dmccombe7

My bass tones are set before a song starts other than the envelope filter in mid section of virginia plain. Not on for long tho but it does make a difference to the song as we dont have keys. If i get a decent small envelope filter pedal and a small pre-amp DI pedal i could get all my effects on one small board. I only have about 3 effects from a Jamman sample pedal used in the Glam band so its not like a guitarist pressing pedals every 2 mins. If and when i get my Mesa TT800 i'll be able to use both channels to get my normal bass tone and the overdriven Ric tone from the other. Also my wireless is also a tuner. Dave

Unfortunately i operate sound effects for the Glam band via floor pedal plus i use the Roland GRB6 for an overdriven Ric tone when i need it plus envelope filter for Virginia Plain mid section. Takes up a lot of stage space especially bad in small stages. On rare occasions i miss out the envelope filter completely and dont use the Roland. Also my Shure wireless sits on my pedalboard too. I'm looking into making my footprint smaller tho with use of small pre-amp DI pedal of some kind and a decent envelope filter as soon as i can find a decent one. Dave

Had a 60th birthday party last night with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. We were booked by the guys brother after he booked us for a bike rally back in Feb and was really impressed by us. Was an odd night tho. Reasonable sized stage but not a lot of dancers altho it really took off for the last 6 songs where floor was full. Was expecting a hot sticky night as it was 26 C when i left the house but only 16 C at the coast in Boness. Loads of vids being taken throughout both sets and i always take that as a compliment of doing something right. Lots of great positive comments at the end of the night to be fair and the manageress said she was very impressed by us as she had also booked us in same venue later in the year around Nov for a Sat afternoon gig. She's already sold 80 tickets for the gig in Nov. Think it only holds arounf 120-150 max. As we were loading our cars a group of people coming out said that wasn't just a band playing but a complete show and had a fantastic night watching us and enjoying the songs. Halfway thru the first set our singer asked the audience how we were doing so far and we got a resounding cheer. It was just odd that not many were up dancing. It creates an odd atmosphere when that happens but we still got paid. No pics or vids surfaced as yet. Dave Vid appeared on FB showing our biggest and smallest fan of the evening. Think she was dancing most of the night.One very happy customer http://www.facebook.com/ray.doull/videos/961902048354877

Liking that bass colour. Very nice. Dave

I'll try anything to be honest. Hoping its just been a frequency boom issue. It was a hollow wooden stage in a small pub and i forgot my gramma pad so its possible that's been the issue but will see how it goes next gig. Its a private birthday party at a friends very large house with its own function room. We are setting up on the Fri evening for the Sat night so that will give me a chance to try things out a bit. Dave

thanks for that. I'll check my settings on Sat when i get the amp out for a different band gig. Its a good point as i usually just set my amp and leave it no matter what bass i use and get a tone from the bass. My amp is usually flat or just a slight boost or cut of something as and when needed. I remember WoT mentioning that with his P basses and Handbox WB-100 he now ramps the mids up to 2 o'clock but that's more to do with the characteristics of the amp but i'll maybe try his settings see how it goes. Cheers for advice @Nebadon2000 Dave

Its possible i'm just so used to having note clarity from jazz style basses that my ears haven't adapted to the P bass tone yet. I'll not give up tho. Got another gig week on Sat with the P bass again. I'll try it again on the first set and if its ok i'll keep it on 2nd set too. If not my MarloweDK will be taking over again as main punk bass. Dave

I bought a Vintera P bass to see how i got on with it and mainly for a punk covers band i'm in but its taken me a bit longer than expected to get used to the neck. I do like that deep warm tone that a P bass has. I've never managed to get that from any other bass. Maybe i need to try a better quality P bass. I have considered getting a Sandberg passive P bass and replace the pick ups with something that would give me that classic P bass tone. That's an option as i do like my Sandberg basses. Both necks are so easy to play. Have considered a Limelight bass too, in fact i came across my white Sandberg VM4 there and bought that instead. Dave

