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Well, I thought they were good mates but then the buggers gave me an early birthday present at rehearsal last night!

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I don’t even know what we’re playing till I hear the first bar.

People I know.

I was thinking that too. Someone should start a Glenn Hughes thread and we can all pile into that one.

If they're not tanked up I do indulge some people. Like the bar staff where the girl is explaining to the others what a Fretless is because her dad plays, so I handed the bass over the bar for them to look at, that really shocked them in to behaving and not trying to make innuendo out of "smooth tones" etc. But if they're hammered and "my mate is better than you" they get my Northern accent. You won't like when I speak Northern.

Supported The Exploited on Saturday night in Belfast. Absolutely fantastic night, they were totally on fire! Big brawl broke out at one point which was a shame and the PA packed in briefly but otherwise amazing stuff. Felt like I was 15 again when Wattie signed my original copy of Punk’s Not Dead!

OR "Can I have a go on your girlfriend?"

I read all of this and thank my lucky stars I’m in an originals band. The only people we get on stage are the ones who’ve been thrown there by the rest of the audience.

Black Friday deal saw me parting with my credit card for a new one. BUT omfg. Lovely brown hard case, holding a bass that was so covered in dust, a fingerboard that was so dry it was pink. Pink dust everywhere that looked like the paint had not adhered to the corners or crevices and a loose jack socket. spoke to the dealer, who said it had come direct from Gibson, and the security label was intact when it arrived so I believe them . secured a further discount on the price, dusted it off, oiled the fingerboard, tightened up the socket, and its wonderful to play . Im surprised ( despite hearing lots of nasty comments about Gibson) that they allowed this sort of lack of final inspection lack of quality.

1/ One of my customers is just learning to play guitar, he's in his mid 50s. His guitar tutor asked what his aim was and the chap said he just wanted to play one gig. The guitar tutor replied that he'd need a better guitar. The guitar in question is an Epiphone Les Paul copy. It's in good condition and very playable. My customer asked me what I thought, I said I thought his tutor was talking out of his rear exhaust pipe. 2/ The music teacher at my son's school told my son that bass players don't play with plectrums, so he should only use fingers when he was playing the bass at school. My son told me this so I suggested next time he 'plays' bass at school and the subject of plectrums comes up he just says Bobby Vega or Carol Kaye. I then told my son, who is learning to play guitar, that anyone who wants to be a well rounded player should try to get to grips with all techniques on their instrument. Being deadly serious, I don't think people, who regard themselves as Music Teachers, and make such nonsense statements should be teaching at all. They're doing a disservice to those they are supposed to be teaching. It may seem minor, however, such narrow minded ridiculousness...well, it boils my waste water!!!

Thanks, it was 3 hrs of of stuff I knew stuff I'd vaguely heard of and stuff I'd never heard of, Intense and a load of fun. Loads to look up and learn at least the root notes of. Lovely bunch of people, it'll definitely become one of my regular evenings.

I got my ABM head a couple of years ago in a trade on a whim (it's the chrome fronted rack mount version - I guess I'm a bit of a magpie). I'd had an Ashdown head about 15 years ago that developed a fault which the store I bought it from failed to get sorted so I just gave up on it. If I'd have know at the time about the level of customer service that I'd have got by taking it directly to Ashdown if have saved myself a lot of money going through other amps over the years. Anyway, my current ABM head was a revelation - powerful, punchy and I don't know about anyone else's but mine is 100% wool free. I recently got myself some Ashdown cabs to go with the head and a little Five Fifteen AAA head as a backup and honestly can't see myself using any other make of amp in future.

Nah. Mutual online appreciation of each other’s awkwardness is enough socialising for this week.

128 presets dude. People pay £375 for a Darkglass pedal that does dirty or clean. Let that sink in. A 128 channel preamp. It's not new technology, but it makes other things that claim to be "versatile" look like they should have a sign showing where the coal goes.

I've been playing bass for about 45 years (minus a few breaks here and there along the way) and have never used any effects pedals. My Ashdown amps have sub-octave and compression built in, but I never use them. I'm not against effects, but view it is just more stuff to buy, store, plug in, etc. which I don't have a need for. No band I have played has ever asked me to use effects to change the sound of my bass, so I must be on the right track.

And I found some pics of how the bass arrived with me, the only thing removed was the cloth bag that the bass arrived in... they must really trust their couriers!

