Leaderboard

Not quite a gig, but last night I performed two songs at our local folk club - the first time I've sung publicly since 'ambulance day' in December after I had trouble breathing, needed an ambulance, and lost my voice for a month. I think I sang well and it felt so good to be 'back' !

I have played some gigs with this setup and I love it. It's compact, versatile and it sounds really really good.

Shiny shiny, shiny frets of nickel....

I must admit that my final straw with those guys wasn't musical but entirely selfish. The few high points of the dep calendar were the shows during summer or Christmas when the students would come back from uni and be persuaded to come down the WMC with their parents. For a start this meant our audience would be 300% more engaged and likely to dance, but as an added bonus being the only man under 30 in the building almost but not quite made up for my many and various shortcomings. This show was one of those and I had been chatting to a lovely young student throughout the breaks. After the set the beer goggles had kicked in properly and she invited me back to hers for a game of dominos and a cup of tea. Of course I jumped at the chance: "Lads, if I stow my gear away can you do me a solid and just chuck it into the room for me to pick up tomorrow? I've only got my bass and board so won't take you thirty seconds" BL: "Not a chance, we'll be down hands on lugging the PA in. You've got five minutes to get in the van." As he was my lift home and also had the taking for the evening I didn't have much recourse so regretfully declined her invitation and got back into the van for a sullen drive home. As we're about to set off the driver's door opens and the guitarist jumps in instead of the BL. "Oh right, yeah. BL has pulled some owd lass so is stopping the night up here and we're on PA duties. He says chuck it all in the room and he'll see us next weekend, also that we need to park the van round the corner because his wife thinks we broke down." Arse 🙃

I built rhis fella from scratch. Raw wood. I decided to use all the pickups! Has a 12 step varitone and the MM can be split by the switch

Not a gig, but we had a rehearsal last night... our second gig is coming up on Saturday and our lead guitarist can't make it, in fact he apologetically resigned as he can't commit to gigs far enough ahead. I asked Alex from my other band to dep which was met with a bit of scepticism as he's only 22. The rehearsal went really well, the clincher was John Mayer's Who Did You Think I Was. Alex hadn't heard it before, listened to it once and nailed it 😲 Tony our drummer literally had his jaw dropped when we finished it. Fingers crossed we can repeat the feat on the weekend as it's three 45 minute sets so we'll have to include all the hard songs...

So given I appear to be developing arthritis in the knuckle on the thumb on my left (fretting) hand I’ve noticed playing my JMJ Mustangs a tad painful at times. So tried out my backup Squier CV60s Mustang a lot over the weekend, found the slimmer Jazz width neck much better for this so today picked up a Made In Japan Fender Mustang to be my main gigging bass. Have to put a set of Elixirs on it as it currently has Labella Mustang Flats which aren’t my thing. First impressions are a really nice bass with a very comfortable to play neck.

Started my final run of gigs last night with The ELO Experience at Milton Keynes Theatre. As you’d expect, a large modern theatre with great staff, load in and backstage facilities. It has a capacity of 1400, think we had just over 1000 people in so felt quite full. We haven’t played for 3 weeks, so were all a bit on edge hoping we would be okay. Didn’t start well at soundcheck with a few tech issues, but with the help of our guys we got it sorted eventually. We were just leaving the theatre to find somewhere to eat and bumped into Warwick Davis passing by -nice bloke and a favourite of our lighting maestro Rob who got a selfie. The gig went well, lively audience in good voice. We all got through it without any major problems, although I was quite tired. 170 mile drive back home as the gig was a stand alone, have been having a quiet day today.

Donstrumental "Riddim up my Reggae Bass lovers" https://www.youtube.com/@donstrumental8905

My first paying gig was a once-monthly dep for a guy I knew from a local venue and it was like a checklist of club band horror stories. It was all old-school WMC venues so you were going out to play set one to a room full of stony-faced pensioners waiting for the meat raffle during the intermission, and then them all immediately clearing out so you played set two to nobody. My main gripe was that I would often turn up to find out the keyboard-playing band leader was the only regular member and the entire lineup was deps. Everyone got a song list (usually the same one too) but if somebody didn't know enough to fill time he'd pull the old "let's do X/Y, everybody knows that!". Turns out that while many people know how to start Sweet Home Alabama, significantly fewer know how to stop playing it. The band had a house uniform with a costume change (black shirts with white tie set one, white shirts with black tie set two) because that meant you could charge more on the agency. I was warned about this and bought the correct shirts, but told I could borrow the bassist's waistcoat to match the others. Unfortunately he had two feet and six stone on me so I had to belt all the excess fabric in behind my strap. Between all the deps we often looked like a band of kids dressed in their dad's clothes. I didn't have a completely awful time and getting paid to play as a teenager was a game-changer, but it was a rough education. I saw the BL around town a couple years back and we got to reminiscing about the old days - he was keeping very quiet but about halfway through the conversation suddenly went "wait, you didn't play with us did you??". Turns out he was totally pissed for most of the two years we worked together and had very little memory of any of it.

