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This is a Newly Found Bass Day. I actually bought this one in or shortly after 2003. But... I now had not played it for around 10 years and I thought it was lost! Yes, lost. I am at my parent's flat in Italy, visiting for Christmas (I have been living in the UK for a while now) and they found it somehow. Since buying the bass I stopped playing music because of a tendinitis that continued to come back, moved city and then country, and the bass was just abandoned. I looked for it last summer as I had started playing again in January and thanks to Basschat I have developed an unhealthy obsession for cheap basses. But I could not find it. Nobody could, until a few weeks ago. I now have put some D'Addario ProSteels on (taken off a P bass, cut a bit short for this) and given it a full setup. There's a slightly bumpy fret that will need to be addressed. The neck will need a good clean as it was hanging for years and it has black stains there (not top quality hanger I guess..). Apart from that, all seem to be working great, from what I can hear from the old practice amp also abandoned at my parents'. Funny enough I never bonded much with this bass. The colour and shape were unexciting for the purpose of my metal band at the time. Still, I felt that for the price it was a great bass (I believe it cost some 275 Euros, although I may be wrong). I was always playing passive and it would sit in the mix much better than the Ibanez Ergodyne I had before (although I imagine more knowledgeable people would have been able to eq the Ibanez just right). The wider string spacing gave me more satisfaction than the Ibanez's. It feels really good to play, the ergonomics work great for me. I can totally see why I chose this bass in that shop back in 2003 or so. This is coming back to the UK with me!

Just in from my monthly acoustic duo gig at a pub in West Hull. Due to illness we couldn’t do our November gig, so this was our first one for a while. It was absolutely slinging it down when I was going out, and thought the lousy weather would impact upon the number of punters. Got there at 7.30pm to find the room full, with booked tables and some people willing to stand all night too. Am guessing that a lot of folk just wanted to get out after a couple of days of family stuff over Christmas. The evening is based on requests, and we’ve never had so many. Managed most of them, although despite trying to get my head around ‘Ghost Town’ in the car on my way there, thankfully nobody actually requested it. Plenty of other good song requests though, including an older lady who loves Toto, so we attempted ‘Africa’ for her and she didn’t leave so think we got away with it. Had a couple of enquiries for private gigs during the evening too, so all in all a good night. Next one is on Friday at a nice pub just outside Sheffield, so if it goes pretty much like tonight we’ll be well happy.

What's funny in the way this is portrayed is that these people are attacking us (the general public) when in most cases (railways, the NHS specifically) they're pushing to establish a service that's safe and fit for purpose. Nurses are warning that ongoing issues are affecting patient care. They're not holding us to ransom, they're trying to protect the UK's proudest acihevement.

Only a humble Rockbass but here's my Starbass. Bought on here a few weeks ago and I'm very much still in the honeymoon period. It's got a lovely old school growl with the passive electrics. Perfect for some psychedelic/garage rock.

Because several of our current government MPs including the PM own a considerable value of shares in US health insurance companies.

I use a tippex pen and put a couple of dots over the side markers, yes it wears off eventually but the pen is always in my bag and it dries in seconds. been doing it for years and hasn't affected any of the necks adversely yet.

Got into a discussion with a chum about this a few years ago, and picking positions/techniques in general. He just kept his thumb wedged on the bridge pickup and that was it. I tried to recall the various places and ways I pluck the strings and went home and came up with this montage… Tried the floating thumb thing but never got on with it so I’m somebody who rests the thumb on the pickup or E string. However, I also move position a lot for different tones. Also use the old fashioned thumb plucking technique for softer tones too. Plus a weird pseudo upright plucking thing over the neck sometimes (but I’m odd like that! 😉🤣).

it has been covered before, I'm not proud, got some luminous tape of ebay, edit, and before someone tells me I've stuck them on the wrong side, yes, I am a lefty 😂

They do sound good don’t they. Well done. btw I also use a black pen for screw heads.and sometimes use plasterboard screws which come in black.

Clearly not you, but thank you for taking the time to comment anyway.

Arrived today - a Batmanking bass uke, which looks very similar to the Ebay picture: Also included: a soft case (as seen), adequate for avoiding little dents, and a hex key. I was a little puzzled by that, as Mrs Whelsh Ukulele Lady said in her Youtube review that it didn't have a truss rod, but they've obviously listened to her and put one in - or at least put a truss rod cover on, maybe there isn't a truss rod under it. On top is a preamp section featuring a tuner (appears accurate), volume control, and 3-band EQ. Around the bottom is a socket plate with a 9V battery tray (battery not included), 1/4" jack socket, and XLR output. The strings are a different feel to the silicone strings on my Ashbories - not grabby like those are. I've had an initial plunk around and tune up. It all seems nicely put together. If you shake vigorously, the cable between preamp and socket plate does bang around, but I don't think that's a particularly real world test. In these post-Harley Benton days, I suspect that expectations of budget/economy/cheap instruments have risen far beyond what they once were, and I'd say that this lives up to those heightened expectations. A tiny niggle is that there's slightly too much A string wound onto the tuner, so it's starting to overflow. I could do with taking about a turn and a half off. Also it could do with a strap button on the neck end of the body - putting one on the treble string side of the heel, as Mrs Whelsh Ukulele Lady recommends, would avoid having to tie the strap to the headstock. Which reminds me, I should do that to my bouzouki too. I have yet to plug it in and check out the electric sound, which will also give a chance to compare these strings with the old silicone rubber Ashbory ones. For under a hundred quid (with a couple of voucher codes), it's very impressive.

