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Predictions for 2020 * RIC Corp outsource production of new entry level 4000-series basses to Indonesia; mooted street price $600 inc gig-bag * Fender to rationalise guitar and bass range down to a mere 350 variations on each of the classic models * Gibson to improve their QC while dialling back on litigation, corporate bullsh*t and PR flim-flam * Marshall will introduce range of 'desirable' bass amplification * Millions of people claim that a tiny, £15 Chinese pedal 'toadally delivers the SVT roar' without ever actually hearing one * BC members will rush to declare Marketplace turnover is surging while time-wasters and low-ballers at all-time low Just kidding

I now have a third Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro - this was a bit of a bargain when I first noticed it before xmas on the Cash Converters website at just £299 with the matching hardcase included. I managed to stop myself from buying it then and expected someone else to snap it up, but when they knocked off another £50 I really couldn't resist.

ACG Finn

I got a tattoo of the first bass I bought when I joined BC, then overwritten with each replacement, here’s the result.

The only advice I have is to frame the situation a little bit differently in your head. Instead of thinking I’m not in a band, there for I don’t have anything to practice for. Think of it like: I want to join and established band so I am going to learn these 50 commonly played songs (possibly even in different keys) so that I am ready to audition for any bands that need a bass player.

Here's my headless basses, both ACG 6 strings, both 31.5" scale, one fretted, one fretless.. I totally resisted headless basses for many years, thinking that they were a bit "too 80's", turns out I was very very wrong. The ergonomics and design of headless basses makes a hell of a lot of sense, and even better, these little basses even fit into regular guitar gig bags, with them being so much more compact. I love them! Eude

A real one, or a rhyming slang one?

Had a bit more work done on the tattoo - really pleased with it now.

Justin Bieber will reveal that he is really Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and had done the whole thing for a bet.

An element of arrogance to want to equip oneself to help the band problem solve sound issues which, if left unresolved, will make the gig less enjoyable for everyone in the room irrespective of how engaging a singer is or how tight the groove? An element of arrogance in trying to offer help to a band mate who's talked himself into a corner and is standing at a desk twisting knobs, sweating like bastard all the while making the issue worse? The difficulty with sound management/engineering, especially in a proper live environment, is few of us have access to a live gigging band, venue and a desk on a whim. 'Practicing' sound and mixing becomes the realm of 'mixing stems' mucking about with home recording etc to try and gain a basic grasp so when we do have to manage these issues we can do our best. It's reasonable to expect I wont become expert (10,000 hours - I just don't have the spare these days) but we can become competent or apply some good solid principle to manage ourselves. Example: I never knew anything about eq'ing a fiddle until we had a fiddle player join the band. I did know a bit about eq, some frequencies and how to mitigate feedback. When we got a fiddle player I read up, re-read the manual for our desk and the sound tips it gave, started following producers on line etc. I'm a competent bass player in that I can learn a song, follow a kick drum pattern and throw the thumb into the bass if needed but I'll never set the world alight. I'm no sound engineer but I've been gigging and rehearsing since I was 16 and in that time I've learned a bit from listening, asking questions, watching proper sound men, 'doing the sound'. I recall a local festival and spending about a week offering to help with set up of the stage, doing messages and being the dogsbody - basically hanging about the desk and learning from the lads, asking questions, helping wrap cables (after I was shown the correct way to do so) etc. I've been playing and gigging on and off since then and 'done the sound' at a number of rehearsals for my own bands and my friends bands. Later on I was in a band with folks who had music degree's and one a masters in music and sound design (learned a helluva lot in that band -I recall we were recording some guitar parts and I showed up to the rehearsal room and the guitarist had two different 212 guitar amps mic'd with four different mic's - two different pair's per amp to record the rhythm guitar parts! I learned A LOT in those few years both in recording and a lilte bit of mixing!). I wouldn't say I'm arrogant but I've just got a little experience over the last 25-ish years.

Anyone digging Vulfpeck should give Mr. Wong's solo material a listen. This is incredibly funky in an early-Prince kind of way. Petar Janjic and Kevin MacIntire are one hell of a rhythm section and Cory's a very funny fella as well as nailing that fourth-position funk guitar. He's touring in a few weeks and I have nabbed a ticket for the Cork show. Expectations are high after seeing this.

