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Hello Basschat; my name is Richard (formally Richard II when onstage), I am a session musician of the (currently) semi-professional variety, I have just returned from my first genuine big boy tour, and I would like to tell you about it! A couple of months back I mentioned this would be happening in another thread and it was suggest that I post a trip report - the last month has been something of a blur and this will mostly be an attempt to collate some of my memories into a parsable format so I thought there might be some interest in reading about something not many people get to do. Wembley - Night 2. Please excuse the hair... For roughly the last 18 months I have been working with a lovely set of musicians called Bang Bang Romeo covering various roles including bass, guitar, and keyboards. They aren't famous (yet), but are a little higher up the ladder than most club bands so it's been a real pleasure to drop onto most of the gigs they've been getting. I've known them on and off for a long time as we're all from the same town and there are only so many people working at that level in the local area so it became inevitable that our paths would collide. About a year into my stint our agent told us to clear our summers and kiss our wives goodbye as we had dropped onto a big tour. He admittedly says this a lot, but this time it turned out to be a genuinely life-changing run of 14 dates supporting P!nk on the UK Beautiful Trauma Tour around the UK and Europe, with an option for another 6 dates if we didn't manage to show our entire asses on the first leg. I was nervous but just about keeping it together until I received the tour manifest through and found that the SMALLEST date on the run was a 30,000 cap stadium... The next six months were mostly a blur of rearranging songs for maximum impact and paring the set down to a machine-precise 25 minutes until about a month before we left when it really started to hit home that this was happening. In particular there was a moment of panic where the other guitarist and myself were doing a stock-take of equipment and realised that we had no cables long enough to reach our pedal boards from where the amps would be at the back of the stage. We'd all played some big events before, but this was a whole new kettle of fish and we were very much the amateur chancers on this tour - yes we were playing two nights at Wembley but right now we were still fitting rehearsals around our day jobs! In the end it was probably the best introduction to the touring life that we could hope for. Pink hires the best in the business and every single person we met was lovely to us. I was however reminded on regular occasions that this is unusually cushy for touring life and I shouldn't get used to this standard in the future... Her band introduced themselves to us early on and we got quite chatty with them over the course of the tour; Justin Derrico is the loveliest guy as well as a MONSTER shredder who incidentally has not just the best LP with piezo sound, but possibly the best acoustic sound I've ever heard in a live setting. Regarding gear, we are luckily good friends with the Hiwatt UK guys who kitted us out with rental amps and overnight shipped a replacement when one went down at Paris, so I can't give enough love to those guys. Initially I took my Tokai SG and a second guitar out, but after a string of equipment failures in the second week I was left with no usable guitars. I contacted Gibson Germany in a blind panic who very kindly talked me off the ledge and provided me with two gorgeous black SGs as loaners for the remainder of the dates. In the middle of the run we also flew from Belgium to Switzerland to play Montreux Jazz Festival with Sting and before you ask, no I can barely believe that particular sentence myself; at one point I actually burst into hysterical laughter in the airport shuttle because the whole thing had begun to seem so ludicrous. I think we stayed in Switzerland for about 18 hours before catching another flight back for the Wembley run (see above regarding hysterics) but we were privileged enough to play a full 50 minute set in the Stravinsky Auditorium with the best in-ear sound I've ever heard. While I can't hope to entirely do justice to the legendary spirits of improv that have walked those halls, we certainly gave it everything and it was possibly the most technically perfect set we've ever played. We also dropped onto the lakeshore to do a session for Swiss national radio with me on bass in the traditional four piece lineup while our tour bassist (Phil) chilled in the lake for a bit. I initially thought I got the better half of that bargain until we spent an hour sweating under a brutally hot tent canopy trying to parse the French-speaking interviewer's questions as Phil gambolled and frolicked in the blissfully cool waters of Lake Geneva behind him. I'm incredibly sad to be back now, but at least we have a few dates left on the run as I go back out for the Scandinavian leg of Copenhagen, Oslo, and Horsens in August. I'm not counting the days, honest... I'll spare the gory (and fairly tedious for those who aren't interested in tour buses!) details of each individual show, but here are a few highlights: Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart Mercedes-Benz Arena, Stuttgart - "Hello... gods, where are we? Hello Stuttgart!" Olympiastadion, Berlin - screw Wembley, what a venue! La Defense Arena, Paris - the gig prior to the SG taking a tumble! Montreux Jazz Festival - extra fly date supporting Sting. HELLOOOOOO WEMBLEY! (Night 1) Thanks for bearing with me this long - I'll be happy to answer rig questions or anything anyone might be curious about in later posts. If anyone is still interested in checking out more informal pics of backstage/touring life then my tour instagram can be found HERE.

