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New arrival and my god it’s lush! I know Fender Custom Shop sometimes gets bad press for their prices and stuff but this is a beauty. Same spec and build (bar head stock colour) to Scott Divine P Bass of Doom! 1959 heavy relic finish in Oly White over Candy Apple Red 😍 I know relic can be marmite but man, it’s a beaut! Even got Fender to send me the Shop Floor Traveler. Sounds bloody lush too! Welcome to come and try it if you’re local to me 😁 Bought on EBay but I believe it belonged to @Atomic dustbin on here. Lovely fella 🤘 Few sexy bass pics for you all.

Of course this thread has in its title the suggestion that I've found the perfect rig and my search is over. Didn't stop this happening last night though did it?

My new blues trio had a bit of a break. A few weeks ago our guitar player asked Steven Foster from BBC radio Suffolk along to our second gig. To my amazement he came. To my increased amazement he stayed to the end. Straight after he invited us to play a slot at the Ipswich Maritime festival, which was yesterday. A lovely day in a magnificent setting. Sound was great - bands all day 45 mins on, 15 mins change round, all changes done on the fly. Shame all gigs can't be like this! This was our last number, recorded on an iPad held towards the stage My new Gibson LP Junior DC sounded fab on stage through the supplied Ampeg rig and immense out front.

I was once told to turn down because my bass was causing feedback through the vocal PA. My bass was at 2 on the master, so utter and total bollocks. The amateur sound engineer was the husband of the singer and had not the faintest idea how to operate his very, expensive PA. I'm the end, in a huff, I turned my amp off completely and mimed. He still complained the bass was too loud.

Have some lessons. Learn some lyrics. Start a sideline band. Tell the bass player what notes he should play. Get slagged off here. Revel in the irony.

Great night for us at The Blondiepop. It was one of those gigs where I knew from the first few bars into our first song it was going to be a good night. Only a 5 minute commute for me. Wonderful crowd and most stayed for all three sets. I walked away with $200.00 1. Put on a good show 2. Get the money 3. Get home safely Blue

May we all agree not to tip Rose Morris off to their foolish mistake? To do so would deny generations unborn their opportunity to have a belly-laugh at the expense of a prominent and gullible music retailer who seems - perhaps - to go round lifting stuff from other peoples' web sites without checking the facts. In other news: GAK post a blog piece about Leon Trotsky's Shergold Meteor.

A few years back I had a herd of basses but more recently I whittled them down, until about a year ago I was left with just one. A Sandberg California II - VT4, that I gig in my blues-rock band. Very recently I got myself a MusicMan guitar, which reminded me how good Musicman gear really is and got me thinking about another bass. I've had 3 Stingrays in the past, the most recent being an HS model. A wonderful bass but I found the fingerboard just a little too wide. Anyway a friend of mine who owns a smallish guitar shop locally had had some EBMM basses over the last few years and had just one left in stock. It had been in a while because most of the local bassists, like the rest of the UK, seems to love Fender above all else. So it was already at a very good price but then my mate offers me it at cost. Now that's an offer I couldn't refuse. So now an all black, with all maple neck Stingray 4, is sitting in my music room. All I had to do was lower the action by a tiny amount and this beauty is ready to go. What I love about this bass, is the absolute simplicity of it's one pickup and 3 knob EQ system. Getting that solid Stingray tone to how you like it is a real doddle, then it's just down to your fingers and imagination. Top quality build and finishing just give you a bass that will fit with any occasion. Looking forward to the next next rehearsal/gig.

No wonder he asked you to play. You guys are on it!

G&L SB-1 😎 Leo Fender got it right eventually!

You need to hire some stooges at your next few gigs to keep on complaining that the guitar’s way, way too loud!

Another short clip from the one bass player in the UK who seems to have managed to get his hands on one of these. Looking VERY 'usable' to me!

