NancyJohnson

I know I have considerable monetary investment in Lulls, but cost aside, the JAXT4 is the best bass I've ever played, bar none. I'm hoping the new one is equally as good, or better.

Great isn't it? Honestly, don't see what the issue is though. In a blind test, no touchy, could you tell the difference between a bolt-on, set neck or neck-through tonally?

Delano make two pickups that look like this...one is wound/intended for use in a P/J set, another as a standalone Precision pickup. This one is the latter.

I've got an age-old version of Photoshop CS3...now, I know people will say it's only for this and that, but ultimately isn't it about using your own creativity and squeezing as much out of your software as possible? Everything I've done with images, from logos, CD covers and labels, flyers, posters, banners etc. it's all been with this package. I understand everyone has their preferences and I think if I was coming into this game from scratch, I'd be asking questions as well, BUT for the odd one-off, get someone else to do it for you as Adobe's pricing structure is mental.

Roomwise it's one of the conference/wedding rooms at Cirencester FC. It's not going to have to be huge. He's a bit vague. I suppose if you think of what a club band or DJ might use. I guess they'll only mic up the bass drum and snare. It's a punky gig. If you can help, I'll happily pass over his contact details.

Oooh. Wouldn't that be a thing?

There a few pics peppered about. Try this thread: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/311768-hipshot-kickass-bridge/?tab=comments#comment-3370200 When I got it, it needed everything looking at, it did have a set of Schaller machines on it, but everything else was shot . I have, to date done: New bridges, BBoT now a KickAss Fret Levelling Full set up Delano pickups, new pot and knobs New black scratchplate Dunlop straploks ...must remove that sticker.

I know the thread is about the one particular bass...my old Aria Primary was like this, fundamentally solid, but requiring TLC. The tiniest of tweaks can make so much difference. I'm not really a Precision fan as such and I know the Aria is a copy of one, but I love it dearly...granted, it's turning into this test-bed of different hardware, but it's a beautiful thing and plays dreamily.

In answer to your first question, they're using the dep who they pulled in without my consent earlier in the year. This is/was the root cause of me leaving; the whole insensitivity surrounding that furore was just another issue that ultimately broke the camel's back. Gigwise, I use the colloquial 'we' here as yes, we were doing Reading on the 25th, the Yellow Bus gig on 2/12, a radio thing on the 3rd. He booked two toilet gigs mid-December (Maidenhead/Southampton) on dates he knew full well I was unavailable...these places are shitholes, especially the Southampton one, but well, he booked them anyway and didn't even bother asking whether I was OK with a dep. 'We' also had a load of gigs in for 2018. You know, on the subject of deps, one thing that the singer said as well over WhatsApp was this (this is a direct copy and paste): "Also, it's not like there is a finite number of gigs. If we turn down six and play six with you, we've played six gigs. If we say yes to 12 and play six with you, you've still played six gigs." There are loads of quite irrational comments like this peppered through our final exchanges and even reading this now, I'm shaking my head trying to understand the logic behind it. So much for putting in the hours writing, rehearsing every week. I'd still have played six gigs. That's all that matters, eh?

I'm not there either as I left my band a couple of days back. I'm handling his artwork until someone better than me offers their services! *I'm doing the Sounds Of The Cotswolds posters this weekend!

Isn't it generally like this though? Bands I've played in have folded and it's simple to keep it civil and friendly, but here it's just different; there is no way I wanted to commit to doing the rest of the gigs, especially as it's so easy to find a dep The singer was overbearing, controlling, brutish and thought everything he said was right. Even at rehearsals he used to go on about where we all stood, because he, 'wasn't interested in what the bass was doing.' There was no denying he was a decent frontman or that he helped to lift the band to the level it's at now, but he didn't care who he trod on to achieve that and the total lack of empathy towards my half of the rhythm section over the last few months was just appalling. He just broke my spirit, so much so that I just walked away.

It's well documented here that I'm no fan of Adam Clayton and this also extends to the use of his name on signature models. I'm sure that having fellow bandmembers on the board of directors at Fender just makes it far too easy to put his name on a pair 60 year old designs in a sparkly finish and claim it's something new, especially considering his dalliances with other manufacturers. I'd have respected Fender more if they'd bought these combinations out as a standard option! P

It's just a nice touch on my part. I want those asshats to turn up to mix on Sunday and my stuff is all gone.