Glorious, that is all, I've always felt that P/Js lack a little something, P/Ps are clearly where it's at. And wow, Fender Custom Shop build quality in every respect.

Ah thanks, sad to read in all honesty though, we hope you get sorted. If not maybe we can help you source something that would do the job, unless it’s one of those weird half metal speakers as we have no idea about those...Aloominum? Always here to help.

Got me knobs sorted out. Nice feel to them. The red is a bit more magenta/pink than i expected, but its still cool.

I hadn't played for about 12 years until a chance conversation at church found me on the worship team rota. I dug out my old Tanglewood violin bass and began playing along to MP3 tracks of the church songs. After a couple of sessions with the band I bought a better bass and now enjoy playing once or twice a month. I practice at home to backing tracks and always seem to have a song we haven't done before. We only play 4 or 5 songs on a Sunday but that is enough to keep me plucking the strings. I hit the big 7-Oh!! this year so I don't fancy hitting the road in a band, but my church 'gig' satisfies my desire to play and learn more. Try playing music you wouldn't normally listen to - it will keep the old grey matter working and give you a reason to pick the bass up again.

Try writing and recording , it’s also a bit frustrating sometimes but you’ll be amazed at satisfying it can be when you nail a half decent one. it keeps those musical fingers active as well

Mine 👍

Any venue that puts on or even plays pre-recorded music (jukebox, computer playlist etc.) has to have a PRS licence and therefore will be covered. I think the only gigs I haven't received a pubs and clubs payment for, was a very dodgy squat-style venue in Liverpool and a gig done in someone's house.

@51m0n, @krispn, wind it in will you? This is Basschat. And we're talking about compression. Again. Your facts, supported claims and hard earned knowledge through years of experience are not welcome here. Take it elsewhere.

Yeah......he seemed to be able to get any bass he played to get that "classic" growly klank. Fantastic player........much missed.

Was lucky enough to attend too. My main takeout was HF attributing his gains to transcription and just putting the hours in - not some innate gift, which is sort of encouraging. Seeing them play together up close was pretty mind blowing , insane technical facility. Fun day out, looking forward to seeing the eventual SBL vid.

So obviously the whole thing was videoed and will be available on SBL Academy at some point. It was a really interesting session - Hadrien was at times trying to overcome the language barrier for technical musical terminology...but when he played, it all became clear. Great player, very jaco-esque phrasing and sound, but his technique looks like he's playing classical guitar - barre in positions, moving chords up the neck, right hand positioning.... Anyway, although we'd been told not to take basses, because only Hadrien would be playing, just before the start, Scott Devine asked if anyone had a bass in their car? SOOOO tempted to reply "Yes....but my car's in Essex!" but on reflection, glad I didn't. 🤔 Eventually, someone rustled up a 5-string Jazz which was deemed OK, and applicable for the guy with the tinselled dreadlocks who came in and sat at the back. 'Cos it was Thundercat. Of course it was. So they jammed over a few tunes, and even though the amp started screwing up, what they played (and in TC's case, sang) sounded very good indeed. Tried to get some video, but wanted to see it happen rather than just watch in on a screen, so not much of any use. Will comb through what I have and add it later if it's any good.

I got mine back today. Now I’ve got a 512gb SSD with barely anything on it and 16gb of RAM. It absolutely flies now!

User uploads tab which is correct first time.

I saw FC at Whitstable a couple of years ago, where he played the Ibanez fan fret. I 'just happened' to be down by the stage at the end of the show, when he came back on to pack away his gear. I asked him what it was like to play a fan fret, about which he was very enthusiastic. So much so that he invited me on stage to play the bass, and we chatted for about 15 mins. What a nice guy.

Hah - you spotted that link far too quickly! Not sure whether your particular fetish has any linkage to baldness but, if so, it would explain a thing or two... But please let me assure you, good sir, that whilst the krispn and I may have exchanged electrical items and the occasional fluids over the years these have been limited to bass pedals and his own tasty beer.

