martthebass

Absolutely stonking gig last night at the Farmyard bikers rally in Helmsley. A packed house of hundreds inside the marquee and apparently just as many dancing outside who couldn’t get in. The organiser was so chuffed he sorted a photo session at the end of the set. Love gigs like this 😁

5’7” and Played exclusively 34” for best part of 30 years but for the last few years I’ve used mainly Mustangs as I needed something for smaller stages that wasn’t headless. When I look back at some pics of me with my old Stingrays and Jazzes of old they do look a bit on the big side compared to when I’m hanging a ‘stang.

Cheers Warren, I'm up at the Farmyard Rally in Helmsley, North Yorkshire with the glam band. Trouble is gear will be left in my Mini for a while before it can go backstage....and with a black roof, well y'know. Would have been nice to have had the LEDs so I can see what I'm doing later in the evening but I'm sure the Fallout bass will do just fine. Sounds like a great weekend for you, hopefully you'll get some great weather and end up with a tan like David Dickenson (but real...).

Very nice. I'm thinking of using my 'wood containing' equivalent at a bikers festival tomorrow.....hope the heat doesn't melt it!

Tone is very subjective, but for me I'd be hard pushed to find a use for the tone he's getting out of that thing.

I’ve always thought this was the best shape for a ‘Fender’ style bass. Compact, shorter than the Stingray headstock, tuner heads tucked into the headstock. Simple, practical, functional.

The Status J neck I had was pretty much the same dimensions as a mid 00's MIA that I had and was a straight drop in replacement.

Only had the Fallout on a couple of gigs so far; was pretty impressed with it’s sonic abilities, very clear and defined. Overall has a few have said, dimensionally it feels more of a full sized bass than my Mustangs.

The JMJ is a bit special.

I used to use a Status Streamline but it didn’t fit in with the look of a Glam Rock band so I ended up with one of these...

A very compact and bijou workspace for last night’s gig in a pub in Huddersfield, reminds me why I use short scales for most gigs. A bit of an adjustment after a run of gigs in larger clubs and bikers rallies. A good night was had by all though and the LL informed us of remodelling work, knocking out walls which will mean a decent stage area for the next one. Up at the Farmyard rally in Helmsley next week so plenty of shoulder room!

There’s room in this world for cheap HBs and ugly Foderas, feel the ❤️

Once missed out in an audition because I took a Status....apparently I was supposed to be using a Rick. I’ve been using an Indonesian Squier Mustang as me main bass for the last 5 years, often get compliments on the sound although on rare occasion followed by ‘considering its not a proper Fender’ 😂

I was also once chastised for this by the most widdly widdly tappity tappity lead guitarist. I laughed and laughed.

Cheers Dave, much appreciated. The theraputic nature of playing in a band can't be overestimated!

Something that's been brought home to me recently. I've offered to throw in the towel a couple of times since my cancer diagnosis early last year, the lads wouldn't hear of it and have been nothing but supportive working around treatments and what not. Sometimes there are more important considerations.

Comp stripe, large flake silver Mustang with active humbucker in the sweet spot with series/single coil/parallel switching. Matching headstock with ebony board and no front markers. .....not that I’ve given it any thought or anything 🤣🤣

In general I’d say it isn’t a major consideration for me. I like the aesthetics and ‘upmarket’ feel in a thru-neck but sound wise in a fretted instrument I think the effect is limited (who needs a note to sustain for a minute in a real life situation?). A few years back when I was auditioning Warwick Thumb fretless basses however I did find the thru-neck smoother and the sustain better than the bolt on which to me did benefit typical fretless lines.

Did a few deals with Doug (had his nice Streamline which sadly I no longer possess). I remember talking with him just before he vacated BC and he indicated that he was taking a sabbatical as he was busy with professional playing and whatnot.

Plus the one, you had a close call and dealt with it the right way. I've lost a few friends through sackings and being sacked over the years so I guess it's sometimes an inevitable part of working in bands. On the positive side the band I'm currently in (and have been in for the last 6 years or so) came about from a band member that I'd been in a band that split acrimoniously years before so not all is forever lost.

Ditto, friendliest gigs going, love doing bikers rallies. If we have a problem at a venue and it’s not dealt with by ‘the management’ the venue gets pulled from our venue list, end of.

Private Jubilee do at a community centre in rural North Yorkshire last night. Like the box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get at these sort of functions but we had a great night with people up and dancing from the get go (apart from one bloke who sat staring at us with arms folded all night lol). Great comments from the organisers - one said we should raise our prices... Other than that it was a typical Saturday night apart from the lunatic that tried to run me off the M18 by swerving into me and forcing me onto the hard shoulder - I think it was because I had the audacity to overtake him in a Mini.....I hope karma is a real thing.

Sadly the 1.75" nut width kills it for me......tempted by the shell JB2 though.....must stay strong!

I'd hate to turn gigging into a job, it would definitely suck the fun out of it for me. The band I'm currently in is the the most active band I've been in for years; it manages to cover all my gigging expenses and GAS and that's good enough for me.