Naked self promotion I know, but I just did this... https://www.soundonsound.com/people/why-love-fretless-bass Phil

I wonder if Cruz spent time replicating the shonky build quality of your average 70’s Fender, you know, sanding a few extra mm of breathing room into the neck pocket and such?

I don’t know if anyone will be interested but I decided to make a bass ramp just to try them out and see if I like them so I thought I’d do a little thread for anyone else thinking of doing it?? Firstly I made a template for the ramp Using the the edge of the pickups I marked out the size of the pickups and the gap between them Then cut the template to size and started marking out for the pickup lugs Next you need to cut out the semi circles for the lugs and check that your template fits nice and snug Next you need to get the radius of you fretboard so you can shape the top of the ramp so it sits nicely up against your strings Now it’s tome to transfer the template on to the material your going to use, because I’ve never used one before I didn’t want to shell out for a nice lump of ebony so I’m using 12mm ply I find it easier to drill the holes first before you cut the ply to the correct width but remember not to drill all the way through as it just needs to be slightly deeper than the height of the pickup lugs and screws Then I cut the ramp out and marked out the radius of the fret board I used a upside belt sander to sand the radius on the top I sanded the edges slightly more than the radius just to give it a smoother edge Then I used a permanent marker to blacken off the two edges that butt up against the pickups Next I cut some Matt Black vinyl to cover it with I cut the vinyl back at a slight angle so it makes it easier to wrap round the edges then trimmed the width Once you’ve wrapped it here’s the finished ramp, all in all I think it took about 15mins to make When I get home from work later I’ll check it fit’s and the post an update........... 😀

Prompted by the "Bass ramp" thread I have been a member on here for years. I have played bass since 1972, and you know what? I've never heard of these. I don't ever think about how I play. I never analyse anything.... I was once asked if" I meant to play all those ghost notes"?....I had and still have no idea what ghost notes are. I learned ,from here, that I must use the "floating thumb" technique whilst playing, but have no idea how...I just play that way. I don't understand what "left hand muting" means, I don't have any interest in using effects pedals. I just plug in and play ….learning to play covers by ear and making up my own lines by feel. I have enjoyed myself, played loads of gigs and just let things wash over me. Am I the only one?

And similarly it doesn't hurt to learn more about techniques that help your playing - whether that's understanding the language to describe ones you already use or expanding your playing by learning new ones. Ghost notes is a good example. 20 years ago my wife decided get some singing lessons at an evening class at ACM in Guildford. So I thought, "I'll enrol in the class that runs in parallel." We both then went on to do some 1-2-1 courses after that. My tutor looked at my playing and said, "You know, you never ever use any ghost notes." "Don't I? What are they?" So we spent a few weeks working on them and since then they've been a really central part of how I play too. I love the effect that they have on a line or a rhythm. But I use them completely naturally and unconsciously now. I kinda think of it like learning to drive. "Left foot down, ease off the gas slightly, move gear lever out of slot, move it into new slot, lift left foot to bite point, slowly lift left foot while increasing pressure on the accelerator..." Once you've learned to drive you never actively think about the process, you just instinctively change gear. And again, you could happily get through life referring to the "left foot pusher", "middle slow down foot pusher" and "right hand side go faster foot pusher". So much easier though when you call them the "clutch", "brake" and "accelerator" pedals.

