Leaderboard

Am I the only person who has, until this thread, never heard of the term 'yacht rock'? 👽

As it makes good click bait. His posts recently seem to have become more like this, rather than his clever analysis of songs. I’m disappointed in him.

Actually my my biggest fear has been getting a call from the BL at 7:00pm on a Friday or Saturday night saying; " Where Are You? " lol Daryl

For some reason I've been targeted for "comedian DESTROYS Woke heckler" and a lot of "Western values" far-right pipeline stuff in my YouTube recommendations. I wouldn't even mind the odd boob or crotch by comparison with that stuff!

90% of YouTube summed up nicely in that one sentence. The other 30% being maths stuff I never watch.

You guys need to get out more ... 😂

Part of my retirement from the long term band plan is to have a go at learning to play a 5 string properly without the distraction of having to play a 4 string every weekend. I've tried a couple of times before...the first one was when I swapped my old 2 band Stingray for a beatiful USA G&L L2500 a few years ago. It was lovely, built like a tank and sounded great to me. I spent a month having a go at home on it and then tried it at a gig. Got through the first set sort of ok but then chickened out and swapped back to my 4 string as I kept doing the mental fluff that is forgetting the B string wasn't actually the E string 😂. Being mainly a pick player it seems harder to adjust (If I play finger style it seems to work a bit easier for me) Attempt number 2 was earlier this year. Ongoing back issues had me trying to find a superlight bass that I could afford and liked. Tried an Ibanez EHB1505 headless in a shop and liked the sound. Didn't want to splosh that sort of cash though and 4 string versions are quite rare. A few months later the cheaper EHB1005 version popped up locally on here so I grabbed it and had another go. Great bass, lovely and light but I couldn't get on with the super flat fretboard radius and kept tripping over my fingers. It felt a bit cheap to me too. The knobs and general build mainly. Sold it. So I'm idly pooching about on the web looking at combo's to replace the gig rig and tripped over something on the Andertons site by accident. Something I never would have looked at before. But it seemed a bit of a bargain so I did more research. Hardly anyone seems to have one which also appeals to me (I like underdogs and left of centre stuff generally). The stuff I found online seemed to be quite interesting and it sounded great to me so I hit the button on it and it arrived last week. It's a Markbass Gloxy GV5 in black with a maple board. A super jazz 5 string with a VVT tone and a Mark Bass 3 band active eq all in a Precision body and possibly with the most ridiculous name ever. Classic colour scheme and a bit stealth in terms of features. It was reduced from £770 to £385 inc a decent gig bag which seems a great price to me. I've had a Sire jazz in the past and I suppose it's the natural competitor to this bass but the build quality on the Mark Bass is way better and gettting on towards my old G&L I think. I'm a week in to it and I think it's going to stick (but I've said that before...). Haven't weighed it yet but it feels light to me. They come with a basswood or alder body and mine is alder. It was well set up when it arrived but I've got the action down to stupid low and it plays really easily. Loving it so far. No pics yet but here's a pretty good demo of it in the wrong colour with a bloke who actually knows how to play

Real Pirates don't surf.

Clicked and shared. That's some high-quality clickbaitin', yes ma'am.

I think any band is always so much more than the sum of it's parts. Sure, any musician can follow C, F and G (for example) but the dynamic changes. I guess this in part explains why when people leave (or get fired) from bigger name bands, the fans often pine for earlier line ups. The one (sort of) exception for me would be the fact that I play in a duo. We have a 35yr history and I co-write / co-produce and play several instruments. I don't doubt Nick could go solo or manage in another project BUT it wouldn't be *that* project. And, I hasten to add that this cuts both ways.

Though there are still a few days left I think it vanishingly unlikely I will be buying anything bass or music related. If @neepheid doesn't want to start next year's thread then I'm happy to. As long as we all accept that the idea is to basically be happy with what we have and to play more. However - arguing over ridiculous interpretations of what is a pretty straightforward principle is definitely part of the fun 😁

Thanks Dave, but it was a very long time ago. I made a point of talking to the undertakers when it was Dad's turn that she wouldn't be any where near. 😎

The better half got me this Squier VM Jaguar. It’s actually one I used to own then sold on a couple of years ago to a mate. He wanted rid and I always said I’d have it back if he let it go.

For me, it’s the SushiBoxFX Finally v2 ‘with bass in mind’ valve DI box. Calling it a DI does it a bit of a disservice as it also has a built-in fixed HPF and the ability to include or exclude the valve from the DI chain. It’s become a fixture on my meagre little board and just adds that valvy goodness to my otherwise quite sterile signal path.

