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So. start again with rhythm guitarist - get a set list together you’re both happy with. advertise for a singer (unless either of you are confident vocalists?) Attend any local open mic nights - there will be some around Kendal I’d guess. See if there are any drummers about. Joinmyband website and Facebook are the “music shop notice boards” and “back pages of the melody maker” these days. I’ve had varying results. Make a pact with mr Rhythm that you’ll communicate when things aren’t going well. Keep having fun with it.

I've been looking to replace my Spector Legend Custom (now sold to vmaxblues), with something more Fender flavoured as a backup to my Fender American Standard Jaguar. After lots of research I settled on a G&L Tribute, taking advantage of Andertons Black Friday/Cyber Monday/'well it's Christmas soon' £100 discount (still available!). I usually play my Jaguar with just the P pickup, in active mode with a little bass and treble boost, which gives it a really grindy tone that cuts through well in a one-guitar rock band. I'd never played a G&L, but the MFD pickups sounded like they'd give me the tone I was looking for. I was almost tempted by the £399 L2000, that seems like a lot of bass for the money, but wasn't sure I'd get on with that wide neck, so decided to go for the SB-2 at £349, with the more familiar 38mm neck. Available in Sonic Blue with a maple board, or Black Frost with Brazilian cherry, I decided on the black. When I opened the box, I was a little disappointed and wished I'd gone for the Sonic Blue. Despite being described as 'a classy gloss finish', it's more of a matte/satin finish, like the old Fender Highway 1s. It already had a slight mark on it, and is a fingerprint magnet. However, after a quick play, I realised it's very comfortable for my pick playing, and as my budget backup, I don't mind at all if it gets some early natural wear. It's a little more unique than the common black gloss basses too, it looks great. Construction and quality wise, it's far ahead of the Squiers I've played. Better than the most of the Fender Mexican Standards too, though perhaps a step below the Fender Deluxe Active Jazz I used to have (why did I sell that!?). The neck is very smooth - I'd describe as very well sanded as opposed to a satin finish like my Jaguar. The fretwork is perfect, on quite a thick fretboard compared to my Fender. The Brazilian cherry looks like it has a more coarse grain than rosewood, but certainly more attractive than the pau ferro other brands have been using. It's a light bass, definitely under 9lbs, I'll weigh it over the weekend, but it balances perfectly on a strap. The sound is exactly what I was looking for. It's a punchy, well defined tone, like a boosted active P. It doesn't have a tone control, just two volumes. Bringing in the Jazz pickup rounds things out a little, taking off that edge. Rolling back the volumes gives a more vintage tone. There's no noise at all. Having US-made pickups in these Indonesian-made basses should have them flying off the shelves quicker than the Squiers for similar money, especially with the Fender price rises this year, but perhaps they're missing the familiar shape and Fender name. With these current discounts I might be tempted to buy another! L-2000 or JB-2 next? 😄

Oh god here we go!! The famous audience who we should run all purchases past first 😂

I sometimes visit their part of the stage to point and laugh at their girly little 100w amps and silly, weak, thin strings and steal their picks and beers

This job is a little bit like the modern masterchef trend of 'deconstructed dishes'. Basically, the sequence that I need to do things is quite different to a 'normal' build. The challenge is that, ideally, we are trying to get a solution where @Happy Jack can unscrew the fretted neck, screw on the fretless and everything (intonation, saddle heights, etc) is pretty much unchanged. And so the sequence of what I do when has to be pretty specific. And the next job in that sequence is sort the neck pocket sides, even though the neck heel depth hasn't yet been calculated or cut. It's fine work because it not only has to fit well, it has to be also pointing in the right direction. Slow, but a job for my little disk sander that will keep the sides absolutely square as I edge close to the fitting line: I'm sure it wouldn't get me entry to any Master Builder society, but probably 'close enough for jazz' : ...and, according to the middle string, at least it's straight: Next is going to be to fix the screw holes. I use a brad-bit drill as a punch to give me accurate drilling holes and I fix two of the screws on the diagonal, check the straightness and then mark the centres for the other two screws : And all four in. The screws' positions won't be affected when I finally reduce the neck heel thickness to the correct level further down the sequence as long as I keep everything square and flat. And so the next job is going to be to determine the exact position that the nut-end of the fretboard needs to be at to intonate with the same bridge saddle positions as on the fretted neck and that will let me plane the fretboard down to its final taper and then glue it to the neck. But before gluing that, I will have to get that small angle planed on the headstock. And then (at last) I will be able to work out how deep the heel needs to be. Told you it was an unusual sequence.. And, because that means putting the fretted neck back on to measure it, that's a job for tomorrow

