Leaderboard

Really very happy so far with this 4003s in walnut after picking it up yesterday evening. I'll have to make a decision regarding the pick up cover - I quite like the way it looks but it seems to be just where my hand wants to be for both picking and fingers. There seems to be a significant discrepancy in volume between the two pick ups when at full whack but they are at wildly different heights. The fretboard is in dire need of a good clean. I don't think I've owned a guitar with a maple fretboard since a Squire Telecaster I had as a teenager - is there anything I need to be wary of? Next gig is in six days - hoping to put it through its paces then 😀

Last night we played in Sheffield as part of their 2022 'Music in the Gardens' series of events. We were supposed to be doing this before but Covid caused it to be deferred until now. Great crowd of around 1500 or so in the Botanical Gardens, all enjoying the evening. Weather looked dodgy at times but the rain fortunately held off. I like doing gigs like these, make a nice change from our usual theatre stuff and also means I can wind my amp up a bit more without causing our sound tech any headaches!

We played 2 nights at The Apex in Bury St Edmunds this week. Both nights went well with near capacity audiences, although had a lousy drive home with massive diversions on the A1 heading north.

Several older UK musicians voting for Brexit then moaning about all the hassle it causes them...

Well nearly got it.. Was initially looking at a P Bass but there just not my thing tonally. So looked for a 4 string Jazz to go with my Atelier 5 without spending £thousands.. This fits the bill. Have heard great things in as much as build quality etc. Didn't want to mod it, just pick it up and play.. I really like gold and white, not sure about the gold pick guard so will change that out for a dark brown tort maybe. I think these may be sought after in years to come maybe.? . Ill take it to rehearsal and see how it sounds through the Aguilar.. 😎

This is not true, and most (not all) amp manufacturers no longer make class AB amps anyway, so why would they say this? IME, those who do not offer class D amps are the ones who have struggled with, or stumbled badly with class D technology. Those who haven't stumbled have not looked back and continue to move forward. This is not true of Mesa, certainly since 2014 when they "discovered" how much better and more reliable class D is. In most cases, they don't. Many switchmode power supplies are MUCH beefier than their heavy line frequency supplies, especially at 230V/50Hz. A quick test of SMPS output impedance shows how obvious this is too. Why can't those folks who live and die by the heavy gear as a preference refuse to acknowledge that other players might have different preferences and tastes that are just as valid? I've designed gear in both camps, each amp model does exactly what I intended with regards to performance and voicing with ZERO regard for the amp's size, weight or technology used.

mrs nekomatic once got the kids a pBone for a bit of fun (as they already both played piano and violin) and for a further bit of fun got someone she knows to give them a couple of lessons. Somehow a couple of lessons turned into a full on third instrument, kid 1 let it drop after a while but kid 2 recently got his grade 7, on a King we inherited from my late uncle who used to play in an amateur orchestra in Belgium. Kid 2’s teacher is now trying him out on some jazz, much to his initial reluctance but last lesson while I was working upstairs I could overhear him taking solos on Watermelon Man to a Jamey Aebersold backing track, and I may coincidentally have got something in my eye.

Oh dear!

Anyone else using old valve amps for bass? I bought this old beast right before the first lockdown as a DOA amp. It needed a full restoration (electronically). I finally got it finished and tried it out. Wasn’t expecting much, but it actually sounds great for bass. Balanced across all of the strings, and the G string sounds FAT, whereas I’m used to my Ampeg (PF-500) sounding a bit thin on that string. It’s a bit impractical to gig with (weight), but that aside, it’s a very cool amp for bass.

Tastes in speakers and speaker voicing certainly have changed. What we) as designers) can do with Neo drivers is something we had been wishing for decades ago. This is a better example of player’s constantly asking for something that designers were unable to deliver until the new technology came about.

My simple pedal board.

This is my pedalboard: 1) Shiftline Olympic MK3s 2) WM Smalls Pork & Pickle 3) Diamond Bass Comp Jr 4) Polytune mini 3 Sometimes I use a Mad Professor Silver Spring Reverb and the MXR vintage octave mini instead of the Shiftline preamp: a setup I find much more versatile. Unfortunately, I sold my Z.Vex Basstortion and bought the Pork & Pickle instead. I am totally underwhelmed by the new pedal, which really cuts all the low end in comparison with the Basstortion. 🥺 The two pedals that will remain on my board forever is the tuner and my beloved Diamond bass comp.

See, this is why music is so great, because you and I can watch and hear exactly the same thing and have such utterly different opinions on it. I mean, obviously mine is right and yours is comprehensively and irredeemably wrong, but it’s great that you have it.

If you haven't seen this band you need to get along to one of their gigs. Absolute professionalism and an amazing set of ELO hits. I've never been an "ELO fan" as such. I knew some or most of their hits but when you hear The ELO Experience you realise you knew more than you thought. Just a fantastic show watching guys that look as tho they are having a great night. Highlight for me was the girls dancing and singing along while playing their cello's. Everyone on stage just loving what they do and that rubs off on the audience. It makes you feel happy. Dave

Eric Clapton - racism/anti-semitism (though apparently he apologised in more recent years, blaming it on drink and drugs). Van Morrison - anti-lockdown diatribes and calling the health minister "dangerous" Morrissey - where do you start?