I play fingerstyle but my fingernails are long enough to catch the strings when i want to get more of an edge. It may well be the environment and just not sued to the lower frequencies from a P bass. I'll try again a week on Sat at a birthday party gig see how i get on with it. If its the same thing with the gramma pad being used i'll maybe just can the P bass and stick with my J basses. Dave

There's something quite relaxing about Reggae music. Dave

Did you not open a large ceremony last year with the band too. ? The thing i remember most about it..........the colourful suit you were wearing. So cool. Dave

I was wondering about that. They were a well known band before my time and you dont look any older than me Steve. Either that or you are wearing well sir Dave

yep even Bowie covered that on Pin-ups. Dave

Still some classic prog albums out there from more modern bands. Arjen Luccassen - Lost in the New Real is one of my favs Dave

he was probably doing what prog bands do and stretching it out a bit to make it last longer. Dave

Saw them with Trevor Bolder on bass and John Sloman on vocals. Trevor Bolder was probably their longest serving bass player sadly gone now too. He used a Kramer 4000/4001 bass and tripped over his lead during his solo landing on his backside and never missed a note. One of my fav bands from the 70/80's. John Sloman ex-Lonestar was an incredible singer/frontman and having met him was such a nice guy. Dave

WOW, WOW, WOW never seen this before and absolutely love it. So in Nirvana right now listening to my fav Heep song. I had the discussion on BC many moons ago that this was actually Matt Clarke on WHY as it sounded like an SG bass rather than a Jazz bass. Matt favoured his SG back in 70's while Gary preferred his J bass. Completely different tones. To hear Matt explain how it came about in this vid clip is just amazing and put to rest a long debated topic. An amazing player. Dave

String height is just above 2mm maybe 2.2mm. I tend to aim for 2mm but couldn't quite get away with 2mm with this particular bass without getting fretwork done. With string height being pretty much same as most of my other basses and i've never really noticed a volume drop with any other bass. I'm leaning more towards stage boom causing a perceived volume change. I had no boom when playing lower on the neck but once i got up towards 5th i could hear it creeping in most notable on the A string 7th fret E. I used this same bass at a rehearsal couple of weeks ago and it seemed ok then. I have changed the bridge from standard to Fender hi-mass type but wouldn't expect that to change volume. Dave

Used my Vintera P bass at the punk gig on Sunday and really enjoyed the tone but what i was finding was that around the 5th - 7th fret upwards it appeared to be a fair bit louder and when i dropped down to 2nd fret on same string i could hardly hear the bass. I thought it was just where i was standing but on hearing a few mobile vids i notice the same on them. My own thoughts are :- 1. it was a slightly raised wooden stage (approx 6" high) and i did experience boom on some notes. Normally i take my gramma pad but forgot it. 2. i had the P bass volume down around 75-80% to let me adjust for vol when tone is changed. Previous gigs i had it full up and didn't notice any volume changes on neck. 3. am i just imagining this ? 4. could incorrect pick up height cause this kind of issue. ? Any other suggestions welcome. I will try again at next gig to see what happens and use my Gramma. I've used other basses at this venue and they seemed ok Dave

Here's one of the rally vid 2022

There's always the Trike but its ridiculously expensive even in US. i've had my current Harley since 2003 when i bought it from dealer it was only 4mths old. Never too old for a Harley Daryl. Dave

We decided on a lower limit for both bands altho we have a few "mates rates" gigs soon. Dave

Pity you dont have a Harley you'd be in Heaven with Sturgis an hour away and playing the HD Museum. Sturgis is the top rally for Harley Owners even for Harley Owners in UK dream about going. Its probably THE most famous Harley Rally. From what i've seen of it its as good as you get for a biker crowd. Dave

Punk audience can be a hit or a miss. Was a decent wee crowd last night probably because it was glorious weather. Glam band is really starting to pick up now and we are getting reasonably busy with bookings already in for next year incl one on 28th Dec 2024 so that's good. Enjoying both bands as they are so different. One is turn up, plug and play and the other being more a show. Did think about trying Horse & Jockey but its awfy wee and not sure we could fit in there with the punk band. Not sure what they pay either ? Dave

You need to play at Sturgis bike rally. Lot of skimpy gear on show there from what i've been told and seen. Personally i prefer this pic.