Leaderboard

When I say these guys are talented its an understatement. The guy on the left is just the best of the best drummers, ex session guy from London. Has to be heard to be believed as to how good he is... Far right is the lead guitarist from Dublin. Fantastic, into his Snarky Puppy etc. The guy in green is the multi talented play keys from his MacBook crazy guitar vocalist etc etc. Then there is the Bubingagroovebooster on bass with backing vocals. To be honest I was loosing faith in finding other musicians who love the same music as me. But here we are 6 months down the line. The music is all original. its latin rock jazzy funk.The thing is its just SUPER tight. We will go over a song 20 times. I told Dan that we need to go over and over it until it becomes more than perfect.. It becomes natural. I got that philosophy from Steely Dan and it works. We rehearse for 6/7 hours twice a week. Im very excited about this music/these guys. Got our own studio that we rent and are putting in a booth and PA etc. Just when I had lost hope in finding a band. Its a strange world.!

So, I was 50 last Saturday... treated myself.

Finally, new year must be out of the way!! Deepest apologies, we're been on an extended trip over the channel and just got back, aching and tired after many months in a campervan but it was an adventure of a lifetime. Back to the twins, well after 12 months the nitro is as you might expect rock hard, so both were rubbed down with 600, 800, 1200, 2000 and 2500 grit then buffed with a sponge buffing pad on my sander with Farcell G10 polishing compound The next job was some cavity shielding, a laugh a minute activity!! That was Thursday and Friday's work, this morning I started work on the frets but unfortunately a job I can't (or won't) finish as I seem to have mislaid my fret end bevelling widget (a new Crimson one on order). First job was adjusting the truss rod to flatten the fret tops as best I could using a straight edge and a bit of thin paper as a feeler gauge until it was averaging out straight. Then I marked the fret tops with black permanent marker before filing them flat I filed evenly over the curve of the fret tops until the lowest fret just had some light scratches on it's top, it always amazes me how some frets can end up so low and some so high despite being very careful to fit them perfectly Then I re blacked the fret tops before crowning them again, I use a magnifying visor to help me see the work in progress until I see just the faintest remnants of the levelling file marks at 90 degrees to the crowning file marks before one last pass to clean them up. Then I used a fret rocker in three positions across the width of the frets and it's whole length just to be sure the frets are still level before cleaning up the whole fretboard with scotchbrite before a quick coat of Lemon oil. When my new fret end widget arrives I'll dress the ends and polish up the frets. Next job was to fit the nut, which was simply a matter of cleaning up the nut slot with a sharp chisel, sanding the nut to size (I really must get one of those clever gadgets to help you sand nuts), popping it into place for now until the frets are finished. Well that's it for a day or so for the twins now off to resume the finishing of the Triplets

When I saw the thread title I thought it was another..."best way to clean the fretboard.." thread. 😅

Last week playing “No Cops @ Pride”... at Edinburgh Pride

Played the Bolton Punk Picnic - rather bizarrely named as it was in a pub, and no sausage rolls! Anyway, it was an all-dayer, we were on at 6:30. For most of the last 2 months we’ve been recording our latest album so it was nice now that that’s out of the way to be back where we belong, gigging. And what a gig, the reception was great, bodies flying everywhere, people up on the stage, I had to dodge more microphones coming straight at me than Anthony Joshua dodges punches. Singing backing vox was difficult as the audiences singing of the choruses was so loud I could hardly hear myself. We put some songs off of the new album into the set - it was a 30 min set so decided on 4 new ones and they went down a storm. Recording might be good fun but nothing beats gigging for me. What a gig!

Tough on Grime, tough on the causes of Grime... Sorry, it's been a long day.

Played a standard pub gig on Friday in Bicester then today at a family festival in the grounds of Blenheim Palace. What a startling view! Always nice to play outside but it does test your rig when there is no FOH support for the bass. The sound guy appeared to be suffering from sunstroke, he was certainly very red, I hope he's OK. Made for an interesting afternoon/early evening. Here's a snap shot of our view as we played

Got a Ray in, traded against a G&L L2500. I haven’t owned one in several years, but my first proper self-bought and only fretted bass between ‘93 and ‘08 was a Stingray 4 2 band from late 92/early 93. Then gone through 5/6 string basses, custom hi-end etc. Now have a ‘97 2 band Ray in the arsenal and I have to say, great, great basses that sound and play really well. Although I have several 4 and 5 string basses, it is nice to be (partly) back where it all began.

