Leaderboard

No he’s right, they’re only permitted in Oxfordshire. I tried to play one in Sussex but was arrested for wearing a suede waistcoat in a built up area. Shame really.

I blame Happy Jack for this. Just bagged a Wattplower II. Obligatory sofa pic. It's now wearing La Bella Mustang Flats and sounding huge. 7lb 9oz and effortless to play. Well chuffed.

Played our final gig for this year at the Sun Inn in Beverley yesterday. Arrived a tad late to find the pub absolutely rammed, with the landlord having to be on the door to restrict capacity - one out one in etc. We got the PA set up as quickly as possible, quick line check and a feed into the house system for the rear of the venue and then got cracking around 5.30pm, playing as many of the dozens of requests that we could. ( Although we’re normally an ‘acoustic duo’ I took my trusty Precision Lyte for this gig, knowing the volumes we needed to play at would probably have me battling feedback with my acoustic basses. Turned out I was right ). Plenty of Xmas stuff as you’d imagine, including ‘Fairy Tale of NY’ which involved some of the ladies in the audience doing Kirsty McColl’s parts, thank goodness! We’d also arranged for a few friends to get up and sing a song with us, something we rarely do. First up was a local guy who sang the Ray Stevens version of ‘Misty’, then a friend who was celebrating his 70th who did ‘Mess of Blues’. During the 2nd set we had a mate do a great version of ‘Sympathy for the devil’ - he's recently left his band and sounded amazing - and then the landlord Paul sang ‘Wild Horses’ brilliantly and to deafening applause. Finally had another friend do Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ ( in the original key too!), and we were done. Although a few hours of mayhem, I still managed to enjoy the gig atmosphere despite having a bad case of man flu. Had lost my voice by the end though, and feel pretty crap today. Just hope I’m gig fit for tomorrow and NYE, playing at a hotel in Scarborough.

SATURDAY! Still not last night, bear with me. Cantina Band at Hennesey's in Digbeth, Brum (again). Loud, fairly rowdy Irish bar the Saturday before christmas... what could possibly go wrong?! Let's find out. Managed to park right outside (the car park had an old K8 phone box as the ticket machine which was very cool (if you're a nerdy phone box fan (I am))). Setup all normal, stage was just about big enough for us all. Guitarist was using a Kemper that he'd borrowed from a mate, which sounded a lot like his normal amp if I'm honest. He was excited about it though - kept talking about triple rectifiers, whetever they are. Rowdy (but seemingly OK) crowd, few mates of the band in, all good. A few up dancing for the first set and a few singing along from their tables, the DJ arrived halfway through first set and managed to unload his stuff through the stage (as we were playing) and set up - unfortunately, he unplugged our desk while he was at it, so the vocals all disappeared for half a song (probably no bad thing TBH). He seemed to be loving it, he was air-drumming along... turns out he's an ex-student of our drummer. The crowd interaction section in 'Blitzkrieg Bop' ("I'll say A! O! then you say "Let's go!"") went down a treat, people were pretty much queueing up to join in, 'Seven Nation Army' was very popular (not sure if you're aware, but drunken rowdy lads LOVE that riff and often improvise their own profane lyrics about what Darren does (or does not do) in his spare time), 'Anarchy in the UK' was well recieved, all good fun. Short break to ingest legal poisons, then the manager dropped an absolute BOMBSHELL. They were showing the big fun punching game (Dyson Furious (?) and Etchy Uzbek (?) would be hitting each other in the face for the entertainment of all and sundry) so would we mind only doing half an hour for the second set? You can imagine the white hot fury we unleashed at being told that we'd be finished for about 9 o'clock (which meant singer and guitarist could go home and watch Tegan Ferocious (?) and Itchy Offset (?) beat each other senseless (for entertainment)), but we managed to contain our collective ire and not let it affect our performance. Second set was good, full dancefloor by the end, wireless wander (through the dancefloor, right to the back of the pub, back round past the bar and finish up in the middle of the dancefloor) was great, paid, finished by 9, pack up, load out, back to my Pop's crib in the hood (Moseley) for 10 (!) for a pint of homebrew Pineapple, Mango & Spiced Rum Cider (ABV: Plenty) Played the Sterling -> small board -> secret weapons -> MB CMD121P, animal print Converse. I've had worse nights!

