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Or just teach your cat to sh!t in your neighbour's flower beds, like mine. Although in truth there wasn't much tuition involved. After he'd watched me demonstrate a couple of times he'd pretty much got the hang of it.

Step one: find a job you love Step two: become very, very good at it, to the point where you're successful, financially worry-free and world-famous Step three: sack it all off and live the quiet life. Sounds bloody marvelous to me. I don't know about you folks, but between Deacon, Taylor and May, I don't think that John is the crazy one here.

I saw the headline in my suggested content, saw that it was a Daily Mail article, ignored it. Hateful publication.

A picture of John in today's Daily Mail. Please leave the guy alone. I would kill for an hour with him to talk basses etc but he has no desire to delve into any aspect of his past and he deserves that privacy. Much less the fairly mocking tone of the opening lines.

Two weeks ago I was swimming in the Med, now my fingers hurt with the cold I forgot, the Lull pickup arrived while we were away so I got the pocket for that sorted, I thought I might need a slightly thicker riser under the chrome trim as the bridge is quite high but it looks like the one that came with it will be fine which saves some work. I did string the Maple one yesterday just to make sure, I was amazed how much flex there is in that neck even with the carbon rods. I was pleased with that as I was worried it might be too stiff with them but it has worked out better than I dared hope, I think the ultra thin neck will be amazing now (if you like thin necks). So I got the triplets out of the press and pulled off the masking tape, trimmed the edges quickly with a sander. I've brought them in the house overnight as it is getting too cold for them out there (poor things! Some pictures to try and show the final contouring of the backs Excuse the toaster!

As with @eude 's project, family commitments will halt progress on this for a few days but did get to finish off the rear carve. This is how it's looking: The top will be curved broadly parallel to this shape. I'll leave the neck until later because that will change from concave to convex as it approaches the heel. I'm hoping that my 'S' grain for the two wings and differing grain patterns works once the contrasting control chamber cover is there. It's something you can't do on the neck because you can get differential movement of the wood but, structurally, the wings will be fine. We'll see if I'm right or not about the visuals once the whole thing is finished

A chance photo of John Deacon used to trawl back over already known info, it’s pretty poor journalism...and I use that word loosely. I’ve got a lot of respect for John Deacon, he’s done the right thing IMO when it comes to Queen. Queen was the four of them, it doesn’t work without either of them. Taylor and May should have had some self respect, and respect for the band’s name, and known when to stop with Queen. The current incarnation is awful. And Roger Taylor needs a dictionary, sociopath? He sounds like he holds a grudge tbh that John won’t join in killing the band

Got a pic of some Australian lacewood. It's my vintage Overwater Deluxe ll. It's the outside wings

Not that many Basschatter's move any of their instruments on that often 🙄, but on the rare occasion a new For Sale thread appears, the question of weight rears it's ugly head with alarming regularity. I have just purchased this for £7.59 through Amazon (along with at least £12.41 worth of other assorted ephemera in order to qualify for free shipping ) and it is rather spiffing - and accurate. It does ounces, grams, pounds and kilos and has a nice soft noose for hanging a bass from the headstock. Just thought I would share. Here is the product link.

Let's not forget the Daily Mail running paedophiliac 'look at her all grown up' articles too. I can't see how that is anything like acceptable? Shitrag is too kind.

I don’t think there’s any issue, any post about a given product will always draw comparisons with other products, very very normal. Si

I completely agree with the comments above - I've only bought 3 out of the 6 or 7 Ricks I've owned brand new and 2 of them had finish issues. Personally I think that the main reason is that the finish they use takes a while to dry properly and given the backlog of orders that RIC have for these, they just can't keep them long enough for it to set properly before sending them out and so issues are going to arise. Well, the good news is that I did get a replacement which was perfect. I also swapped the surround with the thumb rest for one without and much prefer it. The pickup on this one isn't as wonky and, again, the setup out of the case was perfect. I did have to open up the nut a little on the D string to accommodate the D'addario EXL165s (original string being a 55 and this one was a 65) but I was careful and used an old string to gently rub the nut enough (ooer missus) to open the slot so that the string sat in the channel properly. I will be gigging this for the first time tonight at a corporate gig in Edinburgh and it will also be the first gig for my Behringer BDI21. I'll try to get some pics tonight at the gig

Agreed. I'd struggle to play most of my favourite basslines on that thing.

