Leaderboard

Wiring isn't soldered up yet but all the components are in place and hatches are on Still to finish: soldering (what little there is); strap buttons; setup Here's how it's looking:

I'm growing used to this a bit now, I've still got to spray the grille frame black but an extra coat of Tuff Coat has improved the finish since I took this pic. I wish the cloth had been black ad gold as advertised not black and brown but i can live with it. Anyway I'm still testing it and I had a gig yesterday, a wedding with about 60 people in a well ventilated and quite large hall. Decent PA support and Covid restrictions on volume so i decided a good chance to run out the 110T as on-stage monitor. Our drummer didn't get the memo about volume but the 110T could still be heard and the PA did the rest (just a pair of QSC12's no subs) We have a proper sound engineer now. He said something interesting when I asked about whether it had been enough from his point of view front of house. "I can't believe that little cab, it's the best bass sound I've ever worked with". What really? In normal non-Covid times the guy works with touring bands at festivals and in musical theatre, but I guess from his point of view it's just what he wants. The basic sound is clean and really rather sweet, it sounds like a bass with no sonic nasties to clean up, nothing to trouble the vocal mics and just enough to hold the on-stage sound together. It sits well in the mix and the basic sound is excellent. (and it is nice, I love playing it at home with my Peavey Minimax) OK it's a simple little thing, it's only a 200W speaker and the components come it at only around £100 but I am so warming to it. I can carry in my complete rig in one go. Amp in a shoulder bag, speaker in one hand bass in the other. The bass is heavier and more awkward than the cab. Plug it in everything set flat and it just sounds right from the get go. You wouldn't expect a single 10 to hold up the bass end unsupported but it's only a little way off and it's enough to be your on-stage monitor and cope with anything short of a rock band. Did i say it sounds nice?

Doug Wimbish signature, custom order so only one of its kind. I had a DW sig about ten years ago and stupidly traded it in, big regrets... Good to be back in the saddle

... and booked in for my first ever bass lesson. It's a free half hour lesson at first to see how I like it. I'm not expecting much from half an hour tbh but it's a start. Wish me luck.

I hope we can all agree that anyone who holds up their phone to video the show deserves a slow and painful death under a randy bull elephant. Who are they filming it for? Who wants to watch an hour and a half show recorded on a phone with a microphone that can't handle the volume?

Changed my mind regarding the inlay. Not much space on the headstock as it is, and may be a little too busy with the spalted top. So 12th fret it is, sketched a new design and cut from the black MOP blank. Needs the edges cleaning up, but I think it'll look OK!

The thing is ,when you have a privileged background and money in the family it enables you to be able to spend your time developing your creativity and talent (if you have any) because you don’t need to earn with a ‘normal job’ to survive.They’ve always got that ‘cushion’ of an advance from the family.Most of us are too busy trying to keep a roof over our heads,mortgages etc to be able to doss around like that.Being from money opens a lot of doors and I think it’ll always be that way.

Once upon a time, not long ago, in "bits box" in my cupboard I realised I had amassed a number of items that should really be put to good use. First thing I did was to sell / give away some on here whilst looking out for a donor bass that I could mess with. I've modded basses before but mainly bolt on bits / electronics etc and my idea was to go a step further with more permanent changes. 😧😮 A suitable donor bass was found and over a period of a couple of months I proceeded to: Strip the full body and neck Re-profile the body giving much better access to the 24 frets / fit a battery box Fill body & re-route for pickups, electronics Re-shape the headstock & fit a Warwick Just-a-Nut Re-profile the neck at the heel end to flow into the body better. Relocate and fit bolts and inserts for the body / neck joint. Fit a Babicz bridge which took the spacing from 16.5 to 19mm Install the Seymour Duncan NYC pickups and Mike Pope preamp I'd had in a box 😮 and fitted 2 micro switches which give each pickup the option of parallel / single / series routing. Re-paint the headstock and body in colour shift paint (purple / blue / red) and clear coat the neck. So I'm not sure what to call it it's not really a build compared to what others do on here (and as the build diaries area implies), its not a NBD, not a bitza per say as that implies bolting things together whereas I've taken a hatchet to mine 🙂 .....probably a "partial bitza". Anyway I've enjoyed tackling the processes, made a load of mistakes and learned lots. I'm also quite enjoying playing it. The bass paint finish isn't flawless and this is where I would spend a bit more time on should I do another. What seemed good enough during the build really showed up when the colour was added 😥 However I can't see anyone but me noticing anything wrong when it gets gigged down at the "Dog & Duck". Anyway here's some photos to have a gander at......I'm sure someone will be able to tell what the donor bass was........