FRIDAY! I know that's not last night, we've been through this. Azura 3 piece at The Old Crown, Digbeth (Birmingham). Early start, the load in and setup had all been done by the time I got there (at 6:30!) which I was furious about again. Cool place, we were out the back in a sort of massive permanent marquee with rows of bierkeller style benches and tables. It was a ticketed event (supposedly 'Bad Santa' themed), the third Friday of three. We were billed as a nineties/noughties band (?!), so we'd made the effort to learn *three* 90s/00s songs as we're consumate profeshionuls. Got my gear set up, quick line check, then hang around for a bit and take advantage (responsibly) of the free drinks tokens we'd been given. Quite a few in there by the time we went on, but they were all sitting on the benches and not many got up on the dancefloor. They were enjoying it though, a few groups of drunken, rowdy lads singing/chanting/shouting along (especially to 'I predict a riot'... drunken, rowdy lads love that one apparently... good job we didn't do 'Seven Nation Army') and a few folk got up and had a dance so it was all good. Singer/Guitar/Keys/Henry snapped a string, so I had to entertain the mob for a bit while he got his spare out and tuned up (unfortunately, no system has yet been invented that involves him getting it out and tuning up before we start playing... we have our finest minds working on this seemingly intractable quandry), but they were a very understanding rabble, so no harm done. The drummer managed to get a fag out of a packet and light it while playing (and not missing a beat (like I say... consumate profeshionuls)) which was hilarious, me and S/G/K/H cocked up the words to 'Escape (The Pina Colada song)' as we do at pretty much every gig (again, no system has yet been invented that involves us actually learning the words (or in his case, reading them off the iPad that's attached to his keyboard (In my defence... there are lots of words and all the choruses (chorii?) are slightly different to each other (and I don't want an iPad on stage (and I don't own one))))). Went down well, lots of positive comments from the mob (and the organiser) which was nice. Quick break, back on for round two, quite a few dancers up (hooray!), everyone loving it until the organiser came and told us there'd been a noise complaint from one of the neighbours (Let's not get into the 'This pub's been here for about two hundred years, why in the name of God's trousers would you buy a flat near it and then complain about the noise, you absolute frotting felchspoon?!' discussion) and we had to do one more song then finish. We were FURIOUS at being told we'd be finishing even earlier than the really early finish we had booked as you can imagine. We did two more - we *had* to do an encore so I could visit the dancefloor, which was packed by this point. The organiser was incredibly apologetic and offered us a handful of yet more free drinks tokens to make up for it (which we respectfully declined (apart from the drummer and his mate, who weren't driving)) but we managed to contain our abject misery and packed up in fairly short order. Load out (complete with incredibly drunk scottish man talking to us as we loaded the van), pack the car, back to Bewdley at a reasonable hour for a *very* stiff Gin (Hendrick's (41.4% ABV)) and (Fevertree (I think I'm supposed to be boycotting Fevertree for some reason but I can't remember exactly why, so don't tell anyone) Elderflower) tonic. Played the StingRay -> small board -> secret weapons -> MB802 -> PA, Cherry Red/Oxblood DMs. A good night and a decent payer. Cheers.

Final gig of the year with the Andy Wales Band at Bar Dos Hermanos in Leicester. It’s a sort of Cuban-themed tapas bar and I wasn’t aware it had live bands until recently. But it turned out to be ace. Decent turnout despite the freezing windy weather, and a relaxed vibe. Brought just my little PA (pair of old Mackie SRM350s and a little Allen and Heath desk) and a single cab bass rig but it was plenty. Really fitting end to my gigging year, with a cosy local Sunday afternoon gig. Here’s to 2025.

