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Doing my daily constitutional walk I happened upon a big lump with a note on it that said “Free bass amp” I looked around and thanked the lord for his providence. Alas I was a mile from home and I had to carry it, and it weighs 30kg and it’s 24 degrees, so I balanced it out by cursing. Does it work? I don’t know! Still, it was free.

Last Saturday's gig was an entirely pleasant-yet-unremarkable affair, everything went as it should a nice night was had. Can't really ask for more!

Well, look fast. Im only in the video for about 8 seconds. Blue

Our little Mexican project will be playing in our favourite old dive on Friday. It’s well rehearsed , we have two trumpets in the band , it will be our second gig.

Ok, so I'm back on the tribute scene and to be fair you cant play indie music on a sparkly blue shiny bass, so I needed a nice, decent sunburst precision thatd fit in nicely with the look. Fenders were out due to price, so I needed a decent bass for cheap money. After looking around i found a barely used Sire P5. I've had v7s before, nice basses. I also had a p7 which was terrible and was the only bass I've ever sent back. I think it was a bad batch it came from. So, I'd read and watched quite a few reviews on these p5s, most very positive. So I was hoping for a good bass for the little amount I paid for it. On top of the good reviews I'd read some reviewers for some reason making comparisons to american deluxe basses for fit, feel and finish. Obviously that is way wrong and too optimistic....... only it isnt! The bass is truly stunning! It looks stunning it's a dark, rich 3ts and literally everything is extraordinarily well finished, lacquered and polished! Its rolled fret edges are the best I've ever come across and the whole thing has been done with care and attention. The all over kind of gloss finish is up there with the top basses. The p bass sound I always get no matter what p bass I play is a bottom string heavy slightly dull sound. However this p5 nails the sound I've always wanted - think geezer butler doing the intro solo before NIB on the Black Sabbath album. So far - stunning looks, feel, playability and sound, so it was time for the real test - band practice with a loud indie band. It absolutely shone! Very clear, punchy and musical sounding. It never got washed out in the mix and the upper strings came through with clarity and presence. The tone pot made a subtle difference all the way through the range which was nice as well. All in all a superb bass. I expected a lot to be fair and got a lot more. Now, time to check out the other colours available and get them into my other bands!

love the peavey gear atm have three 215, this on has the og black widows, also have a mk3 and 4 head which I like to use

I've added a corresponding ebony thickener at the back of the headstock and applied the second reveal coat of tru-oil after a bit more slurrying: While there is often madness in my method with my builds, every now and again (I suppose statistically, it must happen occasionally) there is some method in my madness In this case, it is that, because the two lower tuner positions from the upper view are the top E and B, then the break angle is maximum for these two strings. And yes - there's plenty of sanding to do here : Here's the top after the second reveal coat. That's at least starting to get there... My 'still to do' list is actually quite short. All being well, we should have a playable guitar by this time next week

Root = 0 5th = 1

I have this fella, an early/mid 70s Antoria precision. Really good bass, great quality. Fijigen, I believe. Not masses different to my JV Squier, pictured to the left, which continues to be my benchmark bass. If anything I find the neck a bit more comfy, in fact, as it is a tad slimmer and deeper. Sounds immense, very aggressive 70s P bass tone. Had a look at the serial number on the pickups to try to pin down the date and discoverted that it was, in fact, a 1975 Fender pickup that someone had put in there at some point. That'll explain the tone then! On its own it's worth more than I paid for the bass Someone had changed the pickguard to an all black - I've since swapped the screws for black ones. The original tuners were a bit grindy so I stuck in the drop in Gotohs.

This was our 'tour bus'... Public transport..? I don't think so...

Evidently, I'm a weirdo... When I was about 10, so over 50 years ago 😱, my gran started to teach me to read music (she had a piano). I went to a grammar school and we had two music lessons a week all the way from 1st to 5th form (err years 7 to 11 in modern speak??). One of those lessons was music theory / reading music. I started playing cello at school (that was a second form option, so age 12/13) so had to read bass clef. Sadly, I only had the one year of peri lessons as my parents didn't know how the system worked... I took music O level as an optional subject studied in lunchtimes in 6th form. Roll forwards to my mid-30s and I start singing lessons. I soon end up singing bass/baritone in various choirs and regularly performing in concerts - some quite major. In my 40s I do the OU music theory course, which gets you to around grade 7/8 equivalent. I started learning playing the bass viol - you have to have lessons as the techniques are very different to cello. The viol uses bass clef and alto clef (C3) when it goes higher. Some music is notated in octave treble (sounds octave lower than written). Then I bought a tenor viol, which is all written in alto clef (treble when higher). Roll forward to my early fifties and I start playing sax and buy my first cello. Cello uses bass, tenor clef(C4), and treble. I am well aware of how easy it is to acquire bad habits that can really hold you back, so it's find-a-teacher time again... So... it should be no surprise that starting bass, I found a teacher. Lessons currently in abeyance pending a house move. So yes, I always get a teacher to help me to get good technique. Online can help with some stuff, but you do need a teacher that can point out exactly what you need to do/change/fix. I can read all four of the 'standard' clefs - bass, tenor, alto, and treble. There are other clefs, which at various music summer schools have been thrown at me to read - baritone or soprano clef anyone? I'm a bit out of practice on the alto clef as I've not played viol for a while. At some point I'd like to take G8 theory just for fun... (I know, I'm weird). Bagpipes anyone?

