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Absolute belter for us last night; it had all the hallmarks of a disaster (charity gig put on by someone who doesn't put gigs on, the bingo over-running, a raffle that lasted an hour... you know the drill). We had an old PA from our rehearsal studio that I had to build and run so sound was a concern. It was a far cry from the festival we played last week, with a superb PA and engineer, proper running order and timescale etc etc, but we resigned ourselves to doing our best and hoping it would go down well. We finally hit the stage over an hour late, and opted to go for the shorter set that we'd devised, which was an hour as opposed to an hour and a half. From the opening notes it was bloody brilliant, and we went down a storm with the audience; given that it was a breast cancer fundraiser, 90% of them were women in their 40's (including the obligatory hen party) and if I'd been asked to bet I'd have said that a load of blokes playing rock, punk and metal covers wouldn't have been their cup of tea, but I'd have been wrong! The sound was really good, too. A great night and lots of money raised for Coppafeel, lots of positive feedback this morning and a nice, pleasant tingly feeling all round. Gear was my Eden WTX500, Cali76, EHX chorus and Ampeg Scrambler with my trusty Player P's and nasty plywood Squier J. I was well pleased with my sound and got several nice compliments about it. Cheers, JRK

Humbleton was a 5-8 acoustic gig. Over an hours drive in rural Wisconsin. We were in the middle of nowhere. Older brewery and family restaurant. The building must have been from the 60s. At first I thought it was going to be a dud. However, the dining room slowly filled up with several fantastic families. We were basically background music. The staff and owner were great. I got paid 100 bucks plus 75 dollars in tips. Before we left the owner gave each of us a rack of barbecue ribs. A fun evening and home safe by 10:00. Thumbs up. Daryl

We lost a great keyboard and bass player last month and held a memorial gig last night. Barry Cooke. He’s been an institution in our little blues scene. So our favourite old dive was jammed , and just about everybody that wasn’t out gigging was there. Some even flew in from Ottawa. Players from all over the province. We managed to get most everybody up. Stage was packed. Wonderful night.

60th birthday bash for a pal of our drummer at a posh cricket club in Edinburgh. We started at 9pm, so the guests were nicely lubricated and started dancing almost right away. We played a trick on birthday boy - while everyone was singing Happy Birthday at the interval, we went back on stage and when they'd finished we launched straight into the Altered Images song. It went down very well. I gave this wee Eden rig an outing as the venue was quite small. It was nice and loud, but I think another 112 cab or my 210 would have cut through a bit better. Something to try next time.

How did it go? Well, there was dancing and whooping and clapping, but what it sounded like is a mystery. The venue has its own PA and the management set the levels via a tablet (except the bass, which no one told me to turn up or down) and the PA was too loud for me, painful at times, even with earplugs and I had to strain to hear my rig, which was right behind me (very small performance area). Turning on the VTDI added some top end that helped but I didn’t want a driven signal for all the tunes. Once we stopped playing, the place emptied, so it’s nice to think they stayed for us. Usual incomprehensible conversations with well oiled punters before the last set, I nodded and smiled.

Bands first gig yesterday. Daytime special at Warminster Bandstand. It was a tad breezy which cramped us all up but it was a fun gig to set the scene of others to come.

Not long back from a fun afternoon at Ellon Gala. A truck trailer gig, yes - haven't done one in ages! It was dry, was sunny when we arrived but clouded over a little later. Wasn't super busy but part of the reason was that the bar area was away from the stage a bit and folk weren't allowed to take drinks out of the assigned area (licensing reasons, I presume). We heard later that folk in there really enjoyed our set, so that was good. It was just fun to play outside though and I think we did well. Remarkably it went pretty much to schedule, only started 5 mins late and had to chop one song from the set - I'm gonna call that a win! Bass was my Wunkay, through my trusty tone cubes (Markbass Mini CMD 121P IV and New York 121)

Played God's waiting room in Wiltshire last night. You expect the hearse to turn up at any moment. I won't name the venue out of respect for the recently deceased. Despite the zombie audience and the adhesive which kept them in their seats, the band played well and enjoyed itself. Tiny stage, nice sound, tight performance. Got paid and got the hell back to civilisation.

