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For me weekly practice covers lots of ground. Developing a style together, understanding how each other plays, learning each others likely flip ups and how to cover for them, working on backing vocals, fun and social aspect, practicing without the backing track as a crutch or prompt, playing around with arrangements, working on song endings, testing your gigging kit, getting your finger stamina up, probably loads more reasons too. I see lots of advantages to it and would prefer this to ad hoc meeting up to polish before a gig.

Righty! We counted the cash and we’ve raised £186 that’s been donated nordoff robbins (in the mother’s name of course).

I feel like the luckiest man on the planet

Chuffed...well done to Stratosphere 2 days from America to here!! Roll on The Weekend

And they're pretty much spot-on. Hall can't really be faulted in terms of his company's operational strategy. It's one of many possible approaches that will produce different outcomes and if he's happy with the outcome he's chosen then fair play. It's also true that he enjoys quite good relations with individuals and publications who are satisfied with his products and his approach to business. On the other hand, Hall can be unacceptably rude and dismissive to those with whom he is at variance, even to customers with genuine cause for complaint. Moreover, some have at times pointed out that the basis for some of his litigation might be without foundation. I recall his abusive treatment of an individual on the Rick Resource who during the Janglebox affair had correctly and politely observed out that - under US law - one may copyright a circuit diagram but one cannot copyright a circuit. For me, the defining moment came a few years ago when Hall tried to bully not only BassChat but also the Admin here with whom he was in personal correspondence. Hall basically got a bloody nose then trotted off to a Ric-friendly forum and presented events in such a way as to place himself in a good light with his obsequious sycophants. So, Hall may possibly be an astute businessman but he is also, in my undoubtedly biased opinion*, not only a gaping prolapsed rectum but also a waste of useful cubic footage that might more profitably be occupied by a hot drinks vending machine. * Basically: My BassChat, right or wrong.

I spent a lot of time yesterday sitting in waiting rooms for one appointment after another. As I had time to kill, I spent a lot of time on the RIC, RRF and TB forums, searching for posts made by Mr Hall. I did this to supplement the opinion of the man that I've formed from this and other threads on here. Now, I've had no direct dealings with John Hall and certainly not the direct and aggressive interactions that Nik and others have had. I also recognise that some contentious material may have been deleted from forums so i am not looking at the total picture. And i haven't read every single post the man has ever written - there are thousands of them. But I've read enough to build a picture and the impression that I get is of a man who has inherited a small (about 200 employees) family business and who is passionate about preserving the legacy that was handed to him. I suspect he's not the easiest person to work for. I am sure that the factory production process could be more efficient. And, for sure, the products he makes have "character" (to put it kindly). But the reality is that over the years of his tenure he has maintained a profitable, debt-free company which makes a niche product for which people are prepared to a) wait and b) pay a premium. To do this, he's flown in the face of the generally accepted "best practice" of the last thirty years. He has resisted the temptation to devalue his brand by moving some of his production to the Far East. He has made small, incremental changes to his product range rather than continually chase new markets and growth at all costs. He came through the worst recession of recent times with a profitable company and a larger workforce than he had when it started. He protects his brand passionately and in doing so has avoided the fate of Fender and Gibson who saw their products' value being undermined by hundreds of clones of varying quality. I've never met the man so i don't know if I'd like him or not as an individual. I suspect not. I think there are certainly character flaws and the apparent copying of the treble bezel appears to be a huge error of judgement at best, if not completely and idiotically hypocritical. As an analogy, if Fender are the guitar equivalent of VW/Audi and Gibson are like Fiat/Chrysler then Rickenbacker remind me a lot of Chapman-era Lotus. A small company led by a flawed but dedicated individual producing a flawed but charismatic product that has a small but passionate customer base. In a world of global mega-corporations all in thrall to their investors and the demand for continuous, unsustainable growth, there is room for companies like Rickenbacker - even if their CEO is a bit of an a*se at times. (All of the above is personal opinion based on the reading i did yesterday. Others will have more knowledge than I do and yet others have had direct (and sometimes contentious) interaction with Mr Hall and i don't wish to contradict or undermine them in any way. These are just my opinions, nothing more)

We rehearse every week, irrespective of gigs, writing new material etc. For one we just love the band so it’s not a chore, we enjoy it, but secondly it gives us that tightness to our performance that many praise us on. And lastly, purely from a personal point, as a non-natural singer, I need to be rehearsing my vocals with the band every week, I shudder at the thought of what would come out if I didn’t. And with our music it’s not possibly to rehearse said (poor) vox at home, they’re too loud for that.