I mallet-tapped the outline of the rugby-ball jack plate with a variety of radius chisels and then used a small chisel to start creating the rebate: Once it was all level, I rounded the sides, drilled the hole with a 20mm forstner and popped a drop of tru-oil to match the alder before doing a trial fit: And after a couple of experiments, I had a go at the ebony. The great thing about ebony is that it will sand/polish to a good finish. What I didn't know was whether the brown streaks would behave in the same way. They do This is after around an hour, progressing through around 15 grades of emery/micromesh from 180 grit up to 8000. Nothing else - just sanding through the grades: There are a couple of dints that I will lose by repeating the process, but this will be pretty much how the top will finish up.

Remember to look at the audience. Had I followed my own advice, I wouldn't have missed seeing the young lady in the red dress jiggle so enthusiastically at our first gig that she jiggled herself out of the top of it. Take a couple of spare leads (the guitarist is bound to need one) and spare batteries for everything that needs them. Get packed up in good time.

Looks great Alex 👍☺️ I'm so pleased that Mick's old Markbass head found a new home too... Very true about the BC Marketplace - there's a lot of great gear available at very reasonable prices.

Ha! I am the least visual person in the world! I did not notice it was not Fender!

Thanks Spondon, I posted the video on my Facebook page where friends are use to seeing me with Maple Road. I didn't get many responses. I think non musicians and people that have a distant relationship with the arts and music don't know what to make of it. Some of you know there are some folks that don't get the whole " being in a band" thing. I didn't post the video to say " look at me, look how cool I am" It was more like sharing my opportunity. Normally my name never comes up if there's a good project. Blue

Well, imagine my disappointment when I clicked on here expecting to see a new vid by 00's boy band Blue 😅

Hi all, I thought I had an account here but I guess I was just a lurker all these years I'm an amateur bass player from France. Playing in a few projects : "Jumping Jack", "Masthar" and recently joined "The Great Procession" I used to play in a Tool tribute called "The Perfect Tool" (from 2010 to 2015). I have a very inactive youtube channel : https://www.youtube.com/c/remizik Regarding gear I'm using two Wal replicas (made in 2009 and 2013) : And also a modified MIJ PB-70's Precision Bass (made in 2012) : The amp is a Gallien Krueger 700RB-II, I'm using a Sansamp RBI as a preamp. These two go in a Ampeg 610 HLF : I'm not using individual pedals anymore, but I'm using a Line6 HX Stomp. That's it !

Greetings from the lovely Thousand Islands on the beautiful St. Lawrence river in upstate New York. I thought it’d be nice to join your august group and see how my cousins across the pond groove!

Always take 2 basses I’ll occasionally swap after first set but usually it’s just a spare, then alternate them between shows. Not had a bass fail on me or break a string, just couldn’t take the chance when playing theatres or festivals … I’d be gutted even down the local pub if I didn’t have a back up!!

Right on the US/Canadian border. It’s a resort area on the river.

Like that a lot. Actually think the autotune really adds to it. Good work.

Assuming you've got your set rehearsed OK, just walk on and do it ! I had a big ( many years) break from doing gigs, the first one was just like going straight back in again.. You'll be fine, enjoy it 👍

My digital bass is a keyboard.

I picked up this Ibanez Talman to be a mod platform , started , but have a lot yet to do.

I'll just leave this here and be on my way...

Absolutely. Local to me so always gigging nearby. Saw them countless times, got all their material on CD

also, remember to enjoy yourself.

Remember that it's not just the audience auditioning you ... you're auditioning the audience.

If you make a mistake, look at the guitarist, drummer or vocalist. It was definitely their fault.

I'd been 'Following Form' on Facebook Market Place... Time Rich but Money Poor i set of on a 60 mile nearly 4 hour round trip to Borehamwood... Could of done it in half-ish the time, at double the distance, M25, M1... But that would of cost over 4x as much plus the bridge toll in the car, so it was the 'lil 125 scoot 15 miles in to Central London, then 15 miles out the other side... and back. Returned with a neglected Squier P, Affinity Indonesia '04, In Black, with a few dents, dinks and donks, 2 strings, and a manky rosewood fretboard... All apart... Fretboard de-gunk with Isoprop and 0000 wire wool, then a lemon oiling... Frets got a 0000 wire wool-ing, followed by Dremel and Auto-sol polish... Back of the neck got a sanding with 3 grades of Halfords Sanding Sponge to remove the lacquer, headstock sanded... Neck bees-waxed, Cheeky Decal and a couple of coats of lacquer... Tuners and Bridge dismantled cleaned and back together.

As long as you still have the bass then all is good and worst case you have £30 for your trouble.

Me too. Had to turn my head to one side to read it. 🤣

Had lessons from about 15 years old from a blues teacher, so was playing blues and reggae, no YouTube then was just books ,and used to record songs on my cassette 😁 and just keep rewinding them until I got the Bassline

Let's Twix Again - Chubby Checker

Do I win £5?