Leaderboard

Say hello to Blondie boys. My first Ric and absolutely loving it. Got from Andy Baxter’s showroom today. Wow has he got some good stuff. I bought a 66 Mustang off him some years back, so you know it’s quality gear. After reading all the bad stuff as well as the good stuff, seems like there’s 2 camps - lovers and haters. Well mama put me in the former- ok the E sting intonation is slightly out but set up at Andy’s with TI flats for me and it’s superb. What a neck. I was going to go for the new 4003 but hard to find stock and for similar money got this one. much mojo, much to love - I like all the sounds so far and needs mute replacing, which I have on order with Ricky Sounds and pal is going to help me fit it. He’s got 2 Ric’s, and he convinced me to get an old one with lower output- just as well got the extra cab for my cmd121 Markbass then -he’s got one of Paul Gray’s old Rics, an awesome Autumnglo satin finish rehearsal on Friday - woof

Played the Cathouse in Glasgow with my acdc mob last night. It`s a bugger of a place right in the city centre. You can`t drive down the street due to a bus gate and if you could there is sod all parking. Oh and there is a rather steep set of steps leading up to the main venue. Because of this we used the venue`s backline. I arrived at 4 pm and asked the guy where the Marshall heads were to go with the cabs that were there. He got the heads out but no speaker cables! Luckily enough Kenny`s music is just down the road so jumped down and got a couple. Then we discovered that the bass drum had only 1 leg and there was no drum seat, cue drummer boy rushing home to get the missing gear. The good thing was there was a Rumble 500 for me which is what I use anyway. Not to self: never trust what it says on the venue`s list of gear! Only played for 1 hour due to Bon DC being on after us but we had a blast and went down really well, maybe a little to well for the other mob but it was a great night with lots of nice comments. But gigs in city centres are getting harder all the time.

I would add to that the social benefits of being in a band. Most of my friends are people I’ve met through through music, and playing in a band has given me with much of my travel and life experiences. Also a lot of what I’ve learned about the world, people and about myself has been via the “musician” part of my life, which has been the only stable thread running thru a lot of it. Definitely agree on the cognitive side of it as well. I don’t read music so the mental imagery I use to map out what I’m learning is quite elaborate. And I reckon that years of picking out basslines and vocal harmonies from all the other music is quite a skill of concentration and selection. So yeah. Basically being a musician is a superpower yay.

Just found a photo from our guitarist's other band's last gig... Capital Radio's firework night. I'm not jealous...

Being bassists makes us chick magnets, apparently. Yay!! 🤓

Few adults play musical instruments, and even fewer do so in a group, Caroline Mimbs Nyce writes. What health benefits might they be giving up? https://theatln.tc/oglkQfzJ “Kids receive plenty of music education, but as people get older, they fall out of practice. Many stop picking up their instrument,” Nyce writes. “This is unfortunate, in part because plenty of research shows that adults could benefit from playing music.” Playing music helps build larger brain networks and new pathways. “Musicians tend to have better attention than nonmusicians,” Nyce continues. “Banging on a drum or tooting a horn can also relieve stress, reduce burnout, and help with anxiety and depression. For older people specifically, research has shown potential cognitive benefits along with a possible decrease in dementia risk.” Adults may be skipping out in part because music education is associated with childhood and coursework. And after people grow out of music education in their childhood, they tend to think that music is a special talent, Nyce writes, not something that just anybody can learn. “Of course, people are busy; they simply may not have the luxury of sitting down to study Bach once a week, much less the money to pay for an instrument or private lessons,” Nyce writes. Playing music in groups has additional benefits, such as allowing adults to feel more trusting of and connected to one another, and to the world in general. But while it’s easy to go to a park or gym and pull together a game of pickup basketball, “piecing together people at the same skill level to play a concerto or even just jam in a garage is another matter.” Nyce herself recently began to play the recorder. “I plan to keep learning,” she writes, “not because it strengthens my neuropathways per se (though I certainly don’t mind that), but because making music, even when it’s silly—perhaps especially when it’s silly—is just a whole lot of fun.”

