Leaderboard

Looking to play King Crimson-ish type music with no expectations, just for fun and to make some noise. Not looking to start a band or even really play out. I got 2 responses, a drummer and a guitarist. We got together today and it was so much fun. Just 2+ hours of improv noise with lots of effects. I really enjoyed it. I think we're gonna do it once a month.

I collected a Nash P bass from @Skin Lewis yesterday lunchtime and thought I’d play it for the first set at yesterday’s gig in Bath. It sounded so good, I carried on til the end and my main bass became my spare. I can’t be the only one to get a new bass and gig it immediately surely?

After a difficult week when we lost my mother unexpectedly - saw her Saturday and Sunday morning, leaving her with a cheery “see you next week”, to 9 Sunday evening in A&E talking DNR’s with the doctors 😢 - last night it was a blessed relief to get out to a gig with a great crowd singing and dancing. Sound seemed pretty good though one of the guitarist’s boost setting for solos could probably have done with a bit more. Drummer’s stool broke halfway through a song in the set and he had to finish the night on one of the pub’s chairs as the stool was not repairable. I clearly dug in too hard even with the IEM’s as I have a big old blister on my index finger. https://fb.watch/shD9Bhs2So/?

That was what I said after trying the Cort Space out at Bass Direct. One came up on Gumtree for a sum not unadjacent to £400, although I had a 280 mile round trip to pick it up. So today I went on that journey, braving the imbeciles on the M11 and A14, and picked up the black Space. The seller didn't get on with 5-strings, so was selling it after just a month or so. I'll be able to do a proper back to back comparison between the Space and the Ibanez EHB1265MS with added Aguilar pickup goodness.

Public Service Announcement had a show at the iconic Hope and Anchor in Islington last night. A drive through London in rush hour traffic certainly wasn't something I was looking forward to, but it was actually a surprisingly smooth journey and parking was easy. Hope and Anchor has played host to some amazing bands such as The Damned (where the New Rose video was filmed) and The Stranglers. Ironically, both bands are playing this weekend at the Stone Valley Festival, which meant a fair number of our target market were unavailable. Baring that in mind, it was a decent turn out, including former England footballer Stuart Pearce. The band played very well, were very well received and shifted a good amount of merch. All in all a very enjoyable evening.

Acoustic gig tonight. Great venue and staff. TONIGHT! Join us on the patio at MOTOR Bar & Restaurant! 5:30-8:30pm! BBQ & Blues / Music by: She's Right - I'm Left

Indeed. When my old band from uni reformed for the guitarist's 50th we all had, by a strange conincidence, degrees.

There are a lot of musicians with university educations and probably because of the number of bands who started while at university.

Now I had a chance to play with it with headphones, I can't believe all the options. Yes, I have the Zoom B1-4 and B3, and a helix HX, and the LT for a while, and various other stuff, but this is so accessible. The amps sound fantastic, totally clear, without the noise of the zoom ones, and seem to have real depth. A lot of the modulation options feel like straight copies of the Boss effects (which isn't too surprising) but haven't spent a lot of time with those in the past they feel very familiar. I also actually like the detune and harmonising options as well - yes, they sound artificial, but they always do and that works quite well. In general I think the only thing that really lets it down is the synth options, as I know they can do better, I can't see using those for anything. I think where it really wins for me is that I am sure there is nothing I can do on this that I can't do on the HX FX for instance, or the zoom but on this I can do it at the same time, like for instance, editing a chorus and then while adjusting it thinking 'this might work with a bit more treble', so adjusting that at the same time, and then maybe backing off the depth and changing the gain to put a bit of grit through it. Like separate effects, but with not only the ability to store them, but also not having to spend ½ hour before a gig trying to work out which patch cable is crackling or why no sound is coming out. I think this is going to be a lot of fun. But really - no power supply? huh.

Another week, another pedalboard. Really loving the SLO, I loved the Capo but ultimately I think I just love the gooey valve thing too much. Doing lots of testing with the SLO and Capo with other pedals to help decide which stays has reminded me how much I also love the Halberd, Dagger and the brutal 0xEAE Fuzz. Next up is probably to grab a Cali76 after I’ve sold some stuff. Maybe some day I’ll crack on with actually making some music and stop fiddling.

It would seem to be! I think you're looking FAR too much into the reason of this post... Not everything requires over-analysis, unless of course you want to obtain a PhD in analytics that is. If you're not interested in the thread, or don't see its point, then there probably isn't a point to voicing your 'I don't see the point' point. There's a thread entirely dedicated to the discussion of tea that might be more your cup of tea, and probably a few apostrophes in the wrong place somewhere on the site (or indeed within this thread) that need you to point them out. Time might be better served in those pursuits! 😁

Thanks for this. I bet it agrees with this helpful chart I made a few years ago.

