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A nice change from the pub gigs with pisht punters on Friday night - album launch gig (Persona Non Grata by Noel Fraser - it's on all the streaming sites) for my erstwhile Singist/BL...he's gone all Country(ish), hence the daft hat and my check shirt. Unusual venue (tho a touch epic), the sound was apparently good out front, but onstage it was the swirly, bouncy, reverby nightmare I'd feared. The drummer was using a mix of sticks, hotrods and brushes, and he and I had to have his drums in our monitor , because even standing next to him it was tough to hear what he was playing on the more subtle songs...a good evening, though... I like this one, tho it's more about the bass than me...

Great gig at one of our local music venues, first outing for my Rics, which performed amazingly well! Nice Bank Holiday vibe,

6 months on. EP recorded with Band - just waiting on mixes. Opposite of writers block; I’ve been writing continuously since December. The output has been of a consistent quality but it’s too much for the band to keep up with (and there are 3 other songwriters in the band so it’s busy…) 3 Festivals booked for summer. Have started a second project for my spare ideas with singer from new band. No funk, so it’s a change - just come home from second rehearsal with side project.

Mrs BC and I were in Hay-on-Wye for a break over the weekend and I happened to chance upon a guitar shop (predominantly second-hand stock) that had opened since the previous time we'd visited (2021). In the window there was a lovely Yammie SG, and a couple of nice PRS's, so I ventured in, not expecting much bass-wise. However, there was a really nice Wal sitting on a stand right in the middle of the shop floor. There was no price ticket on it, so I tentatively inquired, expecting to be told it would be in the £4-5k ball park, only to be told that one was about £3k, and that they had another that had not yet made it's way into the shop that was a little under £4k. The one I saw was a four string fretted Mark 2. Looked to be in pretty nice condition, though it needed a set up. Anyway, to anyone who's in the market, it might be worth a trip. It's not on their website yet either. I have no affiliation or connection with the shop, but thought someone amongst the BC fraternity might be in the market, and this one seemed to me quite reasonably priced in comparison to some of the daft prices being asked. The shop is called Wye Fret.

Been fascinated by this for years, partly due to the fact that it was two days after I was born, but mainly as it is such a wonderfully 'odd' concept. There is also a longer film available on YouTube for those who may be interested.

I was actually there for that program. It was just up the road from where I lived. They used a disused station and brought all the artists in from Manchester Central Station by steam train.

I feel as soon as I’m getting bored with music I play with other people and inspiration returns. While some may enjoy music as a solitary pursuit, I’m not one of them. If you’re anything like me, I bet your mental health has improved too from being out and being creative. Love to hear some so post it here!

Finished….. Absolutely delighted with these Sunn P basses. Honestly. We’re not talking Fender custom shop here, but we absolutely are talking “up there” with any MIM Fenders and even some of the US made stuff I’ve had. Yes, I’ve done a lot of work, but I’ve very much enjoyed doing it, and now I have another fabulous Sunn to add to my collection. FYI….. the strings are LaBella low tension flats.

i can't quite believe my luck. One popped up on eBay, black, description said he was listing it cheap because it was tatty. I made a low offer and to my astonishment it was accepted. It arrived today and I would say it is no tattier than any others I've seen, but £200 cheaper! Result. I may take pics when I have cleaned and fettled it but, well, it is a black Longhorn.

Wimp! 😉 In the 70s we used to play "football" with a tennis ball during school lunch break whilst wearing platform shoes. It's a wonder none of us broke our ankles.

First gig of the year on Saturday!

The current version of my bass board. This serves as my whole live rig, with IEMs having a separate signal chain that ends at the rolls pm50. I then have a custom signal/IEM cable. The IEM line also doubles as a signal chain for feeding my two Headrush frfr112s if I’m at a festival and don’t want to run on in ears. what’s odd about this set up I guess is the sheer amount of preamps! The nux acts as a front end and hpf, the sadowsky is really for my jazz bass, but it stays on mostly for everything. The mooer clean boost is for my GMR which is lower output and the sparrow is on the IEM feed to tone tweak headphones or my Headrush set up. The boom ave is there purely because I happen to enjoy the octaver on it and I like to be able to quickly add it over patches on the zoom that don’t already have it. whilst the zoom B9 is a bit of an antique these days, I find I just love the thing and always keep at least one spare one, as they are getting on a bit now and I’ve killed a few, but it really is my core tone (heard in the Rio cover below) with just a touch of the Walter woods amp model through an SWR 4x10 cab sim. The zoom ms60b beefs up the amp emulation in my IEMs to give me more of a live feel while providing dual outputs the Headrush(s). FOH DI is from the zoom, pre the ms60 and sparrow. But there are multiple Di options for a blend channel. The cheap eq is linked to the loop switch purely for a bass cut in a royal blood song. Linked below. it’s an odd set up, but works for me. I’m currently mulling a switch to helix, but don’t want to lose my big synth sound that I use in a few tunes like the cover of Blinding lights linked below (bass had to redone and is slightly out of sync, but you get the idea) I’m unsure if it’s possible to create this sound in a helix