Get one of these https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Beer-Towels-Bar-Towels-Bar-Mats-Bass-Finest-Ale-Bar-Towel-New/303206454983?hash=item46988356c7:g:YFgAAOSwEDBc~pcM

Call me an old fart if you will, but the Chemical Brothers set is awesome... Then Liam Gallagher with some confused person in the audience holding up a sign "WE ♥️ YOU NOEL"

I'm not sure whether anyone is interested, but I've just finished a guitar with a brushed nitrocellulose lacquer finish. I always swore that I'd never use nitro - too poisenous both for me and the planet. However, a friend asked me to make them a Tele using a beautiful piece of flamed spalted maple, and nitro was the only finish that worked. Polyurethane, oil and CA glue turned the test pieces into a dull splodgy brown mess, not exactly the look I was going for. Nitro though brought out all the beautiful colours and let the flame really sing. Here's the piece of wood before I started.... Although I do spray waterbased polyurethane, there's no way I can spray nitro so I thought I'd try brushing it on. The internet though had almost no information about whether it was possible to brush it on, how to do it, or what the results would look like. So, hopefully this thread will help you decide if you want to do it. It is definitely not an easy option, but.....let me get up some finished pics, and you could decide whether it was worth it. This is what I used: This is Rothko & Frost's standard gloss nitro that they sell neat, ie not in aerosol. This was a 250ml bottle and I used the whole thing plus a bit more on the body. I brushed it on with an artist's brush, a trick I stole from @Andyjr1515. You need to make sure that it's a brush for oil paints, with natural bristles, otherwise the solvents can melt them. I used a Daler Rowney Bristlewhite hog hair fan brush, size 4 (though a size 6 might have made life a bit easier). They are comically long so I cut mine to a more manageable length. Schedule was something like this: 1. Sand to 220 2. Grain fill with Aqua Coat 3. Ignore the fact that the grain fill was pretty poor and crack on with finishing (john, john, john, will you never learn?🙄) 4. Brush on R&K Nitro, thinned with 30% R&K cellulose thinners, probaly about 10 coats. 5. Curse myself repeatedly for failing to grain fill properly. I've made enough guitars to know that preparation is everything, and if you want a smooth finish grain fill is critical. Impatience though sometimes clouds my already pretty poor judgement 5. Wet sand with Wet/Dry paper (water with a drop of Murphy's oil soap) with 600 grit. 6. Another unknown number of coats. It felt like hundreds, but was probably another 5 or so. 7. Wet sand 1000 grit 8. 'wet' sand with Gerlitz Carnauba wax on a piece of Mirka Abralon 1000 grit. This left exactly the satin sheen I was after. I found the key was to brush the nitro on in one stroke, never go back over somewhere you've just painted. Because the nitro dissolves the layer before, I found the brush would start 'sticking' as it got caught in the previous layer. My approach was to do lots and lots of layers, knowing that I would have to go back and wet sand quite a lot of it off to get it completely flat. In reality, because my grain fill was....well, shite.....I had to do many many more layers than I otherwise would have had to have done. If I ever do this again, I'm hoping that 10 layers in total would be enough, assuming a flat surface to begin with. I lay the guitar flat on a 'lazy susan' turntable, did the top and the sides at the start of the day then turned it over and did the back and sides. Would I do it again? Ummm....yes, and no. Yes, if the wood was crying out for nitro, as this piece was. I'd be a bit reluctant to do it again on an entire guitar body though. Even though it was brushed rather than sprayed, the fumes were still pretty bad, and I wore a proper mask with organic filters at all times. On a guitar with a binding like this one, next time I'd probably brush the top with nitro, as above, but do the rest of the body with something else, tru oil probably. The binding would provide a natural break between the two finishes, so the two finishes wouldn't ever touch. And on a flat surface like a guitar top (rather than the fiddly curved inner horns) you could whizz through the process in no time. It's worth mentioning that the Rothko & Frost nitro specifically says it is not suitable for brushing, though I'm not quite sure why, as far as I could tell it went on perfectly nicely. The process also used much less nitro than you would get through if spraying (I think). With a proper grain fill I'm pretty sure I could do a whole body with one 250ml bottle. An aerosol contains about 150ml of nitro, so I used probably the equivalent of two aerosols worth. I've never finished a guitar with rattlecans, but I'm pretty sure it would be many more than that. So all in all I'm pleased with the result (but the next one is going to be Danish Oil, which I can do on the kitchen table😂😁). And some photos.....