Decent gig in Wrexham last night, and a great one in Chesterfield the night before…… I used the Tokai through a house rig last night and the Greco in Chesterfield. Warwick Fortress for one D tuned song.

Just back from the Wannasee Festival in Hertfordshire, playing with tribute act Elton Joel. Frankly enormous crowd - cool view from the stage! The rain held off and we blasted thru a windy 45-min set wedged between Elvis and the Bon Jovi Experience. Back of the net 👌. Enjoyed that.

Just sitting at Warwick services putting some electrons in the car after an epic weekend. This playing music malarkey is quite fun isn’t it Friday and Saturday I was at Epsom Derby in the Family Festival area, playing 5 sets each day with Boogie Monsters, playing on the main stage entertaining the kids and adults who were gracing us with their presence. Friday was cold and a bit wet to begin with, so my fingers started blistering pretty quickly. I switched over to playing with a pick which was somewhere between a disaster and absolutely fine depending on the songs we were playing… but is was great fun - all the crew are brilliant and I hope we get to go back for a third year next year. Saturday night I then played with my pub rock covers band, Wednesday’s Child, in Dorking. That was ace. Loud, sweaty and raucous. One of my best mates from school, and a lurker here I think, was in attendance as was @reggieboomboom . I don’t think I embarrassed myself too much, certainly nothing like some of the Epsom playing 🤪 Got home 1am. This morning I got up 7am to drive to Liverpool with the drummer from Wednesday’s Child, who’s also Katy Hurt’s drummist. We played a very civilised but great fun gig at Strawberry Fields. Was a short but sweet set but we all had fun and I got to meet @jimmyb625 at the end which was ace. Lovely guy, great to meet you! Hopefully home by midnight ready to come back down to earth with a horrific bump with a full 5 day week at work, then another gig next weekend. Wouldn’t change it for the world. (Except maybe the work bit… )

YESTERDAY! Another 'two gigs in one day' Saturday, with different bands this time. First up was the Jones Jazz Orchestra at Church End Brewery somewhere near Nuneaton. Nice place, lovely half of Stout (Stout Coffin 4.5% ABV), decent crowd, very relaxed afternoon. We played a set of 1940s stuff, as we'd been rehearsing for a 1940s event that got cancelled (at an RAF museum in Cosford that shall remain nameless). First gig for the new guitarist who was ace and a new singer who looks about 16 but can really do the business. (He was on BGT with a D-Day themed act a few years ago apparently (presumably when he was about 14)). We played well, sounded good and had a laugh. The brewery owners loved it and said it was the best attended and most enjoyed event they've ever had, so we're looking forward to a return booking. Highlights were a fantastic uptempo Jeff Tyzik arrangement of 'In the Mood', the guitar countermelody in 'Mood Indigo', lovely Emily's vocals on 'Anything Goes' and of course, the Trombone solo in 'Sweet Georgia Brown'. Played the P w/DTFs (the upright is in need of repairs) -> amp board (Thumpinator -> VTDI) -> MB802. Then it was hotfoot to the Bescot stadium in Walsall for Azura (4 piece covers band) at the Midlands Football Awards. Everything was set up by the time I got there (devestated!) so it was a very quick set my stuff up and a 30 second soundcheck. Corporate type affair, dinner and awards with lots of waiting around for us. We had a dressing room, so we sat around and twiddled our thumbs for about three hours... they fed us, so that was nice. First set at 915 for about 45 minutes, not much crowd interaction... one table seemed to be enjoying it and we had fun. More waiting round, back on about 1030 for a brief half hour set to a half empty room. A few dancers up, which is always nice, I went for a wander in the last song - Lekato wireless XLR for IEMs and Subzero wireless bug seem to be doing the job. StingRay -> small board -> amp board -> MB802 Load out was a bit of a faff, we were on the first floor and the lift was tiny... all sorted, back home about 1 for an M&S cider (5.2% ABV?) and a fuss with the cat. Long day, but it's always good to be out playing and the evening do was a good payer, so... pretty happy all things considered.

