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I love it! Thank you x

We had a bit of an odd one on Sunday; it was at the Wrexham Tattoo Show, and while the set went very well and the crowd were enthusiastic, the rest was a disaster, band-wise. The organisers and the venue were great, the punters complimentary about what we did, the sound guys did a top job..... But operationally the band was a car crash! I'll elaborate: Band politics (drummer/life difficulties) Late arrival of the drummer The previous act, some burlesque dancers) over-running A farcical soundcheck in front of the punters which saw three of the band being unable to play from any point that wasn't the beginning of a familiar song (this one really got on my t!ts, because we were trying to save time and ended up wasting it) The guitarist moaning that the engineer had disappeared at the beginning of the set and wasn't available to turn the guitar up in the monitor; said engineer was out front operating the desk from a tablet, as has been routine for about fifteen years.... The set being cut slightly short. Anyway, it was a learning experience and from an audience point of view there were no big problems. After all that we managed to play pretty well and the organisers and punters enjoyed what they heard. Onwards and upwards; we'll learn from our mistakes as a band. Cheers, JRK

Saturday's gig could have been a tad melancholic, as it was a memorial to a guy who passed suddenly earlier this year. He was the singer in a band that we normally do a two-hander with called Rock for Remembrance as a fundraiser for a charity supporting disabled Forces veterans. But far from being downbeat, it went down a storm. It was held in Colinton bowling club - a genteel place in a leafy Edinburgh suburb. A kids' birthday party was finishing as we were loading in - I don't think I've ever seen so many Trinity tractors in one small car park before. We were on first, and I was expecting our whole set to be met with nothing more than polite applause, but we had people up and dancing well before we finished. It got livelier as the evening went on, so all good there. On the downside, one of the lighting stands slipped as I was setting it up and took a lump out of my left index finger, and the lighting desk was sulking. It took a bit of percussive persuasion to get it to behave. I think it's on the way out. But all in all, a great night!

Barefaced cabs are not often seen on this side of the pond. One came up locally last summer , a compact 12 , a friend snagged it and I was seriously impressed with it. I’ve been running Berg cabinets with my gig rig , and I liked that Barefaced cab. Herself is fine with me buying basses or amps , but she just thinks of cabs as big black boxes. And believes I already have enough. It looks like I’ve snagged a One 10 cab from a seller in Quebec for a good price. This will be mostly dragged off to rehearsals. So I’m looking for something small that sounds good. It will be getting dragged out for weekly rehearsal. Looking forward to hearing this.

It’s gone to a good home, buyer loves it and its cheap adagio flats. I cannot play it easily any more due to advancing arthritis in my left hand - still gutted though

Alt Country… contemporary country… not sure how Katy Hurt would describe herself but I am privileged to play in her band. Here’s a couple of GoPro clips from summer festival gigs:

Think i might be a tad upset / angry at that one if i'm perfectly honest. Wouldn't have minded if i was 30mins along the road but 4hrs drive each way for a 20min slot plus all the annoyance of watching others over-run. Person in charge should do what i've witnessed at varied band shows and when their time is up he mutes the PA at the end of the song they are on. Job done. Its all very well getting paid same amount but you set yourself up for a 90 min show to get 20 mins worth. AAAAAHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!! Dave

I think an outboard preamp (with DI) is essential for any gigging bass player. The preamp is the FOH tone - the sound person usually takes the DI out from there or a house DI box is put between the preamp and the amp on stage. The preamp can be used to control the FOH sound and the amp on stage can be used to control the stage sound. That way you can EQ properly for two different environments. How I've always done it.

I remember a few years ago my Bon Jovi tribute were part of a multi-band event in Cleethorpes - a 4 hour drive away from southeast Essex where we were based. I believe it was some big local company putting on a family fun day for the employees - funfare, eateries, marquee for the bands. The weather was hideous - horizontal rain. By the time the bands started most of the punters had gone home. Everybody over-ran. First band was a Little Mix tribute, who went 30 mins over. Next a local dad rock band who were, by all accounts, whizzed off at not headlining. They went 30 mins over and the drummer, who had one of the biggest kits I have ever seen, including an array of small clear perspex toms, was being particualrly obstructive when dismantling it - laying out his cases and packing materials all over the stage so we couldn't get going until he was done. We were left with just 20 mins to play our 90 minute set - to around 80 of the promised 1000 punters Eight hours travelling to play 20 mins! Not a great night, although we got paid quite well and just laughed it off.

To paraphrase.... "They make these things called scissors. You apply them to the kind of fabric you would like your jacket to be, cut according to the pattern in the size and shape you would like it to be. Then you apply this oldfangled technology called "needle and thread" to your fabric pieces and hey presto you have a jacket." I hope this helps. And remember..... "Someone who knows how to sew shouldn't now complain about being given helpful advice after they complain about not being able to buy the jacket they want before some other fashionista snaffles it" You're welcome.

Well after about 6 weeks of gathering bits… I’ve just finished this. Squier Classic Vibe Body Fender Japan 75 neck Fender Covers Earlpilanz Pickguard NW guitar parts Covers/knobs Strat knobs are to emulate that weird 78/79 era where fender used strat knobs. wearing roto flats, plays perfectly, sounds great - may invest in some vintage voiced noiseless pickups at some point…

I've had a Tidepool blue Player series Jazz for about 4 years and though I knew I wanted to get rid of the boring white scratchplate, I've struggled to find a colour to match the 'Tidepool' blue. Tidepool seems to me to be a cross between blue and turquoise; it's metallic blue with a hint of green. Anyway, a search on Etsy for custom pickguards led me to a Korean business called 'Stormguitar' who make this beauty below. I will admit to being influenced by some of @admiralchew's colourful pedals. I love the cartoon design and there is plenty of blue and green so it fits Tidepool well. Anyone else got any custom or flashy pick guards to show off?