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt 😂. It was a meal in a posh restaurant with my then-girlfriend's family. Then there was that other time when the drummer had been on a bender all day and we had to send a couple of audience members to his house to wake him up 😂

......but I bought a SR Premium 1355B to fill the gap

New band is at the 'record some stuff to show venues and get gigs' stage. So we did. Go pro in the corner, silent-ish rehearsal with everything into the desk. Run a few takes of each track and pick the best one. The drummer has just finished giving it a bit of a polish and syncing the audio & video up. I think he's done a pretty good job:

At the risk of opening a can of worms about curly cables, I got this. (To be honest, it was at my request; I didn't need a new cable, but I've wanted a curly one for a long time.) It will only get home use, as that is the only place I play. Each to one's own, but I absolutely love it! https://www.designacable.com/van-damme-curly-guitar-cable-neutrik-instrument-lead-studio-grade-70cm-25m.html

Anything that gets the buggers off their phones and communicating in real life as well as being creative can only be a winner! Good on 'im!

I've enjoyed quite a few of Rick Beato's videos over the years, but I think he's totally embarrassed himself with this - either because he's completely missed the point of both the documentary and the original Yacht Rock skit, or because he was deliberately in 'Click Baito' curmudgeonly old git mode. He also omits some information and gets stuff wrong. He is quite happy to play the Donald Fagen phone call, but forgets to mention that Fagen was also quite happy to license six Steely Dan tracks to be used in the documentary, so there's probably an element of him wanting to maintain his 'difficult' persona while being happy to get the exposure he knows the TV show will get. Also, JD Ryznar and Hollywood Steve (two of the original makers of the Yacht Rock skit) were not producers of the dockumentary, they're just guests interviewed on the show. Personally I don't get the negativity of Beato and some here about the term 'Yacht Rock'. Both the documentary and the original skit were very sympathetic towards the music and have only served to spread it to a wider, and younger audience, and anyway, it's no worse than terms like 'Hair Metal' or even K-pop which also lump different artists into one category but noone seems to complain about. The Yacht Rock skit show is hilarious too. It's not cringe, it's both very sympathetic to the music, but also completely ridiculous and quite surreal (Michael McDonald saving Giorgio Moroder's home planet by using the smooth grooves of Sweet Freedom to destroy the black hole that Hall and Oates come from). They are a bit harsh towards Jimmy Buffett however.

Those tuners look a little wonky. Did 'he' work for Gibson in 1974?

Find a new tech. If the guy can't figure out something as basic as this after needlessly replacing parts a number of times, you should bring it to someone who knows what they're doing instead.

I wish people would just stay on topic as regards this thread.

I agree - it's just a lazy, patronising label to deride perfectly legitimate top quality musicians. It also has a slight whiff of racism about it! Quincy Jones produced polished RnB based pop music with strong jazz, soul, fusion and rock influences, which everyone praises to the skies. Toto produced polished rock based pop music with strong jazz, soul, fusion and RnB influences and all the would be hipsters form a queue to sneer. Quincy even used the same players, not to mention that Steely Dan used guys who played on Aretha Franklin hits (as well as QJ records).

The trouble is that you're completely wrong! As a producer, Beato worked with a number of punk and garage rock bands. His big break was co-writing a number one country hit, which led to him working with several big time country songwriters. One of the things I like about RB is that he has a pretty wide background in lots of musical styles - he might love Steely Dan, but he also sees the value in The Clash. He used to be a lecturer in music, so he does come from an academic background, which is probably what you don't like about him. For me, he seems likable and is very enthusiastic / knowledgeable about lots of different types of music and I generally find his content interesting. Each to his own...

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 😁

Decided to stick a little compact board together, annoyingly can't find a single available fig8 power cable in the house to power it… It looks like it'll sound awesome though 👌