SUNDAY! There was a thing in the daytime first, I'll shout when I get to actual Last Night. The first outing was a Morris do (Morris haters (ie: anyone with any sense) close your eyes for a bit now, I'll tell you when you can open your eyes again). We (Beorma Morris (the answer to a question that nobody has ever asked)) had been invited to dance with the Witchmen (who are very well respected in the Morris world (and rightly ridiculed everywhere else)) along with five (?) other sides outside a pub (!) in Isham near Kettering (pronounced "Ket'rin"). Picked up Selly Oak's finest Japanese Trombonist, drove to Ket'rin in glorious sunshine, arrived to freezing cold, grey (gray?) skies and rain, stood round (outside, in the freezing cold and rain) watched idiots dance around, shout and clout sticks together for a bit, did a few dances (I didn't dance, I played Sousaphone but it was SOFJT's first ever public dance (she they dance as well as playing Trombone (and fiddle) but not at the same time)), questioned my sanity and life choices and complained about how cold it was. Quite a few people there, they enjoyed it, we were good (I found this out later, I can't tell), the rain eased off eventually and a good time was had by all (apart from the cold). Played the Sousaphone, wore New Rocks (Reactor 55s I think) and a kilt. All done, packed up, back to the car, heating on full, saw a garden with a full sized sleigh and two ghastly fibreglass Reindeer (I love a hideous christmas tableau), head off to Stratford (-upon-Avon) for the final gig of the weekend and year. Morris haters, open your eyes, we have finally reached actual last night. LAST NIGHT! The Sax Pistols at The Stratford Alehouse, Stratford (-upon-Avon)! Eight piece brass band (Two tenor saxes, alto sax, bari sax, trombone (SOFJT), drums, Sousaphone (me), BL alternates between trumpet and alto sax). Fantastic tiny little micropub, packed to the rafters when we got there, stage about the size of an EHX nano pedal so I had to stand in front of the door (!). I was still wearing my Morris hat and kilt when we arrived, it turns out (some of) the band have a (sort of) steampunk vibe anyway, so I just went with it. Very quick setup (I had to clear the stage to make enough room to get the Sousaphone out), pint of Stout (on the house!), all acoustic so no soundcheck or anything and then we were off. Opened with 'I wanna dance with somebody' and the full house absolutely loved it - it is a pretty impressive sound. We did a few carols in between the usual stuff, the BL was getting the audience involved ("Sing it for the baby Jesus!" sort of thing, hilarious), the drummer was brilliant (first time I've played with him), the BL is a fantastic player and proper lovely bloke, and the Trombone player (SOFJT) is just *superb* and really shines in that sort of lineup (funky pop tunes, do your own thing), harmonies, solos, countermelodies, joining me on Basslines... they're *such* a good musician, a real joy to play with. Went down a storm, I think most of the audience were friends of the band TBH but it was great to play a packed (if tiny) venue, and have a laugh with the audience between songs. (The place was so small and full, there was nowhere for me to park my pint, so I had to ask a woman right in front of me to loook after it and pass it over between songs. Hilarity ensued.) Played Sousy, wore animal print Converse. And a kilt. Highlights were the Trombone in 'Just a closer walk with thee' (Old New Orleans style hymn), the audience singing 'Sir Duke', the breakdown in 'Uptown Funk' and going for a walk into the audience in the last song - turned around to see the BL had joined me. Fantastic night and a really lovely last gig of the year.

