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To come together after learning all your parts beforehand at home and nailing the new song at rehearsal after going through it two or three times. 👍

Dreams do come true!! I've finally received the bass I've ALWAYS wanted but never dared believe possible..... a stunning super-Rare US Spector NS2X 'Spectorbird' complete with 9v Haz preamp!! Just "Wow........"!! 😍😍😍😍 Solid 5A quilted maple body, thru neck, US 9V Hazlab preamp, Abalone inlays, heavy duty gold Spector hardware and Gotoh lightweight tuners.... It's almost 7 years old and in absolutely mint condition! Perfection...!!

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

In recent months, The Star in Guildford, a venue I've both frequented and played at several times, was subject to a noise abatement case bought about by the occupants of an apartment block adjacent to the venue. The apartments had been converted from an older office block, the new tenants had taken residence, failed to do their due diligence and get this, din't like the noise emitted from the venue, so a legal case was brought against the venue by Guildford Borough Council. Happily the matter has been quashed; it appears moreover that the GBC case was fundamentally flawed and the judge threw the matter out. It's a moral victory and a victory for sensibility. It's a wonderful venue and so geared up for live music; killer PA system. https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/live-guildford-star-pub-court-16511558

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

After a blooming long wait, I finally took delivery of a FSR Mustang, made in Mexico in Seafoam Pearl with a maple fretboard. The pearl finish is absolutely lovely. Nothing fancy about the maple board, but I'm pleased that the front is gloss whereas the back is satin. This'll probably be my number one bass for gigging with Stray. I was torn between a standard MIM and the American Performer - I was edging towards the US one for various reasons, but I'm a sucker for maple boards so when this came out I jumped on it. Its not mega light for a shortie - weighing in at 8.4 lbs - she seems to balance ok but I won't really be able to tell until she's gigged. The intonation was out a bit which I've sorted. The action was medium and neck relief just right - I've since got the action pretty low and she won't need any fettling. Sound wise, I've played with the pickup heights and been able to get the volume of the bridge pickup loud enough not to be dwarfed by the neck one so happy there, but I'm on the lookout for a SD quarter pounder set to drop in. Fret ends are all good so nothing else to do now except play her. I might replace the strings with TI flats but I'll give it a good playing in with these on first. I'm one very happy bunny!

After having finally admitting I quite liked Fender basses, I very quickly realised that I did but I didn't really, so did a big change and bought PTB's Maruszczyk Jake 5P P/J bass. Partly because I think it looks gorgeous, but also it only weighs 3.5 kg (which is wonderful for a 5 stringer). I also decided to exchange my three remaining basses for a German made Warwick Star Bass II 5 Bubinga (I did momentarily put it up for sale on here straight after I got it because I thought it was too good for me. It is, but it's also so wonderful I quickly withdrew the sale). My logic behind this is that as I'm in two bands (a function electric band and a double bass/acoustic instrumental style band) and I didn't want loads of basses upsetting Mrs 6feet7, I though one bass could act as the backup to both the electric Maruszczyk and my double bass. At the same time, rather than have 2 different sets of amps, I've got rid of my Phil Jones Briefcase and my Markbass setup and got a Phil Jones Suitcase Compact BG-400 with a Phil Jones Compact 8 Cab that covers both bands (I've kept a Markbass LM II head as a backup, just in case). To say I'm excited to do my first gigs with this setup is an understatement. Anyway, I thought I'd share

Hope you don't mind, I took a little photo of you while you were typing that.

I like a rehearsal where the drummer turns up in a foul mood cos he's had an argument with his Mrs, then the guitarist turns up drunk with no leads. After I've helped the drummer set up and lent Mr Guitar some leads I'm then most gratified when the drummer starts taking out his frustration by hitting every drum as hard as he can, with GuitarMan playing his best Hendrix impersonation at a different speed at absolute full volume. To be perfect, the singer should then turn up saying they can only stay for 1/2 an hour, at which point guitarist nips out for a 10 minute smoke break, coming back smelling of skunk and unable to stand. We'd have time to play 4 or 5 songs, but wouldn't get past the first one because: a) the singer thinks it should be faster b) the drummer thinks it should be slower c) the guitarist is sick on my pedalboard

A good cheeseboard.

