Leaderboard

If you don't feel like reading, just pass this one by. Nothing is simple anymore. Montreal, 1971, Shed 25. Owned by a football player (Montreal Alouettes) down by the docks (where the large storage sheds were numbered). At night, the area was so dark you had to be careful carrying gear. There was nothing else around but a small restaurant 5 or 6 blocks away where you had to swim through the snow drift as you went down several steps with red and green neon lights flashing in the snow. I remember fueling up on cheap scotch, fried eggs and two cups of coffee. The waitress was Muriel with the nice smile. An establishment feeding beer daily to longshoremen and motorcycle gangs. Long torn down. We were 15/16 and it was our blues band with blues harp: Messin' With The Kid, Jumpin' Jack Flash/Johnny Winter and Johnny B Goode. Don't even tell your parents about it. By day it was the hangout of the notorious Dubois Freres Gang. Lucky for us they never were around at night. The women wore nothing and were very young. It was all new to me then. They used to rush us when we came in saying, "Ooh! Les Musiciens! Gadze! Gadze!" There were actually very sweet. The older ones were much more street savy. The customers were all old enough to be daddies, but their tips probably fed them. This was when Montreal had been long established as an open city and just before the modesty laws were instituted. First time we saw bouncers in action. Some drunk decided to argue football with the owner. They took him outside. They came back in without him. We got nosey between sets and witnessed more blood on cement than we imagined possible from one guy. We were going to ask for more money. Another night I sensed something while playing, only to see this hand twice the size of mine playing along the neck with me. Everyone was laughing. I felt like Pee-Wee Herman in the bikers bar. I was glad when he finally sat down. It was the Outlaws having a beer stop. The old guys driving the little sidewalk sized snow plows would drive like speed demons down their routes and then stop in for a couple of hours to have a few beer and sell pot. Then we had to play for women who were auditioning their dance routine. We'd play Help Me Baby and Green Onions. They liked it. It was mind boggling for a teenager. I can still smell the tobacco and beer stained carpet if I think on this too long. I don't think this routine exists anywhere today, except maybe Calcutta or the Barbary Coast. We split $40 for each night, six nights a week and stopped after three weeks as we all had day jobs. That's my lurid little tale of musical debauchery. Now tell us what the cute lady is doing with the price tag around her neck...?.

Our old singer had a habit of running up mid song and taking my hat off me..... annoying but she thought it was funny, until one gig I’d turned around and was facing the drummer and she tried it as I turned back around... not quite a black eye by the end of the gig but close. Thankfully my bass was ok. 😂😂

Well apart from a string tree it's finished and I'm really pleased with the way it's turned out........... 😀

Grrrrr……………….😣

A white or chrome cover, a lipstick or bronco type PU would have been nicer IMO.

On the subject of t-shirts, mine's not bass clef but definitely bass (and me 😁) on my long sleeved tee.

You could always try a collaboration with this guy: https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/hear-goes-nothing-t1126047.html Now you be sure to keep us all posted, y'hear?

It sounds like he is a control freak , if the band is a multiple album selling outfit earning you a great living, then he is also a great guy to play with , if you are pub covers band, he is a knob

BOOM! Got the job!!!! Band is called Fraudio btw. Absolutely stoked and in need of a beer or two. Now begins the hard work!

Hi, I'm currently studying music at uni and am in the middle of a business module. As part of this module we have to create a musical brand and work out how to market it through market research and other forms of marketing theory. I've chosen to go down the route of a session bassist, as this is what I aspire to do in the future and therefore am collecting market research for this. I know we're all mainly bassists here, but it would be much appreciated if you could fill in the survey, particularly anyone with experience of producing, songwriting or leading a band. The questions are pretty basic and it should only take a few minutes. If you think I have left anything important out, please let me know! Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TJ7MPS2 Many thanks!

I often think some covers bands aren't genre specific enough, a lot of people who go to gigs regularly are loyal to their genre, Mod, Ska and punk are popular in my area, you can please some of the people all the time, you can't please all the people all the time

Black scratchplates rule. You are all wrong with your fake toilet seats and horse brass preferences.

