Leaderboard

Doing Rock of Ages all week, on stage. Not my normal vibe and first time playing with wound rounds in about a decade. Fun though! Opening night insta.mov

A quick update to this story I didn't get the gig but I did get to sing and Dance with Jay and Cheryl from Bucks Fizz (The Fizz as they are called now) I made the final 15 of which one is already a 90s boy band star (but I don't know who) I though I did ok. My vocals were spot on and the dancing passable back to normality for me now

Can confirm the Squier Sonic Precisions are excellent for the money. Mine cost £100 secondhand. The only changes I made was to swap the neck from my Squier Jazz bass because I prefer darker fretboards, and put some La Bella flats on it. Oh, and a tugbar cause I use them. For £150 all in, I’ve got a super lightweight, excellent sounding Precision. Don’t need to upgrade the tuners or the bridge or the pickups, it’s fine as it is. Probably one of the best bass buys I’ve ever had.

Bit late on this again I'm afraid. I mentioned about my 4 gig week last week - Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. And just had the Saturday and Sunday to report on. Saturdays gig was a wedding with the function band. Converted barn in thr middle of nowhere. Arrived and apparently their old 'non cut out' limiter, had been replaced that week, with one set to 95db, but right above the stage - knocking out stage sockets, if the red light was solid for 9 seconds. Utterly ridiculous. The couple who run it were lovely, and gave us a long extension lead to another room. It was put in by the owner (farmer and landowner, and a more obnoxious bloke you'd struggle to meet anywhere else). He turned up two songs in and went ballistic, pulling the power out. We were already playing really quiet, and I mean really quiet. A few , let me say discussions were had with the tw*t. We demonstrated that at the back of the venue, the smart phone apps of a few of the guests were reading mid 80's, and just outside, it was mid 60's. He wouldn't have it, as apparently he'd had an 'expert' to install it. It was eventually agreed that we'd carry on, as we'd started and a good night was had by all. He said he'd get it moved to end of the barn. Ho hum Sunday's gig was a pub with the Northern Soul band (exactly the same line up, but different drummer). This was an absolute belter of a gig. So it turned out, that out of the four gigs, the cheapest and least plush one, was the best. I've got a Ska gig tomorrow (two of the members of the function and Northern Soul bands are in that too- sort of a big family of bands really). This will now be back up to a five piece, as the sax/guitar player who's dying, has said he'd very much like to carry on and gig as long as he can. I'll be surprised if he sees Christmas really. Many thanks for the comments about this on the previous page (my last post). I'll try and get a picture of tomorrow's gig. Though any of you in East Anglia may recognise him, as he's been around for a bit. He's quite private, so he may not want anyone to know outside of our close knit group of three bands. Thanks again guys for the comments earlier - death and taxes eh?

They've always been popular with audiences of all ages. People are so sniffy about them but I clearly remember how refreshing they sounded when they burst onto the scene. Just what music needed at the time.

We've added (even) more Oasis songs to the three/four we have in the set, if we weren't all so good-looking we could think about a Trib act... 😐🙂 Playing (mostly) in the North West it really is a no-brainer for Oasis stuff; like it or not, the punters love it - they did even before those Gallagher boys became the topic of conversation again...

I was at the other end of the telescope tonight, meeting of a new entertainments/promotions committee for the club I do all the posters for. Chap I hadn't met before but who is in an originals band and recently promoted a successful four-band night commented that lots of venues are suddenly demanding Oasis tributes. He added that a covers band could quickly learn a load of Oasis songs and charge tribute rates. I replied "That will take them a few hours!"

The Squire Sonic's are really good for the money also. I have a Burst Sonic which cost me £155 from GAK. It also has a Jazz spec maple neck as standard and the frets were so good out the box. I changed out the pickguard for gold alu one, shielded it, put some Olympia flats on it and fitted some Jazz knobs.

Paired the 10s with an EBS Reidmar 750 and absolutely blew me away. perfect sound from a tiny package. Got bless modern engineering and manufacturing. First gig tomorrow. Will update.

JJB on prog https://www.loudersound.com/features/jj-burnel-stranglers-caravan "There are songs we’ve done over the years that could be seen as prog – and I wouldn’t deny it"

Harley Benton. Just so much better than the price point they sell them at. i have a couple of Squier basses and there's no comparison. Not that the Squiers are bad, just not in the same league.

I had gone down to see them at portsmouth guildhall in 83, my friends had said 'oh they are a bit like genesis', and I liked genesis so it sounded fine. They were nothing like genesis but I really enjoyed the gig, and still love script for a jesters tear.

I'm not surprised, with it sloping that much.

