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What a great place Basschat is. A goldmine of information, support, conversation and of course GAS. I’ve been on here a long time, like many of you have. Some of you may be new, if you are, you’re welcome. I’ve had a lot of help here, parts, advice, insights, opinions and all given with a real sense of a community, even if we don’t always agree with each other, which is often part of the fun, as long as it’s healthy disagreement and not nasty, which it rarely is here. There is no better resource on the internet for all things bass. Ask for help, you will get it, ask for advice, you will get it. No questions are stupid, all answers are welcomed. No opinions are ignored, all views are observed. Thanks to everyone who run the site, long may it continue.

Tonight: The Lounge at Boldmere (Sutton Colefield) with the rock band. Nice place - when we got there, a bloke was being ejected for some light-hearted comedy racism and the bouncer told us there were a lot of d!ckheads out tonight. Yay! It was full of wideboys, the manager told us it wasn't really a 'Rock' venue and asked could we not play the Motorhead, Pistols, AC/DC type stuff that makes up pretty much our entire setlist. 🤨 We said we'd see what we could do and played the Motorhead, Pistols, AC/DC type stuff that makes up pretty much our entire setlist. During the first set, there were three or four people dancing at the front and about seventy people watching from the safety of the bar at the back of the room. Gotta love that huge, yawning chasm between the stage and the audience. A bloke came up to the singer mid set and gave him some money, I assumed they were mates. When this happened three or four more times, I wondered WTF was going on... was he a staff member paying the fee bit by bit? Turns out he was some random bloke just giving the singer money. Bit weird but he cut us all in, so no complaints. Second set was loads better, everyone was suitably refreshed and they really got into it, the whole place was up by the end. The manager came up as we were packing up and told us how wrong he'd been, he and everyone else had loved it and that he would definitely rebook us, so that's a win. Sterling (love that Bass for rock stuff) -> small board -> Sansamp PBDDI -> Markbass CMD 121P. Used my wireless and went and had a boogie on the dancefloor during the last song - I can heartily recommend it! Feet update: Red socks and silver Converse. Second gig with the ACG custom earplugs, they felt tons better than last time, it sounded like us just quieter. I've lost my voice which meant no BVs... I really missed singing but I did notice myself focusing on the Bass more rather than just doing it on autopilot. Spent the fee on a Pedaltrain Novo 24 on eBay inbetween sets - Apologies if you were bidding against me. I'll be selling my Classic JR this week if that helps?

Mixed bag with my band tonight. My last gig for this band and my amp failed. The band called it karma for leaving. Luckily the rehearsal studio we use was nearby and lent us a Orange combi. Adjusted on the fly and felt horrible. Appreciative audience. Onwards and upwards.

The odds were stacked against last night even going ahead. Our keyboard player had to pull out due to illness leaving us within a week of the gig with no option other than to cancel. Keyboard players (decent ones) seem to be like rocking horse poo around these parts. We decided to enlist the help of a guitarist to fill the hole which meant binning about 50% of our set for guitar orientated tunes. One midweek rehearsal behind us and we got away with it. Went down very well. Same again next week as a two guitar band.

Had a gig on Friday, early start (8:30), tiny pub, second time we have been there. Its a real faff to set up because once you have brought all the equipment in you are tripping over each other, and the pub was quite full allready. To be fair, you get 10 people in it and it feels full, but there were a lot more. Eventually moved the people from the corner where the PA sits and setup. By the time we were almost ready to start I was too hot and my back was to an open fire, that had died but still heating. Sound sounded great as we could turn it down quite a bit and it was clear and loud enough. Considering a complete absence of practice for a while, everything with the songs went really well. The singer didn't mess up the song he did last week, and when he tried to mess up another song I just sang the right thing over him and he got with the program At one point this guy came right up to the side and leant down and stared intently at the front of my amp, for about 30 seconds - I mean the ashdown ABM600 evoIII is nice, but not that interesting. Then he stared at my pedalboard, which just currently has a dwarf and a critical mass on it, again, not that interesting. There was a drunk guy that danced back almost knocking the mic stand over, I pushed him away, he got close again I pushed him away, he got close again, it was the second half so I had the acrylic bass, which I put the headstock into his back and pushed, that worked well. Then the landlady threw him out. At the end we did our last song as whole lotta love that we haven't done for a while, a guy that came in in the second half came up saying how well we had done it and what an interesting set we had, and he had just been passing and walked in, whcih was nice. You never know what pubs are going to be good, that one is. And it was a friday gig, finishing at 11:00, home before 12 and the rest of the weekend free, whats not to like

