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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'm a couple of chapters into this incredibly well-presented book. Lovely hardback with well presented dustjacket, endpapers, pics and even a ribbon to keep your page. Peggy is my bass-playing hero, and a nice guy - I remember his genuine astonishment at being asked to sign the insert from my cassette of 'The Cocktail Cowboy Goes it Alone"! 🙂 I had no idea just how many people he's played with. He was even in a band with John Bonham. Brum must have been as exciting a place as London or Liverpool in the sixties, possibly more so if you are into the sort of music I like most. It's an interesting presentation with two typefaces, one for Pegg's recollections and one for his co-writer's comments and clarifications (and corrections!) My criticism would be that a bit of editing could have untangled the timelines and avoided some repetition making it a lot easier to follow, even allowing for the overlaps of some of his bands and experiences. Some of the changes are pretty obvious to me having done a bit of editing, and would not have spoiled anything. That said, there are some really nice anecdotes, one or two of which would suit Motley Crue (but presented without the saliciousness) or Spinal Tap. Maybe I'll add more later, but my view so far is this is a must read if Mr Pegg has influenced your playing.

I've just bought a Fender Power Jazz Bass Special from Andy. Great communication and coordination, he has really mastered the art of packing. Highly recommended!

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!

The first and only time I will compliment you on having shiny pink knobs. 🤩

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.

Alright Bilbo!

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.

What...like mine? 😁😁

Oddly timely - I've just been listening to the Jerthro Tull live in Den Haag in 1980 that comes with the Stormwatch remaster, and Pegg's bass is front and centre of everything (as is right). Filthy tone - brilliant stuff

Many BC'ers swear by compression. Others never bother and haven't lost any bookings or sleep over it. 99% of bass players can't dial in a compressor to save their lives. 99% of the bass players @chris_b has come across in 40 years of bass playing don't use one live. @51m0n has the patience of a saint. Mostly. Did I miss anything? 😄

Vulfpeck are at the top of their game, to my mind. I love their infectious enthusiasm and weapons grade funk. And interesting clothing choices.

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

You can get the basics down in about 6 hours of being taught Al. I did all those years ago. How to set up mics, gain staging, eq, compression, delay and reverb to produce good FOH and monitor mixes. Then it's a case of doing as much practice mixing with stems and as many what I tend to call full technical rehearsals as possible. It's only with all the kit set up that you get to ring out monitors, and FOH for instance, handle multiple monitor mixes as well as FOH. If you are self learning then the hardest part these days is sifting through conflicting info. It will take at least 10 times longer to really get to grips with the basics imo. So not as fast as I learned Hey Joe when I first had a bass put in my hands, but way quicker than the time it took to go from scratch to playing the RHCP version of Higher Ground perfectly.

Okay.....thoughts. It came in a basic box with a small Allen key kit for the bridge and truss rod. No instructions but hey....but actually hey....could have done with info. Went online, not easy to find. So.... Today was the first day I got to blast it! Checked it was in tune. Went to the 13th fret and found that the E and A strings were perfectly intoned. D and G were wavering very slightly sharp...easily fixed. I never adjust an action until I’ve blasted the bass and it seems fine. If I get more time I’ll gradually adjust. Then had great fun working out what each control did. All turned down then one by one tried out. Quickly identified the volume for each pickup and the overall tone. But what is this unknown knob for? (No....not Piers Morgan!) Wow! It seems to pump the tone! I wonder what it is called! 🤓 Anyway, gave it a good play, let a trusted musical child (I’m a teacher) give it a go so I could stand back and listen. Thoroughly enjoyed the sound. A great feel and growl from this versatile bass. Now I’m thinking, how good are the Euros? In summary, this was £449. The kid above has just bought a new bass in the same price bracket and he was stroking his chin thinking of what could have been. Great value, versatile, almost set up excellently off the shop wall and it snapped and roared through a Hartke Kick Back (100w) to a greater degree than my Sub MM. Well chuffed and definitely a keeper......until the next gas attack! Thanks to all who offered advice. Now, with the money saved, which amp around the £200 to £30p mark?

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

Chaps to add clarity - this isn't replacing the current standard ABM 600 EVO IV. This is replacing the rack ABM 600-RC that we stopped making a year or two back. Since then we have been constantly asked to reintroduce a rackable ABM head, mainly by artists but plenty of weekend warriors have asked too. So this is for those guys and girls where size is less of a concern and the focus is tone, power and reliability...

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.

At least he didn't call the book "Pegging".