martthebass

Sadly not close enough, I love the ceramic pup and 3 band pre on the Sterling - it makes the bass.

Cheapest I've seen them in the UK in recent times is £400-450ish. Somebody got a good deal there.

Just seen this posted by the Circle group on FB

Not that I'm aware of....if they have I'll be having one.

I'm still hopeful of one day finding a Stingray Special with Starry Night finish, around 8.5lbs, with a Sterling profile neck.....😂

Always surprised that you don't see that many around when it is clearly a much better bass than the 'Ray (ducks head).

I’m down to 2 now but the ‘Squier’ has done about 200 gigs with me now. It’s like a pair of comfy slippers. Don’t try a JMJ.....it’ll make you want to buy one big time.

Mustangs can be addictive Chris 😂😂😂😂

An outdoor gig in the blazing sun yesterday. We knew it would be a challenge but 33C is definitely not conducive to strutting one’s stuff. The stage wear was significantly pared down and the Glam wigs were omitted, it was so hot on stage that the singers platform shoes melted.... Fortunately it was a short drive home but I did sit in the car in full aircon for a good 15 minutes when it parked up.

Some of the earlier one's had a very 3D chocolaty brown figured walnut, I think OutToPlayJazz had a couple like this.

Sadly this individual strikes me as the type of person that will not stop this predatory behavior until he is forced to do so. He's not a musician, he's a parasite. I'm amazed any other 'musicians' will play with him...I certainly wouldn't.

I use one of these cases with my 2 Mustangs if they need to go into the back of the van. Sorry no picture to hand; the headstock compresses the padding at the top of the case a bit but there is still material between the headstock and the case shell. It's generally a good snug fit.

Schallers on 3 of my basses (Status, MM and G&L) and Grolsch tops on the 2 Mustangs. I just have one strap equipped with Schaller and swap it to whichever bass I'm using. On the Mustangs I just leave the straps permanently attached to avoid fiddling about. In terms of Schaller pins I've used both OEM and 3rd party and not really found a difference - just need to be careful which screws you use - I generally use the ones that came with the bass rather than the pins to make sure things are secure enough.

I think this topic is cropping up with most gigging bands WH. We normally do a set rate for gigs within a 50 mile radius but thoughts on charges for next year are a consideration if fuel doesn't drop soon. WE will honour existing (I think we have 15 or so booked into next year) but will have to look at increases for next years from now on which we know could be difficult for some of the smaller venues.

That's a shame but I completely understand and appreciate where he is coming from. Glad that I managed to get my CW sig last year and had a chance to chew the fat with Rob.

I'm a firm believer that 'Ilkley Moor Bar'tat' should be adopted....

I play pretty much exclusively finger style, also with a heavy touch on gigs. I usually leave the nails a little longer on index and second finger to help but it doesn't always work. I can play with a pick but for some reason I don't feel as connected and enjoy it less so that becomes an 'emergency technique' only.

Think I'm of a like mind to you on this Dave. The Glam Band I'm in could probably do 3x the work we do but over time we've spent more time looking at better venues (not always the best paying) and reigning in the distance per gig as much as sensible. In terms of cash, none of us are 'bread-heads' but with recent increase in expenses (especially fuel) we have had to start taking a pragmatic view on gig prices even if this is at the expense of the number of gigs. Sadly for pubs there is generally an upper limit (which is why I guess we are doing more function/club work now) but if it's out of our normal area we sometimes end up pricing ourselves out of the market to keep to a sensible £/person after expenses.

Generally that's the reason we shy away from parties/weddings/anniversary do's. You just know a good portion of the audience would prefer dancing to their preferred genre and the band is just getting in the way.

My main bass was a 2 band Ray for about 15 years. I'd be the first to admit that sometimes I really didn't gel with the on stage sound but as soon as I went FOH the sound was spot on in the mix. I moved on to a 3 band after a while and unlike some I preferred it as I could adjust the mids to give a more balanced sound to my ears on stage. Soundwise I don't think the Ray is a bass for all seasons, I guess it can get close with judicious eq-ing but for something where I want a more mellow passive thump I use a JMJ Mustang and wouldn't see the point of trying the get the Ray to sound like that (anymore than I could get my JMJ to sound like a Ray). These days I don't currently own a Ray and have moved over to a US Sterling which is, to my ears, a Ray on steroids if run series; I prefer the smaller body and the jazz style neck profile. Regarding the pickup and thumb placement, I never gave it much thought but resting my thumb on the pup ended up feeling fairly natural to me.

Some nice pics sent through to me from last weekends Farmyard Bikers event.

Comp stripe siblings, separated at birth, out to play....