Kiwi

I'm glad we're 2 pages in and noone's mentioned Level 42 yet.

Hi everyone, This is just a heads up that I'll be closing the Guitar section on Basschat at the end of the week. Originally it was set up to try and seed some activity before shifting the whole shebang over to Guitarchat. But it's at the point now where we'd like to catch it before the transfer process becomes too unwieldy. Each topic will be vetted because of crosslinks and whether members who posted on BC in the Guitar section are registered on GC. The transfer of guitar topics from BC to GC will also be gradual and probably take months. If you have content you started that you would like ring fenced for transfer, feel free to post a link below. During the transfer, the guitar section will still be visible but I'll post forwarding links to GC for the sake of channelling interest to the right place. If you have posted on BC in the Guitar Section but haven't logged in at GC yet, please take a moment to do so. It'll help us make sure your posts will still be attributed to you when we're ready to start moving them. If you can't use your existing BC password to log in at GC, try doing a forgot password reset and up date your password to whatever your BC one is currently. Then you should have no problems logging in. Thanks in advance, Kiwi

Toto. That would have been a killer gig. Having said that, I would happily and gladly take over for Jerry Barnes in the current Chic line up, or for Chris Brown who played bass on Kylie's Fever tour. Both would have been fun gigs but hard work, no doubt. The Simple Minds gig would have been awesome as well, so many anthems in their back catalogue.

For how much bands are getting paid, the promoter is taking a bit more than a chance. If they can't be professional then they can't be taken seriously IMO. The one and only time I agreed to loan my backline the following band's bassist dialled everything up to 10. They weren't even punk, just some indie rock thing. That was the last time.

Some of my best playing experiences have been gigging. When the stars align, the room acoustics are good, the onstage mix allows everyone to hear each other, the crowd are appreciative and you're playing music you enjoy to the best...nothing beats it. But that was 15 years ago. I didn't like the 2am load in when I got home to my flat in London though but I was young enough then to not let a 2:30am bed time affect Sunday too much. It would affect me more now even though I'm much more skilled at cat napping than I was. I'd still love to gig if I could play music I liked and the crowd enjoyed but opportunities are few and far between where I am. It's hard to find musicians who are interested in the same kind of music, almost all the ones I know are into metal or cheesy C-pop acoustic ballads.

Indeed! Stats suggest slightly less than a third of visitors to BC are from the US. (NB: visitors, not members) @Roadcat1 welcome aboard!

Sure but I'll be traveling light so I can bring back stuff. Yes, they have no plans to leave either.

Oh...Rueben. Yes, I wondered if we were talking about the same one. I have a snap somewhere of us at your place in New Brighton.

Which city was that in...?

Funnily enough, I've been toying with the idea recently but please don't read too much in that. The LGBS has gone and while it's been rebranded as the UK Bass Guitar Show in Manchester, many were disappointed at the 2020 show. Stevie Williams stopped organising the UK Bass Show to focus on other things. I hope he won't mind me mentioning this but many years ago he told me that that if he broke even on a show, he considered it a success. So while there seems to be a gap in the market, it's fraught with financial risk for the organisers. it involves a lot of work from a team of people and up front financial investment in booking venues, promoting and securing (often paid) artists to provide assurance of value for money to everyone. And that's pre COVID. Post COVID, the industry has been squeezed generally. Unlike the US, turnover is down and promotional budgets within the industry are tighter. I was looking into exhibiting at a London construction show a few months ago and faced the prospect of being charged 75 quid for a plate of sandwiches if I wanted to buy food on site. Then there are the mandatory PL insurances, health and safety risk assessments, the cost of storing kit away from the stand etc. etc. It was like being nailed to the wall and slowly drained of outrageous amounts of money. But the construction industry is a bit bigger than the musical instrument industry. So while its possible, I think a lot depends on finding the right venue. Maybe somewhere in the non-for-profit sector like a school, charity or trust.

calling @Dad3353

That's the bass I was thinking of.

Sorry, I can't help. I remember a bass up for grabs at some point that was one piece from mahogany but I never paid it much attention as I think that approach to building creates more problems than it solves. I don't know if the instrument I remember was the one mentioned above.

He has superb taste in kit generally, judging by that photo.

It could have been 1988 or 1989 come to think of it, I wasn't really aware of different basses until after September 1987. I would have only been playing for a year in 1987. But regardless, it would be quite something if your father had kept my letter...!

I have a handwritten letter from your dad in a book somewhere in storage...from 1992! I read What Bass at the ripe old age of 16, having taken bass up and left drums behind the previous year. I can't remember what I wrote to him about specifically but I was obsessed about bass and thirsty for information being stuck in the comparative wilderness that was New Zealand at the time. I suspect I was asking him about Jaydees and Status basses.

It's not too different to a wooden necked series 1 apart from being a little brighter and maybe a little more clinical sounding - no room for sloppy technique as the clip below will testify. The neck is like a broom stick, almost no taper on it and the action is super low. alembic series 1 slap.mp3

Oh trust me, this was not a situation of my choosing. Last time I was in the UK was 2016 and then we opened a service based business that couldn't function without me and that basically screwed any chances of coming back to the UK until COVID struck...and the rest is history. I never took the batteries out of the bass before putting it into storage because I didn't think I'd be away for so long...! Any hoo some pics are below. The original pickups gave out so the previous owner sent the bass back to The Mothership and had new ones installed. The rest of it is original and honest - finish issues and all and the facings are walnut IIRC. And one of it being played live:

I would share a pic of mine but it's been in storage for the last 7 years...so all my photos are at least that old if not older.

Pinning the fingerboard was a good idea, I've entertained doing something similar for body wings when I get around to repurposing an abortive through neck build I commissioned. Ken Smith basses have locator dowels on the wings for the same reasons. With the fingerboard though, was there a reason for pinning in a fretslot rather than under a proposed fingerboard inlay?

By referring to Mumsnet...? I can't work that one out. BTW I came close to locking the thread but I'll hold off in the hope things get back on track.

Hi BC'ers, We installed a series of updates to the forum software this evening. We couldn't find anything major with the themes like last time. But if you happen to stumble across any new posting or text field related issues today, please let us know below and we'll look into it. cheers K

I'm doing exactly this with a strat this weekend. 57mm wide neck pocket in the aftermarket body which I've only just confirmed is slightly off centre. It's solvable with some fervent sanding on the longer edge of the pocket and maybe the opposite side on the heel but I risk losing that tight fit.

Well look at it this way, whatever the merits of Rautia might be...the Armstrong pick up is the real deal.

A bit late to the party, I realise. But Kent Armstrong did the originals for Aria and Aaron still has the Alembic licensed moulds stashed away in his storeroom somewhere.