Ditto my own appreciation of grime. I love 80/90s hip hop, jungle, drum’n’bass... and I’ve tried my best to like grime, I really have. But it does nothing for me. Just dull. But that undoubtedly a good thing. I’m a middle-aged dude (45 years) and I’d be sorely disappointed in the youth of today if their music wasn’t incomprehensible to the likes of me; just as “my” music was to the generation above me, back in my day. So all is as it should be. The balance of the universe in harmony 🙂

Kylie set and bass sound still going strong. Will see her at the Eden Project on Tuesday so hoping for more of same.

Call this my Smash and Grab for when I need to be in and out fast. Ashdown set for maximum boom, TCE for bright and middley. All bondage strapped Hannibal Lecter style to sack trucks and ready wired up. Even guitar hanger attached to the trucks. Wheel it in, plug it in, hit a few notes, turn the volume down on the TCE if it's too toppy or down on the Ashdown if it's too bassy. End of the night bass into gig bag, unplug extension lead, wheel the whole lot out and it was like I was never there. Particularly good for violent venues and festivals where getting in and out with maximum speed and stealth is of paramount importance.

Enjoyed Kylie. Band were tight, bass sounded huge!!!! For those that like a Sandberg TM4 HCA Orange and a TT4 masterpiece Roquefort on show

Here you go mate let me know if I can help with any questions https://www.basschat.co.uk/faq/ ped

Not so fat these days but still the chap about whom a woman once observed: "Nick Soames' approach to seduction is like having a wardrobe fall on you with the key sticking out".

Just try and sell something and the link for payment will come up.

Yeah I always find myself noodling around to unsuspecting songs in different genres. I play in a function band too that forces me to dip into a wide selection of genres. For me, i feel it can only improve you as a musician and also surprise you into new and enjoyable musical experiences.

so glad you found the right guys now, where can I buy myself one of those Bubingagroovebooster pedals? I need two

Rock star wristbands. Seriously, as well as for support on the wrists these really help to stop the sweat travelling down onto your hands.

Why pick on the Killers? There are zillions of bands who have had more drastic lineup changes. No different to Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio and Carmine Appice, if you are still playing the same music. Would anyone other than the most committed Ozzy dieghard have said that wasn't Black Sabbath back in the mid 80s? I'd agree if the music had changed significantly, like later versions of Sabbath that were intended to be Iommi solo projects. The difference here is they have left the door open for people to return.

Right then, spotted a "B" stock one of these on Thomann for €246 when looking to order something else, (honest guv), so sprung for it. I've done 1 gig with it and was pretty impressed and I HATE Class D amps as a rule. I'll do a "quick and dirty" review tomorrow and follow up with a proper one when it's had a few more gigs under its belt.

Typical scot! Won't even pay for a dog to hunt me down properly >ducks<

This thread is an interesting read. One of the hardest things to get is an honest, objective critique of your playing style. When i meet other bass players they tend to be awfully polite - I wish they would say 'have you tried' or 'your behind the beat'. I went to a teacher looking for 'refreshing' my playing. He barely asked me to play anything then shot into long exercises playing different modes along single strings. He seemed to want to turn me in to a jazz improviser. I wanted someone to spot my weak points and also help me get to grips with 5-string (where its across the neck that you really want to develop). Two (of many) things that have helped me... right at the beginning in my first band we did a few songs with syncopated bass lines and the guys really helped me to get the rhythms right. Second, one of my brothers watched the recording of my recent (and first for~ 23 years) gig and took it apart song by song - in the nicest possible way. With fresh eyes it was easy to see how we started off pretty loose then after a couple of songs 'clicked' into the groove and our timing got much better. There was the one where the guitarist and I were locked together but I'd got fractionally ahead of the drums. Another where the hi-hat pattern went wrong so what I normally play wasn't quite working. Silly things like me standing in the wrong place and my awful microphone technique for backing vocals - moving my head close in at last minute and pulling away too early - the only one that worked well was ironically when I was right back from the mike because I was unsure of myself and the sound engineer had bumped me up! Some good things - where I got lost, went to root notes for a verse and then slipped back in. Obviously the view we had wasn't really going to help with wrist position etc. but I'd love to get my technique dissected in the same way. the lesson I REALLY want is the one that helps me remember the structure of complicated songs quickly and easily!

Caught some of Sheryl Crow - fabulous, professional, 57, says it all......dipped into bits of the rest, landed up watching a progam about Victorian Sewers, which was slightly more entertaining..... 😎

Great bass focused Stomp video here, showing the immediacy and ease of use with the editor (I’m looking at you @Al Krow!) Obviously this guy is going for a more metal-centric sound but the basic operating principles apply regardless of what kind of tone you’re aiming for.