I did this in January last year, I needed head space and more time. Thought I was actually going to stop playing and sold a lot of gear. Just before Christmas the singer from the previous band got in touch and wanted to work on some of my ideas. Just about to do some recording, got a great new band with the singer from the old band and I’m having a great time. Like any relationship breakdown, there are plenty more fish. Give yourself some time and then find something you enjoy, not something which is taxing.

Others, I am not the first, Have been by John Hall's comp'ny cursed: If in the breathless night I too Shiver now, 'tis nothing new. There is, however, in the first draft, a note pencilled in the margin which would seem to support the 'separating the man from the machine' thoughts above. It reads: 'Though I'd happily torch Shrewsbury to get my hands on a minty Mapleglo 4001 with chequered binding'

Les ‘built in’ and more ‘stuck on with foam tape’ 😂

At your service! 23” is far to long for me 😂

HX Stomp ordered and arriving tomorrow. I can't wait for the weekend.

Where I'm up to. Got through 2 cans of clear laquer, slowly building (over 3 days). Then a few days to harden off and fine cut flat and smooth, then polish (T Cut, Steve said was OK and I had some around). I was forced to take some time as the p'ups from Thomann are due today (about 2 weeks, because Thomann gave UPS an incomplete address then tried to blame me). I'm happy with this now. Took a closer look at my '97 P which is factory original, and the finish on that is not super-flat, I mean it's really good but not a mirror. Colour in these shots may look a bit flat, but the light is blue sky and very hard, so it tends to flatten the metallic effect it seems. 3rd shot with plate etc is closest. Look forward to finishing this as it is a truly cracking Jazz - I think the graphite reinforced neck and the Badass may be contributing (the graphite neck in particular) to making this the best Jazz I have owned, and as good as any I recall playing (noting I owned a '67 transition for years, and a few others besides). Thanks for help and tips @rubis and @Manton Customs, and Steve at Manchester GT, who made it sound easy enough for me to have a go. and isn't Lake Placid Blue just the best. Suits me: cool, deep, dark... and fishy.

Bands - easier to start than keep together. 'Same as it ever was' , to quote a certain well-known tunesmith.

Just a thought but I am fairly regularly excited by bass FS posts only to find that the object of my lust has one too many strings (and 5 players I'm sure find the same thing). Would there be any merit, do we think, in splitting FS threads in '4 strings FS' and '5+ strings FS' (for example? If there's no great appetite elsewhere then it's obviously not an issue others less OCD than myself share!

Open Discussion There are quite a few new BC members that can add to this discussion. Share any stories or thoughts or ideas from both sides of the fence. What are your do's and dont's? The pic, that's 1955 my mom is holding my hand taking me to my first gig. Blue

By Ricky4000

I like to think of myself as the A E Housman of my generation. Reviews 'Charbing, utterdy charbing' - Melvyn Bragg 'Perfervid but in a good way' - JK Rowling 'Gripping stuff' - Lee Child

You're really far too kind. TBPH, it was a framework designed to lend support to my proposition that he's an utter cockwomble.

Surely half of the fun is scrolling through and seeing what’s out there? ...even if it’s window shopping for some of us 🤣

to remove the sticky Tru oil/ gun oil finish obviously use 0000 wool, but after that I was buffing it with a non lint cloth and the micro fibre that came with my sunglasses. Top amateur tip - I found wrapping a tennis ball inside the cloth gave a great taut surface and also an easy grip to buff away!