Thanks Paul, didn`t think of on-line, doh. Just read it and far from a character assassination I think it portrays him as a fairly ordinary, genuine man, who was in one of the best/biggest bands in the world, and a man who was devastated by the death of a mate. Also seems pretty grounded and down to earth, which must have been rather hard to keep a grip of, being in Queen, the most flamboyant, over the top band ever.

Typical no news article, the quotes probably aren’t even true. Can’t blame him wanting nothing to do with Queen these days. Their forays with new singers and now this terrible film. Wrote some iconic bass lines, made huge money, happy family, golf everyday, no TV work or touring to worry about. He’s living the dream.

Absolutely. As for the DM just don’t buy it, truly dreadful newspaper.

I have something similar. My main issue with the bathroom scales method was the constant reminders of how much I weigh.

No. No, you wouldn't. And do you know why? Because thanks to the unelected faceless bureaucratic dictatorial unelected quasi-fascist bullying faceless unelected bureaucrats in Brussels, you can't buy a GALLON of petrol. You can only buy it in euros now. And even if you could, the unelected faceless bureaucratic dictatorial unelected quasi-fascist bullying faceless unelected Health & Safety bureaucrats won't let us burn ourselves even if we want to. The sooner we are free of the EU's unelected faceless eurocratic dictatorial (cont'd p.94 of tomorrow's Daily Express, and every other day in fact)

Rock hopping a little bit on this. Carbon rods and truss rod are on order and I've got a few days of family commitment coming up (I know.... ) so thought I'd just start a fill in job - working out the best way to carve the body. Although I have one of these: ...I'm not letting that anywhere near the body. Too possible to wreck it! But the katalox is tough stuff and the ash is, well, ash. I tried a concave spokeshave, scrapers, micro-planes, Shinto rasp and sanding. And concluded that it needed all of those! Full curve not yet achieved but I think that combination is probably the way based on how it's going so far: So no more progress likely until well into next week but then I have a fairly clear stretch

Further from the seller (after pointing him in the direction of this thread): Hi, Thanks for that. Not sure I'm any the wiser but to be on the safe side I've ended the listing, and the SQ series Squier neck listing as well. As I say, I'm more interested in clearing out my studio than making a few hundred quid if it means destroying my feedback score! Best regards, Rog All part of the service, Rog...TBH though I question his sincerity in his "Thanks" and "Best Regards".

My bro and I were discussing Queen this week and how John Deacon (who was apparently born a couple of streets away from where I live) has completely retired from the public eye, probably quite content to enjoy his old age with zillions of pounds and relative anonymity. Fair play to him. He's done his bit. I won't be visiting the Daily Mail website tho. As the awesome joke goes: "I used a copy of the Daily Mail to kill a fly yesterday. I read the first three pages out loud and it shot itself."

If I ever happened to read the Daily Mail - even if by accident and only for a few seconds - I'd be so ashamed I'd literally have to apologise in writing to everyone I know. Then I'd go into town and buy a box of matches and a gallon of petrol and set myself on fire. The Daily Mail supported Hitler, you know.

From the seller: Could you tell me what problem you've identified with the bass? Obviously I'd like to get as much as possible for it but with a score of nearly 600 at 100% I don't want to risk anything. My main objective is to clear the 40-odd items in my studio now that I don't play anymore. I don't have the skills or the equipment to put a guitar or bass together but I could dismantle one, and I can get to my start price by selling the parts separately, which I would be committing myself to doing once I take it apart. Before I go down that route I'd like to know what I'm looking for! Best regards, Rog

My ex used to read it avidly - one of the (many) reasons she's 'ex' ................. 😎

He plays in those old lead diving boots.

Last night's gig. Hmmm, going to sub title this post as "How to make an emergency snare drum" First two things you need are an idiot french drummer who's left his on the kitchen table and then driven 120 kms to a gig thus, removing the possibility of going back for it. Secondly, you need British resolve. Next, remove his 14" tom whilst he's sitting outside telling everyone we can't play tonight and tighten to nearly breaking point. Look in boot of your car for anything handy. Somehow find a bathroom plug on 2ft of chain. Secure on edge of floating drum rim, drape across top head and fix with Gaffa tape on other side. Voila, one not too clever sounding but very funky gig-able makeshift snare. We were still playing at 2.30 this morning. Went down a treat. We'll see what he forgets at tonight's gig😂

