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Has the tour been booked/arranged by Mr Mick Mason of Leicester?

Great thread Chris! I've always been a big fan of The Stranglers and years ago, between 1979 and 1980 my first band were signed to the Stranglers management company, who's offices were located by the old Borough Market near London Bridge... Their offices were on the first floor of the building, and on the ground floor was a big open space where all of The Stranglers gear was stored. As part of the management deal, we were allowed to rehearse there overnight at the weekends and we used JJ's bass rig as our PA (his rig was a 2 kilowatt PA). I remember their roadie telling me that JJ liked to use a PA with multiple cabs as his rig so he could point them in different directions across the stage to make sure he could always hear himself properly. I also remember being shown some of JJ's basses at the time, including an absolutely beautiful, black, through-neck Yamaha BB bass which I thought was about the most amazing bass I'd ever seen at the time! As well as getting to meet the band a few times, we supported them at The New Theatre in Oxford on their 'Raven Tour' , and also at the infamous London Rainbow gig in April 1980 when Hugh Cornwall was in prison for 6 weeks for possession of drugs. It was an amazing night as the band brought in loads of famous artists to sing different songs in their set.. We shared our dressing room with Toyah (who wore more clothes back then than she does now. 😉) Also on the bill that night were a certain 'beat combo' from Manchester called Joy Division. Those were the days... 😁

Brought this out tonight to rehearse for a few upcoming gigs . It really has a great tone . Every note punches hard , no dead spots .

Some developments today. My makerspace colleague informed me that he believes he has a piece of Sweet Chestnut suitable for Phoenix; hopefully seeing it on Wed or Thur. I had been looking for a pup, my first choic was an EMG MM5TW ... but hens teeth are easier to find! I did locate a pair of EMG 40TWXs here on BC and was invensigating getting those ... and then I discovered that Thomann had the EMG MMTW in stock! They are a 4 string pup, but on Twiggy I used an EMG MMCS (Another 4 string pup) with great results. She was setup with a 16mm string spacing at the pup and given the scale length of 30 inches this actually worked very well for me. So ... I ordered one! With paypal I can spread the cost over 3 months (Cash flow is a challenge at present). So ... Wood - Hopefully sorted. Tuners - Arriving in the next week or so. Pickup - Hopefully here also in a week or so. I need to get a truss rod and a couple of carbon fibre stiffening rods ... but I'm almost at the point where I cn start the physical work on Phoenix! Very excited! S'manth x

Last Saturday with my acoustic band "Human Too"

Today was bridge fixing and testing the longer-term security of the neck fixings. First job was using my long steel rule both to position the bridge for length and also to ensure that it is lined up left/right to give similar clearance between the G and B strings and their relevant fretboard edges: The bridge has three screw holes. I used a 4mm s/steel bolt and insert for the centre hole and two 3mm bolts/inserts for the two outer ones. That fitted, a trial fitting with the strings: Don't get too excited - there's still quite a lot to do. The neck angle has to be tweaked to ensure that the saddles have the right kind of action range for the final set up but at this stage, I will leave it at playing tension overnight and see if the tension on the neck bolts 'relaxes' at all. The reason it might is that I have no idea just how resilient paulownia is to crushing - if the ferrules crush the wood in the heel, then the neck bolts will loosen a touch and I may need to insert some hardwood plugs. But it if holds full playing tension, then there will be no need for that. Strings-wise, @Happy Jack suggested we took a punt on a set of Elites Bass flatwounds. Very affordable and my first impressions are that they are pretty good! I'm not sure that the B string got the memo that it was going to be in an extra-long set... I am hoping/expecting that there is enough full width string underneath for me to be able to just take the silks back a cm: The string retainer won't be put into use until I've finished messing about and strung it up for real. So next job, assuming I don't have to add the heel hardwood plugs, is fettling the fretboard (I'll do a quick levelling to take out any irregularities/string marks/etc) so that is ready for determining the final neck angle tweak and setup. Then there are the strap buttons/locks and knobs to sort. Then wire it all up Then polish it ready for going home to Jack's

Nightboat To Cairo - Madness

Reminds me, haven't watched Phoenix Nights in forever

So after a second coat of tru oil on Saturday morning, the sanding scratches are nowhere near as bad as I thought so I light dry sand with 240 W&D and another smidge of oil and looking much better! I also managed to reduce the primer left in the grain to next to nothing as well. Another bash with 240 slurry, then 400 and 800 should get it nice and smooth before the poly goes on. I must admit this finishing malarky is not easy so kudos goes to @Andyjr1515 for the finishes you achieve - patience is a virtue in this game. Having said that, I'm pretty pleased so far, the colour in the photos is a lot lighter than real life and it is taking on a nice amber-y hue to the colour which is nice. Really pleased with the ash cover as well - it is a bit lighter than the body but there isn't much I think I can do at this stage. I do have some tinted aged lacquer sitting in a box (but this is a nitro lacquer) so may sand back and bash some on there - see how that looks... I have some scraps that I can practice on as well... Anyway... will sort a few minor scratches on the back later and then onwards!