I enjoy conversation more

Yes.

Here are the next few photos. Almost there

Take 5 minutes for a story about a very fine chap. Before the start of the pandemic I ordered a Moollon PV having been in Seoul to visit YJ and Andi Roselund at the Moollon workshop a few months before. I was really taken with the PV's tone. So the Pandemic hit and after working in a factory building respirators for the NHS through most of it I then lost my job. Not good karma. Sadly having paid my deposit I wrote to YJ and Andi saying that I could not afford to continue with the purchase and I heard no more. A few weeks later I saw a red PV up for sale and thought no more of it knowing I could not afford another one. 2 1/2 years later I got a message from Andi saying that YJ had not sold the bass it was still there available for me... Jaw dropping moment. They never got the email and YJ hadn't sold it - he kept it for me. What other maker would do something like that? I had in the meantime managed to get myself back on my feet and could complete the sale. Last week I took delivery of the bass I ordered three years ago. Delivered in pristine condition and sounding like a complete beast. I'm overjoyed to have this bass. I thought I had lost it and out of the kindness of YJ I do. What a bloody awesome bloke - unreal. The bass BTW is staggering, the low end is so deep but articulate and the higher register is thick like a short scale. Its ridiculously good, and oh the colour.. Red............ Red...... Red........

Erm. TC Nether - Having owned multiple OC-2’s I started looking for another. Damn they’re expensive for what they are…gone are the days of a £55 Taiwanese OC-2. Anyhow - this does the same job…within reason. Really like it actually. The Zero Fret - Dod Bi-Fet pre clone with built in Fuzz (2 stages of fuzz)… Honestly, the mightiest bass fuzz I’ve heard; does well for warm fluffy drive as a pre…also works beautifully for guitar. Hopefully @walshy forgets that I have it… Korg Pitchblack - Decent tuner came up cheaply and completes the board. Missing is the Dunlop volume pedal - it’s massive and won’t go on the board so I forgot to photograph it. Cheap PSU, no mad big draw on any of the pedals so this will do for £35.

I feel every gigging bass should also have a compartment in the back with a magnetic cover. Inside would be the truss rod tool, allen keys, a little spanner for tightening up the loose hex nut on the guitar player's jack socket, Rizla and filters for the drummer, emergency tramadol: all the essentials.

The last time I did a dep thing was about 15 years ago. It was in a place called Bonnybridge just outside Falkirk, some old hotel on the main st. It was all the drummers fault as he was desperate! He gave me a list of songs, most of which they didn`t play, the one`s I did know weren`t in the original keys and the corner of the bar we were playing in was so small that the guitarist, who had a massive beer belly, couldn`t see his pedal board and I changed the pedals for him. Never again!

Hair today gone tomorrow... Look after your backs folks, you only get one!

Well yeah but it is, but cheaper. My 3 (body) refinished Fenders don't sound or play different from an original. I want the sound and feel of an old Fender, not the exact original finish. If the wood, hardware and electronics are original: sign me up. Oh and the refin has to be pretty. I mean: nothing wrong with a good refin.

I've been learning guitar (sue me), so I've been watching channels like Anyone Can Play Guitar - really good tutorials and covers a range of styles, like jazz, blues, indie, punk, rockabilly, reggae... Justin Guitar is very good too. he covers a lot of theory as well as songs.

I pad for watching Netflix while doing root fifth stuff/ playing the same set you've bashed out every week for years.

"Local People?"

To follow up on the availability (as I promised earlier), it appears that some dealers/distributors ordered more guitar products and less (or no) bass products because as a dealer they are more invested in then guitar side than the bass side (a few sell no bass products except for special order). Those dealers more focused on bass apparently ordered and sold out of their allotment right out the gate, hence the backorder status. The good news is that there are more containers landing in Europe shortly and there is bass products in them. Cabinets are still in somewhat shorter supply because we just can't build enough of them as fast as we really need to and insure that the fit & finish is maintained. Hope this helps.

