Leaderboard

I have just got hold of a 2014 Fender Rascal. They were not made for long and are short scale; a bit like a 4 string BassVl. I wanted it because although short scale, which I like, they are not small - the bridge is not at the end of the bass. I am very tall so some SS basses look daft on me. I also wanted a bass that worked for palm muting and playing with a pick and this is ideal as you adopt a more guitar like playing position. Although I also play “finger style” I use other things for that and this should work brilliantly in my 60s band, especially since I have now changed strings to LaBella black nylons.

I'd never heard of the Jad Freer Capo, so I had a look, it's now all I want in life 🤣

Excellent, I hope these photos help you both. 😂

Made by HW.

I made one for my old shell pink jazz that I put together as a project, I think they work quite well, I play with a fairly light touch so it wasn’t a huge difference but if for some reason you wanted to reduce digging in it would work

Well, a first for me - playing with my acoustic duo at a baby shower! Must admit I had to ask someone exactly what one was. Turns out it’s just a get together of the mum-to-be and her friends and family. Gig was at a local Italian restaurant earlier today, and they asked for some quiet-ish background stuff during and after the buffet. The father-to-be was a lovely bloke (who we later found out is a well known footballer) and had invited some of his mates along too. We played a mix of recent tunes as well as some older stuff which I was surprised they knew / requested. We were well looked after, and nice comments from many of the guests. Gave out a few business cards as well so hopefully may lead to some more stuff. Home by 6pm so a nice change for me.

I just can't get this being picky about what people will and won't play.. If you're in a covers band, and getting paid for it, you're an entertainer and your job there is just that.. if a band member doesn't enjoy or at least accept that then they maybe they should find something else to do!

To my surprise I can sing Merry Xmas Everybody and play it!

Unless someone travels back in time to get them to make one in 1963, I'd say it's very unlikely.

Depends how popular you want to be. Play whatever the punters want and do it well with enthusiasm if you want a full diary. Play only the songs that the band members want to play if you're less concerned about it. By all means try new stuff, its really important to keep the set list fresh and relevant, but be objective about what is working and what isn't. Don't flog a dead horse because someone in the band loves it and don't dismiss anything that an individual hates until youve tried it. Be aware that singers may struggle with the odd song and, if changing the key doesn't help, there will definitely be some limitations there and you'll have to respect that. If I'm in a covers band, which I am, I'm more concerned about what goes down well than what I love playing. I've heard loads of bands say "we want to do some slightly more obscure songs" but they rarely work that well imo. If you have band members rejecting suggestions just on personal preference then you're on a hiding to nothing. If they're rejecting songs because they're not well known bangers then they might have a point.

Just a cheeky plug for my bands new video. We have changed are name to Erronaut. Hope some of you like it.. and yes that is a bass wah in the middle of the song

If you want to play along, and like harmony and counterpoint, then I'd start with baroque music, as it tends to have strong rhythm, making it easier to keep time with, and the harmonies are generally not too obscure. Can't do better than JS Bach.

Still ramping here

Me too. As have my hips, belly and jowls. Any connection, do you think? Is that where we store new music? Possiibly the wrong thread....

I, personally, don't see that as a mistake, but a definite rhythmic choice. 🤷‍♂️

I used to play with my brother in law years ago - he is the front man and plays guitar. His usual bass player couldn't make a gig and he asked me to dep for him. After the gig he said how impressed he was that I played all the songs in his set flawlessly. I told him that it wasn't such a big deal, as he hadn't changed his set for 35 years (we played that exact same set together, for 10 years, until I left 25 years ago). Some people are just resistant to change.

Hello all, I’ve been itching for a gold paisley something for ages, and recently I’ve been wanting a 51/68 style Tele Bass. So I thought I’d stick those two ideas together! 💡 I’ve done 3 parts builds that I’ve sprayed myself, and 10 scratch builds. As well as copious amounts of spray work for neck breaks etc. So going all out doing some stuff I’ve not done before on this. Never down paisley, and never done any bursts, so should be interesting. This will be a fairly long on going project but thought I’d start a thread as I’ve been buying some bits. I got this body in Black Friday deal so this is the start. The neck and some other bits are on their way from Allparts. So if your a tele/precision bass, or a paisley fan then watch this space. 👍