https://scottsbasslessons.com/blog/bass-maintenance?vgo_ee=RQ%2FlNc7odyOWvz85he%2BWsul9lMud%2F Bass Maintenance: How to Take Proper Care of Your Bass 10/05/2024 In the quest for bass mastery, there are habits every bass player should develop. Practicing scales is one. Playing at the same time every day—and daily—is another. But one habit that’s overlooked in favor of more fun practice routines is regular bass maintenance—-and it’s arguably one of the most important. Today, I’m going over the basics of bass maintenance to show you how taking preventative actions now can save you headaches down the line. So, if you want to know how to ensure your bass plays and sounds smooth for a long time, you’re in the right place! Safe Storage and Handling for Your Bass The first step to stellar bass maintenance is keeping your bass safe and secure. Bass guitars are made of wood, which can be affected by humidity and temperature changes. Careful storage and handling are essential to prevent damage from regular use. Let me break down the important factors to keep your bass in top shape. 1. Humidity and Temperature Climate control is your friend when it comes to maintaining a great bass tone. Without it, your bass can quickly get out of whack. The wood shrinks if it gets too cold or dry, making your bass sound brittle. In extreme situations, the wood can shrink to the point where it begins to crack. On the other hand, when it’s too warm or humid, the wood starts to expand, and your bass sounds dull. If the wood expands enough, you might get fret buzz when you play. If left in extreme heat or humidity, your bass might begin to warp or crack, leading to permanent damage. Another thing you have to watch out for is extreme temperature changes. Don’t leave your bass in the trunk of your car in the middle of winter only to bring it into a warm room. Ideally, the humidity should be 45% to 55%, and the temperature should be 65-75°F. But you'll be fine as long as you stay at 30% to 70% humidity. If you’re concerned about humidity, I suggest getting a humidity gauge. It’ll tell you how high the humidity is so you can adjust as needed. 2. Storage Storage is a simple step that will save you a lot of heartache (and broken basses). Now, there are lots of different options out there, but my recommendations for storage are stands and hard cases. A stand is a solid option if you want to show off your bass. It keeps it off the ground and, depending on where you place it, in a safe location. The downside of stands is that they will collect more dust and dirt than hard cases. Hard cases are hands down the safest storage option. They can be more expensive than stands, but they protect your bass from inevitable bumps and scratches. Choose a storage spot for your bass away from direct sunlight and excessive dust. The sun can fade or crack the finish, while dust and debris can gather in the electronics and hardware. This buildup can cause problems in the future. 3. Handling When you pick up your bass, always use both hands—one supporting the neck and the other cradling the body. This helps to avoid dropping or bumping the bass. Investing in a quality strap is also a smart move. It’ll help prevent any heart-stopping slips while you’re jamming out. How to Clean a Bass Guitar You’d be amazed at how much your sound can improve after a thorough bass cleaning! Your bass needs regular cleaning, but remember that this process isn’t a one-size-fits-all sort of thing—different parts require different cleaners.. Let’s break it down step by step. 1. General Cleaning For day-to-day stuff, keep it simple. All you need is a soft, dry cloth. That’s it. Nothing fancy. Once you’ve got your cloth, wipe down every inch of your bass to remove fingerprints or dust. Make sure to get between the tuning heads on the headstock and underneath the strings. 2. Fretboard Cleaning There’s more to fretboard cleaning than wiping it down after playing. You’ll want to clean your fretboard regularly to prevent grimy buildup. I usually clean my fretboard when I change my strings. Without the strings, it’s easy to get into all the nooks and crannies without worrying about harming my strings. To clean your fretboard, you’ll need: Soft, dry cloths A toothbrush Lemon oil or fretboard-specific oil A fret cleaner Once you’ve removed your strings, grab a soft, dry cloth and wipe the fretboard down. This is to get rid of any dirt or grime. If there’s particularly stubborn grime, gently scrub around the frets with the toothbrush. After that, you can moisturize the wood with lemon oil or fretboard-specific oil. You don’t need a lot of oil for this. Just put a little on the dry cloth, then rub it into the fretboard. Let it sit for a few minutes, and then grab a clean cloth to remove any excess oil. Use a fret cleaner and an unused cloth to clean the frets. There are a ton of different kinds of fret cleaners out there. Just be careful when you use them so you don’t get them all over the wood on the fretboard, as that can harm the finish. 3. Body and Hardware Cleaning Just like when it comes to cleaning the fretboard, you want to be careful about where you apply guitar cleaner. To clean the body of your guitar: Grab a clean cloth and spray guitar polish onto the fabric. One or two squirts are fine. Rub the guitar polish into the body of your bass. Make sure you hit the front and back of the body, the back of the neck, and the headstock. Avoid the wood of the fretboard, as anything that’s not fretboard-specific can potentially damage the wood. Guitar polish is essential because it keeps everything shiny and prevents corrosion to the finish. Hardware cleaning is more straightforward. The hardware refers to all of the brass or metal parts attached to the wood that are not pickups or frets—the bridge, strap pins, and tuning heads. To keep them looking fresh, use a clean cloth to rub everything down to remove dust or fingerprints. If wiping it down doesn’t work, you can use a mild brass polish. Make sure to use the brass polish on the hardware only. Getting it anywhere else can cause damage to the finish of your bass. 4. Electronics Maintenance Cleaning around electronics is tricky. They’ll accumulate a lot of dust, so you need to be very careful when cleaning them. Use a cotton swab around the areas where the wood meets the metal, and wipe around any areas where you see dust. Do NOT use liquid around any of the electronics. It’s important to keep the electronics dry. If they get wet, they can short-circuit, and it’s game over. If you think the electronics need more TLC and the internal parts need cleaning, put down the cleaning supplies and call a professional. How to Boil Bass Strings Boiling bass strings is an old-school trick for removing