I'll just leave this here. All I want to draw attention to is the price. Unless that's a typo with an extra 1 at the start. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/190716346178003--fender-custom-shop-phil-lynott-precision-bass-master-built-by-j

Ok, so this is copy-pasted from another bass forum, but for a lengthy review of the Ken Smith BT5 that I recently purchased from Ped as well as a few words on my Eich Bass Board that I also purchased as a result of Ped, please read on. For as long as I've known about (the other bass forum for middle class Americans) , which is the better part of 18 years now, I've wanted a Ken Smith, particularly the older BT shape models which I prefer to the newer shapes. I used to play electric guitar and my switch to bass was fairly recent, I've been buying my dream basses. I think I've always secretly been a bassist, I always coveted exotic basses more than exotic guitars and I always loved the role of bass in a band, but that's a whole other story. Here we are, in 2019 and I'm now a bassist. I actually posted last month in the "What will your next bass be?" thread, that my next instrument would be a Ken Smith. I've always loved the design ethos, the exquisite craftsmanship and forward-thinking design Ken's basses had and have. I think they sound great in live and studio recordings, though I'd never heard or even seen one in person until I purchased mine. Last Sunday night, my brother (who is a long-time member here, India_Sierra) sent me a link to a classified ad for a Ken Smith BT5, for sale near York in the UK, which is about 2.5 hours drive where I live in the north of England. The few pictures in the ad looked great, the price seemed very, very fair for the condition of the instrument and as the seller was the owner of the website the classified was hosted on, I felt confident to make the trip down with the full asking price in cash, knowing the bass would be as-described. As it happend, the bass was in virtually perfect condition with barely a mark on it. It has clearly been loved dearly and pampered over the years. So here we have it, a 1991 Ken Smith with koa top and back, mahogany core and maple layers. The neck is maple and morado. It's the old skool 2 band EQ with all original electronics, all the pots work smoothly with no noise at all and the jack socket was recently replaced. The action is super low but so playable - it gives just the right amount of buzz when you dig in hard but otherwise is easy to play clean. It requires so little strength and physical input that it just feels effortless to play. One of the big draws for me was the Ken Smith sound. There is a characteristic and quality to his instruments that no other bass has, it's present in every Smith recording I've heard. I know Ken has been famously picky about which woods would be offered, he has his ideas about what works in combination to get the best sound and I have to say, I believe in his wisddom. Despite being a large instrument, with quite a large but thin body, the resonance and sustain of this thing is incredible despite it not being particularly heavy. It's very loud and resonant unplugged and harmonics ring out with such clarity and purity. The build quality is flawless. The attention to detail, the thoughtfulness of the design, the amazing way the neck joins the body almost imperceptibly, that famous brass nut, it's beyond superb. Plugged in, it gives that instant Smith sound. I keep it flat on the EQ, pickups balanced 50/50 and volume on full and it just sounds so perfectly even and balanced, with a rich quality to every note. I struggle to put into words exactly what this quality is; it's neither a dark bass, nor a bright one, it's warm but extremely clear and articulate. It isn't harsh, but it's not mushy or soft. I think it is perhaps best described as "balanced". I think a good balance in the sound of a bass is perhaps the most important property I look for, tonally, in a bass. For me, every note must be as loud as resonant as every other note, there must be no dead spots, no strings louder than one another. There must be no booming, overpowering bass and no harsh treble. The Smith delivers on this perfectly. Another remarkable trick is that there is no volume increase when slapping - a bit of black magic I haven't quite figured out yet, I could happily slap on this without needing a compressor to stop volume spikes. It's as if it has