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Had a fantastic night in Tinto Hotel Biggar 1.5 miles from my house at a biker rally. Played it last year with Emergency Exit punk band and this year they asked for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. Sound was excellent with just vocal PA being used. I thought we were a little quiet but my wife said no it was just right and it sounded really good out front. Feedback was excellent with 8 people asking for booking details including an enquiry from a Swedish biker asking what we'd charge for another rally in Sweden. Will see if anything comes from that one. Others were Cumbria bike rally, and one of the Naval bases but not sure which one. One of the enquiries was form a booking agent for several venues so all good. Usual pleasant comments about an amazing set and the band were first class including comments from the band that used to play it every year but unfortunately their singer guitarist was very unwell and can no longer play. The Hotel itself was also very interested which would be nice for me. The organiser said he was stunned when we first came on with all the costumes and gear and spent the first few songs mesmerised and taking pics and vids. Lots of mobile phone vids being taken all night. Dancers up from about 3rd song to a packed dance floor on 2nd set. Organiser said they were used to the usual AC/DC covers bands playing but we put on a full show and that's what made the difference for him. He has also booked us for his brother birthday party later in year. Used my Sandberg VM4 into Roland GRGB and into Handbox WB-100 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs. I use the mfx pedal for a Ric style tone in some songs plus a funk-wah sound for mid section in Virginia Plain. All in all a great wee night. Dave

Just in from our gig at The Angel Inn, Andover - we had a great night, a few of our loyal following turned up, so that always helps, there was a mix of people, some wanted to sit at tables and watch the band/chat with their pals, others wanted to dance and sing, we even had a young couple that we're heading to the Indian for dinner and were drawn in to the pub and stayed all night (they had packets of crisps and pickled eggs for their dinner, washed down with gin and beer😳😷) Looking forward to a double header next weekend😀

Played a social club down on the south coast last night. These places can be like God's waiting room but last night's venue proved to be a lovely place . Helpful staff, simple load in, stage, lighting, full house all into it and dancing all night. Picked up a wedding enquiry and gave out cards afterwards. Nice payment and a bunch of happy punters. Played the Bugera T through my Elf 10s, used the Bruce Thomas Profile and Ampero Stomp and created a righteous din.

Another great gig at a club in Huddersfield last night with the glam band. Wasn’t expecting miracles because Covid had hit this club pretty hard when we played it last year with a lot of the punters still AWOL. This seems to have reversed this year and the club was packed and we had a great night. Another booking to sort but this will be 2024 as we are now booked solid for 23. Going on 7 years with this band now and it’s still loads of fun!

I always take two pairs of pants, just in case...

I can heartily recommend and endorse the Tredders Bass Method (TM). It involves doing the minimum of practice, and then buying progressively more expensive basses, on the premise that "they'll make me play better". It hasn't worked yet, but I can feel a breakthrough coming on any day now. I obviously just need to buy a couple more expensive basses...

I’ll try that one in Church tomorrow 😂

Odd one for me last night, private do in a local pub, so nice and close, but our engineer was unavailable and it’s never quite the same with the stand in guy, good as he is. I couldn’t seem to get my IEM levels quite right, it was all a bit odd. Crowd were into it, but in a subdued way, plenty of dancing, but otherwise no other interaction at all. Strange night, but we were liked and handed out cards and got paid and fed, so fine.

I’ve been with my band now for over 12 years and they’ve all been great. That extends to our tech guys too, always pleased to see everyone. I’ve been playing with my pal in our acoustic duo nearly 30 years without ever a crossed word. Not only is he a diamond bloke but an amazing guitar player too - every gig is a pleasure. So lucky. 🙂

I don’t remember what I take to the gig or anywhere else now coz I’m in love with Julia.

Decent gig for a private party. Great venue, played for nice people who weren't drunken idiots and they sang and danced along. I think this is the first time I've played my Epiphone Jack Casady for a whole gig, and my forearm knows it this morning! It was also my first experience of a sound limiter and we popped it in the second song, but with the drummer having an electronic kit we just turned him down a bit and it wasn't a problem again.

