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Both Hurtsfall and In Isolation played the Goth At The Brewery Event on the 27th as part of WGW. This is a free gig at Whitby Brewery on the Saturday afternoon of the Goth Weekend organised by Dominique from the band Westenra and over the past 3 years has grown from being fairly low-key to one of the major events of the weekend, and for those who attend WGW for the music probably as important as the "main" event at the Pavilion as it showcases the current generation of Goth bands. It draws a massive audience made up of people who are there for the music rather than parading around town in their "costumes" and is now so well attended that the main doors of the room are opened to allow people outside in the courtyard to see and hear the bands too. This weekend was a "Nottingham takeover" with Chaos Bleak also playing. Hurtsfall were on first at 2.00pm. We probably had the best on-stage sound of the afternoon, but even so there were problems with the monitor in front of me which kept cutting out. However due to the nature of the band we are well used to playing under less than ideal conditions, so it wasn't really a problem, and everyone we spoke to afterwards (including several people whose opinions I trust) said the FoH sound was excellent. The audience appeared to enjoy it, and we sold a decent amount of merch afterwards. This photo was taken at the beginning of our set just before Sam, our singer, got everyone to move forward so that more people could get into the venue. Even after that there were still almost as many people outside enjoying the gig as there were inside (and yes that is Whitby Abbey you can see in the background): And two more general gig photos: Chaos Bleak probably pulled the best crowd of the afternoon due to both their time slot and their reputation. And then at 4.00pm I was back on stage with In Isolation. By this time it appeared that all the foldback had stopped working - There wasn't anything coming out of the wedge in front of me, and unlike during Hurtsfall's set I couldn't hear anything from the other two. Still we powered through our set even though it sounded weird on stage. Again we were told afterwards that FoH the mix was excellent, but it was unnerving playing some of the songs with longish intros on the backing tack where they were barely audible on stage, so having no clue when our drummer was going to count us in! Also we discovered that playing last in the afternoon isn't the ideal spot as people tend leave before the end so they can get ready for whatever night-time event they are going to. Still there were a decent number who stayed all the way through our set, and we even had to sign CDs at the end - something which always bemuses me... For some reason there are a distinct lack of photos from our set on Facebook and this one of me was the only one I could find.

My gig wasn't last night, but rather last weekend when on Friday we opened up for Subhumans at The Drill in Lincoln (a 550 person venue, but I heard that around 300 tickets were sold). I'm a huge Subhumans fan, have been ever since I was about 13 or 14 years old (I'm in my late 40's now). Fortunately I met them once before, otherwise I would have been completely geeking out. There is a Subhumans cassette tape that I have had since the late 80's / early 90's, which I used to just leave in the tape deck of my car for a long while... I brought it on to stage with me when we opened for them. The Drill is a really impressive venue, and the organization in advance was superb. It was the largest stage that me or any of my bandmates had ever played on, and we felt a bit out of our league (in the same way that you might feel flying business class when you normally travel economy). We certainly enjoyed the experience, but at the same time we were playful and laughing about how unusual certain aspects of the show were. I had brought my Mesa 6x10" cab specifically for this show, but sadly the main sound engineer did not want to mic it (he mic-ed the Subhumans bassist's cab, and commented it's only done for the headliners). For me he used the post-eq DI on my amp... oh well! We had one dedicated sound engineer just for monitors. He seemed very attentive during soundcheck, but when we played our set in front of the audience he seemed to forget my request to kill the vox in my monitor. This threw me off a bit at the start, and our songs came fast and furious... I was only able to communicate the problem to him on the fourth song of our set, which starts with the bass and gave me the opportunity to briefly pause. We had a dressing room complete with mirror and large round bulbs, a couch, fridge, and the wifi password. Beers and other drinks were provided. My family came along, and my son ran the merch desk. He did really well on sales! He sold 5 tees, 6 CDs, and 3 cassette tapes during the show. We played really well, and someone who had seen a lot of our performances commented that it was the best show yet. Most of us stayed overnight in Lincoln, and I went around the town the the fam for some sightseeing the next morning. We didn't stick around too long however, as we had to hit the road and head to Boston. There we were headlining on Saturday, but given a lot more time for our set. We played every song that we had, and I honestly think that the Boston performance was the very best show yet. They get better and better... I had to take the fam to Manchester airport on Sunday afternoon, and Subhumans were playing at the Star & Garter, so I popped in for their show. I caught the opening bands too, and between acts I went into the loo... I find Trotsky (Subhumans drummer) taking a leak next to me and he says, "Hey, what are you doing here?!?" Funny. I chatted with the Subhumans merch guy (he owed me a shirt from the Lincoln show, when I traded tees with Dick but they sold out of my size), as well as Phil the bassist (there are two flights of stairs at the S&G, and he said he was too lazy to carry up his bass cabs). I'm honestly not sure that we'll ever play such a large show again... but who really knows? Anyway, we enjoyed this weekend, which was awesome.

