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My recently acquired VM5 from Will at Bass Bros, weighing in at under 8 1/2lbs. I have a run of gigs and a bit of recording where a 5'er is needed so I took the plunge. I love SR5's but this is easily the best 5 String I've had the pleasure of playing. I'm up to three Sandbergs now and am really so pleased with them.

Impossible to resist at $389.99

We're talking about picking up the phone, not riding on the back of a turtle to a witch's cavern on an island in the middle of the Forbidden Lake of Death.

Came across this channel a few weeks ago and it’s a great practice tool for reading rhythmic groupings. https://youtube.com/@gridmic-readmusic

I need to play mine more than I do, absolutely fantastic instrument.

I blame @TheGreek, he keeps mentioning basses in the Ebay - weird and wonderful section and I keep buying them. This Pedulla Series 2 was at Bass Bros, 40 miles from me, so I went down there and had a play, and then went home with it. This is a non-Buzz fretless - bolt-on neck, Bartolini pickups, natural finish (which appears to be rare for the Series 2), birdseye maple fingerboard that someone has put little marks at the edge of with a bluntie (like a sharpie but not as precise) between the official fret markers. Not terribly visible, I may see if a spot of IPA [1] will remove them. Controls are volume-blend-tone, and it is active - I think the active aspect is more for a buffer than for tone controlling as the tone control seems to be treble cut and boost. The neck is nice and shallow, the way I like them. I have encountered one minor annoyance. There's a little more relief in the neck than I'd like, so off with the truss rod cover and - WTF? Instead of the hex head I was expecting to accommodate one of my vast selection of Allen keys, it's a square head like a harp or piano tuning peg or a central heating radiator bleed screw. Not having anything to fit, I'm chancing my arm on https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/314738850431. At least in trying to find out about this, I have also discovered that the truss rod is reversed (something I'm well used to, with old Warwicks and Seis) and very enthusiastic, so a little adjustment goes a long way. I shall doubtless find all this out in the fullness of time. I've put Schaller strap buttons on it, as is my wont. An inspection of the battery showed it was dated 2016, so it came out and a new one went in. The pickups were adjusted a bit oddly - the treble side on the bridge pickup was rather low and the neck pickup was very low. I had to ease the neck pickup out to adjust it as the "springs" are rubber doughnuts and a bit of one had slipped up between pickup and the rear of the recess, jamming it in place. I assume that this is pickup mounting tubing like https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174301475762 so that's something else to get. The height adjustment screws on the bridge are a bit rusty, as are a couple of the rear panel screws, so I may replace those, but that's not a priority. Mrs Zero and I are going to do an open mic tonight with just bass and vocals, and I'm taking this along. Should be fun. [1] Not India Pale Ale

Didn't take me long to succumb to the GAS! Picked this up locally this week. Another really lovely bass. Heavier than my 40th P and feels substantial. Big sound and is more throaty than my Amer Std. These are great basses and incredible value for money.

It'll be interesting. Our guitarist can't make it and we're using a dep. It's a " money grab" gig for me. I understand I have to be flexible. Agreed, no pressure. Blue

Morning all. Just wanted to post an apology for less activity. Turns out the gastroenteritis I thought I had was actually a form of colitis. Bit of a rough summer with a few trips to hospital, tests, etc etc. However I’m coming back to life again and will shoot some video and post some updates. I’ve had a while to live with the bass as it is and it’s been useful.

A music degree is not just good for a career in music. Any good music degree will teach a raft of transferable skills - critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, reaerch and writing skills as well as meeting a bunch of interesting people to start building networks with. The dominant narrative pushed by the government that a degree should be judged by the career that it qualifies you for is rubbish. If she's interested in music a music degree can be rewarding in itself and she's more likely to do well and get a good mark than in something that supposedly gets you a good job. Not all music degrees are the same, some are conservatoire style where you focus on playing your instrument and becoming a professional instrumentalist, some are more generalised where you can explore and specialise in a range of musicology, historical, technology or even psychology related topics. I did a music degree in the 90s (when it was still free) and Im know a technical manager. I use (non musical) stuff from my degree every day. The fees these days mean that you will think really carefully and feel under loads more pressure on your choices.