I've ordered the full set of Crimson Shots. I've also bought a bargain bag of Ash offcuts from some geezer on eBay so me and the missus can practise and work out the right colour scheme. In anticipation of these two arrivals, I tried a quick mock up..

This has been a long thread. I hope it’s been entertaining I has reinforced my view that being blasé about song structure isn’t acceptable. As was said, I’m not psychic. I’ve chatted with the rhythm guitarist over the phone. I didn’t realise how much he felt the same way. He’s been keeping quiet about it. It’s not just the loss of a few bars here and there but his lead in for solos is being hammed up to the point where he doesn’t bother and just carries on chugging out chords. He’s not as bothered about it falling apart as I am. Well, back to the books and time to work on some skills beyond learning and playing songs. Thanks to everyone that has contributed. Peter

First gig since February 2020 for the jazz standards quartet! Things are slowly opening up here but numbers are still limited at venues so very few club gigs. Yesterday we played some "wallpaper music" at a Christmas lunch for about 200 military personnel at the base in North Bay. We have been together for 8 or 9 years now and have been rehearsing for a couple of months and this was an easy no pressure way to get out playing again. We played one long set and did some of our usual stuff and also some seasonal songs and it went over well and we got some nice compliments at the end of the gig. Due to the military "hurry up and wait" system we were there and set up over two hours before we actually played the gig so we had a nice rehearsal and were well warmed up and ready to go when the room opened up for the actual lunch. It also gave us a good chance to do a decent sound check and tweak our Bose PA. This was the first time I have gigged the "70's Czech bass that I got a few months ago and it was a joy to play, I liked my Engelhardt but this bass is much more comfortable and easier to play and the Obligatos sounded great on it. All in all a good gig and we also had a lovely Christmas dinner after we played. We will be doing another one of these affairs in a week or so but doing it as a trio with vibes, bass and sax/clarinet and we haven't played any gigs with this combination before so it should be an interesting day. Great to finally be back out and playing in public, we are hoping that things will get busier in 2022 but the live music scene is still pretty dead over here. It wasn't a very fancy set up, we were in the corner of a very large dining room but the sound was good and we could be heard by everyone.😊

This was the very first design that Mark and I came up with for the downsized Zoot Boudica 32" with the "Wal-a-Like" pickups etc. It has changed very slightly since then and now has four controls as a posed to the three shown on the original draft drawing. Hope this helps.

Years (many) ago, I played in a band with a keyboard player who outstayed his welcome. He got sacked. On the bands social media page there was a 'history of the band' section that detailed all of the comings and goings. When it came to that episode it read 'X (no names mentioned) left the band for musical differences. We were musical and he was different'. Still makes me smile 20 years later.