We're called The Cantina Band because we always play the same songs. Also, we generally play wretched hives of scum and villainy.

Due to various double bookings and what not last night was the the first gig with the glam lads since New Year’s Eve. Didn’t know what to expect as this was through an agent (we only do 1/2 a year agent gigs) and a birthday party (which we find can be a mixed bag). Well I was a bit rusty and the stage had that awful ‘swimming’ sound which made everything seem out of key to me but all in all it was a cracking gig. It also had the benefit of being at a local pub in Askern so only 30 minutes drive. The birthday boy came up for a chat at the end and said how much he’d enjoyed it, apparently he’d tried to get another Glam Rock band but they were unavailable, fortunately he wasn’t disappointed.

Had a wonderfully time last night playing at The Wheatsheaf in Banbury despite having a stinking cold. Turned up to find the first band had unfortunately pulled out, which meant we and the other band were asked to play longer. I am happy that I am in a band that actually can just pop a couple more songs into a set without hesitation, which is lovely as an original band. Sound tech was brilliant, really nice guy and knows the room, especially as only kick and vocals were mic'ed. He was happy with tones of amps and levels. We played about an hour set and I ended up recording it on my recently purchased zoom H2n placed by the sound desk. listened back today and very happy with the performance and the sound we achieved. The band headlining Voidlurker were an excellent sludge band and thoroughly nice lads to boot. all in all a great night even with the cold!

Friday night, one of my band's monthly 'residency' gigs at The Shamrock in Ipswich. Very quiet. Only one of our regulars turned up, good old Harry who comes to every single gig. Only one other face I recognised. Different bar staff - seemed like a different gig. They've even fixed the dodgy power socket! Usual revolving door of punters, a handful hung around but we didn't get the usual atmosphere building up. Still, I got parked nearby, traffic to and from was light and we got paid. Next up is this coming Thursday 1st, we are 'headlining' a 3 band 'blues and brews' evening at the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket. Potentially a great night

Last night I had my first ever paying gig as purely a soundman. A friend of mine is in a band that was hastily put together to play one of their other friend's 50th birthday party. The entire band were amazing musicians, but they have about 4 gigs total experience between them. I was asked to come along and provide some direction and a lot of plugging in advice as well as sound duties. Rig for the evening was an Allen and Heath desk, Martin Audio PA, lots of Sennheiser vocal mics, an e609 on the guitar amp, Radial stagebug on the bass, and whatever drum mics the drummer brought. PXL_20240127_222727719.mp4

Night two depping went well. One of wifey’s mates decided she’d like to go to the gig so wifey came out of recluse mode and I played taxi driver, so there were two dancers all night but the crowd were good. Got chatting to another bass player in the break and compliments on the bass sound which was nice 🙂 Managed to get the IEM’s working tonight and ran one in and one there or thereabouts which helped as space was tight so I was right on top of the amp but had one plug giving me a good solid bass feed plus some keys and vocals. Good fun night playing different stuff to usual

Oh one thing that was not so great. I forgot the riff to poker face, which wouldn't have been an issue except I was already half way through it. Yes, I had played half of it fine, and then just boom - came out of the chorus and couldn't remember how it went. Isnt the brain a great thing

