of his basses, matched with the outfit he mainly wore with whatever bass I'm using. Guitarist has a Telecaster that has been 'Andy Summers' by 'The Painted Player' guitar company Drummer has old Tama kit, in one of the colours that Stewart used, octobans too. Live, we play the studio versions but sometimes make them longer, depending on the length of the show. One of our first gigs was at a festival in Crete. Matala. We played to thousands of people with a back drop of caves. I've included a few pics, it was THE most amazing gig of my life. We went on at 1.30am just after some big Greek star. Obviously the guitarist is playing the Red Strat (like Andy's) but not the Tele.

I've had a comfort strap for over 20 years. Used to play a 1980 fender precision special. Great tone but weighed a ton. Can't recommend the strap enough.

Whenever I'm asked to dep for a band, I try to play like chris_b ...

Noel Gallagher is doing some decent tunes in my opinion, unlike his brother

I think it's as simple as knowing the population size, the more people the more they need entertainment and the arts. the bigger the market the greater the opportunities. Every now and then there's a lucky coincidence of great musicians that come together and a 'scene' arises in one town. London and Liverpool in the early 60's, Coventry in the late 70's Manchester in the 80's but you can't really plan for that. No-one has mentioned Bristol yet so I will, lively musically with a bit of an alternative feel. good Luck

In the past 60 years luthiers and guitar designers have explored virtually every shape possible. It's going to be really difficult to be completely original. When Andy and I designed my Psilos Bass we tried to be completely original but inevitably we would use other basses as points of reference, "like the lower horn from.." . I wouldn't be worried if people see similarities or influences from other Basses. If you're happy that's what's going to matter.

Mrs WB had this beautiful ACG made for my 50th, but it was a bit too heavy for me. So we sold it, and bought my first Franz instead. She's very understanding is Mrs WB!

Ovation Magnum - more low end in the fundamental tone than any bass I've played, but clear and articulate with it - no mud. They do crop up 2nd hand. as played by Jah Wobble.....

Try a precision - thicker neck and you get that thud with the pups which should be great for dub reggae.

I'm surprised how many good guitar players are impressed when I play even a simple bassline, and think playing bass is harder than playing guitar. I don't have to hold down chords, and they do! Yes we need a strong sense of groove, but so do they. And we just need to hold the groove, they mostly seem to need to show off. On the other hand I'm no longer surprised, but utterly fed up with how many peeps are "impressed" by a woman playing bass at all. I've had so much disbelief and condescension I'll bite some man's head off one day soon. Or better just let my bass speak for me.

Sold a Phase 90 to Paul earlier in the week. It was a straightforward transaction with friendly communication throughout. Many thanks.