Nice wee punk gig in Riverside Bar in Dumfries. The band have played there quite a few times but a first for me. First live band since covid so not as busy as it usually is but a decent sized crowd with several people of varying ages up dancing. Blondie being a floor filler to the point our stage area was being pushed back 😂 Good feedback from the audience afterwards and some good phone vids posted on FB. Using the new Sandberg MarloweDK last night and it sounded amazing and so easy to play. Also got my Mesa Mpulse back from repair altho only fault found was dirty master volume pot. Fully serviced and it was great to have "that tone" back again after using my Markbass Nano for past 2 gigs. All in all a pretty good night, few minor mistakes made one where i had a complete loss of memory during a short guitar solo and had to just ad-lib on the root notes for 2 bars and then my memory came back. I'm still learning the songs to a point where i dont need to think about them. Had put new strings on the bass that day and it left me with some prettty painful blisters on my plucking hand. I usually put new strings on a week before the gig so the edge is taken off them but i only got the bass on Thu afternoon. Dave

Second gig with our new band on Friday night! The sorry tale of how we were reduced from a 5-piece to a renamed trio is recounted in another thread but the new band is shaping up very nicely indeed now. The gig was a free-in in the bar at a small local theatre. We all know virtually everyone involved in some way so the preparations were very relaxed and informal. The guitarist had been in touch with the venue engineer a few days before to sort out the set up and had explained we were 2 x vox and wanted at least some of the kit in the mix so we could use some effects on it. All was ok'd and it was arranged to meet him on the afternoon of the gig - no show... As we loaded in we were greeted by what I can only assume was a volunteer/work experience bod and the "desk" photographed below. (In case the photo doesn't attach properly, imagine something you might give to child who wanted to pretend they were doing a podcast.) We resigned ourselves to just putting the vocals through the PA but soon realized that there wasn't even a basic built in reverb so rushed back to the rehearsal room to grab the XR18, modem, tablet etc. Amazingly, it all went well from there on: really decent crowd by the end, many of whom seemed to be happily bopping along. All our giveaway cds were nabbed and we even had a girl come up at the end to ask for a setlist - although I wonder if she had anticipated something like the very pretty one that our guitarist had shared on Facebook rather than the crumpled, beerstained plain A4 printout I was standing on. Oh, how I have missed playing live. (a free live EP from our first gig is available here: https://deadtenantmusic.bandcamp.com/releases )

I think that these types of list are a load of rubbish, and will maintain that view until such time as I find a list which features my favourite bassist at number one . At which point I’ll start a thread on Basschat to tirelessly argue the absolute truth of said list.

So, looks like EHX finally gave the fantastic Qtron the Nano treatment. They've added a volume to the Micro/mini 3 controls,but i think adding a clean blend (or the old big box mix mode) and an up/down switch, would have made this a killer filter. A missed opportunity? I'm quite interested to see if this sounds like the Micro or if they've managed to recreate the original tone. Sounds nice on the short Bass Demo 😁

Dug this out from under the bed... My Charvel 2 from '88... from when i was 20, skinny and had hair... I'd say in near immaculate condition for 33 years old... the guitar not me... im more Road Worn or Light Relic and 53. It had an outing a few years back for the eldest, but they (me) are a little reluctant to have it just kicking about... They have a Squier Stat, which they love... with the greatest of thanks to, and generosity of @Happypants