Have you tried messaging @KiOgon (John) he's usually pretty prompt replying.

never ashamed of anywhere I've played, but plenty of pubs that I wouldn't ever drink in. Not the rough ones - that's most of my drinking life - but the awful, Stella Artois & John Smiths serving town centre pubs who have an entertainment budget to spend on bands, or awful dance around your handbag type bars, Weirdly all of those were played in a punk covers band, and we got repeat bookings at some of them

Oh and this was the first outing for the famous UPS Saga bass! Sounds pretty damn sexy I think.

This isn't technically true. Some session bassists are brands (Will Lee, Pino Palladino etc.) but they develop their brand through years of playing and exposure, not because they simply tell people they're great.

Hey Blue, I understand your pain. I also didn't want anyone to see me when I played one of those basses!

Hiya, I'm not really trying to make the case for the gt1b, each to their own etc. Just thought folk might like to know about the assignable pedals. That said, I'll try to answer these questions as I've had the gt1b myself. 1) at a gig or rehearsal I don't think you'd want to be messing around with assigning switches. I think you'd want to set that up at home. That doesn't prevent you tweaking effects units 'on the fly' though. 2) sound and tone etc are subjective but to these ears the effects sound very good. The amp models and overdrives were really good in particular I would be very happy to gig or record with them. But, as ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 3) Is there an OC-2 in there? Almost. The octave is an OC2 clone and, again, I thought it sounded pretty good. I was using the -1 sound and liked it as an OC2 sound-alike. I didn't use the -2 sound so can't comment on that, or on the other synth sounds which I didn't use. In general, I think you'd set up your 'board' at home and then tweak it easily at the gig / jam. That is very doable. I still think the best multi for on stage tweakability is the Boss ME80b, which is an oldie but a goodie! In the end I couldn't quite get a driven OC2 sound that I liked from it, (despite liking the octave and overdrives individually!) . I also prefer the simplicity of analogue units with a single knob or maybe two. ... the gt1b sounds great though.

The best at different things can come at different times in our lives. My best as a university lecturer was about 15 years ago, and I recognised that and gave it up 10 years ago. I will almost certainly never be as good a bass player as I was a lecturer, but my best as a bass player is yet to come. With care and practice and a following wind I won't live to "cessation". I don't want to.

Here's my twin Stingrays....and my real twins 😍 They're my babies, all four of them.

Not a bass - my first-ever 6-string guitar was a quite decent Columbus SG copy which I had in 1980. Aside from a bolt-neck & fake humbuckers, it was a pretty reasonable facsimile of the original, down to having a very slender, volute-free neck/headstock junction. Can't quite remember how it happened but it probably involved the enthusiastic execution of inept powerchords, playing along with Motorhead or somesuch, and a surprise meeting of Columbus headstock and bedroom wall. I do remember a sudden loss of string tension and very rapid de-tuning. And then the "plop" as the newly-liberated headstock hit the floor. I lacked the skills to correctly repair my newly decapitated guitar - but I didn't lack imagination: I've still got it now.

I bought this Precision bass just over 3 years ago I think. It's originally a Squier VM and had satin finished maple neck/fretboard. Not long ago I'd had it up for sale as I'd sort of 'gone off of it'. However, I bought a Mexican Blacktop P bass neck for it. It's now my number 1 bass. The new neck has lacquer finish, which I prefer, and the much nicer looking spaghetti style Fender logo on the headstock. I went the whole way and got an F neck plate as well I shouldn't like this bass at all as I've never been one for natural finishes, but this is now such a lovely bass. It feels nice, and with some flatwounds on it, it sounds gorgeous. They're not the best photos, but here we go...

Adam Clayton managed two gigs in a row once without a new signature model for the third gig, does that count?

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may the 4's be with you

Dood, buddy, you should've gone to specsavers. The HX isn't really geared to tiny pedal boards. You come across this thing called the Stomp? 😂

Quite honestly, if anyone behaved like that in any band I have known, I suspect they'd be visiting the out patients dept of the local hospital to have their guitar removed from a sensitive part of their anatomy.

I want to know how it hangs on the strap. You've got a strap button at about the ninth. It looks really well the way the grain seems to flow in a way that adds strength to the upper horn.

