Leaderboard

Dep reasonably close to home. Small venue with an odd layout with us off in one room off the main bar playing through an arch. All seemed to go ok. A few flubs and nowhere to hide as the second guitar I have played with depping with them in the past was not there so just guitar, drums, Vox and bass. All good fun and generally got through ok with a good bunch of guys that it’s easy to work with with knowing nods 🙂 Having used the old skool (and heavy) Hartke LH500 last week it was back to Class D this week and I do find that the latter always seems to start sounding great but after a prolonged group of songs they ‘go off’ and need a break between songs to get their puff back, whereas the LH500 ‘seems’ to be more consistent. Maybe that’s just my ears ‘going off’ and needing the break, but it’s odd. Still living the FrankenJazz and the S2 didn’t get a look in. Still working out the new IEM’s and despite working through menus and setup in the week I was still only getting signal on one plug which I don’t understand, so more to do there.

First gig since 2nd Jan with the Glam band at a fantastic venue Dalkeith Miners Club. No pics as yet but here's the stage pic from last time we played here. Sound guy was saying ticket sales in general have been low and some are just paying on the night. He said 100 tickets sold plus they expect 30-50 paying at door. Looked a bit empty when i went in to get changed for the set but it got busier after the first few songs and was a decent crowd for the 2nd set. Dancers on most of the songs tonight which was good. Audience reaction was good and a few T shirts sold too. Club aren't advertising the gigs so thats not helping fill the place. They put an advert up on their FB page an hour before the doors opened and that was the first advert since start of January for our gig tonight. All in all it turned out a good wee night altho the guy that paid us said the treasurer didn't want to pay the full amount because it wasn't full. The other committee guys over-ruled him. Not our fault they didn't advertise the gig at all. What do they expect. Shame as its a cracking big club that can hold 500-600 at a push. Typically we get 200-300 at our shows but tonight i reckon 150. This was the decider for me whether i would stay with the band a bit longer and i have to admit i had a great time and i think i will miss it so i'm now really struggling to make up my mind. Band have said if i have doubts about leaving to just take my time and have a decent think about it. Anyways my gear tonight was my usual Sandberg VM4 into Shure Wireless, Keeley Comp, Mesa TT800 Boogie channel, Mesa 210/115 cabs with my fav bass Fender Geddy Jazz as a back up. Was gonna use it but i changed the strings to Elixirs yesterday and i found the neck had bowed a little so i need to straighten that out. Meant the string height in middle of the neck felt high even tho it wasn't a lot. Maybe it was just in my head. LOL Outfit first set was a nice sparkly purple jacket with matching satin trousers and platform boots. 2nd set was a matching light blue and silver jacket and trousers with my trusty platform boots. Dave

We played a 40th b’day party last night. Had punters up dancing from the first song - that’s a new and novel experience, so we enjoyed that. Except we later learned it was because the do started about 2.5 hours before we set up, and they were already well and truly lubricated with booze. By the second set, the families with young kids had gone home, and the remaining punters had largely passed out/thrown up or were harassing the pub staff. Total mess of a night - even though we played well. Not a family we’ll be working for again.

Been waaay too long since posting here and to be honest, my gig rustiness showed, having a few numbers where I just made stupid mistakes. But the rest of the time was ok, at the Playhouse Cheltenham. Very difficult to sell tickets at the moment, especially for an out of town band doing its 1st gig in the city but we got about 70 in a 190ish capacity venue, so enough for a party. Tenor sax player went down ill the day before but fortunately the trumpet 2 player lives a member of the RSC orchestra so she slotted in just fine. Took our own FBT Pa, great quality stuff and the foh and in ears sound was great, plus the drummer turned up with his dad’s DW kit so we sounded fruity. Played much better as the gig went on and the audience were good fun. Much less time to wait until the next one.

Halfway through tonight’s gig. We’re sharing the night’s ticketed event with a pair of DJs, so a good break until set 2. Everyone is well up for it, lots of dancing and general appreciation. Small, hollow and slightly floating stage, so on stage sound isn’t the best, but I can hear everyone else just about. I’m using my custom, Maruszczyk Elwood L, through my usual Phil Jones rig. Shoes are modtastic suede affairs.

