Leaderboard

The Birthday was a decent gig. The dep drummer was pretty good too. We sounded pretty good with a few high points throughout the show. The dancing started a little later after the booze kicked in. Lol Sorry, the pics aren't very good. But, you get the idea Daryl

Last year we lost a keyboard player that was quite the institution in our local blues scene , Barry Cook. He played with just about everyone around town and had his own little band , the Blue Devils. I was one of the regular bass players in the band. The Devils decided to keep the band going and we played last night in the old blues dive. Parking was a misery in the downtown core last night but I eventually found a spot. There was a hockey game going on around the corner. Great crowd , band sounded great. We were given song lists to listen to , but (as usual) no rehearsal , great playing. Enjoyed the night , back tonight for the Sunday jam night , looking forward to it , we’ve been having some wonderful guests recently, should be a good night. Nice finish to 2024.

Not “bass” related as such but as we’re writing a new album for 2025 and I have been in a bit of a writing slump, I picked up this 2015 Gretsch Electromatic G5420T. It’s the first time I have bought myself an Xmas gift in a while but it already seems to be unlocking a bit of my writers block.

My first build so go lightly please 🤣

That's awful. I know you're a degree of separation from it but it's still going to have an effect. We're here for you, buddy, if you gotta vent, vent away.

I've got a lot of time and respect for what Mark Jones is doing with his instruments. His woodworking and craftsmanship looks absolutely world class, and I'm pleased to see a product of that quality being made in a small operation in England. It's a brave move to try and break into the toxic and often snobbish bass market, even when your product appears to be as good as anything else you can buy. Yes, the earlier basses were obviously inspired by Ken Smith. I'm not sure why that attracted such opprobrium; I don't think an order with Jones Bass would have gone to Ken Smith otherwise. If you see an R Bass or a D'Mark, you don't automatically think that Fodera have lost out. If you see a Unicorn, you don't assume that the order would have otherwise automatically gone to Alembic. If you see a Lull, you don't assume that Sadowsky, Devon, Valenti, Fender, Moon etc have lost an order. I think some of the initial criticism over social media of the derivative styling was just people sticking the boot in because they could. Because Mark was posting the builds online as the luthier, it was probably quite easy for the detractors to have a pop at them. I don't like Mark's current shapes as much but his coolest, sleekest shape is one that he needs to make more fuss about. I think he calls it the MK1 shape. I absolutely love it. See the attached item. Irrespective of what you think of the shapes of the basses, you can't argue that they look absolutely flawless in the pictures. I'm not sure if he does his own finishing but the high gloss finish he getting looks like glass, it's absolutely incredible.

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

Main theme running through this thread seems to be that the bass players with the best job security achieve this not by being a Charles Berthold wannabe, but by bringing added value to a band - lead and/or BVs, taking on admin (bookings, media), providing PA, transport, doubling on another instrument. The other factor is being able to somehow get along with all the other people in the band, even when provoked, otherwise it's eventually gonna end in tears and/or bruises!

End of year report: Could have finished it by now . But I haven't and I won't. In trying to get the pickups to work I've made a mess of the loom @KiOgon made for me so I'm having to find some bits of wire. However, it is all together and there's no technical reason the strings can't go on, except it doesn't feel right. Pic for attention

I'm probably very replacable as a bass player, but the other band members might wonder why there are no rehearsal/gig recordings, no printed setlists, and why the website has not been updated.

Ignore YT, stick whatever you want on it. I had a '63 P bass and used rounds all the time with that, no bother. Any damage will take years.

I feel like the only rules for a band name are that you shouldn't feel any level of cringe when telling anyone about it, and you shouldn't need to spell it out.

yes that’s how I got a short scale.

As others have said, I suspect that all of us are replaceable but depending on the band, it will probably change the sound and the dynamic, especially for originals bands. But what if you're not even replaced? In my current band when the guitarist left before we looked for a replacement we tried rearranging the songs with me swapping from traditional bass parts to using a Bass VI and alternating between bass and melody parts with the synth player. It worked very well and defined the sound of the band. When our drummer left latter on, we decided that rather than look for a replacement we'd go with programmed drums instead.

