Leaderboard

Anyone who's ever been in a working band knows the band lead bag/box. It's a thing of utmost importance but over the years it collects a few casualties and weirdos along the way. It contains the living, the dead, the injured and the "just in case". Over a year ago I decided to sort the band lead bag out. I disposed of the dead, straightened the injured and nursed them back to health, carefully calculated the various lengths required and purposes, wrapped them neatly and filled the pockets with spares, fuses, connectors, a torch, generic spare strap etc etc. It was a thing of beauty. Then I filled another bag with the walking wounded, weirdo's and stuff that was worth keeping just in case. Guess which fookin bag I picked up and took to our first gig back after the apocalypse 😔 ?

I appear to be going through a bit of a phase, as this is the 2nd 70's Japanese P bass I've bought in the last few weeks. This is my perfect P bass. I love the punk aesthetic of the white/black combo, I love the slightly 'wrong' headstock shape. The body seems to be a little undersized, as it's very light. The neck feels somewhere between my 78 Yamaha P and my Fender Japan J. I had been eyeing it up on FB marketplace in Bangkok for a while, a really good deal. It was on sale for just a little too long so I had to go for it. It's a 78 Greco in remarkable condition. It plays superbly and sounds as good. This is a keeper, for sure.

First gig with the new punk band last night. Support to a Ska band. Decided on using the Geddy Jazz with Mesa Mpulse and Subway 210/115 rig. Not sure what was happening but when digging in the bass seemed to be losing its low end as if over compressed. Was fine at lower volumes. Might need to raise string height a bit for the punk band. I've never experienced that before but i was playing quite hard fingerstyle. Any thoughts welcome As we were a support only an hour and 15 mins set most of the punters were there for the Ska band but we got a pretty good response after each song and several people on the dancefloor too. The Ska band were doing a 2 nighter and were in theFri night too and the club was exxtremely busy. Add to that the Undertones were playing Edinburgh last night and many punks would be at the Undertones. Reckon there were about 100-125 audience. On at 8:30 and off at 9:45 ish so and early night home by 11:15pm Only made one duffer mistake which wasn't too bad considering i only had 3-4 wks to learn the 42 songs in the set. Dave

OK, proper update! I'm still working through tru-oil coats (I have been conservatively applying 1 per day for the past 10 days and it still has a little way to go) but here's an idea of how she'll look. Pickguard arrived today and I must say I'm very happy with how it's coming along.

I went to look at a Peavey Zodiac bass advertised in a local shop window for £99 and the guy showed me this Ibanez Roadstar II as well, according to Dr Google its a RB620NT from around 1983 (but open to advice on this). I am a beginner player and don't know much about gear but whatever it is, it spoke to me, and so I went home to find the cash, google it and went back today and got it, very grateful to the seller. I paid £180 It seems in strangely good condition for its age, better than I was at 38 years old, maybe it has been worked on? One of those situations where I don't really know what I bought ... but I like it 🤨. It seems pretty genuine, but again, I have no idea ... I took the photos straight away when I got home before the light left, still undusted, as I wanted to post this and see whether people think I made a wise choice. I practiced with it this evening and it surprised me how lively the output is, for a passive bass it seems to have quite a kick compared to my (one) other passive bass, I love the feel of the neck - it is a P-bass type? No idea, lol. I think it needs a setup and some strings and the neck looks a tiny bit torqued / twisted, is that usual for an old instrument? Plays ok to me, though. I get the impression it has been stored and unplayed for a while 5-10 years, any advice on what I should do with it to restore to full health? Anyway, I am very happy with it, I feel like I need to get some flares to wear while I am playing it to properly do it justice, here are some pics : Groovy! J

picked up a rather nice short scale bass today. I doubt anyone has heard of the creator of them, but have been looking forward to this for a bit!

Sent Billy Sheehan my Yamaha Attitude scratch plate to sign, he did so and sent back quite a lot of other merchandise too. It was my 40th then and I’ll be forever grateful 👍😎

I'd have taken the covers off and run home with it immediately. I'd have maybe liked a little more mid honk in the pickups for a more pronounced mwah, but I just reached for my amp EQ anyway, The tone and build quality of these basses is very good.