Maruszczyk Elwoods and Jakes are 40mm, possibly others in their lineup too.

What...who...where... ...and why is everyone in my bedroom????? I do most of my finer carving with a simple set of card scrapers. Pretty much all of the neck carve with these and quite a bit of the body carve. There are various sets but you need at least one rectangular one (2-3 in different sizes is ideal) and a goose neck one: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Irwin-Marples-M2450-Cabinet-Scraper/dp/B0000DD4NQ/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=card+scrapers&qid=1672263585&sr=8-6 https://www.amazon.co.uk/Proops-Cabinet-Carbon-Scraper-Postage/dp/B00AIN9Z8C/ref=sr_1_15?keywords=card+scrapers&qid=1672263585&sr=8-15 They generally come with the essential burr already on (they act like mini planes) and that would last long enough for a build so you can avoid the black art of reapplying the burr. ....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The whole advert looks a bit fishy to me.....username, feedback, poor description, pretty much the same picture used throughout etc... Something looks odd

I love making pedalboards for guitar and bass; very rarely do I play two runs of gigs with the same effects (less true on guitar now I have a Kemper). I've got a Hogmanay show coming up and I decided to buy Cioks DC7 to make a mini board with the Metro 16. It's easy for me to fall victim to wanting to pack everything into one board and future-proof it for any gig possible, but today I decided that I wasn't going to splash out on an expensive multi-effects and instead just pick what I actually use. 95% of the time this is all I've needed on bass (the other 5% being the occasional chorus effect), and even then the ODR-1 is just for one song in the set. Feels nice to travel light for once!

Jimmy Jimmy - The Undertones

Apologies, it’s a Roadster RS721TB, it was a hideous turquoise blue colour. I added some hipshot ultralight tuners, the balance is perfect and very comfortable to play. I wanted to scratch that medium scale itch and it’s excellent.

Just got an EBS wah/volume from markstuk and I've rejigged the board. It's changing a lot just now as I get used to the Line 6 HX stomp xl. I think it's getting there.

I'm afraid you're going to have to recalculate, I got another today.

Not a lot of progress, but just seeing how it looks with the knobs. Body still needs sanding and buffing.

Yeah that competition in the water industry works great. If I decide I'm not happy with Wessex Water, I simply move to a different area to switch suppliers. I work in the water industry and think it should be re nationalised

Is that a reference to the women? Or the livestock? 😁 On our side of the pond they had to remove the grass and install artificial turf on the University of Vermont football field, to stop the cheerleaders from grazing during halftime. 🙄

They did get elected. Its not a stated mandate, but its well documented and fairly obvious. Run a service into the ground, the public complain about it, so they dont complain when its privatised.

As a newbie I was glad to get some stuff on my wish list - spare set of strings for my P-Bass (just need to figure out when they need replacing!), some .73 tortex picks, strap locks and a nice Hercules wall hanging bracket. I bought myself a Fender downtown express pedal just before Xmas as I knew I didn’t know anyone generous enough to buy me one. 😂😂 Pretty lights and everything!!

Head on over to my transcription page and download a free PDF of the 8 song The Allman Brothers Band Bass Book, shared by Lee Nunn. Happy holidays!! 🥳🎸🎉🥳 https://basslessons.be/transcriptions-list.php

Reformed by who? Labour have had a crack, as have the Tories. Your option to depoliticise it is a good one, and I think is probably only the reasonable solution. I worked with the NHS for several years and the idea that it’s overly bureaucratic and wasteful is nonsense. In fact, for many of the stretched staff (clinical and non-clinical) it’s offensive. People always complain be NHS is hugely wasteful but can never provide an example, aside from diversity officers.

ok.. well I actually won it on the bay today... so will pick it up and hear what it is like. It is going to have a selmer T&B 50 sat on top and once thats back from the electrical refurb so lowish volumes.. and tbf the cab didn't cost much so if it a ringer, I will move it on to some happy guitarist and maybe build my own bass cab. once assembled, will report back 🙂

fire in cairo - the cure

Luminlay stickers ? I had some - they stayed put and came off easily when I wanted them to