some magical in-built compressor. I see now why Ken's basses became one of the session bass industry standards. The EQ is as flexible as two band can be and remains musical throughout the settings, it doesn't quite have the extreme (and IMO generally unusable) extremes of EQ that some modern preamps have. No matter what you do to it, it still sounds like a Smith, so it's not a hugely versatile bass, but I don't need it to be - the sound it makes is so pure it sits perfectly in many, many genres. If I played bar-room blues or heavy metal, which I don't, the Smith wouldn't be the right choice, but for gospel, latin, jazz fusion, funk, pop etc, it's fantastic. The electrical package is one of those things Ken just got right. There's a reason people who buy Smith basses don't tend to want to change preamps or pickups, everything is just so perfectly matched, it just works exactly as it should. The bass came with the original Smith teardrop case and what appears to a 1991 strap, judging by the age of it. I purchased another Dingwall racing strap in brown leather and some Dunlop straploks for the recessed locks. The Dingwall straps are fantastic by the way, I have one on another bass in my collection, but the leather is so thick that getting Dunlop straploks on is a two man job. I know it's early days for me and this bass, but in contrast to another recent thread where a user lamented his dream bass just not working for him, the Smith is perfect for me. Smiths have always held a mystique for me and I've always wanted one. I am glad and grateful for the opportunity to make this happen and of course, I must thank India Sierra for pointing me to the advert - I spent less than 30 seconds in considering to buy it as the vultures were already circling in the for-sale thread. I think it was on sale for less than an hour before I snapped it up. As it happens, when I tried the bass at the seller's house, he was using a headphone setup, with headphone running into a digital bass synth / amp unit and an Eich Bass Board underneath his office chair, powered by what looked like a little TC Electronics head. The Bass Board, if you haven't seen it, is a board that you stand on, or sit on with a chair as you play. It has two incredibly powerful drivers which take your amp signal and turn it into vibrations that you feel through the board, but the attenuation of the vibration is so perfect that you can literally feel the music in your body as you play. The Bass Board is also incredibly quiet - standing on it gives the impression of playing bass in front of a cranked up huge rig, if you've ever played a huge rig or been to a really loud concert where you can feel the bass in your whole body, that is what this gadget gives you. It has useful applications for people using IEMs during gigs who miss the feedback of "feeling" the music from their amp, but I just liked it for home practice. The engineering is spot on, when standing on it felt like I was standing in front of a huge rig, yet when not standing on it, I noted that the vibration bleed coming out of it was absolutely minimal. It has a headphone input too so it could be a great option for players who have family who get irritated by bass vibration shaking the house. I play a Markbass Ninja 1000W into a Markbass Ninja 2x12 at home, I've got some wattage to spare, so I've purchased myself a Bass Board for home use. I don't spare the decibels at home, but even at moderate volume levels the Bass Board creates an illusion of playing really loud, as if you've just walked on stage at Madison Square Garden (or the Baked Potato if that's more your thing). Sadly the speakon cables I had at home aren't long enough to connect it to my Ninja 2x12, so I've had to order another cable and I can't use it until that arrives. If you ever get the chance to try one of these Bass Boards, I urge you to do so, particuarly if you play live with IEMs and no amp as a monitor on stage with you. Even if you just want to make your home practice session feel like you're doing the closing set of the Montreux Jazz Festival, this thing will not fail to make you smile. Thanks for reading if you made it this far. I hope if you have a dream bass, that you are able to make it happen. Life is too short to settle for less. If you have not played a Ken Smith then you absolutely must. I've been lucky enough to play and own some fabulous instruments and this is better than them all.

