Leaderboard

First gig with the first wave ska band the Long Shots supporting ska punk band Rudebeard. Pretty decent turn out considering the trains were off after the storm. We played pretty well for a debut, lots of really positive comments. Played my Warwick star bass fretless through the rattly house peavey combo, but the sound guy did a great job. This was my first proper gig for over 12 years so pleased it went so well.

Thought I’d give the mini Stingray a more retro look…

First gig for this year (ignoring new years gig going into this year) - light on bookings so far. Playing at a local village pub, not known for music. Found out we needed to move it an hour earlier as they have a noise curfew because of local houses, so 8-11, ok with that, nice to get back earlier, especially as it is 5 mins down the road anyway. We played there once before for a haloween do, in a skittle alley, bad acoustics but good gig, so parked expecting that, but they have a new food area on the side, of the bar (which itself is next to the other bar) so we were there, quite small. easy loadin and setup, not many people, thought this was going to be a paid practice, but we still approach it the same way, these people are paying us. Less volume needed so sound was manageable and pretty good, took my Ric and my old ibanez #1 which had just had new strings. considering no gigs or practices this month first half went really well. The crowd were small, non mobile but appreciative. Had a break, some people left others came in. The second half is less blues, more party so tends to go better, and sure enough, they seemed more up for it the second half. Then we hit 'does your mother know' and loads of women from.. who knows where.. came in dancing, and from there on in it was pretty dancey. towards the end when we had some rock stuff, highway to hell and our ending songs, a load of blokes came in from.. yet another bar I guess, so we ended with Whole lotta love, which always goes down a storm (even though I have no idea why people try to dance to it) - in the end there were quite a load of people dancing in what was quite a small room, so it felt really full. It was a great way to end a quiet month. There was a video someone shared for a change - it was the verse of all right now, and me looking around and checking my pedals!

Great gig at ‘The Brook’ Southampton last night, played there many times, fantastic venue and audience as usual. Never done this before but brought a bass on the way down in Havent, Pompey and decided to use it at the gig two hours later!🤣.Really nice GB Spitfire 5 . Sounded fab but definitely needs some work done to get it up to top notch. Very comfy and light too . Will take it down to Bernie when I get time, being fairly local . 😊x

A partscaster precision I recently finished. I really like the combination of ice blue metallic, anodised gold and roasted flamed maple.

First gig of 2025 last night was a 40th at Studley Social Club in Redditch. Considering the state of the building on the outside, it was actually a really nice room with a cool stage and friendly staff. I’m really wanting to love my Mustang as I think it’s gorgeous and plays so nice. I played the first set with the intention of playing it all night. But, I swapped it out for the second set as it just doesn’t sound as good as my Gretsch to my ears. Both went through my B3 into the PA and monitored using 64Audio A4t in-ears. All round, a good night and enjoyed blowing off the cobwebs after a few weeks off!

Doubt it. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/387707039318

My inner magpie wouldn't stop chattering since seeing this... I've wanted a bass with one of these metal flake finishes for years... I'd considered going the custom finish / build route but this ticked all the boxes. Really happy to have a G&L back in the stable. It's a great sounding bass too, loads of sustain and zing. All being well it will be making it to the 2025 North West & Scotland Bass Bash 😀

I used the Wattplower at a rehearsal for the first time last week. Blimey. It’s a good bass. Cut through and sounded better than anything I’ve played before. Those pickups are HOT and there’s loads of great sounds on tap. Super sparkliness is a bonus.

If we're introducing new levels then we should stick to the numbering convention, so the above is Tier 0. The 0 can be in shiny gold and look like a halo you want. I think weedling is a withdrawl symptom. The GAS addict can't buy anything and so that energy which would be spent eying up new gear and comparing munitae of details and prices and colours has to go somewhere. 😄

The Bush in Cwmbran with Bluesfire. Tight fit in this old pub, lovely customers and staff. As usual had a blast with some dancing (we aren't very danceable). Used my proper rig this time. Quecha aporoach shoes with custom orthopaedic insert to keep my ankle bearable.

