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Tonight: A social club somewhere near Walsall. It was as glamourous as it sounds (if not less so) - the average age was about 100, and that's including me and the three 20-somethings in the band... We had a dep singer as our singer/guitarist was busy/couldn't be bothered, she was great- really nice husky voice, got stuck in lugging the gear, lovely lass and a good laugh. We did mostly 50s and 60s stuff which went down well - you've not lived until you've seen a dancefloor full of septuagenarians shuffling away to a Connie Francis number, and a few of our usual set. Not sure what they made of Dakota, Brightside and Footloose but they gave it a go, bless 'em. We changed key on the fly for a few songs (to give the female singer a fighting chance) which meant I launched into my BVs on autopilot before realising I couldn't get that high, so I ended up alternating between Barry White and Alvin and the Chipmunks. There was a raffle at half time. Glamourous, like I said. Played the 'Ray for the first time in ages - it's been out of action for a bit due to me not being happy with the LaBella DTFs that were on it, back to EB Cobalt flats and it sounded fantastic. Thumpinator -> VTDI was all I took so no pedals to worry about. Probably for the best, as I think the Bass Soul Food would have finished a couple of them off, never mind the one control green bass machine. Dodgy XLR meant horrid crackly/cutting out IEMs for the first set, the joy I felt when I could hear everything in the second set was almost a religious experience. Paid cash, a pint on the house and home at 1:30 to a Westons Special Reserve and a sulky cat. Better than staying in watching telly, innit?

Our illustrious guests

Yep our gig on Fri night they waited until we came on stage for 2nd set and decided to do the raffle. Was stood standing for 10minutes while our singer did the announcements of winners. Drummer sat with head on hands and elbows on snare and guitarist was able to take guitar back off and sit down at his end of the stage. I couldn't because my basses were at the side next to me. Felt like a right TW*T. But they looked after us well, fed us from the buffet which was left in our changing room for us at half time. Paid at half time and re-booked for next year. Job done. Was one of our best nights to be fair. Everyone was in party mood from young girls to our older generations all up dancing. Dave

A great time was had by all by the looks of it, many thanks to all those who made it happen! I could listen to Guy Pratt all day, either his anecdotes or his playing (checking out Toy Matinee as I type), and Laurence Cottle was a surprise bonus, what a musician, what a player. Great to have a noodle on MacDaddy's hot rod Shuker, and great to hear how well Stevie's LFSys cabs handle double bass... bloody well as it turns out. Also great to hang out in Wal/Smith corner... must have been a hell of a load in/load out, but that collection must have doubled the value of the school! 🤣

Brilliant day! I'd never thought about it before but it makes total sense to start with the middle finger on the plucking hand when a phrase starts on the G string because your middle finger is usually the longest (unless you're from Norfolk apparently!).

Thank you so much Colin, Gary, Trevor and whoever else was involved with the organisation, it really was an amazing day and lovely to meet such nice folks. My first time but definitely not my last (I hope!!) very very impressed by stevie’s LFSys cabs when I compared them to my BB2, especially the 10’” one.Great vibe. A privilege to attend x 😊

Great day! Guy and Laurence both excellent, as were the Basschat team behind the day. And lovely to see old friends and new faces. @stevie’s LFSys cabs are superb, especially the 12” version.

Well, that was a great day out! I also got to play “Money” on Guy Pratt’s Betsy.

A selection of the other basses in attendance. One or two Wals...

Starting as late as I did.

On stage now!