Discipline at rehearsals is key. People messing with new gear, widdling away, on their mobiles, smoking/vaping breaks etc all go towards making things very arduous IME. Being able to talk and express ideas in an open manner is vital to making any material work in performance.

My only deep sorrow is the unrelenting insistence of recording and motion picture companies upon purveying the most brutal, ugly, degenerate, vicious form of expression it has been my displeasure to hear—naturally I refer to the bulk of grime*. It fosters almost totally negative and destructive reactions in young people. It smells phony and false. It is sung, played and written for the most part by cretinous goons and by means of its almost imbecilic reiterations and sly, lewd—in plain fact dirty—lyrics, and as I said before, it manages to be the martial music of every sideburned delinquent on the face of the earth. *(changed from rock 'n' roll as it appeared in the original Frank Sinatra disquisition upon the evils of Elvis and his co-conspirators)

Herebe our latest offering, from our 4th album which will be released on 01 Aug 2019:

That would explain the daft grin 😄

Recently I've been going to a couple of open mic nights - one at my local bar that's just gettting up and running & one at a nearby pub that's well-established. The established one is run by a group of Windrush generation musicians who play all sorts of reggae influenced music. I've heard loads of songs I'd have never come across & leant the bass parts so I can play at the night. The open mic at my local is a bit chaotic at the moment, with people with all different tastes in music wanting to play. As a result, I've told them I'll learn anything as long as they tell me in advance, and it's working quite well so far & I'm listening to & learning all sorts of music. The only problem is in response to the question: Me: "So, you do play it in the key that is was recorded, don't you?" Them (various): "Oh yes! Of course!" Song starts... Me: "What jeffin' key are you playing it in!?!" Them: "Erm...I'm not really sure." Or... Them: "Oh, it's in Am" Me: "Fine, but you're not playing it in Am." Them: "Oh, is this not Am?" Me: "No - that's Em" Them: "Well, I just put the capo on here for a change..." Me: *sighs* "Ok then."

So here are my initial thoughts on the Kustom. Firstly it might be worth mentioning why I went for it as I previously stated by lack of enthusiasm for Class D amps. My MarkBass SA450 does not seem to be delivering the goods like it has over the last 10+ years. I seem to have to wind it up a lot more to get the desired output so I thought lets give the Kustom a go as if I don't like it, it can go back within 30 days. Out of the box it feels quite solid and there is certainly more weight to it than a lot of the Class D offerings that are around. I'm hoping that is a nicely designed power supply. Build quality is excellent, everything fits well and it has a quality feel about. I'm not sure why they chose to have 2 inputs as they are not independently controlled. A simple slide switch is used to select your input and each has a 10dB pad switch. The tone controls puzzled me at first as they do not have centre detents so initially I didn't know if they were boost only or cut and boost. A quick email to Kustom and a very speedy reply confirming they are cut/boost with the flat position being at 12 o'clock. I find it a bit strange that they chose not to have a centre detent on Bass/Mid/Treble but have on Room EQ controls. A minor thing I know and whilst I'm nitpicking, why a Speakon/Jack combo output AND a Jack? I would certainly prefer 2 Speakons as I don't have to daisy chain my cabs. Right so firing it up through my 2 Zoot 1x12s and boy is it LOUD. With the gain on 12 and master on 12, I hardly had my bass volume turned up at all. With everything flat it had a nice deep thick bass sound with just a little bit of crunch. The definition was there and I felt just like i did when I first plugged into an Eden WT550, it was just there. Certainly a different sound to the Eden but a great natural tone nevertheless. The 2 room Eq controls do exactly as described. Low Contour Room EQ - this active control is the final shaping for low frequencies. Increasing this control cuts a notch in the low frequencies to help smooth out room “boominess”. Decreasing this control rolls off the extreme low frequencies. The High Contour Room EQ - this active control is the final shaping for high frequencies. Increasing this control cuts a notch in the high frequencies to help smooth out typical speaker peaks or room “harshness”. This can be a useful way to control the horn level. I used it on a gig last Friday and it was an interesting setting. We played in a brewery on a raised stage so probably the worst acoustics imaginable. Huge steel containers, a "bouncy" stage, concrete walls, however it sounded great. My problem with all the Class D amps I have tried in the past is that they sound bloody loud on their own but get lost in the band mix. Not the Kustom. It sounded exactly the same when we started playing as it did when I was setting up and with tons of power in reserve. I've another couple of gigs to try it on before i have to make a decision, but so far I can't see me returning it. For just over £200 with a 3 year warranty, it is a bargain.