I blame that picture of Blue holding that lovely, red Gibson... I picked up a slightly tatty, but generally intact semi-acoustic bass - an Eros Mark II - with a view to replacing pretty much everything except the body and neck. "All the hardware will terrible and made of either tin or cheese and the intonation will be so bad, it'll be unplayable beyond the second fret", thought I. Well, that's not the case. Once I'd scraped off the filth and given it a very quick set up, it seemed to play quite nicely. Pots were very scratchy and it had the weirdest fret buzz I had ever heard - a sort of fretless "mwah" noise, but just on three frets of the "D" string. A turn of the bridge height screw and bobs-yer-proverbial. A quick squirt of switch cleaner, followed by the dreary task of putting the thing back together (seriously... trying to put the pots back into a semi-acoustic is like trying to perform gynaecology through a letterbox) and it sounds way better than it has a right to. The action is medium low, there's no mains hum and the tone controls actually make a difference to the sound. Who'd have thought it? It took quite a bit of cleaning and there were some nasty, but shallow scratches to deal with. Out came the rubbing compound and some elbow grease and it looks the business. Well, I think so. Has anyone else had any experience with one of these? I've seen a few Eros basses, but they always seem to be generic Fender copies. The only info I could find online, was from a 1975 Rosetti catalogue, where I found out they were a bargain at £65.

1 of 100 is worth £40,000? my custom shop is 1 of 1. must be worth £4m then. excellent.

The online version is a mixture of stories from the print version, liberally interspersed with clickbait, much of it lifted directly from other websites such as Reddit or Bored Panda and even other online newspapers. The John Deacon article is classic 'clickbait', there's nothing new or newsworthy in the article, it's just a headline designed to attract traffic to the site from people searching online for info on the new Queen film.

Likewise. I completely forgot to try out the Roscoe Beck V, despite saying I would earlier in the day (possibly sensory overload, but more likely a senior moment). I had a watch of the videos and I think they convey a pretty accurate aural account of what we heard in the hall (don't you just hate it when you hear your own voice?). Top work Silvia (as always), thank you for making the effort to take the pics and record the videos.

I don't really understand why someone would want that.

Not read it, and won`t. Nothing to do with the hysterical hate the mail ethos, it`s just that I don`t buy the paper, and no-one at work today has a copy either. I`m pretty much in agreement that JD from the tv show last night seemed the most grounded, and from what I understand his reasons for slipping away from the public eye seem to be pretty sensible to me.

THE OBC112 What orange have to say: "... A SMALL CAB WITH A BIG SOUND The OBC112 cabinet is Orange’s newest addition to the range. With rear porting and featuring a 400 Watt Lavoce Neodymium 12″ bass speaker, the OBC112 produces a surprising amount of bottom end despite its modest size. Built from 15mm Birch ply, the OBC112 is light enough to be truly portable and the classic Orange picture frame design and our iconic livery are your guarantees of solid craftsmanship and build quality." A few observations from me: 400W at 8ohm So a rig of two of these can effectively deliver 800W at 4ohm with two 1x12 speakers pushing the air out. That should be plenty for most small / medium sized venues and anything larger is anyway likely to have it's own house PA. From a British manufacturer to boot (made in Bexleyheath). At £399 competing directly with Markbass 121 cabs and significantly cheaper than VK or BF 112s. Seems to me definitely worth checking out! Thanks to @karlfer for bringing to our attention - much appreciated, let us know how you get on with your new stack.

Do not ever think you're alone Andy. Some of us have been where you are at this moment - and although you might not feel there's ever an end in sight - there will come a time, when you'll come back better.. for a rest. Music was and still is my first love. I stopped playing, being in groups and gigging (for about 10-years), because it was the right thing to do. I was fed up and started a new chapter (husbandry, fatherhood, promotion at work - and even more work..) I started up again in 2012, joined Basschat, and began writing my own stuff - which I'd never done before, and recorded an 'EP' - and learnt a ton of new things - still learning, growing and sharing the experience. This >> "My Jazz Bass would take the six of us to Portugal for a Fortnight, probably". Nope - don't even think about it. Please keep the Bass - you'll thank me for it later.. However, if there's any gear that you haven't used in the last 12-18 months, no harm in thinking about moving it on. A compact set up is how it's going these days. Good luck, and stay in touch here on the forum Andy. Best wishes, Simon.

Interestingly, TC Electronic K-Cabs, Laney SL cabs and now these Orange models are all using LaVoce speakers. I liked the sound of both the Laney and the TC, so I expect I will like these when I review them next month. Not bad for the money at all!