Friday night played a small but friendly pub for the 10th anniversary of the landlady taking over. Not a great deal of space and a nasty hum for a while, eventually traced to the drummers fan that was right next to me. Sound was good but I completely lost the bass at the start of the second set. Coming through the PA, but for some reason not my IEM's. I had had to turn the amp right down for the first set and can only assume that I knocked the master when we went back on, but why it disappeared from my IEM's when it was in the PA was beyond me. Turned the master up and the bass came back but was too loud so initially barely touching the bass (because the sound I was getting was great). Eventually rolled the level back on the bass and everything settled down. Otherwise a good night with a singing, dancing crowd so...

No, I've seen loads with his name on... does he keep loosing them? My Son is like that with his coat. 😉

Yesterday I did a gig (3 x 30-40 minute sets). Turns out each pluck of a double bass string registered as a step on my watch. During the gig it counted just over 14,000. I was quite impressed.

Last weekend we did an afternoon set at The Bull in Horley for their annual bands and bbq event. Was disappointed to realise that we started at the same time as the FA Cup final kicked off but it went well including easing our new, soon to be, lead vocalist in with half a dozen numbers. Plus a photographer snapped a nice pic of my bass (and me!)

Played with my blues power trio The Andy Wales Blues Band at Leicester’s Riverside Festival on Sunday. Two-day festival but we lucked out by getting the hot sunny day yay. Took my Markbass LM2, 1x12 and 2x10 traveller cabs and my number one Yamaha BB604 which was punchy and growly. No pics yet as I lost track of everyone who I knew in the audience immediately afterwards so I couldn’t ask. Thankfully one kind soul sent me this which gives a rough idea.

Supremely amicable. We knew that 2023 was going to be the last year due to geographical differences. So we booked all of our favourites venues and had a bloody whale of a time. Played some of our best shows and went out on a real high after 13 years. We're all still good mates, the WhatsApp group is still lively and we're all meeting up in Coniston in August for a bit of a reunion set at a little local mini festival.

Was back at the Hive in Edinburgh on Thursday there with Wild Hogs. We almost had to pull the gig as our singer was struggling to speak with a sore throat and the drummer had staved his thumb badly, but they both powered through. Was a great night, not a huge crowd, but all very enthusiastic and joined in with a lot of singing and dancing. Past couple of gigs have been like that after a not so great one a couple of months back. Wee break for us now for holidays & Download. Gear pictured - Squier 40th Anniversary Precision, 2 Markbass New York 121s, Warwick Gnome and HX Stomp.

Jack, believe me we have plenty of places that aren't intoto comping food. And to be honest I think we might have held the owner up for the ribs. Lol I had 1 comped diet coke. Daryl

Sadly I’ve been there (no idea why you wouldn’t lend me your bass 🤣). But seriously, gigs like that are just a right pain in the donkey.

I've had positive comments about my bass, my playing, my sound etc in the past (sometimes!) but never been complimented on my dress sense/knees!

Afternoon charity gig…classic car show in Wisbech at the Five Bells supporting East Anglia Air Ambulance. Cool weather, but a good crowd and the pub staff was excellent. I was really happy with the new cabs…really good even with no PA feed. Trace Elliot GP12smx, Genz Benz Focus 1x12 cabs, Fender Jazz 24.

Well just home and having a coffee and biccies after a wee gig in The Cave in Paisley near Glasgow. 1hr motorway drive so an easy one plus a 6-9pm spot makes an early home time afterwards. Its a regular for Emergency Exit punk covers band and when we sound checked we had approx 10-15 peoples in. Within a few songs it was busy. Lots of applause and people bopping away around the pub and lots of people staring at us (i'm hoping in awe but maybe disgust ) Went down well, we played well and a few good comments at the end about my bass playing. "f***ing brilliant bass playing mate" . Used the Sandberg MarloweDK tonight into my Handbox WB-100 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs. Was sounding pretty good. Dave

I love that your socks match your stand!

