dmccombe7

Nice rig there. 👍 Dave

The only amp i've had that failed in over 40+ yrs of playing was an Ampeg SVT4 Pro that kept cutting out with intermittent faults. This was found to be poor soldering joints around the valve bases that was an easy fix for a decent tech but i lost faith in it. It never actually failed completely during a gig tho. Dave

I used to always carry a small 300W Markbass head in my bag. Nowadays i use my Ampeg SVT7 as a back up for my Mesa.

At 64 i expect i'll be in that position in a few yrs too but i'll probably keep some of my gear just for sentimental reasons and i enjoy a bit of playing at home. Dave

And no better cause than for one of our own family too. Dave

As others have already said "when you know, you know". Hopefully you'll stay in touch thru our wee BC family. All the very best in whatever you do now. Dave

Not that i buy a lot of gear but here goes. Best :- Mesa TT800 (many will know how long i've waited for this amp and it certainly hasn't disappointed) Close 2nds :- Godin Shifter Classic from our very own @theplumber and from our very own @walshy a Pinegrove 4" bass strap with Levy wireless pouch that is so comfy over a 2-3hr gig. Worst :- nothing this year i'm afraid. Dave

Superb. So proud of our BC family. Dave

My attitude to the set list is to keep it fresh by adding a few new numbers every 6mths but also to make sure we replace songs in the set and don't just add songs onto the existing set list. The punk band seems to be missing that drive to rehearse the new songs enough that they are up to scratch whereas the Glam band would book rehearsals to get the songs done properly. Its an odd one as we have the same drummer, bass and vocalist in both bands. ? Dave

I think the punk band have lost a bit of drive in getting better gigs and possibly learning new songs. I've been with them 3 yrs but apparently they've been playing the same set list for past 16yrs with just 2 new songs added recently. I'm quite busy with Glam band from end of Nov with 2 gigs every weekend thru to first week in January 25 so that's good news for us. Dave

When i first read that i assumed it was Nov 2026 (11/26) and then realised you do your dates with the month first 11/26 where we do it 26/11. You had me worried something had happened that you couldn't play. Same for me with the Glam band but i think i have the very last gig with the punk band this month. Looks like it will fold this year. All amicable and no hard feelings between us. I think the band has realised the audiences just aren't there anymore in our area but will see what happens in 2025. Dave

This is a great thread, really enjoying it. My favoured rig has always been a 210 cab atop a 15. I currently use a Mesa TT800 into Subway 210 and 115 cabs. On hindsight 2off 210's or 2off 115 cabs would have done pretty much all i need. I like the idea of the Mesa SW 410 as i once played thru a TE 410 Combo back in 80's with my Warwick Thumb and it was a tremendous tone but really heavy and i was only 9.5st back then. I use the Mesa rig for my Glam covers band, Punk covers band and now an 80's rock band. I occasionally run a hint of overdrive and it sounds great. Mostly i prefer a cleaner warm tone from the Boogie channel. I've used the Mesa cabs including my old Mesa PH212 for almost every kind of music including rock, punk, function, funk, prog and it just works so well for me. I did have 2off ae112 Berg cabs and they were ok but not quite right for me. Could never put my finger on why. That was a Deep Purple tribute band. One of my all time fav cabs was a Bergantino HT322 (12, 2x10's and horn). It was sublime but just far too heavy at my age but i loved the tone and it could handle any amp i ever used with it. I also used that with the DP tribute band. Dave

Love that. Not heard a band like this in many years. Nice one. Very relaxing, chilled music Dave

Great night for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band in Dalkeith Social last night. Approx 200 there so that was good. Dancing from the start with a full floor for many of the songs. Audience well up for a fun party night and that always helps with quite a few dressed for the occasion too. 2 x 1hr sets last night which was easy and leaves the audience wanting more. Sandberg VM4 into Shure wireless and Mesa TT800 amp and SW210/115 cabs. Little touch of Keeley compression more as a limiter than anything else. Re-booked for March 2025 so that's good. Its a fantastic club that have spent a lot of money on stage, PA and lighting in recent years. On a side note and more a rant, 3 of us decided to stop at McDonalds on way home. I was last in drive thru qeue at McD's and altho only getting big mac meal i had to sit at the window for 10 mins. The other two guys had finished and one had headed home before i even got my order. Its a blooming "drive thru" why am i waiting 10mins for your signature burger. ? Experienced this a lot at McD's now so that will be last time for me. Burger was hot but chips cold and had obviously been sitting in the bag waiting for the burgers. Rant over. 1hr drive home on very quiet country roads. Home by 2am, had my coffee and bed by 2:30 ish. Back up 8:30am today for a trial PA set up with a guy that offered to do our PA for £100 a gig. We have a large gig coming up soon and thought we'd give him a try. We do know him. This is just to get things set up on his desk and make sure he knows what we are looking for. Starts 12am today so heading off 11am. Club had asked if we minded a support band of young local guys called Chapter 2. Only 16-17 yrs old but they were good. 3 piece band Guitarist / singer, bass and drums. They turned up with little pocket amps too with the bass player having a tiny wee Orange cube so i asked if he wanted to use my Mesa rig into the spare channel on the TT800 and he was over the moon. Ran thru the amp with him but at that age you grasp these things very quickly. You could tell they were nervous but they did a great job and even had the courtesy of punting our band and thanking us publicly for letting them support. Really great bunch of teenagers. Don't see that very often these days. There last song was Freebird which took me by surprise as they were mostly pop hits or their own songs. Dave

Looking forward to the first Glam gig in a while at Dalkeith Social Club tonight. Should be another great night in this venue. Last time was quite busy considering it holds up to 600. Hopefully busy again. Dave

That's a nice looking bass. Dave

Brilliant song but then again he is a talented bassist. Love the vid for it. Dave

I remember back in 80's in a 3 piece rock band doing Crossroads and the guitarist/singer plus the drummer had pre-arranged to stop for a bass solo. Boy that put me on the spot as i had no idea it was coming. Kept the riff and added a few extras and a few strummed chords and all done on a fretless WAL. I did get a decent round of applause for it which made my day as this was my first touring band. I hadn't really done much gigging before this even tho i had been playing for approx 10yrs. I did have strong words with them after the gig. Never to be repeated. I'm not a fan of bass solos unless you're Geddy Lee. I aint. Dave

What's the PJ bass in the pic. Can't quite make out the name on the headstock even when zooming in. Dave

Me too. Always try to remember and post my gear on the night. Dave

Simply incredible what a group of BC'ers can accomplish to help a fellow bassist. Makes me feel so proud to be part of Basschat. Another wee bump to the top. Dave

Makes sense. Keep us posted on how you get on. For me it was thru word of mouth that a friend of a friend mentioned me to a band that was looking. That seems to be how i end up in most bands over the years except when i returned to playing at 50. From there i got in touch others looking for bands and i guess that was my start to networking again. When bands were looking my name was mentioned and i was contacted to see if i would be interested. Dave

What do you mean "slightly" i have very strong opinions on that statement Dave

Hope to see you there. You might not recognise me off stage tho Dave

I'm in 3 bands but i'm still not gigging every month let alone weekly. I originally took on two bands to get out more but the 3rd came along just as the punk band was fading but it hasn't finished as yet so will see what happens there. I live in a small country village in Scotland and our Glam band is spread over a 100 miles. If you want to gig then travelling a bit is something you just have to accept. I used to rehearse weekly in Glasgow (45miles each way) but i accepted that when i joined a band. Try widening your search area. Common ground might only be 25-30miles from you. Dave