ossyrocks

If anyone local is wondering what you could do tonight, my new band is playing tonight in Lancaster. First time we've done two full sets. Rob

Just back in from rehearsal before our gig tomorrow night. Tomorrow will be our first gig of two full sets for the new blues band. All a bit last minute, but a few more tunes have been thrown my way on vocals this week, so I sang 4 tunes tonight which I have not sung before with the band, and we're gigging them tomorrow. All went ok, so I'm fairly happy. I am concerned that I was drafted into this band for my bass playing abilities alone, they had no idea I could sing, and slowly but surely. the band leader is giving me more and more of the lead vocal duties. I'm singing 10, the lead singer and harmonica player is singing 14 at the moment. I now have the last song of the second set, and the encore too. I'm concerned that the singer/harmonica player is going to get a bit fed up. He's a great guy, and we get on. I suppose we should just keep talking, like we have so far. I really want this band to work, it's exactly what I've been looking for for the last couple of years (except for the singing bit), and now it's a reality. Maybe I'm just being over sensitive. Rob

I have two J's at the moment, a vintage '73 and a 2003 '75 AVRI. They are quite different, the AVRI is natural/maple/black blocks, and the '73 is classic SB/Rosewood/Tort. The AVRI is light, maybe 8 1/2 lbs, the '73 is about 9lbs 2oz. They sound very different, the '73 is mellow and deep, but can get honky on the back pickup if you need it. The AVRI is much more what you would expect a Jazz to sound like, and can get very funky on the back pickup. I've not had a MIJ, but I had a MIM Roadworn. It was nice to play and very light, but I did have to change the loom and the pickups. I have an '87 MIJ P bass which is a very well made instrument, but again, changed loom and pickup. If it were me making the decision for you, and you could only buy one bass, I would be looking for a vintage one but at a reasonable weight. Good luck! Rob

I use a Phil Jones Bass Double Four. Ridiculously good sounding in the lounge for such a tiny thing. Aux In and Headphone outs too. Ed Friedland actually gigs his on small intimate gigs, but he does run an Fdeck HPF to wring a little more power out of it. Rob

I run a vintage valve head into a modern speaker cab on occasion, in a very similar way to what you'll be doing. You just need a good quality mono 1/4" jack to speakon cable. I have these and they do the job. I always carry spares of everything, but that's just me. If you've got it, disaster never happens, when you don't, it does. https://www.designacable.com/van-damme-2x1-5mm-speakon-to-mono-jack-passive-speaker-lead-1.html Rob

I also have a '73 Jazz in which the bridge pickup died. Working one day, and not the next. I searched around and talked to a few people and in the end I placed my trust in Ash at Oil City Pickups. He has a roll of the original wire used on these pickups, which he used on my restoration. We agreed a slight overwind too, to 7.6k. He completed the job by lacquering the pickup as it had been originally. He turned it round in less than a week including postage and charged me next to nothing relatively. Highly recommended. Oh, and the pickup sounds better than it did before. Rob.

Change of plan amp and cab wise. The SC is coming along with the recently acquired Tecamp Puma 900. I'm going to use the same rig for both bands. The Berg is back in the classifieds here.

Ok. @Kateplaysbass Use only one output from the amp which will match the total load of the cab(s). If you're just using one cab (LB212), then it's obvious, connect it to the 4 ohm output. If you're using two cabs, both of which are 4 ohms, then the total load will now be 2 ohms, so connect the first cab to that output, and the second cab to the first cab. I really think that the one LB212 would be enough for most situations though, it's worth trying. Rob

I don't think I agree. And this is quite important. Most cabs with two speakon connectors are wired to run the cabs in parallel, not series. I would bet money the Ashdown cab is wired this way. Connecting another cab to the Ashdown cab would present a total load to the amp of 2 ohms, not 8 ohms. Rob