Saturday's pre-Christmas gig was at the Sarah Moore pub in Leigh-on-Sea. Little bit of a strange one TBH. It's been in the diary for months, but the boss contacted us some time ago when the big boxing match was announced and asked us to start a bit earlier than usual. We didn't really have much choice in the matter so we went with it. I think most of us here get a little annoyed when we have to compete with televised sport. So, we turned up after 5pm for a leisurely setup, aiming for a 7.30pm start, only to be told by the person in charge that we couldn't set up in the usual band area. Someone had reserved a couple of tables in that area for 20 people as they wanted to watch the boxing and those were their favourite seats. We argued to no avail that technically, we'd had that space reserved since spring. So we were told to set up in a different corner which although raised and has more space (the usual area is tiny), there's a partition wall cutting off visibility to half the pub. Be begrudgingly accepted defeat - the only other option was to not play at all. Still feeling annoyed whilst setting up and humping tables around, this was the last weekend before Christmas and had been advertised as a Christmas party + boxing. Anyway, the pub was really busy by the time we started playing. A lot of people had turned up just to see us, and a lot to watch the boxing who ended up enjoying the free music as well. Then apparently during our break the actual boss turned up and went apeshit wanting to know why the band wasn't in the usual, better sport, and allegedly read the riot act to whichever member of staff it was that reserved the tables 😆🤣. As nice as it was that he was on our side, it was too late to do anything about it (time-wise and the pub was bursting at the seams by this point), and he should have been on top of the situation and never let it happen in the first place. The second set went down amazingly well judging by the people we could see and hear - the whole place joining in for Fairytale of New York was a particular highlight. Liam, one of our singers was encouraging everyone to be as loud as possible and annoy the neighbours (this was our last time playing here as the pub is closing for good in the new year - sold to developers to build flats). "Let's upset the neighbours!" he said. "What are they going to do, shut the pub down?" So it was bittersweet in the end. We've always had a good gig there, and this was a good gig too, just marred by poor logistics! Oh well, roll on next weekend for the Cow & Telescope, one of our favourite venues.

Received this bass a few days ago for a decent deal. I've been wanting flats and a rosewood board jazz and watching a lot of older Joe Dart videos. When this came up I had to investigate. I've had one before in a gorgeous see through butterscotch with a maple board it is one I should have kept with hindsight. Initial impressions are that this is what I would expect, a fantastic quality bass, great feel, attention to detail is great with the exception of not actually having 70's pickup spacing. The neck is lovely with the blocks and binding. I've only just fitted some La Bella flats to it so will be giving it a full set up before properly testing it out in the near future, but I can see this being played through the Fender Bassman a LOT.

Indeed, though I think that fretted bass clickbait is long overdue a cultural reappraisal.

Ho ho oh!

Not so much of a "gig last night" but today marks 35 years of playing live! With all the occasional rubbish that life throws at us all, it's been the one constant source of sanity. Across 16+ bands, several countries and several instruments (I reckon 80% of them have been on bass), it's been amazing. I'd be surprised if I manage a 2nd 35yrs and I definitely have reached a stage where I enjoy the small local pubs as much as the ones that sound more impressive. 22nd December 1989 was pretty woeful and I am so grateful we didn't have the internet but it will always be a fond memory because it set the wheels in motion for what was to come.