More filing and stuff, marked and drilled the holes in the metal plates, they seem to sit in the slots OK-ish. I'll have to come up with some patent bull$hit like "Ferr-O-Tone solid steel Sustain Plus Blocks" A trial fit looked OK, strung it up to see what sort of action it might give, and had a nasty moment when I thought the truss rod nut had stripped it's hex socket, a search thru my tin of Allen keys was unsuccessful, however I tried the one that came with the Squier P bass and it fitted, so was able to do it up a bit ( I'd let it right off when disassembling the thing originally) will no doubt be tweaking further. I'll leave it to sit a while now with tension on the strings, I did them up in stages, they're a semitone flat from standard now, which is what I generally have basses tuned like (unless I've got to play with other people who won't tune down) I'll attempt to get it so its action is kind of playable before messing with the next bit, putting PUs in etc

A week or two ago I took a drive north to pick up a bass I bought from the BC marketplace. I kept looking at it, passing it by, thinking about it, not thinking about it, continuing with my macrame antimacassars, essentially I was curious but not gassing. I sent a message asking if it was still available and the buying process began. Anyway, the seller was far enough away that after driving up I booked a hotel and we arranged to meet the next morning. On seeing the bass in the flesh so to speak, I was struck by how beautifully made it was, how light it was and yet I remained stoically underwhelmed by it. I paid up, put it on the back seat and set off home. Arriving back I stuck the bass in the rack and left it there to languish, I'm not sure I played it for a couple of days, when I finally did I was, again, just south of whelmed. Another bass bought on a whim that I'm going to lose money on I thought. A few days later I had a jam with a friend of mine, just some songs he's learning with his guitar tutor, some Beatles, Neil Young etc, I plugged the Acinonyx in and kind of forgot about it, and that's the whole point. I have gassed after some lovely basses and, more often than not, I've bought them purely on the basis of aesthetics, not ergonomics, not sound/tone, and, I shouldn't be surprised should I? That a huge percentage of these basses didn't suit me or my needs, they simply satisfied my desire to own something a) because I could and b) because I liked the look of it. Rarely (if ever) did I take my needs as a band member into account. To be honest that was exactly what I did again with the Acinonyx, only this time I wasn't even sure I liked the look of it, after all, it's a funny looking f***er innit. That whole point I was on about. When I was rehearsing with it I forgot about the instrument, how it looks, how it feels, entirely, I just played it. It was supremely comfortable, ergonomically right for a change and, so comfortable, so 'right' that, well, we just got on. It has a limited range of tones and yet play it in a band setting and those tones are the right ones. Given my druthers I would never set my bass to any of those tones, which is obviously why I've never been satisfied with my tone! The Acinonyx doesn't give you room to fånny about tweaking stuff for ages until you tweak yourself into a sonic corner. I play through an FRFR powered speaker so I just set that to 'default' and then pressed a couple of these crazy buttons... ...I can't even remember which, and I forgot the bass and just played music. If you push all four pickup buttons down at the same time (easier said than done!) it switches the pickups into series mode. Anyway, I'm no good at technical stuff, it was more how, for some reason, I was almost totally indifferent about this bass until I plugged it in and loved it. We are always looking for something perfect, exactly the right tone, exactly the right look, essentially we are looking for something that probably only exists in our heads and that no physical bass can actually live up to. Inevitably I'll buy a bass, clearly for all the wrong reasons, rush home, plug it in, declare it to be the best bass I've ever had and invariably sell it a fortnight later at a loss because there's a lot more stupid stuff going on in our heads psychologically than any of us is prepared to admit to. I should, at this point tell you all that the Acinonyx is the best thing since sliced Fodera but I'm going to stick with underwhelmed because underwhelming is clearly what I should have been looking for all this time, I'm not even going to say this is a keeper, I'm just going to stop typing and play it.

The letter 'S' of my Sandberg decal had gone missing from my headstock. Having not being able to find another one on the official webstore I contacted them to ascertain as to where I could buy a replacement. They sent me one in the post free of charge. Ta Chaps..

. Its arrived earlier than expected...

That was my intention 😄

I think this has decided it. Gold it is.

No, only Stoner Rock.

I have the same thing with my mob. It's surprisingly hard to find and should be treasured.

Is it time for this thread again? I'm one of these irresponsible, unprofessional blaggards who doesn't take a spare bass or amp. I have a Behringer preamp/DI which I can use to go through the PA in an emergency. I do take spare strings, leads, batteries etc. Usually they have been used to bail other people out...