Last night I played rhythm guitar for the first time in many, many years. It was an unremarkable gig in a venue I've played many times before as a bassist. The band area (a small alcove) is too small for four, not helped by the giant TE rig our bass player used (although the sound was gorgeous). I got to stand next to the drummer behind the kit, unable to take more than one small step in any direction. The volume in that small area is huge but in ears helped, even if the dodgy PA only gave me vocals in one ear). We went down well, we performed well enough for it not to make me feel guilty (that I'd 'got away with it'). Highlight for me was the rendition of Wish You Were Here I took lead guitar and lead vocals on. Parking off street at the venue, decent crowd, home by midnight. Overall a success.

I just had the last night of the shows and the fretless went down a treat, it really make the difference for those pieces. All thanks to the amazing @Roger2611 for being the amazing person to actually let me borrow their bass! Top man, had great chats when I picked it up and I'll be in touch to drop it off again. When I made the initial request I wasn't sure it was possible...but hats off to the BassChat community and of course @Roger2611

You know you're in trouble when Dave Mustaine is the most reasonable guy in the room.

An awkward stage area to get a good sound in. With an amount of fiddling about, we did our best. The crowd had been slightly worn out by an afternoon of karaoke which finished at 8pm.

Hi All It's been a while since I've posted anything here. We ended up moving to Italy in the middle of the first wave of COVID. We've been re-structuring a house and finally, 4 years later, I've got a workshop set up in the basement. Sooo..... I'm making a fully acoustic bass. I've been planning it for what seems like forever. The idea is to make an acoustic bass that is designed to be amplified. It's not designed for acoustic volume, for that the body needs to be much bigger. My thinking though is to make the top as flexible as possible, then amplify the movement of the top with a K&K piezo, stuck on the inside of the top, under the bridge. It's a 'flarchtop'....So the spruce top is pushed into a tight radius (15 foot) by the braces, it's not carved like a normal archtop would be. It will have an archtop style floating bridge and tailpiece. I strung it up for the first time yesterday and the top didn't immediately collapse. Which is a good thing..... I didn't take pictures along the way, never got round to it. It still needs sanding, and heel cap and a few other bits, but the end is definitely in sight. A couple of pics....

https://www.facebook.com/share/79yh6Jirwbbu6i3Y/?mibextid=WC7FNe This is the rehearsal we did yesterday. Now I feel like giving up pies. Thought the camera added 10lbs, not 20! 😆

Well I never thought I'd get one of these - However, I had a noodle on one recently, and was rather taken by it. I was never fussed on the shape / design of these, but one of my bands supported the brilliant Wigan folk band "Merry Hell" at Acapela Studios in Cardiff in December. Their bassist had one of these and it sounded great. Chatting afterwards (he spoke very generously of my upright playing, which was really nice of him) anyhow, he was an interesting guy, and he handed me his bass, for a noodle. I was absolutely amazed at how little it weighed, and how nice it felt to play. Now I know some BC folk will wonder why so many of us on here obsess about the weight of an instrument - but trust me, it can become an issue as you get older and / or injure a joint / muscle / ligament. Also, I often double-up, playing upright for half a gig and Bass guitar the other half - and anything that helps reduce the weight of "stuff" I need to lug about is a blessing. Given how good Merry Hell's bassist sounded - I thought I'd get one and give it a whirl. So far, so good - in fact, I'm pretty blown away by how comfortable it is to play. Balances nicely, the neck is slim, but doesn't feel as slim as a Hofner. The fret ends are all nicely finished. Due to the body shape, it's easy to reach the high end of the neck. 24 frets too btw - if you're inclined to reach that far! Lol. I really like the sound too. BTW - anyone got any tips for short scale, low tension flatwounds that will wrap around the tiny guitar tuners?