FWIW the power amp class has very little to do with clean versus colored. That's mainly the product of the pre-amp section.

Ha, you've been on the run for a month and a half, you scamp! Nice way to bow out, great score!

Played a gig in London once where we went on first. The next band broke up during our set! We looked out the window of the Camden barfly and could see members of said band fighting each other in the street. Cue awkward 45 minute gap until the headline band played. Their tour manager was loading out their gear and merch by himself. All in all a bizarre experience.

I like to tinker, and I wouldn’t get that pleasure from a high end bass, not to mention being terrified to gig with it because of the inevitable punishment it would take. I like low/mid range basses that I’m not afraid to upgrade and play around with. Just ordered a Seymour Duncan pup for my HB five-string and I’ll take great pleasure from gigging with it.

Pub/club venues also like 2x45 as the interval is when they sell another good number of drinks.

Or alternatively Pedro was a native of California being paid a Californian salary. The difference in price due to wages and infrastructure being the biggest difference between MIA and high end MIM Fenders IMO.

I've used banjo armrests for instruments with little or no contour on the top. A chrome one looks pretty cool on a Dano.

Trumpin' Jack Flash — Rolling Stones

Good luck with the Stomp - be interested to see how you get on. Seems to be very common tale (including with my own bandmates) of users finding the Stomp needing quite a lot TLC to get to a sound that folk are happy with and more often than not giving up along the way, whereas something like the GT 1000 Core seems to be a lot quicker out of the box. I see that the B1-4 lives on to fight another day! Tbf I'm still managing to get more from mine since first they first came out in three years ago e.g. recently creating a set of bespoke preamp patches for my two gigging basses rather than having a one-size fits all approach which having access to a PC editor lacking on the B2-4 makes it a doddle to do.

You're all good. If I may quote the appropriate exclusion in the "rules": "Educational purchases, ie tutorial books, lessons, anything that furthers your playing is permitted." Crack on!

I’m on the journey towards no backline. As I’ve said on here I’ve gone from a 1500W amp and two 4x10’s down to a 400W 1x15 Neo equipped combo. I now let the PA do the work and the combo is there just as my personal monitor. Its taken me a long time and a lot of experimentation to get a FOH bass sound I’m happy with, and I’m just about there with my IEM feed sound too, so I’m not far away from going no amp. That said, both of my bands have guitarists who are wedded to their small all valve combos so it probably won’t happen anytime soon. As to whether I would I ever sell all my amps, that’s a definite no. As others have said, the minute I did Sod’s Law says I'd get the offer of an interesting gig/dep that required decent backline.

Not even the Stones play it anymore. Jagger said he wasn't even sure what he was thinking when he wrote it and certainly wouldn't have written it today. The world moves on, there are better songs. Some even have more than 3 chords.

This is my current preamp and practice tool of choice, its absolutely fantastic.

You're right Dave. From my experience (unless you're a big name act with 40/50 years of material to work with and millions of adoring fans) audiences do have a limited attention span and it's best for everyone to acknowledge this when planning setlists. I think for a covers / tribute band 2x60 min sets are more than adequate. I honestly don't see the point in adding songs to the sets and making them so much longer, other than satisfying the ego of some band members who don't know when enough is enough! Also bear in mind that venues like plenty of time to sell more drinks which is probably when the band is having a break / interval. Older audiences like to stretch their legs / go to the loo / grab another beer etc without feeling they're being a nuisance or missing out on some of the band's set. Personally I've always preferred one longer set from a playing point of view - easier to maintain the audience's attention and choose the songs to make the whole thing more cohesive. When my old band played some festivals we found the one set thing a revelation after being used to doing 2x60 minute sets in theatres. ( Unfortunately if we tried to opt for one set, with no support act, in theatres then we would be charged more by the venue to offset their loss on bar takings. )