casapete

Personally I welcome the shift by Radio 2 to accommodate those left behind by Radio 1. It’s inevitable that emphasis on certain decades moves with time I guess. I like the fact they play the more mainstream recent stuff too, as I probably wouldn’t otherwise get to hear it. I love 60’s and 70’s stuff as well, as it’s what I grew up with, but it can get a bit tiresome and repetitive unless it’s the songs that are less well known. Johnnie Walker’s Sunday afternoon 70’s show is great for playing these.

Still got my Washburn AB20 Electro acoustic bass. One of the best available IMO at the time, (although to be fair there wasn’t that much competition). Had it over 25 years now, never adjusted the neck once. It’s done thousands of gigs with me in that time, and is one of the basses I hopefully will never need to sell. Also owned a six string from the matching Woodstock range which I stupidly moved on.

Pretty much bang on IME. I was earning £22 a week (take home pay) as an 18 year old then in my first full time job, in a record shop. Couple of years later I got a loan for £400 from the Yorkshire Bank and bought a Gibson Les Paul from a shop in Sheffield. It wasn’t brand new but had been owned briefly by a new up and coming local band, Dep Leppard. Back OT, I think Fender were making flatwounds in the 70’s? Over here Rotos were probably more widely available and cheaper. The bassist in my band swapped his rounds for these on his 78 Jazz bass, and the neck developed a twist in it that never really got fully straightened. Most likely a fault with the bass but it put him off flats for good!

The funniest clip I’ve seen in ages. Something so hilarious about band members in that situation. A friend of mine once had to stop his keyboard player and drummer having an altercation on stage following a verbal exchange, much to the audience’s amazement. Unsurprisingly it was the last gig of that line up.

Guess not then? 😂

I've toyed with making my P-Lyte passive for ages, just never got round to it.

Me too Pete - active P-Lyte is my main bass (due to it being...err...light), but a passive P-bass is my spare. Just occasionally the P-Lyte doesn't like some of the wiring in older theatres, causing a buzz, so I have to use the passive one.

I'm with you on the battery thing. Took me years to feel comfortable with my P-Lyte after it ran out of juice on a gig. I minimise this happening again by always changing the battery when I change the strings ( about every 20 gigs or so on average) and also only use Duracells.

I have some live stuff ( as well as all the studio albums too) - give me a shout if you need any help sourcing anything. Maybe also worth checking out Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul - Steve Van Zandt wrote many of the best songs for SSJ, and his band really kick a*s. Cheers, Pete.

Not only do we like the same basses Paul, now the same band! I absolutely love SSJ and The Jukes, probably my favourite band. Seen them maybe 30 times over the last 40+ years. First time was when they supported Graham Parker and the Rumour in 1977 at Bradford St George’s Hall, and they blew the headline act away. They’re one of those bands you could see a few nights on the trot and every gig would be different. Must admit the last time I saw them I thought they were not as sharp as before, but Johnny is now 73 so I’m probably being a bit unfair. Once touted as ‘The best bar band in the world’, and I wouldn’t argue with that.

My previous band were terrible. I was always the guy people came to for a spare when their only lead didn’t work. My current band are the opposite - everyone has back up kit, and we also have a trunk with generic spare leads for everyone. My partner in my duo makes me look unprepared! He has spares of everything, including stuff he doesn’t use but someone else may do. He also organises lots of band gigs using many musicians so guess it’s down to him to make it all run smoothly. He runs a Mercedes van so no problem with carrying stuff. ( He even has spare clothes in case of food disasters, a common incident on wedding / function gigs!)

Hi. Are these still available please? Thanks.

I have a spare of everything I use on stage, other than a speaker cab. So spare mic & lead, bass and leads, strings, strap, stand, tuner, DI box, amp, speaker cable/mains leads etc. Most of my gigs are in theatres so my spares case is usually in the wings just to my left. Must admit I do get confidence from knowing I’m okay for most eventualities.

Great advice ^^^ Ive had P Lytes for 25 years, and only had a battery go on me once. From memory it started sounding a bit fuzzy, then 30 secs later went completely silent. Was at a wedding gig, so very embarrassing. These basses are notorious for battery drainage, so obvious things like unplugging when you’re not playing help a bit. A tech friend of mine ( now sadly retired) did a mod on my bass which wasn’t expensive and extended battery life considerably. Afraid I don’t have the details, but it certainly wasn’t a big job, cost me about £15 / £20 I think.

I was at the Newcastle Tyne Theatre for a gig by Southside Johnny and The Asbury Jukes in 2002. Didn’t manage to see myself once on the DVD recorded that night ‘From Southside to Tyneside’. Great band though.