I got the Schecter P4 Exotic a couple of years back and while I loved the way it played and the look I realised that P bass sound wasn’t for me. After watching @funkle’s post on building a Wal-ish I decided I wanted to build my own. It’s something I’d looked at before but always seemed like a massive leap of faith with the lack of demos, all the content showing off the Lusithand NFP and Turner Pickups pushed me over the edge. Here’s some of the process so far: The original Schecter P4 Exotic. Prepping for incision, getting centre lines and working out how much needed routing out. A little improvising and got it routed, regretted forgetting the dust extractor for the router though… A new pick guard and some extremely deep pickup cavities to house the Turner English voiced multicoil pickups. Test fit before I attached the neck and started connecting wires. The journey has hit a blocker there sadly as I seem to have misplaced my flathead screwdriver bits to connect the preamp and pickups. Hopefully should get that all finished up this weekend though 🙌

Pulled out the recording board today to rewire the moose sunhammer in and give it some sunlight and a quick run-through. Such a killer board, but it is so heavy...

Just had one of those “hang on a minute” moments regarding the missing flat head screwdriver bits when I woke up this morning. It struck me odd on reflection that they were missing despite the lack of empty spaces where they should live… Checked this morning and as suspected I had a suspicious number of similarly sized bits. My daughter had turned them all round at some point and I was too tired to work it out last night 😂

Just watched this and was blown away by the chemistry and the talent in this s band . Willow is Will smith daughter , mohini dei on bass 🤯🤯🤯🤯

Some smashing gig reports and stunning photos ; keep em coming folks!👏

50!! You're a youngster!

First coat of lacquer on the travel guitar, it will take a few more coats and two weeks to cure. I'll be back on the denim bass soon.

Just finished routing the pick guard and some finishing touches like countersinking the screws etc. Was just about to connect it up and realised all my flathead screwdrivers i need to connect the pickups and preamp have gone missing 🥲 Very happy with how it’s turning out, ended up spacing the pickups a little further than initially intended largely down to cosmetics and symmetry.

Come to think of it, I suspect there are some well-informed members of this forum even, who admire the basses which Jack Stratton et al. market to them as musicians. I for one like what EBMM and Joe Dart are doing, and I hope it inspires a new generation of bass players to emulate their hero.

Bandmix. List your achievements. You're probably underselling yourself and a few 'auditions' and jams with people looking for a Bass player will probably give you a better idea of where you fit in. If you've played functions you're a step ahead of tons of players, not least because you have some good experience. Most bands are looking for competent players rather than virtuosos.

Am quite tempted to get one of these, then put an oval pickguard on it. Then, install active electronics and EQ controls, maybe on a chromed metal plate or something. Oh, and get it refinished in black sparkle. Price of the upgrades is a bit much, otherwise I’d be on it like Vanessa Feltz on a roast dinner. Might do it anyway. Vanessa Feltz and a roast dinner I mean, not the Joe Dart bass.

Just had a rush of blood to the head and ordered a Joe Dart SBMM. I play punk, not funk. What am I doing? The most sudden urge of GAS in my life.

H'eh', Iv'e cr'eat'ed a r'ule in uB'lock Ori'g'in s'o I ne'ver see that effin' Po'lice ca'r again. ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''' - so there!

