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Thekla in Bristol on Saturday night supporting The Men They Couldn't Hang. The venue is a boat which is very weird. Loads of steps to load down. They shared their drum shells, but I still had to carry my hardware box down. Sweating before soundcheck! A long way to drive from Stoke for a 30 minute set but it felt worth it. Amazing reception from a crowd that don't know us, although we didn't sell much merch. Hopefully some of them will come to our headline show in Bristol later in the year. No photos from the gig but this is us waiting to soundcheck

Bit random. There was a bunch of Americans and an old guy getting into us. Halfway through the old guy steps up and thrusts a number into my hand and says, “You’re incredible, the best bass player I’ve ever seen, I want you on my new album, call me.” It was the guitarist from Mott the Hoople. random

Played a pretty wicked venue in Southampton yesterday - Papillon. All day doom festival Abyssal fest, hosting some awesome bands and a great vibe all day. Performance was really enjoyable and seemed to go down pretty well. 10/10 fun.

Mustang Sally were booked in the George pub, Mere in Wiltshire again (well, three of the band do live there) and it was Carnival night once more on the Saturday just gone. The roads through the centre are closed at 18:00 to protect the crowds on the street and let the floats lumber their way through to the parade starting-point. Very sensible of course, but for me living nearly 50 miles away it meant leaving home at 16:45 and even then only just getting through the barricades with two minutes to spare. Setting up in the pub was very relaxed as our first set was only due to start at the end of the parade (about 20:30), so sound-checks were actually possible. Unfortunately those checks were early doors in a quiet corner of the main bar that later filled to bursting point with a crazy scrum of singing, dancing and somewhat leathered punters, so my sax set ended up with my lungs turned up to 11 even with the radio mic - see video... Time went quickly, we managed to finish at exactly 23:00 as per the pub’s licence, the landlord immediately booked us for the same gig next year and I was actually home by 00:30, happy to slurp a post-match cup of tea, but not so impressed with the sturdy welcome-home present my cat had left for me in his litter box… WhatsApp Video 2024-09-15 at 18.22.44_ff42baf4.mp4

Oddish one this weekend; a 3:30pm start yesterday at a Bowling Club in Burnley...yeah, sounds like a recipe for disaster all round, but it was OK. In fact it was better than of late because we had the #2 drummer who I know of old, so we got to entertain ourselves during the more boring numbers (Sit Down, Sweet Home Alabama*) by playing off each other around and about the song. Audience were another 60+ lot; age, not numbers, sadly, despite the landlady saying 'It'll get really busy later'; I can only presume she meant after we'd left, because there was no evidence of 'busy' anywhere; maybe 25 people all afternoon. 2 x 45, encore not requested, so they didn't get one. We had more room than we've had in a while, which was OK, and I was home for half six, which will do, I suppose. Under-8lb Cheapo P, Stomp, inears. * Revived on the spot for the set (I pulled my face a bit) because they weren't an indie crowd, so we'd shelved several songs, SoF being one of them, so I guess swings/roundabouts...

First one in a while! 4 Play (still funny? 😳) at the riverside in Sutton bridge. 4 - 7pm so a nice time slot. Actually played well until the getard swapped axes… to one which WASN’T tuned down 1/2 step 😝. Thankfully I play five so I just shifted but what a nob! Good crowd, singing and dancing, landlord happy (pissed, but they normally are in the Fens). Home in time for antiques Roadshow!! As always, Fender Dimension USA V Into GK Rb700 and barefaced BB2. The amp is like “I know the output from your humbuckers is too hot and things are distorting but it sounds so damn nice please can I have some more of that?”. So I obliged. I’m dimly aware that there are “not humbuckers” available… meh. Not for me ta.