Pah, this is happening everywhere these days! But don't let it get you down - I'm sure worse things have happened on tour

Sadly, the nearest you got to me was Bristol, and I couldn't make that one But I'm glad to hear you're touring at "that stage of life" - I'm a similar age, and wouldn't mind a tour I agree - you're never too old, and yes, definitely keep playing, and tour whenever the opportunity arises Good luck with the last couple of gigs, and here's to the next one!

Good afternoon, Damian , and ... Plenty to read and amuse you here, and lots to learn and share. GAS..? 'Gear Acquisition Syndrome FRFR..? 'Full Range, Flat Response' cabs, usually powered, often used as PA for FOH (Front Of House...) NAD..? 'New Amp Day', when one's new toy arrives, as you may shortly find out. A short appreciation posting is mandatory, even if only a brief 'Yay..!' Hope this helps.

The silicone is just potting isn't it ? I'd go for Araldite - it's not supposed to move, so make sure it doesn't !

Hmmm, I feel sure I covered it, but I wonder if it has been edited out. I'll need to buzz through the video later and check ha ha! It was a while ago and I've covered a load of kit since. You do have a good point there. This was a really long review. We try to stay under 15 minutes or there abouts but you know me.. I like the details! I agree, every review is going to be an overview, there are too many variables to cover every angle. Thank you!!!

I might get away with it as long as I keep my daphne blue musicmaster in a gigbag.

I jumped up and said what the f*** have you done, she said ,yeah I know, that was my last glass!

People pay extra for that these days

Mine has just been delivered. The colour is very close to my Daphne Blue musicmaster bass and the roadworn job is natural looking & not too severe. It doesn't look grimey like some of the pics I have seen of this model, and the back of the neck has a smooth even matt finish. I was surprised that it came with a gigbag suitable for a precision or jazz which is several inches longer than the 'Fender urban shortscale' gigbag I use for my CIJ mustang & squier jag SS. The neck is a little chunkier than the CIJ mustang and the hipshot lollypop tuners are lovely. Straight out of the box it really doesn't feel like a spanking new bass - the set up is almost perfect and it feels like the bass equivalent of a comfy worn-in jumper. I've had a quick blast though my Roland Microcube bass RX amp and it seems that the pickup is louder than the one in my CIJ. Not sure how I'm going to break the news to the missus.

Only a 25 minute walk from the office...I suspect that could prove to be fatal in 2020. Basement is full of keyboards and synths. ...and I managed to pick up the last piece of bass gear I will ever need (well until the next "game changer" thing comes along! 😂)

Just to play the devil's advocate... Cliff Richards was no Elvis, but for Britain he was a face saver. He was just as good as any teen idol at the time; Fabian Paul Anka... The UK market for 45's consisted of pre-teen and teen-aged girls with allowances and pocket money and with screaming hormones that were repressed and depressed. The back-room boys chomped on their cigars and knew that a crooner with a boy-next-door face, undamaged, could coax 7/6 out of their purse in a heartbeat. He was a tamed Elvis, but was Britain ready for a home-grown Elvis? (He would have been deported by the BBC...) This video shows how The Shadows made it a hit. If Cliff was no Elvis, then the Ventures were no Shadows. And the real magic is the rhythm guitarist's power chords and the drummer's cymbal & snare sticking. A remarkable track that I still listen to for it's British almost rawness. A pre-cursor of Long Cool Woman? It's a mistake to compare a 1960 performance by today's 2020 standards, anyway. I was around in 1960. Those days were super repressive and extremely low key. I don't know of any other Cliff Richard song of this nature (Move It). Then he went the way of the Elvis movie. Vanilla, but more lucrative, back then. From a Vauxhall to a Jag...

A classic 4 & 5-string tabs available Randy Crawford - You might need somebody | Bass Transcription | Abraham Laboriel

The lead guitarist probably thinks that his is an important , integral part of the song...….he is wrong. I played in a band where the lead guitarist left and we just carried on playing gigs. We even carried on covering All Right Now...with no lead break. Nobody ever made any comment ...they just all sang along with the chorus as usual and we continued to get re-booked. In short…..ignore him.😜

And, just for good measure, a thoroughly embarrassing photo of this old duffer competing with our 19 year old singer/rhythm guitarist in a shape throwing contest 🙄

'RollingStone Syndrome'?

Outstayingwelcomeitis?