I like gigging too, However, for me being rehearsed makes gigging more fun I like bands to know their material and don't like / avoid bands who take the looser approach, y'know the 'we don't need rehersals cause we can toss off this stuff' type of bands..

Well, given that I don't listen to much mainstream popular music nowadays, I nevertheless decided to dip my toe into the broadcasting of Glasto this year, not having listed to this for at least a decade. I still haven't seen everything on I-Player, so there's a lot of catch-up to do, but so far there's been some stuff that I've enjoyed and some that I haven't. So no change there, in other words. So..... Janet Jackson - inaudible vocals, though level seemed fine when shouting to the crowd? Ergo, avoiding singing at any volume as voice not what it used to be, instead relying on BV's. One-paced set, too many numbers with exactly the same drumbeat. Dull as ditchwater. Lewis Capaldi - See this, Ed Sheeran?? THIS is why you need a band, not a fecking Looper!!! Some light and shade, some rhythmic variation, dynamics.. Plenty of good songs, not a bad voice, and taking the p*** out of a Gallagher. Fine effort. Kylie Minogue - Sorry, a dairy allergy prevents my consumption of that much cheese in one sitting. Kokoroko - oh now THAT's the good stuff!! Thanks BBC for giving them a bit of a feature in a more acoustic-level setting. Fab. Liam Gallagher - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh no, really, please don't. Two Door Cinema Club - Consistently excellent set, fine singing and playing, great melodic hook-laden guitar-driven songs. Saw a bad review of their set, which I find incomprehensible. Apparently they had the nerve to play some new material, rather than being a mere Greatest Hits Festival Jukebox..... Christine & The Queens = Emperor & The New Clothes. And finally, The Cure.....I kept thinking "they can't keep this up, surely?" as they reeled off one great piece of music after another. If I had gone to that Festival, that is absolutely the kind of stuff that I'd have wanted to see. Nice that Robert Smith seemed genuinely overwhelmed by the crowd reaction. Still, I'm off to Love Supreme next week, for Sparky Yuppy, Chicory Ear, Jamie Column and the like. We'll see how that turns out...

I'll start. The ability to listen to each others ideas and suggestions. Blue

I was asked to play at a private reggae garden party yesterday for a few hours, so I went down my summerhouse before to practice and , Baby Jane by rod Stewart came on the radio and I started to play along, I had the basic Bassline down in about 15 minutes and absolutely loved it. So have you ever found yourself playing something you wouldn’t normally play and enjoyed it 🙂

What I hate (and I have been in a few bands that do this) are rehearsals where everyone learns their parts, you go through a song and if you all start and finish at the same time you go onto the next song / run through the set. As far as I am concerned that is a waste of time and you might as well not bother rehearsing and just do the gig. I would take it as read that everyone is gonna turn up knowing their basic parts. But what I want to do is pull the first performance of a new song apart and work on anything that could be better, transitions between parts of songs, etc. The devil is always in the detail. Maybe I have learnt a part but the drummer or keys player has heard it slightly differently. A rehearsal is to sort out issues like that rather than just banging through songs and thinking if it’s sort of OK then that’s good enough. Once you have got to the point where it is gig tight then I don’t really see the point of additional rehearsals for the sake of it (unless you haven’t played a gig for quite a while).

