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And finished, bar the final set-up tweaks. Forgive the self indulgence: ..and the obligatory artyish fortyish shots:

Now That's What I Call Music.. 12 23 41 53 17 133 90 43 257 1,302

We have done some Legion Hall gigs. It was like they moved a bar into a Nursing Home. A lot of folks in wheel chairs. We do a lot classic British Blues stuff from the 60s & 70s. Thing is at this point in time these folks are the generation that was listening to the stuff when they were young. I think it's really cool. Bringing back that spirit of youth for a few hours to these folks. God Bless Them. Blue

Launching Basschat

Sex On Fire Sex On Fire and Sex On Fire I appreciate that is only one song, but my **** it's worth mentioning three times.

80's marmite stuff is what I love!! It looks like the Terminators calf. Well done.

Excitedly buying a lovely-looking Stingray, only to discover when I unpacked it that it was fretless. It never occurred to me to ask about that when I bought it. Twonk.

A worthy thought, but would they play for free if the gear was transported and set up for them? I like getting paid not because I'm greedy, but because it means that other people value what I do.

It's a phase sourced cancellation caused by the distance between the pickups. The same thing happens with one pickup when it's a humbucker, but at much higher frequencies, as the distance between the coils is so short. That's why a Les Paul or any humbucker equipped guitar doesn't have the highs of a Strat or other single coil pickup guitar.

1. Knowing full well the scale length and string spacing that suits me, yet still spending eye-watering amounts impulse-buying glittery baubles of basses that are nowhere near those specifications. 2. Knowing a bass is niche, bizarre, impractical and unsellable except at a massive loss, but buying it anyway because I convince myself it's 'rare'. 3. Using basses bought under 1. and 2. for a single rehearsal or one set at a gig, then never playing them again.

Tonight's gig with guitarist Pete Oxley and drummer Russ Morgan at Jazz East at the Alex in Felixstowe. I played as well as I ever have on the double bass. My sound has settled in and my chops appear to be up to speed.

Cher - Believe Oasis - Wonderwall Bonnie Tyler - I Need A Hero All dreadful songs I never want to hear again, and wish hadn't existed in the first place.

Hopefully you won't get fooled again.

1: Believing that I could get a better tone from a Class D head - you can't, get a Class A/B and strong friends. 2: Looking for "The One" - doesn't exist that's why I/you need more than one bass 3: Thinking that you can get the same Tonal Palette from cheap gear. - you get what you pay for so buy quality gear in the first place.

Joining basschat.

---- We know that sending a bass around Europe can be an expensive and risky operation. That's why we have reached out to find the best solution for those members who ask advice about sending instruments. It isn't always clear who will insure them or who has the best price. Today we are proud to announce a partnership with Eurosender, who are offering a 10% discount on all EU destination services booked by Basschat members by simply using the code BASSCHAT10 The nice thing about Eurosender is that you can add insurance to cover your instrument (up to 2000EUR) and they don't have any small print excluding musical instruments, as some couriers do. They even help you pack. So why not take advantage of this code next time you sell an item on Basschat - there's no rush, as this offer stands for as long as Basschat remains the number one bass guitar community in Europe - so we think for a very long time! Now get selling, and feel free to offer shipping all over Europe, with confidence. See you on the site, Team Basschat (Small print: Discount applies to any shipment be it guitar, amplifier, effects pedal or accessory. Code also applies for members of guitarchat.co.uk. Insurance above 2000EUR is available but without discount. If your item falls outside the standard shipping size (over 1.75m) It'll tell you and you can enter a request, and you can place the code in the content box. Otherwise the discount code can be entered on the final page for payment. Discount for EU countries only. Basschat offers this deal to its members but has no responsibility for transactions between you and Eurosender. Did you read all that? Have a cup of tea and a sit down, you deserve it. Your hair looks nice today!)

Just pulled trigger in purchasing this Bass. I’ve always fancied one but never got round to it. Having given up a few months ago due to fretting hand not working due to spine operation, I’m getting a little movement back, so treated myself to this as part of my recovery 😊 im sure this will be a marmite bass to many, but personally I love the look.

New Drummer Day! Our last drummer quit at the beginning of July, and we've been looking for another one since. We had a couple of responses to the advert but they proved to be masters of the inability to reply to any sort of message. Fortunately we found a guy who did and we "interviewed" him this evening. So far everything seems rosy. He liked us and the music and we liked him. We shall see what the next few sessions bring, but at the moment we're positive it can work. 😁

I was impressed by 'Semi-Colon', their cover of Ring of Fire. Then there was their collaboration with Chuck D. and FLava Flav - Public Enema

I know what you mean. I thought I'd be a much better player after this amount of time! I see a few bass players out of college with a technique that I'd die for, but there is another side to that coin. Too many of them can't play a simple groove. They don't seem to lock in with the drums and sit back on it like us oldies do. One of the drummers I play with tells me he dreads playing some numbers with these guys, because while they can play Jaco and Stanly Clarke with their eyes shut, they can struggle to play a simple shuffle. So guys like us can still be very effective players in our bands.

I can probably count on one hand the amount of times I've genuinely thought 'I wish I was at home with a takeaway watching the telly'. I don't rely on the cash. It's handy, but I'd genuinely do it just for the crack.

Laser printed decal for a 'professional' finish 🙂 Gargh! It's tip negative!

