Leaderboard

No gigs this weekend. I was with my first grandchild. Daryl

So….. I’m putting this here rather than the build diaries because it’s complete. I found the bass on the bay for peanuts, largely because it had a warped (forward bowed) neck, and the truss rod was maxed out. The previous owner had given up on it, describing it as “f@&£&d and bent like a banana” and “ beyond help”. “The fretboard will need to come off and the truss rod replaced….. it’s f£&!@d mate”. Is it really I thought. First job, will the truss rod loosen and the nut come off….. Yep, it did. So, knowing that the truss rod worked, I knew there was hope. I Ordered some tiny washer/shims to drop onto the end of the loose truss rod, just to give the nut some help when it goes back on. I also found, unbelievably, a period correct truss rod cover to replace the one that was missing, thanks to the awesome Henning at Twang vintage guitars in Sweden…. Next, was to clamp it, over heat (a hot water bottle) to coax the neck straight again. Actually it was clamped slightly more the other way, so that it could be loosened off a bit if needs be. I cooked it for an hour, and tightened the truss rod back up while it was still clamped and hot. The hot water bottle doesn’t get hot enough to worry about melting the glue, but the neck got pretty hot under there. After it came out, the result was absolutely perfect, with a slightly bent backward neck, still under tension from the truss rod. The heat had worked perfectly. The plan was to fit the strings in the morning and loosen the truss rod off a bit if needs be to get the action right. So, all that was yesterday, and today the strings went on, after cleaning and conditioning the beautiful fretboard With sheer blind luck, when fully tuned up, the action was perfect! Lovely low and buzz free, it’s spot on at the first attempt. Needless to say I’m over the moon….. These Korean ones had the US made white top pickups, and are really well made and respected, although the shape isn’t for everyone. They CAN fetch quite a bit on the used market. The plan was to fix it, practice my tech skills then flip it….. but I dunno…. 😆, I really love how this bass turned out… What a cracker of a bass. Another one saved from the parts bin. Delighted indeed. Thanks for reading this far 🤘🏻

A nice festival gig for us on Saturday playing a nice 60 min Nirvana set . It's great to see all ages enjoying some good old 90's grunge! Ripper into a Hiwatt and Barefaced 6x10 was sublime.

I’ve only written one new bass day post before but I’ve been very excited to share this one because it’s the first bass I’ve ever had built to my spec: a Dingwall D-Roc Custom 5-string in matte ari gold. I’ve had it a couple of weeks now but it’s taken me a short while to get around to writing the post. I would love to blame the delay on spending all my time playing the bass but I’m hoping that time is to come. From ordering to having it in my hands playing it took just shy of a couple of years, although I think the expected wait times have slipped out a bit since then. I was playing my Thunderbird a lot at the time of ordering but wanted a good five string. Ian Allison serendipitously released a video comparing the Thunderbird to a D-Roc and I was quickly on the phone to Bass Direct checking what was possible. The bass is effectively the D-Roc Custom stock spec except, like the ari gold D-Roc in Ian Allison’s video, it has a wenge neck. In a divergence to the one in the video, I asked for no face dots, no pick-guard and uniform dark wenge to go for a sleek black/gold look. It came out exactly as I hoped it would. I’m looking forward to spending more time with it. I’m relatively used to fanned frets from playing an NG3 but it would be good to spend more time building some muscle memory. The tone is more growly than that of the NG3, which is what I was hoping for. It’s also the first fully-passive 5-string bass that I’ve owned. It’s a bit strange not to be playing with a fully-featured preamp but the 4-way pick-up selector means there are a variety of tones available. I would write/gush more but I have a bass to play!

Not my favourite show… at all. A gig at a festival in Northwich. I rented possibly the worst hotel en route (didn’t spot the shared bathroom bit and there wasn’t even a curtain over the window of my room!). I contemplated sleeping in the car but pressed on to the show after a mixed night’s sleep. Just a line check, which was fine, but when we came on, someone had knocked my bass and the A string was significantly out. I tried tuning it but it was difficult to do discreetly. Sorted it out and then it sounded like the house cab had blown. The sound engineer just kinda left me hanging. Upon reflection, I think my wireless was the issue letting me down. Annoyed at myself for not overcoming the issue. I tried to put on a good show (& the audience said it sounded fine out front) but I think if you knew, you knew. I’ll be more on it in future but yeah, not my favourite set. I got sent a couple of nice pictures which I am sure would look nice on my mother in law’s mantelpiece!?!