Strictly NAW (week) as I picked this up from @essexbasscat the previous weekend. It has also belonged to @krispn - not the first time I have owned stuff after him, the guy obviously has great taste! The amp in question is a Fender TB600 head, which combines a valve preamp and overdrive stage with a chunky Class AB output section in a 2U rack format. I have had a hankering for one of these on-and-off for a while, so when the stars aligned I went for it. My first go with it through my BF Super Twin was not very auspicious as there was a bit of a crackle and when I switched it on the second time it went dead. This last was user error - on close inspection, the amp has a rated power consumption of 900W, which at 240V mains equates to a current draw of nearly 4A. A toroidal transformer (which this amp has) also draws a high inrush current, so no wonder! As well as fitting a higher rated fuse in the mains lead in place of the 3A, I decided to give the amp a quick service. The innards are easily accessible once the top cover is removed, allowing me to remove and test both 12AX7 valves (Groove Tubes badged, Russian made, original fitment and still good) and treat all the pots, sockets and switches with switch cleaner. No more crackle after that! I also spotted an intact 10A fuse on the power inlet board which reassured me that there wasn't likely to be a troublesome short circuit somewhere. I also replaced the bolts securing one of the front grab handles as it had taken a knock at some time and they had been bent. None of this should be taken as criticism of the seller - it's an 18-year-old amp and some maintenance is inevitably going to be required. The preamp tone controls are passive, so they have enough range to set your desired sound but not enough to create unusable extremes. The Vari-Q will notch out a narrow band of frequencies or add a subtle hump of mid boost; the Room control is a tilt EQ. It's all very well thought out. In the living room all my basses sound great, with plenty of top end when required, even through my tweeterless cab. Down to business with the first of 2 rock'n'roll gigs this weekend gone. My weapon of choice was an AVRI '63 Precision. You know when you're just enjoying listening to the sound that you're making? It was one of those. Afterwards Mrs Axe said to me, 'Your bass was quite loud tonight you know.' Yes. Yes it was. I had a strong impression of power being delivered effortlessly on demand. The core tone is solid, fat and round, just as I like - there's definitely some heft going on! On the second gig I hd an issue with booming, but it was the PA, not my bass rig. Once sorted it was again a pleasure to play. Pic below is from the sale ad but I'll try to furnish some Fender/BF combo p0rn in due course.

New to me, picked up second hand, gotoh equipped jazz bass. This is now strung with some flats and I am blown away with how nice it is / plays. Previous owner had upgraded jack and installed a series / parallel push pull pot. It's lighter than I expected, certainly less weighty then my atk 400. Might have gotten lucky but I'd recommend this

@W1_Pro, I don't know why I didn't think of this sooner but I recently bought a Hondo II Precision as a bit of a project. I think I just got distracted by comparing yours to my SD Curlee. Anyway I bought this old Hondo bass which the seller claimed had a DiMarzio PU (he was lenient with the truth in other aspects so I wasn't sure). The cover had been pretty crudely glued back on so I've just picked it apart to solve my, and hopefully your, query. The basses are roughly the same era and the pickup looks just like yours (you can see where the glue would've been at the other end) so I'd assume it's the same pickup.

Time for an update to this great thread These are my basses on the settee: Sterling by Musicman Ray34 (most likely be sold next week). Spector Rebop 5 Lakland Skyline 44-02 (most recent addition) Hamer Chaparral Squier James Johnston Signature Jazz Bass Blade B3 (restored after being broken to bits) Tokai Hardpuncher VSB40 ltd. Ed.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/1045764070225703 Nice innit?

Played some punky ska at some seaside pub in Dawlish for a music festival. Went down really well. Backline was interesting, Orange guitar valve head into some Ashdown combo speaker and 2 x10”, actually worked well and sounded quite nice. Also the first outing for my 6.4lb Spector…no back ache today, hoorah!

In case anyone hasn;t posted this already - well worth the watch.

I don't think we've played Shine Jesus Shine in the last decade. Which is kind of a shame - I'm running through it in my head and you could do it with a real rock drummer, a muscle-bound bass line and a couple of horns - it could be a cracker. Better than most CCW.

