dmccombe7

Dream gig..........ladies college. Well maybe when i was 20. 😂

No big deal i knew what you meant. I watch a lot of US movies. 😂 Dave

I had one gig last night and i'm knackered today and only just over an hours drive home on mixed roads (country then Motorway) Dont think i would have managed another gig today. Dave

Is that Newcastle UK. The way you describe it as a "strip mall" sounds more US ? Just curious Dave

Riverside Bar in Dumfries last night. Love this venue, great crowd, great owner and staff. Play there around 4-5 times a year. Unfortunately after many years putting Sat live bands on, an elderly neighbour that has been there for many years has now decided to complain about noise levels. Unfortunately his wife passed away and the guys having some mental issues trying to cope with his loss. Its a shame all round. No winners and i do have sympathy for the poor guy. Bands used to play in the large conservatory they have but have now moved bands into bar area which is smaller plus we were asked to keep our punk covers band quiet. It was so quiet i could clearly hear people talking louder than the band.because the cabs just weren't doing anything. Bass sounded muffled. I actually practice louder at home. As it got busier once we started we did turn up slightly and just enough to get the speakers working and give a little bit of energy in the overall sound. It was like playing punk covers in a club band at the start. At the end of the day we still got paid and i had no issue with noise affecting my hearing 😂 Bar is literally where the camera is. Decided to try the P bass for the first set and it sounded ok but went back to my Marlowe for 2nd set and the change was amazing. P bass had lots of warmth in its tone but because volumes were so low it lacked clarity. Marlowe just brought things back to life and i could hear every note i was playing. Maybe helped by the fact we notched up the volume a little for the 2nd set. Dave

I've never really played for the money but in recent yrs since retiring early i've found that it comes in handy and saves me taking money out of my bank account. I just use what's in my wallet these days. I've played a few freebie gigs with the punk band that were already agreed before i joined. Both were a thank you to venues that have been really good to the band and it was to help them get back on their feet after the pandemic. I have one next Saturday night with the punk band but its for the singers best friend who followed the band a lot. 2 yrs ago on her way home from a bike rally she had a fatal anurism and dropped the bike. The family couldn't honour her during the pandemic and made arrangements on her 2nd anniversary to have a get together with all her family and friends. They asked if our singer and the band would play at the event in a large hotel. The band said yes and agreed that we would play it for free. I have no issue with that. Its for a close friend of someone in the band and someone that went to many many gigs. Dont think i would be up for doing free gigs for official charities altho i ahve done some many yrs ago for Glasgow kids hospital which was a cause that was close to me at the time. Dave

I've read a few things now about why not to put a short shim in the end of the neck pocket and preference being a tapered shim. If the short shim is a risk to damaging the neck why not put a slightly thicker full pocket shim in and raise the full neck in pocket height. The shim i used was only 0.3mm thick but if i just put a full pocket shim of say 0.5mm the full length of the pocket that would raise the full neck height albiet level rather than angled. That would protect the neck in same way as a tapered shim and it would negate any air space between the fixing screws. I literally only need to drop the string height about 0.5mm to get where i want it to be. I understand its a thicker shim than if tapered. Where can i get a tapered shim for a 6 bolt Sandberg neck ? Dave

Yep that's it almost spot on altho not quite as bad as that. The ski jump actually starts around the point where the neck joins the body but its straight from there to the 21st fret. The bass isn't that old tho and altho i haven't checked to see if its shimmed or not i wouldn't expect shimming to have done this in such a short space of time. Its not bad enough that i would worry too much about it but i might take a look to see if its shimmed next time i change the strings. I've just put a shim in my MarloweDK and now i'm worried it might cause this exact problem. I can see how it might with a shim at the heel and a 6 screw fix to the body i could see the middle screws pulling down on the neck towards the body as there will be a slight gap there now. If it bothers me enough i'll put it into a pro but at the moment its fine. I might now look at a rethink on the shim i've just put in my Marlowe as i dont want that neck to have a major issue. like this. Dave

If i hadn't just bought my Mesa Subway rig recently i might have gone for them as they do look nice .....different but very nice. Never heard them tho but if his cabs are anything like his amps they will be first class gear. Dave

Are you sure its not a typewriter

I think its because i generally play hard with my right hand fingerstyle and instinctively play hard with my fret hand and therefore tend to push strings all the way down to the neck rather than just lightly enough to touch the fret. The further i need to press the string down can give me some aches and pains when playing longer gigs. I'm comparing them to my Fender Geddy Jazz, both Sandberg basses which have lower frets and they are far easier to play. Vintera P is slightly higher fret height but not a lot so it works ok. Dave