Played effectively a home town show last night at club 85, hitchin. Really cool line up and first gig since November for me and Gévaudan. Outed a new song, new drummers second gig and it all went off really well. One of those gigs where it just all clicked in and sound was great...although maybe a touch bass heavier would have been cool. Managed to pull some stupid faces as well which was cool. So good night all round. ✌️🧙‍♂️

Part 2. Second set was just as good, if not better, although the guitarist/lead singer was feeling ‘not right’ so we cut 2 songs that give him trouble in terms of breath. Lots more leaping around from the crowd and apparently someone even mentioned my sound and playing to the aforementioned guitar player, which was nice (probably another bass player). Really quick tear down for me and I was home by one, despite the patchy fog threatening to make the journey longer. On that performance, I can’t see us not playing there again. Next weekend, March of the Mods in Dundee (multi band lineup, charity gig). First on, so early finish.

Played at Drakes in Maidstone on Saturday, and it was the first gig I’d had with this band since December. It went well overall, but we were playing outside in the courtyard and it was freezing! I had to put a jumper back on a couple of songs in. There were plenty of people there, but mainly they stayed by the patio heaters rather than come up dancing. As usually happens, those people came to life at 11.30 just as we were heading towards the end of the set! The outside area had had a makeover since we last played there, and decking had been installed, along with a raised stage area which was nice. A good, but cold gig overall. We finished with a rocked up version of Livin La Vida Loca which was quite amusing. I’d also installed some Schaller strap locks earlier in the day and was pleased with them.

Copycat!

We finished tonight at 11:15pm and on the road 12:00pm altho heavy fog in Edinburgh was slowing me down a bit but cleared when we left Edinburgh area home for 1am. Just backline for us tonight so it was a really fast clothes change then gear packed and loaded.. Dave

Broadly speaking more expensive basses 'feel' nicer to play, although obviously 'nicer' is subjective. I wouldn't necessarily expect a £1500 P or Jazz bass to sound radically different than a P or J costing half as much. One thing I have learnt over the years is that the answer to 'is a £2000 bass four times better than a £500 bass?' is generally 'no' but I would expect it to be more pleasant to play in multiple small ways such the feel of the controls, the finish on the neck, how smooth the tuners are etc. All those small details can add up to noticeably more pleasant playing experience over all Finally it's always worth considering buying used. £1500 should get you a lot of bass on the 2nd hand market

I've gotta say that i just bumped into an old drummer mate of mine at a pub gig tonight and he was saying that we ought to appreciate that we're in our late fifties / early sixties and we're both lucky enough to be still gigging regularly. Make the most of it while you still can, I'm still looking for more gigs. @petergales of this parish has just turned 79 and is still gigging and I have every intention of doing the same!

EBS Flat patch cables are the flattest I know of Si600.

If you made it home with money in your pocket and your gear safe and sound, a win is a win!

Things have changed a lot in the past 10 years. I firmly believe that the quality at the cheaper end of the market has improved dramatically, whereas the quality at the higher end hasn't as much - not having a dig, in the sense that it had less room to move up in the first place. But I have detected a noticeable squeezing of the top end in this regard which makes the question you're asking now even more pertinent. It's a gut shot to be honest, and sometimes you have no choice - for example if you've got your heart set on something like a G&L L-1000, ASAT or SB-1, your only option is to buy G&L USA because they don't make Tribute versions of those models. But these days I'd have no qualms about taking a Squier over a Fender and trousering the difference, confident in not feeling like I'm missing out on anything. The current Epiphone Thunderbirds are the best T-birds Gibson have never made. It really depends upon the bass you're talking about and what the options are but most of the time, I'd be happy to go with the cheaper option. But if a £1500 bass calls to you and you connect with it, you're not wrong!

Score - just need to work out what's wrong with it when I pick it up tomorrow.

I was made for luggin' you, bassy?

