dmccombe7

Without the gym i wouldn't be able to do some of the gigs we've had. I carry the large QSC 3-way 15" cabs and they are about 40Kg each. 3 yrs ago i simply couldn't have done that without stopping to catch my breath 2 secs after attempting a lift Something i forgot to mention that on the drive home (1hr each way) i lost my focus on the road and was thinking about the gig and how it went. Missed my slip road at a T junction down towards the Hyndford bridge near Lanark and almost ended up thru the fence and down a 50ft embankment into a field but luckily no other traffic and managed a very fast 90 degree left turn on the main carriageway. Wasn't going very fast to be fair but its something we should all keep in mind the dangers of driving after a 3hr gig and then pack up and loading. Its a 10-12hr day for me going to a most gigs. Between the driving, load in, the glam gear, excessive heat in the venue, pack up and loading at the end and the drive home it becomes quite a hard shift and a long day. Dave

We weren't in Dunoon. Just a couple that travelled from Dunoon to our gig in Falkirk area. Don't think i've ever taken the ferry over to Dunoon, always taken bike or car. Most of our gigs are on the East Coast Scotland and most are within around an hrs drive for me but some like Arbroath its a 2.5hr drive. Central belt on East coast side up to Dundee area but that's mainly because our guitarist is from Perth so it makes sense staying to that side of the country. Arbroath was a struggle coming home tho as wearing all the Glam gear you sweat a lot and then a 1.5hr pack up and load the cars add a 2.5hr drive and its quite tiresome. Our drummer is from Leadhills area so he has another 30mins more than me. At 64 yrs old its getting harder to do these things even going to the gym 4 times a week Dave

Easy route is the ferry but you can drive the long way round up towards Loch Lomond. Not been there since a bike rally back in 2003 or thereabouts. Its kind of went downhill since US pulled out of the area years ago. Dave

Another new venue for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band last night at Shieldhill near Falkirk. The girl that arranged it was her first time arranging anything in the hall and she was so worried about it all at the start but she did a fantastic job with it including a decent full sized buffet plus my wife and our singer Lynn both won a bottle of vino each in the raffle. Not a huge venue but sold out maybe 100-120 people in with many wearing 70's Glam gear. Also had a couple that came over from Dunoon on the ferry just to see us. They have been to a few of our gigs now including one up at Methil in Fife. Fairly small stage so it was a bit tight. Its an old community hall style building. Stage was quite high up too but we really struggled to fit on it with very little movement. Sound on stage was difficult to get a decent mix as no room for monitors. Drummer had IEM and he said it was all sounding good in his ears. Out front sounded good tho and that's the main thing. Singer had a sore throat and as the night progressed his voice started to fade and Lynn our female singer had to take over his vocal parts in some songs but we managed by dropping out a few of the harder vocal songs towards the end. Feedback was great and we've been asked back again with dates to be confirmed. Usual gear Sandberg VM4 into Ampeg SVT7 and Mesa SW210/115 cabs. Dave

First gig with a new band is always a bit nerve-racking. Good to hear it all went well and gives you a good positive feel going forward to the next full gig. Enjoy and have fun with it cause nothing else matters really. Dave

Great band. I love listening to them on a long drive. Nice relaxed music for driving. Amazing musicianship. Dave

I'm not one for making changes to basses. I prefer to keep them as i buy them but that's probably down to the fact i've never bothered trying it. Dave

My Godin PJ is passive and it sounds very much like a really nice warm deep P bass when switch is set to P only. At one of my punk gigs i was using in PJ Parallel mode and it sounded great on its own but wasn't cutting thru the mix. Decided to switch tp P mode and WOW there it was sitting very nicely cutting thru the guitar and drums but retaining that warm P tone but with more edge than the PJ setting. It was an odd one but when i heard some vids the PJ setting did sound really nice out front. I do like a P bass sound but i hate that fat neck most of them come with. The Godin having a 4 way switch rather than 2 volumes or a pan pot means there is no effect at all from the other pick up not in use. Something even weirder is that most of my fav bands the bassist used a P bass Dave