Revisiting this thread I started last year. It seems my quest isn't over. 😁 After some time with the Berg, it just isn't the sound I hear in my head. It is a wonderful amp, whisper quiet in operation, massively powerful, and very articulate, but just not old school thumpy enough (I'm a P bass with flats kind of guy). It's up for sale in the classifieds for what I paid. What has replaced it for the moment is a Tecamp Puma 900, which I must say I am mightily impressed with, and the Taste control allows my to dial in that old school tone. Onwards once more unto the ....whatever it is. Rob

I like the feel and vibe of vintage instruments, not just basses, but guitars and even drums too. I don't think mine have been passed around, and I do know I'm just the 3rd owner of my '73 Jazz, the previous owner being Nick (Old Horse Murphy, RIP) of this parish. My '73 P bass has a feel and tone I just haven't found in any other P bass I've tried. At a gig two weeks ago, four bands playing, all bass players through the same rig, we were first on and therefore last to soundcheck. I set the EQ flat and adjusted the volume down slightly, and the engineer looked up from his desk and spoke through the monitors "what a wonderful sounding bass". It made me smile. Rob

I bought Matt's Tecamp Puma yesterday afternoon, and it was delivered at 10am today. Great packing, double boxed, amp is superb, and the price was right. Fabulous chap to deal with. Thanks Matt. Rob

I had an amazing sounding '62 AVRI, the thing sounded like a grand piano. One of the best sounding basses I've ever had. I couldn't get on with the nut width. I'm not as young as I used to be and my left hand is getting a bit of arthritis, maybe it's that.

The nut width would be a deal breaker for me I'm afraid. Mine are all around 41mm. What are you thoughts Tony? Rob

4.1kg / 9lbs 2oz, it's ok. My '78 is 8lbs 9oz, it's lovely.

I think that’s a bargain. I’ve had to have a word with myself.

I'm looking at these too. I thought I had settled on amps (hey ho), but I'm still not quite there. Bax are doing a pre-order of the 500w for a very good price. https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/bass-guitar-amplifier-head/ashdown-rm-500-evo-iii-bass-amplifier-head Rob

As a general rule of thumb, a refin knocks 50% off. Some dealers may argue otherwise, but I think I heard Andy Baxter say this once too.

Richard Henry had that advertised in January as a SFC at £7.5k. I made enquiries then. Richard said it was straight and legit apart from the old refin, so I would take that as the truth, Richard is one of the good guys. Rob

I wasn't sure where to post this - gig or rehearsal thread, but it's felt more like a gig than a rehearsal. I've spent the weekend at Stonegate Recording Studios near Bentham North Yorkshire. We set up Friday night, and have done 10-6 Saturday and Sunday. This is the new blues band, with only one 45 minute gig under our belt so far, and this was for recording a few tracks to promote the band. We have really gelled as a unit, personally and musically, and it's been a really positive experience. The band leader does his job well, directs with without being over-bearing, and is a consummate musician, playing Hammond, Rhodes and Sax, and the drummer is one of the best I've ever played with, really exceptionally good. We managed to get down 6 tracks yesterday, without vocals and solos, which we've added today. We had a guy filming too yesterday, which we're hoping to sync with the recordings at some point. I took two 70's P basses and have played everything through my rebuilt '73 Bassman 50 and a Barefaced Super Compact, it was a great sound to me. When the tracks have been mastered I'll post some links up. Knackered now though! Rob

We rehearsed last night, but it was a bit different to the usual in that we are preparing to go into a studio to set up tomorrow evening and then record all day Saturday & Sunday. These will be band promo tracks, but we also have two guys filming it to sync with the studio recordings and also to edit in footage they shot of our first gig in front of an audience last week. I'm sharing lead vocal duties in this band too, so we practiced my tunes last night without singing a word of vocal, to get the band really tight, and then I will overdub my vocal later. Very strange, but I definitely played better bass when I wasn't singing at the same time. I'm buzzing about this new band, we've got some nice gigs lined up, and everyone in the band gets on really well and is a great musician in their own right. I feel rather blessed. Rob

So sorry to read this, having three children of my own, I can only imagine how you must be feeling. Condolences to you and you family @Gasman. Rob