This Saturday, 21st September, I'll be mullering classic rock tunes with Nine Lives at O'Donoghues in Aberdeen. First time playing here. Late start, I believe, possibly 11pm.

I’m playing with blues band The Alligators this coming Saturday 21st at The Sellwood Arms in Aldbrough on the East Yorkshire coast. We start at 9pm.

Dunno about that, but a great band back in their day!

If I had been in charge of that scrip, I might have suggested a few changes but then he is fecking right. I should add that I spent almost 50 years in various roles in TV as well as a short stint in pro audio. So it is like hearing nails down a blackboard recorded at 96KHz though a megawatt PA system to me. Just pedanting saying 😠

Nice! So there is a second GK Fusion/Barefaced 12" rig in Barnet! Below is my practice set up.

If you're near Cardiff or can travel I'd get this: And this: Cheaper than those combos only smaller, lighter and much more useful if he wants to rehearse with other musicians or gig later on. Just add a 1/4" jack to Speakon cable.

It is rare to find a classic song - one that is loved by congregation and musicians alike. Shine Jesus Shine - do your lot do that handclap thing after "Shine on me, clapclap clapclap ..."? Gratifyingly, my current pastor appears to dislike Shine Jesus Shine - but the last time it was listed for a service, the congregation were all loving it like "Agadoo" at a Saga Holidays disco... I think that, for every time the congregation sing it once, the band will have played and heard it 4 or 5 times in practice and rehearsal. So, we are fed up with it, but they are not.

Just chime in after some great suggestions. Well all have different needs and wants, preferences and things we see as pro’s or cons. As @Osiris says if it’s overly noticeable you either want that effect or you’ve set it ‘wrong’. I currently have three comps on my boards and it’s an overindulgence but… Hyper Luminal sitting right after my preamp and before the DI signal for the FOH output. BUS setting with very little compression but just enough to catch anything overly unruly. I think I have reasonable control of my right hand technique and this still allows my dynamics etc. Nice thing about the HL is the onboard control with three types of comp and deeper setting to tailor the unit for each ‘type of comp’ so three setting (pre sets?) in the one unit. Markbass Compressor- recently acquired and I love it. It’s equally effective as a characterful tube stage as it is a wonderful easily tweak-able comp. I have it set up to barely grab peaks but just find the whole signal chain sounds better with it in line. It’s now first thing on the board. If you want tube character it sounds as good and better than almost any ‘tube drive’ units I’ve tried or those amps with the tube pre which doesn’t really do much. Honestly I feel this is a sleeper pedal for folks wanting tube character without fizzy drive, thickness with out loss of top end and a wonderful actual tube doing the work compression. It’s a big unit and needs 12v 600 mA power but if you have space and the right power it’s a winner. Basswitch Dual band comp - @Osiris has had a play on this and finds it similar to the Boss LMB but with a slightly different flavour. Very punchy and simple to dial in - some pre set things going on under the hood so the four controls make it really simple to set up quickly. Again I’ve it set up to be not so grabby and much like gain staging drive units I can have all three compressors on without tone suck and all just adding in a wee touch of ‘more’.

Thanks, even deeper on this! 🙂 Especially for Daryl! Saturday Night-1.mp4

The gig with dep drummer went ok. Interesting using house pa but Nick used his desk to eq it out with white noise which was impressive. Often the Ex's doesn't start to fill up until 9 (the Alley being a rather sterile box with the lights on), but we had punters arriving from 8 which was a good sign. In the end it was rammed and our second set got much dancing. We used their lights plus ours so although pretty basic stuff it looked good in a Christmas Tree sort of way! Obviously a few Interesting endings etc with a dep, but aside from almost everything being a bit fast to groove well, it went really well. The band WhatsApp is buzzing after two really good gigs 😎 feels like we've caught our stride now. 20240914_204823.mp4

