dmccombe7

That's becoming my fav set list. If you get a singer and start gigging let me know 😂 Dave

double posts for some reason. Dave

That's why i asked @Lozz196 what they were playing. Who are all those old songs you mention. All before my time I still have the Telstar single............from my Mum of course. Dave

I'm curious what songs you guys are playing without a singer. ? Dave

Remember trying one of those and the neck was very wide compared to my own basses. I just couldn't take to it at all. Dave

WOW i didn't know that about Lynott and Blackmore / Paice. BC is a hive of information. Cheers Dave

That's a great story. Well done. Whether you play at home, with mates or at gigs its all about what makes you happy and as long as everyone in the band is happy then job done as far as i'm concerned. I've been in bands that didn't want to gig only doing 1 or 2 gigs a year but it was too much travelling for me to carry on (1hr drive country roads 40 miles every Mon night) I really enjoyed playing the songs but there was no real drive for everyone to learn the songs properly because there was no real intention to gig. I always learn songs as close to the original as i can manage but others would turn up and expect to just jam it. That used to annoy me quite a bit. Now i prefer to be in a band that wants to get out and gig coupe of times a month. Dave

Problem i've had over the years is i played in mostly rock bands and altho there are some fretless players in rock they are few and far between and i just couldn't get that attack you get with a fretted. The WAL with its hi-end boost switch did come pretty close to be fair. I used my fretless P bass in a covers band doing Kansas, Saga, Gary Moore, Thin Lizzy, Magnum and a few other great bands and i dont think anyone realised i was playing a fretless other than a few seasoned bassists i knew. It was unlined altho my WAL was lined. Dave

Yep that is very nice. Dave

Well done, dont think you'll be disappointed with either. Both great basses. Look forward to seeing some pics. Dave

I go thru spells with fretless. I'm now down to just my Overwater Custom 6er fretless but rarely play it. Was a 50th birthday present from my wife and has sentimental value so will never sell that one. Over the years i've had various fretless basses Fender, WAL, Jaydee, Yamaha and Overwater but they are all just passing fazes for me. I always end up going back to my 4 string fretted Jazz style basses currently Sandberg MarloweDK. Dave

We only gig twice a month with an occasional extra one thrown in across 2 bands. Both bands agreed that was enough and would give us some weekends off for other socialising etc. Gigging every weekend would become a chore to me too. The Glam band is fun and dressing up helps take away the stage worry a bit as no-one knows me LOL. It also means most people do come to see the band and the venues are larger and not pub gigs. The punk band tends to draw in people who want to see a punk band and even tho its in a pub setting we normally have a lot of dancers in front of us. My cabs are lightweight but my current amp is heavy at 24Kg so i'm waiting on a Handbox at 16Kg which will be smaller and easier to lift. Have to admit i'm enjoying gigging more now than in 80's / 90's and then i packed it in until 2010 mainly because of work commitments. I've always maintained that if i'm not enjoying a band its time to move on. Money for the Glam band is good but we only gig 3-4 times a year and that annoys me considering the amount of rehearsals, the cost and effort we've put in so not sure where that is going to end up. For me its turning into too much effort now for the return on gigs. On the other hand the punk band is gigging twice a month but money is considerably lower typically £50 / head / gig. All gigs within an hours drive so not too bad. No egos in the band and everyone gets on really well and i'm throroughly enjoying it. Dave

Post a wee pic of it. Would be nice to see. I def like the look of the one from the OP. Mine was white but i much prefer the wood finish these days. Dave

My Aria SB1000 i think cost me £360 around 1980. Can't remember what the Ibanez cost me a couple of years later. I guess that says something about how important each bass was to me. Dave

We're all just bass geeks. Dave

Love Alembic basses. One of those basses i'd still like to own at some point. Think there's an Alembic thread on BC somewhere. Might be worth reading. I know when i fancied an Alembic there were some that had issues. Cant remember what it was ? Dave

I'm also a great believer in rehearsals even when gigging unfortunately we are a minority in that respect. Dave

I'll ask if they've seen you guys. Altho i'm playing in a punk band i have no idea about the various punk bands other than what's on my set list Dave EDIT :- just checked out some youtube vids and you guys were good and tight. Nice one.

I have a few bandmates that generally go to Rebellion. I know you've probably told me this already but my memory aint what it used to be but what was the band you were with ? Dave

Bet that 2nd gig felt like a reality check Dave

Had both in 80's. The original Aria SB1000 with bat wing headstock i thought was a tremendous bass and sorry i ever sold it on. I found the neck very easy to get along with and i was used to playing Jazz or Shergold necks at that time. I did find it a very mid-focused bass no matter where i set the controls it always came across as having nice Lo to Hi mids depending where you set the switch. Reasonably heavy bass compared to newer basses but i was 9.5 st back in them days and didn't have any issue over a full gig. Neck was gorgeous to play and it just felt like a big step up on quality from other basses i had tried to that point. Had the MC925 in white in later 80's and again a heavy beast of a bass but a glorious neck. I did find the weight an issue with it over a full gig and it would dig into my shoulder a bit. A wider strap would have resolved that i think. Tonally i think it had a huge range of available tones from smooth bass to high treble and very nice mids. On a personal point of view i found the controls a bit more than i needed but always had a great tone from that bass. My strong memory is how good the neck felt to play. I dont recall anything special about the tone on the Ibanez. For me i'd prefer the Aria SB1000 as i liked that mid focused tone and growl. It always felt different to other basses in that price range whereas the Ibanez was just another bass to me. Aria had a distinct tone that the Ibanez didn't. Ibanez would probably give more variety of tone tho. It was a long time ago but my memory tells me the Aria felt better to play and better quality bass. I cant comment on reliability of either bass as i bought them new and had no issues over the 1-2 years i had them. Hope that helps a bit. Dave

Nice one, great basses for the money IMO. Oddly enough i'm used to slim Jazz necks but i do find the Vintera neck very comfy and had no trouble changing between basses. Dave

Decided to order a set of NYXL's 45-100 for the MarloweDK. Listening to the various vid clips from Fri nights gig i was finding the same thing as last few gigs where bass had no definition with the Markbass longevo strings. It wasn't a bad sound but the edge just wasn't cutting thru no matter what i tried. I've played same venues before using EXL's and i could clearly hear the mids cutting thru. All that's changed are the strings. They sound fine when playing on my own at soundcheck but just get lost when the band comes in. ?? Its a really odd experience. Dave

Was in a band called Gypsies Kiss in 80's

Its amazing how a full house makes you feel like the band is playing better. The packed gigs i always find the bands are tighter. Empty gigs i've seen me lose my focus a bit while trying to figure out why there's lnot a lot of people in. 😂 Dave