Tried your settings at the gig last night but found the distortion/overdrive was a bit too heavy for me so took the distortion button out. That sorted it. Its amazing how much the amp tone changes at gig volume. Was using my VM4 active bass to be fair. Liked the mids at 3 o'clock and it made a huge difference to my overall tone. I was able to get far more flexibility of tone with the mids at 3. Use my Roland GR6B to flick between my normal smooth bass tone to a more Ric type tone and having the mids up on the amp gave me far more bite on the Ric tone. Dave

I played a four-tune set with my jazz band students on base ( RAF Alconbury) last night. We don’t have a student bassist this year, so it falls to me…good fun and very well received by the crowd. The pub band I play with might have gotten a gig at the same venue as a result as well.

In the meantime, my Guild Starfire is 1 year old now. This bass has been perfect so far: great finish, fretwork, electronics, comfort and sound! can’t think of anything to upgrade, apart from probably its thin plastic volume and tone knobs the photo is from 1 year ago just out of the box

I managed to learn it for free using good old practice and persistence. Silly me.

The price will be new.

Vintage II Originaler. Authenticer. Vintager. We saw the money that changes hands for our old crap and we want piece of that action. Buy now! Buy twice!

Fender - giving a new meaning to the word "new".

@JohnDaBass sums up my feelings on the B6, highlighting things that *might* be deemed intangible or not necessarily discernible to another player or listener. No real comment on the B2 Four, other than to say that it gives a sniff of some of the new B6 models while not quite really implementing the same B6 architecture, compared to for example the HX Stomp vs. Helix (LT). To me the sampling frequency of the B6 is noteworthy, though not published (yet) on the B2 Four. IMHO the higher B6 sample frequency is what gives it the more "open" and realistic sound and feel. All JMHO. A question: does the B2 Four stack up favorably to something like the NUX MG-30, feature by feature? Things are getting awfully crowded now toward the low-cost end of the market, and Zoom recently hasn't been exactly delivering many knockout products in the multi-fx pedal line, much as I do enjoy them.

A bit of Lee Perry for a Sunday

I thought it sounded familiar...

I'm a drummer, and wouldn't consider going to a gig without a spare snare drum, bass drum, one of each tom and few spare cymbals. Spare stands are on hand, and I've a stick bag (and a spare one...) clipped onto each side of my drum throne, and the back-up throne. Bitter experience has shown me that only one spare bass drum pedal is not enough, so I use a double pedal, with a pair of spare ones close by. I don't carry spare heads any more, as it's quicker to roll out the spare drum riser and change the whole kit; I have to check that the drum risers have spare castors, of course, as it wouldn't do to have it all stuck halfway off the stage. I take it as 'given' that the PA folk have spare mics for the set-up, but I have a flight case of ancillary mic's on hand if needed. For the 'live' recordings, I usually rely on having two (sometimes three...) digital recorders rolling, and a trusty pair of Revox reel-to-reels taping everything. Our second tour-bus is followed by an AA van in between venues. We've never had a failure yet, so I don't know if any of these precautions would save the night or not, but it's worth it just for the peace of mind. My stand-in agrees.

We do have a pretty unique procedure - if the bass rig craps out completely then one of the bari sax players swaps to playing the bass guitar parts and I go to the bar! It hasn't happened yet, but it's like having a back up me! But generally - 2 basses 2 amps 1 cab di box (if there's a PA. No point if not!) Always a spare guitar lead and Speakon speaker cable, battery, spare IEC power cable. Pretty much everything other than the cab.

Forget the Audio Interface. I'm definitely out. Ibanez SRF700 Portamento arrived yesterday.

IMHO with my 70 year old abused ears I think the patches sound richer fuller, more authentic and open, a real improvement in sound quality. I'm pleased with what I'm hearing through headphones and Fender Rumble thro BF SC. But each to their own and with great returns policy from the big retailers everyone can make up their own mind and not rely on an old Duffer like me. Here's samples @jimfist put up last year. There's quite a lengthy thread on TB. https://soundcloud.com/jimfist/sets/zoom-b6-demo?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

To be fair we've not had a bad gig with this band and with our new guitarist joining last year its just going from strength to strength. Our singer mentioned something at the break in changing room that the one thing he's loving about the band is the fun we have and the sense of humour we all have. We can slate each other and not take it seriously but we just seem to be laughing a lot when we get together. I'm probably quite lucky but both bands are great fun altho its the same drummer singer and bass player in both bands Dave

This forum is for two things: Alwrting people to bargains (few of those) Highlighting rip off sellers If you view posts this way it makes sense.