Also Ted Nugent and most of the stuff he says.

I don’t get it. Used to be fine

Just wanted to recommend a book that’s on Amazon Kindle at £1.99 right now. I run a blues appreciation group in the local u3a and got a couple of local musicians in to do a presentation. One of these was John Holmes, who has mixed with some big names - Andy Fraser invited him to audition as Kossoff’s replacement - without ever ‘making it’. Mind you, seeing the car he drives I bet he’s happy he kept his day job (financial services, since you ask). Anyhow this book was his lockdown project and I found it both fascinating and hilarious. I have no affiliation, nor am I on a cut of the royalties, just wanted to recommend a book that will entertain anyone of my ancient vintage … or anyone who has toiled in the semi-pro world. Written by a down to earth, self-deprecating guy. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wing-Night-Years-Semi-Pro-Guitarist-ebook/dp/B095SLVFMG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1AOMWO4EEGNNM&keywords=john+holmes+book+music&qid=1655899896&s=books&sprefix=john+holmes+book+music%2Cstripbooks%2C59&sr=1-4 Do let me know if you enjoy it… or not!

It was charming to see Bruce and Dave, themselves huge mega stars, suddenly look like little school boys who couldn't quite believe that they were on stage with Macca, an ex Beatle. They were totally in awe!

Not long back from playing an afternoon gig in a field near Cirencester. Very well organised and very much a celebration of all things Grateful Dead on the 50th anniversary of their live in Europe album. My current band Franklins Tower were the opening act, two hours on a good spacious stage and a very decent PA run by professionals made it a real pleasure. Good crowd who were up and dancing as only Deadheads can from the first note. Very good Americana duo on after us (guitar & banjo/bass drum) with classy vocal harmonies. Seemed a strange choice at first, but in fact were perfect as a palate cleaner between us and the Grateful Dudes (top UK GD band).

Hi Jack I guess we are all HiJacking this thread 😁

First wipe of some thinned gloss. I'm pleased how this is turning out

Wow! I knew there was a lot I didn't know. But I didn't know how much I didn't know until I read all this stuff I didn't know about. If you know what I mean. I don't.

Nah, I get that totally and I don't feel in any way attacked for my choices - nor should you! If the kit you use allows you to feel good, so your recording / rehearsal / gig connects and comes across with some bounce in it, then that's all that matters regardless of which personal criteria got satisfied to let you feel that way.

Give in. There's no such thing.

I did already know about this - and I envy the lives, free from related mental and emotional scarring, of those who do not.

Bought that too. 😂

One mounted + one floor PA speaker set up for smaller venues Update from last night's gig. Was an awkward to get S London gig for me, so it was great to be able to jump on a tube and take 45 mins with literally just my bass and lead, rather than a 1.5 hour rush hour drive across town. Drummers in both my bands have compact PAs now to take to such gigs - and they obviously need to be driving anyway with their drums. Last night we had two, relatively budget, Proel 600W 15" tops. Managed to persuade my (slightly reluctant, haha!) bandmates to give some of the tips from earlier in this thread a try out and it worked an absolute treat. We put bass, kick drum and 2 mics through the PA, dep guitarist had backline. Set up was as follows: One PA speaker on pole in standard set up Second PA speaker on floor next to drums - to enhance the bass by making use of floor sonic reinforcement, and to provide stage monitoring End result: - really happy with overall sound and mix; - all of us able to hear each other without any separate stage monitor or IEMs; - no feedback issues, even when Ami (our lead vox) wandered off into the crowd with her wireless mic. Second time we've now used this set up for pub gigs, last night's was a larger venue than first time round but still worked really well.

Last nights gig.... A 2 hour drive to a cracking looking venue right in the middle of town, parked right outside so load in and out was a breeze... Sound was good, we played well... The crowd consisted of around 10 people, the majority of which had no real interest in us and or music. The owner did apologise for the lack of numbers though. A 2 hour hour uneventful drive home from what was basically a paid rehearsal.

Hah I don't have the greatest or least achey back in the world and lightweight kit has been a revelation for me - my days of 100lb cabs and 60lb amps are gone for good - but if you're happy with the casual sexism of calling me a "girl" you carry on.