And try explaining this joke to the youngsters these days:

First rehearsal since March 2020 and we covered some band tracks. Ex guitarist has moved to drums and, having watched the BBC doc said "I'd always known about The Band but as a guitarist assumed they were a country band. But when you get into the rhythm parts, most of their stuff was really funky". My kind of drummer. First time I've played Cripple Creek with a drummer who got the feel. Singer & guitarist said "That felt really different, not sure what it was, bit it was really different". Sums The Band's music up nicely does that

I do like the idea of a hollow body with figured top but I think I would commission an Overwater like this one.

Hopefully the glue/dust dries a bit lighter than it is at the moment! Still needs sanding.

The content of those videos has moved on over the years (how can you explain what makes a song great to someone who doesn’t think the song is great?) - they’re just song teardowns, and I find them compelling. I like Rick.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1990s-Bass-Guitar-Hard-Case-Hardcase-Precision-Bass-Jazz-Bass-P-Bass-J-Bass-/255031505672?_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286 i think I’d want a pre-CBS P-Bass thrown in as well for that kind of money.

Rough cut of the top - starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere now!

they do it so that can boast to their 'friends' on Facebook and the like, what a great time they've had, thinking they're interested, well they're not, like other peoples holiday snaps, boring, they'd have a lot better time if they just watched the gig

Oh - there were two other targets. One met, one missed a bit. Will it fit into an Hiscox electric guitar case? Yes it will: Did I meet the target of 7 1/2lbs? No - not quite. It's actually closer to 7 3/4lbs. I'm surprised that the strings and pots (the only things added since the last check) added 1/2lb! That said, because it balances well, it's going to feel feather light on the strap...

And here something more recent. She's just so talented !

I can't be doing with pushing and shoving either. Couldn't do with it even when I was in my late teens at punk gigs, so certainly not putting up with it now! Most of the bands I enjoy seem to attract a similar audience reaction to me and my friend's. Mainly there to watch and listen as well as showing support for the band. Can't be doing with people talking ( especially in the quieter songs) or obliterating my view with phones at all. Also those gits who constantly bump into you / spill beer all over the place and think that because I'm not off my face I can't be enjoying the band as much as them. A few years ago me and a couple of mates were at a gig at The Duchess in Leeds watching ex-Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. A random bloke kept on banging around and spilling drinks on us, and one of my friends warned him not to do it again which of course he did. My mate grabbed the fella and then frogmarched him outside in an instant, job done. Rest of the gig very enjoyable! I don't go to gigs to start fights, but likewise don't pay good money to put up with being shoved around either.

Oh no - this is going to kill your natural instincts and creativity ! Only joking - enjoy the lesson(s) 😀!

The idea of the ‘the struggle’ romanticises most art forms and it’s often the inspiration/catalyst of the work produced. Most artists, writers etc will have had to endure the lows before the highs. Without quoting Common People by Pulp there’s likely many privileged folk who wish they had a bit more hardship as they believe that’ll tap them into something inspirational to give their particular art form more meaning/authenticity etc or it’s a great excuse for other artists to explain their lack of imagination/skill/success etc. Its in our nature to use the excuse of having or not having as the reason for our own lack of success or the reason for someone else’s success. The tales we tell ourselves to reinforce our bad choices, lack of talent etc etc.

Musical theory is only a way of understanding and writing down what you're thinking and hearing. It's a good thing if you know how to use it.

But you can roll it in glitter.

As with most ventures in life, it boils down to 'can you afford to fail?'. A lot of the artists that emerged in previous decades, some didn't have much to lose in the first place, and in the 70s and 80s the social security system wasn't as draconian and that gave just enough support to 'give it a go'. But it's always been the case that if you've got parents with money you can risk failure much easier than if you haven't go wealthy parents. Take Richard Branson. He's always held up as a some self made entrepreneur... which he is if you overlook the small issue that he could always fall back on his wealthy background for support (his grandfather was a privy councillor). Does it matter in music? If all we end up with is Coldplay, Florence and the Machine and Mumford and Sons....then yes it does. That said I'm a Radiohead fan, and a Doves fan (Andy and Jez Williams' dad was a well known architect) and I hate with a passion Oasis...so perhaps it might be a good thing

Now for something completely different.!