Hi everyone, Orders are now open for BC t-shirts in the run up to Christmas. There are three high quality options available. Option 1 The first is a limited edition design by@scrumpymike which was first offered at the SW bass bash. Stocks are limited, offered only in the darkest of dark green on a first come first serve basis. Sizes are M-XXL, please contact him for more information or to order. Option 2: These come care of Dan at www.dpdp.co.uk and are available in black or white with a hint of orange, in keeping with the BC theme. The quote below the graphic comes from Sting's recent interview with Rick Beato "The keyboard player...could play a C chord. Unless I play a C, it's not a C chord. So I control the harmony." There are a range of sizes available (XS-5XL) in high quality 'ultra cotton' in mens' and ladies fittings. See 'How to order' below for more information. NB: The images are mock ups and for illustration purposes only before they went to Dan. There may be tiny variations in the location and size of graphics in the actual product, in the interests of making it look good when worn. Option 3 This option has a basschat logo in black and white. Simple, clean, nothing more than is necessary. Again there are a range of sizes (XS-5XL) available in high quality 'ultra cotton' in mens' and ladies fittings. See below for more information. How to order Option 1: T shirts are £20 incl postage to a UK address. Please contact @scrumpymike to enquire about availability and place your order. How to order Options 2 and 3: Men's sizes: S-2XL at £20 each incl UK postage 3XL-5XL £22 each incl UK postage (Size guide: S 35/37", M 38/40", L 41/43", XL 44/46", 2XL 47/49", 3XL 50/52", 4XL* 53/55", 5XL* 56/58”) Ladies Sizes: XS-2XL £20 each incl UK postage 3XL-5XL £22 each incl UK postage (Size guide XS 8, S 10, M 12, L 14, XL 16, 2XL 18) Payment: Please send payment via Paypal to [email protected]. In the remarks or notes box please include the following information: 1) Your BC username (this is so we can PM you in the event of any issues, omissions or questions) 2) Please list the quantity, which design, fitting, colour and size of each T shirt you are ordering i.e. 2x option 2, mens, black XL £20 1x option 2 mens, white L £20 1x option 3 ladies, black M £20 1x option 3 ladies, white 5XL £22 Deadline: Orders in time for Christmas close Sunday Dec 19. After that time there's a chance we can still do UK deliveries but it's not certain. European deliveries: Postage will be £4 extra. However...I've been advised by Dan that Brexit has totally screwed up any kind of reliability in the European postal system and packages to Ireland simply aren't getting through. Royal Mail have some sliding deadlines depending on destination country but there are no guarantees of delivery in time for Christmas for European deliveries, I'm sorry. If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line and I'll do my best to answer.

Run each cab off its own power amp. I won't bother getting into the whys and wherefores but the watts don't matter.

This is the solution for Band Joy. Musicians who learn to communicate what's happening. Good bands are tight. Excellent bands can give the appearance of totally going to pot, then pull it all back together as if they intended it that way. To do this means everyone being sympathetic ton how everyone else plays and LISTENING TO EACH OTHER!!!

I used half a business card from from a local restaurant. Cost was zero. I didn't even pay for a meal. Worked perfectly.

Because life is too short for nitpicky minutiae, and I’ve got a gig to prepare for.

Ha, I bought a Variax years ago as that'll be the only bass I'll ever need. Why have I got two of them? 🤣🤣

You venture on the guitarists side of the stage? Wow I hope you don’t allow him any where near your space at the back behind the drummer in the cupboard .You are my hero to tread in the hallowed space meant only for those chosen few who own guitaaaars and possibly contaminate the heavenly light that shines down upon them from high. You are a legend mate

So, studio date got shifted due to covid something or other… We managed to swing a live studio session with some local students at a lovely Facility in Manchester. It was good practice, the results are a mixed bag. anyhow…currently resting under the moniker of “Flying Oceans” - which I’m not a huge fan of, but everyone else seems happy with…

I've extensively played headless basses since the 80s- all until recently Steinbergers or built to that shape. Of course they balance brilliantly due to the strap pivot being mounted at or very near to the centre of gravity. A recent ACG which I had built however very much suffered from this "bridge dive" problem, probably exacerbated by it being a six string fretless with a 32" scale. The wonderful and ever helpful Mr Cringean solved the issue for me by installing a recessed straplock into the back of the upper horn further back from the tip. Bass now balances pefectly and sits in the position I like on the strap. I use the strap when seated too as I have always done- it generally keeps things consistent whether playing seated or standing. You can see the recessed straplock socket adjacent to the last top neck bolt in the photo.

A shim utterly ruined my set neck Shuker.

Just how "Masterbuilt" can a Fender be? Are the body & neck completely carved by hand with no CNC machinery used anywhere in the process? I somehow doubt it. OK, materials may be top notch, but at the end of the day a fender is basically a wooden Meccano kit. They certain don't require the level of skill that a high end acoustic or hollowbody electric would need.

