casapete

Robbie sometimes does gigs around your area playing with Hamish Stuart from the Average White Band. He’s a great player, saw him with his own band years ago with Pino on bass.

I have the same problem Lozz, and the same solution. Damned cymbals….

I had one of these, the 600 watt Delta head. Was okay IIRC, I believe they wanted to steal some of Trace Elliot’s thunder. Weighed about the same too….

I’d forgotten I had put a short scale Squier Jaguar into my usual gig bag. It’s a friend’s bass which I haven’t played in anger, so wasn’t really ideal for the gig. I’ve had the Dano for a long time, and it was just like putting on a pair of old slippers, one of my favourite instruments. It is actually a Longhorn Pro, which is one of the slightly less authentic Korean reissues from the late 90’s. Factory upgraded bridge / tuners / pickups, and no tape around the edges! Sounds immense though, and weighs the same as a packet of crisps.

Two gigs for me last weekend. First was with the blues band at a rather remote pub on the coast. Not as busy as last time we did it but still a small appreciative crowd. I made a classic schoolboy error of leaving home a bit late and grabbing a gig bag on the way out, only to discover I’d brought along the ‘wrong’ bass. Fortunately I also brought along my Dano Longhorn to show the guys, so ended up using that into the Rumble 500 and it sounded pretty damned good. Haven’t used it for a while, so a nice reminder of how it will always be a keeper. (see pic). Then Sunday I was with the duo at our regular venue in Scarborough, ‘The Lookout on the Pier’. A full house as per usual and some interesting requests, including ‘A certain smile’ ( for the owner Jill ), ‘Africa’ and ‘An Englishman in New York’ with the crazy walking bit in the middle which is OLF. Encore of ‘Eight days a week’ which is a cracking tune as well. We’re there again in May and it’s always a pleasure.

Great tune / bassline. Their follow up single ‘Can’t get by without’ had a similar and arguably better bass part too.

We had a FAL Phase 50 amplifier when I was at school - think it was used for PA duties in assembly and stuff. Dreadful things, tried it with guitar and bass and it was horrible. Seemed to remember them being sold by RSC, a shop that sold budget disco and band stuff. My second or third amp was an RSC GP 30 watt valve job, in a metal case! Wasn’t that bad IIRC, used it in my first band.

+1 I always liked the HA3500 and 5500 heads, seemed easy to dial in decent sounds. The cabs on the other hand seemed very bland to me, even the aluminium cone ones.

In an old band I was in, if anyone dropped one then the culprit had to raise their hand to show it was them. This sometimes led to some very funny moments, and our audiences often got it too.

The Rumble 100 is a great option. Used mine for practicing, rehearsals, regular gigs with my duo etc. Stupidly light yet sounds great, and will hold its own with a not too crazy drummer. The best thing is they’re not silly money either, especially if you can pick up a tidy s/h one.

I’m almost OCD about safety onstage, which comes from mainly playing in theatres for 15 years where a tidy stage was the norm - cable runs taped down and covered etc. In most of the venues water was the only thing allowed onstage and then it had to be bottled, no glasses. Any drinks near anything electrical have always been a no-no with me. I hate to see drinks on amps or on the floor near mains powered pedalboards etc. Also can’t stand punters getting too near whilst dancing with full glasses in their hands - when did that become a thing I wonder.

Mine is looking okay. I have 3 gigs every month at good venues with the acoustic duo, along with quite a few other ‘one offs’. Gigs with the blues three piece amount to 2 / 3 a month too, mainly in pubs although we have one at a blues club and an appearance at a Jazz and Blues festival in June. I don’t really want any more gigs than these TBH as I’m hoping to have some nice days away with Mrs CP ( which I rarely managed when I was touring.)

Maybe the same person who would put a beer on it?

As I was once, am jealous…. Surely the definition of the word, in my understanding anyway. Nice to know young ‘uns still appreciate it.

I’m not surprised the bass was lively - using an SVT /8x10 set up in a smallish pub! Didn’t know people were still doing this, but strangely glad they are…..🙂

Think I’ve seen one advertised recently - ‘Hoaxwind’ ?

I think the appearance of more efficient / sensitive cabs in recent years has made the 4 / 8 ohm argument pretty redundant. When I got my Barefaced Compact I was concerned a single 8ohm cab wouldn’t cut it in a live situation - glad to say I was soon proved wrong!

Yup- for example Ampeg SVT valve heads which usually run at either 4 or 2 ohms.

What a bummer. When I lent Gerry my GK bass rig last year he was using a Precision ( below ) so am guessing the Stingray was a backup as you say. Just hope they manage to get the stuff back, some tasty gear there which should hopefully be easily recognisable.

Isn’t it just? The minute I walked in I was taken aback - one of those places that you could use for so many different things - all sorts of live music, theatre & performance, as well as a banging venue for a great party! Shame it’s 40 miles from where I live though.

Two gigs for me this weekend, both on the East Yorkshire coast. Saturday saw me playing with The Alligators blues band at The Black Lion in Bridlington’s historic old town. Quite a large pub at the front, with an amazing room at the rear that is concealed from the pub by large velvet curtains. There are raked pews that lead down to a dance floor area, and the stage is like a small theatre, with a a large dB PA that unfortunately we didn’t get to use. Easy get in from a side alleyway so it looked like being a great gig. Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of punters, but we still gave it our best to the small groups of folk who ventured in. A great sounding room, and I used my usual passive Precison Lyte / Rumble 500 combo which I’m really enjoying. Finished at 11.15pm, quick pack down and home by 12.30. Sunday early evening I was at our regular haunt in Scarborough, ‘The Lookout on the Pier’ with the acoustic duo. A beautiful day meant the town was busy, but we got parked ok and set to go by 6pm. The venue was rammed with diners plus a few guests seated at the back. We played our usual request format, and tunes included ‘Samba pa ti’, a couple of Simon and Garfunkel things and ‘Copacabana’ which I’d forgotten how much of a workout the bassline was! We both were given a nice tip from a visiting celebrity couple who remembered us from a gig there a couple of years ago, and also received an enquiry to play at the local yacht club from a couple who’d arrived at the gig by yacht - who’d have thought that in Scarbados! It was one of those gigs where it all gelled - great venue, audience and our playing, so much so that I genuinely could have played for another hour or more. Still, home by 10pm to pizza and wine.

Thomann recommended as ‘a perfect fit’ the Hagstrom case Viking bass. Tweed finish and on their site to orderfor £136. Also maybe try Gear4music with your problem - they are quite good at finding cases for instruments and stock a fair few.

I saw Elkie in the late 70’s with a Geoff Whitehorn too, great band. I sold merch for her / A&M and got to meet her afterwards. She played Hull a few times earlier in the 70’s with Robert Palmer and Vinegar Joe, but I was a bit too young to get in the club they played at. A few of my friends said they were amazing gigs though.