rushbo

A few year ago, I saw The Posies in London and Matt Harris was playing a Squier Dimension bass.* It sounded pretty good to me. Having inherited a "make do and mend" attitude from my parents, I've always bought and used second hand or budget instruments. I like the process of fixing any faults and upgrading them as and when finances allow. This means I have a collection of oddball instruments that are all modified to my own specs. I feel a real connection to these instruments, and I love playing them. On the other hand, I enjoy gasping in awe at the shiny custom creations and (whisper it) Rickenbakers. I guess the bottom line is, play what you like. If the instrument fulfills your needs and you can still afford to buy a few tins of beans, then all is good. (* I think it was a Dimension, but it was definitely a Squier.)

I like it!

Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of the bass! I have teeny, Trump-like hands, which means my pinky on my left hand gets used a lot - mainly for playing octaves - and if you don't know what an octave is, listen to almost any seventies disco tune and you'll hear plenty! Most adult males have regular sized hands which means that most of the notes they'll use can be covered without the pinky getting involved. This seems to be a more straightforward option than trying to flip your brain around to play left handed. I don't know any left handed bassists who play right handed, but Mark Knopfler and Nils Lofgren are lefties who now play guitar right handed, so it can be done. A short or medium scale bass may help you play passages which might ordinarily involves a "four-finger" stretch. Good luck!

I'm a neat freak when it comes to my section of the stage and I wholeheartedly approve of the arrangements of these boards. I love looking at expansive pedalboards, even though I only use a BDI21 and a Zoom B3 for live work. However, when I see pedal boards that look as if all the gizmos have been thrown on from a distance by a toddler, I have an anxiety attack.

This is looking rather lovely. And very tempting...

THOUSANDTH POST ALERT!! At the risk of muddying the waters, if it's not going to have a very hard life, then I can recommend the Gear 4 Music dual bass guitar gig bag: https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Dual-Bass-Guitar-Gig-Bag-by-Gear4music/1II6 I've had one for about six years and used it in the same way that you intend to. The only damage is a slight tear on the inside where a machine head has rubbed away at the lining and a couple of stitches have come undone on the pocket. Considering it's done about 200 trips, I think that's pretty good for something that cost me about £60.

For longevity and a diehard work ethic, you can't go far wrong with Mike Watt.

Gosh that certainly was a spirited performance... Has he removed the frets from the upper register of his bass? Did he whip 'em off because he just didn't play them, to cut down the weight of the instrument or does he bust out a high pitched version of "Donna Lee" during the show, too?

Joking aside, that does look (and sounds) great. Nice bass riff on the demo, too. I'm always slightly wary of gizmos that pack loads of features into a dinky little box, but early signs are good it seems. I'm not in the market for this type of device, but I know a lot of people are and the price point is, er, on point. Whatever will they think of next?

You could probably afford to move in next to Elon Musk if you flogged all your effect gizmos.

There's nothing more satisfying than discovering a nice bass guitar under a few inches of solidified goo.

Mike Mills from REM. You get to play incredible basslines on some of the best songs of the latter half of the twentieth century on a selection of gorgeous instruments.

I thought that was great. Gilmour was a bit squeally, but lots of guitarists were in the 80s. Nothing offended me at all. Not even Tony Franklin's "tribute to Nik Kershaw" hairdo. It was live and rawer than the original, studio recording, but to get to the level of pernicketty perfection of "The Hounds of Love" would have taken a long time. Like, a really long time. I'd take that version over Ms Bush singing over a backing track any date of the week/month/year.

Here's Roxy Magic at the Chapel Arts Centre in Bath earlier this year. 283732633_516540653591937_4272530486173656236_n.mp4

I’ve reached a point in life where whenever I see someone with a superdeluxe bass, I cross my arms and say to myself, “OK bub – impress me.” I realise this is just as bad as snobbery, but I’m too far gone to change now (probably.) I’m a lifelong user of cheap/midpriced/bitsa basses and I’ve always managed to coax decent tones out of them. I have had a couple of people comment on the sound from a P Bass I use, which is made from a tangle of odd Squier bits and rebranded with my trademark “Fedner Prescription” decal. I take a certain twisted amusement in watching people backpedalling furiously from, “You can’t beat a Fender” to “I’d never have guessed…” I did once audition for a band and turned up with a fretless. The look on the bandleaders’ face was absolutely priceless. I’d imagine he’d have made a similar grimace if I’d relieved myself into his gigbag.

It appears that I'm lying to you - it's a Tres 3.1! I don't know how much bigger/different it is to a 3.0. I made a blanking plate with an IEC that powers a Harley Benton PowerPlant Junior. The two circular discs cover some marks and holes made by the previous owner. I really like the Rockboard, but I only have a handful of toys on it -if you've got expression pedals etc, it might be a squeeze.

I bought a second hand Rockboard 3.0 about 18 months ago. Absolutely perfect for my needs. Robust, but not massively weighty and came with a great gigbag. I haven't gone down the patchbay route as I made an IEC input myself using a bit of old tort scratchplate material - I'll post a pic if I get a chance. I tried a few boards (including some rather unusual, home-made variants) until I settled for this one. I love it and unless some large and swanky multi-fx catches my eye, I think this is my rig for the duration.

In another life, I was a music teacher and one of my colleagues gave me a great quote which I instantly took to heart: Don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you can’t get it wrong. In my current band, I have an eight bar bass solo. The thought of playing it live, filled me with dread. Then I remembered that old adage. For weeks, every time I picked up the bass, I played that solo a dozen times or so. If I had a moment to spare, I'd play that line. Before I went to sleep, I'd visualise myself playing that line perfectly, going through the notes in my head. The more bored I got playing it, the better I got at playing it. As a consequence, those eight bars are tattooed on my brain. Now, I really enjoy playing it in front of people. The key is to try and not put pressure on yourself. If you don't get it right, move on and try again later. Distract yourself. Practice it with the TV on. It's a pretty labour-intensive way to learn something, but it worked for me.

I'm sure I read somewhere that it's a good idea to add a little bit of non biological washing powder/liquid to the boiling water as it helps to dissolve the finger gunk. Citation needed as they say on Wikipedia.

With a raised hand and a bowed head, I ask for mercy in The Court of Basschat.