Leaderboard
Popular Content
Showing content with the highest reputation on 27/03/23 in all areas
-
Hi folks It’s always a good day when a new bass comes into the fold. I know many members here on Basschat will be aware of the extraordinary instruments built by Alan Cringean of AC Guitars based in Dumfries, Scotland. I have 3 ACG basses already however this is my first fretless and with many hours spent on this bass I just wanted to comment on how glorious it is. This Recurve model is built using Turkish walnut top with gold resin on a swamp ash body. The neck is an ebony fingerboard on an ash/wenge neck. The pickups are an ACG FB Humbucker at the neck and an ACG BZ1 pickup at the bridge. This is my first time using the BZ1 pickup and it’s the best pickup I’ve ever heard. It delivers such a rich, solid and versatile tone that compliments the FB humbucker perfectly. The preamp is the ACG Dual Filter Modular 4k type. Volume, blend and low pass filter control for each pickup allowing for very accurate and versatile adjustment of tone which I’ve found extremely useful playing in different venues with varying acoustics. The DFM developed between ACG and John East has recently been made available separately so if you’re in the market for a filter preamp the quality and versatility of the ACG DFM is in my opinion the best. Hardware is by Gotoh and I opted for a mix of gold and black hardware to go with the gold walnut body which I think goes pretty well. The playability is exceptional. It’s a lined fretless with Luminlay dots on the side of the neck. The ebony fingerboard provides a wonderful balance of both warmth and brightness delivering all that luscious fretless mwah you could hope for. The strings are Dunlop flatwounds. Ive never used them before but so far I’m really enjoying them. I’m not sponsored or affiliated with ACG in anyway I just think that the instruments Alan builds are world class plus he has always been extremely responsive to any questions or queries I’ve had. I can’t fault the customer service at all. Alan is an absolute gent. If you’re in the market for a custom build have a good look through the ACG website on builds and options. Alan also does some stock builds which does take some of the pain out of trying to make your mind up on the various custom options available. ACG basses are world class in every department so If you’re aiming for a custom bass then seriously consider trying one out. Just be warned once you start it’s hard to stop 😀 Loving this bass is an understatement really. It’s exquisite and I can’t thank Alan enough for it. Enjoy the pics. Cheers Stuart9 points
-
Up for sale is this well played 1973 Fender Precision Original Neck, body, tuners and pots dated 73 Aged white pickguard, fender replacement strap pins, after market control knobs The pickups seem to be a fair age judging by their apperance and wires and possibly Fender replacements but hard to tell but they do sound great and no need to change unl;ess you want period correct one Weight is 4.7Kg's Nut width 40mm Some wear to the top frets but overall in good shape Truss rod turns easily This bass has been gigged a lot and it shows, lots of paint wear, chips and crazing but sound wise its fantastic, certainly not a case queen Price includes delivery to UK addresses, priced to sell given condition and non original pickups and such9 points -
I think I might 'win' for this weekend just gone, if you indeed call it winning....... The venue was an engagement party at a rugby club in a fairly rough town in Somerset. The bride to be was slightly overweight, and in a short-ish glittery red dress. The groom to be was rather thin, and appeared to be missing some of his upper row of teeth. Both were probably in their late forties. The first set went well playing-wise, but with a limited crowd reaction, mainly some head nodding and clapping but without leaving the table, or indeed even getting up. However, the bride to be was almost constantly dancing and trying to cajole others to join in, bless her. The odd one or two did, briefly, then sat down again. At half time we all felt a bit 'meh', agreed it was just 'one of those parties', and the drummer said "I hope we don't get the wedding gig". Two songs into the second set, in the middle of a (requested) Wonderwall, and a very flustered barmaid came running up to me saying "Stop playing, stop everything, the party is over". I thought Wonderwall was sounding just fine, too. None of us like it, but I'd assumed we'd hidden that fact rather well. However, said barmaid went on to explain that there was a lady who'd taken ill in the toilets and an ambulance was on its way. She also said that at a wake a few weeks ago someone else had collapsed