TODAY! My third outing of the weekend, depping on Sousaphone for a local wind band. You wait ages for a wind band concert, then two come along at once. They're like buses - big, noisy, unwieldy and no-one likes them. Full on suited and booted (Midnight Blue DMs) affair, I even wore a dicky bow! The band are really good, really high standard, I did OK considering I was sightreading. Usual wind band stuff, including three pieces I played last week. The highlight was fitting into my suit trousers and still being able to breathe.

Last night we headlined the Off The Rails event in Leamington Spa. We only got an hour to play, considering we usually play for 3 it felt like it was over before it began, but really awesome night. New things learned though, playing in arches with lots of walls and chambers and...well arches meant the sound went everywhere, P Bass sounded incredible as usual.

Just got this and had a blast through headphones for 10 minutes. First thoughts are built like a tank and it sounds great, very warm but I had turn the volume down on my stingray to get a clean tone, so will need to spend a bit of time sussing it out. Hopefully get a chance to try it through speakers tonight. But quite excited by it!

Perhaps I should have gotten round to posting this thread sooner. Indeed, just having a Warwick Dolphin in my collection at home is grounds for celebration. I had waited, however, to get it set up and get used to it. More on that in a bit... Now, I wouldn't normally preface every NBD thread with a backstory. Or would I? Perhaps I would, because these days I don't really buy a bass unless it's something I really, really want or have wanted for years. Maybe this leads to less 'wildcard' revelations but all the same, I have never been disappointed by taking a more selective approach to buying. I keep saying I'll get back to selling or trading but so far, I keep getting things I can't bear to let go. I've wanted a Dolphin since I was about 15. I've long been a Warwick fan and I've had Thumbs and Streamers in the past. There is room in my collection for a few more, I dare say, so watch this space. My affection for Warwick goes back to the turn of the millennium, when I was first getting into Talkbass and discovering the world of boutique basses along with a world outside of rock and metal. However, I was very familiar with that world at the time and Warwick were very visible in that field. If you were anyone in the nu metal game, you probably had a Warwick bass and a great tone to go with it. I remember the Dana B. Goods Warwick website (indeed, I'm sure that they owned 'www.warwick.com' and enquiries would take you to their site rather than Warwick.de). In short, Warwick were everywhere and I loved them. Nothing sounded like a Warwick, particularly the 'dark' wood models (bubinga Corvettes, ovankgol and walnut Thumbs, boire and ovankgol Dolphins etc). I had consigned myself to never seeing a Dolphin in person, never mind owning one. The one I ended up buying was in fact, the first I've ever laid eyes on. The moment of seeing those unique and unusual proportions in person will stay with me forever, a bit like seeing the leaning tower of Pisa or whatever - you know them innately, by exposure, but seeing them in person is an experience on another level. So there I was at work in late March on a night shift, idling away. I'd seen the advert here for the Dolphin in the classifieds and considered it but thought restraint was more satisfying than indulgence. In that moment though, I decided that spending a little dough on something I'd wanted for two decades was a fair trade. Communications were made and a deal was done. The bass came looking, plainly speaking, like a new instrument, save for the frets. Like most Warwick bell brass frets, they need occasional attention to polish them up. But the wood was as smooth and satin as any Warwick I've touched and the gold hardware completely unblemished. The action was sky high and the strings were absolutely dead so despite getting the bass in my hands, there wasn't much to report on getting it home. I played it for about ten minutes and felt it had a huge potential, then put it back in the Warwick flight case and put it away. On another note, should nuclear war ever start I'll be hiding inside that case. I trapped my fingers between it and the car's B pillar when I brought it home and howled in pain. I accidentally stubbed my toe on it putting it into my car once and felt like I'd kicked a boulder. Built to last, it is. A visit to the greatly-esteemed Bass Doc, Howard Satterly, finally had the Dolphin ready to play. Strung with some EBMM stainless steels in .45 and with frets polished and the action brought down to a realistic level. An instrument of this level deserves a professional setup and will receive any necessary tweaks by my own fair hand in future. But man, does it play nicely now. Getting it home and plugging it in, I could finally give the full appraisal. The weight is surprisingly light. This is no Thumb and whilst I have no means of measuring it, it is lighter than my Spector NS-5CR and my Pedulla Pentabuzz. The rhomboid body gives it an offset position over the body, such that the bridge is almost offset from your midriff. It doesn't quite hang in a jazz bass position but it's not far off. If the central position and long reach to first inherent in the Warwick Thumb is not to your taste, you would probably prefer this. Seated, it's a joy to play in a classical position over the left knee. I never do this with my other basses but I could find some mileage here, since it seems to encourage a very right hand position that produces a very clean and articulate sound. The sound is absolutely classic Warwick, hi-fi and crisp with a distinct growl in the low midrange. The humbucker back pickup sounds absolutely great and so far, I've been running it solo. With both pickups on full, the sound is so rich with bottom end that my neighbours have been banging on the wall in a show of appreciation. There is little to none of the 'tone suck' that some basses experience when running both pickups on full. The coil tap for the back pickup is also super cool, as running both coils gives a big, juicy sound. Splitting them gives a more classic jazz bass style honk, and you fan further accentuate this by pulling the other pot up to run the bass in passive. I've mainly been playing it through my Markbass Jeff Berlin CMD-151P so far, occasionally running it through a Samsamp GED-2112. However, I've found it most satisfying just running straight into the Markbass and getting some very sweet hi-fi sounds as a result. Well, all I can do now is put the miles on it and see how my opinion of it moves. So far, it has been absolutely and unwaveringly positive and I've been having a total blast with it. A Thumb or Streamer could yet find it's way into my collection, but I feel as though the crown jewel has already been located.