TL;DR - I have a problem. So I've been on a bit of a preamp journey since going direct to FOH, and I feel like it's finally come to an end! It seems a shame to just let it be done without taking the excuse to be a bit self indulgent and talk about some fantastic pedals... so here we go! My epic tone quest begins in March '23, with my band buying a new P.A. System. I'd forever been in a cycle of buying bass amps to suit my barefaced Big twin II (which I hated), and decided the new PA was an excuse to go direct to FOH. Enter... Hotone Ampero Stomp II! I'd had little success with the HX stomp previously, but looking at the spec sheet thought this HAD to be a winner. After a brief bit of setting up it sounded fantastic, with a great lively quality to the sound. As has often happened with me though; I see digital, I hear digital. This coupled with option paralysis and meant it had to go... enter, Mark Bass Vintage Pre! What a bloody good bit of kit this is! The tube really adds a warmth and punch to the sound that I've not gotten elsewhere. There was a mid quality to this that I LOVED! Didn't like the preset eq voices, but didn't use them. Found I had to have the gain too low for my c4 patches and lost alot of headroom, and when turning the gain up the clipping was very digital and didnt have that expected tube character. And so it went... enter, Ampeg SGT DI! What a sound! This thing was monstrous! Didn't like the digital cab sims, but thought they were a nice inclusion. The SGT circuit though had a life and weight that was unbelievable! Found the gain staging to be a bit fiddly, felt cheated that I wasn't using the cab sims, and the lads in the band saying they couldn't really tell the difference made me think £370 is a bit much to make myself smile. And so, back it went... enter, Laney Digbeth Preamp! I cannot believe the quality of this thing for £140 new! It's so feature rich and well built; 3.5mm aux in and phones out, 4 band eq with selectable low mids, dual mixable channels, fx loop, really useful tilt eq... the list goes on! I still had the Ampeg when I bought this, with a view of best pedal stays. I can't say this bested the ampeg, or the mark bass, or the hotone; they all brought a genuinely different tonal palet to the table. The thing that won out on the laney was this weight and body to each note. There's a space to the note with both channels on that gives it a real amp like feel. It put the same smile on my face as the mark bass and ampeg, at a fraction of the price! I'm obsessed with pedals, so no doubt somewhere down the line I'll want the latest and greatest, but for now I'm content at last!

About 3 years back, I fancied a Sting Ray, but didn't want to pay what they go for. I looked around and read reviews and the G&L Kiloton came up as a possible poor man's Ray. So I went out and bought the Tribute/Indonesian version (which uses the same pickup/wiring as the US versions and was favourably reviewed). The shop where I bought it only had a little combo to try it with, so I attributed the fact that it sounded like a J bass with only the bridge pickup working to that. When I got it home and tried it through proper gear, it was the same. Middly, nasal and no great weight to the sound. So it went in the cupboard to be forgotten about until recently. I dug it out and thought I might as well sell it as it wasn't being used, but I worried that it would be unlikely to have much appeal with the feeble sound. I wondered whether there might have been a broken wire or one of the pots wasn't working right. So I found a wiring diagram online, took it apart and guess what. The pickup selector switch was incorrectly wired. It must have been done wrong at the factory because I bought it brand new. Don't they test things before shipping them? Apparently not. Broke out the soldering iron and switched a couple of wires on the selector switch over and blimey. It rattles the windows. Very pleasing.

This is my only regret……kit comes and goes which is sometimes a good decision, sometimes bad and the same can be said of bands and opportunities. Time, however, is irreplaceable and unfortunately you only notice the lack of it when it’s running out.

Update. Before changing pickups I tried the P out at a couple of gigs. It was very good. So, thought I'd treat it to a setup at The Guitar Workshop (Manchester). And it's brilliant. They did a great job of setting it up and refiling the nut slots. It now sounds unmuffled and is a delight to play. Nice low action, no buzzing, tunes well and sounds like an old P The pup is a tad hot and maybe a tad bassy but can now be EQ'd. Might try swapping it one day but for now it's fine.

What a fab bash, enjoyed myself so much, great to see faces for BC names I know and what a treat to speak with and listen to Guy Pratt! S'manth x

Jerry Barnes getting a bit overslaptastic for me , but good stuff nevertheless.

Yes indeed it is much better than TV, but my cat also gets the grumps about my unexplained absences, especially when I roll in past midnight without any shopping bags full of fresh cat food!

