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It was the biggest one I have ever played! 10k people in Belfast. A night I will never forget! Loads more pics and vids on my Instagram if anyone would like to see https://instagram.com/dannymccormackbass

BLOCKBUSTARZ 70's Glam covers band at Lilliardsedge Holiday Park near Jedburgh. First time playing in a fairly large marquee. When it was empty at sound check the sound was just getting lost but once people in it sounded pretty good but we'll be better prepared for any future gigs there or similar and bring our own digital desk. Originally thought this was an easy one with PA and lighting supplied. When we arrived and setting up i asked where the on stage monitors were and was told "we don't have any" Nice decent PA to be fair. Next we asked where the mic leads etc were kept so we could get our gear up and running and was told "we don't have anything like that". Was then told acts / bands normally bring their own desk and run 2 feeds to their desk / PA. BL checked back the history of messages and showed them they had confirmed that full PA was supplied. Luckily the singer was doing a solo show following day and loaded his small 4 channel desk in his car to save time tomorrow. We ran 3 mics and his acoustic guitar into it and then into main PA. Drums, guitars and bass were on their own. Good job i brought both my Mesa cabs. 2 x 45min sets but we were told by the organiser we could basically do whatever we wanted and finish when we feel like it. We stuck to 1st set as it was and added 2 songs into 2nd set. Used my Sandberg VM4 as always into Shure GLXD wirelss and into Ampeg SVT7 Pro and Mesa SW210/115 cabs. That Ampeg just seems to get better every gig i use it plus its loud. Have to say i'm now getting that valve sound with a bit more clarity that was in my head as the adverts states. All in all it was a good gig and enjoyed it. Girl came over from Ireland specifically to see us and was staying at the park. Classic car group specifically booked this weekend so they could see us. Luckily we recognised some bikers from other rallies we've played over the years so it was a good night. Main road back to Edinburgh A68 closed and had to find backroads to get around it ended up in Melrose which was lucky and way home was clear. Couldn't use this route on way down because of all the blooming road closures for the UCI bike events in the borders areas. Pain in the a**e. No pics or vids as yet but if any appear i'll post. Dave

A gig with my regular 8-piece band (Bodacious) last night at Whiskey Blue, a bar in Southampton. It’s a cracking band, but not many venues can find enough surplus readies to afford an 8 piece, and everyone in the band has other projects on the go, so a gig with this line up is always a treat. Anyway, first time here, and a tiny stage for an 8 piece, but we managed it after the baby grand piano had been trundled out of the way. Place was pretty busy from the start, but as the venue was completely open to the street at the front, and we were also pretty loud, the place attracted a lot of customers who must have heard the music from far and wide and had relocated from other bars in the vicinity to see what was going on, so by the end of the night the place was absolutely packed solid. This pic was taken as we were about to start the second set. I know it looks like a 6 piece band, but there’s a drummer and a keyboard player lurking behind there also.

We played the Belle Vue in High Wycombe last night. Not a bad little pub, I was able to park the van 3 metres from the door, which made the load in/out a lot easier. The small crowd were up for it and we had a few dancers, which helps. We tried a few new songs and most went down well so all in all, it was a good night. Next week we are back at the Load of Hay in Watford Here's a pic of the stage area, I took my lime green Charvel, GK Legacy 800 and Super Compact.

Dep with no rehearsal, just a setlist to learn. Had played about a third and knew the rest from the radio. Picked up a few more transcriptions from @tomread (I owe you another pint), but though I’ve never played Chelsea Dagger or I Predict A Riot and others of that ilk they’re pretty straightforward so with a couple of first chord hints / kick starts to remind me I got through pretty much unscathed and all seemed ok. I did manage to totally screw the start to Sweet Child ‘o Mine, but in my defence it was the end of the night on a dark stage and I could barely see the fretboard or where I was on it 🤦‍♂️ Band all use IEM’s so I took an aux feed on an XLR into the P2 and on to my new Mercury Custom plugs and did my monitor mix which went ok. I’m getting used to the IEM process and liking it 🙂

Apparently, we were up against a local festival last night but we played one of our strongest ever sets last night to a small but enthusiastic audience. My mini Boss pedal board is blowing my mind with how good it sounds. Sunglasses onstage with black strings in a dingy stage area - yes, I went there!