I think I'm on 'Bob Marley Live', the classic album recorded in July 1975 at London's Lyceum Theatre. I say 'think' as Bob played there two nights on the trot, (17th and 18th) and there has always been some confusion over whether the album is one or the other gigs, or indeed a combination of both! Went with a girlfriend who had got tickets whilst a student in London, and must admit I had little knowledge of a lot of the material apart from Clapton's version of 'I shot the sheriff' (I know, the shame). Needless to say, an amazing performance - still got the album too.

A mate of mine went to see Gillan at Hull City Hall, possibly on the same tour, and it nearly killed him. After the gig (which he said was just stupid loud) he came out of the venue and promptly walked in front of a bus, which he hadn’t heard due to his hearing being so affected. Took weeks to return apparently.

I promised myself I wouldn’t resort to lowering myself to their level , although I might have mentioned I had an SVT rig and 2.5k PA system that could be brought into the equation.... didn’t quite come to that but I was close on a number of occasions. Looking back I can’t believe what we tolerated really, now I’m a bit older and wiser I probably wouldn’t be so reasonable. This ^^^ It’s a more than fair compromise IMHO, and will preserve your sanity in the long run.

I used to live in a semi detached old railway cottage. Walls really thick and built to last. Our next door neighbours were lovely, and one day I asked if they could hear much from our house. Bearing in mind I had a reasonably loud hi fi and practiced piano, guitar and bass a bit. They said that the only thing that permeated through to their place was the acoustic piano, which was in the room furthest away from the adjoining wall. Something about the frequencies I guess. Agree with Dan Dare about moving in somewhere and notifying your new neighbours you’re going to be making a racket - not a great start. At my last property, (an end of terrace Victorian house with quite thick walls) the neighbour’s teenage son started playing drums. His acoustic kit may as well have been in my house, it was that loud. When I mentioned it to his folks, I said it wasn’t really on to expect us to put up with it. His mum ( who seemed quite okay at the time) came round and asked if we would agree to him rehearsing for an hour each day in the early evening. Think she thought as I was a musician we wouldn’t mind - I tried to explain to her it was like working at a factory and then coming home to the same noise. Anyway, we reluctantly agreed, despite it being a major intrusion in our lives, in order to be neighbourly and maintain good relations. Things were okay for a week or two, and then of course it reverted to him bashing away at the kit whenever his parents weren’t in, which was quite a lot. I went round to explain it wasn’t on and was met with disbelief. In the end I had to say I would contact the local council to assess the noise if it didn’t stop, and suggested they got him an electric kit. They did this, but from then on for the next 15 years they struggled to say hello to us and were generally a pain in the a*se as neighbours. Probably the main reason we eventually moved out too, so trying to be reasonable doesn’t always seem the best route. I honestly believe you have a right to a quiet environment in your own home, and anyone regularly disrupting this should be advised it won’t be tolerated. If not, where does it stop? What someone thinks is okay may not be the opinion of a neighbour who is at their wits end - whether it’s music rehearsal, loud recorded music, DIY or whatever. Sure we all need to live our lives, but have to choose very carefully how our behaviour affects others in all respects.

Amazing what stuff you can get for £400 on here at the moment.🤣

If this rig was available for £400 ( the OP’s budget) then that’s what I’d be recommending too....😂

Here we go then.... Fender Rumble combos! Your budget should get you a s/h Rumble 500 with some change too. 350 watts into its internal 2x10 speakers / 500 if you add another 8 ohm cab although you probably won’t need it as they’re loud as hell. Not heavy either, and great classic tones easy to dial in. Hold their value as well should you decide to upgrade from there.

They played Hull City Hall and was the same apparently, after hearing comments from people who went and left early because of it.

I saw The Who maybe late 70’s, and was about 2 rows in front of Townshend’s Hiwatt rig. Was worried it would be too much but was actually great, as the PA was crazy loud but I wasn’t in the firing line of that. One of the best guitarists I’ve ever seen, with great control and tone.

Went see Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at St James Park in Newcastle in 1985. The music before they came on was gradually ramped up in volume till it was really kicking. Loud but great quality loud if you know what I mean. They announced the band, and Max Weinberg kicked off ‘ Born in the USA’ and I swear it rearranged my internal organs. Took a few songs to acclimatise , great gig though. Despite being deafeningly loud it wasn’t that kind of volume where it hurt for days after. Unlike when I saw RnB band The Count Bishops at Dingwalls in London, late 1970’s. The PA consisted of banks of Bose 802 speakers ( maybe 16) on each side, and when the band kicked off we had to immediately retreat to the back where it was just as bad. Not just the loudness but dreadful harsh sound. Didn’t help when a drunk Alex Harvey came on to guest either, shouting his lines above the cacophony. I had severe ringing in my ears for two weeks afterwards, thought it had done irreparable damage TBH. Always take earplugs to gigs these days - rarely need to use them thank god, but handy to have all the same.