NHM

Is a bass only "properly played " at a gig? If you choose to make music on a bass at home is that not "playing" it? Solo practice at home, rehearsing with the band and playing a gig are all great to do - but they are three very different things. I try to play 'properly' whichever of these activities I'm doing, and thus each is equally satisfying in its own way.

I play any of my three basses at gigs, all three play equally well, so I choose on a whim (unless its a prestige gig then the number 1 always gets played). That's why I own them, to play in a band. If I wasn't in a band I would probably sell them all as I don't particularly enjoy playing the bass just for the sake of it.

I've just bought an ABM 500W Evo iii - wow, it sounds amazing, why have I waited all these years. I see I now have to wade through 46 pages of this thread to get up to speed....

Another problem which seems to be on the rise which reduces the number of venues offering live music (thus reducing the size of 'the game') is complaints by neighbours or locals about noise levels. I know of three cases in my area in the last two months, two of which have resulted in cancelled bookings for the band I'm in.

I'm just home from a gig, I'm 69 next week and I love it as much as I did when I first gigged age 21. We played to a full house today, the band played pretty well and getting the youngsters up dancing knows it has gone OK. Long may it last.

I'm just home for the Toby Lee gig in Faversham (conveniently just round the corner from home 🙃) wow, what a fine musician, good band, lovely songs, what's not to like.

memory lane - my first bass was an Eros jazz copy, from Greenhalgh's Music, Fore St., Exeter (in 1977) which I think was the shop before Manson's came on the scene. Sad to see another shop go, but if you don't use it you'll lose it as they say.

Any local bands whose sound you think is good? How about (having agreed as a band) to ask their sound engineer to come to couple of gigs and mix for you to set a new template that you can then take forward? It would be worth paying someone good to help you overcome this hurdle.

Reading this it looks like we aren't doing too badly - 18 booked in for the remainder of 2025, with a few more expected. We're a (hobby) pub covers band playing the north Kent coastal towns plus a couple of local festivals, all with maximum drive of 20 miles to a venue. For me about 24 gigs a year is ideal, two a month keeps it fresh but allows time for rehearsals and to add new material. This year's set is 50% changed from last year which keeps us (me!) on our (my!) toes.

Being a DC Tribute player myself, I'd be interested in knowing how different the upgrade sounded on yours. What strings are you using?

I'll be interested to read your report back on this. I have the 500 which is the same other than slightly lower output power. It is a great amp, underrated. My only criticism is that you don't really need both the vintage and overdrive channels as you can replicate the vintage with the overdrive if you only need a single sound (which suits me) - but it is useful if your core sound is vintage, to be able to used overdrive as a boost on the footswitch or for a contrasting tone.

I've fitted a Hosco bridge on my Musicmaster, the version with two compensated saddles that lock off at the correct angle so each takes two strings. A really good piece of kit. If you need a photo let me know.

done. Will you publish your results here? It would be really interesting to know what are the outcomes.

I found this link to an article about Hatters Hall - shame I can't see your bass in any of the photos. Have you tracked it down yet? https://favershamlife.org/hatters-hall/