Heads up, gang: https://www.amazon.co.uk/My-Effin-Life-Geddy-Lee/dp/0063159414/

Technically, it's NBAAMA (New Bass About A Month Ago), but it's my first ever bass, and my first jump into music making, so I'm still excited. I don't have the experience to make any sensible comparisons, but I'm very happy with it. I tried a few in the store and this one seemed best to me, at least partly because I liked the shape and colour. They set me up with a Fender Rumble 15 amp too, which also seems to do everything I want so far. In the short term, the plan is to play along with my 12yo as she learns the drums. When she forms a band with younger, cooler people, I'll re-evaluate.

Just back from Cowperfest, a local beer festival. Good crowd although we had a good downpour right on our last number.

Last night we were back at the coach house in Paignton. Last time out 1 of our powered PA speakers packed up and we used the old house old Vox PA one side. We used the same this time as we haven't sorted out a fix or replacement for our amp module. All was well until 2/3rds through the first set when there was a burning smell followed by smoke coming out of the Vox head! It was turned off and I swiftly placed our drummers monitor on top of the speakers and that got us through and sounded ok. I had to replace my monitor so our drummer could hear it too and turned it up a bit.

Pedals can be a lot of fun Playing bass can be hugely rewarding, but it's absolutely not everyone's instrument of choice Making live music in a band for me is one of the best things I've ever done, but same folk hate gigging 5 strings can be cool, but many prefer 4 and some love 6 Some use backline but others just go through the PA Life's short - do what works for you and brings you joy and don't worry too much if that doesn't suit others down the road Pedals can be a lot of fun.

Can I play with Madness- Iron Maiden Chemical Wedding- Bruce Dickinson Run to the Hills- iron Maiden

Arrival - Seasons In The Abyss, by Slayer Reflection - Lucretia, My Reflection by the Sisters of Mercy File-out - The Evil Powers of Rock 'n' Roll by Supersuckers. This may have all changed by tomorrow, but these are today's choices.

There was a pub in the early-mid 2000's in Kingston where we often used to play after the strippers had finished on a Sunday lunchtime. It used to remind me of Jabba The Hutt's Palace but with stickier floors. Not the best gigs but we used to get lunch for free and it was a strangely subdued (dare I say spent) audience.

Excellent choices! Good on you for taking the plunge and for supporting your daughter so proactively too. There's a near-infinite supply of knowledge and good will to share on here so don't hesitate to ask questions as you venture down the various rabbit holes that have ensnared us all. Best of luck with everything and, most of all, enjoy!

Really? It's not like you have mentioned it at all.

Such a great setup for someone to learn on. I bet this beats the first bass/amp of 99% of folks on here. It certainly beats mine! I was only permitted a battery powered marshall mini stack thing to plonk away through when I was 12.

Wondering about the new neck construction. From the description on the website, it sounds very much like a standard-ish 3-piece maple neck with carbon rods, much like they did in the 90's, just painted black. I'll reserve judgement until I've tried one, but I'm just happy to see Rob back at work, and I'm glad he's on the mend. Incidentally, their website is now over 20 years old, and is very much in need of a refresh... looks a lot like like the one I built for Martin at Sei back in 1998!

I've lost count of how many variations this board has had, but here's the latest... Changed the hotone ampero II stomp out for a Markbass Vintage pre. The Hotone is a fantastic bit of kit, but I'm in a permanent love/hate relationship with digital stuff, and I'm currently on the wrong side of it. That, and option paralysis is a big thing for me; if I can tweak, I will forever question my decisions on which setting is better. Was also sick of standing at an expression pedal, so thought I'd bring back the tap tempo for the C4 instead of the hotone soul press ii for the ampero stomp. Still doesn't seem the most accurate, but we'll see. Time wi tell on the markbass. Sounds good through headphones, but I'm not convinced it's my flavour of analogue at this point...

Looks Neat... Altogether Now... # ...really love your Tiger Feet...

Had this in the 80s... https://classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/sold_basses/1981ibanezblazer.htm

Had this old Roadstar II and it was a great sounding P-bass; didn't really appreciate the P-sound when I had it so I sold it Messy pic but it's all I have at the moment.