It doesn't choke with the way its set up now. I would have thought 2mm string height with no fret buzz or choking is ok. ? I'm no expert on P basses but is that not ok I could probably get a pro set up done and have the nut height reduced but that's not something i would tackle myself. Dave

Its a Vintera P bass so not a top of the range bass but it sounds wonderful. It has that warmth of tone. The neck isn't the best fit for me but i can cope with that. I've managed to get string height down to 2mm but the neck has a weird "kink from the neck joint. I can get the neck straight from nut to neck joint and then it kinks up very slightly. Its a weird thing. It means i get choking on the 14th / 15th fret if i lower the strings any further. To be fair 2mm string height is pretty good anyways. Its the blonde one with maple neck. I have tried the £2k fender P basses but the Vintera ones just seemed to suit me better. I found the fret height were slightly lower than the more expensive P basses. I can see me looking for another P bass just for a change if it sounds as good in the punk band on SAt night. I play solely with fingerstyle. Dave

My Sandberg VM4 that i always use with the 70's Glam covers band had duff E & A strings after the last gig so i decided to take my P bass to rehearsals last week and WOW i was so surprised how well it sat in the mix and with the EBS HD360 amp almost flat it still had lots of depth of tone. I was worried that it wouldn't give me the clarity i like from my VM4 but it did a fantastic job and i could hear every note clearly. Gonna take it to the punk gig on Sat night to see how it compares to using my MarloweDK. Just goes to show that you should never rule out a good old P bass. Dave

Sometimes you just know its time to make a change. Dave

I drove down to Bass Direct circa 200 miles each way looking for a decent 5 stringer. I had some in mind like Spector and a few others. The ones i tried i wasn't over the moon with and they just didn't have the feel i was looking for. Mark suggested trying a Dingwal so he gave me the Combustion and the NG2 and i was sold on the NG2. It was the best feel and the neck was excellent. I had never thought of fan fret basses before but he assured me i'd get used to it very quickly and he was right. Price wise it came in under the Spector i was looking at. He sold me a cheaper bass than i was originally looking at. He wasn't pushy but after i had decided on the Dingwall he was happy to share his thoughts on the various basses i tried and was surprised i didn't like the Spector neck as they are regarded as one of the better ones but he waited until i had made my decision. I'm a fan of Bass Direct, i've never had any issues at all but i'm aware others have had some problems. Maybe i was aware of Mark having strong opinions and was expecting that when i went there but that never happened. Dave

I might want to avoid it.

Mine is on route to delivery depot overnight and guess what ? Parcelforce are on strike tomorrow. How lucky can i be. I wait 3-4 weeks for an amp and the day it will get delivered there's a strike on. Unbelievable, just unbelievable. Its times like this i just want to cut my bloomin wrists and have done with it. Dave

Do you mind if i ask what the bass was ? Dave

Superb @Clarky loving the looks of it. Hopefully mine will arrive soon now that its in the UK hub. Obviously it needs to be trucked up here too so probably be next week before i see it as they dont deliver at weekends. Enjoy and keep us posted on what you think once you've got the hang of it. Dave

I've been playing 46yrs now altho i did take a break due to work commitments. Have to say since i retired and now have lots more free time (apart from the many chores i now have) i'm enjoying being in bands far more now than i ever did. Its more relaxed. Just nicer. Dave

Good News mine is now in the UK International Hub. Dave

Like most have already said "don't give up just yet" I'm 62 and play in a 70's Glam covers band and a 70's punk covers band. I love both bands and altho i was into Glam back in its hey day and was my first step into buying records its not my favoured style of music. Punk was never a music i was really into and was surprised just how much fun it was to pay. I'm into Prog and classic rock but you can play in any style of band and just take the songs for what they are. I put a lot into both bands. I've tried the originals prog bands but they came to nothing for various reasons but if i came across a band doing something i liked i might give it a try but would never give up what i have as its just so much great fun in both bands. You'd be surprised how difficult punk is to play at 62. The stamina required really surprised me. I play fingetsyle. Its like Iron Maiden with attitude LOL Take a wee break, keep the gear in storage somewhere and let yourself relax and think about options. Dave

Mine hasn't move but it left Poland 2 days after yours so hopefully i'll see some movement this week. Keep us posted on progress and different stages to give me an idea of what to do LOL Dave

From what i've gathered a shop can set up paperwork to pre-pay any import taxes to allow an easy flow of goods. No idea how it all works tho. Dave