but "the rest just kept on enjoying themselves, and I'm not having that again". Okay, noted, and we started to pack down, just as the main room lights came on. The next update was about five minutes later, when we were told that it was actually the bride to be who'd collapsed, she wasn't breathing and her heart had stopped, but the deployed defibrillator had done its job, and she was coming round slowly. We asked that our collective best wishes be passed on to her, and fully observed the gravitas of the situation whilst packing down in virtual silence. She left in the ambulance whilst we carried on putting everything away and loading out, and randomly glancing in the general direction of the bar in amazement................where we could still see the groom to be, with his pint, propping up the bar i.e. certainly not in the ambulance, and definitely not hotfooting it to the hospital, to be with his betrothed. His friends occasionally put a consoling arm around him. Oh well, what works for some couples doesn't always work for others, I guess. Afterwards, we deduced that we probably wouldn't get the wedding gig after all. People, eh?8 points
-
If you’re after a collector’s item, turn back now. This is also a feeler since it’s hard to judge interest in this sort of thing, and I’m not convinced I want to sell. This is essentially a bitsa using vintage parts (body, neck, three tuner bushings and the string tree are all from 1971). It sounds great and plays well – I've now weighed it on some kitchen scales and it's just under 9lb. I got the body in 2019 and started building it from there. The body The body has seen a fair few mods typical of the late 70s/80s. It’s been routed for a J pickup in the 60s position, and had the tugbar moved to the late-70s position at some point. It’s also been drilled for a Schaller roller bridge. Early 70s Ps had their bridges mounted too far back at the factory, and whoever fitted the Schaller wisely compensated for this – a nice side effect is the Schaller holes are covered by a BBOT bridge when fitted. The jack was relocated to the side, but this wasn’t done very well and has left a crack in the wood heading up to one of the pickguard screws – it’s not moved in the years I’ve had this body and appears to be cosmetic, but still needs mentioning. The finish is original as far as I’m aware, and some research into the green ‘special’ stamp in the neck pocket suggests it’s to do with custom colours (of which black was one in the early 70s). There’s some decent wear as you’d expect, with bumps, chips, scratches and even some checking - I think it looks lovely. The neck The neck stamp isn’t very readable, but parts of a ‘1’ indicating 1971 are just about visible. It’s a big, chunky profile with a B width nut – I find it comfortable, but I’ve got big hands. The truss rod turns fine and is doing what it’s supposed to do. There are a couple of chips to the back of the neck, none of which have ever bothered me. Lots of lovely lacquer checking to the headstock, and the logo’s perfectly intact. Plenty of life in the frets. The string tree and three of the bushings are original, the last one being from the Gotoh FB30 tuners I’ve installed. I’ll include the other three Gotohs should you want them. The neck has two issues: a high 12th fret I haven’t yet sorted, and a very, very slight clockwise twist when viewed from the headstock. None of the people who have played this bass have noticed either of these problems, but they’re there so you should know about them. The neck’s not moved in the time I’ve had it, and even with these two issues it’s still capable of an action I’d expect most players would be happy with – about 2mm at the 12th fret. I’ve thought about straightening it, but frankly it’s happy where it is and plays as well as my other basses! Other parts When building this I’ve aimed to get parts as close to the originals as possible, so it looks like a ’71 P Bass that went through some typical 70s/80s mods. Here’s a list: Tuners: Gotoh FB30 aged nickel Neck pickup: Seymour Duncan SPB1 Bridge pickup: Dimarzio Ultra Jazz (99% sure that’s what it is, definitely a Dimarzio at any rate – it came with the body) Bridge: Generic BBOT Pickguard: Fender (from a 20 year old MIM so it’s nicely yellowed – this came with tugbar and pickup cover holes drilled slightly wrong, but I’ve corrected them) Neck plate: Fender Vintage Style Strap buttons: Fender Road Worn Tugbar: Fender Knobs: Generic chrome flat tops, poorly reliced by yours truly 😎 Pots: CTS 250K Strings: Fender 7250ML Screws: I’ve aged all the screws, using my ’77 P for reference. They match up decently. Why I’m thinking about selling I don’t really need it - I’ve currently got two other P