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He also used to turn his back to the audience and fart

This morning I finished this build, strung it up and christened it with a blast through "One Step Beyond"...…………...I am a happy lad! I could never justify buying a genuine 1964 bass or even a CS Fender, Limelight basses don't, as far as I can see, seem to offer the laminated fingerboard option, and I am reasonably handy, so why not give it a go? The idea was to build my ideal bass, a sonic blue Precision, and to see if I could make it as close as I could to 1964 spec, in fact to look as if it was made on the day I was born 17th March 1964. Before I go any further, I realise that recently there has been a bit of polarising reaction to relic'd/roadworn/aged (call them what you will) basses, and I completely understand this, in fact up until fairly recently I didn't like them either. But, because this was a hobby build, and not a commercial one, I thought I could pat attention to the 'hidden' details , such as the scratchplate shield and the sunlight fading, and see how far I could take it. Again, I wasn't trying to forge a copy or mislead anyone, so I put in deliberate references to my date of birth, such as the serial number, neck date and the decal on the back of the headstock. This bass is for me, it is my ideal bass, with my favourite parts fitted and it will not be sold. The link to the build diary is here, for those interested enough to want to read further https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326421-17031964-a-day-of-birth-precision-bass-build/ Sorry about the quality of the photo's by the way, photography is not one of my strong points

The Suit , the hair, the boots, the voice...(he plays bass too)

You need someone to buy your old tinybasses to make room for new ideas. Or people to commish you for new basses to make it worthwhile for your time to explore new ideas. This is a big, fat, unsubtle hint...

Fatta Macca?

At 66 years old there's never going to be any riches for me. I settle for consistent weekly cash. Blue

It’s due to the adverts being served on site which have been tricked into forcing redirects. I’ve raised it to have them flagged and removed but in the meantime I’ve disabled the ads. Sorry about that - but it can happen to any site at any time and is getting increasingly common, even though companies like Google do intercept most of them. If you were effected before you can clear your cache memory if you still see it Cheers

In recent years I have always ended up on stage left. Although I think stage right would be better as I would be able to see the neck of my bass and the drummer at the same time.

I played this (Jabba’s) at the SW Bash - I love it! Would love to own one. Jez. No pressure!

That's it. Fully committed to the helix. All other pedals up for sale.

I am intrigued why so many here prefer to be next to the hats rather than the kick, especially as for most of the bigger / better rock bands I know bass stage right is pretty much de rigueur?? A quick look on google shows that most of the big rock acts from the last 40 years set up on stage in a similar fashion, from Sabbath to Deep Purple to Van Halen to Metallica to (latter day) Whitesnake (although the Neil Murray classic era was an exception)! I did note that when I started playing more blues gigs, I sometimes found myself on the wrong side of the stage. Perhaps it’s a hard rock thing??

Name dropper.... It has a real Sid Vicious/Dee Dee/Paul Simenon vibe

Funny you should say that...

Phil’s been playing with oil...

Just bought another one dammit! A tasty 1805 to go with my four stringer. Looks like me & @Woodinblack have similar bass tastes (Ibanez & Maruszczyk).

My wife says that Weather Report sounds like several musicians playing their own tune plus there's no melody. She can't understand why TBP would want to disguise the tune they're covering. I mean, where do you start ... Davo

Of course, he's still doing it and age hasn't reined him in too much either. Check out that P tone at 2:40 onwards during the guitar solo.

I had an interesting lesson in band finances a couple of weeks ago. I'm doing a charity gig next weekend with a covers band I've notionally been in for a couple of years, but we've never actually played (or until two weeks ago, rehearsed) because the rest of the band are in a signed, name band, and we've never had the opportunity to arrange any actual gigs (though I depped with them for a couple of gigs last year when they were between bass players). The name band are very well known in a specific genre, regularly do (smallish) UK tours at not bad sized club venues, play festivals across the world, sell a ton of merch, and never go out for less than £1k a show...but once they've paid for vans, flights, hotels, and given money to the crew and the non-core band members, there isn't much left over for the core band members (the lot that I'll be playing with). So despite generating a decent amount of cash, it's very far from being a living, and while expenses are covered, it's barely a paid hobby - the core members paid themselves for the first time in about three or four years a few weeks ago, and it wasn't a huge amount of money considering all the band activity in that time (though they did then take me out drinking with the balance of the band bank account as I'd done the dep shows for free). And as men of a certain age with assorted family and job responsibilities, they can't really step the band up to the next level because they can't commit to weeks or months on the road, and at the level they currently occupy they aren't going to be offered many more gigs than they currently play. So they are all very keen to finally get this covers band up and running as they see it being far more lucrative - we can play as frequently as we want, expenses will be low, and it doesn't need three rehearsals a week. The other band will always be their first love, but they fancy actually taking money home with them after playing a gig for a change

It's stuff like the vid that really makes me doubt my "Precisions are crap" view. To the point that I bought one a little while ago, and yesterday bought another one. I am so weak. But - need 1 for flats and 1 for rounds, surely?