Hi all, I'm pretty new here, and new basses do not come around too often for me, so I'm excited to share this - a new Made in Japan Hard Puncher TPB97. But first - what a lovely, respectful community you have here; I've thoroughly enjoyed stumbling upon this website, and the couple of dealings I've had with people on the marketplace have been first class. I love Ps, and have only gigged on two basses prior to this - a second-hand Godin PJ that lasted me 15 years before age-induced niggles made it worth upgrading, and an American Fender pro ii precision, which I owned for a year, but never really gelled with (and a number of little quality control issues were enough to put me off - although that's a story for another day). Since summer, I've been getting around the country, visiting shops, and generally playing as many Ps as I could get my hands on. It's been great fun, making a day of it with friends on a number of occasions. This Tokai was one of the first I played, and for me, none of the subsequent Ps I played felt or sounded as right to me. It also has a feel of sturdiness and quality to it, that many of the basses I played did not. The fit and finish are genuinely first class, and it has a hand-wound pickup apparently, which has a really resonant, piano-like vibe. It cost just north of a grand, so not exactly cheap, but it is lovely. Apparently, Tokai do a factory setup, and then export models get a second set-up at the closest distribution centre to the shop, so it has a nice action out of the case. It was very hard to find anything at all about newer Tokai basses online, or on English speaking forums, so hopefully this will be useful to someone who is curious about their quality. I also played some of the cheaper new Made in China Tokais, which were not nearly as nice. I've had it for a week, and I'm not gigging until NYE now, but can't wait! All in all, just a very well made P Bass, but for those who like some specs: U-shaped neck, but it measures 22mm at the first fret, so not too chunky. It suits me just right. 42mm nut. Rosewood fretboard. It comes with Gotoh hardware, GHS boomers on it, and has a compound radius (7.25 - 10). The only downside so far is that the tweed case it comes with looks lovely, but there is a bit of play in the sides, and I wonder how sturdy it will be long term.

Glorious, just glorious. Why did I wait so long? It brings a joy to our kitchen that has been absent since my family decided that Heart FM was their preferred station about 5-years ago (I know, but some battles are not worth fighting). And the songs I'm hearing that I'd forgotten, I even heard one of my old bands from 1984 the other day (a reliable sign of quality curation if ever there was one). And the basslines? Seems the editorial policy is defined by the two questions 'Is the artist credible?' and 'Is the bassline creative?' Love it. Renewed my faith in the BBC 👍

Now this is the kind of feedback I like 😁

Bach cello suites….

Had a random gig between Christmas and new year that was packed and would’ve been fun had I not been so rotten ill, I even sat down for a few songs. This Saturday I was feeling much better and was back to business as usual. Standard pub rock covers, great fun was had, great crowd up dancing from song one, the sound in my IEMs was fab. All good as far as I’m concerned IMG_0635.MOV

Yes alive and well!!! Although I must confess I’ve lowered the ramp a lot more recently.

Assuming basic performance competence, the USP of a paid covers band is the set list. A band that keeps up with the latest hits as well as keeping the classics will get more work, and keep a wider audience age range. The classics to me are not the same songs as the classics to a 20 year old. Being able to chuck in a few No1 singles from at least the last 6 months is always a crowd pleaser.

Very nice Andy 😎👍. Funnily enough a black/red theme is what I had in mind for the Dano that got me out of this thread. Kind of like this.

To be fair, I managed to persuade the wife that we didn’t need the £50 a pot Valspar special mix paints for the bedroom… Johnstones had similar colours for £14 a pot 👍🏼😉

First gig of the year last night at The Fighting pink torpedos in Kingston. Used my Orange LBT head and venues GK cab. Lots of compliment over my tone, which was much appreciated. I've been thinking about swapping out my sansamp VT Bass DI for an Orange Bass Butler, but all the compliments are now making think maybe I should just save my money and stick with what I have...

Some people (not you @JJTee) have way too much time on their hands.

They were a solution to a problem that doesn't exist, like those sweat bands people loop around their basses nut for whatever reason.

Simple, tidy, light and ample for what I need. I build a main sound patch for each song using the ms60b then have the option of three "live" stomp pedals with the B3. Topped off with a HB wireless pedal on a Warwick Rockboard. The whole lot probably cost less than £250

I play fretless and I've been dabbling lightly with some different strings on my 4 fretless basses. My Precision with high gloss maple neck has a set of Rotosound flats which sound very nice and do sing quite nicely. I recorded an EP in the summer and used this bass mostly as it sounded the best recorded. My Jazz has an Ebony board and uses Rotosound rounds and it really sings, it's a beautiful sounding bass, the most mwah ever and very smooth. My Stingray on the other hand has always been lovely to play but has never sung that much. I kind of put it down to the Pau Ferro board on it which is a hard wood. That was until I fitted a set of LaBella Black Nylon Tapewound strings I had knocking about. Oh my, it has absolutely transformed this bass. It truly sings and they are so lovely to play. Low tension, smooth and I am absolutely converted, or at least for the Stingray, I've never heard so much mwah and expression from this bass. I'm now going to get a set for my Jazz which I think would make an incredible sounding fretless sound out of this world. How did I not know about Tapewound Nylon strings on a fretless but they are wonderful and highly recommended. Never tried LaBella strings before but they sound wonderful.

