Pinball

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1350284880' post='1836665'] 30 years of playing bass with no band! That's one of the saddest things I've ever heard. Enjoy it. [/quote] Haahaa, nope not quite. 30 years ago I was playing lead guitar (badly), harmonica and Northumbrian pipes, but(not at the same time. I have been playing bass for about a year. In between I played no music only pinball

Congratulations! Wish me luck as I'm off to play with a band on Thursday. First time since 1983.

Well, I had a good day out at the show. Not many basses but the ones that were there were nice. There was a stand with 15-20 Volume Eleven's. Very nice basses, pretty original, well made and a big "bang for the buck", starting around £550. Definitely worth checking out. Most were "J" types but they also had a nice original shape as well. 3 different pickup options to suit most tastes. There were also some awesome Polish OM??? basses that sounded great and some vandalised err I mean relic'd basses. Anyone into lead guitars would have had plenty to keep them occupied, hundreds of them of all shapes sizes etc. I won't even try and go into detail. The show seemed nice and lively but no big queues so it was still relatively easy to try out gear. I'd go again as it was a grand day out!

For info I took the boring/cheap option and easy option ABM 115 cab. Although still bulky It passed the "carry test" and I can carry it with one hand and my good shoulder. That will tide me over until I'm famous and can buy the best kit! Thanks for the advice

I looked at some markbass kit today and then looked at the price tag and that was it. I guess you get what you pay for but it's out of my league.

Thanks for the advice I'll into the BFM. Re: wheels on the cab? Not that much help as its not even that easy to wheel it through the house, pain in the butt really.

Hi, I have a chance to play with a mainly acoustic blues band so could use some advice . What I have at the moment has been used at home and is transportable but not easy with my dodgy shoulder. I would have to carry and Ashdown Evo 2 300, Pearey BW 15" cab and a couple of basses. The cab is the heaviest item so my thoughts on solutions are: 1. Change to small Ashdown or similar combo but then that means I loose a lot of oomph! 2. Keep what I have and get a lighter (2nd hand good quality?) one and then replace amp later. I know that Orange do very compact 2x10 or 12's for example. I'm on a budget initially of £200-300 so am thinking 2nd hand and think the 2nd option sounds more sensible, as it has more possibilities for the future. Any advice on good value compact cabs? The Oranges or what alternatives should I consider?.

Yep the circular breathing was on full show. He blew into the clarinet for what must have been heading towards a couple of minutes without stopping. The thing that impressed me was that it contrasted and complimented the rest of the tune. Very subtle and skilful and it didn't sound at all self indugent. I guess that is what makes him stand out from the crowd.

Hi, just thought I would share my experiences of a "James Morton vs Andy Sheppard" gig at the Fringe bar in Bristol this week. I'm more your rock/blues/folk guy and not heavily into Jazz head but good music is good music so when I saw that such a renowned artist was playing so close by I had to go. I took my son and his friend, who is a drummer and a fan of Andy Sheppard. The venue was tiny and only holds 40 people so the gig was intimate. We sat at a table at the front so were virtually on stage and the band needed little in the way of amplification. In fact we were so close to the action that we shared a table with some of the band's beers and Mr Sheppard's sax. The band consisted of keybourds, drums, double bass, and two sax players-Morton and Sheppard, with the latter doubling up in clarinet on occasions. The gig was very much in two halves and the first set varied in quality. Sometimes it was very together and at others a bit lacking and I got the impression they were trying out stuff. The one constant was that the brilliance of Mr Sheppard shone through. The 2nd set raised the bar to new heights. The rhythm section were tight and the energy was amazing. Andy Sheppards control and invention were there for all so see and James Morton complemented this with an equally polished and more aggressive style. Both were playing with a lot of feeling. They keys were also amazing so we were trated to some great up-beat driving jazz until closing time. Overall anyone going to the Fringe should be aware you have to be early because of the limited number of seats/capacity. Also beware if you like to drink lots of beer you are going to struggle to get to the loos once the gig starts. The smallness of the gig makes it really intimate but the wide stage and good acoustics make for a good experience.I guess the test of how good it was is to ask myself "would I go again" and the answer is "hell yes!". It hasn't turned me into a jazz head but it was one of the most influential performances I have seen and I feel I witnessed something very special. Andy Sheppard has an amazing musical ear and the rare musical ability.

Thanks for the feedback!

Hi, there seems quite a few types of TRB in the Yammy line. I was impressed by my own TRB1005, which is about to leave but that is the only one I have played and I'm curious about the others. I wonder if someone could give me a quick run down of the TRB linage, with info on changes in stats and sounds? It would be much appreciated.

Hi, I've been hovering around their J basses for a while and have tried quite a few. In general I prefer the more basic USA models. They just feel nice and give the sound I want. I'm not so impressed with the cheaper ones and don't like the more complicated active "every tone under the sun models". With those I just end up fiddling with the controls trying to dial in the tones I like. They are actually not bad value either as new certainly seems a lot cheaper than 2nd hand stuff. Also I didn't like the 5 stringer I played at all-horrible B string.

[quote name='Ashwood1985' timestamp='1349166620' post='1822504'] Thanks for sharing mate: very nice tone they have! Where did you pick them up from BTW? [/quote] Re: the tone. Yep that was what I was trying to retain when I started the post. I usually use brighter strings. Mail ordered from the Status site here [url="http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html"]http://www.status-graphite.com/status/frames/index_home.html[/url] They were sent out quick but took another 5 working days to arrive-bridging the weekend. I have had a few postal issues recently