Bass is very difficult to record, you have to be very precise. A lot of the bassists who come through my studio are often surprised to find that they can't actually play the riffs they thought they'd been playing live. It's quite easy to get away with just making a low end rumble live, but you can't really do that in the studio

I installed the trial of Helix Native again last night to check out the Sansamp addition. I found it pretty easy to set up a dUg patch that emulates the DP-3X! Crossover split at 200Hz, lows to a compressor then EQ (I applied a bass boost with the parametric). Highs to a further HPF to roll off below 800Hz and boost the gain, then into the Sansamp with the blend at 100%, presence and drive adjusted to produce a nice grind. I didn't spend very long dialling it in but auditioned it playing along to some pre-recorded tracks that I've been using the DP-3X with and it wasn't far off!

I see they captured your good side 😉

Finally got something resembling a board back together, relatively straightforward signal chain. The 3 off the board usually live on the desk for easy tweaking when going into the interface, cabsim, bass pre (logic clone with mods) and guitar pre (Hudson broadcast clone with mods).

‘Lilly the pink’ - fücking shocker. ’walk of life’ - reminds me of too many bad versions by local bands with more volume than talent. anything by the Eagles - they make my shït itch.

One of my expensive mistakes was buying a very expensive Avalon acoustic guitar. I didn't need it, already had a good acoustic (bought new in 1979), didn't play it and ended up giving it to my brother who was looking to upgrade his acoustic guitar. So 100% loss there then. 😀 Frank.

Yes I’m very happy with how the forum is growing and how it ‘feels’ these last few months. We’ve got some exciting ‘rewards’ coming next week the first of which I’ll announce tomorrow. Here’s to a bright future! 🍻

Is there a cheaper Mexican version?

Showing us your holiday snaps might be considered self-indulgence. This photo montage however is obligatory. The BC lynch-mob would be after you if you held back. Mighty fine.

That’s likely cause I’m back... spreading joy wherever I go with my sunny disposition 😐

I have looked at that just finding a used one for a good price. I have to sell gear first to buy more. Wife asked why do I need so many pedals? I said why do you need so many shoes? Which wasn't the right response

I'm fortunate that I've never had to depend on getting paid, so I'm only interested in it being for the music and or the hang/craic. As long as it has those, there's not much better for me than playing a gig, certainly not a night in front of the TV not playing a gig I can put up with the odd duff gig. ever the optimist - next time it'll be better, right?

Just saying, and it's no excuse for the lack of enforcement of quiet periods, but complimentary earplugs were offered at the reception desk. Crappy industrial foam ones, but they were offered. I guess we should be thankful. The older combined music shows featured keyboard and drum manufacturers too. Those drummers can be noisy buggers, and they don't come with headphones!

I have a few things to point out before people start building, but then it will be up to the builders to ask questions as they go. One thing I do remember is that you asked for a pictorial wiring diagram, Pete, which I'll post before everyone starts wiring their cabs up. One cab kit has been collected so far, and I hope to send two out today.

That's one of the best looking basses I've ever seen!! 😍

It's getting there...!

I thought a tone knob was someone who believes that the wood used to make the bass has some magical effect on the sound of the finished bass!!

I'm struggling to condense the number of songs that I truly hate with a passion down to 3, so many spring to mind. But a few that have unequivocally earned their place as the most nauseous noises ever made include; Fairground by Simply Red. Words cannot truly convey the extent of my loathing for it. I can't stand anything that SR ever recorded but this is unquestionably the biggest stool, among many many others, squeezed out by that ginger tosser. I will always love you by Whiney Houston. It just makes my ears bleed. Come on Eileen has already been mentioned, and rightly so. That so called 80's anthem of the working man, it starts with a steady snare crack followed the melody line played on a £20 Casio keyboard from Argos, then Springsteen's laryngitic wail starts to defaecate over the top, Baaaarrrrrrrn inna you essay. How does a third rate pub singer go on to be so huge for so long? Wrong in every conceivable way.

Walk of life - Dire Straits Rock Star - Nickelback Anything by Gilbert O'Sullivan

I'd agree that a good set of flats are expensive to buy, but as already pointed out they can sound great for decades. So they are very cheap in the long run. I'd disagree that using full bass and no treble would make your bass sound like it has flatwound strings on. Flats do not just sound bassy, they have a greater frequency range than that. They have a life of their own and an authority in their sound that EQ on its own couldn't emulate.

I'm a bit surprised to hear people talking about the bass sound with the Crusaders as being vintage, with flatwounds, particularly as late as 1979. I saw them several times and the bass sound was anything but this. The player they had with them on tour in the late 70s was Robert 'Pops' Popwell whose sound (on a Fender Jazz) was anything but 60s flatwound vintage. He was also a stunning slap player (and played it a lot with the Crusaders). So I would say this sound is Fender Jazz with roundwounds with the bridge pick up favoured (but not soloed), or also a 2 band Stingray with either flats (treble up) or rounds (treble not full). The line should be played with sufficient muting to control but not completely eliminate clank. Sorry but I think you're going down the wrong route if you're thinking flat wound, vintage thud. Favour the bridge pick up on your Sire or other basses (mixing in a bit of neck) and strike the strings with authority - round wounds are fine - I would suggest you'll need some left hand muting also. It should sound fine, especially in the mix.

Board and component layout together with Eagle files and a component list if anyone is foolish enough to make their own: Gumpinator.txt Gumpinator.brd Gumpinator.sch

You need darker sound, so change strings even down to flats, play closer to neck and turn your tone down. That's it. You do not need a new - or another old - bass.

Anything by Oasis Anything by RHCP/Nirvana/that ilk In fact, virtually anything from late 90s/early naughties... IMO the most bland period for music of my life...

I would always rather be playing than not. Every experience is valuable to me as a musician. The more gigs I do, the better I should get.