The community and behaviour on Basschat is top of the tree compared to anything else. People are 99.9% of the time helpful and friendly, whatever the discussion. I've only ever had a bad run in with a couple of people (one of which is now banned) who were the type that get weirdly aggressive off the bat to innocuous comments, but other than that, a totally flawless time on this fine site. In 13/14 years, that's actually quite astounding, and a testament to the mods too. Particular shout out to the way people approach newbie questions here - on the 'other' site people, again, get weirdly aggressive over questions that may have been asked before. I detest the 'do a search' mentality - conversation is the lifeblood of forums and we on Basschat have the right attitude to newcomers and oldies alike. Good work all!

Charity event with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers last night organised by Falkirk Football Club at a venue we sold out last year. Was busy but not quite full last night but ended up a great night. The organiser asked us if we would play the clubs song Amarillo just for a laugh and because we know him we agreed. Boy did that go down a storm. I think everyone was crammed onto the floor bouncing about singing. Altho i was apprehensive about doing the song i have to say i actually enjoyed playing it and the reaction from the audience was such a buzz. They also do specific actions at parts of the song. It was so much fun we got asked to play it again as the encore. Home for 2:30am, little or no traffic on roads, coffee and a couple of jaffa cakes and off to bed. Something my wife and i do on journeys home now is munch a bag of peanut M&M's. They seem to help keep me awake on the drive and certainly take away the after gig munches. No pics or vids as yet but plenty of folks with their mobiles out so will see what appears. We even got paid at soundcheck so that's always a good sign. Finished playing at midnight but staff were clock watching us to get packed up and out so they could get home but in a fun way and were brilliant with us all night. We were out before 1am. Great staff at Camelon Social Club in Falkirk. Dave

First of two nights depping with a band I did a holiday camp dep for last summer. Couldn’t seem to connect to their XAir so didn’t use my IEM’s and went commando for the first time in a while. Everything from Beyoncé through Kool and the Gang to the Pretenders, Bon Jovi and Van Halen (Jump). One run through on Wednesday, a couple of run through to a Spotify and set up the sets as a playlist in iReal but didn’t really need it. Couple of flubs but of course the punters weren’t aware of my ‘jazz’ moments and were dancing all night so all good, and onwards to tomorrow night (well tonight now).

Blackpool Winter Gardens? Edit to add, that was before I noticed the really big clue!! 🤣

10 points to anyone who can name last night's venue

A bit of positive feedback on a miserable Sunday ...... ABM 600Evo IV just back from Dave at Ashdown to check out a "hypothetical" buzz. Disassembled/reassembled/soak tested - nothing wrong, amp in perfect nick. "Check your leads" was Dave's advice! The amps been a back-up for a while but I used it at an important gig on Friday. We weren't that loud (although the venue turned off the sound limiter equipment after the first song!!) and it was barely ticking over. I'd forgotten just how good it is - lots of positive comments and I was able to dial out the slightly mid-forward" tone my bass is prone too for the first time in ages. So - big call out for Ashdown and Dave in particular - FANTASTIC customer support and happy owner.(my other amp will find it's way onto the "for sale" listings shortly!!)

What a lovely post/thread. In a world which appears to be focussed on what the individual can get out of it, it's nice to have a place like BC where, while it's not perfect (what is?) at least tries and succeeds in the most part to nurture a community spirit and celebration of what unites us (duh, it's bass). Lang may its lum reek! (That's "long may its chimney smoke", you sassenachs ). I know I sometimes put my foot in it - in my defence when I'm being sarcastic, it's usually coming from a place of humour. I know humour is subjective and mine can be an acquired taste sometimes that no-one wants to acquire. Let me take this opportunity to apologise to anyone I've offended or ticked off because I chose the wrong moment to make light of something, or took something the wrong way and ran headlong with it through the nearest brick wall. I've been here since just before it transitioned from Bassworld to Basschat, and it's always been a great source of info, cameraderie and wallet draining opportunities. I disappeared for a while - I guess I was just getting a bit bassed out. What brought me back? Someone had a question about a Gibson bass, and someone here remembered that I might have a thing or two to contribute so took the time to DM me and ask if I'd chip in. That brought me to my senses and rekindled my appreciation for this place as a community and source of support and knowledge on our weird little enclave in a world filled with guitarists. All the best to you and yours, keep holding down the low end, and I'll see you at the bar.