Just posting this because of how constantly amazed I am by the little TC Electronics BG250 208 combo, especially with my NS EUB. Wife was out yesterday so they both snuck into the lounge in her absence and it was a great opportunity for a photo 😎

Happy to be here, back to being active again!. (Mamayo is the name of my record label and 1st album), I'm here to talk bass and share my music as well as help anyone out who might have questions I might be able to answer - and to find answers to my own questions from all the wisdom here (bass players are the wisest band members, it goes with the instrument ).

Indeed…and first ticket out of the bucket having said I never win 🤩 Only had a quick noodle on the LFSys cabs at the end of the but look and sound good, so more choices for cabs.

This is my slightly re-configured mini board, complete with the new micro-thumpinator. I am thinking of adding a preamp / DI and using my bigger board (Pedaltrain Jr) again in the new year, but this is what I'm taking out at the moment.

The TE 1200 was amazing - a definite improvement over the Elf - but I think I still prefer the vintage made in the UK models.

Never too late for anyone saying nice things, @BassTool Thanks!

Not enough Wal's 😜

Lots of amazing gear...if you suffer with GAS stay away...

Saw them live once, with Primus as opening act 🤘 Living Colour - Love rears its ugly head | Muzz Skillings

We have one cat that hates to see my wife leave the house. He sulks at the front door on way out and he now sits facing the door when we arrive home. On the other hand our other cat doesn't give a monkey's what we do unless its dinner time. Dave

So, I’m pressing on. This bass is a fun project, and if I can get it to play, happy days. No idea what has gone on previously with the bridge, someone has had a couple of goes at moving it around, for whatever reason, but it came to me without one at all. So I found this one in the bay, an old 70s Japanese bridge, which, lined up perfectly with the original holes…..

Does it have a swastika on the back? Might as well cover all bases!

As if by magic the small amount of gear I'm bringing has taken on gargantuan proportions and I am about to load it into Ruby. Oh dear! 🤣 S'manth x

Play That Funghi Music - Wild Cherry

Pasty Dutchy. Musical Yoof

the last time I stuck a pic on here it was my first ever pedalboard… similar but changed PB -> C4 -> Omnicomp -> irn Bru barbershop clone -> Aeon Lab series/mood L4 preamp -> bass boost chorus -> shallow water clone -> colourbox got at least one more build on the go so it’s not a final layout, which the odd placement of the c4 switcher makes clear! New: the L4 preamp- this thing is fun, two channels and then a limiter. If I had to describe it’s more like switching between a couple of amp models on a hx stomp than most drive/preamps I’ve tried, there is a complexity to the sound that is quite nice. Drive sounds just feel good too, will see how it does in a mix tomorrow. off the board: Vong filter pedal - not sure I need it. JohnK mini XO - crossover drive/distortion thing, similar to a greedtone overdrive - but with crossover to preserve lows below xo point… sounds great …for types of music I don’t play!! Frog F2B - gremlins and noise I need to sort out. Should have built the particle accelerator instead. Need to fix and work out if it was the valve that was microphonic or my wiring!! thoughts I Should have taken a punt on the anadime bass chorus that was up for sale a month or so ago to try against the bass boost chorus and sell the one I didn’t like - grass greener syndrome I think. shallow water growing on me. It’s subtle but good.

Well I like to customise the odd thing. Thinking about it, I wear these for my gigs and have worn them to go to gigs too so, yes

Here are the photos I took on the day.

Gibson Thunderbird

I was all lined up to audition to play in performance with Glenn Branca. But this was during my drinking years, so never got it together, made my excuses and blew it out. There are many, many regrets from this time in my life, but of the musical ones, this one still pricks, and pricks deeply. So it goes.

There’s some preamp shootout video on YouTube with all the biggest names and the Digbeth shone out on that to my ears

Unfortunately I have now got something on in the morning I can't avoid... my promise of cake is a bit lacking. I'm still hoping to get there in the afternoon though.

The lead singer in my band really puts me in my place and constantly tells me I'm in the wrong. Mind you. It's probably my own fault for marrying her.