Happy Jack

Easy to see why Kala sent her a free uke bass! I've had a number of uke basses over the years, but I've never made one sound as good as that.

Just make sure that the silks line up ...

Love it! And gosh, isn't it red! Or is that a trick of the photography?

Now I need to know which pedals those are!

Whenever this topic comes up, I read it with interest but in a detached sort of way. I invariably find myself thinking, "These guys must play some bloody LOUD gigs". I appreciate that there's much more to gig-life than the pubs and social clubs that I play, but I'm also aware that at the really big gigs all that backline is essentially there for personal monitoring ... the real action is the great stacks of Powersoft S/S amps driving the house PA. I continue to struggle (and I don't doubt that it's a failure of imagination on my part) to understand how any modern Class D head can't deliver what's needed. I have an utterly beautiful Matamp valve amp in perfect working order sitting on a shelving unit in my studio. It's been sitting there for several years because I can't bring myself to sell it, and I keep telling myself that one day I'll find a gig that will really benefit from me carrying an enormous and heavy lump of amplifier rather than a 4lb Class D head. I'll be sure to tell you all if it ever happens.

Hard to make a living as a 10-piece!

Mind you, if they WERE to ban all streaming and posting of videos, then more people would go to gigs.

OK, strictly speaking I have to admit that this isn't really bass-related, but what the hell. For many years this contained my old Hondo II Black Beauty when moving it around. The rest of the time it was in storage. Last year, I sold the Hondo on eBay and completely forgot that I had a hardcase for it. Doh! So here's a perfectly useable hardcase, all catches working, no ghastly smell of 50-year-old Players No.6, rather tasteful orange furry lining, and I have absolutely no practical use for it. Free to a good home for any Basschatter who can swing by Harrow and collect it. I can stretch that as far as meeting in the West End but no, I will not post, and no, I will not sit in all day waiting for your courier. Sorry and all that, but you have to draw the line somewhere. This is likely to be of limited interest to the good, bass-playing folk who make this their home, so I'll give it a week here and then stick it on eBay.

Alternatively, you could remove every other fret and have a combination of fretted and fretless on the same neck.

Thanks mate, that's very helpful. The first bass that I ever bought for myself (as opposed to my offspring) was a Hofner 500/1 Violin, which famously has an equally primitive approach to intonation.

Current pop music - beat driven, usually in 4/4, with simply structured songs often about boy meets girl - was recognised from the start as a passing fad. The Beatles gave a famous interview in 1964 where they admitted that they expected to have been forgotten within five years, and Paul anticipated a new life for him and John as, essentially, Tin Pan Alley songwriters. The astonishing thing is that such a simple form of music with so little underlying philosophy should have lasted as long as it has. It will be sad when it stops, but the body of music already created will remain and can be enjoyed. In truth, I pretty much lost interest in current pop music about 40 years ago, with some exceptions of course. There was so much good stuff produced between 1955 and 1985 that I'm very happy to wallow in it.

More to the point, you've revived a thread last seen nearly 12 years ago!

Anyway, the one he's selling is pre-CBS ...

Bizarrely, my clearest memory of the whole evening is coming back home on the (then still quite new) Victoria Line. One of my very stoned friends, a huge guy 6'6" tall and built like a brick proverbial, was strap-hanging when the bloody strap just broke, leaving him sitting on the floor holding the 'bulb' end and the whole carriage in hysterics.

Ahhhhh ... happy daze. When I saw him do this at The Rainbow I have no recollection of any actual hurdy-gurdys being on stage at the time. Mind you, in truth (and for full disclosure) I'm not entirely sure that I could even remember my name that night. Like ... wow, I mean ... like ... far out, man ...

Ooooooooh ... maths!

If you play in a band and you rehearse together, you are going to LOVE part 2.

The real KB stand is in the lock-up, pending me learning to play piano properly again. It's been a 40-year wait, but I feel sure it'll be worth it.

Since I mentioned that 'kick-out' as between the two necks, here are some photos.