Saturday was my newish pop punk band playing a birthday party at a tiny bar in the wilds of County Durham. Good gig, and a real trial by fire for our hastily-recruited new drummer who outdid himself. Very happy all around. This project is struggling to find its feet a little and so it was really nice to have a good gig. We have a medley in C that seems to get longer every gig. It's for songs that we have tried to turn into pop punk versions but they haven't quite worked, if there are any salvageable bits that do work we add them to a medley. The crowd simply would not let us transition out of 'Country Roads' to the point where I was able to just tap the root notes and pick up my phone. Oh well, if they're happy... Joke's on them though, it's 'Mysterious Girl' next in line, much better song. Rig was my Fender P, into a HX Stomp, into my IEMs. Sunday was a farewell gig to my indie rock band after 6 years of being my main project. Mostly family and friends of our two guitarists in attendance. They're the full on mods with the scooters and the haircuts to prove it, so we packed the tiny tiny pub when you put all of them lot on top of the locals. Rig was, funnily enough, my Fender P into a HX Stomp (well the car was already packed) but GET THIS, no IEMs for this band so I used my QSC K12.2 behind me as backline. Sore throat from the night before meant my dodgy backing vocals weren't needed and also we've already sold our subwoofer so I felt a little more ooomph wouldn't go amiss.

First gig outside London on Saturday (only third one overall). Part of an all-day do in a pub in Chatham...looked a bit rough and ready when we got there (set up in the corner of the pub, no stage kind of affair), and a proper jamboree bag of acts, but we went down really well and played a really good set. Mrs. Pook and I had hired a car for the weekend (for non-band purposes), so we drove down and back rather than getting the train. We gave the guitarist a lift there and back, might be a while before he accepts the offer of a lift again as Mrs. Pook and I sang along to Absolute 80s radio all the way back. He sat in the back, occasionally mentioning that he didn't know any of the songs... First time gigging my Ibanez EHB - very impressed. It'll take a bit to get used to it, sound-wise, after using my Spector for so long, but boy.....so much lighter !

We had a hilarious moment towards the end of our set on Saturday, we were playing Stacy's Mom, and the guitarist didn't realise he still had his expression pedal set to pitch shift. I could barely continue the song for laughing 🤣🤣🤣👌 VID-20240824-WA0006.mp4

Congratulations Daryl! Maybe this will start a new thread - bassists and their grandchildren?!

Did an interesting beer festival gig today with my pop/punk band, our first gig since BC (Before Covid) and a completely new set of songs which our band leader had written in lockdown. Being a microbrewery in a small industrial unit, the acoustics were pretty crappy. Hard floors and walls, high ceiling, and the world’s smallest PA. Honestly I’ve seen home hi fi systems which are bigger. House bass amp was a 30W Ampeg Rocket combo, so naturally I took my Handbox WB100 and Barefaced Two10. Both guitarists had their 2x12s 😆🤦🏼‍♂️ Soundman looked a bit scared, bless him. Overall though, it sounded great. Seemed well balanced out front from the videos I’ve seen, albeit with a PA being pushed hard. We played well and then laughed when the next band announced a song “this is new, we’ve never played it live before so I hope it goes OK”. Er, that was our entire set 😄 So yeah, Youths is the name of the band, new music will be released soon. We need some more gigs as well 😁

Third year for covers band playing at a village event. Due to funding from a green energy company in compensation for disruption, they have a fund to put on an annual event. It involves a free bar for about 4 hours prior to us playing and a paying bar thereafter (which had record takings yesterday evening). This is a good formula for us getting plenty of dancing but thankfully not too many drunks tripping over cables! One very enthusiastic dancer kept going for both of our sets bless her but was asleep on a table when we were packing up. Concerned organisers had the mop bucket out and were trying to get her home. Her fella was staggering around in the road outside, falling over our kit as we tried to load up. More amusing than annoying but I did feel a bit worried for the dancer (not so tiny as it happens), who looked like a candidate for a stomach pump. The gig went very well for us, except for the rhythm guitarist’s DI dropping out in the second set. We really haven’t got to grips with the Soundcraft digital desk yet. We have issues every time we use it. I was using my LFSys Monza with Blackstar U700 and Guild Starfire 1, plus a custom P/J shorty. I am very happy with this set up DI into the PA but I did find the Starfire was causing the amp to clip a bit when I was digging in and I had to turn down the input gain a bit. The Starfire’s pickup is very responsive to playing dynamics. I must learn to let the amp do the work, as I have blisters on my picking fingers this morning: 2 1/2 hours of playing north of 140 BPM (a lot North of 160).