Well, new used bass day as opposed to new bass day. Picked up for a very good price from Ishibashi Music in Shinjuku, Tokyo during a recent business trip. They had the grey and red in stock and whilst I preferred red, it had a few sizeable dings and paintwork chips and only around £10 price difference, so grey it was. Still very nice though. It's a non-export model, which IMHO, looks nicer and more balanced. The black scratchplate and control plate contrast nicely against binding on the body. Light, heavily contoured basswood body, very slim 70s profile jazz bass neck and a lovely punchy sound. If I was being picky, I'd say the jazz pickup sounds a bit thin - a common criticism - but it adds some bite to the sound. The P pickup sounds lovely and it's nice to finally have a bass I can use for the precision bass sound. Only other complaint is those silly plastic knobs. Will be replacing with chrome domed ones.

Thank you to everyone that contributed this afternoon... and a pleasure to finally 'touch base/bass' with some of you. Mike

Bargain at £350 including case

Ah! A new branch of physics has been discovered... Where the principles of anti-levers work...

1. Buy a box of Maltesers 2. Eat Maltesers 3. Cut out the (black) bottom of the box 4. Dust off remaining chocolate 5. Run it through a paper laminator to make it shiny & sealed 6. Cut out rectangle to cover pickups plus an extra narrow flap all round to fold down 7. Score, fold flaps and stick corners 8. Use double sided tape to stick onto pickups You're welcome 😂

Maybe The Donald will pardon him? he pardons everyone else

Didn't know Nick but I did message him when I imported my Klos Apollo bass direct from the States. I knew Nick was already playing one the same and we exchanged a few messages about the basses and his plan to put an active circuit in his. I also eventually managed to buy an Enfield bass a couple of months ago. I knew he was a demonstrator for the basses way back and I'd always hankered for one in part down to watching videos of him playing them. An absolute superb player too. RIP. My condolences go to his family at this sad time

"God tier" is for those who not only don't buy something, but also do not rearrange their pedal board for a whole year...

So how about a few of use get together and organise something, we have a lot of regional events, how about a national one? I'll help in any way I can and will donate a couple of Fenderish bitsas to auction to help cover costs?

If it had a balanced XLR out it would be perfect! Si

Last night Royal Blues @ The Spice of Life, Soho, that London. Decent size stage with backline provided, so nice to be able to hear myself for a change 😆 One of our backing vocalists is away, which makes a difference as we usually have 3 part harmonies going on. But we were told it sounded good FOH. Multi band line up, with the bands having nothing musically in common, but we brought a few people and apparently it was sold out. Didn't get time to take an office pic, it was a line check during changeover then on. There were plenty of pics taken by the punters, I'll post some when I get them. Gear: Ibanez UB804 (EUB) - Swift wireless - Fender Rumble combo (supplied backline) & Korg clip on tuner. Footwear: black leather brothel creepers with white interlace.

Here's my Ibanez SRMD205 Mezzo. It's been given the vinyl wrap treatment. Happy with how it's turned out visually but now, when I plug the transmitter of my WAZA Air Bass into the jack, it sounds like an industrial steam hammer! A constant repetitive loud banging sound through the headphones irrespective of whether the strings or audio is being played. It worked perfectly before the wrap and works perfectly when connected with a cable to my amp or Korg Pandora. The WAZA works perfectly with all my other basses, active or passive. I've changed the battery of the bass as a matter of course and poked around the wiring in the cavity to no avail. I can only assume the Vinyl wrap must have some kind of RF shielding capability or something... Have a listen..... Waza.m4a Any thoughts?

Stick a rubber doorstop on the spike.

@ezbass is clearly a heathen

Gave my 5-string S2 Classic a good cleanup, fret polishing and some WD40 on the fingerboard, and it struck me how beautifully the radiusing of the fingerboard exposed the various layers in the phenolic resin fingerboard. I thought you lot might appreciate as well She's still serving me well, @Bonin-in-the boneyard! It's a fantastic bass.

Easily the most intriguing of this NAMM’s offerings. I was an RB fanboi for ages.

It'll look amazing with in either tort or mint in my opinion. @DaleASmith are you still thinking about a GZR for it?

Tort with blue? Definitely not. I think I'm in the minority here. Lovely looking bass though. LPB and a rosewood fretboard, really nice.

That’s one hell of a carpet. Probably got a preservation order.

I thought I'd share this pic as I like it so much. My band did a little video shoot last week, and the guitarist is a keen amateur photographer. After we'd finished filming I asked him to take some pics of the basses I'd taken. A brace of '73's. Rob

Midnight Hour, Wilson Pickett .And it was also the first full song I played with a band. Daryl