This is why basschat exists, our brains are wired this way. We’re searching but we will never find…. 🤔

You want JJB tone but your current head is too aggressive/gnarly.....?

https://www.labella.com/strings/category/super-polished/

It finally arrived today, and I must admit that my first impressions were rather mixed. It was perhaps unfair, but I took delivery at work, which meant that the only initial go I could have on it was through an old 30W amp and not very loud - basically "is it working?". I was initially impressed with the fit and finish. The tuners are excellent - smooth, easy turning but with no play. The neck is what one expects from Sire - satin finish, lovely rolled fingerboard edges. But I have to say that I was not impressed with the knobs - they feel lightweight and cheap, and to cap it off the passive tone ring was loose and kept turning beyond its end. I wasn't sure if the knob was loose or it was a dodgy pot. The pots are all different in feel especially in the detents - the bass knob has a very severe detent that engages with an audible click, but the blend pot's detent is vague and very easy to turn past. Anyway, I got it home and things got better. Thankfully, the tone ring/knob was just loose, pot was fine. Giving it a proper blast through my pedalboard things really opened up, tone-wise. The pickups sound great to my ears. The neck pickup, despite its diminutive size compared to the bridge holds its own when soloed, but admittedly does get a little lost when blended. The preamp is OK once you get used to it. I find that the bass pot does very little. I have found that the best way to control this bass is to leave the treble and bass centred, dime the mid control then use the mid sweep as your primary tone control, using the others for seasoning. The passive tone works in both active and passive modes, which pleased me. It doesn't have a huge range, but glad it's there. The blend pot is a bit all or nothing, but that doesn't bother me as I'd be using it like a switch anyway. Little creature comforts include the passive mode working even with the batteries removed, making it a full on "get out of jail free" card in case of battery depletion. There is very little volume difference between passive and active - in fact with the preamp set flat, I'd say passive is louder. My wireless bugs get along fine with the bass regardless of it being in active or passive mode - I know some cheap wireless bugs don't like active basses, but mine is happy enough (Lekato WS-70 for reference). So my main (and to be honest only) beef is the knobs. I think they're ghastly. They'll be getting changed - replacements have already been ordered. But that's my only complaint, apart from nitpicky points about the preamp. Enough waffle, have some pics.

Tonight's gig rig. 🤠

This image sums up my 1990’s time…..hoping we get to the gig!

I've been following Blu for a long while, a good few years. We were asked what upcoming bassists should get a Bass Player Magazine feature way back and Blu got a front cover piece, deservingly. Other than being a great song writer for her genre, Blu definitely knows how to craft an inspired bass line, citing James Jamerson and other calssic bassists as an influence. So, gets my vote. I'd like a nice jazz bass and this one would be quite close to my penchant for shiny finishes ha ha!!

That's actually quite common for some compressors, it's the same thing that the strangely alluring @Frank Blank describes in his post preceding yours. They add a certain something to your tone that isn't compression as such but still enhances your tone. But not all of them do it, the 1176 rack unit and the Origin Cali76 are probably the most famous examples of ones that add something, as is the Diamond. And on the other side you have things like the Aguilar TLC which are ultra-transparent and neither add nor take away from your tone. Personally, I prefer something that adds its own character, and as you have observed, it's something you can't really recrate any other way.

I was wondering how these looked without a scratch plate as a I don’t like the one they use, and saw this on FB! Oooff! Finally the lower horn looks In proportion.

Damn. @Frank Blank had his fingers crossed for the Dollar reunion.

I think it's awesome it's my go to for fun but it is loud, my plan is to use it for recording either try the di or mic the cab. I've got the capo and the cranbourne audio ec1 so the plan is to record a signal from the either the capo or the Cranbourne and send the clean signal to the ashdown for a more overdriven tone. Might be overkill or it might be great but I'm glad I bought it either way. However, buying the Ashdown has made me buy a P Bass to get that old school vibe. I blame Ashdown! Seriously though I really like it.

I'd agree with the 'they certainly make you think you're better' sentiments above, plus for those super-talented musicians inextricably linked with drugs (most of whom we have no definite Clean performances for to compare with the opposite), I'd suggest they were fantastic despite the drugs. The shrinking number of stoners I know (they're all artists of one sort or another ) have always come up with convoluted excuses to get out of it while pursuing their art (including a common contradiction in terms of 'it vagues me out, I can concentrate more'), but if you've convinced yourself you need to be altered while performing, then that will subconsciously restrict your performance when you know you're not. I can, however, completely see how Weasel Dust is the entertainer/performers drug of choice for stage times, providing the King Of The World sensation that allows uninhibited performance. It's when the audience are the ones gurning and grinding and thinking (in spite of all the rational evidence otherwise) that they're All That that it becomes tedious.* * Wow, I got into a bit of a 'that' loop there...my apologies. I must stop snorting Shake'n Vac**... ** Terrible high, but leaves you with lovely fresh sinuses...