Love this place, spend a lot of time here, don't post a heck of a lot, but I end up deleting a lot of comments just before I post em in reply to some folks who appear to delight in being obtuse and/or trollish....."If ya can't say something nice......" that sort of thing. I've learned a heck of a lot, met some lovely people, and hopefully imparted just a smidgeon of knowledge back as well!

Thanks @itu, I had a play around and I swapped the Spark Booster and Compressor (Zoom MS-60B) around and it sounds so much better. So my board for fretless now looks like this. TC Electronic tuner > Boss OC5 Octave > EHX Bass Clone Chorus > Mooer Bass Sweeper > TC Electronic Spark Booster > Mooer A7 Reverb (Always On) > Zoom MS60B Opto Compressor (Always On)

Seconded. I always go out and bounce about with the punters during the second solo in Night Boat To Cairo, our last song. Great fun and they love it.

Trouble is you all live in Southampton

Years ago I concluded that the definition of a musician was someone who likes travelling.

Definitely wouldn't be like EBMM to use really unclear model names.

Another Sunday afternoon/early evening gig for 4 Play at Riverside, Sutton Bridge. The glamour of it all! Went well. Turned up to see the guitarist heading home to get his pedalboard. One hour round trip 😝 Meant the PA and back line got setup properly though 😃 Played well: singer was driving so not on the usual barrage of rum and coke, which made a real difference. Good feedback, booked again for later in the year. Home by 20:30!!

Dunno about that. I've seen many instances of apostrophe errors and even some occurrences of regular nouns written with capital first letters. Admittedly, the rest is OK enough. (Only the best forum I've been a proud member of.) Thanks, folks! b

Some kind of monster is just car crash viewing. It was commissioned by the band and I don't understand how they watched the finished product and thought "yeah we come across well, let's release it"

*Drummer

The new RM EVO III is due to land in the UK late Feb/early March (from the big man himself).

I’d agree it’s a great place and very well moderated, I’ve met lots of good people here mainly when I’m buying stuff, I live abroad part of the year but I’m still on here every day and sometimes all day , I don’t always post unless I can add or help out in any way, as @Oopsdabassistsays “If ya can't say something nice......" that sort of thing”, I’ve always got answers to whatever I’ve asked, even the stupid questions 😁, and the DOI always brings a smile to my face, top people there , in all I’d be quite lost without basschat

It's truely extraordinary. I haven't found another place like it on the whole world wide web. I actually find the help and support on non-bass related issues more useful now than the low note stuff. We should all be very proud of our lovely community.

Oh if only I had a crisp tenner for every time I’ve done that…

My cover band has this chat and we only do gigs within 45 minutes of Bristol. We’re lucky enough that this still means we play lots of gigs, but means relatively early nights.

Friday night's rig...

Stanley Clarke doesn't, he is a very tall man with huge hands, and a very skilled double bass player as well, yet he prefers to play short scale electric bass, and is even one of the absolutely legendary virtorioses at it too. I advise OP to try out both options and decide based on what feels best to them.

Played at my favourite gig last night with my acoustic duo at The Lookout on the harbour in Scarborough. Usual request night with plenty of variety. I was a bit shaken doing the old standard 'Have you met Miss Jones?', which I'd forgotten was such a bug*er to play - unusual changes throughout (for non-jazzers like me anyway) but my guitarist partner held it all together and nobody died. Can't have been that bad as we got another gig offered at the end of the night for a customer's private party, so all good. A sold out gig despite the appalling weather, which made for an interesting drive home for us. We're back there in a couple of weeks, and I'm already looking forward to it.