Hope you guys don't mind but i had to share this local reviewers comments from Sat nights gig courtesy of Big Hastie (Alex Hastings) Just makes me feel good knowing that people enjoy what we do for fun. Dave "On entering the Dreadnought on Saturday it was obvious there was going to be a 'bit of a party', as the tinsel wearers and battery operated plastic glasses wearers were in evidence, in amongst the 'doon the fronters'. Blockbustarz were in town for their customary Christmas Soiree, and it was going to be a belter going by the number of folk in the house.... Before we start, let's not kid ourselves, Glam Rock must be one of the most uplifting genres of music ever . No twenty minute guitar solos, no meaningful lyrics, just in and out 3 minute simplistically written songs, Before you could say "Pass me my tinsel please", we were all hand jiving and giving it some fancy footwork. Within seconds I was the proud wearer of a pair of the aforementioned lit up glasses.. ... All the classics were here as you'd expect... 20th Century Boy/T-Rex, Ballroom Blitz/Sweet, The Cat Crept In/Mud... (Best lyrics EVER in my book...) "The Cat Crept in, crept out again..."....Beat that Chris Martin.. .... "Hey Rock and Roll" sang the masses as Micky Blitz and Lynn led the way on vocals... Barry 'Bazza' Haywood was in his element, clattering his glammed up drum kit and suitably attired in silvery /gold garb , Colin was in 'full disguise' mode also glammed up assisted by a belter of a wig, playing some incredible guitar riffs. David too was in "Who's that playing bass??" mode. Barely recognisable from the lad I was speaking to before kick off... And how does Mike look 6 foot 8?... Oh wait, the 9 inch heels are a give away.. The long blonde haired Lynn doesn't need a wig gimmick but she was also tinselled and glittered up . We had Sailor/Glass of Champagne, Devil Gate Drive, Suzi Quatro and Roxy Music/Virginia Plain all added to by the folk 'going for it' doon the front.. None more so than my good mate Chris who is a one man 'what's what' of music in his choice of clobber. Rock and roll beetle crusher shoes, punk drain pipe trousers, a Rod Stewart leopard skin top, Elton John sparkly glasses, a Bing Crosby Hat, and a Wattie from the Exploited Red mohawk underneath the titfer.. Remarkable . We had Bowie/Rebel Rebel, Mud /Rocket, Elton/Saturday Night and a sing along rendition to Let it Snow! , Let it Snow! , Let it Snow! Great stuff.. "School's out for summer! " yell the punters as Micky Blitz spins his baton. .Who let the horses in?, here come the Osmonds.. "Crazy Horses" roar the crowd. Hell Raiser from Sweet takes us to the interval and a well deserved break for the band.. (I'm knackered just reading that back and that's only the first half of the gig. )...Part two began with Waterloo/Abba, Little Willy (who's been talking?) /Sweet, and my all time favourite up beat song, Tell Him by Hello..What a song!. It was a case of "Hold my pint please" while I had a wee jump around (for the 40th year in a row to this song going back to Thursday nights in the Greentree in 1984!)... Joan Jett/ I Love Rock and Roll and Suzi Quattro/ Can the Can took us to our first Christmas song..."It'll be lonely this Christmas" sang a swaying crowd to the Mud classic.. Brilliant... We had more Bowie and more Roxy Music before another Christmas Classic, Here it is Merry Christmas from Slade... "Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall?" sang everyone in unison.. ....More Sweet , T-Rex and another Alice Cooper number Elected, took us into the Mud classic (Have you noticed how many times the word classic has neen used so far. ) Tiger Feet which was followed in turn by Blockbuster.. "Does anyone know the way.... TO BLOCKBUSTER!". Class.. Now it was time for our third Christmas Cracker, Wizzard's, "I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day".... More crowd participation as my mate Chris turned from being Johnny Rotten to Bing Crosby by just putting his hat back on .. "Let the bells ring out for Christmas" sang the tinsel wearing crowd.... A spine tingling Loch Lomond /Shang a lang ended the night.. No Scottish person and I mean NO Scottish person doesn't have a wee tear in their eye listening to Loch Lomond, especially a rousing Shang a Lang assisted rendition.. Tremendous.. .. What a gig, what a band, and what a crowd .. Thanks to all concerned in making this another great night. Band, staff sound engineers etc.... Big Hastie over and out from the dread... "How was your night bigman.?"... "It was a classic!"

It's now harder for me to have a ponytail, but I've been obliged to burn my suede waistcoat alongside my double denim and to repent on my knees once.

Few of the pics - we'll get the rest on your band FB page when we can.

How very dare you. Rodeo is banned here in Oxfordshire, and for good reason. People kept getting bucked off. Fretless, on the other foot, is encouraged in this county. I have one that i play live, but keeping within the law, i'm obliged to play it while wearing clown shoes, a pink sports bra, and a welder's mask. No suede and dub den here, i'll have you know

…and they sound even more even across the fretboard strung with flatwound strings! Try it if you haven’t already.

Well, there's always room for another colour...

How many of the doom-sayers gave actually read this: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/online-safety/information-for-industry/illegal-harms/risk-assessment-guidance-and-risk-profiles.pdf?v=388034 It doesn't seem threatening to Basschat, unless there's a whole lot of illegal stuff going on I hadn't noticed. The only significant risk is low-level fraud in the selling pages IMHO, and the steps taken to mitigate that seem more robust than on most sites.