Photo from Sunday….fretless Spectracore with flats.

Our second last Sunday jam in the old dive , the bar will be moving after next Sunday. I’ve been in the house band for 28 years , hard to believe how the time has gone. I’m the longest there , the drummer has been there for about 26 years. I’m going to miss the old dive , it’s a classic , but am optimistic about the new digs. It will be closed for a week or two during the transition. They will be moving the bar itself. We had a wonderful bunch up to jam , trumpet , two trombones , bari sax , two altos , keyboards , a pile of guitar players , two other bassists , three drummers … a great night.

Y'know, I love reading this thread. Even though I don't know any of you in real life, and haven't seen your bands play, I still get a real kick out of hearing about all the great gigs that have happened for everyone (and commiserate with the disasters). There are so many styles, genres, line-ups, methodologies, countries etc on show but the diversity of it always gives me a real lift. It's a joy to know that so many people are out there playing and bringing music in all its' forms to appreciative (mostly!) audiences. Cheers all. JRK

Last night's rehearsal became a gig at short notice when we played in the local RNLI lifeboat station as our usual hall was the venue for an art exhibition. The Station Manager and one of the helms are in the band so it was all above board. Despite the rain earlier in the day, we played to people coming off the beach and a family who were staying in a holiday cottage a few yards away. Surprisingly for the boat house, the acoustics were good and we had a lot of fun. I played my Hohner 'The Jack' through a Zoom B1Four DI'd into the desk. EDIT: YouTube link to a short video from this 'gig'. This is one of the helmsmen, our band leader.

We supported The Futureheads last summer.* * We played a pub that is owned by one of The Futureheads and after we finished he came on stage, said thanks to the band over the microphone, and then switched the jukebox on. So technically that was a DJ set from a member of The Futureheads, so we did absolutely, unequivocally support them last summer.

A double-header again this weekend (Sat/Sun) for Mustang Sally, once again with a fluid line-up (dep guitarist #1) due to ongoing holidays and stuff. Saturday saw us setting up in the function hall at the Mere Social Club (line-up was D/B+sax/G/KB/Vox+guitar) for a private 70th birthday bash, very well attended by a great audience who seemed to appreciate our medium-octane pop playlist. This list is very much in contrast to the AVGAS-strength guitar fireworks numbers we used to play before our genuine rock-star walked out in May. It does make adding new numbers much easier with virtual rehearsals (and sometimes no rehearsals except the gig!) for simple numbers like ‘Walking on Sunshine’ and ‘2-4-6-8 Motorway’. Compared with, say, ‘Hotel California’ or ‘Echo Beach’ these new numbers are a doddle and the punters do like something really catchy for jumping about to. Pix are from this gig, including one that proves I actually DO play bass! Sunday we played at the George Inn Castle Cary, a gig organised by its enterprising landlady to compensate for the local council cancelling the town’s annual ‘Party in the Park’ on cost grounds – line-up (dep #1 and dep#2 guitarists as KB man away) was D/B+sax/G1+B/G2/Vox+guitar. This pub is a rabbit’s warren of interconnecting bars and rooms so the headbangers can jump around in the hub where we’d set up, while others could eat and drink in relative peace and quiet around the edges! We started at 18:30 and finished at 21:10, so home for an early cocoa; it rained hard during the evening so if the gig had been in the Park, everyone would have been well-drenched… It was another really enjoyable gig with a lovely crowd, resulting in that lovely landlady booking us for NYE – result!

Two gigs this weekend. Friday night at the Yard of Ale in Peterborough. Great crowd from beginning to end. Fun, happy time. This afternoon in Spaldwick at the Greystones playind in support of Addinbrook Hospital. Outdoor gig with lots of families. Plenty of dancing as well. Myusual rig with this band… Spectracore fretless 5, trace head, and twin GB 12’s.

Sorry only photo taken of me the night before with the spitfire. No videos that i know of taken but it all sounded pretty good , you’ll have to take my word on that 😊.

Lol, I thought so Dave. It's a girl, baby Sora. She says she doesn't care about my bass playing or my band. Lol Daryl

My new bass arrived this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see DHL delivering on a bank holiday. After a quick inspection, I started customising it to my liking. It’s a 2022 Sienna Sunburst Player Mustang Bass. I played around with my SS Squier PJ Jaguar bass, which already has short-scale cobalt flats. However, I realised I don’t enjoy the cobalts on a short scale as much as I do on my Thunderbirds. So, after installing the hi-mass bridge, I rummaged through my box of ‘worn-in’ strings and found a set of short-scale LaBella flats with orange silks. I put these on and set up the bass. My initial impression is that it’s a keeper. I made a template to position the thumbrest using my spare JMJ pickguard and carefully drilled some holes with a miniature hand drill. I’m very pleased with this bass. It offers something slightly different from my JMJs and feels and sounds great with the flatwounds. I was considering removing the switch and wiring it like a jazz bass, but I’ve decided against it. The switch provides three easily selectable sounds, including the bridge pickup soloed, which surprisingly is my favorite — at least through my practice setup.