I have the VM4, Fender PJ active and a Godin PJ but i'd have to say the Fender and Godin are far deeper sounding than the VM4. I prefer my VM4 to be honest as the active circuits means i have more variety and range of tones but it doesn't have that deep warm P tone the others do. I'm not a fan of the VM4 in passive mode tho as it just seems so weak. Dave

Nice but think i would have left the old bridge pick up in place but not connected rather than a hole. Never realised the J pick up was so close to the P on them. Dave

Good shout on the Berg gear. Had forgotten about them. Probably one of THE best clean amps on the market. Dave

Could be worth looking at what other bassists use that you admire and who play same or similar style. When i play chords i like a very clean amp sound so maybe something like an EBS, Genz Benz Shuttle, possibly a Markbass would work well. As others have mentioned earlier a lot depends on your technique and what pick ups you use. I only use the bridge pick up for chordal playing. I find using my thumb as you do tends to produce a dull or more bass focused tone especially playing up at the neck as you are in the vid clip. Would maybe drop bass level a touch and boost some mids to sharpen the tone. What settings you have on the bass itself will affect it too. All the best with your search and journey and i'm curious to see where you go with it. I enjoyed your playing and the song so keep us posted. Dave

Wife put us in a hot wash. Dave

Of course its compulsory but seriously no we don't play too loud. We set guitar and vocals to drummers level. Only vocals thru PA so we can't be too loud. I have upgraded my bass rig to suit tho.😂 Dave

I stopped going to watch bands because i couldn't hear them for people yapping during the entire show and that's from pubs to Theatre venues. When i used to go to watch bands it was mostly rock or prog fans and without being sexist mostly of the same sex but nowadays its more a mixed audience and that's where the yapping comes in. Even when watching other bands posting vids on FB all you hear is yap yap bl**ding yap. If people don't want to sit and watch a band quietly then don't bl**min go. Perhaps its just wives going with their hubbies to get out and have no interest in bands. Yes i know that all sounds very sexist and i apologise if i offend anyone with my own experiences. On the other hand its mostly women that come to our gigs and it doesn't seem to be a problem there so i don't understand it at all but then again i've never understood the workings of a woman's brain. Men go to a venue to watch a band and drink beer, women see it as a social event to listen to background music, drink wine and blether all night having no respect for others that have paid to hear a band. As you can tell this is a sore point with me. PS this is also a sore point with my wife so its not just me. Rant over. Dave

They were a kind of crossover between Rob wearing the flamboyant feminine looking clothes and Ray wearing his teddy boy suits but they have always been classed as part of the Glam era. A lot of tongue in cheek fun with them which was also part of the Glam thing IMO. Dave

Mine isn't horrendous but it starts where the neck heel starts which is approx 1-2" before the start of the pocket. I don't know how that affects this debate but for me who is not a scientist that the issue lies more with the wood where it leaves the heel rather than the pocket area but as i said i'm no expert in wood, bass design, physics or quantum mechanics. I'm just a bass player and even that is questionable Dave

Are you sure, you don't sound very convincing. Dave

Rob Stiles was a fantastic guitarist and a very talented songwriter. In the verse Ray hits an open E and then slides on the A string from B to C# then he moves up to F# note and slides from C# to D# on the A string. Took a little time getting that slide in my head but its just a great song. One bit you can have some fun with is the quiet mid section where Ray plays AA_B but i've heard him play the bassline from the start of Radar Love during that section but playing it on the A string. Such a talented player plus he jumps about and sings at same time when playing live. Always looks like he's having fun. I enjoy playing Mud songs. What i have found with him is that he does repeat the same little riffs in different songs but i guess all bassists do that. Dave

They were an amazing band. A lot more talented than they were credited for i reckon. So many of the Glam bands were actually very good musicians. They did what they did through a lot of hard work touring. That's where you learn your craft. No social media and autotune in them good ole days. Dave

I beg to disagree. Dave

At least i won't be lonely in the idiot room Dave

Female singer just behind the male singer. You can see her in the pics i posted on an earlier post. Dave

Sorry about that guys i hadn't opened the vid when i copied the address over. I can safely say i'm mentally challenged

Try it now. Let me know ?