Let me put a bit of meat on the bone. It's a long one, sorry. I started Nancy Johnson early 2011...much like any band, it has been a little like Trigger's Broom, the line up has ebbed and flowed but I have been the common thread throughout. I was writing everything up until around a year ago. A couple of years back we took on a new singer and quite soon after, I really felt that I was losing my band...this guy was pursuing gigs and booking rehearsals, taking over. The last year has been busy; maybe 60-70 gigs, radio, television, studio and rehearsing pretty much every week, I'd say 80% of it driven by him. Personally, I think it was too much, sometimes I'd be out three or four nights a week (keeping it spaced, keeps the fires burning). Around midyear, and this is important, my father-in-law's health deteriorated (and he has subsequently passed away) and my mother who has lived with bladder cancer for three years, got ill again (she's still with us, crazy as ever). This seemed to have little effect on the singer though, who was pouncing on every gig opportunity, irrespective of whether it was a mile away or a midweek 200 mile round trip playing to 5 people (yes, that happened more than once), and whether or not the band had their full quota available on our band calendar. It got to the point where he'd say, 'I've got a gig on such and such a day,' and I'd say, 'Look, my father-in-law is very ill, I really need to help support my wife and mother-in-law,' to which he just suggested using a dep; something I have never adhered to and requested we didn't on several occasions. If it were me, I'd prefer that if we were a man down, that we politely decline the booking, giving reasons why, and see whether a promoter was prepared to reschedule. His drive was fairly insatiable and almost driven by the fact that I'd already said I couldn't gig. Eventually he didn't even bother asking whether I wanted to cancel what I was doing, it was pretty much, 'We've got a gig, Paul's not available, we'll get Tom.' He also remarked that using a dep doesn't have any effect on me personally (duh?). We locked horns a few times about things and I think everyone in the band would agree that he was difficult, but the guitarist and him were tight and the drummer just sat on the fence, so it was pretty much two versus one and the majority are always right, eh?. The dep issue came up again a few days ago, this time with vengeance. I had some long-standing stuff booked for December; Albert Hall twice, works Christmas bash, family dinners, working away, seeing my mum, and finally on 16/17th December a weekend away with wife and mother-in-law; the 17th being my late father-in-laws birthday, so we felt it was best to be around MiL that weekend. Despite these days being in the band calendar, gigs were still accepted and my commitment was questioned; laughable considering what I'd done this year - I felt the remarks made about not gigging on the 16th were just hurtful and below the belt, so I decided that if they loved using a dep so much, they could find one permanently and I quit. I just felt a huge wave of relief when I hit the send button. Like I've said, a huge weight off my shoulders. Amazingly, they posted a statement on the band Facebook page. Paragraph 2 was pretty telling. Amazingly, and unprompted, a load of my mates have just piled in against them, which is pretty hilarious. My messenger services have been pinging most of the day with people who are amazed and I've had six video calls over Skype and Messenger. I've also noticed the bands likes have gone down by a few as well. Fast forward less than 90 minutes after I quit and I've had two offers from bands, so project #1 kicks off on 7/12/17. I would concur that this is like being in a relationship with a bully, or someone you don't particularly like or trust. A few people here know me pretty well and would vouch for my character; I don't really do confrontation, I just want an easy, peaceful, fun life. My band, deteriorated to such a point that I hated it, or hated what it had turned into. Everything that guy did just built up until I reached a point where I didn't want to do it any more. I wish they guy had never responded to our vocalist wanted ad.

Well, there we are. First rehearsal booked for 7/12/17. That was a little too easy.

Hahaha. Paul will do for now. This weekend, we/they were due to mix six tracks that were recorded about two months ago. I have contacted the the studio and asked them to remove my bass off the recordings, which is what they're doing. That'll be a nice surprise for them when they turn up on Sunday.

I'm not upset in the slightest, moreover I believe I'm just surprised that the singer decided to remove my admin rights about two minutes after I said I was off. Different priorities I suppose, eh?