Stage left for me too almost always, mainly because I once read that the bass should be on the same side as the drummer's hi-hat to aid hearing it for timing, and I was young and impressionable. Okay, maybe not young... I did swap to the right on the one gig we did without our keyboard player and didn't find it any problem, though. With regard to keyboard players straying into our sonic space, I did have this problem once. I addressed it by (1) asking him nicely keep his left hand under control, and (2) setting up a high pass filter on his PA channel to take a lot of the low frequencies out. I think (2) was more effective!

Around these parts a dUg is an animal that some folks keep as pets. "Arya seen air ole man?" "Yu' he's tekkin' the dUg fra walk then eez goowin um f' summu' twet"

Alternatively it could start a whole new area of mindless panic about the weight of the stands, not to mention relative heft of steel over alloy and whether the size and shape of the feet make any difference to the sound!

Warning...Bass wombling...........So this is me being extra a couple of years ago in a pub on a Sunday afternoon using said pedal. I still have it and its still the one thing that comes with me to every gig and is always switched on. This clip is the slap thing obviously but it demonstrates IMO that slap sound thing with a jazz, on an actual gig rather than from the safety of a living room /studio/rehearsal room. Its not a one trick pony either. Its also a nice touch for any fingers setting be it a Jaco-esc back pick up or turn up the bass for a really good motown vibe or whatever. Still loving it 4-5 years on. Still recommend it. Never gig without it. Still worth every penny.

May well do it, can’t have a fender bridge on Yamaha basses - ocd would flip out 😉

Yep, I'm knocking on the door of 60 too Blue. No illusions about earning a fortune but I am doing the thing I love.

Here's a few more photos of the two finished headless mini beasts:

Not sure yet as the hall hasn't told us how much it cost yet (its about 70 quid). But our money from admissions and raffle -which all profit from will go to Nordoff robins- is around 230 pounds.

My favourite era and line up. Sorry to the purists, but “whatevs” 🤪

I saw them around this time at the Kursaal in Southend when the album 'Burn' came out. One of the best gigs I've ever seen to this day. A naked woman appeared on stage seemingly from nowhere and jumped on Ritchie, who promptly unslung his guitar and played it on her backside

I have told this story before but some years ago I was idly browsing on Ebay when I saw a Mesa Road Ready 2x18 up for auction. It was on with an initial bid of £50 and the auction was set to finish quite early one Sunday morning. I wasn't desperately after such a cab but thought I'd get up to see what it was going for nearer the time. With a minute to go it was at £60 and I thought I'd just stick in a bid of £75. I got it for £62. Turns out it was one of only 3 (or so it seems) and this one was built for Cass Lewis. Only down side was the fact that it had a sticker on it when I collected it. The sticker proclaimed its weight to be 107 kg. That said, when hooked up with my (then) Diesel 2x15 the sound was, quite literally. awesome.

Not quite a musician - but inextricably linked, and for me more influential than many musicians I rate - was terribly sad when John Peel passed away so suddenly, a real loss.

Are the Zoom B1/X-4 & Zoom B3N multi-fx 'good enough' for live use? (Or should I stick with / step up to a Helix Stomp?) "The Zoom workflow and simplicity is just what the doctor ordered...preference to play my instrument more and menu-dive less." "the more sophisticated modelling multi-fx are capable of certain routing configurations and real-time (and/or automated) control of individual/multiple parameters...boxes like the HX Stomp and HX Effects are truly marvellous at their price point" I got asked by a mate earlier why I was moving my Helix Stomp on? My sense is this little B1X-4 is going to be sufficiently on point for live use that I can use it in place of my Helix Stomp. I love the fact that it's so user friendly. The Stomp is undoubtedly the 'better' / more sophisticated piece of kit, but I really think this will be plenty good enough in the mix with my bands and I'll be surprised if anyone in the audience will notice any significant difference on most of the usual classic effects - and that's the litmus test for me. @jimfist who has far more experience of multis than me was coincidentally arriving at the very same decision to move his Stomp on and his reasons are very much what I was feeling, but just a lot better articulated! This is what he had to say (over on TB): “Essentially the same modelling set, but I've come to the same conclusion with my B3n, and I'm prepping my HX Stomp to go off for sale to someone who'll use it more effectively than I will. I've dedicated hundreds upon hundreds of hours programming multi-fx modellers over the years and have grown fatigued of the process. The Zoom workflow and simplicity is just what the doctor ordered. It's not a knock on the more sophisticated pieces of gear (of which I've owned many), but more a knock on the work flow and preference to play my instrument more and menu-dive less (let alone having to be tied to a computer for more robust editing). That the Zoom box(es) get the job done is all that matters, even though the "big boy" modellers are so much more capable. The audience I cater to now would sooner notice 10% better musicianship than they ever would care about a 20% subjective improvement in tone, especially when that "great tone" can be totally screwed a dozen different ways in a live performance situation (a great equalizer). I geeked out on the Fractal AxeFx for years. Then on a whim I got the old B3 and used it for a couple of gigs. Nobody noticed or cared. That's when I started re-thinking my priorities...taboo on a gear forum!! The big caveat here is that the more sophisticated modelling multi-fx are capable of certain routing configurations and real-time (and/or automated) control of individual/multiple parameters, which the current Zoom boxes aren't able to do. If your needs are simple, then no worries. Otherwise, the more specific and sophisticated your needs, the more likely you'll find the "big boy" modellers more attractive and necessary. In that respect, boxes like the HX Stomp and HX Effects are truly marvellous at their price point. Still, there's no denying the value you get from the inexpensive Zoom boxes, limited though they may be.” Perfectly put. Thank you Jim.