Basses, and one of them has the same mods as this one. I also have a two year old and a four week old, and barely enough time to play let alone endlessly tinker with this bass (unfortunately there’s something about me that won’t leave a bitsa alone - they’re never finished!) On top of this some basses I’ve seen for sale have piqued my interest, so I guess it’s time for a change. Why I don’t want to sell It plays well, sounds great and looks sexy – basically a vintage bass I’m not worried about gigging with. Also, while I don’t really buy into the vintage Fender hoodoo, I think they look cool and I love the feel of an old bass. With prices shooting up as they are, I know I won’t be able to afford the parts I’ve got here once they’re gone. Pricing & trades This has been hard to price for obvious reasons - hopefully I've got it right? I’m sure I could get more if parted out, but given I’m not totally convinced on selling I’ve opted to keep things as they are for now. With the caveat that this is just a feeler, I am open to trades – things I’d be interested in are a MM Sabre, a Fender Elite (potentially the 2010s PJ in the right finish, but especially the 80s PP), maybe even a vintage Yamaha BB. I tend to like Fender-ish four strings. Postage within the UK is potentially an option, but I’d much prefer the buyer look it over first so they know exactly what they’re getting. I’m based in Southampton but can travel within reason. Bonus pic Gratuitous picture of how I’ve typically had the bass set up – black pickguard, thumbrest above the strings and an 80s Schaller 3D fitted. I call it ’75 mode.7 points -
Folks, love these tales, thank you. I posted this thread having spent a few days sorting out some recording gear here ahead of some voiceover work I'm doing, and having had to move the important gear to a new location, I realised that in no more than a 4u rackcase and a rucksack I have more gear than I could have dreamt of in the 70's/80s - 8 lovely mic pres and a whole lot of digital processing emulations courtesy of my UAD Apollo x8p, a rather special analogue processor in the shape of an SSL Fusion, and in the Townsend Sphere L22 a mic that can get pretty close to replicating many of the classic mics of the last 50 years. But there's a part of me still wants to do it all with two of these7 points
-
Hand-made in Ireland by the luthier better known on the continent than in the UK. Chris Larkin first took a stand at Frankfurt Music Fair in, I think, 1989, and never needed to do any marketing here. This one was ordered by the Viennese store Klangfarbe, and I brought it back from Vienna in 2016. I sought advice on value from Christoph Navratil, who owns the site chrislarkinowners.com, where one can learn about the luthiers work (he died a few years ago). There are also some basses for sale via the site, and further examples on reverb, where prices rise to a giddy £3,500. Those examples look like they've never been played. Mine has not been mothballed, oh no! A lot of pics here, the apparent colour really does vary this much. The split in finish near the control chamber is not structural, probably caused by temperature expansion/contraction. NECK: P width assymetric set neck FRETBOARD: rosewood FRETS: 24 PICKUPS: Kent Armstrong humbuckers ELECTRONICS: Aguilar OBP3 BRIDGE: Schaller width-adjustable CONTROLS: Passive - volume, tone. Active - bass, midfreq (hi, lo) treble WEIGHT: 3.75kg I have an inexpensive hardcase for this, in case it has to be posted. I'm selling as my other half tells me we are leaving our spacious loft in Bristol and moving to a broom cupboard in London. I travel occasionally between Bristol and Northampton, and am in London from time to time.6 points -
Hi Basschat My dream bass has become available and it's time for me to raise some funds to buy it! Sadly this means I will have to sell my Rickenbacker, so here it is. I always wanted a Rickenbacker as a young bass player after I saw Geddy playing his on the Exit Stage Left dvd, and was lucky enough to save up and buy this one about 12 years ago (can't remember exactly when, but roughly that long ago). It's a really cool instrument, and is a totally iconic sound, but I have become much more of a Fender guy as I have gotten older and play this Ric a lot less than I used to. It's a 1978 4001 in Jetglo and I would say it's in very good condition for a bass this old. It was recently serviced at Charlie Chandlers guitar experience (around 6 months ago) and has only been played a few times since then for my Youtube covers. It stays in its hard shell case the remainder of the time, so has been very well looked after in its time with me. I've tried to get pictures of all the little chips etc to fairly represent the condition of the bass. Here is a video of me playing it on my channel so you can hear it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHnZH4vuuUY&ab_channel=Hemibass I've based the price on others I have found listed on various sites from similar years, but I'm very happy to negotiate (since there is a bass I want to get before it sells) so please feel free to send me any pms or offers if this is of interest to you. I would like to get the sale done as quickly as possible! Would really like to sell to a big Rickenbacker fanboy who will love the instrument the way it deserves, so if that's you, then please get in touch Thanks Hemi6 points -