So, earlier this year I found myself in a position where I was offered an exclusive artist endorsement contract with Hartke Systems. I had recently played through a Hartke rig at a festival and was really impressed with the tone. Obviously, being a fan of the amps I bit their hand off and a couple of weeks ago my rig of choice turned up at the doorstep. I opted for the LH1000 and the new HL410 and couldn't be more happier with the new setup. I absolutely love the tone I'm getting, the LH1000s simplicity and warmth combines perfectly with the clarity and punch of the HL410. The hybrid speaker cones give me the perfect amount of high end that I've never experienced with other cabs. They had their first outing last weekend at Lattitude and Leopalloza Festival and filled the stage with glorious low end! I apologise if posts about equipment from companies you endorse aren't allowed but I'm just so pleased and my mind is blown I'm getting this support from the company.

So the herd continues to grow….. I picked this up for peanuts, honestly expecting it to be majorly goosed, but it really isn’t at all. Nice clean bass, needs fretboard conditioning and straightening, and probably flats or even tapes. The previous owner dug into it pretty hard, but I’m going to give it a much more gentle future, and maybe fit a ramp. Made in Korea at the Un Sung factory, Grover tuners…. decent little bass, never had a Dean before. Anyway, best start working on my intonation eh?

Spotted on Gumtree the first left handed thunder 3 I have ever seen and it's in stunning condition. Please view this ad: Very Rare Left Handed Thunder 3 Bass Guitar, https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/very-rare-left-handed-thunder-3-bass-guitar/1463489889 Price: £ 950 Download the application from the Google Play Store. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gumtree.android

Snap! Looks just like my Roadstar II, I found it through an ad my wife saw in the newsagents here when I had just started learning a couple of years ago. To me it has a surprisingly high output for a passive bass and plays nicely since I had it set up, I am fond of it and like the vintage look. Its well balanced and light, very comfy but I don't use it that much tbh. You don't see them come up for sale much in the UK. @Bassassin very kindly ID'ed it for me in the NBD thread I posted as a RB620NT, from August 1983, made by Fujigen Gakki The lights not very good in here but here is a picture :

I don't mind. I'd rather the people there chose the music - then it'll be music that reminds them of me. Funerals aren't for the dead, after all.

All this fretless stuff is so far out of my league it may as well be playing a different sport

Last few pictures…. A really nicely put together bass, very impressed. I’ve spent the afternoon working through Tony Franklins fretless course…. great fun.

I'm going with Wipeout!

When a mate's brother was cremated "Twisted Firestarter" was seriously suggested, the man himself would have thought it brilliant, but we had to consider the parent's feelings so had to give that idea a miss unfortunately.

I just picked up this M-2000 Tribute from eBay for £300. It needed a wee bit of TLC, but a fret polish, new batteries and strings, and a set of Ultralites, and it’s good to go! Similar to L-2000 obvs but a bit smoother/more polite, tonally. A really nice bass and a real bargain actually. They don’t seem to pop up often, so glad I grabbed this one.

If you enter world of basses, Yamaha and Ibanez really are quite full proof options. A pretty neutral style that will allow you to eventually work out what does and doesn't work for you - and buy more basses! Enjoy!

Yamaha basses are generally acknowledged as great vfm basses. Always well made and excellent build quality. I've got 4, each of them plays well above their price point. Good buy.

Just found this, I’m not too far over the bridge in welshland so I might try and attend.

I kind of get the feeling this wasn't a factory standard model....

A trick @jimbobothy showed me is that dual lock is about 6mm thick - so you can run your cables under the pedals - in your case it might help you not have to remove battery covers etc - you don’t need much of it, my 125b pedals use 4 1cmx1cm squares and it’s more than enough. for the mutron you might need to double up but you could maybe do three small strips, one either side and one at the bottom to avoid taking anything off or fowling the stickers…

Isn't it just one of the pickups of the gretsch g220 that he actually made his name with but is to cheap to make much money from?

I did. I left the rat infested plague island in the north sea years ago.

That's all very well, but I think I might be arrested if I turned up for a gig with a headless baby boy.

We could send basses over the channel in small boats

It's unfair on bar staff who have to wait while you pack up.

Latest incarnation - fairly simple, but high quality. Hugely impressed with Genzler gear.