At leat two of everything except cab and fx. A good Jack is to zip tie two mains leads together side by side so if one fails you don’t need to root around for the spare. Each end of ONE mains lead has red insulating tape so I don’t rig up with non connected ends!

Black one ordered today, together with a blend pot. To think I bought this, the pot, a stand, a gigbag and an eq pedal for less than half the cost of a Fender Player Mustang, including delivery.

Still really impressed with mine. It's been my main sound source since I bought it last year. I don't use high levels of drive when I'm playing with the band, but it's fun to have it available during rehearsal and practice. Depending on the gig, I'll just take the board, which makes travelling pretty stress free as well. I may one day get the '64 Black Panel as well, but that's purely because I feel the need to buy things!

I've found that slower natural moving as if you're doing something around the house looks more professional than simply jumping about like an idiot or a flee on heat. Sway with the beat, take a few steps forward or back every now and again, If you have a big enough stage walk over to the guitarist for a little status quo style swing. Dont rush about like a demented dog, just take your time and it'll look as tho you know what you're doing. This is only my own observations i've picked up in recent years. I used to be called a John Entwhistle clone glued to floor looking at my bass neck all the time and so focused. Now i just enjoy what i'm doing, i know the songs well enough i'm not concentrating all the time and i've been using the same VM4 bass for past 4 yrs so i'm used to the neck. PS I'm no expert in stage movements and if you're in a younger band i'd expect a more erratic style of movement. Age plays a big part. I'm not getting any younger LOL Dave

Oh no Now someone is going to start a 9 page conflab about where your left thumb is. Anyway that's not SBL, that player has hair 🤣

Yes to all of the above in this bit of the thread. I watch myself if people have taken video and watch the streamed church services. I try to smile but it looks more like a grimace. I try to look up from the fretboard, but spend way too long looking at it. I sometimes risk a nosebleed by moving around on stage, but still manage to look like I’ve spent the gig / church service nailed to the floor. Basically I try to look like I’m having a good time, but don’t really pull it off😀. I do learn something every time I watch though - onwards and upwards.

Finally dragged myself out of bed. First impressions of the HB MV-4M in Daphne blue: Build quality seems excellent. Tight neck pocket with no gaps. Lovely satin-feel dark maple neck with skunk stripe. Feels fairly flat front-to-back compared to my G&L Fallout. Headstock is a little smaller than my G&L and my Lakland HB30. Gotoh tuners feel surprisingly small in the hand. String hole in middle may possibly restrict string gauge choice. That said, I fitted 45-65-85-105 halfwounds without problems. Body finish is almost flawless - no odd colour patches or orange-peel finish anywhere. Daphne blue is pretty bright, and I think I would have preferred not to have a matching headstock. The overall look is a bit, errrm, "pretty". Not sure why a tug-bar is fitted as stock - does anybody actually need such a thing? For me, it doesn't get in the way, so I'll leave it where it is. No discernible neck-dive on a wide, rough-finish leather strap. Hands off, and bass stays still - just what I was after. Factory set-up didn't suit me or my favourite strings, but 30 mins of saddle-adjusting, intonation-setting, half-turn on truss-rod sorted that out. All adjustments working smoothly. Very clear that string choice is critical. 45-65-85-105 Status black nylons just didn't work well at all. Too floppy, with intonation issues, especially on E string. Same gauge Status halfwounds are much, much better - higher string tension, lower saddles, straighter neck, clearer/less muddy tone. Big difference here. Through my 50w practice combo, overall volume seems a little low compared to my other basses, but absolutely fine through 500W rehearsal rig. Lack of pickup selection was initially a bit perplexing, but I found I quickly got used to a mid-point position on tone knob, making small final adjustments on the amp. Once set, I just got on with playing. I only play finger-style. Tone sounds more towards J than P, but pushing the bass on the amp quickly thickened things up. This was at home - of course, it will be different again with a full band in a rehearsal room, so I'll wait and see. So, initial bedroom impressions are of a well-made, nicely tuned-out bass that I found easy to pick up and play after the ususal personal set-up adjustments. I'm not immediately feeling like I need to replace pickups, or add a pickup selector. Certainly a good back-up for my No.1 bass, the Lakland HB30. Very pleased with the purchase, after dithering about it for a week. Amazing value.