To those who may be interested to know, Michael Pedulla has announced his retirement after 45 years in the business of building bass guitars. An announcement was made today via the www.pedulla.com website. I speak for the bass community as a whole in saying that to have been regarded as Mike has, being one of the best luthiers in the world for such a period of time and with so many changes to the industry, is commendable. Personally, I hope he enjoys his well-earned retirement. I would like to extend my thanks personally to Mike and Christine Pedulla for all the hard work they've put in over the years and for bringing us such tremendous instruments. I first played a Pedulla bass at the age of 17 or 18, whilst working at the Marriott hotel in Gosforth. I've told this story many times but the upshot was that I decided there and then that I had to own a Pentabuzz at some point and I finally got there in 2017, a decade later. I have never played another fretless as good as this. Truly, bass nirvana for me.

I absolutely love Leo Moracchioli. I've spent many an evening watching his covers back to back. I actually think he's an extremely talented and knowledgeable musician, to work out, play all the instruments, record, mix and film and edit a fresh cover video every week is pretty clever imo. He also manages not to take himself too seriously which makes him extremely likeable to me. Some of the stuff he does is superb. Although the one above is not a particularly good example. I have to say, although he seems well liked on here, Scott Devine's click bait YouTube content irritates the tits off me. Although I'm happy to accept one man's trash is another man's treasure, but I'd genuinely rather listen to the shark video above than his endless jazz waffling. Admittedly the guy in the original post is definitely top 3. If not number one.

I don't think that the forum necessarily needs to be split, but I think that there should be more enforced use of the existing tagging system. If every single post had to either have a "4 string", "5 string", "6 string" etc tag before it could be submitted, then it would be very easy to filter to the ones you're interested in. At the moment, the fact that only 10% of posts have any tags at all makes it more or less useless. If there were a new automated rule that all listings had to have at least a certain number of tags (3? 5?) then it would be so much more useful. S.P.

PRS works on a 100% or sample basis of broadcasters depending on size/reach or advertising revenue. The main national BBC and independent stations report 100% of their performances whereas BBC local and independent local stations are often sampled e.g. 3 day a month and those works paid out. There is no difference between oldies and new tracks in their value. The value per track is calculated according to license fee or advertising revenue and is the same for every track of a similar duration.

Do remember that you’re auditioning them as much as they’re auditioning you.

This sounds like the 'narrative arc' of many bands that I've been in. Take time to enjoy your new family - before you know it your house will be full of grumpy teenagers, and it'll be time to get that three-piece on the road.

My first Sandberg was a TM4 with Delanos followed by a VM4 also with Delanos. These were great until I fancied something a little more vintage sounding but preferred the Sandberg feel to my Fenders. I then bought a TT4 with the intention of swapping the pickups (Delanos). I didn't bother for quite a while as it sounded great but eventually succumbed and put a set of Nordstrand in. It sounded good but eventually I moved on all 3 and bought passive only Sandbergs. My Umbos have that vintage jazz vibe with extra tonal variations due to the pickups (Haussel Alnico2) and passive electronics. My passive California II TT4 has Sandberg Alnico5 pickups which are great too. If you like a modern sound with a kind of Stingray-ish character the Delanos are the ones to get. The newer VM's have big pole Sandbergs in them and are not quite as modern sounding as the Delanos to my ears. It wouldn't surprise me if these are custom wound by Delano to Sandberg's specs for the VMs. With Sandberg there are a lot of options and it's just a matter of choosing what is right for you. Waiting for a custom order can be agonising though so swapping pickups out is a choice too..

I'm GASing over a Jag at the minute but if I do make one it will be VM style so I'm watching this with interest!! Love the Walnut neck!!....... 😀

A damp cloth, maybe with a little bit of detergent will clean most muck. A clean-ish old toothbrush might help, especially around the bridge to shift the dust bunnies. A rosewood fretboard might like a tiny wipe of lemon oil after cleaning.