I was in a covers band for about 10 years and probably did 200 plus gigs with them in that time. For most of that period, my main gigging rig was a Hughes and Kettner Bassbase 600 head, an SWR Triad cab, used with my passive BC Rich Eagle and a passive Fender Roscoe Beck V. Obviously, that was a heavy enough rig to lug around as it was, but I liked the sound my set up produced and so did the band. Anyway, after 10 years or so, the band changed direction and I joined another covers band.... It was all amicable, and we kept in touch as you do .. Then, 4 years later, they got in touch and asked me to help out with a few gigs as their bass player was unavailable. By this time, though my basses were the same, I'd changed my rig to a brilliant 90s Ampeg V4BH that I'd bought from @Beedster which came with a matching 115 svt. To that, I added the matching 210 svt. I know; different speaker sizes = a cardinal sin right! Anyway, i went along to do these gigs with the band and they were completely blown away with the sound of my heavy, class A/B, all valve, USA built Ampeg rig with its sinfully mismatched speaker sizes. I was still using the same basses and I wasn't playing the songs any better particularly. .. The only difference was the rig. Three other things of note in this story... The guitar player in the band co-owned a PA that he hired out and did front of house sound for, so he had what I'd call 'pretty good ears'. Their unavailable bass player at the time used a nice American made Fender Jazz through a Markbass LM111 head and 2 matching Markbass 115 cabs. The new band that I'd joined also loved my Ampeg rig compared to my older rig. I dont know what makes the difference here - I'm not technical in any way. But I do think that, as sentient human beings, we 'feel' things as well as 'know' things and, where music making is concerned for me, I choose to follow what i feel, over what I know.

I have an Orange Little bass Thing and Trace Elliot Elf as a back-up, with a light Super Compact cab. Nice and light and easy on my back. But for today's gig I shall be taking one of my 20 year old ABM combos (or possibly two of them) as they simply sound better, and not just to my ears, but the rest of the band all commented on how good the bass sounded when I dragged one of the heavy combos along to a rehearsal.

Pretty much all this. Bear in mind the original Thunderbirds had lap-steel pickups in them; Gibson had a surplus, the lap-steel market dissolved and in the spirit of not throwing stuff out, they stuck them in Thunderbirds, so they're not specifically designed for bass. I think this extended to the '70s bicentennial models too. Perhaps your post should just have read; "I'm looking to build a P-bass with a single <insert desired pickup manufacturer here> Thunderbird-style pickup in the sweet spot. Any advice?" I've chased tone since most people here were in short-pants, so I know what it's like to be driven by a desire to do this sort of thing, but honestly, what are you expecting of this pickup? If you're just looking for something that just looks the part then go for it, but if you're of the belief that installing a vintage part or throwing £££ at something that purports to be a Thunderbird replacement will somehow transport you to 60s Gibson tone heaven, then forget it. You'd be better off buying a Sansamp BDDI to control how you sound. Lest we forget, about 30 bassists here couldn't tell a Precision bass from a Thunderbird from a Rickenbacker in a blind shootout.

I first went to Glastonbury in 1992, back when there was still a big traveller presence and you could easily bunk in for nothing Even then there were plenty of old hippies that were complaining that Glastonbury wasn't what it used to be... It's been in a constant state of evolution since the beginning. As has society. Also, due now to digital streaming platforms, all music is relevant, present and available in the same places instantly, therefore dissolving any previous generation gaps...imo 😉

4) Whom The Bell Tolls ～ Met a Licker

Since last time I’ve watched Blossoms (good effort from my homeboys, I’d be happy to see them live one day), Khruangbin (not at all bad) and Billie Eilish (didn’t blow me away, but clearly gave the crowd what they wanted). What more is there to say about this? It is what it is: clearly not the same thing it used to be once upon a time, clearly a massive commercial machine now, but equally clearly not just mainstream pop, or just dad rock, or just anything else it’s accused of being. And, thankfully, not the only festival there is to choose from, so people who want a festival but not like that can surely find one.

Not IME, provided you have access to a QUALIFIED technician who knows how to CORRECTLY diagnose problems. In quality amps, failures of the power amp and class D sections are really quite rare. Most failures are related to exactly the same issues faced by older school amps, though overall the newer amps are better designed and built, with better quality parts. When there is a power supply or power amp failure, generally it's less expensive to replace the power module in a class D amp than it is to repair a class AB/G/H amp of similar power rating. Many older amps are not economically repairable with such failures because the cost of repair exceeds the value of the amp... ie. you can buy a used amp for less than it would cost to repair the bad one. With cheaper amps (say <$300), unless the shop is very good and accurate with diagnosis, it may not be worth repairing regardless of the type of amp. This is the nature of a highly efficient manufacturing environment. This is not an are where I have extensive experience, this mentality is at odds with the companies I have worked for throughout my career.

Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people.

I'd back him on this point.

'Adolf Hitler was left wing.' From a charming man......

More that I play gigs - or used to - with very clumsy band members. Plus some of those gigs could be a bit boisterous to say the least, so the fewer items that could be permanently broken the better. Should add, in one of my bands we had to all get wireless kits, not for the posing but that regularly amps would topple where Mr Clumsy1 wouldn’t realise he’d got tangled up in everyone’s leads. I seem to always end up in bands with the clumsiest of fools.

Just get a Sterling - same neck as the SLO special, same electronics as the old SR5, smaller, lighter body. Best EBMM bass by far.