Seems a convoluted way to describe what the control does, compared to the excellent column about Compression in the January edition of Bass Guitar Magazine... /BlatantPlug

Alright Bilbo!

For the first time in nearly 20 years I’m not in a band and am really looking forward to having time to learn new songs and styles of playing. Horses for courses I suppose, your post ,CBassy, screams out to me the want to be in a band so I’d say just get out there to gigs and chat to bands. When I told my band I’d be leaving I still gigged with them for a further 5 months, 4 of which nothing was made public that I was going, however we were looking. You never know what the situation is in a band so never hurts for people to know you play and are actively looking for a good opportunity.

This, all day. Treat is as a writing phase. An interface, a laptop and a few other instruments bought, blagged or borrowed, and the world is your oyster. I started between bands, and to be honest I probably find it more fun and less of a slog than the whole band thing. Having said that, we're going in to record a bunch of them, and then we (drummist and I) really fancy gigging them, so we'll be back on the treadmill, but it's been a fun, and educational period, and I reckon my playing has improved. Writing something you can't play makes you work, as does working out parts for instruments you don't usually play.

Acksherly, genuine prediction, I was thinking about Marshall today and I thought 'Sooner or later someone's going to come along and buy them, probably some Godawful hedge fund / venture capital mob like the one that bought Gibson and installed a slew of "Luxury Brand" experts'. Just saying.

I saw her first. Back off..

Ah but it's about the journey as much as the destination, right? 😉

My wife paid for this as my Christmas present, I've ben thinking of getting it done and yesterday was the day it happened. You'd never guess the music I play!

Well, my life was an absolute rollercoaster just after the Stomp came out, so I put it on hold. Even now, in Jan 2020, things are pretty intense, but I picked up a HX Stomp in the Black Friday sales and I am SUPER impressed. I did own a full fat Helix Floor, but I found it too large, and I just didn't need that much power and control. Even on guitar, I am finding I have enough processing power, in a tiny box, for what I need. The quality of the unit is excellent, the sound is great, and the flexibility is so fun. I have yet to try it with bass, but I can't wait!

Note to self. Get impressions done when at lowest weight next time lol.

W@@@@@HNKHEEEEEERRRRR!

Thanks for the thanks, but I think the first comment comes across as somewhat dismissive. That’s like saying a Jazz sounds like a Jazz, or a P like a P. Of course they do, but they don’t all sound the same. Chris’s sound is actually pretty difficult to replicate, Ric or no. Chris, Geddy, Glover, Foxton etc might all have a trebly, distorted sound but they all sound completely different. I figured this might give some insight to those who might be interested.

Here's my s-s ACG Border Reiver: http://

If it helps anyone, I pulled the lists of models on the HX and popped them all in a spreadsheet so you can look through and filter on type. http://www.cattytown.me.uk/HelixModels.xlsx P.

You actual can’t win here cant win here can you?! These are familiar shapes that people en masse do like and are ergonomic, and have stood the test of time. If they look and sound great, have a high QC control and feel better than a ‘Fender’ at a great price, have great customer service especially with a hub in the U.K. - then is that not a victory for us as consumers? Why not trade an official Mexican Fender knock off for a UK/USA fender knock off? If they designed something different which look like a child drew a melted candle with a chubby crayon, then you may all silently applause, but the likelihood is y’all wouldn’t rush to buy one and support the venture no matter how good it sounds. As an example So much gets discussed how a P sits in the mix, so a company reproduces that bass that a metric tonne of people use, and they get panned for it. The proof is indeed the fit and finish, rolled neck, neck profile, neck and body feel, pick ups, pre-amp etc. Who knows good be a bloody good set of basses or an absolute turkey, but you know what - they look alright, not offensive in the least

Why, oh why do we get just another round of fenders. Sorry to say that I expected something more and novel. Great amps should equal great and original design in basses, too.

Vincent NOLOT is an excellent bassist who has been working with Christophe LEDUC, he made that superb SEPARABLE DOUBLE (6 String) NECK BASS. The separation / attachment device has been especially well cared using only one knob. The fretted bass has a recessed potentiometer knob for the pickup balance, the fretless features a top (sound) table and a piezo pickup. Several switches are judiciously placed to choose among a lot of pickup configurations.