I think some of of us may have mentioned EBS recently 😝 And certainly not the most common effect on the vast majority of people’s boards even in genres that they might otherwise be associated with. I’d imagine that octavers would be second most common after dirt and then modulation (chorus, phaser etc.)……filters a distant fourth. But it’s so genre specific and it takes only one intrepid player/band to bring it (back) into fashion. In the hip hop/electronica world, Thundercat comes to my mind as a player who has made the filter and phaser so en vogue within that genre that any player - myself included - will want to emulate that sound; as well as make it more acceptable to other musicians and general listenership alike. Also getting slightly back on topic for this thread, I love the EBS but have been revisiting the 3LEAF over the weekend and deconstructing some Thundercat; filters are just fun! Also, my revisiting the 3Leaf was due to my having made the decision to sell…..just to assure myself that I’m making the right decision! This is what I put together; three separate bass tracks with two featuring a filter and one dry track. https://m.soundcloud.com/jasonpower/thundercat-1

Always a good one, we have plenty of fans in Barry 🙂

I've caved. I've ordered one. It's too new to find any secondhand yet, and I think this will be a great cab for me, having experience of a few of their other 10" offerings. Estimated lead time is 6 to 8 weeks, so I'm going to be waiting a while! Rob

I don't pick up this bass as much as I'd like to, because it has 70's pickup spacing. But boy, is it a pretty bass.

Heresy! I've got a pair of very fine Leema Xavier speakers which were modified by Nordost so that all internal wiring is in silver monofilament.... It's a whole new level of performance over the standard, common-or-garden copper-wired ones - inkier blacks, airier highs - it's like the musicians are in the room with you! BTW, I'm having a minor "giraffe", as yer cockneys say; I worked in BBC sound for many years and even there we couldn't convince one of our dubbing mixers that audio cable couldn't be uni-directional, so I understand the many foibles of hifi-dom. In fact I often peruse the Machina Dynamica catalogue for what self-same cockneys also call a "bubble bath"!

I was in a band that played all those artists music. We just called it country rock.

After a fret job this morning, I can tell you, this is one lovely neck now….

Jesus wept. If I had 3k I'd be in the car right now. Sounds like an absurd bargain.

The Band, a classic example of Americana if there ever was one, were 4/5 Canadian

OK. Just weighed it (not 100% accurate as it was balancing on the scales whilst I was on my hands and knees squinting through my cheapo reading glasses trying to differentiate between the little lines, which definitely looked all squigly). About 4 1/2Kg, which is more than I like for a gig (I usually go for 3 - 3 1/2Kg), but is OK for those 'metal' songs, where a metal bass is essential

Some of these companies/people are operating under the assumption that soldering is some kind of alchemical art. It's not, it's easy.

