FinnDave

That's a good crowd. It's good to see that we can still fulfil our dreams at our age. Goes to show we should never give up.

BUT..but…the contrast between the liquorice and the sherbet was what to was all about. Really!!

Thanks, Blue, and good to hear that the summer has worked out for you as well. This year has seen my first gigs abroad (I gigged in Finland, but was living there then so it doesn't count! We also headlined a festival where my favourite festival band was on before us - and the bass player (who was an influence on my playing when I was much younger) complimented my playing. My band has people following us around the world. I feel like I am finally doing something worthwhile!

I don't know about luthiers taking acid, but I was getting flashbacks looking at those pictures!

OK, I'll play! #1 is not for me, not heard of any of the bands they reference. That almost certainly means I'm too old for them. #2 I've heard of most of the bands, and could play that kinda stuff. If it was a money making band, I'd be interested. The 'life got in the way' line would put me off, though. #3 Good clear ad, but I don't think that the Eagles would be that interesting for a bass player, certainly not enough to learn the material for only 6 gigs a year. #4 I'd decided I was too old when I reached 'original metal band'. For the sake of the exercise, I read the rest, and the 18-30 age range, though quite generous (18 year olds think 30 year olds are way past it!) as a 61 year old, I'm obviously out of the picture. Good exercise, Blue, this sort of thing helps people to focus on what they want and what they can actually do. Since joining the Dead tribute a year and a half ago, I've been very happy with my life. More gigs would be good, but those we do, are usually good ones and well attended. We get people travelling quite a long way to see us. It's always good to be appreciated.

I started with a guitar but found it very fiddly. First time I tried a bass, it seemed to fit my hands much better. That was in 1974 (I think). Never looked back!

Now that I come to think of it, it did work for me. Once. More than 40 years ago. Hope shines eternal, maybe in another 40 years some other teenage beauty will be overcome by my (bass) fingering prowess! Sadly, I'll need digging up by then, but still...

But why did you keep playing it? Because that doesn't work (erm, so I've heard…)

It was all going so well until that final line! Still, as Mr J. Garcia said, the GD are like liquorice - some people like them (it) and some people don't. But the people that do like them (it), they really like it (them)!

I've described my DFA button/knob/slider as a digital frequency attenuator in the past. Does exactly the same thing, though!

I'm pretty sure they weren't - but it was reported differently over there, the American press tended to be fairly pro IRA as far as I know. I doubt that Bob Weir thought much about it, just announced the song 'He's Gone' as being for someone in the news who had indeed just gone.

I thought we all suffered from that!

Being complimented on my playing by a bass player I had long admired - after we finished our set. He and his band had been on immediately before us so I was slightly uneasy about following in his footsteps.

Could ask Rose Morris, they seem to know everything!

Sure, but there is some real nonsense in their 'article' about Bobby Sands, the first that rang my alarm bell was the claim that songs he had written have been covered by many artists, including the Grateful Dead. Now, it is my business to know a few things about the Dead, and that is simply untrue. They (well, Bob Weir did, anyway) did dedicate a song to him a day after he died (He's Gone) but it certainly wasn't written by him - it was a Robert Hunter/Jerry Garcia collaboration. The brief announcement 'This one's for Bobby Sands' can be heard clearly on one of the live CDs I've got upstairs. I strongly suspect that the rest of RM's piece has a similar very vague relationship with reality! BTW, I understand that Leon Trotsky was asked to play his Shergold on Albert Collins' 'Ice Man' recording, but for some reason, he declined. Said to have muttered something about 'bloody ice' and refused to comment further. I believe he had a similar aversion to using a pick.

I'm just outside Witney and travel to Leicester to rehearse!

The Grateful Dead tribute band I play in has a couple of dates in the west of England coming up. On Friday August 23rd we will be at The Wharf, Tavistock, and the following night we are at The Thunderbolt, Bristol. Each of the two nights has a completely different set, no numbers repeated. Anyone with an interest in the music of the Grateful Dead who is in either area next weekend could find themselves amongst like-minded people if they decide to come along - our shows always attract an interesting audience!

No worries, better if I didn't allow myself the temptation!

OK with me!

If you're coming through Oxfordshire, I live near Witney, so if there's a spare seat and it's a day I can do, I'm up for it as well.

Just realised that I have three rigs (theoretically), plus the option of the BT & ABM 600 AND the SC with the RM 800. Can't really imagine a situation that would need all that, but it's there if it should be needed! Then again, as I play in a Grateful Dead tribute, maybe I should invest in a truck and stockpile Barefaced entire output for a year or so!

Yes, it does make sense, but how many of our gear buying decisions are based on sense?

Trips to Bass Direct always turn out rather expensive for me! I have to drive past the motorway exit on my way to rehearsal quite often, and my wallet always starts quaking until we're past the turning.

The extra weight does make a difference when carrying the cab any distance (though the ST has castors, which the SC doesn't), especially up steps and if you've got a boogered right hand, as I have. That, and the fact that I am almost always DI'd into the PA anyway, means that more onstage volume isn't really required, as the Rumble 100 proved recently! In fact, the only venue I've played with this band that we had only a vocal PA was Cockfosters, and people were complaining that the bass was much too loud at the back of the hall. Naughty Super Twin! As I've probably said before, the best compromise would be have two SCs, one of which would usually remain at home or in the car when gigging. But I am rather attached to my dear old ST, so it isn't up for sale just yet!

OK, by popular demand, here are some comparison pics of a Barefaced Super Twin and a Super Compact. Anyone who needs telling which is which is in the wrong thread, probably on the wrong site! Pictures taken 10 minutes ago in our house, showing one of the new sofas that were discussed in another thread this week, also some glimpses of the dusty cases containing my Fender Precision and Jazz basses, neither of which have been opened for a year now. Not a lot in it in terms of height, the top of the SC is roughly level with the middle of the cone of the upper speaker of the ST Width and depth - the rear and left hand edges are aligned. Or if you prefer the SC on its side, it sticks out.