I also had an epiphany in rehearsal last night. I always put the DMC micro in front, but it's a bit taller than allcthe other pedals so inevitably I'd switch channels or turn other pedals on or off while using it. I decided last night i didnt really need the DMC, i could just use 6 onboard presets for shows Then it hit me. Put the DMC at the top. It's tall enough with the pedal toppers i can use it without disturbing the other pedals. It also gives me much better access to C4 expression input and the dmc expression input so i can simlutaneoisly control both the plethora and the C4 with the source audio dual exp pedal This setup is perfect! I cant forsee any major changes bar MAYBE a different distortion. Love it!

I get a feeling if I was take a punt and hate it - I could move it fairly easily as they'll be A) Joe Dart fans who missed out and really want one. B) People who are just generally nosey but not enough of a fan boi to buy it first time round. Yes, I'm trying to talk myself into buying one 😂

I've been into short scales for almost twenty years, and my gigging basses are JMJ mustangs. Anyone who dismisses short scale basses is in danger of sounding like an ignorant tw@t — like Scott Devine does in the SBL video, even if it was tongue in cheek. If anyone says their reason for not considering a short scale is that they'd look ridiculous playing it, they need to remember that many punters can't even tell a bass from a guitar, a short scale bass is bigger than a guitar, and there are plenty of people who can play guitar in public without feeling self-conscious about it.

I shat the Sherrif - El Clappo

Your strengths are that you are prepared to put in the hard work to learn the songs and be a reliable bass player . This alone stands you in good stead for any future bands . Its not always the flash players that get the gigs .

Yep, something will turn up, keep your playing up to scratch and socialise where local bands are and seize the opportunity when it comes along.

Sorry to hear about your situation. Can be really daunting having to change things up when you feel like you’ve got a good gig already that works well. Could you find some local jam nights or open mics and just drop in and play the odd song? Could be a good way to get to know other local musos. And, keep you playing a bit without all the agro of setting up again from scratch? Think of it as a positive that it may allow you to improve/develop your playing by working with other musos.

I'd pay money NOT to listen to this 😉

I agree - but to a man with a £27 power supply and three pedals it’s a bit of a jump!

I joined a function band a couple of weeks ago. I learnt 12 songs for the audition and now have another 23 to learn. The BL isn't keen on playing pubs, he is more interested in weddings so we might need to add a few more but...the 4 I am currently working on are: I saw her standing there, All my loving - The Beatles Mamma Mia - ABBA Faith - George Michael I'm not a fan of this sort of music but I'm happy to play anything if it is a good song and some of the other songs in the set are to my taste. Of the 35 I would only consider Faith by George Michael to not be a good song, I find it repetitive and dull, but one crap song out of 35 ain't bad.

We've all been there.

In case it’s not already been mentioned, there’s a Cioks DC7 for £145 on Bass Direct: https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/cioks-dc7-pre-owned/

As an update, the Joyo blocker takes the noise down to a very low level. Totally fine for live use and I don't tend to multiple pedals when practising so this is perfect for me for now. I'll keep an eye out for a better PSU in the future, maybe the next time I order something from HB I'll get one of their ISOs so I can dodge the postage charge but thanks - this has all been illuminating!

Alternatively....... as you're painting it you could go through the right side of the body, through the control cavity and into the pickup cavity in the same plane and then just plug the hole in the side.

2nd Kim Wilde - You Keep Me Hangin' On | Bass Synth: Ricky Wilde

Nice! What does it sound like? 😀

You'd get depressed if you couldn't buy another bass?

In my neck of the woods, and I assume most the UK it depends on the gig. Covers bands in pubs are usually free, but tributes and originals in music venues are usually ticketed or on the door. There was one pub we regularly played at years ago that refused to pay bands themselves and we had to charge on the door. I never like doing that. One of us always had to stand by the door collecting money and stamping hands and it was always tricky judging how much to price it. I remember a few people turning away - they didn't want to pay £5 to go to the pub!

"Even though it is referred to as soft maple, it is only soft in relation to hard maple." Even the "softest" maple has a Janka hardness approaching twice that of basswood. Reckon it'll be fine. No dings on my basswood bodied, frequently gigged Wunkay though. Am I basswooding wrong?