I’ve only just acquired this within the last week so I’m a newcomer to the Ric tribe, but I’m already thinking about whether I should acquire another in a different colour. It’s a 2024 4003 secondhand but very near mint condition — I particularly wanted the current version for the bridge and single truss rod to make setting it up easier. I have swapped out the original jazz bass style knobs with vintage style ric knobs ones with the text on them to remind me of each one’s function. I have also fitted a Rickysounds thumb rest and a set of light EB cobalt flats which seem to suit this bass just as well as they do my Gibson non-reverse thunderbird. I also have a Rickysounds black pickguard and a reproduction black truss rod cover, so I might change it up to see how it looks with a more stealth look when I get around to applying copper tape to shield the cavities.

My ‘68 had Lollipop tuners👍

Suede waistcoat and double denim? That's rodeo wear isn't it? Is rodeo popular in Oxfordshire? Does a fretless tend to buck uncontrollably on a strap so you have to hold on for dear life? Those videos of Japan on Old Grey Whistle Test where Mick Karn is moving and playing with such grace in a well cut suit seem to suggest otherwise, but I'm not a clickbait writer

My fretless is in my loft, along with a photo of me when I had hair.

Its no different from bands using screens disguised as monitors on stage. When you have that many songs to remember it must be difficult remembering so many lyrics. You see a lot of pub / club bands using their phones or tablets on stage, same thing. My attitude to them is simple. If the band sound top notch i'm happy. That's it. Dave

Ok... clearly very few people here (and not singling the Basschat community out - by extension, the general public) have the faintest idea what a VPN is. A Virtual Private Network is what just about every single mediium- to large-sized company in the world uses to allow employees to connect to their 'internal' networks from their laptops or phones when they are not physically in the office. That's it, nothing more sinister. A VPN is something you connect to from 'external' so that you appear 'internal'. Anyone, anywhere in the world can set up a VPN. It's not something that can be made illegal, any more than setting up your own Internet server; it is a networking tool used by millions of companies. It also has uses for individuals. There are commercial providers of VPNs which allow you to connect from one regional IP address (e.g. China) and connect to another (e.g. rest of world). These are used extensively by people (e.g. in China) to access information that would otherwise be censored. The UK has absolutely no jurisdiction over, say, a US company that provides a VPN solution in the USA that happens to be connected to by an individual in the UK in order to access US-based websites. The only way to ban that is to regulate all connections from UK citizens to websites outside of the UK.... like China does. It is also common for an individual usually gamers) to buy or rent their own server somewhere else in the world, install a free, open-source VPN, and be able to connect to it and appear to be connecting to any website from the VPN's 'home' location. We're on seriously slippery slopes if we're suggesting either that the government reviews any and all software installed on any server by a UK citizen, anywhere in the world, or that we ban encrypted web traffic outside of the UK. Even China doesn't go that far! The real problem here is 'protecting the children' will do no such thing. The only reason the big multinational providers are engaging with this is they can see it will decimate their competition in the UK and give them the true monopoly they want. And, truthfully, Ofcom want - they don't want to regulate a large industry; they're quite happy with that being pushed into illegality by obscurity, and to lawyer up with 4-5 multinational opponents who will have the resources to negotiate a resolution that suits them. Look at the Canadian ban on TikTok. They called the government's bluff, and ignored it. They're still happily operating there, and Canadians are still using it. Because they have billions in Chinese funding to keep it going.

That's New Backup Amp Day, BTW. Yesterday this BH250 came into my possession. Had a quick razz on it last night and I was very impressed. Sounded really good at neighbour friendly levels through a Markbass New York 121 cab. I think I'd get a knock on the door if I cranked it, and that's at 8 ohms. I'd get an earful if it was one of my neighbours, but if it was the other one, he's probably bring a guitar round for a jam. One cool neighbour is better than none I guess. Anyway, I digress. Yes, great wee amp - despite only having three EQ bands, the frequencies seem well chosen and have a big effect on the tone when they're swept from min to max. The built in tuner is super handy and very responsive - the LEDs dance around while you're playing, it's quite fun to watch! But the secret weapon is the Toneprint. I thought this would be little more than novelty value and a toy to p!ss about with but I loaded up the Spectracomp Toneprint and it's actually really good - really smooths out the playing and makes it punchier, better than any single control compressor has any right to. I was super impressed with it. I think I'm just going to leave it on Spectracomp and have at it. And thank <insert deity>, there's a mute switch (plus the power LED blinks when it's engaged - nice). I like to have a mute switch on my amps. I was a little sceptical about the lack of preamp gain control beyond an active/passive switch but the gains seem to be set sensibly and it didn't seem to be clipping horribly. Have a pic. Very happy with this for my home practice/recording amp, and it's nice and small (not as small as some like the BAM200 or the TE Elf) but certainly not a chore to take to the gig, just in case.