Sure, but there is some real nonsense in their 'article' about Bobby Sands, the first that rang my alarm bell was the claim that songs he had written have been covered by many artists, including the Grateful Dead. Now, it is my business to know a few things about the Dead, and that is simply untrue. They (well, Bob Weir did, anyway) did dedicate a song to him a day after he died (He's Gone) but it certainly wasn't written by him - it was a Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia collaboration. The brief announcement 'This one's for Bobby Sands' can be heard clearly on one of the live CDs I've got upstairs. I strongly suspect that the rest of RM's piece has a similar very vague relationship with reality! BTW, I understand that Leon Trotsky was asked to play his Shergold on Albert Collins' 'Ice Man' recording, but for some reason, he declined. Said to have muttered something about 'bloody ice' and refused to comment further. I believe he had a similar aversion to using a pick.

I take your point entirely and raise the notion that there are multiple perspectives on successful bands. One perspective is - as you correctly identify - that any successful band deserves to be slagged off. It is a mean-spirited perspective but stems from human nature. Another perspective is that (i) any band that sticks around long enough will release a significant number of albums or singles (ii) the 'quality' or appeal of the material will vary (iii) there may be a detectable trend from 'good' to 'bad' and (iv) people will argue to the death about what's good and what's bad, particularly Bob Dylan fans. Comparatively 'unsuccessful' bands may issue only one or two albums before they fall from prominence. This makes it difficult to detect a trend. For example, I might observe that Bram Tchaikovsky's first album was better than his (their) second but the truth is that the single Girl Of My Dreams* is the only song that matters. By contrast we might look at The Be*tles, The Stones, Zep and many others, and conclude that there is an observable curve in the quality of these bands' output, the reasons for which are now the stuff of legend. Then there's AC/DC who have (to an extent) bucked the trend by simply releasing the same album over and over again**. * Written by Heavy Metal Kids bass player Ronnie Thomas - look out the YouTube vid about how he wrote it ** Yes, I know the first albums are bluesier, that Bon Scott is different to Brian Johnson in voice and lyrical theme, and that the band sags from the mid-80's to the mid-noughties but you know what I mean.

I'm definitely more in the "Go f*#k yourself!" and flounce off category. 😂

Managed to get the Fearless F112 road tested at Wembley Box Park last night. Worked an absolute treat. Really good dispersion - I stood and played at both ends of the stage either side of the drums and no difficulty in hearing the bass. The cab has a real clarity and punch. My BF SC is an excellent cab, but I sometimes struggle to hear my PJ bass clearly when I have ear plugs in (something I've previously mentioned) perhaps reflecting its reputation for being slightly weaker in the mids? No such issue with Fearless which is 'famous' for both its low end and its mid punch and which you might expect with a dedicated 5" speaker focusing on the mids; I could hear every note played clearly (mistakes and all - there's much less scope for hiding with this cab, be warned!) even with ear plugs in. Managed to get some clips of the gig last night and will happily share when I've uploaded. The Fearless will be my default cab for function work going forward. The BF with its blissful 21 lbs weight isn't going anywhere fast though! Overall, as you can tell, I'm delighted with the F112 and would have no hesitation in recommending it.

Sands Oldfield

It’s easier if the 1 person it’s too loud for buggers off somewhere else and let’s everyone else enjoy it. People are stupid!

His optimistic "these go for a grand in good condition" quote! This pile of rust used to be a series one E type Jag bonnet, in good condition this would be worth over £10.000 !