I have a Three10 on order and it *should* be due this week. I will update when it arrives.

We had a trip to Telford yesterday to play at a "punk and alternative all-dayer". Our other bass player had to bring his kit, but I had a lovely TC electronics head and 2x 2x10 cabs to play through that the venue had provided; Parker into Helix into that sounded great, a proper meaty slap tone that cut through beautifully. We played well, weren't booed off or even beaten up, was accosted in the toilets by a chap who though we were great which is always nice when you're having a piddle. I was stopped a few more times by folks who enjoyed us... But strangely, we had the smallest crowd! As soon as the hardcore growlers started the room was rammed but our far more melodic punkyfunky stylings were much less popular. Each to their own I spose! However, there was a most excellent Indian restaurant 100m away which did Paneer Chilli so I was very happy. Not only that but I discovered a B road route back that took us 61 minutes for the 50 mile drive... Next week we've got a Dingle To Dottingham, supporting the incomparable Soap Girls (!) at the Old Cold Store. Edited to add photie!

Irie

It's a difficult genre to pinpoint. Some Springsteen can fit the category, some Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Band, The Delines. It's somewhere between country and rock, n, roll. It's one of those, 'I know it when I hear it genres'.

Great thread Rayman , ones just popped up on eBay, looks similar to yours and quite a cool looking P bass https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/266799033161?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=9LDVFUILQyW&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=1wDkd4CjTIi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

I never thought I’d do this but I sold my MuTron Microtron IV at the weekend as I got so close with another pedal; can you tell which is which? Audio-822.mp3

You might have an early Korean version. Keep the wooden bridge , they sound better , there is a sweet spot for it. If the tuning pegs are stiff , clean them out and give them a dash of lube. They’re great little basses. With rounds they have some serious twang , with older flats they have an authoritative old school thump. With the older ones you have to remove the neck to access the truss rod. They’re incredibly stable , in twenty five years I’ve adjusted mine only twice. But it’s a pain to have to remove the neck to adjust it. Don’t think they’re delicate because of the light weight. They really are tough little buggers. Enjoy! They really are lovely little things.

Up to a point that is true of course but most Canadians don't want to be referred to as "Americans" simply because we share a continent. I expect it would be much the same if we were talking about "British" music and included music from all of the countries and regions in the UK, or maybe we could talk about "European" and include everyone... maybe not. Probably not worth debating I guess but we Canadians are proud of our contributions to "Americana", whatever that actually is, and to music in general. Interesting discussion though. 😊🇨🇦

I spent several years from the early noughties until about 5yrs ago playing on the UK Americana circuit. We did 4 albums, got on prime time CBS TV in the USA and did a few UK tours and festivals. There was definitely a scene but I thought it kind of fizzled out. Looking at Basschat over the last couple of days, it seems much like everything else, like it might be coming back. I enjoyed it at the time but I think having done it for so long in a really good band, it's something that I have a passing curiosity in, rather than wanting to return to it. Definitely loads of fun and I would recommend it to anyone.

Size matters, but for your speaker cables not a lot. Cable size affects two things, how hot the cable gets and the resistance of the cable. The resistance of a speaker cable only becomes important if you have long runs of cable as you might in a large public address system in a stadium or potentially in a very large PA system at a festival. For an instrument lead of less than a couple of metres you don't need to worry about resistance. Heating depends upon the current flowing through the wire. Supposing you had 400W going through a 4ohm speaker it would be 10Amps (it's the square root of the power divided by the impedance) That's a continuous signal and in music you won't be pushing anything like that continuously and even allowing for your signal being 25% of full power is a long way over what will happen in real life. So a speaker cable only needs to carry 2-3amps and will still have a significant safety margin. A 1mm cable carries around 20A in free air, 1.5mm-25A, 2.5mm-37A and 4mm-50A so even a 1mm cable is overkill for your speaker lead. If ever you look at a speaker coil you can see that the wires are thinner than some people's hair and they carry the current too so the chance of your cable not coping is vanishingly small. If I was running a PA speaker 100m from the amp I'd use thicker cable. The resistance of a 2m long 1mm cable is 0.034ohms so negligable.

Turned out great, it looks even more like a Wal now Just a little sanding left before I screw them on.

Certainly the best replacement fully loaded with the best components Jazz Bass control plate you'll find: https://www.bassparts.de/JB-PASSIVE/en https://www.bassparts.de/JB-PASSIVE_VBT/en