Isn't that a song about gardening, covered by Monty Don, from his album, 'Live at Chelsea'?

We should have been at our favourite venue last night but… our rhythm guitarist had a heart attack two days before. He had a stent fitted and was sent home yesterday and is convinced he will be able to play next Friday.

Just tell people you have a BSc. They won't know it means bronze swimming certificate rather than bachelor of science.

I don't have a degree but I can rescue a mean rubber brick from the bottom of a swimming pool whilst wearing pyjama bottoms if needed.

My top three (and I own them all so I’m biased) 1) SWR SM1500 - 1500W, bridged, biamp, or stereo, full feature compressor, two channels of tone setup, bass intensifier, boost, and of course the most misunderstood and maligned aural enhancer. If you know the meaning of heft, then this amp has it in spades. Headroom to die for, and it’s capable of going stupidly ‘stadium’ loud if you need it to. The only downside is the enormous weight. 2) Ashdown Geezer Butler Head of Doom. The most all-valve like hybrid I’ve played. This thing has heft, and that ‘bounce’ or ‘spring’ that valve amps have. It can go as dirty as you would like, but excels at that ‘just breaking up’ tone. Oh and even racked in a flight case, it’s still a one-hand lift. 3) Ashdown ABM. I use the term generically as irrespective of power output, they all use the same preamp. I used to hate these amps with a passion, until a quick post on here explained the secrets of pushing a good tone out of this preamp (biggest tip being the ‘reverse’ wiring of the pre shape switch). Probably one of the most versatile preamps once you get to know it, and as others have said, the best after sales support in any realm.

I've been singing in bands since 1981. I've never bothered with the meaning of the lyrics. Some songs are nonsense, Borap for example. But about 17 maybe 18 years ago I started singing singing 'The Pretender' by The Foos Fighters. I had been in a difficult relationship (she was married BIG MISTAKE, I was recently divorced) and it had ended, but she hid so much stuff, told so many lies to so many people, that I felt this song had been written for me. When I sang it, I really went for it and I got quite a lot of comments about how I delivered it. 'you looked like you were living it' someone said to me at a gig. (I did live it) since then, I have always looked at the words in a different way and really put myself into the songs. I properly enjoy getting into the characters, it's all part of the show.

PhDs are not about passing exams but involve extensive original thinking and research. GCSEs may all be about box ticking and A levels don't really require much critical thought but higher degrees, especially in STEM subjects, are special and do indicate advanced intelligence.

£258 delivered for a Mk4 with all of the upgrades that have gone into it?! That's a really good deal! It's not a great deal more than used Mk3's were going for a couple of years back and so much else has had eye watering price increases since then. I really tried to love my Mk3s (several attempts!) but couldn't get passed the tracking / glitchiness issues I was getting and I wasn't prepared to change my playing style to suit one pedal! I understand from @Quatschmacher that has now been sorted with the Mk 4 - and at that price I've no real excuse not to give it a spin. If it's good enough for Mohini Dey... DV 247 are obviously feeling generous, they only charged me £257 😊

It's because flipping breaks the social bond we have here as members and transgresses a moral code. As members here, we have a relationship to one another. While we may not physically be close, we consider forum members to be friends and as such we enter transactions with this perspective. Businesses buy cheap and sell high. Friends will (by and large) offer you a fair price and not seek to profit from your relationship. People who buy and sell for a profit are acting against this moral code. It's even more egregious when it happens on a forum (someone buys cheap on BC and advertisers for a higher price). As an example of how this relationship can impact you, I bought a bass here for £1300. I held it for a year and then called a London shop for a trade in price. The cash offer I received was £2300. The seller here (trusted member, good guy) had sold to me cheaply. (this was during COVID when prices for all US imports and bespoke basses went through the roof). I could have just pocketed the money. Instead we had a chat and agreed to split the difference. In the end, we both got £500 more than we had expected and all felt good about the world.