This idea started whilst on holiday a couple of weeks ago, with too much time on my hands to mull over new 'projects', and with easy access to alcohol and the internet, I decided I needed a B15, the perfect partner for the '64 style P bass I made recently. However, once again, without the spare cash to find and buy an original '64 Ampeg, I began to consider the alternatives, and in a bit of a deja-vu situation, the answer seemed to present itself. Last year, whilst on holiday I missed out on a great deal Kenny's Music had on the Ampeg PF20t and PF50t, basically because I dithered instead of snatching one, and they went out of stock by the time I got home and got my derrière in gear. So, this year when I noticed a similar offer on the PF20t from Gear4Music, I ordered one and delayed delivery till I got home. This will suit my needs perfectly, I have never had a valve bass amp before, it's low power, intended for home practice and recording and you can plug it directly into a recording interface, without a speaker connected. From what I read, the sound was reminiscent of a B15, and seemed to me to be the perfect alternative to shelling out on an original or a Heritage reissue, providing you can find one! Then I began to ponder on the idea of building a cab like the infamous 'double baffle' cab from the early B15 fliptop combo's. As you can imagine, there are a lot of references to the B15 on the internet, but surprisingly few people have properly documented any attempts at copying a cab or even restoring one, so getting anything more than the basic dimensions proved a bit tricky. I found exploded diagrams of the cab design and the baffles, and snippets of information from various sources, including an American company called Fliptop cabinets, who make reproduction cabs and restore original gear. I had a fair bit of the drawings I needed, and enough reference photo's to have a go at 'reverse engineering' a cab, which after all will not be a copy of a flip top, when up stepped the wonderful Chimike of this parish, with a kind offer of a complete set of plans for a B15N...…….result! Thanks again Mike So, this is what I have in mind. As I mentioned, I don't want or need the flip top arrangement on the top of the cab, this cab will be used for home practice and recording, so an authentic sounding and airtight cab will be better suited to my needs. The amp will be used a lot of the time, plugged into my recording interface and utilising the Two Notes cab sim, which has Ampeg models on it. This will also (hopefully) make the cab build easier or more straightforward, as I have never made a cab before. On the Fliptops website they offer an extension cab, which is pretty much exactly what I have in mind, with a solid top instead of the rotating tray thing, no wheels dolly on the bottom, and with a removable back for access to the speaker, but still retaining the characteristic double baffle design. I have a full sheet of 3/4" plywood, which is what the originals were made from, this has been in the cellar below the garage since we moved into our house 15 years ago, and it looks quite good quality and void free, just a bit dusty! I found a local seller on Ebay, selling an Eminence Delta 15a, which is the replacement speaker recommended by Fliptops for the cabs they make, which incidentally start at around $500 plus shipping and import tax, so, obviously are a non starter for me. The Eminence seemingly sounds the closest to the original speakers. Anyway, got the speaker for £10 (bargain) and if anyone can find a use for the metal speaker grille and port tubes that came with it, drop me a line and I will gladly post them to you, as I won't need them. The grille cloth and the checked tolex is available, albeit not in the UK (unless anyone knows better 😉) and this will be the most expensive part of this project, which so far has cost me £10 and a gallon of diesel! If anyone is interested, I will slowly keep you posted!

I picked this up on Monday after a nice drive there and back over Snowdonia, it used to be @Beedster's https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/262287-fs-squier-classic-vibe-50s-precision-sd-pup-us-circuit-sold/?tab=comments#comment-2776167, as we know Chris has great taste in basses, especially Ps Previous owner hadn't used it a lot in the intervening period, hadn't cleaned it much if at all and I'm pretty certain it was wearing the same set of D'Addario strings that it had when sold last I spent a bit of time yesterday and this morning giving it a thorough clean and spot levelling the 8th fret which was causing a buzz on the A and D strings and set it up with a fresh set of flatwound Maruszczyk strings and wow, it is lovely, the neck adjusted to really flat and action to 2mm and the response across the strings is very even and the tone is just what I've been looking for, that sound that was in my head, that I'd been approaching with '57 on P style basses but not actually quite getting. I'm genuinely surprised at how good it is, even more surprised that none of the 22 who were watching it bid for it, I guess for once being in Wales counted in my favour, usually the nice basses are a long drive away and collection only, or overpriced or deeply flawed if delivery is included. The blue one that was listed and finished this week sold for a good bit more, though maybe had a better pickup in it, but this Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder is good. It's really pretty without the scratchplate (included but no need to fit for me), 4 piece body really well done, I believe it is pine, anyway it is really nicely balanced, comfortable with the '54 contoured body, and the neck is just what you'd like from a P, 42mm nut and chunky enough, maybe not the fattest of the possible Fender profiles, single piece Maple with real rear fitted truss rod, and maybe there is something to be said for the tele shaped headstock in weight reduction which helps the balance Bit of a punt with Ebay, 3 hour round trip but quiet Welsh roads and the sun was shining, and a bit of work to make it nice but very definitely worth it 😀

Many many years ago I was playing with a drummer who had been on tour with Chaka Kahn. He told me "you keep great time and play with a nice feel, you're accurate and to the point". I'll never forget that.