I played a gig yesterday afternoon at an old people’s home. We mostly played jazz standards along with few Glenn Miller songs. There are some fantastic songs with really beautiful melodies in the standard repertoire. I never get tired of playing them. The best bit of the event for me was the one little old lady’s reaction after we played autumn leaves - a song I absolutely love playing anyway, it really lends itself to playing how I like to play bass, melodically as well as playing walking lines. You could tell it took her back to another time, bringing back memories. She was smiling and laughing, I heard her saying to someone how she had always loved that particular song. It made all the hassle of the two Covid tests prior to going in worth it.

Tweaked my main board a bit. Full strip and re-cable using squareplugs and van damme. The Boss dd200 is new, as is the Source Audio dual expression. Battery power arrangement has been revised so I'm now running a 268000mah battery into the mission 529 adapter via usb-c power delivery, then all pedals get an isolated supply via the Gigrig isolators. Beta now runs at 18v for a bit less compression. There are some cool but non-obvious features: DD200 is a midi controller for the Source Audio Spectrum. It sends midi clock to control LFO rate, and toggles presets. This is done via a home made midi TRS to USB host on the underside (the silver box). There is also an always-on Bluetooth dongle connected to the SA Spectrum so that I can try/change/edit presets wirelessly using my phone. The expression pedal is on a pressure pad. When I step on it, it brings in the xerograph for LPF sweeps. It is also gives expression functionality to the SA Spectrum (when the xerograph is turned off). Inside the exp pedal I have added a load of components so that I can tweak the shape of the sweep to my liking. The blue box in the corner is a home made "mission control box". It does a few practical things: 1. Click-less true bypass loop with the whole board inside, so that I can set up a patch and then toggle it on/off quickly. 2. Gig saver bypass, so if there's a power failure I just go straight into the amp with no interruption. 3. Toggle between battery power and a one spot as "backup", if connected to the top right jack. If it's not connected, then kicking the missile switch cover down shuts off the whole board, and I have true bypass. This is handy if any pedal gremlins appear on a gig. 4. Wired IEM patch through to my "daughter board" which has compressor, preamp etc. (Not pictured)

Dreadful doesn't begin to describe it. Healing will only begin when those responsible who are still living are brought to justice.

The Ashdown Studio range looks worth checking out but I think given the situation with the Rumble before I’d reckon that’s where to start, I’m yet to read of anyone finding the 500 watt combo not powerful enough.

Very unlikely in anything resembling the way it was back then.. Plus in the late 70s early 80s squats were a popular option for music types with zero money, that whole 'thing' no doubt doesn't exist anymore..

I'll definitely have one complete and hopefully the second one too. I will be bringing along some mini basses as well. Really looking forward to this bash and catching up with everyone again. Cheers

@krispn great post.

If I had that much command of my instrument I’d be pretty pleased every time I played too.

I think there's an interview with Johnny Ramone somewhere where he says 20 minutes is enough for unknown originals bands, do your best songs then get off before the audience gets bored, I do agree with him

Having at least some lessons will help a lot with sorting out technique issues etc. I much prefer to have a teacher, not least because it will push me down paths I probably would not otherwise take. I'm probably weird (there's not need to answer that! 🤣) but I don't have any problems with theory and quite enjoy it. Unless you wander off and want to read figured bass and realise it on a 6 string bass... you don't need to go too far, but enough to be able to understand the basics of scales, keys, chords and harmony etc is probably useful.

Yeah, I've sorry of resigned myself to the idea of having to do theory as well but not something that interests me much. I want to eventually be able to hear a song and at least be able to have a good go at it. Tbh I'm very nervous about playing in front of someone... Even the wife has only heard me a few times. One of the lads at work is learning 6 string and suggested we take our gear in and have a mess about after work and play "Iron Man". Dunno if it'll happen and I'm really half hoping it doesn't but it's something to work to. I'd hate to take the bass in and be terrible compared to him.

I'm not going to lie, I couldn't care less about the financial background of an artist / band. All I care about is the music. Rich or poor what does it actually matter to the music? The one thing that hasn't been talked about on this thread yet is crowd funding. This seems to be very popular now, sell the album to the fans before it is made. If you have the fan base this works and you can cut out the labels altogether.