Yes very much yes apart from the cost of the Phil basses...

Wait, what? We're not? Ummmm........... [slides slowly out the room to get changed]

Neigh.

STILL GOT THOSE LOONS? For a minute, I thought that this was a thread about @Skinnyman & @Ricky 4000 Hehehe

the rules are pretty loose in this game! Have at it.

It's a bit like the Gibson Hendrix Strat package over in the current Gibson thread which included a (printed) tie-dye tee shirt and a bandana. It's all a bit w@nky, as if we're really going to dress up like our heroes and go 'Look, Mum, I'm Hendrix'. If manufacturers are going to be doing retro classic rock case candy then they should strive for greater authenticity and include a handwritten set list, an empty miniature of Jack Daniels, a cling film wrap of red Leb and an opened packet of Benson & Hedges.

I picked up this idea from Billy Sheehan. He has his pickup covers on the split P pickup set quite close to the strings and uses it as a ramp. Yes, it prevents you from overshooting the strings too much so you can play quicker, more consistently and less fatiguing. But, because it's a much smaller area than a proper ramp you can play around the pickup if you do want to dig in more or use a plectrum. There's an Attitude Bass owners group on FB. Some of the guys there have done what Billy does and apply a layer of epoxy to the surface of the pickup covers to get them closer to the strings without getting the pickup coils themselves closer. I'm not that brave to I got some 3 ply pearloid scratchplate material cut down and stuck it to the top of the pickup covers with strong double-sided tape. Looks great and plays even better.

I already know that my knowledge is very limited, but education and learning has lead me to use some very useful tools (like understanding notes, chord progressions, solfege, music software etc.). My honorable teachers have given me their time to enhance my abilities. Everyone of them has known the old truth, that I need to do at least as much as they have to reach their level. After all these years I am still on the way... I enjoy - no - I love playing bass. I think that any tool or any piece of knowledge helps me to take those little steps towards better playing (this certainly is something else than plain technique) and to the music that is sometimes larger than life. And I love being part of it.

I like the way you work it .... No diggingity, I got to bass it up, bass it up

My 37 year old "BFL" '57 JV has a new pal! Tasty, and sounds awesome... I also made a mistake with the new strings for it.... ordered some new Elixirs (all my basses get Elixir 14077 Nickels) and without noticing I accidentally pulled the trigger on Stainless Steels.... however, I am a complete convert! lower tension, and easier to play....

Indeed this. I've taken on students who have been playing in bands for say, 15 years maybe more and loving it, but similarly have no idea what chords, keys or time signatures actually are. We have an incredible aptitude for being able to figure stuff out without the "on paper" theory. Yes, its fine to go on without but there's no harm in arming yourself with "the knowledge" - and it won't sanitise your creativity by understanding a bit more. In terms of technique, generally everyone I have taken on has been "ok" though in some cases I have had to spend considerable time undoing some bad posture that had taken its toll. You certainly aren't in a minority though and as per the quote, keep doing it and loving it

If you enjoy what you're doing and it does no harm, keep doing it!

I could say the same mate don’t you read previous post Reggaebass posted the same link 3 hours ago.............😜

' Includes custom Anvil case, custom studded leather strap and custom studded wristband, mirrored aviator sunglasses and Certificate of Authenticity.' Oooooooooooh!!!!!

Some pics of the finished product! Truly incredible. I can’t wait to pick up this bass.

Anyone else thinking playing live is the pinnacle of being in a band?

So if they sell out, like many M&S items do, will they send a substitute?

Just a quick update it’s all done and it’s a nice and snug fit! I had a very quick noodle it feels really strange but I’ll persevere with it...........😀

So no Status, Overwater, GB, Sei or ACG - all the best custom Bass builders in the UK, none of them going. This is getting less enticing, not more.