Redonizm were back at the Haystack, Canvey Island on Saturday. Previous readers will be relieved to know that it didn't end up in a mass brawl this time, and patrons were well behaved. A full pub with a great crowd who were up for a proper party - singing and dancing the whole way through. I had a particularly full on day and was broken by the end of the night. My wife had booked matinee tickets for the "back to the future" musical as a birthday present without realising we had a gig that evening. One of the guitarists kindly picked up my gear and change of clothes the evening before, and we managed to high tail it back to Canvey after the show in plenty of time (Adelphi theatre to Canvey in about 1hr 20mins!) to set up and soundcheck.6 points
-
I suppose this is a bit niche really but then BC should be a resource/reference for all things bass so... I am extremely lucky to own two basses (with a third on the way) built by our very own highly talented bass luthier @Jabba_the_gut. He very kindly supplies his basses in Fender gigbags, which, whilst being perfectly adequate and well fitting, don't give you a feeling of real security. After all these are handbuilt, unique instruments (as well as being, imho, works of art) so they need looking after. I have a fretted and a fretless, both 32" scale and very peculiarly shaped. I thought it was about time to get them some decent cases. What I really needed to do was try several out. I am lucky enough to live an hours drive away from Peach Guitars, the perfect place because you can book an appointment, expressing your needs beforehand, and when you go over they are set up for you, not only that but they have a big range of cases, both guitar and bass, which was cool because I did wonder if the Jabba basses might fit in a guitar case... So I called, explained my needs, and the assistant said, no need to book, just come along. I should explain that although the shop is 'open', since covid you have to either book an appointment or phone beforehand, you can't just arrive and look around, which is kind of odd but then I can see how it might suit some folks. I arrived, there's plenty of parking, rang the customer doorbell and in I went. It's a kind of cavernous space... ...that's done up with this faux wild west vibe, it's kind of odd and, I have to say, a little forlorn without the buzz of a least a few customers milling about, you know what it feels like when you go into a big church and you are the only person in there? Very odd. Anyway there are all sorts of rooms off this big space to try out stuff, I walked past a room that was dedicated to pedals and one with a wall of amps and I think a room dedicated to acoustics, mad. Sorry, I'm waffling. So the chap had a few cases to try out, most of which were a bit weedy, but he did have a Reunion Blues RBX Double Electric Bass Gig Bag for me to try. The basses fitted, there was a little wriggle room between the top of the headstock and the top zip of the case, otherwise they were really extremely good, but not perfect. I don't suppose you have a Mono dual case? I asked, knowing they had a few showing as in stock. The assistant vanished into the equally cavernous catacombs of the warehouse. I kept looking at the basses sitting (almost) perfectly snuggly and wondered if, in fact the Reunion case might not, in fact, be the one. I zipped it up and threw it about a bit, the basses didn't appear to move. Satisfied I leaned against one of those columns you can see in the pic above, my shoulder bumped into something other than column, I looked around to see a lovely pink guitar falling off the column, thankfully I caught it and managed to hang it back up without anyone seeing. I looked at the price tag and felt the colour drain out of my face, phew. The assistant returned, Try this he suggested. He handed me a Mono Classic Dual Acoustic/Electric Guitar Case, well, suffice to say this one was/is perfect... Front compartment with gratuitous shot of Jabba Fretted bass... Rear compartment... Front pouch Top front pouch ...so, just in case you end up with two basses built by @Jabba_the_gut, or you just want a dual case that fits awkward 32" scale basses (I would imagine single Mono Electric or acoustic guitar gig bags should fit if this case fits 32"? Let's say almost certainly, don't hold me to it. Anyway, a great solution for two great basses from a great shop with great service. A big fat yay all round.5 points