I remember Sabbath, that was funny, I particularly liked their smoke on the water! Actually I say I remember none of it, I actually remember quite a lot, but maybe the music specifically wasn't important. I remember leaving without a girlfriend and getting back with one. I remember watching a guy a few tents away from us watching his bike go up in flames, then him spending the entire weekend rewiring it. I remember spending the last few hours in reading at the new Thames Valley police office, waiting to identify our stuff that was nicked from our tent and I remember the heat and parched land. But the bands, yes I saw quite a few of them, but I was never really one for listening to bands!

Do drugs make you a better player? Yes! I give them to all audience members.

Including pulling their skirts off, or have they dropped that now?

This is our 41st year as a band (admittedly with some breaks and other projects), but we’re going stronger than ever, writing some really great new material, and attracting a lot of younger people to come to see us live. My voice is fine, drummer can still do it, So we have no plans to retire yet, as we’re having a bit of an Indian Summer to be honest…. even though, I managed to fall sideways off the stage at the last gig last weekend.

Ditto. I did see something on SBL about her, but totally ignored it, like I do with a lot of their content. I’m guessing that if she looked like Bella Emberg (Google it), then nobody would give a monkeys who she was. The bass isn’t my bag aesthetically, but I’m an old man who likes Thunderbirds, so what do I know about any of it.

All this talk of compressors made me put my photon death ray back on my board which is where it will still stay as I'd forgotten how much I like it. I've also realised you can have more than one comp on your board so I'll still be using the Spectracomp for some stuff. So, for those interested, I got re-acquainted with the pdr last night and here are my thoughts; it's optical plus has the logarithmic 'human ear' side chain filter, consequently it definitely applies more compression the higher on the neck you go. D & G strings light up the death ray led way more than the E & A. As mentioned in the ovni lab review, if you want to tame errant low end dynamics, this won't do it. The three position threshold switch is where the action is. On high, it doesn't kick in much but still changes the overall tone with a warmth to the bass frequencies. Mid allows the low notes to bloom before kicking in with the high register activating the comp much more, high end air is how I would describe it. Although the bass notes isn't activating the comp as much as the high, the overall tone in the lower register sounds bigger. On Low threshold the low notes activate the comp all the time and here you need to back off the blend to about 50% otherwise it sounds a bit strangled, but at this blend setting you just get a tight sound overall. This was with 75% comp, so backing off that a bit releases the stranglehold somewhat and you still get a tight sound. Mid was at 75% comp, 75% blend, and is my fav setting and always on. A great pedal but only if you take into account the limitations of an optical comp that won't tame big low spike dynamics.... potential not great in a slap setting.

Have just bought a preamp from Bass Direct. It arrived well under 24 hours of ordering it. I ordered it over the phone, from Mark, having already spoken to him earlier in the day at length about which preamp to get. He couldn’t have been more helpful and patient and we had a good laugh along the way (apparently there’s a clone of me living in Islington but that’s another story).

My new love arrived today. Added Rotosound 77s for reggae, 60s pop & Northern Soul.

Significantly stumpier than my D5 at least: Headstock length from nut to farthest edge D5 - 239mm Z7 - 208mm Centre of E tuner to centre of G tuner (approx) D5 - 145mm Z7 - 131mm So, the headstock is quite a bit shorter, and they've squashed the tuners together a smidge on the Z7.

Contrary to the popular saying, the Customer isn't always right, but is always the Customer.

Never heard of her. I love it when press releases put things like 'taking the music world by storm'.... 🤣 Nice looking bass though....!

But it just as easily be automated to appear 2-3 days after notification of dispatch which would be a lot more useful and welcome.

I will say one thing that made me chuckle - as soon as the order confirmation email came through, a second one immediately followed asking for a review. Umm, save it for the dispatch confirmation email at least? I'm not going to review you when I haven't even had any service from you yet, save for your very efficient removal of funds from my bank account

Vanderkley 210MNT + 210LNT (2.7 ohm total) + Glockenklang Heart Rock II = 1000 watts of Glockenesque Klanginess.

I used to worry about that a lot but found that while sounding crap close up it sound quite different - and a lot better - a few metres away where the people that matter are standing! In fact I've found that if it sounds nice and full-bodied to me on stage it probably sounds muffled and/or boomy out front, although as we al know every DB's different so this may not apply to yours at all. But try checking out recordings taken from the room itself to see how it's sounding out there

My wife had a hat that looked a bit like that, but it was fluffy. Same colour, though. One day we went fishing and she was sat behind me, it was the middle of winter so she had her fluffy hat on. The lake seemed empty, I couldn’t see anyone else fishing. At one point, as I was casting, I managed to hook her hat without realising, and I cast that bloomin’ thing half way across the lake! Then I heard, very loudly, from behind some reeds: “What the hell’s that?! A bloody chicken?!”. I just sat there, dumbfounded, until eventually my wife suggested I reeled it back in. Fortunately, the hook was still attached to the hat (I was worried because it was barbless). We went home after that, though, because her head was cold…