...and actually, I couldn't be happier. It was like working with a psycho, Rainman and a guy who couldn't get off the fence. Huge weight off my shoulders. The first thing they did was remove my admin rights from Facebook, to a band I set up and a page I set up. I'm still shaking my head at that one, but hey-ho. What was I going to do? Remove a couple of pictures? Amazingly, I've had two offers from other bands since I quit less than 90 minutes ago. Clearly doing something right, perhaps the old act were just too stupid to see that.

Arise, Sir Gerry. Top bloke.

We gigged for Musicians Against Homelessness in 2016/17 - we were the second band Alan McGee picked up in 2016, which was the first year they did it. I think that in 2016 they raised £40K over 100 gigs, which is great considering no one had heard of it, and we raised over a thousand of that over three shows. Now this year of course, everyone and their mother has been doing gigs, which yes, is a good thing, but baddish for bands like us because the whole punters-feeling-good-about-themselves only extends so far. Gerry is a lovely bloke, Christ, I see him putting on shows and then posting at 1.30am the morning after gigs asking whether anyone is driving through Cirencester so he can cadge a lift home. When we did the Swindon Rockets thing earlier in the year he actually walked about ten miles to the place where the gig was on and the same back home because he couldn't get a ride. He put on a full buffet for the bands as well to say thank you. Virtually every gig I do it's rare for the promoter to even buy you a beer, let alone something to eat. I see faceless people getting gongs for doing less than what this guy is doing. He's a fabulous bloke and is doing great things. He needs all the help he can get.

There's a lovely guy based in the Cotswolds called Gerry Watkins who has an ongoing mission to set up this thing called The Big Yellow Bus Project...effectively it was a one man crusade to buy a bus, put beds in it and have it as somewhere homeless people could bed down overnight, have something to eat, have a shower, launder their clothes etc. His efforts for fundraising are all his own doing; he's put on gigs and is begging for any help he can to raise money for this (and other projects). My band have already done gigs for him (his efforts raised over a grand for a wheelchair football team earlier in the summer and we're doing a Yellow Bus gig in December). I'm doing all his posters/artwork for gigs. Happily, he raised enough to buy a bus a couple of weeks ago and it's all being refitted with beds and so on. Now then, he's putting on a gig in Cirencester on 2/12/17 and the guys who were providing the PA (free) have taken a paying gig, so he needs a PA for the day. Oh, for free. Whoever provides will get their name stencilled on the bus and an immense feeling of wellbeing. Anyone know anyone who have a PA he could loan for the day? If yes, please shoot me a message and I'll forward on detail to Gerry. Thanks

I was already (FB) friends with Paul Schuster...I was in contact with him when I was trying to source the JAXT4 a couple of years ago, so when I bought that, he was my initial point of contact. He's active on the Lull Owners Group on Facebook, he likes my band, so we kind of know each other digitally. When I first saw the bass I'm buying on this thread, I pinged Paul a message enquiring what the bass actually was and he came back to me with the details and the price. When I finally picked myself up off the floor, I asked whether there was any benefit in my buying direct or having it shipped to a mate in Vermont who would bring it in or or going through a UK dealer. To be honest, the cheapest option was going through Bass Direct, plus if anything went wrong then Mark at BD will be my point of contact to resolve things rather than me dealing with Seattle. Much as I love what Mark @BD is trying to do for bass players, I have said elsewhere that he probably needs someone in to handle his admin, because frankly when the specification that arrived came through, I nearly shat myself as it couldn't have been more wrong. It's got to be right. At this point I just pinged Paul a PM and he confirmed the specification and build. He's also sent me a handful of unprompted PMs about progress, which is handful more messages than I've had from Mark. I'm paying an awful lot of money and really don't have any qualms about speaking to Paul about where the bass is at buildwise.

I rarely get excited about anything nowadays...that steady decline from adolescence through adulthood has seen my excitable levels go from pre-Christmas excited to meh, but last night for a few seconds I felt a brief adolescent-excitement then back to normal. I'm still harbouring the faintest of worries that something won't be right with it...all this bourne from matter of placing my order/deposit with BD, not really getting any confirmation by return and then getting a build datasheet back of wholly wrong specs. I'd actually included photographs and so on. Eventually I really felt like I needed to take it direct to Lull to see what they were building.