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

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.

You bastard now I have to sell a child …

Sorry to bang on about this shape but I love it. It works as a four string too. And look at the six from the back! So smart. This the direction I'd like to see Mark follow, if he won't just do the BT/BSR shape in future. As previously stated, I have no problem with something looking like a British Ken Smith. It may seem a bit jarring to some but that's only because he's the first guy to do it but look at all the other amazing builders that were clearly influenced by Ken.

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

Actually some good news ... the guitarist from the blues band has picked up a gig on the 23 Jan. Good news - 7pm to 9pm Bad news - Womanby Street Cardiff. Worst parking in the city.

Often, chord names are transferrable and a m7b5 and a half diminished are the same thing, just referred to in different ways like a shovel and a spade or a hatchet and an axe. What is more important is the function of the chord in the context in which it is being used. If it is functioning as the seventh chord in major chord scale, I would call it a m7b5. In truth, it probably only matters what it sounds like, not what it is called.

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.

...and cake.

I could hit you around the back of the head with both and see if you can tell the difference 😆

Welcome to the entrance to the rabbit hole...

Well....ahem. I do feel slightly uncomfortable when I tell people that my first band, in 1984, was called "Noddy Goes To Sellafield". Only people of a certain age actually get why, most just look blankly at me. Rob

As other have said, unless you are well rehearsed playing with recorded drums instead of a real drummer, you'll probably be better off hiring someone to fill in, as there are all sorts of issues that you'll encounter and you need to be prepared and have contingency plans for all of them. You'll need to add count-ins for all the tracks and guide clicks for the rest of the band on any tracks where the drums don't come in at the beginning. Likewise for any mid-song sections with no drums. You'll be surprised how badly you'll drift out of sync on anything more than a single bar without something to keep the beat. You'll need to be able to hear the drums loud enough to play too. Again you'll be surprised how loud this actually needs to be when you don't have a human drummer on stage with you, because you will be relying entirely on the sound, and there's no flexibility in recorded or programmed drum playback, it's completely up to the band to keep in time with the recording. Depending on the genre it might look rubbish without a human drummer. Any additional clicks you need for timing purposes will detract from the performance. And to be brutally honest, if you need to ask about how to do to it, you'll need to spend a lot longer sorting it out and practicing, and maybe even spend money sorting, then is worth the effort for a fe gigs.

There’s so many unanswered questions , I’m sorry to hear you’re dealing with that , Dave.

18??!!! Good God. One's hard enough for me!

Ummm I got myself this... CIJ 75 Jazz reissue. I've not had time to properly play it since I put La Bella flats on it. I really have fallen victim to BC. I now have one jazz with rounds, one jazz with flats, one fretless jazz...

Matt Ramsey is one of the top gospel bass players around, and he’s around 21 in that video. Unbelievable chops and taste.

Happy afternoon re-wiring and adding in my Christmas present. Yes its probably over the top but hey, it didn't actually cost that much as almost all was second hand and it's a lot of the stuff I dreamed of when I was a kid! Only bit of manual re-wiring is choosing between the trace, ashdown or Genz-Benz bass preamps (which route through to the Trace cab).

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!

Good thing my band is called The Sh!t band then!

My partner surprised with this for Christmas! Really great rat inspired pedal

Ibanez is using barrel jacks and they are not all made the same way. When replacing such output jacks I always use a stereo jack plug to check the lugs (connectivity) to know which one is which, that's the safer way to replace these. If your tech is simply soldering wires were they were using a photo or a sharpie, then he is no tech at all. Better find a real one.

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.

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

I'm getting old. I didn't remember I have a gig tomorrow night. I'm transparent to a fault so I'll share the text I received this text this morning. "Hey all! The scoop for Maple Road Saturday @Traditions; Surprise 40th Bday Party. I'll be there early to setup, you can all arrive anytime after 4 to load in. We need to be soundchecked by 5:40, the Bday girl arrives shortly before 6, set time is 6-9pm. Let me know if there are any questions!" I know some of you have played a lot of these Birthday parties. I guess they can be good or bad. Daryl