F.E.A.R. For Everyone A Refund?

I guess its a matter of opinion

Don't Crookback In Anger ～ Oasis

That's beautiful. One of them is next on my list.

It's a Long Way to the Top - AC/DC

Badly out of tune Boy?

I don’t want to go to Chelsea - Elvis Costello & The Attractions

If anyone's in the Chester area on Friday 30th and has run out of paint to watch drying, we're playing at Telford's Warehouse.

Anyone at the Leeds gig last night?

Look Back In Anchor ～ David Bowie

After his recent open letter to Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska. Roger Waters should retire to a local Dog & Duck with some backing tracks.

Not the most amazing one for us last night. The White Line (for you 'tell us your band' folks) played a pub on the beach. To practically nobody. Oh well. The rig was my trusty G&L L2000 into a Shure Wireless>TC MojoMojo>Sansamp Paradriver V2. I was right by the pa in a tiny room so I put a tiny amount of 120Hz up (as that's where our sub crosses over so it kind of felt like a decent guess) in the singer's wedge and left my stage stuff in the car.

SS Club 7

Got this one a few weeks ago but have just had some Vintage Pure 64 Pickups fitted into it that I picked up on eBay (after loving them so much in the flea jazz). The bass is very light at 8lbs 3oz and after a good setup, this bass is brilliant for the price paid £289. If you are looking at the Squier classic vibe series, I can highly recommend.

or: What Does Forty Quid Get You In 2022?

In that case, I've lost interest in the bass. Best stick it on eBay. 🤣🤣🤣

Not mine, but I was able to testdrive this wonderful Herr Schwarz 5-string back in 2012 and it still haunts me in my sleep. It was incredible, and the attention to detail on it was just astonishing. So well thought-out and well-executed, and almost no off-the-shelf parts!

Anjou Bird Can Sing ～ Not Stones, the other ones.

Tower of song. Leonard C

The main photo was from a shoot we did for the 3rd album, it was used on the CD inside cover. We added the band name graphics and the venue put their details on it. A guy called Trevor Palin took the shots and then he and Dave (the band leader) worked on the digital stylisation of it. Dave's also an artist, so had a clear concept of what he wanted for it. This is the album cover. You wouldn't think they were both taken at a National Trust place in Cheshire.

Those things are dangerous, man!

One Deity Time ～ Merle Haggard Maybe a bit too soon to repeat the fish series? As always, ignore at will 🙇🏼‍♂️

I always do. Got to keep the testers on their toes.

My new bass cover with Harley Benton PB20 SBK. Great sound also with Slap technique!

I don't think they're being singled out as such but speaking from personal experience of BD as well as making a sweeping generalisation based on some of the posts in this thread, it seems to me that BD's unique take on customer service is arguably more variable than most shops, be they selling music equipment or anything else. In my own experience the level of customer service I have received from them has varied from excellent through to condescending, to apathetic incompetence. IF you go to one of the big box shifters and deal with the 12 year old Saturday boy on minimum wage then you might adjust your expectations accordingly. But when you go to a specialist shop like BD you, or at least I do, expect service that's a little more consistent. I neither want nor expect some fawning sycophant to blow smoke up my exhaust, but a little respect and common courtesy goes a long way.

In terms of customer service, a couple of months ago I rang Bass Direct as I had somehow managed to lose one of the feet off a Bergantino cab on a gig. Note that I bought the cab s/h from someone on here, not from BD. Marcus asked me to email him the serial no of the cab so that he could look into it. Thirty minutes later I was copied into an email from Mark asking Marcus to look in a drawer in the storeroom where they might have some spares. The next morning there was an email from Marcus saying they couldn't find any spares but he had emailed Jim Bergantino. A few hours later there was a message from JB saying that it wasn't cost-effective to mail a replacement over, but saying exactly what the replacement was. At this point I bought the right feet from eBay and they arrived in time for the gig on the next weekend. So, all sorted in less than 24 hours. I know it was only a few emails, but I thought they genuinely made an effort and that was pretty good service, seeing as I didn't even buy the cab from them.