-
In the late 70s we used a "Sound-on-Sound" reel-to-reel stereo recorder (Akai, I believe - everyone had an Akai). I think it could mix 'n' bounce, but at any rate it could bounce ... ... BUT the crux is in the bounced signal's time shift due to separate Play and Record heads on that model. Cue BassTractor writing STEREO music specifically designed for that delay bouncing --- a bit like a two part round, but with the second part coming in very soon after the first part starts. At that point in time I'd already been in real recording studios, and later I'd use a Portastudio, but that Sound-on-Sound thing is still the most fondly remembered. I still have a tape somewhere with music like that, but on that tape it's a fluke: we had no idea about the delay whatsoever, and the second part just accidentally fit the first. Maybe that bit is part of the fond remembering: unplanned stumbling over fluke coincidence ... by accident!5 points
-
For anyone who hasn't read it, I highly recommended Mo Foster's excellent book "17 Watts?" (also published as "Play Like Elvis"). Full of anecdotes and experiences just like these.5 points
-
Two posts, by the looks... Wooden post? Eee you were lucky. The best we could manage were a couple of scraps of cardboard held together by a bit of mouldy baling twine covered in sheep muck.5 points
-
You Should Be So Lucky ～ Kylie Minogue5 points
-
This is quite a different bass from the 30 in short scale Squier that preceded it. Much more solidly made and has a wider range of tones available as each pickup has separate tone controls. This example has two blemishes that I can find (both pictured) and some fine scratching to the, er... scratch plate. NECK: One-piece maple, 32 inch, Jazz-style FRETS: 20 ELECTRONICS: Passive BRIDGE: BBOT CONTROLS: Stacked volume, tone (neck). Stacked volume, tone (bridge) WEIGHT: 4.25kg I'm selling basses as my other half tells me we are leaving our spacious loft in Bristol and moving to a broom cupboard in London. I travel occasionally between Bristol and Northampton, and am in London from time to time. Trade options: I'm looking for a decent electro-acoustic nylon string guitar.5 points -
In fact the whole history of my DIY cassette band could be viewed as an exercise in making do with what you have. For the first 3 years of the band's existence at the end of the 70s our instrumentation was: two acoustic guitars fitted with magnetic pickups, a solid electric balalaika that I had made in woodwork classes at school, two reed organs that were not in tune with each other so only one could be used at a time. Our "drum kit" was a home-made affair composed of anything that made a suitable noise when hit, fitted to stands made out of broomsticks using retort clamps "acquired" from the school chemistry lab. Our singer also played a plastic toy trumpet and sometimes managed to almost get tune from it. The only amplification we owned was a Carlsbro Wasp 10W guitar amp. For recording purposes we were able to borrow a bass guitar, but because none of us had spent much time thinking about bass parts, it was only used on the occasional song. We would also hire a mixer amp, microphone and speaker from our local musical instrument store each time we did any recording. This was the set-up we used to make the first album and most of the second one. By the time we came to record our contribution to "Angst In My Pants" we also had two "proper" electric guitars - a no-name Stratocaster copy and one I had made in the woodwork shop at school whilst I should have been studying for my A Levels. After that we added a Boss Dr Rhythm drum machine, Casio VL-Tone and I bought my first bass guitar and later a Wasp synth out of my student grant money.5 points
-
First show of my 50s and my Goth duo Deadlight Dance did a Saturday afternoon slot at The Barge in Honeystreet. We played some of our favourite 80s tunes by The Cure, Sisters of Mercy, The Mission, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and The Banshees etc, along with a few of our own from the forthcoming album. I don't think the landlady liked us (her opening gambit was "are you doing to be loud?" which was a strange thing to say to an acoustic duo) but she acknowledged we'd gone down really well so wanted to book us for a Saturday night. There was supposed to be a collection for the band that sadly didn't happen, despite several audience members asking but the headline was we did a 2hr set and played really well. Afterwards I posed for some selfies with a woman celebrating her 40th - she couldn't believe I was 50, which was sweet and one guy was impressed that I could play bass, mandolin, banjo, mandocello (he did have to ask what it was), sing and play a drum "to a high standard". A case of smoke and mirrors but you get it where you can! Nick (not pictured, the other half of the duo) and I did our first show together back in '89 and it's a genuine thrill that here we are in our 50th year.5 points