Love these guys

Why is it that the bass player in most bands is the only one who knows how to correctly fold / wrap leads and all other musicians and drummer think it is ok to tie up cables in a knot, tread all over them when setting up and pretend they can not solder a bust jack when required despite the bass player who always does it being tied up doing jobs other members should be doing for themselves.Finally when packing down cables are thrown from any point on stage in a rough direction to where the lead bag sits .Completely satisfied that constitutes contributing to packing up and with there contribution now it’s time to vanish from site because heavy stuff needs to be moved.Just as we all say good nite comes a voice from the distance anyone packed the leads case with my lead in.God help us still wouldn’t swap it for the world

I’m being facetious. 1) The basses I own don’t last long enough to get gigged, or buckle rash…in fairness with all the drama in the band, and covid I haven’t gigged in a long time. 2 years I think - and no sign as the band are gun shy…weird. 2) There’s a transition Wal Mk1 on eBay currently at £6k, I showed Mrs T and she said “if I’m paying £6k it wants prettier wood on the front”. 3) Anyone who’s bought a bass from me knows I baby them and they’re not a state unless I bought them that way and listed as such… so…I’m trying to look cool. And failed. My Kids will tell you, I’m not cool 😉😂

Annoyingly the wood on my PH is nicer on the back than the front. Being three pieces and a translucent finish, it shows on the front but blends together nicely on the back. It's much nicer in the flesh which I'm sure glad about. The maple sandwich looks nice though. It's just glorified plywood. 😁 Gratuitous pics. 😉

I've found that my basses have absolutely nothing to fear from my belts when I have one of these for "protection" 😄

but then I'd have to get some heavy rimmed glasses 😉

If it sounded good I would. I’ve gigged vintage and custom shop stuff. No point owning it if it’s not getting played.

I sold him a flea bass for Jack in about 2009/10 so he’s my mate 😂

I know this sounds like overkill but from the compressors I've tried the cheaper and mid range ones are fine - get the job done sort of things but nothing to get excited about. But higher end ones are what players often swear by as one of their most important pedals, the difference is subtle (especially to listeners) but there is a difference. As things like the FEA, Diamond, Empress, Cali are all a bit timeless and built to last they hold second hand value well - so get one second hand and it's basically a refundable deposit if you re-sell. Free high-end compressor!

The BBPH was £899 in PMT and slightly over a £1000 for a signed one but they had a discount code so they were cheaper then that. All other shops had no signed at £999. I wish I bought a signed, I had one in my basket for awhile but I thought they would be a 2nd run.

Major session guy, plays with Pink Floyd, has played with Michael Jackson, Madonna, Roxy Music/Brian Ferry - he’s done loads. Pretty much in the phone book under “first call” bass players like Pino Palladino, Leland Sklar and Nathan East (amongst others).

The reduced availability of chips is solely down to the lack of workers to pick the potatoes....

Tonight's board

I've created a YouTube channel with drums loops taken from songs. I upload original tempo and slower tempos also. New upload every day. Stay tuned!

I’ve been intrigued by the various MOD units for a while now, since seeing Steve Lawson using his Duo pedal. So I finally bought one. I’ve only had very limited time with it - it only arrived yesterday - I’m extremely impressed with it so far. It’s incredibly well constructed, it comes with a really well made padded case, a cable to connect to your laptop, rubber and Velcro strips for the bottom, and a power supply. I had intended to mount it to a pedalboard and power it from the same supply as my other pedals - a pet hate of mine is untidy cables. That won’t work though, it needs a 12 volt 2 amp supply. I’ll still mount it on a pedalboard, I’ll just have to power it separately from its own supply. The effects sound fabulous. When you first switch on, by default it loads an effect called Shiroverb, which is quite simply the best sounding shimmer effect I’ve heard. it has two inputs and two outputs - these can be configured to supply a stereo signal - on the rear. There’s also a headphone output, and various connections to connect to a laptop. it comes with a massive library of ‘pedals’ and amp/cab sims, you just drag and drop them into whatever position you want on your virtual pedalboard. Clicking on the ‘i’ icon above each item calls up an information page for it. You can expand your library of effects and sims from MOD’s plugin store. They’re grouped by effect type: delay, reverb, distortion etc. Some you have to pay for, the vast majority though are free. It’s capable of an awful lot more than I’ve highlighted here, I’ve only been playing with it for an hour or so. It seems very intuitive - I’m not a naturally technically minded person.

So I was recording an episode of my podcast with Dutch bass legend Rinus Gerritsen of Golden Earring, and I'd heard about him having a shortscale Rickenbacker 4001, of which many people *know* doesn't exist. So I asked him about it, he smiled and said "oh yeah that thing. I was in Chicago and a guy came up to me and said 'hey, you play those cheapo Danelectro basses, shouldn't you play a Rickenbacker?' I didn't really like Rics so I said 'nah the Danelectros are great, and by the way, who are you?' The guy said 'I'm a Ric representative'. So to be sure to get rid of the guy I said 'sorry man I'm a shortscale guy'. The Ric rep said 'oh but we have a shortscale, actually we have two! One was built for this country music guy, so if you tell me at which hotel you're staying I'll have it delivered to you'. So the next day there was a guy with a guitar case and there it was. One of two shortscale Rickenbacker 4001 basses ever built." And here it is. Mapleglo, walnut headstock wings, and it feels...weird. It feels like Ric but...different. Shorter, of course, but also...special. It is of course absolutely unique. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I'm not a big Rickenbacker guy but this is quite something.