Just got my Superbass back from revalve and bias, but have not had a chance to fire it up. Might have to give it a blast through on of my BF BigBaby’s It’s had a hard life and weighs a 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 ton. I got it secondhand in the mid/late 70’s when it still had most of the Marshall logo but that eventually went with being slung in and out the band van. It did have work to get it running again after sitting unused for a while and had the Bulgin replaced with an IEC but otherwise is largely original. Age wise I’m told by those that have worked on it and know Marshall’s that it’s early, probably mid 60’s, so potentially valuable even in the state it’s now. When I sent some details to Marshall years back they didn’t recognise the serial number but it looks to be the same as on the faded bit of paper inside the case. No idea who Frank was, but the stencil on the front is an iteration of my first band.

The CS prices are so insane I just think they are a bunch of Waxxkers tbh. Ive had a 7 Fenders. One was a 1970 CS Closet Classic which wasn't great. Street price at the time £2500 in 2012. Same spec now around £6000. The highlight Fender for me was an MIJ 1975 non export Jazz, utterly awesome bass. got it for £600. Now you can order one for around £1500. I would never buy a USA Fender. Japan are way better, more exciting models better made consistency wise.. How long can you milk a legacy.?

Technical rehearsals. Including some in decent sized room with the sort of PA you'll be using at a gig.

'Streetwoods' I get the idea, but really ? I suppose this means I've got a personal reserve of Tottenham Shedwoods at the end of my garden. Get in !

But there's a large difference between skeletons in one's closet and being an absolute monster. Whilst lapses of judgment can be overlooked, people like Gary Glitter and Ian Watkins should be strung up by their balls with guitar strings. But that's what the thread is all about. Where is that line between ignoring misdeeds and cancelling?

If the band are able to do the gig Daryl then go for it. Using a Dep guitarist could be tricky but you are all competent musicians that can cope with minor changes with the dep guitarist. Look forward to a report on how it goes. Wish you well with it mate. Dave

Glad you’re getting better - that’s the main thing

A lovely old amp for sure. The plexi panels front and rear would suggest the manfacture date is sometime in the 1960's. Marshall were famous for using up back stock of parts from previous years even when they changed models and they are known to have still been using plexi panels into the early 70s before they switched fully to aluminium control panels. Manufacturing date and originality are usually the most important thing where value of these old beasts are concerned. Saying that, anything Marshall from the 1960s sells for crazy money these days and the next step of anything pre-1972 is also jumping in value these days. I was lucky enough to have a 100 watter on my bench early in the year. It turned out to be roughly 1971-1972 vintage. Hadn't been fired up in over 20 years and despite a few crackles which were easily sorted, it was working fine and sounded amazing. The current owner and previous owner had some good history and stories to tell of when they owned and used the amp and that seems to be quite common for old Marshalls. Their owners to tend to keep a hold of them for years and years. Its good to know in those cases that they also still get used and aren't gathering dust on display somewhere or stuck in storage. I used a 77 MKII Superbass 100 and an 81 JCM800 Superbass 100 for many years and neither ever let me down despite being gigged hard and always sounding great. Both are on my list of things I wished I'd never sold. The one thing that this 72 amp did remind me of was the weight and the heat that comes from them. If any of my modern amps got as hot as a Superbass does, I'd be worried but thats just the way they are and always have been. Great amps.

Our next opportunity for racketeering is supporting xSLF in Dymock, between Ledbury and Gloucester on 1st September...

apologies for not getting this sooner, this is how i have my cable ties, the studs are jeans studs from eBay (prym branded) they come with a tool that you hit with a hammer to set them, i swapped to a pliers type tool as it's quieter for fitting them after my son's bedtime. the hole punch is a regular leather type one and i just use the smallest option. wrap the end of the tie round, punch a hole through the 2 parts then fit the stud, i usually don't cut it off the roll till i've fitted it, then i can wrap the tie round and cut to the exact length

Can you get pantomime gigs in December? A drummer friend made his most regular income for the year in November/December playing pantos

As I've switched exclusively to shortscale this year I've done a fair amount of locking up specs and trying to find the right one (or four) shortscale bass for me... Main criteria was reach out to the first fret because of an ongoing shoulder problem. To help given that most of these weren't available to try anywhere near me I made the picture below. First one lines up bridge and nut (with two 34" [Warwick Rockbass Streamer LX and Ibanez SR300] and one 32" [Ibanez Mezzo] for comparison. Red lines up top are 34", 32", 30.5" and 30") The second one is everything lined up by the strap button, with the Warwick Streamer being the reference point as that was what I was playing. The shortscales are probably all well known, but just in case: left to right after the Mezzo: Squire Jaguar, Cort Action Jr, Chowny SWB-1, SBMM Stingray, Warwick Rockbass Corvette Shortscale and Gretsch G2220. Apart from the Jaguar I have played all the others (and now own a modded Cort Action Jr, two Chowny SWB-1s, the Stingray and a 2nd hand Warwick in natural that arrived this week... ahem...). Hopefully of use to anyone who might be on a similar journey. Happy to add other shortscales if there are any I missed that someone else is interested in. [Updated to reflect the suggestions made in thread... and I've definitely not played all of these, but have GAS for a few more now... Edited again to add back in the Mezzo, and realised the Chowny strap position would be a bit lower because the strap goes round the top horn.] [Updated again to add a third image that might be useful - everything lined up by where the bass would likely be if you were playing sitting down - so lined up by waist...]