Regarding Botox and fillers etc, or any similar "procedures", they aren't going to make you look younger or fool anybody that you are eternally youthful. At best you will just look like another silly middle-aged bloke who has had botox and fillers to try and hold onto the past. Do you really want to pretend that you are eternally in your twenties? It's no more convincing than someone who is going bald having a comb-over. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look good whatever age you are, but the secret to looking your best is to embrace the inevitable changes and make the most of whatever age you are. Self-consciously trying to look younger will just make you look a pillock. Society has changed so much that you don't even need to change your style that much as you age. Fifty years ago an OAP would have looked ridiculous wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Nowadays no one would notice. You don't have to become an old man just because you are over fourty anymore. If you can maintain a healthy weight then that's a big help as you get older, not just to look good but also because of the health benefits. There's nothing like middle-aged spread to make you look middle-aged. Other than that, you can find a personalised style that makes you look fashionable in a classic way, not necessarily following the latest trend. It's true that age is just a number, but it's a number that signifies how old you are, and how old you are makes profound differences to your life whether you acknowledge it or not. Trying too hard to be younger than your years never works, it just makes you look desperate. You can still look great as you get older, but you have to acknowledge the fact that things are changing and make allowances for that.

I could go all over the place with this one. I'm 70 and all my bandmates are in their 30s. I never mention or bring up anything relative to my generation. I figure at 70 and you can get a woman in her 30s to come within 5 feet of you you're doing good. Lol Daryl

Last night we played at the Coach House in Paignton. We were offered this a couple of weeks ago, as the booked band couldn't make it. Sound check was easy as our last gig was here a month ago and the mixer settings hadn't changed. A good turnout for the bank holiday weekend, with a good group up dancing in the 2nd set. A couple of people who had not seen us before came up to chat and tell me how much they enjoyed the gig. Last time here I used my new Squire Precision, which was fun. This time I took my old StingRay. I asked our drummer how it compared to the Squire and he said the StingRay has just such a better sound in his opinion. Next gig isn't until October, so time for some practicing.

ACG TKO Classic https://acguitars.co.uk/project/0404tkoclassic4-30-5/ EDIT - it is the Dog’s Danglies, especially for rock music. Passive but has a very Spector-esque growl to it, especially with the pickups in series

Just back from standing in for a localish soul/funk band . Marquee gig in a very busy pub garden. Done another gig last night with the same guys and both went very well considering no rehearsal or anything. Last night used my GB Spitfire and today decided to give the distillate a spin. Great fun and I think I gave a good account of myself. 😊👌x

Picked up a new Graft 5 in the Frostbite finish today directly from Alan at ACG HQ. Absolutely loved it from the moment I pulled it out the very nice gig bag. Acoustically felt and played just right and plugged in I was taken aback at the wide spread of tones from a passive bass. Bridge pickup can honk with the best of them and it does the hollow two pickup slap tone supremely well too. Can't wait to start using it with the band! Also had a look at some Retro B Standards with coloured figured tops and East preamps. They were superb and something I will be investigating further. Picking up a used Krell 4 string turned me onto the brand. Glad it did 😍

We had an outdoor gig in Walsall - there was cover over the band, but no chance of moving indoors into the tiny pub if it rained, and it did seem rather ominous (it pissed down in the morning, and briefly in the early afternoon). There was a singer on before us, who finished at 5:15, and we were due on at 6. Working round him as he knocked down, we managed to get completely set up and ready to go by about 5:55, brief soundcheck and we were off. Due to the failure of the woofer on my combo, I was using a Tecamp Puma 900 and BC 112 Mk3 cab, and I noticed that on low notes on a dirty patch I had, it was making rather horrible noises, so I stopped using the dirty patch and all was well again. I did ask Mrs Zero to take some photos, but almost all of them she took while the two guitarists were playing "Time of your life" and the drummer and I were doing nothing. Well, I was doing the traditional "waving of the candle". However, we did have a stage invasion.