There's an Goldilocks size for each frequency. Too big and the high frequencies are lost due to the mass of the driver and the dispersion issues, too small and you simply can't move the air with any sensible level of efficiency. You also only get undistorted sound when the speaker cone or dome moves as a piston. In practice most speakers only really work well over 3 octaves. There are loads of tricks to extend the range of speakers beyond this and it isn't a switch thing. Just as the porridge can be a little bit too hot or cold but still be edible In terms of getting the best out of the drivers a 4-way system looks appealing. The problem is that crossovers produce their own distortions and it's really hard to stitch two speaker outputs together, a midrange is especially difficult because it has to match both the bass driver and the tweeter and also sound good over it's own special bit of the spectrum. The designer has to balance the increased cost of extra drivers and more complexity in the crossover along with increasing technical issues against the simplicity and reduced crossover problems of a 2-way. In the end there isn't a better or best, just alternatives. You've also to remember that this is for bass. For PA you are probably looking for vocals to be the thing you want to sound best and the crucial frequencies for vocals are in the mids. A 2-way will have the crossover inevitably just where you want it least. That is less of an issue for bass which has a different frequency profile. In fact a cab with bass and mid driver but no top would make some sense. Is FRFR the way to go for bass or do we want a cab with a bit of character? Rhetorical question really, that comes down to taste. The reality is that whilst speaker design hasn't moved on much since the 1920's other than Thiele and Small coming up with a mathematical model in the 1970's the materials we use has come on in leaps and bounds and technically we have been able to integrate 2 way designs with far better drivers. Why carry three when two will do? DSP also allows you to remove a lot of the distortions from the crossover too in active designs.

When I started playing a year or so back two of my friends who have played for years took the mick because I'm as interested in the theory and the why as much as the playing and the how. Knowing my very academic nature they reckoned I would be fabulous at theory and only able to play The Chain. About a third of my lessons end up as music theory. It's fun and interesting, and rather than practicing someone else's song as a means to get my muting better I have to, for example, write a walking bassline over a set of chords and then practice that. Of course my muting is still lousy, I'll never get a job in a covers band, and as a point of principle I've not learned The Chain 😉

I had to look that one up. What Is Solfege? Solfege is a method of naming pitches. It works by assigning a syllable to each note of the musical scale. So rather than, say, naming a C major scale as C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C, you can name it as do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do.

I may be on my own, but that kinda shouts home electronics project to me... especially with the "Brush Flair.ttf" font.

I was late into playing bass. Had my first paying gig at 51 and I'm soon about to crash headfirst into 62. For me being part of a band and making music feels like the piece of me that was missing all those years has finally fallen into place. So as a result of that I love every single aspect of it. I love practicing at home. I love getting new gear and tinkering with it. Even a new lead will make me smile I love it when the band decide on a new song to play and so I get to learn something new. Then, when we get to rehearse it the first time, when it all falls into place and we nail it. Absolutely love all this - to be a part of a group of people who, through just playing instruments, can create (or recreate) some powerful music from nothing is an amazing experience. But gigging... gigging is something special - that wave of appreciation you get back is a feeling like few others. To know that you have contributed to a whole bunch of people's enjoyment is absolutely brilliant.

As a last resort you could get an RF shielding enclosure like this. It has the added advantage that you can camp out in it at gigs. https://www.vtechtextiles.com/rf-emi-shielding-enclosures-tents/

To me, these additions ramp it up to Cringe Factor 10😎

I don't miss it; it's been 18 months or so. I used to think it was the peak of musical creativity; getting it out there. Meh. The constant drudgery of midweek 100+ mile round trips to play 'well promoted' shows to a handful of people, the stream of two faced promoters and club owners who never even offered to cover our fuel expenses, or the one who actually charged us for water and two Magnum lollies after we'd driven 100 miles to get to his shitfest and had to pay for parking (he told us there was limited parking to the rear of the venue for staff and he would clamp us if we parked there). Ooh, I could go on. That nasty smell of cheese, beer and smoke that I just couldn't shift from my gear after playing the St. Moritz. The way that if you supported a 'biggish in the 80s', C-list name band how they just ignored you. Travelling to Italy and gigging in Milan and Turin; the realisation that you really don't like the other guys in the band and how we just split into three factions for the duration. Oh, it was crap, generally. Recording is so much nicer. Decent coffee, pizza delivery, easy, home by 10.30pm.