I worked with several decent country bands on the Irish scene around North London back in the '80's, I'd never played this type of music before and it certainly took me a while to realise playing good country bass is a bit of a dark art. I think if you're approaching it from a rock or pop background then you're going end up doing a parody of it to begin with, as it seems too simple to be true, but then you start to realise that getting the exact feel and locking in absolutely with the drummer is essential. For bass, maybe try playing notes that fall on the first beat of the bar fractionally late but playing the offbeat notes right on the beat. You might think of this as a reversal of usual rock or pop principles. And it helps a great deal if you're working with a drummer who has a country music background as if you're lucky they'll already have the right feel you can easily lock into. I'm sure other opinions will be available on here regarding approach, but in any case relax and have fun, and as others have said on here, when it's played spot on it really can be excellent. 🙂 👍

I wouldn’t object to a refin at the right price, so long as it’s at least as good as my other basses. I think BassAgents example looks great. If you are going to buy a refin, it gives you a perfect opportunity to specify a really rare custom colour, pink, coral, foam or even sparkle, with no monetary loss other than the cost of the refin. If you are able to take images that corroborate the vintage correctness of the body while the paint is off, you could potentially strengthen the provenance and reinforce the value at the same time. If you’re only paying refin money and the provenance stacks up. I have to say I do like the look of a natural pre 66 jazz bass, stripped of the paint and preferably with a good deal of wear. I’d potentially pay more for that, being able to see correct holes, although of course they can be faked. Somehow, stripped feels less “modified” to me.

If you have mains that go low or subs the problem is that they will reproduce what you may not want. Backline speakers don't go low. F3 on an SVT 8x10 is 58 Hz. The main components of electric bass should be the second and third harmonics. When you corrupt that by having the fundamental as loud or even louder than the harmonics the result sounds like a teenager driving past with his 5,000 quid sub in his 500 quid car. 🤔

Lee purchased my Sire V7 fretless from me. Can only say nice things about him. Lee is super friendly, great at communicating along the way and created an enjoyable experience. I was desperate for him to get the bass as soon as possible. He deserved it! Absolutely the real deal and if he’s looking to do business with you then you are in for a treat.

Ah, just missed your suggestion @cetera, but thanks a bunch for digging that out and maybe someone else will benefit. When I was looking yesterday I kept getting "not available in your territory"! Have just ordered on the link Michael kindly provided (for which many thanks). £54 delivered including 20% VAT. Definitely worth a punt, at that price, for the current flagship KZ I reckon?

Another new one from don chandler

A bridge with Kubicki style wheels around which you spool fresh string. Instead of removing strings to change them, you just spool more out of the bridge and clamp the fresh section behind the nut, then snip off the excess of old string.

Maestro are Gibson, yes. They have Steinberger, Wurlitzer, and Dobro under the brand too. Kramer just have the one bass , the D-1. We played the Kramer UK launch in what was the Gibson venue before it became the Garage, so you can see me playing it while pulling a stupid face at 00:47 of the below video. It was fine but nothing I'd ever use - weird setup where each coil of the humbucker had a volume control and I didn't get a lot out of it to be honest. We were supposed to be getting some gear as part of the deal but the little sod from the support band legged it with the one bass they had on hand after the show, so I didn't even get a freebie! We did get two of the guitars which were nice though.

You and about 75% of other buyers.

Don't know why but a refinish always puts me right off. Good job, otherwise I'd be much worse off!

The Tokai Talbo Bass which has a similar construction with a hollow aluminium body weighs the same as a typical wooden bodied bass. Mine was full of the sort of foam you find in cushions in an attempt to prevent the hollow body inducing feedback, although @Bassassin has reported it's not very effective when using high-gain sounds.

"Proper channels" is any form of lawful response I choose. Provided its within the law, no one but me gets to decide how I should choose to respond if I were ever in that situation. If factual social media posts are what I choose, that's my business. If factual reviews on tripadvisor are what i choose, thats my business. If I decided to go via the MU (which I actually suggested, if you read back), that's my business. Self appointed arbiters are of no interest. If its legal and I decide its appropriate, then its proper. If folk have a problem with that, then best not to cross me to begin with. It really is incumbent upon venues to behave themselves in the first place if they are likely get wobbly over any response their behaviour may prompt.

£111 - £119 dependent on outlet.

I think the main issue with using an HPF (on any instrument) is when we're making changes, we're nearly always making them in isolation rather than actually in 'full mix' context. Sometimes components within a mix need to sound 'worse' to make them fit the big picture in a 'better' or more useful way. The oldskool desks with fixed HPF frequencies and slopes went a good way to improve mixes and make life easier but with digital we can now better fine tune the instruments in our mix. From tiny gigs to full-flight festivals, I use a HPF to some degree on every channel with the exception of the sub / kick..