At first I found them very esoteric to begin with, perhaps because of the way they're often explained. I can't recall my eureka moment though, but I think it was when someone suggested thinking more in terms of the scale degrees than notes that it started to come together. So many times I heard many many people saying something like "Dorian is just the major scale but starting on D", but that's not the way to think about it, and this confused me no end because there were other explanations. When I began to think of Dorian as the major scale with flat 3rd and flat 7th is when it clicked because it doesn't have to start on D(when using the C major scale to explain it). I think they're very important to be aware of because their theory relates to lots of other things too(such as the notes of each scale, more soloing possibilities, the family of chords in a chord progression. It enables you to understand why things work the way they do), but not particularly important for most regular bassists when playing day to day. I think they're important to be aware of too when wanting to improve because it shows you different options.

To be fair, this could be applied to 90% of boutique luthiers - including many established ones. It's INCREDIBLY difficult to come up with an appealing blend of familiar and novel aesthetic proportions, ergonomic elements, and something which also doesn't attract a Cease & Desist.

The term is blooming awful, and coined some 40/50 years after the music was first made. I'm totally with him on this.

I do feel like Beato's videos have taken a turn towards the tone being "You are not a big serious studio pro like me, and will simply never understand what makes me and <namedrop> pals so great". All a bit self-aggrandising and tiresome IMO.

Ex Mrs Staggering On (we're good friends) treated me to a new pot of Pop's rosin, I've been complaining about the dried out stuff I was using and she was listening and remembered! I am a lucky guy and now I have some fresh rosin to start the new year, it may even improve my playing...or not.🙄

From my reading since seeing this thread, it sounds like he already got in hot water from KS, and has since altered his designs enough that they are no longer interested. I could be wrong though, as it sounds like "heard from a guy who heard from a guy". He's also posted photos on insta to show the lack of neck dive, which I can't say I'm 100% convinced by, but it has a least got me slightly interested

I wonder if any of this will be useful in my parole hearing

Lovely Pre-Christmas Gig in a local country pub, great fun and the first outing with my new acquired Stingray Special. My Stingray Arsenal gets better. Merry Christmas All!

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.

Right, last rearrangement for 2024 (and hopefully a while now) Added: Spectracomp Reinstated: Monomyth Removed: Battalion, Bass Sweeper, a defective D'addario offset coupler which was making hum intermittently due to ground becoming detached if moved the wrong way.

3.8kg 😊

We gave my daughter a new Fender Jazz MIM Player series. I gave myself a used MIM Precision standard. The precision looks beautiful but needs some setting up. The Jazz looks and plays beautifully. Both came with white pick guards but black is more betterer

Probably sounds a bit nerdy but I really enjoyed learning my scales and modes, I went through many books and videos, if I’m learning a Bassline the first thing I do now is see how it’s related to a scale, I also found running up and down the 2 octave good exercises, love a pentatonic too

Ah, the fallacious motto of authoritarian governments everywhere.

Have you ever tried replying to one of those texts with "new phone, who dis?" just to wind them up?

Are you even dressed in shiny silver clothes?

I wouldn't consider an active speaker that's not designed for use with electric bass without first trying it.

Really enjoyed these. @Leonard Smallsentry made me chuckle. Wish I’d had my gear…I planned a cover of the Terminator main theme 😂

It’s the new world order. Conviction “trumps” facts these days (see what I did there???) If you shout loudly, or use the equivalent type face, the more factualdiddly you is.

I get what he's saying about the importance of thumbnails & titles, but I can't help feel that part of his poor YouTube performance may be down to needing 9:23 to tell us something that requires two minutes tops. The rest is endless padding, repetition and irrelevance.

From my son...good lad

We're also playing 3-6(ish), which seems an ideal slot. It's a 'Home' gig in our local so it's all very relaxed, and likely to be a decent crowd. Looking forward to it.

I think playing 3pm till 6pm is great! Daryl

This should be an interesting watch — if the UK release isn't delayed. https://www.guitarworld.com/music-industry/normans-rare-guitars-documentary-release-date

It can be done. The Retrovibe preamp fits, and I chose to lose the 3 way switch knob for separate bass and treble. Now a mini switch. Some wood has to be removed on the cavity to get the battery in flat, but hobby knife will suffice. It's really worth it, 😂

Airspeed velocity of unladen swallows, perhaps?

if you can get them into a conversation about the proper use of a box junction you can just sneak out while they are arguing.

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

My parents and grandparents looked down their noses at the likes of Cream and The Jeff Beck Group (wasn't even music!!) because they didn't sound like Henry Hall, Billy Cotton and Geraldo. And around it goes.