The Zep tribute played a hometown gig (well for me, the singer and the keys player) at Tapestry Arts Centre in Bradford last Friday. A decent turnout and all in all it went really well, which is always good when you're playing in your own backyard. (pics courtesy of Nigel Bain)

More here: https://www.katyhurt.com/video Great singer.

This. I matched one with a Tecamp Puma 300 and it sounded huge, even at low volume. But don't expect it to sound like the Compact - they are different beasts. 12" BF cabs are generally very hi-fi, 10" BF cabs have a baked in tone - usually described as 'Old School' or 'vintage'. Both types of drivers have their place, it depends upon what you want. As an aside and a big user of BF since they started, I have to say the LYSys ones have got my interest.

Yes. And the organisers were extremely apologetic. Would have been better had the organisers been organised but there you are

This It could be something as simple as a problem with the jack socket.

If you have a multimeter, see if the preamp is getting a charge when the bass is not plugged in. It could be something simple like something making contact and completing the battery circuit when the bass is unplugged.

If it was a £3 or £4k instrument then I would say that you are probably right - that's certainly how I would approach buying such a bass. However, for £15k I would suggest that you have to look at it primarily as an investment and I would be looking at all the photos and provenance I could reasonably ask for to justify such a high price tag.

Here goes!! own pcb layout in a 1590b (all top jacks obv)

There's always something, isn't there? I find changeovers can be a rush but there's no point in letting it spoil the gig for me. The daft thing for me about this one is that there were many ways to get it sorted and he just chose to be grumpy rather than proactive. "I can't hear my amp" isn't going to solve anything, but changing your position in relationship to the amp or relevant monitor may well do, to say nothing of getting on a mic and asking for more guitar onstage.... The mind boggles! Not being a Wrexhamite (Wrexmundian?) I'm not best placed to say, but there was a proper buzz at the show, so very possibly that is the case.

Doesn't sound that bad to me. I've always found gigs with band change-overs always have some sort of issue and you just need to get on with it. By the sound of it that's what you did and the audience enjoyed what you do. I do appreciate and understand the guitarist thing and its been the same in almost every band i've ever been in over 40+ yrs altho my current guitarists in both bands are exceptionally well mannered and just so easy to work with. I've waited 40+ yrs to reach this point tho so stay positive and look forward to lwhat can be achieved ater in life Dave

Hannibal approves.

I've come to that conclusion for almost evey material thing.....but perhaps I need to try harder to fight the capitalist/materialistic system!

Neither is Paisley

Fake news, it's not even in Glasgow...

The Digibeth sounds great, especially for the price. I the ability to have a great sounding board that you wouldn’t have to remortgage you house to replace is even more valuable. Rusty Box is the one preamp I’ve really wanted for ages but just never have the funds when they come up. That or they’re just as much as buying new. The search for the perfect preamp is never truly over

Sure, here’s my bijou little ‘does it all’ board, used with EUB, and fretted and fretless electric basses. Wireless from the basses, hardwire for the EUB, with the SansAmp and the Plethora X3 in the effects loop of the EBS Stanley Clarke pre. DI out from the Stanley Clarke and amp feed via the Micro Thumpinator.

Hey all. This is the first draft of the bass, I will have to work on the electrics as the stereo jack is making me mad cause it does not work with my mono cable unless I plug the cable half way and not fully in. Then I can start intonation and action (which is still pretty high for my standards)

The Trace was sublime. I've always thought amps were much of a muchness - but the Trace sounded ridiculously good. Thanks, @Merton for the short- term loan. They look good together, too!😄

Sunn Beta Bass Preamp

I apologise, had a week off, and the week before I had to use a borrowed rig cos my amp died so I wanted the security blanket of a familiar bass. I will be taking the HB-50 out for its first live outing this weekend so I will report back soon.

The Stealer - Free

15 years ago I was given a Gator hard case. 15 years later it's largely unmarked and the basses I've carried in it have been properly protected. Most of the time the case is stuffed between other kit in the back of a car, and I don't think a soft case would have survived anywhere near as well.

Pretty much all modern country music is alternative to the accepted Nashville sound of 30/40 years ago. To me as a former member of several country bands, Alt = modern or country rock.

Gig bags for me, usually something like a Ritter with a reasonable amount of padding. Being able to carry a bass on my back makes things so much easier IMHO. Just watch your extra headroom !* *Especially on the up escalator at Highbury & Islington tube - I swear they have a bit sticking out just to snare basses

Didn't really get on with this one. A couple of the tracks were OK-ish and gave off vague Third Ear Band vibes but many of the pieces outstayed their welcome. For the most part there was a lot of what sounded like an inconsequential, repetitive mix of xylophones and bing-bonging backed by vacuum cleaners and detuned radios which, in the right hands, might sound better than this forgettable effort.

What you can’t see is the CIOKS DC7 strapped to the underside of the board which appears to cope admirably with the kit above.

That's got to be the perfect rig, right there. I went down the FRFR route 3 years ago but can't stop looking at this combination.

Yeah, would rathe be historically inaccurate than have spare neck holes 🤣

I had the honour of taking some pictures of @Smanth with @Betsy - hope they came out OK. About the only annoyance was @Wolverinebass & I having to get a taxi from Weybridge after South Western Trains caused us to miss the connecting train there. I had a great time geeking out about bass with you all, at one point I think I was even bloviating about the engineering meaning behind the Modulus Graphite name (it’s all about the stiffness).

No chance. It's the demand that keeps them selling. Why don't you look to Japan for copies like Greco? Some of these are as good, if not better, than the real thing.

Mine😀