Well that's a mouthful! 😁 I've had a Squier Bass VI since they released them but, like many, have never really got on with the string spacing, it's fine if you played it like a guitar. The Eastwood is much more like an actual bass. I'd been keeping an eye open for a used Eastwood but they just never seem to come up for sale. This one had been on facebook for a while but was too expensive for me, £300 more than new as it's one of the limited edition Fac51 Hacienda ones, so I'd kind of been toying with ordering a new one. I was selling stuff to buy the Peavey T40 I'd mentioned in other threads (I won't bore you) but the seller has decided to keep it. Feeling a little deflated I looked up the Eastwood ad and the seller had reduced it substantially. I made an offer and we struck up a deal. Now, I wasn't after the Hacienda one, it's kind of tacky, and being only 51 made is more of a collectable than a player, but I got it for a couple of hundred less than a new standard one so what does it matter? And being a huge Joy Division/New Order fan helps. It'll sit nicely with my Yamaha BBPH. It's never been played, just bought then squirelled away, so is absolutely mint condition. It's actually way nicer in the flesh than the pictures online make it look. Well built, lovely finish (I'm a fussy git) and really nice neck wood with quite a bit of quilting and grain, it looks really 3d as you move it in the light. It feels so much better than the Squier to play, the stock strings are fine and the spacing feels much better for me. Although wide, the neck is very shallow so feels very comfortable. It sounds fantastic, of course I had to put it through my EHX Bass Clone and play some New Order. 😁 It was bought as a 'let's see' kind of bass, which is why I was after second hand. But after a few hours of playing I can already tell it's a keeper, it just feels right where every other Bass VI I've tried doesn't. Anyway you must be bored by now so here's some pictures. 😉

I often have to explain the meaning of some lyrics to our singer. He's great, but he just doesn't get into what the lyrics are about, the stories in the songs, etc. I accept it's just the way some people are, but they're missing a whole new world IMO.

Yeah . Pretty much that . Need to swap ground and feed on one lipstick 👍

the boys in my band had all three degrees. demnit, my shift key won't work.

😎

Good score there. I’ve done similar, picked up a bass on way to a gig and gigged it straightaway. I found it quite liberating, instead of perfect set up and correct strings it was just play the gig & enjoy it.

1) Find some interesting material you want to learn and play (I do not think scales and Simandl are the highest in that list...). 2 a) Learn the basics right in the first phase. 2 b) If something does not feel right, ask first, act then (muscles, strings, bow, position...). So called stupid questions are important now. 3) Set some reasonable goal once or twice a year. 4 a) Play a lot. 4 b) Play with a band. 5) Enjoy. You want to play jazz (actually: anything), learn two beat, four beat and then walking in this particular order.

All of our band have degrees, three bachelors, me postgrad, and our lead guitarist got his PhD in some field of physics relating to electricity, which doesn't seem to be or the remotest help when trying to diagnose his Strat's noise problem. We're just a bunch of scruffy old whingebags and the parchments have no real bearing on that. It's just happenstance that we're all old gits from the same part or the world and share similar key demographics.

The old neck is now with the luthier in the USA. Within an hour of it arriving, he wrote "It’s time for a new neck". He says that it "can’t be repaired, and that whoever put the spline in the neck used an unstable piece. It’s caused the neck to curve." (In fact, it was already curved, hence the spline). He will glue up the neck blank on Tuesday, (holiday weekend there). Finally, says that he is "Pretty sure I can save the headstock veneer". He needed the neck so that he could replicate the neck pocket joint, take measurements of the profile - and to see if a repair was possible. Next stage for me is to decide on fretboard materials, fretless markers, and neck finish.

Yes, even taking into account photo aberrations, angle etc, I'd say it's out of alignment: someone clearly used the bridge as a guide I will add that I've recently become the owner of a Hooky Bass 6 Pro, and I love it: No issues with QC. I can only assume that you were unlucky with this particular Wedgetail. Incidentally, the observations from Maude and BigRedX above were spot on: Coming from playing bass, once you play a Hooky Bass 6 you'll never touch a Fender/Squier/HB Bass VI ever again.

The headstock is pre-snapped on this one

Went through a lot of these boards building a small amp powered by an 18v drill battery . TDA8932 and TPA3118 . Every TPA3118 board that I bought let out the magic smoke , except for one . Bought from various suppliers but all defective . Settled on the TDA8932 . 100% reliable so far . Caveat emptor .

😎

I'm a professor, according to my English Heritage membership. Mind you, I just picked that from the 'title' options when I joined.

Dr Tone Knob PhD at your service Thesis: can artificial intelligence be used for musical composition Summary: yes but it's terrible (this was the mid-90s)

It’s definitely pretty capable of some filth! 😂

I guess that they must be amps I've used, in order to allow an opinion. So, for me they will be Mesa Bass 400 - my introduction to Mesa Boogie. I have had a 400+ but just found the 400 to be more 'open' sounding. The 400+ was a bit 'detailed'. Pairing them was fun! Mesa TT-800 - my current amp. It can do the 400 sound and pretty much everything else. All in a super-light package. Mesa Walkabout/M-Pulse 600. They not exactly the same amp, but share similarities. The Walkabout is integral to my Scout combo (the 15" one) and is another superb sounding amp. The radiator underneath really adds depth to the sound. The M-Pulse was my first hybrid (valve/mos:fet) and it killed off my belief that all valve was the only way to go. No surprises there, I guess. I have owned a 70's Portaflex and played through an SVT on many occasions. The Portaflex was good but wasn't a useful amp on a gig, whereas the Walkabout is gigged regularly and is equally at home in a studio. The SVT is invariably coupled with a fridge and I just don't enjoy playing through 10s. Probably bias on my part, but it's my opinion so I can be!