Just watched that: Glenn is astonishing; "Sit down, Bruce: the bassist's got this..." 😁

Hi @james_027 Like many people here, my older Yamaha BB seems fine with a one piece neck, 4 bolt neck join and top loading bbot bridge! I'd not really be concerned about the structural side of things (as you say, that's what you get on most of the multi-thousand dollar Fender custom shop basses) but it's more a question of whether the laminated neck, and through body stringing give a "better" sound to your ears. The biggest difference (for me) would be the pickups. The 2 series have ceramic magnets while the 4 have alnico5 magnets. Received wisdom would imply that the 4 series pickups are a bit more subtle and vintage voiced. As always, it's a bit more complicated than that. One player's "vintage mojo" is another players "weak and characterless", one players "brash and unsubtle" is another's "punchy and agressive" etc. Bear in mind that, unlike previous BBs, these new ones feature standard-sized pickups so upgrades will be possible further down the line if you feel there's something missing. Needless to say that Yamaha make great sounding pickups anyway! I guess this isn't helping. It's 5am and I can't sleep so I thought I'd put some thoughts out there. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice and a great deal on either is what might sway it for me. I particularly like the yellow natural 2 series look but the teal 4 series is pretty saucy too. I daresay some of the Big Beasts of the BB thread will be along with far more informed guidance soon enough.

She plays incredibly well, I’m for sure selling my Geddy Lee, maybe even my MIM Pbass... I have to hunt down my stash of capacitors for the tone fix, and I’m seriously considering replacing one of the volume pots with a blend knob. I did find my thicker Kydex for the pickguard, but I don’t think I need it. The next project is starting with 2 sets of Pbass pickups....

I’ve joined the club 🤦🏻‍♂️ What have I done.....

I love their configurator!

The singer in one local band is a powerlifter and ex-doorman. On more than one occasion, a tanked-up stage invader has been launched back over the monitors... great to see, and greeted with a roar of approval by other punters. Life in Penzance!

Its a bit like kids playing guitar in music shops on Saturday morning. If you don't own a guitar, then that prospect is filled with excitement and wonder. If you do own a guitar (and amp etc), then you can sit down and play it at any time at home, right? So the mystique is gone. Therefore, anyone who asks to play something at a gig, almost by definition, can't.

Excited to give this a spin tonight! I play two basses on pretty much every gig, so something that allows me to swap between them with the minimum of fuss is a win in my eyes. Built-in tuner, boost function and effects all switchable from the MIDI footswitch add to the fun. I doubt I'll use the mix function much, but it's good to have it available. Yes, the EQ is fairly limited, but I'm hoping the 12 amp models will provide me with a good core sound for each of my basses and then I can just tweak.

I have a PF500 as my backup amp that every so often becomes my gigging amp. What can I say, a good little amp has proved solid and reliable for the 2 possibly 3 years that I have owned it (bought pre-loved) so had some use in its life.

In the case of the blues band I was in for five years (left a year ago) I would count them as friends, especially the guitarist and drummer. I still see socially and play with them. With the band I'm in now, it is harder to get to know the rest of them as we are spread out around the country and only get together for rehearsals and gigs. Perfectly nice people, just haven't had many social opportunities yet. We all got on well when we were in Germany, so it's not about the people, just the lack of time to get to know each other better.

This

He has a fantastic voice.

Great review, at that weight, I might keep an eye out for a second hand one and then look at changing the pickups and pre-amp

Mention of Stiltskin in the one hit wonders thread got me thinking about songs with great intros and then, usually when the vocal kicks in, it all goes rapidly downhill That one aside another one that immediately comes to mind is this.. Great for the first 35 seconds and then the singing starts and the tempo drops So bring it on, with vids and the timing when the song goes t1ts up...

+1 he's worked wonders on some of the tat I've bought off ebay over the years... And I've trusted him to work on nice basses too!

@BrunoBass Seems there were a few decent gigs on in Brum last night. As well as Billy Bragg and Frank, Ride were playing too!

My standard reply to the "Can I play your instrument?" question is "Can I have the keys to your car?" They both probably cost about the same when you factor in my rig.

This is true, and I'd considered it, and thought it was unlikely for Barefaced. Alex said he decided quite late on to do it, and that if he'd known in advance he'd have at least hinted. Most places do have something on the run on to try and drum up more business. I have certainly ended up with a good deal anyway.

Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls last night at the beautiful Symphony Hall in Birmingham. I’ve seen him many times over the years and he never disappoints. This show was a stripped back affair with a strong story telling element throughout. It was also my eight year old son’s first gig; I play Frank in the car on the school run and he’s become a fan. A special and memorable night. Excellent.

I’m sorry but all their songs found a bit samey to me

Absolutely love the intro to this track but once the band kicks in it just falls to bits.

Teachers are as prone to prejudice as anyone. The problem is that they are in a position to influence/affect others with those prejudices. Re comments above about using the stronger hand on the fretboard, I've always understood that the stronger hand should be the one that creates the rhythm/timing. If you're right handed, try holding a solid rhythm with your left. Not easy (unless you play drums/percussion and have already trained both your hands).

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