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Yesterday was a strange one: A gig on a Wednesday. A gig on a Wednesday in January. A Christmas party gig on a Wednesday in January. A well paid Christmas party gig on a Wednesday in January. An afternoon, well paid Christmas party gig on a Wednesday in January. A pub chain closed its doors to the public and bussed its staff from other locations around the country to their Birmingham venue. So in essence, a staff party for bar staff and management who are too busy over the Christmas and New Year's holidays to do it then. Went really well apart from the weird matinée vibe of working in the afternoon.

I've only gone and got the position. Great set of blokes, 58-62yrs old and I'm the oldest. Best get those Duran Duran albums out. Thanks for your kind comments folks.🙂

Well, 2023 was pretty much a write off what with the band of 6yrs folding and illness on my part. So back to decent health and missing the gigs, I advertised my services on Bandmix and have a meeting / audition with an 80's cover band tomorrow. Looking forward to it. 👌

Forty years old and it's still going strong! Low action, very nice frets, maybe a mark here or there on the finish. Nice case, too. This is what happens when you take care of your bass.

I bought this last year but sent it to Martin at Sims to get LEDs fitted. However, he got really sick and it took a wee while to do. But he’s back to life it seems and this arrived today. So chuffed with it. Can’t wait to get onstage with it… and potentially blind the audience… 😂😂

One of Mr Cringean's lovely creations.

I've only just seen this incredibly sad news. I feel truly blessed to have received one of John's beautiful basses last year. 😔

I’m sure it was at the gallery a couple of years back. knowing their website - it’s probably still listed as “for sale”

Browsing the web one evening just before Xmas I came across a fabulous original Japan-made Aria Integra IGB85 active bass from approx 1990 for sale. This was the top of the range custom model favoured by Billy Gould of Faith No More back in the day and quite a rare beast.... The bass was in Japan and the price was already very low but there was a 'make an offer' option so I calculated shipping and import taxes and thought "sod it, why not..." and put in a silly low offer. Imagine my surprise when 20 mins later my offer was accepted!! It turned up today, beautifully packed, with a nice note from the seller and some lovely free Japanese sweets/gifts included. 🥰 So, how does it feel/sound?! Well, it plays beautifully with a low action, slim & playable neck and comfortable curved top to the body. Soundwise it has a lovely full tone when flat and the EQ takes it into the Spectorish 'clank' I love....and you can hear on Faith No More's best known tracks. Preamp appears to be a Mighty Mite Hazlab clone or similar which is a wonderful surprise and explains the Spectorish tone...👍😎 A very satisfactory purchase and a bass I can highly recommend, especially if you see one at a competitive price!

I found the best solution was to never get married. It's worked so far, and am looking forward to many more years of trouble free playing.

My guess is they lose the least revenue on a Wednesday afternoon in January. Bearing in mind at least three of their venues were closed to facilitate the event. Either way I'm happy

Here’s the Bobby Dazzler from the Fender Bass Book. How I love it so.

I've had a lit of silly ideas over the years including an AC/DC tribute band who dress like the Flintstones. AC/BC

I want to do a modern day version of Johnny Cash called Johnny Contactless

I'm never going to last, it's my birthday this year.

You'll be OK, a new keyboard doesn't count.

Thanks Phil. Yes, as I said in an earlier post I have decided to leave the stock pickups in the bass as they do the job just fine. They are also quite well balanced, output-wise, so no issues there. Funnily enough, I decided to put a set of La Bella flats on a couple of days ago and it has revealed the true calling of this bass: it is an absolute tone monster with flats!

Bar staff parties hold serious potential. … the pros party

There's a band in my neck of the woods who bill themselves as "Booker T & The MGs plays the songs of David Bowie". I am extremely jealous of this concept. It is BRILLIANT. As something of a major MGs (and Bowie) fan, I attended one of their gigs and was well hacked off that they'd seemingly done so little with it. It's basically a four-piece with keys playing the songs dead straight just with no vocals, same bass, mostly same guitar, keys taking the tune pretty much every time. Gah! Have these people never heard of McLemore Avenue? The possibilities were endless! *weeps*

First one of the year for us, at the ace Telford's Warehouse in Chester. Don't be fooled by the low ticket price, we're totally not worth it! https://www.telfordswarehousechester.com/event/finelines/

Blocks on a P bass, lovely. Blocks on any bass actually, come to think of it...

Here you go...