From this past weekend's gig, my two Maruszczyk Frogs, my Barefaced Big Twin II and my Ashdown RM-800. Not shown - Zoom B6. The Luminlay blocks on the fretted Frog look great.

Of the 17 priorities, several seem to apply: Hate - at various points hatred has been expressed towards Fenders, headstocks, headless basses, assorted retailers, assorted couriers, etc Proceeds of crime - many of us have admitted to receiving money from offences against music Drugs and psychoactive substances - least said, soonest mended Animal cruelty - we've all seen those pictures of the cat dressed up as Santa

Perfectly described, though sounding like a nearby village in Midsomer Murders!

Same ones on my 66 Mustang

That looks amazing, any chance of more pic's? And what's it like for neck dive?

I try my best not to support big corporations (especially the US ones) & prefer to buy local or independent companies. I also use an app called “No Thanks” to help me avoid anything that supports apartheid. The No Thanks app is available for both iOS & Android.

I wish I could grow a pony tail without having to buy a pony. Most people don't even know what a fretless bass is, even muso types. I'd just ignore anyone with that kind of opinion. I don't tell the drummer what type of snare to use/ share my opinion on metal Vs wooden snares... I do have an opinion on bagpipes though.

Looks like the bridge itself is not grounded anymore. That's the small copper flat "wire" coming from under the bridge and going in the bridge pickup cavity where it should soldered to the grounding plate.

We're talking original music - what effin' pay packet?

The 3 good pics are a 70s or 80s budget Korean-made Jazz copy. Hard to be certain with the ashtray concealing the bridge position, but I think it's shortscale. It's not Japanese & absolutely not Matsumoku, the MIK giveaways are the mahogany neck, the blank neckplate with screw indents, the domed-looking string tree & what look like pressed tin tuners. The body will be veneered ply - the massive black oversprays on the contours are to hide the laminations. The pic that you say is from the listing is too dark & indistinct to be identifiable as anything other than a Jazz copy. It's similar but hard to say that it's identical. A link to the actual listing would be helpful.

That's a great montage, Cat. Here's to the next 35 years (you'll still be there!).

My practice and recording amp:

2024 was by far my most difficult year to date for a long list of personal, professional, and emotional reasons. It makes me even more determined to value and enjoy all life has to offer in 2025 🙏

I bought this 1986 Westone Spectrum GT earlier this year, which was a nice find. They don't turn up for sale very often but this one was on Ebay quite cheaply so I snapped it up. It's in a particular shade of red that my phone camera can't capture very well. Initially I wasn't sure about it as the bridge pickup sounded very thin and it has a quite odd volume/tone/tone arrangement with a push/pull phase reverse on the volume control. However, after taking it apart and doing a bit of work to raise the pickup height, it's turned into a very giggable bass.

And here I am in my new fretless player suit, way better, no?

" Not suitable for metal" "Don't use a pick " "Most fretless players don't use lined fretless " These comments were in bass guitar mags back in the day . How times change ..

8khz is still quite high. A lot of people like putting keys through guitar amps, and they top out about 5khz? Depends on the sorts of keys sounds you need, and what your tastes are, I guess. Might try my daughter’s electric piano (Kawai somethingorother) through my micro cab this afternoon to see what it sounds like. I love the idea of a 2x6. Got the cab building itch again…

Have you delved into it yet? Could it be something as simple as the bridge pickup being connected reversed? I'd take off the control plate and scratchplate and see if the pickups were both connected the same way round, and also check that they're physically installed the same way round (having a wild thought that one might have been reversed on installation and then connected the wrong way round so it was in phase).

Just got the new Squire Affinity Active Jazz. Its lovely!