On Saturday May 4th my band 'Shreds.' hits The Victoria Inn in Derby... if you're nearby and like punk / hardcore, you won't want to miss this show! Tickets are only £10 !!! Let me know if you plan to be there! If you aren't nearby and want to catch another show, you can find other dates on Bandcamp and Songkick (https://shredshc.bandcamp.com/)

I've mostly used multi-fx, with a brief forray into individual physical pedals, but to date had yet to find the 'perfect' setup for me. The B2Four is not perfect, but it ticks most of my boxes. The Great Build quality - Feels solid, all switches feel solid and have a nice positive click to them, the display is clear (Tho perhaps a wee bit small) and can be seen when the pedal in on the floor. The up/down/left/right switches alos have a nice click and can be used with my foot. Size - Small and light enough to carry in front pocket of my gig bag. Power - Can be driven from a 500ma+ 9v supply (One comes with the unit) and also via the USB-C connection with a power brick or from a computer. Control Interface - Without doubt the best user interface I've seen from Zoom (I've tried the MS-60B, B3, B1XFour) this blows them away (imho). The up/down/left/right switches are large enough to allow foot control and have a nice click to them (I would prefer them in a diamond pattern but these work well). It is easy to select up to three patches using the main foot switches, combined with the patch memory/effect foot switch it allows me to easily select one of three patches and to toggle the first three effects on/off, this works well for my gig needs. Input - Single 1/4 inch for bass and an aux 3.5mm for stuff. There is also an expression pedal input to drive the 3 or 4 pedal control parameters. Output - DI with gnd lift, mono/stereo amp and a 3.5mm headphone output (No need for an adapter). According to Zoom the The DI MODEL affects the output of the BALANCED OUTPUT, OUTPUT and PHONES jacks. Tuner - Responsive and deals with my 5ers. I miss the LEDs of the B1XFour, but this does the job. The Good Sounds - I like the sounds. You can hear some of these here and Bass The World gives it a good review The could be better Preset Patches - Not uncommon, but they do not reflect the sounds I'm looking for, but easy enough to change. Software - IOS only at present and paid for (tho only about a quid) I do not understand this at all! Fortunately I've an iPad so can use this, but my phone is Android and my main computer is Apple. Hopefully Zoom will release other versions or ToneLib will add B2Four support. The device offers fairly good on device editing so this is not a major issue, rather a nice to have. Overall this is a win for me. A single pedal that can do what I need, small enough to easily lug about, it can be powered from a USB brick and allows iPad programming (tho the on device editing is fairly good) and with a DI output for the odd occasions if I need it. I will dig deeper for a while, but I suspect that my other f/x units will go up here on BC for sale. Updates will follow as I learn more. A great video about how to use the unit Sam x

Better clarify that altho most of our gigs are ticketed we get a fixed fee for most of them. The venue takes the profit from the tickets. We play a few venues that we get an 80/20% split fee on the tickets. Dave

Don lose heart @T-Bay, keep looking, be patient, keep playing at home. 👍

Cool, I'm a huge Zap fan. Yeah, I'm going to chalk it up as one of those "shot in the dark" gigs. This one didn't work out. Daryl

To be fair, that song was a hit in 1966 and the £65 he got would now be worth £1,225 - not great for a chart topping act, but more than most of us get for a gig these days...!

Give yourself some time to think it through. As Mr Micawber said, "Something will turn up'. As stated above by Alex, there may be many opportunities yet to come for you. I really hope it works out for you. Do let us on BC know the outcome. Best wishes.

Hi George, i feel you on this one. my advice would be to have a break from it. Arrange a dep and tell the lads you are having a few months off, and hope to be back. i found the monotony of playing the same songs - more or less - for 5 years a downer and really hit my enthusiasm for something i have always loved. When i left i found i was playing stuff i had not looked at for ages, and being invited into other bands etc. Also i started learning keys which i never had the time for before. its been about six months now and just thinking of getting back in the saddle again, so to speak. leave the door ajar, rather than slamming it closed, and give yourself time to breathe and think. hope this helps George, and good luck, Mike