-
In reasonable condition but does have some bruises and small dings as pictured, mainly on the lower edge, the front and back are pretty clean, couple of penned out small dings on head stock edge. The metal bits are a little tarnished but would clean up I guess. All works as it should and plays nicely although will require new strings. Shipping £20 UK. NOW £599 NOW £4994 points -
Hi guys it's been a while since I posted on here but had to share this with you. I've been throughout the usual trying different amps to get that perfect tone since my trace elliot 600smx died around 10 years ago, I went through Eden, Aguilar, tc electronics but ended up settling on a Genzbenz shuttlemax 900 watt head with a pair of 2x10 vanderkly cabs, I loved the tone & have been using that set up since then with my mayones & 5 string Warwick thumb. Well I recently came across a trace ah400smx at a price that I couldn't refuse, I thought maybe keep it for nostalgia or sell it on make a bit of cash until I tried it to make sure everything is working as it should, well it's made me realise how much I'd been missing, it has the warmth, thick mids & a real glassy top end, something I have struggled to achieve with all the other light weight amps I've had, coupled up with these cabs it just sounds perfect & feels great. This head is heavy but I'll put up with that for the tone. Had to have a little kitchen practice see pic 👍4 points
-
We’ve all had em mate, sadly soundmen vary from excellent to barely sentient, you clearly got one from the shallow end of the gene pool. I’d agree generally gigs and dogs don’t mix, Megdog, my wappy cocker occasionally attends backstage at some of my gigs but she’s a good girl 🤣4 points
-
Friday night, Salty Dog in Northwich. I'm sure it's been fuller for us before but the boss says not. You may recall me talking about a sound engineer who had to be shouted back to his station because he'd muted the acoustic guitar? Same guy. This time he stayed at his station, but he was so glued to his phone he didn't realise we were waiting on stage, ready to play, at the allotted time. At one point it sounded like he'd undone all of his bass boosting EQ and stopped the almost constant feedback. That lasted for about 20 seconds before he managed to f*ck it up again and get back to his phone. Fair enough if you don't like our music, or maybe you don't like us as people, or whatever, but if you're being paid to do a job, and a pub full of people are relying on you to do the job, it'd seem to be to be the right thing to do to either learn how to do it, put the effort in, or quit and give someone who wants the job a go Anyway, there was a dog running around while we played. I'd been speaking to the owner before the set and she explained that the dog doesn't like loud noises, which was quite confusing as she'd brought her to a gig! I've never owned a dog but I couldn't shake the thought of causing this dog distress as I played. We've had a lot of positive feedback about the gig, and several people have complimented the presence of the dog too (her name was Melon) so, I'll let the audience be the judge, and they were happy. I guess the fact I had to drive home later, and this pub has the best beer on our circuit, also put a damper on my mood.4 points
-
Having two would've been very cool ! I seem to recall her one worked quite well but of course it was a huge step up from a mangy Woolies cassette player, so it's all relative. We used it as a backing machine playing live a few times as I recall. I remember we did some fairly large free "hippy" festival thing up north somewhere, and I don't think the audience quite knew how to take it... Backing tapes, a Punk (me) on bass, a small girl on single note Korg synth and another lady singing who was fairly distinctive, she was a very posh "Sloaney" type who was also I'm afraid to say a heroin addict. We went out as "Rehabilitation and the Needleworkers" 😁 happy days indeed.. .4 points
-
I used to use a Teac A-108 cassette deck which allowed you record left and right channels separately. I would have loved a 4-track portastudio but they were outside of my budget.4 points