Did a cool gig in Chelmsford town (city?) centre last night as part of their Sounds Good festival. A real eclectic line up of acts - we were closing our stage and preceded by a singer/cellist with guitar accompaniment which was ace. Their cover of Smooth Operator was v cool, as was their original work. Katy Hurt and band hadn’t even seen each other properly since August because of various things so it was a bit under rehearsed but we had great fun. Stage was great, sound guys were lovely, sound on stage was awesome (and oh my god the Handbox WB-100 is a SUPERB amp, sounded ace on stage and sound men loved its DI). TBH I feel I played pretty average at best, but I got through it and just simplified some things I’d normally actually over do… I was channelling my inner Negan with my clothing choice so everyone was lucky I wasn’t brandishing my bass line a baseball bat covered in barbed wire* 🤣 *Walking Dead reference for anyone going 🤷🏼‍♂️

You could have at least used cats!

I consider myself to be a very peaceful, non-aggressive guy, but scum that steal from others ...

Hello Maude, Thats absolute genius. I did exactly what you did, took the pickups apart, and lo and behold, Dimarzio's! Many thanks for the help and for taking the trouble. The pickup seems to be OK too, so thats going back in. Best Stuart

Reading this thread I’m starting to feel rather grateful that we mostly do more recent stuff, y’know like “make room”, “holy forever”, “he lives” etc… 😇 (although I luckily get to do the old hymns when I playing the organ for the local Anglican once a month) - the best of both worlds !!

They're touring at the moment and we have a few of the support slots

The detailed specs are located in the back of each owner’s manual. We specify the rated power at THD less that 10% because much of the harmonics are added in the preamp and power amp tube emulation circuits in addition to the tube preamps themselves (WD and TT) when driven hard. It’s similar in concept to say the SVT which uses 5% THD, or the Darkglass amps that use ~20% THD (presumably because their drive circuits are the basis of their fundamental tone).

Try my main band’s drummer. Superb Taylor / Bonham style, great fills, lovely big rock animal kit and sound. Perfect for what we do. But after EVERY guitar (not keyboard, weirdly) solo he adds c. 3-4bpm. And given that JR Guitar IS Mr Solo, that’s many BPMs by the end 🤓

Ah - I didn't scroll that far back and just clicked on the reply to your original link. But no, that link "is not available at the moment'

So, *not* been caught stealing then?

A long journey down to Fordingbridge yesterday to play the Hart of Martin mini festival thing. Had a good laugh, a couple of huge brain farts, so far from my best performance ever, but we enjoyed ourselves. Second year we’ve made the journey but probably won’t do it next year - just too much driving for the small crowd and little or no money. IMG_5332.mov

Long drive yesterday but the expense was offset by there being two gigs. First one in a 'cidery' which was basically a cider farm with a building converted into a kind of cafe bar. Lovely atmosphere, friendly folk, polite rather than enthusiastic, but they enjoyed it. Then a 45 minute drive to the second gig which was a private party somewhere near Stratford on Avon. They used a field on a caravan park and set up a marquee for us. It was in truth a little late in the year to be playing outside but we started early (7pm) so didn't lose feeling in our fingers until nearly at the end of the set. Despite the distances involved I was home before midnight, which for me is a win.

Just back home from playing a great gig at the Anchor in Burbage, Leicestershire, depping with function band Superbad. Looked like a regular village pub, but it seemed to be THE place to go on a Saturday night round these parts. Place was rammed, with a wide range of ages too. Travelled light, using just one bass (Yamaha BB604), a Markbass head and two MB traveller cabs (tho it occurred to me afterwards that my Ashdown head is the exact same size as my pedal board, so I could have taken that and plonked the pedals on top.) Next time maybe. Resisted the urge to stop off for a McDonalds on the way home. Got home to find leftovers of a Chinese takeaway in the fridge instead - jackpot!

There was one item when I looked last week that was £171.10, reduced to £171.00 - took all my self control to not snap up that deal!