Communication. Thats the key for me. Making sure we have all learned the correct version of the song, not the one they played live in that gig in 84 in Poland. You must have seen it on youtube? Rehearsals are for getting the performance gig ready not for learning the song. I don`t mind rehearsals as long as it doesn`t become a "social event." You are paying dough out to do this so get the tunes tight and bugger off and do some gigs! Pet hate in rehearsals. You are speaking to the singer sorting out the arrangement and the guitarist starts playing a riff from an old heavy rock number, the drummer knows it, picks up and joins in as you try to talk to singer. Much abuse follows

I reckon @NancyJohnson is going to be envious 🙂

I don’t know what you’d call those first two, but I wouldn’t call them grime. Grime is more like UK council estate gangsta rap with atonal metal riffs played on a Bontempi organ.

I know what you mean... but it's doable as long as you've hired a decent engineer, you can produce it yourself. You do have my sympathies... Who'd a though that "Sheep Worrying" was actually a real crime... ?

I've got the studio time booked but no producer will work with me. Not since.....y'know

You sound like SkinnyGrandad! "In my day...all fields...shillings, farthings & ha'pence...youth of today...no manners...back of my hand...chunner...dribble...where are my Werthers..."

This was the view from the stage when we started on Friday night. Me: "Where are all the people?" Bouncer: "It's Friday. Nobody comes out on Friday. It's always like this. We may get 2 or 3 later." We actually ended up with 7 people - who danced and enjoyed themselves - so that was a bonus. Sometimes you have to wonder why places book bands on guaranteed no-turnout nights, though.

Does somebody need a hug?

That's exactly what old men of each era said about the Beatles, Jazz, Rock & Roll, Punk, Metal, Grunge, House Music, Hip Hop, Techno etc. All fads that won't stand the test of time. People said jazz was primitive 'jungle music' for degenerates. (Pretty sure that was a German Nazi party line actually). People said the blues was the devil's music, and a guitar was the "devil's plaything". It's just us getting old. Enjoy the music that you're lucky enough to have lived through, and enjoy the fact that 12 year olds have invented their own way to be musically creative. If they were copying whatever music your generation listens to, you'd probably be more annoyed by that.

Have an objective for the rehearsal, whatever that may be. No point in rehearsing every week just because you rehearse every week ( unless that's the objective ).

We rehearse every week irrespective of whether we’re gigging that weekend or not. One of the main comments we get is that how tight we are in our performance so I’d say all of our rehearsals are productive.

I think the whole grime scene has been going downhill ever since Barry Scott stopped shouting on the Cillit Bang adverts.

The problem I have with Glastonbury is the music. I'm not a fan of most of the guys who play it and I'm not really inclined to wade through the stuff I don't like to get to the few bands I do. Then there is the BBC coverage. I don't much care for their ideas of how you present a music festival. The trouble with TV people, they can't just show the music. They have to get creative and believe they have to add all their bits which is what makes the show interesting! Take all the BBC rubbish away and just leave the music. And then, what idiot thought all those bloody flags were a good idea! What's going on there? Janelle Monae. Did she bring Brandon Gilliard? An amazing bass player. I'll have to have a look on YT and see if her set is there.

I think you'll find it's actually DE6 5JQ. (Yes this is desperate bid to drag the thread back on topic!)

A good mix of Fairy Liquid and Cif will shift it.

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 🙂

Yeah wristbands all the way, go all out with the 118 look with matching headband too

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

Watched 57 seconds of the killers. He really isn’t a good singer is he? Oh well, that’s glasto’s TV coverage done for me again for another year.

Following on from my earlier post, here's my now restored SB-R150 with it's siblings. 😁 I've created a thread in build diaries showing the loom, pickups fitted etc.

Alan Gorrie is borrowing my Overwater for the Average White Band gig in Cardiff tonight, as his bass was nicked last night! Glad I could help out though!

Only 30 mins later and Lee from ARIA has called me, he's found all the parts, and is sending them to me free, gratis. I'm stunned.

So the strings, strap locks and pickup cover came this morning. All fitted and stringed up and set up. Played it and realised I haven’t removed the lacquer from the frets yet. So I’ll have to do that before this is fully complete. I’ve only given it a quick play to make sure everything feels right and works as it should. Initial impressions is that it’s good., although playing with a pickup cover is difficult. So next step is fret polishing. After that I’ll put up a recording of how it sounds. So pickup cover on and get used to it? Or remove?