I’m always looking and watching for anything that can improve my playing, whether it’s theory or technique , if I think it’s beneficial I’ll work on it, I’m forever adding things to my practice routine, sometimes too many 🙂

pretty much the only reason I keep playing bass is for gigging, can't see the point of it otherwise. Guitar I could happily play at home or with mates around the campfire but the bass is an ensemble instrument IMO and only sounds decent in the context of a band. That said, I could listen to Bobby Vega play solo all day so Im talking tosh really, but the general rule applies!

I’ve no idea of what techniques I use or don’t use, but I can play what I need to and more importantly imo, keep good time with whatever drummer I’m playing with. If I were pro I’d have looked into all of this a lot more and learned what each was but st my level I’ll settle for the ham-fisted technique.

True, it's not an exercise tool to help develop but I would add that its also not a gadget designed to make up for poor technique either. I don't have poor technique but I like using a ramp in the same way that I might like using an effect pedal or plectrum. With poor technique I would agree with you that the ramp could get in the way, but I have no problem plucking around the ramp when I don't use it and slip straight in to position when I do Pickups are rubbish ramps unless the pickup shells (at least) are radiused to match the fretboard. I'd say they were a halfway house to the helpful function of a ramp even if loads of people "do it". p.s. sorry if it sounds like I am picking holes, I'm genuinely not Just wanted to offer a different view on ramps

Rehearsed at church with a new leader the other day. He came to the rehearsal with the music. He helped set-up the band. He told us which song to play. He requested changes to the playing style (drummer and sax). He made the singers rehearse alone. We got through 8 songs in 75 mins and we all knew what we were going for the following Sunday. It was the most productive rehearsal I've ever been involved in. Of course, this was one person's vision of what was needed. But at least he had a vision and was able to articulate it. Astonishing. So my vote goes for having an old school leader. Peace Davo

Me playing my 1978 Shergold Marathon in 1981 (after losing 2 stone from a trip to Syria and a serious dose of shiny shiites) and latterly this year at a local blues jam. Note the respray! I could not live with the crazy paving of the natural blond any longer. Eagle eyes may also notice I gave it a wrist chamfer to avoid shutting off blood supply to the hand.

Indeed - I would concur - they actually flared from the knee - if you were a Brummie THE place to get them (and afghan coats and all other such period 70s wear) was Oasis. The size of the flare on the loon pants was measured from the front to the back of the bottom of the leg (not around them) and the largest, and one to have was 19" - so about 1.5 or more times the length of your shoe (more likely clog 😏). They came in some wonderful colours - I bought a pair in canary yellow on one occasion - soon dyed bottle green as they were way too much in yellow 😬 owing to their floppiness at the bottom, loon pants were also wonderful, in wet weather, at taking on water from the ground by capilliary action - so when dry they may have a tide mark midway between shoe and knee, and in wet weather a sort of two tone dark/lighter colour transition at some point below the knee, the darker part being soaked 😧 The 70s were great!! I last saw Steve Hillage in 1978 ish in Brum - I was probably wearing loon pants - and his band had a decidedly R and B rythmn section (as seemingly did everyone around that time) - and excellent it was too. Mr Hillage must be getting on in years these days?

Thanks for your advice, I was going to ask about if you use a pick does the ramp get in the way because some songs I do use a pick? i understand that it’s not a magic fix but I’m new (again?) to playing after not picking up a bass for near on 20 years so I thought it’s worth a try and just to see if I get on with it??............😀 i don’t know if anyone will be interested but I’m going to do a little build thread on how I made the ramp

One step further

If anybody's still watching this post I changed the strings to some Ernie Ball 2852 Short Scale Nickel Wound Regular Slinky Bass Strings - 45-105 and it's done the trick, great tone and a good range, thanks everyone! I also changed to using a thumb pic so I have a better range of picing styles and that's also helped!

All you guys who are gigging inspite of not liking it. . . . call me. I'll do all those nasty, uncomfortable, pesky gigs for you.