Alternatively, if it turned out to be a car crash gig that might have worse consequences. Bands are cancelling gigs left, right and centre down in the East Midlands. Mainly due to you-know-what but it won’t be an unusual occurrence if you can-it for another reason. I really hope you put yourself out there and find other people to play with. When you find musicians better suited for you it’ll be a fantastic feeling. You’ve alluded earlier to lacking confidence. You ride a motorcycle FFS! You’ll never get me on the back of one of them! Good luck.

Wow, thanks very much! I'm glad you like my music. Thanks for your support!

André Rieu has sold more records than Yehudi Menuhin and Stéphane Grappelli put together, so he's obviously a better violinist than either of them.

Same happened to me I asked a mate for his genuine opinion of my band… Me: So, what did you think? Mate: Honestly? Me: Yeah, honestly. Mate: I'll answer the question. You want answers? Me: I think I'm entitled to them. Mate: You want answers?! Me: I want the truth! Mate: You can't handle the truth!

TBH I thought it was pretty obvious that I didn't really mean exactly a tenner and that it was a figure of speech to denote 'an amount of cash', rather than an actual maths failure. I will rephrase my original statement. "Going out as a 4 is fine if you can't make it, but to leave you out simply to get an indeterminate sum of money more each? All it says is that you personally are less important to them than an extra indeterminate sum of money, and that is outrageous." I hope that clarifies things.

Yes. Put some sleeving or insulation tape over them and tie/velcro them out the way. The DC jack's outer metal part is at DC supply voltage and if it touches any 0V bits (pedal jacks, switches and cases) it will short circuit the power supply. This can knock out other pedals and make pops and splats. Could even damage a cheapo power supply.

"Top Ten"s are meaningless. Music is a way of life, not a competition.

Seeing as we're offering opinions here, In my opinion I think you're daft to "shave" the saddles instead of using a shim - non-destructive always trumps destructive as far as I'm concerned.

Next time you rehearse ask him to turn his volume down to a reasonable level, don’t take no for an answer, explain your reasoning. When he refuses stick to your guns, just stick to them, he’s an unreasonable egoist bellend and nothing, but nothing, exposes idiots like reasonable reasoned requests. You’ll be home by eight and can start looking for a band who can actually work together democratically.

I would suggest that everyone in the band should have the same luxury of being allowed to play 'by feel' adding or removing bars (or half bars) at will, and then play a few songs to see how well it goes.

Heart of the Sunrise - Yes ... Double bubble and the best Bassist ever to boot .... I thang'yooo, off to bed as it was once said.....tripple tipple.....

I’ve got a pack of those Stewmac neck shims at the ready, and as I said a neck shim transformed the Shuker, so….

Why don't you set up a jam with the rhythm guitarist and the drummer?

On the plus side it is now out in the open, he knows how you feel. And he is right, maybe you are musically compatible, he thinks music is about everyone listening to him, and you don't. So get that advert in all the jmb and bandmix sort of sites and start recruiting for another band while the iron is hot

The scaled down Boudica had a very slightly less extended top horn and the bottom bout is slightly more 'square on'. It looks tremendous. I have a pdf of it but can't figure out how to post it as Flickr doesn't let you upload pdf's.

Those TC BH250s are surprisingly pokey, a lot more power to them than would be thought.

Agreed - clearly a bellend. I wouldn't have lasted this long or been nearly as diplomatic. Life is too short to waste time on people like that.

I'm sure it's the new Mike + The Mechanics signature model. Woohoo greasy !

This isn't a list of the best bassists. It's a list of famous bassists in popular bands who play some interesting bass parts. They always ignore bassists who don't play anything fancy but hold together a band with absolutely solid timing, interesting rhythm and clever playing which is there to support the lead instruments and vocals.

Shims are fine if done correctly.