It Snot My Fault ～ Lisa and Lena

I used a Fender Bandmaster VM cab for a while a few years back with a 72 Fender Bassman 50 and a Musicman HD150(on half power setting). The cab had Celestion 70/80 speakers when I bought it used and I replaced them with Vintage 30s. The cab looked great and actually paired well with the Bassman 50 and the Musicman. The cab wasn't braced anywhere internally and I always had the feeling around 50-75 watts was about as much as it could handle from a bass guitar before it began to resonate. The baffle on the VM cab is pretty lightweight as well so does vibrate a bit as the power increases. It actually sounded great at low to medium volume but was never really brilliant at loud volumes unless you like very overdriven Fender Bassman 50 tones and not much low end. I lined the VM with 3/4 inch Dacron foam which did help damp vibrations a bit. I did a show with it but it got lost in the mix with a loud drummer and one guitarist. The Musicman HD150 was better because it stayed clean right up to near max on half power setting and had a more flexible pre-amp. The amp did make a difference but at the end of the day The BM VM cab was great for low volume rehearshal and studio sound but not brilliant at a loud rock gig with bass. The reason I chose Vintage 30s for the BM VM was that I'd had very good results using them in an old Marshall Chequerboard 4x12 ( 240W @ 16ohms ) with the Marshall Superbass I used to use a long time ago. Very efficient and loud in the 4x12, and still efficient and reasonably loud in the Bandmaster VM. Looked great on stage with the Fender badge swapped with an MM one as well. Sounded a lot better with the HD150 as well.

Cheers! Most of us in the band are hard-bitten veterans of the Notts/Derby Badlands. We have a newbie guitarist from rural Leicestershire, it’s going to be a baptism of fire for him 😆

If offered for free, definitely a Fender Custom Shop which I would then try to sell. I would then use the funds from the sale to pay for some floor insulation and a new oil tank.

I got the Lake Placid blue P bass for Christmas. My initial impressions are very good. This is my first Squier. I have two MIM Fenders and two MIM Charvels to compare it to. all of my Mexican made basses have needed shielding and I was assuming this would be the case with the Squier too, but no. No unwanted noise with this one. The finish is superb. The binding looks great and it makes the black dot fret markers really stand out. The gold anodised pick guard looks classy and the other gold hardware and pearloid inlays really make this bass stand out. The neck has a glossy finish, which some won't like but I'm fine with it. A couple of minor negatives. It is a bit neck divey but not enough to make me want to swap out the tuners (I have a good strap for it) the jack socket doesn't really hold the jack in as firmly as my other basses but as long as you wrap your lead behind the strap in use, it won't come out. I have heard better split coil P pick ups. Unusually for a P bass, I am adding a bit of low mid via my amp's EQ section. However, the D and G strings sound great, better than my Charvel PJ4, which is my go to bass at the moment. I could swap the pup for something better, but I could also just boost the low mids from my head or an EQ pedal, so I'm not sure whether to bother. I'll see how it is in use. I would say this is a keeper. I see no obvious signs it is inferior to a MIM Fender P bass and it looks gorgeous.

Hi all, never been one for effects. Over the years I have used various fx pedals and multi fx (korg A5 Boss GT6b) but always went back to plugging straight in to my amp. Having experienced a few amp issues decided to try a pre amp with DI so could plug straight into the desk if required. Opted for the NuX MLD. Not had the opportunity to compare with Sansamps or the likes but does the job well, particularly like the IR facility. Never got on with compression but realised that I did not properly understand how to use it effectively. Tried 3 ended up with a spectacomp using a customised version of "Captin East" toneprint allowing 10% to 90% (ish) blend on the knob. Liked the IR on the MLD. Tried 3 ended up with a NuX pulse IR loader. Really like this. I think of this as a multitude of pre set tones. Tend to use Ampeg 8x10 or Mesa 2x15 cab sims downloaded from the Internet. Licked the idea of an octave. The Mooer tender pro does everything it should use it for a couple of tracks and probably won't last, not subtle enough for me. Tuner, does the job. Don't like having to run leads across the stage so powerd off an 18v powertool battery.

My first board. Compared with all yours mine seems very “old school”. It’s functional though, I don’t need much. Rob

So here's a nice announcement: shortly after New Year's (hurray for mail not working after Christmas) this gorgeous machine is going to come my way:

Interesting, that. The last time I saw Danny was at Cornbury a couple of years ago. The sound people completely destroyed his sound. Remember, most of those great bass tones are generated in the recording studio in perfect acoustics and with a very nice mic. And then we all get frustrated when we can't reproduce those sounds in a live settings, usually with iffy acoustics and a piezo pickup that we hope won't feedback too much.

Will it work if you have "big hands"?

If you don't know the song 'Soulshine' by the Allman Brothers then check it out! It's one of those feel-good Southern Rock tunes and it has a great bass line that you can learn a lot from. It's got a nice bass groove, muted notes, slides and pentatonic fills. I tackle this epic bass line in my latest lesson but as the song is nearly 7 minutes long, I just show you the main sections. The bass line constantly changes throughout the song, so some of you may find it tricky to learn. But I've made up a simplified version that still sounds great and you can see that towards the end of the video. There’s a free PDF download with the bass line written note for note in standard notation and Tab. You’ll find that under the video. Enjoy! https://youtu.be/NhcwQpGEXZg