This is brilliant! The only reason I suspect I used to get a slightly higher fee is because often I’d be doubling on lead guitar and keys (plus BV’s, maybe percussion if needed, etc) which meant an artist or band leader could go out as a four piece instead of having to hire an fifth player, thus saving two lots of session fees, or an extra hotel room or extra plane ticket, so I could ask for a bit of extra dough. Didn’t always get it, but if you’re doing ‘double bubble’ there’d be a good chance of slightly better pay. Plus, most of my touring post-2000 was done in Europe where you’d be paid more anyway. Session players in the UK shouldn’t still be on £150 a night in the UK if there’s artist management and crew involved. I don’t think it’s worth it if you’re having to learn two or three hours of repertoire, absolutely note for note as on the records, just for a one-nighter or maybe a pair of gigs at an 02 or somewhere. But plenty still do it.

Very simple in this instance. One loop clean, the other with the star shaped distortion pedal. Just to give me a completely clean blend with the dirt

I've got a PhD in musical acoustics. In my experience, loads of people with PhDs also play instruments. Not sure if that's because well rounded, curious minded people gravitate towards music or whether it's because the kind of people who are able to go to university for 6-9 years are the kind of people whose parents get them music lessons. Its probably both tbh.

They look good to me, and I don't usually like the singlecut look. I doubt neck dive would be an issue seeing as there's no headstock and tuner weight is moved to the opposite end.

Why celebrate polyglots whilst decrying polymaths?

PhD Psychology here. I now understand how little I and science generally really knows about the human mind and behaviour 🤔

Ashley Hutchings, early Fairport Convention.

Glenn Cornick, Jethro Tull

15 bass transcriptions added to https://tomreadbass.co.uk this morning. Now 1344 charts on there, all free, no registration/log-in, no limit, so help yourself to whatever you like! Four of these are from Tony Christie's new album, and were part of the set when I played for his show in Worcester recently - and hence why I charted them! Seven have been charted out for a dep wedding gig I'm playing tomorrow, and the other four are enhanced/improved versions of existing charts. The charts added (with direct links) are: Basket Case - Green Day https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_0faf22f779954ccea50c3a1624d841f5.pdf Buck Rogers - Feeder https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_a4f48d50d5d1431e8fd12a631d67f5ce.pdf Dance The Night Away - Mavericks https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_2dd4b09533bb4a018ca9162c2e8c9203.pdf Dancing In The Street - Martha & The Vandellas https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_f14c550c5e9341c68a819f1dd2096e21.pdf Early Morning Memphis - Tony Christie https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_73872057f97f44569ecf4f853d6ffed4.pdf Five Colours In Her Hair - McFly https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_c8531b35da1a43ce8781b1e4e6148d46.pdf Girls & Boys - Good Charlotte https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_282cf1ba34ea44aa99f383de259d4e33.pdf Hold My Girl - George Ezra https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_d508fddf40c7433d981001c5d35aebe2.pdf Home Home Home - Tony Christie https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_39fc4bff977d434cb7273089c2dcde22.pdf I Would Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) - Meat Loaf https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_20904c75b73143fc911258d4fc9ed977.pdf Saturday Night At The Movies - The Drfiters https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_9ab61c26903e4402837668429a65fc14.pdf Seventeen Going Under - Sam Fender https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_e4b2d90ba3204e7f9693b16dc19d6bac.pdf We Still Shine - Tony Christie https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_5ac7b098520c489d9a1ae0f12a9d49ed.pdf (This song was written specially for Tony by his old musical director and guitarist, my good friend Mel Dean-Gibbons). When The Sun Goes Down - Arctic Monkeys https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_5fd230436b4941db96d26190bc948037.pdf You're So Vain - Carly Simon https://www.tomreadbass.co.uk/_files/ugd/238d8f_caa57c1e3e924008aab6cab512d4cb4a.pdf Please feel free to share with other bass players, and to any online bass player communities out there.

I'll be be completely honest, the looks aren't doing it for me at all. It's in the style of the Hacienda club but the mish-mash of patterns doesn't appeal to me. The blue is nice enough, but the mix of yellow & black hazard tape, aluminium checker plate, odd knobs and the red/black striped TRC look like a child has been let loose with the crayons. I'll probably make a new scratchplate, control plate and TRC which will serve two purposes. 1, make it look better (in my eyes) and 2, save the originals from getting scratched in case I sell it, as it is a collectors bass really. Any light plectrum scratches around the playing area can be polished if and when the time comes. The fly is under the lacquer so will have to stay. Also some new knobs.