The band I'd been playing in until the end of last year, when the singer started having mental health issues, finally played again last night. The singer and keyboard player had separate slots at a beer festival, which they decided to combine, and I decided to turn up too and see if they wanted me to join in. When I got there, I found that the percussionist (who suffered a heart attack a little while ago, after we'd last gigged together) had also turned up. So, completely unrehearsed, and with an interval of over a year since we'd last played together (the percussionist was double booked for the last gig so we'd got a dep in), we weighed in. Went down an absolute storm. It does help that a large part of the audience already knew us and liked us. I'm hoping that this isn't going to be a one-off. We all really enjoyed ourselves.

OK - wiping on poly. I've covered this is the past but it's worth covering again to also highlight some of the tweaks I tend to do now, especially as Ronseal have changed their formulation for their old-fashioned Hardglaze Polyurethane Varnish to reduce the volatiles a touch, and that has changed some of the things I tend to do. Generally, as said above, I basically prepare the timber for varnishing with the Tru-oil Slurry and Wipe or Slurry and Buff methods. The good thing about the Ronseal Hardglaze is that it's not reactive with what is on the wood in the first place - nitro, for example, will bubble and craze at the drop of a hat and I HATE working with fussy finishes!! It's easy to use but, like all of these sorts of things, it's the little tips and tricks that make the difference. So here are the tips and tricks I've picked up along the way * So once the Tru-oil has properly dried (1 week minimum, preferably 2) I get out the Ronseal Hardglaze and White Spirits. *It is important to thin the varnish for wipe on or similar methods. The idea is to put on multiple THIN coats. I used to thin with up to 50% white spirits. I find, with the new formulation, 20% - 30% is the highest that I usually go to. I start at 20% and see how I get on. *Nowadays, I use one of two methods - the artists fan brush seen above, which I usually get from Hobby Craft: or - A pad made from strips of old T shirt, or the excellent Halfords Non-lint Polishing Cloths pictured, wrapped inside some more cloth with a rubber band like French Polishers, etc, use: * I am scrupulous about dust control. The 'Glass' microfibre cloth in the first pic is what I use to wipe the surface just before a coat of varnish. EVERY time. * I place the guitar or bass body on a box or similar so I can access the upper surface and sides and turn the whole thing round by moving the box, not touching the bass body. A shoe box is ideal! : * I varnish back and sides first, then when dry, top and sides * Either using the brush, wiped of excess each time, or the cloth pad, squeezed of the major excess, I brush or wipe in full length strips before recharging the brush or pad to do the next strip. The direction is always along the grain and with a slight overlap. *I gently run my finger round the bottom edge to wipe off any drips that might be forming: * I let it dry, then turn it over and do the other main face and sides. * Thinning the varnish will make it dry faster. I tend to manage one side first thing in the morning and flip it over and do the other side in the evening. After less than a week, the top and back will have had at least 5 coats each and the sides 10 coats * If the coats are thin enough, there shouldn't be an accumulation of ripples. But if there are - or loads of dust buggies - then every 3 coats or so once dry, I lightly sand wet (with water this time) with 2000 grit emery or similar using a cork sanding block. I make sure that all of the slurry is wiped off and the surface is completely dry before applying the next coat. * After 5 or 6 coats, it's time for the final 'flattening' (the above wet and dry treatment) which is to get the surface flaw-free, and then I do a couple of wiped coats to get the gloss. NOTE - it is the last couple of coats that gives you the gloss. With polyurethane varnish of this type you DO NOT BUFF. If you do, the buffing will scrub off that glossy layer and expose the sanded layers beneath. * If the final coats don't look right, I simply flatten with the wet and dry again and do the last couple of gloss coats again. I stop when I get a coat that looks OK. * I then leave it for at least 2 weeks (preferably 3) and give it a final polish with Meguiers Ultimate Compound from Halfords. The bass I will be bringing to the Southwest Bass Bash was done with the above method (this one using the wipe method rather than the fan brush): From memory, this had around 10 wipe coats each side and probably 3 final 'flatten then wipe the last couple of gloss coats' attempts.

This has just landed from Sandberg with Mark at Classic & Cool and will be with me next week...

If only this were 16 strings (I no longer play 15) . . . . GLWTS