the grime on your strings and improving their sound. It might sound a little out there, but it works! When you boil your bass strings, they expand and release all the dirt and oil that builds up on them. The sound goes from dull and lifeless to bright and crisp. Some bassists boil their strings to make the strings last longer. However, you can only do this once or twice per set of strings before the strings get weak and run the risk of snapping. To boil your strings, you’ll need: A set of strings A saucepan Tongs A clean cloth towel The first step is to remove the strings from your bass and coil them individually. Make sure that they’re tight enough that they’ll fit in the saucepan. Next, fill the saucepan with water and place it on your stovetop. Turn the burner on high. Once the water starts to boil, use the kitchen tongs to place the coiled strings into the saucepan. Let them boil for ten to fifteen minutes—don’t let them boil longer than that. Lay your towel on a flat surface. When the time is up, use the tongs to remove them from the water and lay them on the towel. After a minute or two, they should be cool enough to touch. Once you can touch them safely, uncoil them, lay them on the towel, and pat them dry to remove any excess water. Only put the strings back onto your bass when they are completely dry. How to Make Minor Bass Guitar Repairs Bass guitar repair doesn’t always require a trip to your local music shop. In fact, you can resolve many common issues with knowledge of the various parts of your bass and basic tools! This knowledge can save you time and money, so it’s definitely worth knowing. Let’s check out a couple of repairs that are easy to tackle. 1. String Replacement Unfortunately, bass strings don’t last forever. You have to replace them regularly to maintain tone and playability. To remove the strings, loosen the tension on each string by turning the tuning head toward you. If the string's pitch lowers as you pluck it, the tension is loosening. Once it’s loose enough, you can remove it from the tuning peg and the bridge. Next, feed the new string through the bridge, ensuring it sits properly in the saddle. Wind the string around the tuning peg, keeping it slack enough to wind more than once. Repeat the process for each string, and then tune it up. Use our online bass tuner to help you out. For a closer look at the process, check out this in-depth video showing exactly how to change your bass strings! 2. Adjusting Action and Intonation Regardless of how well you maintain climate control for your bass, the wood will shift over time. As it shifts, it changes the action (string height) and intonation (string length) of your bass, requiring you to set up your bass. If the action is too high, playing can be difficult; if it's too low, you may experience fret buzz. Here’s how to adjust the action on your bass: Use a hex key or flathead screwdriver to turn the saddle height adjustment screws at either end of the bridge saddle Turn them clockwise to raise the action or counterclockwise to lower it, making quarter-turn adjustments After each adjustment, retune your bass and play a few notes on each string to check for buzz and playability Repeat until you find a comfortable action without fret buzz Intonation, on the other hand, controls how your bass sounds. You can check the intonation by comparing a natural harmonic to its fretted counterpart. A natural harmonic is where a bell-like sound plays if you touch the string lightly above the fret itself and pluck it. Here’s how to adjust the intonation on your bass: Tune your bass accurately and play a natural harmonic at the 12th fret of each string Compare it to the fretted note at the 12th fret. If the fretted note is higher in pitch, the string length is too short; if it's lower, the string length is too long. Use a Phillips head screwdriver to turn the intonation screws at the back of the bridge saddles Turn the screw clockwise to move the saddle back (lengthening the string) or counterclockwise to move it forward (shortening the string) Retune the string and recheck intonation by comparing the natural harmonic and fretted notes at the 12th fret Repeat the adjustment steps until both notes match in pitch, then move to the next string and repeat the process as needed 3. Tightening Hardware Vibrations from playing can cause the hardware to loosen over time, leading to annoying rattles, buzzes, and other issues. Regularly checking and tightening any loose hardware is a good idea to keep everything secure. For tuners, you’ll want to ensure the nuts are snug against the headstock. Locate the nut on the tuner on the front of the headstock. Use a flathead screwdriver to tighten them. Be careful not to over-tighten them, or you could strip the threads. If your input jack feels wobbly, you can usually tighten it by unscrewing the nut on the outside of the jack and giving it a quarter turn or so. And if your strap buttons feel loose, you can tighten them with a small screwdriver. Just be gentle and don’t force anything—that goes for all hardware! If something seems stuck or stripped, it might be time to take your bass to a professional to look it over. 4. Nut and Bridge Maintenance The nut and the bridge are two of the most important parts of your bass, keeping it in tune and playing smoothly. The nut is a small piece of material that sits at the top of the fretboard just underneath the headstock and keeps all the strings in place. The bridge, a larger piece at the bottom of the bass, anchors the strings to the bass guitar's body. Over time, dirt and grime can build up in the slots of the nuts and saddles of the bridge, causing issues with tuning and playability. You'll want to clean these regularly to keep everything clean and playing smoothly. I recommend doing nut and bridge maintenance when you change your strings. Use a soft-bristled brush to remove any grime. If the nut slots or bridge saddles need lubrication, you can use graphite or nut sauce (a lubricant for the slots in the nut) to help the strings move freely and stay in tune. If your bass is out of tune after you’ve cleaned it, you may need to set the nut height. Take Your Bass Maintenance (and Playing) Up a Level Regular bass maintenance is a necessary part of every bassist’s life. It prolongs your bass's life and helps keep your sound consistent. While I covered many key areas in bass maintenance, there’s still more to learn. If you want to dive deeper, we have a course specifically focused on bass maintenance taught by custom luthier Chris May that walks you through setting up your bass. It’s one of many courses from the SBL Academy that covers everything you need to know about the bass, taught by some of the world's best bassists.