I'm surprised no one's done a double tribute to Dire Straits and Chris Rea. "What are your plans for the evening?" "Dire Rea"

Maybe not quite what was intended by the OP, but the band Dream Themes strike me as a concept group. "Pub covers" band who only play TV theme tunes. Seen them a couple of times over the years and the crowd always goes bonkers.

The only answer…MORE SETTEE

Keeping my wedding ring on must be the reason I don't have hundreds of people wanting a piece of me at/after gigs. Surely got nothing to do with the bass, or my face...

Very sad news indeed. John built this custom GA24 for me in 2007/08. It’s exquisite. God bless JD…

Haven’t had any Gregory Isaacs for a while, so a nice easy listening one

With the greatest respect, that's not true. I'm 44 and in the 2 best originals bands I've ever been in at the same time!! Admittedly, I did help out a band I produced for about 2 years because they couldn't get anyone permanent and recently the singer said I was too old. It's fair to say that I probably look 5-10 years younger than I really am. In actuality, the singer realised he had no control over what I played (he wanted an 8th note plodder - which I'll never be) and I don't take being told what to do. Suggestions, okay. Anyway, no big deal. One can't control other people's insecurity. It was his band so the fact nobody agreed with him was irrelevant and I got politely thanked and asked to not play live for a band I wasn't even officially in. In my other bands, nobody tells anyone what to do. Even if you didn't write the songs, nobody is going to tell you what to play. Also, I recorded a thrash metal band a month ago. Both the guitarists were in their early/mid 20s. The bass player was 41. They didn't care. Why? Because he was excellent. Only people with delusions will discount you just for your age. It'll never be a talent thing and always an image thing. Those bands that are concerned with image over musical talent aren't worth entertaining as they always without fail are the vanity project of one or more of the members who think they're going to "make it big" or want to satisfy their own rampant ego.

Bit in the futt, but looking forward to this one... With Hereford skapunk legends, Last Tree Squad, punky riff monsters MC16 and the crazed electropunkdance of ANoise...

It's kind of a self punishing to be honest. I know I won't do it, I don't even want to do it. But I think I should. Anyway I got a nice Dingwall.

I've heard lots of tales of companies holding their Christmas parties in January, often just because of lack of availability of venues (i.e. everyone argued about who was going to organise it long enough to not be able to book anywhere before Christmas), but a Wednesday definitely seems like an odd one even though the reasons are sound.

I have a 1969 slot head,walnut EB-3 (bought from new); 2017 SG; 2 x Les Paul Jr DC cherry with round wound and worn walnut with Chrome flats. The EB-3 has a sidewinder Pup while the SG has a stand humbucker design( correctly explained by @Cosmo Valdemar) and the Les Pauls have TB humbucker design Pups. The EB-3 & SG has their neck Pups right up close to the fingerboard while the Les Pauls have the Pup 10 ins from the 12th fret( so-called the short scale sweet spot) The EB-3 has VVTT with 4 postion switch which engages an inductor to produce a very deep tone for the solo'd neck Pup. The SG has VVT and does not achieve the same low end as the early EB-3. The SG is a very flexible bass with a wide range of tones on offer. The Les Paul has VT with a coil tap switch on the volume control. When the coil tap is engaged it achieves the same range of tones as the SG but does offer a very deep option not availbe on the SG. The closest I have got to the tone of the 1969 EB-3 is by installing an Artec Mudbucker sidewinder design PUP in the neck position of a new Epiphone Newport reissue. The Newport is VBT and the balance control really offers a huge range of tones (after modifying the phase of the TB bridge PUP). I tend to use the neck PUP solo'd mostly but adding an amount of bridge PUP adds a broad pallette of tones. I only use the neck PUP solo'd on some specific songs ( Bruce, Free,Slade). Hope this helps?

I thought they were guitarists.

Reminds me of what I read re Darryl Jones when he joined The Rolling Stones and when he asked Keef how the basslines went. The reply was “you tell me, you’re the bassist”.

Priorities are spot on. Everyone should stick by this list even non-musicians will learn a lot from it. Just listening to music as No4 can be relaxing and give a huge amount of enjoyment. Well done. Dave

Only when someone fits a Jazz neck to a P.

Gneiss To Know You ～ Incubus

It slate. - Ricky Nelson

The 4003W is a lovely thing - doesn't feel like a regular Ric to me.

Can you show me whereabouts on the doll Basschat touched you?

I reckon if they could find a singer with a decent gimmick they might be on to something!

Get a ball and chain around your foot instead... Problem solved!