Just managed to score a bargain. My favourite shorty strings for my Sandberg are Dunlop Flats. Unfortunately they are an outrageous £95 at Strings Direct, and usually about £80 on Amazon. Amazon had them up for £35 for some reason and I managed to grab 2 sets. At the time they had 5 sets available and with hindsight I should have bought them all as that would have kept me in strings on that bass for the rest of my natural. Still, with 2 sets that should give me a good 10-20 years worth - they last just as long as La Bella DTF (which I've got on a different shorty) I was half expecting the order to be cancelled, but they've just arrived. They are back up to £77 on Amazon at the moment, but it's worth keeping an eye on for future bargains.

Love it! Re finish, funnily enough that's what caught my eye on your original wall-hanging pic. Your pick-up/control configuration is my absolute fave. It's just so versatile and and I don't get why there aren't more basses like it out there. That was what made me buy one of the otherwise ergonomically challenged Fender Rascal basses that I later had re-bodied by our AndyJr.

It is a very sad story. Having met him I felt he was a kid who never grew up, nothing malicious in him.

Thanks; I’m going to use that 🤣 I can just see the advert if I ever decide to sell it: “ this unique multi-role custom bass in satin turdburst “.

So I've been weighing up a lightweight alternative/ back up/ and hoc rehearsal amp for probably the last year or so. I run a GT200 as my only amp presently. I've looked across a few options, such as Mesa, trace berg over the last year or so, but have ended up deciding to try this GSS Sumo Monster with a preamp set up. My main requirement was I wanted lots of power at 8 ohms to run my BF cab with, and expandability to run an 810 if required. So this arrived a couple of days ago. 1200w 4ohm, 800w at 8ohm and weighs c.3.2kg. It includes a power LED mod and variable psu, dual voltage auto detect. It's lightweight, looks sleek and very simple. I've rearranged my board with the origin and that'll be the pre. Had two mins so far with it and it seems pretty cool. Rehearsing on Tuesday so I'll see how it goes and drop some thoughts back. ✌️ pan widget

And here's the long-awaited debut gig ...

Full version of 'Surrender'. I'd like to hope it isn't going to shock anyone but it'll sound a 'bit' like the original... tribute means just that for us.

Amen to that. Yesterday I realised I was digging in too much to keep up with two guitars. Turned up the volume and finger plucked quite softly for the rest of the set until Born to be Wild. Then I dug in.

New Gretsch SS’s arriving in December. I think this looks absolutely stunning and if it plays anything like my Jet Junior it’ll be a winner! I’m trying to decide what bass to move on in order to get one as I cannot justify another bass in the house. https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/240610425239008--gretsch-streamliner-jet-club-bass-havana-burst?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD76p-21Y2lfZoDDl8TxLK9Yy07sz&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIiLariKOSiAMV-ZyDBx0iODYvEAQYDyABEgKMYPD_BwE

I second this - as bass amps are quite big, and people are keen to get rid of them when the amp stops being the flavour of the month, there are some amazing bargains to be had often for less than £100. Fender Rumbles seem to be available on facebook marketplace.

I’ll need an hour or so then I’ll find a signal and get the thread sorted and updated

All drummers should be listening to the bass, but this isn't always the case. Ours does and I listen to him too as we like to keep a tight rhythm section. Our singer is very aware of the bass too, because if I play a bum note it can throw him off sometimes. I know our guitarist is listening too, well sometimes. I would hope the rest of any band know how important bass is, but as you say it can look like they are focusing on their own performance. Once I was was having some gear problems and had to stop playing whilst the rest carried on. They all found out how important the bass is as the song sounded empty without bass.

I'd say for least financial loss buy something fairly decent and avoid anything that says 'practice amp' The reasoning is this: if you buy something old but good you'll be able to re-sell at more of less the price you pay. On top of that most 'practice amps have terrible speakers and tone. Your novice is going to be discouraged by poor tone and enthusiastic about making lots of lovely bassiness. They'll be even more encouraged if their first amp is good enough to jam along with mates. My first amp was a Hartke Kickback 10, bought for £100, used for four years and sold for £100 and I even gigged with it a few times and used it for dozens of rehearsals. A small gigging combo might be easier to re-sell and be a better bet and it will certainly be nicer to play

Played our first Fringe gig last night with the punk band. Well, it was in a Fringe venue although not an official show. But it does mean we can be economic with the actualité and casually say that 'when we played the Fringe...' Fake it 'til you make it and all that. The Stingray had its second outing and acquitted itself very well. The bass amp was an old Laney box - no idea of the model - but the Stingray sounded really good through it.