Perhaps we also need a thread on misleading band names, album titles or artwork. Something like Throbbing Gristle's "20 Jazz Funk Greats":

Boiling strings- The first step is to remove the strings from your bass.. I knew I was doing something wrong 😁

I simply cannot comprehend not being a musician. And at the risk of sounding pompous and a bit up myself I cant imagine what its like for those who aren't because as has already been suggested playing a musical instrument and even just thinking creatively kinda rounds out the personality. It's certainly made me into someone that thinks about stuff a lot....I also like to think the majority of musicians are a kinda peaceful bunch too.

You know this means musicians using a music stand have 2.8% more pulling power than any of us who don't use one. Imagine if the 'chicks' knew the pages were full of Italian words? Those classical guys have the top 3 covered!!

This was wonderful, superb playing and what a beautiful voice your singer has, excellent, good luck with the band John 😎

Yeah, I guess nobody could hear that precision on Live at Leeds because it was passive. Maybe if you're doing clean with no treble and the tone knob rolled off then yeah, nobody will hear you. Pile on the treble and maybe a judicious use of distortion and your thought about passive instruments "not cutting through" doesn't work in any way. That's regardless of how many musicians in the band.

Learn them and then forget it.

I think that unless they're very lucky many musicians find that if they want to be a musician they need to be on benefits in order to eat!

Great playing on both versions, but i prefer the double bass version. The electric bass sounds too clean and precise, whereas the double bass version is more organic and in keeping with the original composition.

Here's some yacht rock with a great bass line. As an aside (and different song I know, but...) when Simon Le Bon's yacht capsized it was dubbed "A View To A Keel". 🙂

I went for a jam at an ex bandmates a few days ago. He was the bass player in the band (I played keys). I took my EHB1000S. He loved it - said it was the best bass he’d played.

Boris Johnson Is A Fncking Cnnt - Kunt and the Gang

It depends on the makeup of the band. But my experience is that in larger setups especially, with a modern passive Fender the audience are unlikely to hear much definition in the notes. It tends to be all the low end which can make the sound a bit wooly (nothing wrong with that if it’s what is desired). My experience with boutique instruments is that the electronics are all of significant design and quality that they do not suffer this same issue. I guess this is why they are popular in gospel, musical theatre and big bands. Plus in those musical situations the player is often seated and not throwing the instrument around the stage ala the who.

For that matter, Fender is just a gateway to proper basses.

Board I’m running at the mo for festive function stuff - Empress into Capo with Tonex in post FX loop running an Aguilar DB751 and a cab of some description, also getting chorus and extra dirt channel from the Tonex and a clean boost from B side of the Capo. I usually have an octave pedal but it’s on the blink so I’d rather not take it to a gig till it’s sorted/I inevitably bin it and buy another one Also battery charger + rechargeable batteries for IEM pack & wireless 😁 (which I stood on so currently not using) Really very impressed with the Tonex, not sure why I don’t see much Bass love for it but they’re as good as any capture I’ve ever used and much better than Stomp amp/cab sims, and there are tonnes of free user generated captures on Tone.net, also get the full suite and Amplitube to use on your computer/DAW - I’m not selling them or anything 😆 but as far as amp/cab sounds go they’re top of the tree IMO

Making Plans For Nigel - XTC

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.

I've got a couple of pedal kits from Fuzz Dog! It's been a long time since I attempted a pedal, so this will be interesting. Going to try the Acapulco Gold clone tonight. The Monolith will take a bit longer - there are loads more components.

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

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

Cheers for the positive comments guys, have a great Christmas and new year