Just do we’re all singing from the same hymn sheet, are we standing up for key changes? 😉

Played at the Half Moon in Littleover, Derby on Saturday. We were a bit worried about the load-in and out as it's double yellows on the street outside and the car park is over the road (and I think is actually the Co-op's). However, the landlady said everybody unloaded on the double yellows so that's what we did. Not an ideal playing space as there's a column 2/3 of the way across which was a bit in the way, but we overcame that. The landlady also gave us free drinks (which we took advantage of without taking the piss), and included Mrs Zero and the drummer's wife in the freebies, which was very nice. On the musical side, I'd been experimenting with the XR12 and put some reverb on, but I couldn't get it dialled in right so abandoned it after a couple of numbers. At least I now know the basics of how to do it. One or two minor fumbles but nothing disastrous. Almost everything went down well - the one exception being Get Lucky which we brought in recently, but both times we've done it it's gone down like a plate of cold sick. I suspect that it's a song that's of its time. Both the guitarists had a long way to travel (2 hours for one of them) but they were really happy with it. Landlady was happy with us so hopefully we'll be back there.

Back at the Cow & Telescope in Southend-on-Sea on Friday. Our third time at this venue and by far my favourite place on the pub circuit. Always an appreciated crowd who turn up for the music. A decent night with a good turnout of our friends, family and followers. Unfortunately for us, we were told by the landlady that about 15 of the regulars (who wanted to see us) were up in London to see Slash and Myles Kennedy - I don’t blame them TBH, I’d rather watch Slash and Myles than us, lol. We’re gradually getting used to the Allen & Heath desk, and it’s getting easier to dial in and tweak for every venue,. I had a slight issue with my IEMs - the cable came out of the right one halfway through the second set. It was so hot and sweaty in there I could grip the plug firm enough to push it back in, so I played the remainder of the set with one IEM and a glorified earplug. Oh well. Our super sub Sophie did and fantastic job yet again and received lots of compliments. She blew our socks off on Proud Mary, she really went for it. I had an interesting chat with one chap. One of my wife’s younger workmates introduced me to her new boyfriend before we started who is a drummer. Nice chap, and got a chance to chat with him after our first set. He was very impressed with our drummer, asking me who he is. I replied he’s a grade 8 qualified drummer who’s a full time drum teacher, played in a number of bands, including originals and previously a busy, touring a punk band. The chap said, I’m a session drummer and he’s better than me. He then asked who our bassist is as he’s pretty good as well I don’t think he could see me where he was sitting and didn’t realise it was actually me. I said, “that’s me, and thank you. He told me one of his regular session gigs is playing with Samantha Fox, and what am I doing in a couple of months time as there’s a gig their regular bassist can’t do. I told me I’m not a session guy and I have a full-time day job so I’m not sure about that thing. He said, “Oh the songs are easy, and it'll be a case of fly into Lithuania on the Friday, gig Saturday and home again Sunday"! I'm extremely flattered and we shared details, but I don't think I'll go for it if he does end up asking. Not only do I need to renew my passport, but I don't own any flight cases for my gear not to mention a massive dose of imposter syndrome and I don't think I'd be able to dedicate time to learning a batch of songs I've never heard of at very short notice - it's just not a skill I'm used to doing. Still, it's nice to be asked. Obligatory venue pics, including the tools for the night - the very unidentical twins.

I’ve done rather a lot of dep gigs, so here are just a few examples of what might happen :- “No problems mate, everything’s played in the original keys” – Err - no, I discover this lie immediately the song starts. Drummer’s count in for a song may have no relevance to the actual tempo that follows. Guitarist thinking that the first chord of a song is therefore the ‘key’ of the song. “We play it just like the record” – apart from the fact you completely missed out the Middle 8. Guitarist and kbds player are clearly playing different chords at the same time. Whole band staring at you as if you are some genius because you played the actual main hook bass line from the song, rather than what their regular bass player Billy plays. Band appear to have taken a vow of silence and all clearly hate each other both on and off stage. And the reason you’re depping is that their regular bass player has already abandoned the sinking ship. “Can you arrive 7pm, we start playing at 8pm” – so, you’re set up on an empty stage by 7.15, but the rest of the band start arriving half an hour later with no apologies or explanations. Actual fact, I love doing deps, they can be great fun, but equally can be very annoying and frustrating. You have to be prepared for anything and everything 🙂

tbh the fact you had Absolute on (presumably by choice) is the worrying part here 🤣