Well, that's me crashed out of gear abstinence for this year and it's time for my full confession (although I'm 1 in, 1 out for the year so far, so could be worse). But I have a good excuse - this bass has been living rent-free in my head for nearly 12 years* and I finally snagged one in the finish I wanted. Black and silver ones pop up more often but I've only seen the purpleburst available two or three times in all these dozen years, so seeing as I'm not getting any younger, I decided a bit of carpe diem was in order. It's a three pickup, Les Paul shaped bass. It has three Greco T-bird-a-like pickups and three volume controls. That's it. Hardware is good quality - a Hipshot B style bridge and Gotoh tuners. It's had a life, there are some dings and scuffs in it but it's taken a polish well, the pickups have buffed up nicely and the fretboard enjoyed a drink of lemon oil very much. Lovely, dark rosewood board, yum. S'pose you'll be wanting some pics... It sounds great - I had a blast through my TC Electronic BH250 into headphones and it's got a lot of mid poke about it - might have to boost my mids a bit less when I'm playing this guy! Using the different pickups in different combinations makes noticeable changes to the tone, but it's not quite the same as having a tone knob - I might mod it but I'm not in a hurry. * TWELVE BLOODY YEARS - https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/210350-sorted-greco-3-pickup-les-paul-bass/

Hey folks! I thought this wild looking thing would interest some of you! it’s a 1979 Ray in a very aged and rare Inca silver. Apparently there were less than 200 of these made (some say 153) out of 25,000 pre Ernie Ball basses! so i feel pretty lucky to have snagged one! I’d love to know your opinion on Mojo vs case queens! What’s your preference??

Just got some footage of the penultimate song- warning, Robbie content, we ain’t making musical fusion here. 7df2d8ff-83df-4485-b7ea-829eafa69251.mp4

Here's a couple from 2018.

I placed this order quite some time ago, so long ago in fact that I don’t even have the original email chain with all of the details on it. I did ask Jon to ping the spec back to me so I can share it with everyone, but this beauty arrived today. It’s not the first lavish spec Shuker I’ve owned, so I know how good his work is, but this is quite something. The preamp/pickup combo is fierce, a really biting tone. Soon as I get Jon to send the spec back to me I’ll share!

Made the call today to the guy from work - I'm going for both bands. Wish me luck!

(Take the) Piss Alive I Featuring: Calling Dr Mug, God gave Rock n roll 2 you for $12.5k, God of Plunder ... and many more

"And… you get a Gene Simmons (KISS-rehearsal-used) bass signed by Gene Simmons" Doesn't say whether it's used by Gene Simmons himself or the session man playing for him.

Hello everyone. This is my first post and it's a simple question. Is it possible to request in the Basschat Marketplace if someone has a specific instrument and wants to sell it? I apologize in advance if the post breaks the rules of the group. Thanks Franco

Cheers dude. It's a custom built thunderbird by Feline guitars. 5 string, neck through active. ✌️

I had to give mine a little dab of vaseline the other week to lubricate them. They started to produce a bit of black dust as I was prancing about and I could feel it tight and binding on the button as I played. The tiny dab of vaseline was ideal and will hopefully stop them wearing out

In stock at Andertons now: https://www.andertons.co.uk/behringer-b-tron-iii-envelope-filter-pedal/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADujoUpDSiAF12WRrPX5Co7xlrMfq&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI4LGXpNX9iwMV-YtQBh08FhbgEAQYAiABEgIpuvD_BwE

https://www.basschat.co.uk/forum/22-items-wanted/

That's a good description as i think i have noted that too with some D Class amps altho my Mesa seems to be ok. Our drummer reckons its more down to your ears getting used to the tone that you don't notice it so much until you take a break and come back to it. As a night develops i find myself wanting tweak things a bit even tho the sound check and start of the gig itself sounded great. Not sure if its maybe down to drummer playing harder during the gig and others tweak their volumes to match whereas i tend to set my volume and leave it if possible but sometimes i do have to turn up a bit and all of a sudden my tone returns to normal. Its all very weird. I played thru a Hartke stack with an LH500 and 2off 15" cabs and i was very impressive with it. Really nice clear tone with a touch of growl that i really liked. Dave

There’s the basic premise of destructive interference due to the diameter of the driver versus the mid-high frequency wavelength, but this is modified by the size/shape of the dust cap and the geometry of the cone. With the right choices, the mid polar pattern can be altered more than an octave above what the basic predictions suggest. this can be taken to an even higher level by the use of a “wizzer cone” dust cap.