-
Our guest "guitarist" joined us last night https://fb.watch/jwu2bScNb2/4 points
-
Ah, Brexit...the gift that just keeps on taking.4 points
-
Fancy a mocca? OK! Let's head to Thailand and listen to OK Mocca...3 points
-
What an excellent description!3 points
-
Well, customer service goes a long way with me. Even better when a retailer does you an unexpected favour out the blue. The story was that classic cutting a string too short. Bought some lovely DR's off here at a good price but stupidly cut the D string a tad too short that it was slipping on my newly purchased Stingray. Gutted to say the least I took to Dr Google to find me a retailer who'd sell me a singular string. Gutted even further i couldn't find anyone, other than across the pond, who'd sell a singular DR string. Enter 'another Lee' from Strings Direct - a quick email, unsure they can support so they'll get back, had a quick reply and luck is on my side - they're able to meet my needs...but it gets better - Lee to Lee you can have it for free. I'm bowled over by this to say the least! Despite offering they even paid postage...what amazing excellent support from a retailer, top notch! I've bought from them before but will make extra effort to go there again. Customer for life! Supreme customer service.....So BD in Middle Earth, UK i hope you're reading this So, I'm bigging up Lee at strings Direct - simply brilliant!3 points
-
My second band recorded both our demos (including the one that had CBS records interested in signing us) in the music and drama studios at Trent Poly where both myself and our singer were studying. The "music studio" was a tiny room with a 4-track reel-to-reel machine, 4-channel mixer and a Mini-Moog synth. We failed to get any decent sounds out of the Mini-Moog either because it was broken due to years of abuse at the hands of uninterested students, or because I simply didn't know how to work it compared to the Wasp. In the end I think we managed to coax some white noise percussive sounds out of it that were used on one track. The studio was only available during normal teaching hours which meant that people kept knocking on the door and telling us to keep the noise down. We managed to record and mix two songs in the course of an afternoon session. By contrast the Drama Studio was a massive hall with the recording equipment (1" 8-track reel-to-reel and 16 channel desk) in a raised booth at one end. This time we were able to record over a weekend so there were no problems with noise complaints. However we did have problems getting a suitably hot signal from the drum machine and synthesisers onto tape, and ended up having to put them through amps and mic them up. Unfortunately this meant we didn't have enough amps to play and record live so everything had to be built up one or two instruments at a time. We did the drum machine and bass first, with me standing as far from the amp as my leads would allow and the singer singing at me very quietly so I knew where in the song we were but she wouldn't be picked up by the mics! It took us the whole weekend to record and mix 4 songs that way.3 points
-
Having piqued my interest now, I've dug out my old Akai reel to reel, the step-up from the cassette doings.. It still powers up, I had a bag of old classical tapes, which were regarded as scrap blank tape and recorded over, I'll have to try and locate those, I suspect any stuff we did has long gone tho3 points
-
Blimey, what would a set of Congas go for then.. 😂3 points
-
You had a fret? An actual fret made of metal? Luxury!! Don't even get me started on fretboards and necks... an old fence post that I found in a field were all I 'ad.3 points
-
My wife and I have had great success with the Otex Combi Pack (ear drop and rubber bulb). It takes a few days for the drop to break down the wax enough for the bulb to do its job, but when it does... oh what joy! And a lot cheaper than getting it done privately. Many GP surgeries don't offer this service anymore as it's no longer a free NHS service).3 points
-
In sales we called it price conditioning. In the building industry it is a practiced sharp intake of breath.3 points
-
Used my elf “rig” yesterday for a very tight corner in a cafe yesterday, not enough room for even a second Pa speaker. It was a life saver.3 points
-
This is the best thread title ever.3 points
-
FFS.3 points
-
I hear you and I agree. We are old.3 points
-
This is mine it’s an original and an early one. You can see that the fretboard has been changed. This happened before I bought it - I suspect it was fretless originally. It’s a lovely thing to play.3 points
-