“Michael, shall I engage Pursuit Mode?”

We are on the Bedford Bandstand on Sunday 20th Aug....I love outdoor gigs .... pic from last year

Busy weekend coming up soon. My first two dep gigs on 26 August, then on Sunday:

Probably a good idea and I've thought of this too - I suspect that it improves both balance and reach. I've often thought of a radically different approach too but need a very good design engineer to help with this. I used to have access to loads of the latter and need to renew my acquaintances. Apologies if this is a bit of a derail and kudos to the original poster - what an excellent idea and some brilliant work!

Mine has the front strap pin on the horn, so not as bad as the original positioning.

I did my music degree in 2012/15. My main instrument was bass but I kind of got sidetracked and fell in love with the production/composition side of my course. So much so I did a masters followed by a PhD in composition. I now teach music production, composition and music business at Level 3 and at degree level. From September I’m going to be teaching some performance courses too. I absolutely love my job. I can only do it because I went to university. If I hadn’t gone then I probably wouldn’t have discovered my love for producing. Courses also equip you with a lot of so called ‘soft skills’ that employers really love. You make invaluable contacts, both through your tutors and fellow students.

I'll have a look and see if I still have the original files kicking around somewhere and do an update if I can.

Alternatively search on BC for Handbox WB100.

Recently semi retired at 70, I've had a lifelong career in music as a freelancer since the early seventies, working in most areas of the industry, variously as backline tech, truck driver, tour manager, production manager, studio owner, producer, educator, bass player and singer. No degree or other qualifications, they weren't available back then. It's had its lean times, but also a few bonanza years, which ultimately paid for my house. It's a big leap of faith, but if you're committed, good at what you do, reliable, roadworthy, and good at networking, there's a fulfilling, interesting and varied freelance career to be had if you're prepared to recognise opportunities and take them.

Ahh, the short scale that feels like a 35”. Utterly beautiful but utterly horrible on a strap (IMO)

From...

Nice idea but those prices suggest they've all been inhaling a bit too much Himalayan cedar.

Friday 18th August at 9.55pm on BBC4 - a ‘BBC Sessions’ featuring Bonnie Raitt.

He's gone for the Warman . I'm interested to see how it performs as I use their guitar pickups in some of my builds but have not tried their bass pickups so far Thanks for your help, Dom

I don’t think I have been particularly into the music I have played in any of the bands I have been in, so I wouldn’t go and see them live. We play some fun stuff in my current band but that’s as far as it goes, it’s fun to play but I would never choose to listen to any of the songs at home. I guess I just like playing music as long as it’s done to the best of everyone’s abilities.

Don Chianti ～ Nik Kershaw

Theme tune to The Professionals (acid jazz before it even existed?) https://youtu.be/NwAa16Beri4

Theme tune to Monkey https://youtu.be/J-SUoHmpRdM

All White Now - Free

On The Bleach ～ Chris Rea

Current iteration. Terrible bout of gas earlier this month . . Oh well! Ps. The Dobsky fuzz is in the t65 loop! Mwahaha New Alma MK2 and ground and pound are awesome

NPD lwa The Plague. Oh mama what a stonkingly good tweakable Rat.very pleased

Just in ! Any of you had to deal with short notice gigs? I received this message this morning. "Hey all, potential very last minute Maple Rd gig tomorrow night, Thurs. 8/17 for Music on Main in West Bend, 6:30-9:30. The band they had scheduled had to cancel do to illness. " Blue

Decided to pimp my nearly 19-year-old RD600 and boy am I happy with the results. Put in an Aguilar noiseless J4 neck pickup and MM4 pickup, OBP-3 with active/passive switch, mid/range control (push/pull), stacked treble/bass, and added passive tone control. The latter was honestly not a bad choice at all - sounds amazing and the passive control adds a lot, making it great both active/passive mode. Just waiting for my new stacked knob (the other size didn't fit on volume/tone)