JapanAxe

Not this year. Our son and his wife are over from Spain so our daughter and her family are joining us too for festive frivolities. At midnight we’ll try not to choke to death on grapes - it’s a Spanish thing…

...at €3990!

Sorry you’ve had to move on an instrument you loved. I’m going to chip in on Mustangs too. I’ve owned 2 modern ones and they were both so easy to play that a gig with them was like a night off! The necks were super slim and comfortable. Just be aware that for through-body stringing you need to allow for the extra length, so a 30in scale bass would need 32in scale strings. I haven’t seen you play but you mention difficulty stretching between frets - don’t be afraid to move your fretting hand instead, that whole ‘one finger per fret’ thing is a bit of a red herring.

I have no skin in the game as far as digital modellers are concerned but I have found the same with the cab sim in my Origin Effects BassRig. Instead of the speaker-simulated balanced out I now use the amp out into a DI box and tweak the Amp Out EQ to taste.

Yes there is also the issue of keeping svelte enough for clothes to look good!

I have a few western shirts from my time playing the country and western club circuit. I generally wear one when I am depping with Dire Streets (ahem). I quite like to rock a black suit, black shirt and turquoise bolo but only if there is somewhere to change after loading in. I also own what I consider to be the best shirt in the world - floral pattern with little sparkly bits and tassles! I like to combine that with silver shoes and black chinos on Bowie tribute gigs. I often see what I think would make great stage wear, only to find it’s not available in my size because it’s intended for women.

I’d say I’m happy with my rig. Most gigs it will be Demeter head into BF Super Twin with whichever of my basses best suits the gig. Sometimes I might take the BF One 10 instead. GAS still strikes and has me looking at other heads, which is how I came to own my EBS head - it’s great but I still prefer the Demeter.

On gigs I have a piece of grip mat on top of my amp where I keep small items - mobile phone (in flight mode), reading glasses, and a plectrum (or ‘pick’ if you must) for the occasional number. I also have a little pouch on my key ring containing a bass plectrum and guitar plectrum, and a couple more in that little pocket on my jeans.

What’s the charge for membership?

The BBE Acoustimax takes 12V AC, so half the time your HPF was getting the wrong polarity and that will be what’s killed that cap. Electrolytics can be sourced cheaply on eBay but it’s worth going to a reputable supplier - I buy mainly from Switch Electronics or DM Components.

I work a fair bit around the Bristol area with a rock'n'roll band and they get £280-£320 on pub gigs, maybe £360 for a social club. It makes no difference to the venue how many are in the band so it's ok for a 3-piece, bearable for a 4-piece, and after that the pickings become decidedly slim.

I check access and parking before accepting a dep gig - some load-ins are just not worth it!

Bought a tool from John - another hassle-free transaction

I estimate that 99.92% of slap bass demos are in E or Em.

No, I’ve never contemplated giving up either playing or gigging. I began on guitar 45 years ago and added bass in 2000 and I still find lots of new music to try and gigs to play. I started using a bullet journal to track, organise and plan it all. I’m keenly aware that an unplanned life event could come along and change things in a heartbeat so I’m enjoying doing everything that I can while I’m able to. I also recognise that as a ‘boomer’ with grown-up kids I now have the dual privileges of spare time and disposable income - not something to feel guilty about, but I realise many people have far less of both and consequently fewer options when it comes to playing and gigging.

@jimmyb625 what is the lead time once you have paid? Do you get a pdf to download or by email, or do they post out a paper licence?

I think this has answered my questions: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/manage-your-licence/radiocommunication-licences/pmse/pmse-technical-info/mics-monitors/shared

Thanks, that's very helpful! Did you click on 'Buy UK Mic Licence' in the main menu? It opens the page seen in the other screenshot. I don't want to spend £75 on the wrong thing. I'm not going to need this until my next theatre gig in December but I wanted to get my ducks in a row.

I've just bought a Sennheiser XSW IEM setup that operates in the 823-832MHz band. I've signed up with OfCom as a PMSE casual user and looked at buying a licence before I venture out to use it live. Unhelpfully, there is no mention of this band alongside the UHF Channel 38 licence, except they say 'Channel 69: the band 790 - 862 MHz (including Channel 69) was cleared of PMSE use from 1st January 2013.' As I understand it, 823-832MHz was added in 2015. Is the OfCome website really that out-of-date or am I missing something? I think I'll give them a call!

NBM = New Bass Month. Yes it's over a month since I acquired my latest bass. I prefer to post after I've done at least one gig, which in this case was last night. I bought a Dingwall Super PZ5 through BC some 4½ years ago and really enjoyed it. Earlier this year I got a D-Roc 4 and the longer scale was a revelation, which got me thinking about other Dingwall 5s. As luck would have it, another member was selling his NG2, was interested in the PZ5, and happened to live along my route to a gig. A meet took place and a deal was done - we each love what we got from the deal, so smiles all round. This is the third 5-er I've owned (the first being a G&L L1505) but I finally feel comfortable on a 5. The narrower neck (by 2mm) and longer and firmer low strings make it a joy to play, and the active electronics are another game-changer. By way of context, I had settled on Precisions as my bass 'home', which is one of the reasons that I went for the PZ5. You can do a lot with a Precision, but maybe not everything. I had also settled on passive electronics, so until recently this NG2 would not have got a second glance from me on the wall of a music shop - too many knobs, and not just one PP3 battery but two of the buggers! The plus points: Plays like a dream - if the action were any lower it would play itself. The Darkglass Tone Capsule - instead of a treble control it has high mids (2.8kHz) which is into the presence band - turn it up for MM-style sizzle. The mids control adds punch without too much honk, or you can dial it back for a more old-school sound. Emergency escape switch - if the batteries die, finish the gig in passive mode. Loads of excellent sounds to be had - a very modern-sounding bass on the whole. Plays in tune all the way up the neck on every string - not something I could depend on from a Fender. The white/tort colour combo is lush (originally came with a black scratchplate). The (lesser) minus points: No tone control in passive mode. At all. The jack socket doesn't like right-angle jacks, they tend to pop themselves out. However, the location is perfect for a wireless transmitter dongle. No Elixir strings is long enough for the low B position (please correct me if I'm wrong). Last week I rehearsed with a band playing a mix of pop, R'n'B, soul, electro-funk, and Afro-beat. Last night's gig with them was at Thatcham Festival. The guy in charge of the stage insisted that I put my amp stage right to 'balance' with the guitar amp stage left, but with no fewer than 4 vocal mics at the front, I had to stand back so that I was no further forward than the baffle of my Super Twin. Miraculously, I could still hear myself ok and I can report that the NG2 100% did the business. Never before have I played 10ths on a bass at the 16th fret, let alone live! Although you can get a kit to convert an NG2 to an NG3, I don't feel any need to do so, as the 4 pickup combinations already give me everything I need. And if I really want 3 pickups I can get my D-Roc out.

Schecter Rob DeLeo PJ. Probably the last thing I bought on the basis of ‘This will do’ rather than ‘Hell yeah!’. Soon got fed up with it, and put off PJ basses for life. Couldn’t get what I wanted for it on eBay so left it with Hank’s in Denmark Street. They sold it but their cheque bounced and then they went into some arrangement with creditors that meant that I got nothing. At least I was able to write it off against tax.