Either of Richard Baker or Ted Rogers in a ginger wig would do. Skank's not that fussy...

Baker or Rogers??

BC marketplace comes up trumps again and sorts me out with just what I was after, thanks to Bobby D. Fancied something a bit gnarlier and more straightforward than my J and, having already tried this out at a rehearsal, I think it could be just the ticket. I’m now sold on replacing the flats on my J (which were on it when I bought it) with rounds – I really like the feel but the amount of snap I want for the sort of things I’m playing just isn’t there. I’ve always preferred a Jazz neck, but I think a combination of this one not being too hefty and me being more comfortable with playing bass than I’ve ever been before mean this isn’t too bad at all. Also, it seems like the slightly smaller body than the J puts the neck in a marginally more comfortable position to reach the lower frets – has anyone else found this, or am I being a weirdo? Next steps for the P are: flip the pickup round, and while I’m at it get a black scratchplate. Anyway, here’s a picture of it with the J and a bonus, additional beast.

Well impressed with Miley - great stunt with Dad (Billy Ray) in tow - if anyone can work a crowd as well as Dolly P, it's Billy Ray.......... 😎.

Maybe you’re just too old to get it?!

I can't remember how deep the combo I had was, but I was never very satisfied with the stability the cab on the stand.

Hey - welcome back to BC! That's actually a lovely looking bass - it can be hard to beat natural wood grain in terms of finish! Rather than upgrading the bridge and preamp, given that you're not a big user of active EQ and how you're using your EQ seems to be exactly how a lot of us with passive Yammy BBs use ours, just wondering whether it would be worth considering getting a used BB 434 or indeed the 424 that's currently in the FS, which are both purely passive?

I realise this is a somewhat cheap and cheerful example of the BB genre but it's my only bass and I've just picked it up again after years of it just sitting there. (It's my first post in almost five years.) It's an early BB614 that I bought new and I must confess that it was the natural colour as much as anything that I liked about it! I did try a couple of Squiers at similar prices and the Yamaha seemed a bit nicer, although I realise that Squier have upped their game a lot recently with things like the Classic Vibe range (assuming the basses are as good as the guitars). I'm once again considering "upgrades" but probably lack the judgement to know what, if anything would make it better. I like the look of the Gotoh 201 - but accept the original seems to work just fine. I've read a lot about the active eq being the weak link in these. I must confess that I don't find the eq of any real use to me as I just stick to blending the pickups and rolling back some treble for the sounds I use. Does it make sense to upgrade the eq (something like the Glockenklang 3 band appeals but it's expensive) or even just get the eq disconnected and replaced with a passive tone control? I'm not too hot with a soldering iron so I'd probably pay a tech to do the work. Trouble is that if I replaced the bridge, preamp and got some lighter tuners (the weight is OK at 9lb 1oz but lighter would be nicer) I'd be well on the way to the cost of a CV Jazz or Precision. Not sure if they would be better but they'd offer another option sound-wise.

Either way, personally I'd get a decent used one end then sell on if it isn't right for you. There's a good SUB in London on Gumtree right now at £495 asking: https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/musicman-sub-bass-us-made/1344797270 Might get one like that for say 450, and worst case sell on at a very slight loss, the difference is like a lease or hire charge. Alternatively just push the budget a bit and find a used US MM starting a grand maybe - same deal, if not happy sell on. You see basses change hands here under that scheme - they come back 6 months later for re-sale, nothing wrong with them, just haven't found their player yet.

I dep with bands so I regularly get to play different styles of music. From blues rock to soul, blues funk, the old style R&B, pop covers from all eras, reggae, americana and ragtime. I love the variety and playing with good drummers in these styles improves my playing on every gig.

Good job they didn't book Yes 😉

@devinebass I'd love to signup and lifetime seems a good deal and in a year I might have the cash. HOWEVER... I have piles and piles of free tabs for every genre of music and if I just spend a few years learning all of those, surely that's the way to go as its all about songs at the end of the day? Dont get me wrong I have the discipline and devotion to work through courses and lessons - its just that songs are the real thing. I spent my first year of playing doing "learn XYZ bass" (replace XYZ with funk, muted grooves, walking sloth, scratchy barnacles, turf and surf etc) type of books and it did nothing for me like simply learning songs. I would love to hear your thoughts on this Scott, but apologies if it puts you on the spot!!