Ha Ha thank you very kindly moley6knipe...……………………...what an amazing name

Seems to have stopped now (phew!). Though I notice I'm now only being presented with 2 ads on rotation (rotosound and elixir).

Stage left for me as its easier to make eye contact with the drummer, not that it makes any difference with my drummer as he has no understanding of playing together, either with bass or in a band and being a team player. I've actually learnt an amazing skill of tapping my foot to create my own time beat regardless of what the drums are doing. Anyway, stage left as I am more comfortable that side.

I had a party in the style of a rock concert a couple of years ago. 300 people, three bands, street food stalls, bar, shoulder massages, fortune teller, trick bikes, photographer and camping. All on my private land. As someone said, if there is no charge for entry ( I also covered the food and drink costs), there is no issue re licensing. I did, however, have public liability insurance and a medic and a security guard in attendance. As the party was for the locals and 99% attended, there was no noise issue. We finished the music at midnight. It was actually a great event in terms of showing how good country folk can be in working together. The local Boy Scouts looked after the parking, another landowner with gated access to the local road gave up a field for parking, a local cricket club lent the marquee, straw bales for seating came from a local farmer, the (luxury) portaloos were rented at a discount from a local portaloo business owner, the gazebos lent by a local crèche business. Beer / wine / spirits and soft drinks came via the local pub, who also ran the free bar (free to the guests) and a hog roast. Food came from sourced street food vendors, the groove, rock and blues bands were all pro bands and the stage and lighting came from a local festival stage and lighting business. It was not a financially cheap event for my wife and I, but it was easy to get people to chip in and help. All invited guests were given wristbands with the party name on it and no food or drink was given out without a showing of the band. The security guard cleared off some local yoof who tried to raid the bar early in the Sunday morning and the medic sorted some twisted ankles. The photographer put together a great coffee table book of the event. I seemed to have ranted on but the memories of the event keep coming back with a smile. I hope your party goes as well.

Mine was a 4001. You have to loosen off, set the neck and tighten up. Different set up to a Fender or Gibson and hence so many busted ones

As long as you're finished before 11pm there's sod all anyone can do about it. Of course consideration is always a better course of action.

My first decent bass was an 88 MVP. My username is a shortened version of my original name on bassworld, pedullaman. Cheers to Mike and Christine and thanks for all the gear 👍🏼

I've had one or two... SQ serial MIJ Squier Precision, Ebay, £130. A-serial MIJ Squier Precision, Gumtree, £30. E-serial MIJ Squier Strat - £70, local car boot. Ibanez RS924 Roadster, 1983, absolutely mint, with original hard case - £90, Gumtree. 1961 Watkins Rapier 3 guitar - £6.50, local car boot. Antoria 2354B MIJ EB3 copy - £30, local car boot. Aria pro SB-Elite Black & Gold - trade for a bitsa Jazz bass that probably cost about £40 in parts. Westone Thunder 1 guitar - £5, local car boot. Westbury Track 2 bass - £50, Ebay. Westbury Standard guitar, £60, local charity shop. This isn't everything, by a long way - ten or so years ago I was making a living of sorts by finding bargains like these, tidying them up and selling them on - and in fairness many of them were serious projects when I got hold of them & required a lot of work to put right.

Funnily enough Charlie, neither am I. What have I let myself in for?

Although Seidah Garrett did a grand job on the “Shelter” album...