I only started bass the end of last year, but I just got to play Pannonica by Thelonious Monk with my mate who is a jazz pianist and lives down the road. He has not wanted to play piano for a while, but he did suggest it to me as a study piece in January, and we finally got together and did it. We had some wine too. It is a lovely piece with both crotchet and quaver triplets, in C, which doesn't make so much difference to me of course. I have been practicing. I am much moved by the fact that we were able to play together, it is much more intense than casual day-to-day existence, I feel very lucky to have finally found something that I can present to other people.3 points
-
Next band name right there.3 points
-
Sound? Luxury, in my day….. 😀3 points
-
Strings, who mentioned strings, luxury, all I had was a fret 😀3 points
-
Hi folks Apologies if this is in the wrong place. My father-in-law has just gone into a care home as he's knocking on a bit and just needs the extra support. He's asked me to clear out his shed where he had a bunch of tools that I thought may be of use to someone here. The most relevant ones I think are: Black & Decker DN31B Jig Saw Black & Decker BD713 Planer Black & Decker BD227C Circular Saw Rally Electric Orbital Sander (SKU 973048) Wickes Planer (SKU 505096) B&Q 1/3 Sheet Sander UB135W55A There is also a pillar drill but I need to recover that on the next trip over. Is this lot of interest to anybody? If so please PM me and we can see what can be sorted out. Many thanks2 points
-
I'm no sparky but I'd think an extra .5 wouldn't be any problem at all when you're looking at 13v, assuming all the other elements are correct of course.2 points
-
TBH I was never that keen on the SH09/SH101. When I bought my Wasp synth, the SH09 was the only affordable alternative. I had to weigh up if I'd rather have a proper (if somewhat clacky keyboard) and a Filter capable of going into self oscillation against two Oscillators and two Envelope Generators. In the end the additional sonic capabilities of two Oscillators and Envelope Generators won out. I later picked up a second hand SH09 which was used mostly for background sequencer parts and for really fattening up the bass sounds we were getting from out Korg MS20. One of the other band members had an SH101 complete with modulation grip as a primitive keytar.2 points
-
Bullet has been bitten. Will be hitting you up for that patch, if you don't mind.2 points
-
There are a lot of people chancing their arm with asking prices on second hand gear, which leads to people thinking the stuff is worth more than it actually is and asking prices go up, as a whole, as a result. Reverb is a haven for silly asking prices. I've seen several bass I sold off around five years ago listed, by the people I sold them to, for over double what they paid. It seems to be the norm, now. Just shameless profiteering, nothing more.2 points
-
I think there’s a few things … Retail prices started creeping up above inflation rates a few years back, it was almost inevitable that the secondhand market would mirror it. Gibson and Fender have both been in financial doldrums at some point over the last few years - obvious solution would be to raise their price theres a bunch of people who earn well and came out the pandemic with lots of money saved. They spent it on high end things like vintage fenders - pushing the price up Reguardless of the politics of Brexit vote it lead to a weaker pound and higher cost of food post covid rise in shipping costs, chinas covid strategy and global shortages all push prices up inflation globally, and with the added Brexit bonus in thr uk covid meant there were suddenly lots of pro and semi pro musicians who couldn’t work - at least some of them started flipping instruments for profit reverb gives an alternative marketplace for secondhand stuff with clear price history - unlike eBay the risk of an auction showing true value isn’t there. The days of I found it in grans loft and don’t know what it is are over facebook marketplace is the simple way to sell stuff too community forums like here used to have people with lots of money sell things off at great prices - those people have less money. but also theres a few people who buy on here cheap and sell on for profit in a shop or on reverb… people stop doing cheap prices2 points
-
We used to have to use tuning forks to tune up guitars and basses. And do it while disco music was blaring through the bar’s gigantic PA system. You’d bang the fork on your knee to get a pitch and then hold it over the pickup to hear it and get your A string to pitch. Then you’d tune the rest to the A string. Not easy to do while solo or shaking disco music was blaring. And the patrons did not care much for the pinging noises. You had to take turns tuning.2 points