I regularly play a Gibson RD Artist (5.2kg) but use the Pinegrove Leather padded strap. About £100 or so but the best ones on the market, look great, you get to smell all manly and leathery for the ladies in the crowd and your back won't hurt. Trust me, they're class

Another thing to remember: basses, like all wooden instruments, need to be broken in for their sound and playability to be at their best. If you play all the time, this can happen within a year. For most weekend warriors it can take longer. It's something else to consider when judging new vs used (and of course not all used instruments are broken in).

added a home built Aion fx Ts50b to the board

Thank you sir! I must admit, the feet to shoes ratio is totally out. I’m in the region of 90 pairs of shoes and just the same feet I was originally issued with.

Had the Shure wireless for a couple of years now and had a SmoothHound before that for few yrs. Probably about 5-6 yrs Daryl. Wearing platform boots on stage is hard enough and tripping over leads on stage was an issue at the start of the Glam thing so decided to try wireless and love it. The Shure GLXD is an amazing bit of kit. Never had any issues with it at all. Having the built in tuner as a floor pedal makes it very handy. If the transmitter ever fails at a gig you just plug a lead into the receiver and its just like any other foot pedal which is a good back up. Its probably the one bit of kit i would most recommend these days. Very impressed with Shure quality. Dave

From my perspective, if I am responding to an advert for a bassist then it's because the band is doing something that interests me. I wouldn't go along expecting them to change direction because of me, and equally I wouldn't respond to a band that wasn't doing the kind of music I'd want to play regularly. I would expect some input into the set, but it would be in keeping with their style/repertoire because that is what attracted me in the first place. In other words, I wouldn't join a Country Folk outfit and insist on adding several Hawkwind songs to the list. 😄 I think this is a fair approach and one I would expect any musician joining an established band to adopt, unless they were specifically asked to bring new ideas - and sometimes, if a band finds itself in a rut, it can be a good exercise to get some fresh ideas in. In the last few years I've joined two bands specifically to increase the number of gigs I'm playing (as my main band only plays around 5-8 gigs a year). In both cases and after the usual pleasantries, I have been careful to explain that I'm keen to gig and I don't want to spend ages in the rehearsal room. The first band was a blues rock outfit. Their set was pretty much fixed and that was ok by me as I had been given it in advance and was happy with the tunes. They were all very competent and nice folks but it became clear after a couple of months that it was very much about getting together to play some songs rather than to develop a set and get out gigging. Because I'd set the scene at the start, I was able to explain that this was not what I wanted and I left amicably, staying in touch with them (I offered to cover any gigs until they got a new bassist although it was unlikely there would be any). I'm currently working up a set with the second band, whom I joined about a month ago. The thing that attracted me to them was the statement that they wanted to do covers than other bands don't do. It's a wide field but I like that. Our first session included two songs that I had been asked to nominate and since then it's been very much equal contributions adding to a core set that they had given me at the start.

Jonny Smith from 'The Late Brake Show' will make a 'Barn Find' episode on YouTube with you and your Allegro!

I have a lot of time on my hands at the moment, itu. The gigs have dried up and my efforts to re-build my profile as a player locally are not proving to be that successful. I suspect I will struggle to sustain this level of output for long. In the meantime, as a form of self-harm, I have transcribed the complete Geddy Lee bass part for the tune(s) 'The Fountain Of Lamneth' from the 1975 Rush album, 'Caress Of Steel'. All 11 pages of it. What was I thinking. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/the-fountain-of-lamneth-rush/

Some holes?

Here’s what you need! 😂. Has your LP got the Bartolini PUs on it?

You cannae change the laws of physics...