The Zoom units aren't great for this, the octave up effect has a noticeable delay and just didn't sound convincing. I got much better results running a Mooer Tender Octaver (EHX POG clone) into a Joyo American Sound (Fender guitar amp sim). Mike Kerr runs a POG into a bunch of Fender guitar amps, so it works quite well! You may be able to pick up a used Boss LS-2, TC Sub'n'Up Mini and Joyo American Sound for just over £100 all in.

Yes precisely, and to change or combine the two. So for example A to the FX unit for guitar sound. B bass direct to the amp. Y bass and guitar simultaneously.

Yes, the Limelight pickups are just not for me, or the music I play. The Lollars on the Nash are the best I've had. There's probably a certain amount of inconsistency in build and quality of components with a custom build at the Limelight price point. Very happy with both of them though, a vast improvement over the Aerodyne PJ I had before. And owning a Limelight, a Nash, and a Custom Shop, I can say that you get what you pay for.

Played The Shed in Leicester Friday night. Small but enthusiastic crowd and despite the on-stage sound being cr*p, out front it was good by all accounts.

Mike Doster Held down a big gig for a long time.

Well yeah, more that - meant stuff needs to be played, but if I get my Wal in the next few years, I’m gigging it. And wearing a belt 😂😉

Had one of those awkward gigs last night. The Tap Social in Oxford is a genuinely lovely place. Always a great atmosphere, staff and punters are friendly, there's a nice stage and a house pa. Unfortunately I have always struggled with the bass sound. First time I played there it sounded great on stage but was booming at the back of the room. This time I tried a different rig and it sounded thin and kind of compressed no matter what I did. But I did the best I could then just got in with enjoying the gig. Too easy to be derailed by sound issues and forget we're there to entertain.

We played at a great venue in Jesmond (one of the posh bits of Newcastle) last night. A sold-out ticket do. Can't help thinking if 'm going to get covid, last night be the night...

It’s this sort of amazing ‘man maths’ that I firmly subscribe to! And it’s true! Personally I have found the higher you go in the price stakes, generally the quieter (less noisy) and more ‘musical‘ sounding the comp ‘can’ be. I gigged an LMB3 for years and only came to replace it when I started recording a lot more where I appreciated a quieter pedal and something which acted as a limiter but with some more flexibility around attack and release. Current fave pedal format comp is the MXR M87 which I think is the best for the price (again, buy used and sell for virtually no loss) - it offers a wide range of controls and would be a great way to learn how to use one, especially as the LED strip gives a visual indication of what’s happening.

Ah shoot. I have joined the ranks of collaborators 🤢

It mostly has to do with the Asian side of that other pond. Outsourcing just about everything to there made economic sense when it was done, but not so much when there are hundreds of cargo ships loaded with hundreds of thousands of containers anchored off the West Coats of the US unable to offload. I would imagine similar scenarios exist on your side of the pond.

The problems are global, not related to our side of the pond. We have European manufacturers that can not build components for exactly the same reasons we can’t… unavailability of raw materials and component parts. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond. Transformer vendors (of line frequency parts) today can’t get materials in production quantities without long delays. Lamination steel of all grades, bobbins, terminals, insulation tubing/tapes and TCOs are all impacted. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond. Transformers “wound” in back street shops are not an option for real manufacturers because for the EU market, they MUST be designed, certified, constructed and tested to YOUR EU safety standards. The factories must also be inspected at least quarterly by a nationally recognized test lab inspector.This has nothing to do with our side of the pond. Currently that would be IEC 62368, it’s a European standard, and it’s not optional. All power and output transformers must comply. The shop must be registered as an approved manufacturer by the NRTL that’s responsible for certification of compliance. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond Test labs globally, including in the EU, are backed up with extremely long lead times. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond. Regarding tubes/valves, there were as many western European manufacturers of tubes as US manufacturers back in the day. Now, there are no US or western European manufacturers, they are all built in eastern Europe and Asia. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond. The global shipping industry is heavily impacted. We are experiencing very long delays and prices that are ~10x higher than before. This includes products originating from the EU as well. We use a lot of European components and materials, we struggle with delays due to our European partners inability to source materials, shortage of labor and shipping. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond. This is a global issue, it’s almost certain that delays and shortages will continue for maybe even a year or two at this point as manufacturers work through their back orders. This has nothing to do with our side of the pond.

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Well, noone needs pedals if they have a group of people processing the sound somewhere else. But for the rest of us...

The pickup is now indeed with Aaron Armstrong! So fingers crossed it’s recoverable. Thanks all Si