Don't reply if I'm boring you senseless, I just need to vent. I joined an established band three years back and we've really grown in to something last year in particular, great fun, big gigs, reasonably pay for gigs and becoming really good friends to the point we forgive each other of a lot and we socialise away from being a band. Recently it's started to get me a little down and frustrated. After a lot of pushing in the last few years mainly by me we have developed a dynamite set. Our "core audience" is basically couples in their early to mid forties at functions or just down the pub, they bloody love big 80's tunes they can sing and dance to but we retain a rock/ bluesy edge. Terrific. The band is now getting really complacent and pulling in different directions. We added a couple of questionable songs like Parklife and Sex on Fire. I know. But when people are drunk enough they enjoy it, fair enough their enjoyment is proportional to our getting re booked. However, despite the big 80's stuff being core to our set we are not building on that but doing what I would call random "filler", in the context of this band anyway. Sweet Home Chicago, a guitarists wet dream but boring as hell and not a dancer. Our rule was they gave to both sing and dance to it. Also it just doesn't fit with what we do. Last night we cancelled another rehearsal but hot given more new songs to learn. We are up to seven new songs to learn but we haven't finished the last three new ones. Also we are doing a wedding in two months and nobody has asked the couple if there's any songs they want...??!! Gigs. We only accept gigs from the drummers friends. This is really limiting us. He controls the email account and if anyone he doesn't know contacts us he either ignores them for weeks or gets awkward with them. Some are obvious wastes of time but many... Well we will never know. So we are stuck doing the same gigs year on year. I've tried getting us other gigs in other nearby towns and got told it's not worth the bother. In-ears. Some people now want to play along to a click. Fine, this will improve our timing but I don't want the expense of s proper in ear system, I also like to be on my toes and the danger of it all falling apart of we are not on our game. Another motivation for this was to play samples of horn parts etc. I am very sceptical, we can't all learn one song in a month so how are we going to program horn arrangements, who will buy the software, spend the time on this, adjust for key...? I don't get it. It doesn't suit us. I've got a baby arriving at the end of summer so I'm taking two months out. I'm not sure I'll go back. It's a shame because I absolutely love the guys and love the nights when we tear the roof off a small market town pub, but I can't keep trotting out clichéd pub band songs, we were trying to be different now we seem to be trying very hard to be exactly the same. I always wanted to have my own three piece band doing covers and originals, realistically my time to do that was either in my twenties or its yet to come once my kids are older, it's not now. Vent over. Sorry.

Yup, this thread serves to separate the man from the instrument. Although there are those who would like to insert the offending instrument into that man... with good reason I might add.

It’s all Ped’s fault anyway. If he hadn’t made me try the Wingbass I wouldn’t have had to build these....

I’ve done a few gigs where footie or rugby has been on the tv. I always tried to set up with a clear view of the match. I know, I’m a terrible person.

Well, yes and no. If you're the kind of person who has very strong opinions about politics and race, and talks about them incessantly, then perhaps it's a good thing to do that at an audition. Let the other band members know what they might be letting themselves in for. S.P.

What a great post! ^^^^^. 😎 The neck on my '73 4000 has never needed adjustment in the 20+ years I've had it. It's always had light gauge rounds or flats on, and it's still arrow straight. 👍

Last year I walked from a band, the primary reason being that owing to everyone's unavailabilities we were only doing one rehearsal a month, and 3 gigs a year. If you want this band to have a chance of surviving then you need to identify the person (or people) who are having the biggest problems with scheduling conflicts, and replace them. Have you talked to your co-founder guitarist about your concerns? Edit: also, if agreeing dates week-by-week is meaning that you are struggling to get a rehearsal room, then the solution is simple - start planning rehearsal dates a month in advance. And if anyone says "I don't know which nights I'm going to be available that week" then show them the door, because I can guarantee you that they'll be the death of your band otherwise. S.P.

Corrected for you ;)

Holst: The Planets - Montreal Symphony Orchestra/Charles Dutoit, 1987 Scenes From A Memory - Dream Theater Milliontown and Rockfield Files - Frost* Upside Downside - Mike Stern War of the Worlds - Jeff Wayne You've been here 10 years and you've only just worked that out??

Sounds like you need some time out and focus on more important things in your life. Enjoy the early days as much as you can, they grow up quick! I find most things happen and pan out for a reason most of the time. Good luck!

It sounds like you've done the right thing, even if it is causing you stress. Short-term pain for long-term gain. Hope it gets easier 👍

They can indeed, but I get the impression that Pedulla Guitars was a very personal thing to Michael. I don't think he has ever commented on the possibility of handing it over. I don't blame him for saying 'that's it's. Effectively, he has closed his shop having had the final say on every instrument to bear his name.