Never use the Daily Mail as a liner for a cat's litter tray because evil. Instead, go to the newsagents and ask them for their leftover copies of The Guardian, The Daily Mirror or The Washington Post because not evil. Interleave a page from each (because diversity is strength) and lay them in the tray. Alternatively, here's my recipe for DIY ethical granulated cat litter using the newspapers mentioned above: 1. Shred newspaper in a paper shredder and collect it in an unused plastic litter tray. 2. Soak the paper in warm water mixed with a few squirts gentle, biodegradable dish soap. The shredded paper takes on a cooked oatmeal consistency. The paper won’t come completely clean, but the water will turn grey. 3. Drain the water (an old colander works wonders) and repeat the soaking process minus the soap. 4. Sprinkle baking soda liberally on the wet paper. Knead it in to the mixture (you might want to wear gloves to avoid getting ink on your hands). 5. Squeeze the remaining moisture out until it’s as dry as you can get it. 6. Crumble over a medium-fine mesh and leave to dry for a few days. 7. Once it’s dry, put about an inch and a half to two inches of the paper crumbles in the litter box. Scoop solids daily and change it once a week. It takes about a half an hour to 45 minutes to make a 2-3 week supply , Enjoy!

Sorry to disagree but it pretty much is...

Well I never knew that. That’s 100% fake then! I was 99% sure it was fake but thought I’d ask the experts.

What to do? What a daft question. Do what we all do on here. Sell it, a week later, really regret selling it and buy the same thing again but £60 dearer than you sold yours for😂

I think this is spot on - and to echo Deedee, my SR4HHS is significantly lighter than any other Stingray (or Sabre) I have. Strangely the two that come nearer to it are both two pick up (Classic Sabre - with mahogany body and SR4HH 2007 LE. At the time, several others commented on the light weight of their 2007 LEs of various configurations - maybe they used a batch of lighter ash. The multi-pick up variants have a much bigger chunk of wood routed for the electronics, which probably more than compensates for the extra component weight). You ought to try some SRSs Rodney 72a - they really are impressive in many ways. A couple of other points, when these were first in production AJ posted a list of weights of 4 and 5 string basses produced - they all hovered within or just below the 8 lb range. And remember, it's generally only us over 40s that stress about instrument weight - my son's quite happy to gig a 12 lb + Ibanez Musician!! It certainly was never a consideration in my younger days. I was mainly after the sound and something I could play with ease. Perhaps this says something about a changing demographic of the guitar buying public!!

I had a headless Wenge ACG - well over 11lbs - maybe think about a Wenge laminate.

There's the old saying of if it looks right, it probably is right. This looks very right

That's lovely

How about some Primus?

You are - of course - entitled to your opinion but I would in all friendship counsel you against expressing it in public. The consequences would be insupportable.

Great blog, Silvia Thanks for all the hard work.

What Owen really meant was that that's an offer to kill for, and that everybody would be more than interested to see the bass!

Interesting reading Andy.... I know from recent conversations that you currently have a lot on your plate....however when I read your initial post I was constantly adding "currently" to the points you were making. Like you, and many others who are contributing to this thread, I got to the point where making music meant little to me. However there were times when not having instruments around left a huge hole in my life - I find that playing a musical instrument is what satisfies the creative part of me - without this I feel "not whole". Sometimes a 15-20 minute "noodle" can be priceless for my soul. I'm currently not gigging or playing with other musicians. I don't care...I often don't play for weeks at a time, it doesn't really matter...but when I do pick up an instrument it fulfils a part of me that very few other things do - maybe drawing/painting to some degree, perhaps walking the dog - but I believe that the thing that drives us as musicians is the creative outlet we get from it. Yes, there are times, when our commitment to playing is low. I think this often runs parallel to the other shite that's going on in our lives. What I regularly fall back on is picking up a bass, plugging in and tuning out the rest of the world. Playing, for me, can be really cathartic - a place I escape to when the rest of the world is shite... Personally, when I feel the way you are currently I too think about unloading everything I own. Fortunately, for me, the market is weak at the moment so it's unlikely that I'm going to get what I think my gear is worth - this puts the brakes on - now is NOT the time to sell. I also remember how I felt without my creative outlet, another reason to hold on to my gear. Many of us here have an excess of gear - if you can unload some of it and use the proceeds to make other aspects of your better than by all means do that. What I wouldn't do though is be without a bass. Instruments, to me, are more than the sum of their parts. They aren't just bits of wood and metal - they are the thing that make me whole again and recharge my inner being - possibly not today, but one day, the thing that you may need to be "Andy" again. As others have said, take some time off, free up some cash, concentrate on some of the other aspects of your life - but don't turn your back on what I know must have been one of your true loves - making music. Hang in there...