With Zappa as your reference frame, I'd say: keep to the biggies first, and take it from there. Bach has been mentioned already, and forgetting the play-along bit, some names I'd add could be, starting with older music so as to hear music developing: Palestrina and Monteverdi for yer renaissance and early baroque. Palestrina: Missa Papae Marcelli Monteverdi: Orfeo, Scherzi musicali (with that glorious song "Non cosi tosto" a.o.) Bach: what has been mentioned already plus say the Mass in B minor, the St Matthew Passion, Christmas Oratorio and the Brandenburg Concertos. Also give "Bist du bei mir" a listen. It was traditionally, wrongly, attributed to Bach (but he simply couldn't have written it) and is absolutely gorgeous despite its awkwardness. If you play Haydn (say Die Schöpfung (The Creation), piano sonatas and a symphony like no 104) and Händel (operas like 'Julius Caesar' and 'Oreste' and oratoria like The Messiah for example), then do absolutely not forget Henry Purcell - a great composer. My brain refuses to remember pieces right now, but he's up there with the very best. Mozart: late works like his Requiem (which turns away from the perceived lightness of many an early work, and reflects Mozart's understanding of and love for Bach). I'd do the "light" stuff later. That's all for now. Brain is closing down, so best hit the Submit button. Enjoy! Edit: rectified a few wrong entries.

How do the first 2 minutes and 11 seconds of this make you feel? Serious question.

Guns of Navarone - The Skatalites

'Learning' is an interesting term. The first priority is can the singer sing, do they already know the tune, or is it easy for them to learn, and do they like it. If the singer doesn't meet any of those criteria you're in trouble. Next, no one needs to spend hours 'learning' the tunes, take away the 10 songs and everyone 'bare-bones' them. Works out verse, chorus, mid sections and form. Don't worry about intros, endings, how many times the verse is repeated, solos etc. Just get a very loose version of the song together. Then you all come together and jam the tune and maybe decide a key. Only then do you decide whether it's going to work and whether you should go away and learn it more closely. After that you come back together and sort out fine arrangements. A lot of the time you can get very weary if you decide on a tune and learn it note for note only to come to the practice to find out no one else has done their homework. So it's important to have everyone with the same approach. With the above approach you invest the minimum of time on a tune and so don't have a big issue if it doesn't work out.

Now i'm curious ? This was mine in early 80's. Dave

It looks like they are on 3 week order time again so a short wait for the next batch to made. I got very confused when I ordered, ordered it through their site (which was just under £500) then realised they were like £80 cheaper on Reverb so sent them an email and they refunded the Italian VAT which then made it slightly cheaper than Reverb! And then of course had to pay the UK import shizzle, worked out about £500 in total in the end.

I bought two hb guitars two years ago which are still great and have served their purpose really well. guitar 1 - a Hendrix esque strat , left handed for my eldest son to learn on. About £125 he’s doing really well to be fair and now two years in yearns for an American fender. guitar 2- a rose wood telecaster (a la George Harrison) for me. Just for at home playing. Im a bass player (ovs) but have the occaision noodle on the racing snake and so not worth spending big money but nice to have around…. mine did need a bit of attention to get it set up right though but as I’d only paid £150 I had no hesitation in getting the sandpaper out leveling the frets and re crowning myself. plays great now…. so not the gear your asking about no, but in terms of “can this be any good because it’s so cheap”…… yeah , I’ve no idea how they can make and ship these guitars for these prices, other than they must be made by 7 year old luthiers…….

A proper conversion neck would take this into account and move the nut out an inch, and move the frets accordingly, surely?

half a person / smiths

Yeah. You will never unlock the secrets of the fretboard (try this one weird trick) without them.

I’m of the firm belief that many musicians try to second guess their audience - if we do xxxx it might not go down well so we should stick with our 30 year old set list. No, no, no. Do it then establish if it goes down well or not. Might doesn’t come into it. Often I think that they use this as an excuse for not doing material others want and as such are exercising this as a way of control, or as an excuse for just being lazy and not wanting to learn new material.

I see that I was not clear. When I say "move on", I mean move on from the church band, but remain in the church. That gives the leaders the problem of explaining why I am not playing - or me the problem of keeping my mouth shut!