OK, not strictly bass related, but worth a watch and listen - it's only 1min 45 secs.

Did an outdoor charity festival thing with a band I occasionally dep for. Fairly indifferent gig but I got to play bass v loud, standing in lots of cool poses on a big stage and wearing sunglasses. That's me sorted then. 🤘

My money's on Hugh Cornwell.

Yeh, that Mexico city gig was a bastard. Gave him a hell of a headache, I heard. Wonder who owns the Shergold today?

Well I got them for £650 today so they're going to get a good amount of use now!!

If you give a damn, Pete has just posted a new song. Just need a Chelsea win today and I'll afford myself a glass of wine this evening. http://petevuckovic.com/tracks?fbclid=IwAR3JO-f1wVl6cb9eRWWfszH9wHE_x_w9fZzzSUVGERwl293z8OPPRvGh1WI

You can’t argue with idiots, they’re generally far too experienced. Agree totally, they spend their whole lives like it, we don’t so are far too unprepared to deal with them when we unfortunately encounter them.

Now that's what I call festival music 🙂

The thing is that you can’t physically play the guitar riff for Alright Now without the open strings. I think that you would agree that the main riff is rather an important part of the song?? There’s a reason why many old bands that recorded their biggest hits in concert pitch are now playing live tuned down a half step, or often more. I once played in a band with a (female) singer who tried to do a Beth Hart song, but kept wanting to change the key (original in C). In the end she had tried five different versions, each time a further half step down. I pulled the plug at G# and said that it wasn’t going to work and to look for an alternative. Sometimes you have to accept that a singer can’t pull off a particular song and play something that they can sing instead…

I was given a Marlin Slammer a few years ago. The aim was to clean it up, fix the electronics and donate to somewhere. But the neck was totally screwed; twisted and had frets so lifted they'd folded back over the board. So I turned it into this: Slammer body and sprayed pickguard, left handed Harley Benton neck (nut flipped), shitty Chinese MM p/ups. It actually plays quite nicely. But the £12 electronics let it down, unsurprisingly...

The Cure in Glasgow, amazing. Twilight Sad where phenomenal too. Emotional scenes.

Hasn't happened to me to be asked to turn down the bass in particular, as opposed to the whole band, but my usual response to similar silly questions is as follows: - shows tablet to the complainer, moves slider in question down while they're watching. - withdraws tablet, turns round, moves slider back up to where it was originally. That's unless it's the pub manager asking, but in that case I'll pull down the main slider rather than just the bass.

Plus, didn't this question come up when they invented synths? and we're still here...

When we first met, keen to impress each other in the first flush of love, Mrs. Pook and I agreed we both liked REM. We don't - nether of us does, never have. Sweet tho, isn't it ? We were probably hammered, but still...

Last major festival of the summer for us last weekend. A few gremlins meant the main stage had to be shut down and de rigged the night before, so we were moved to a big top style tent which worked out brilliant. Everything was over running so this is with no sound check or monitor check. Running my g&l lb100 tribute into a quilter 800 flat into my laney n410 with pa support. Great gig. Finishing some amazing (but wet) festivals this year! This cropped up on youtube from someone in the crowd who had recorded it on their phone. Headphones needed to hear the bass properly.

I need to get one of those things for my glasses.

Bargain. I offered him 800 for a pair. update. he sadly only has one which he offered me for 350. but i need two £400 tuners so i declined.

Nice work son - you need to play some wear into that, the finish is looking too pristine