NancyJohnson

Today I'm working and listening to Frankie Goes To Hollywood. A while back, I bought the deluxe editions of both albums and painstakingly removed all the chuff they put inbetween the songs. It flows excellently without these distractions.

I haven't read this stuff in a long time. Enjoying this. It's a little trip down memory lane during an otherwise terrible afternoon.

When I set up the first Nancy Johnson site (2006), it was more a treatment to test rudimentary .html, css, embedding Flash content, graphics and creative writing. It was very basic stuff but reading it now makes me smile. There's pages and pages of ridiculously stupid overblown content. Of course it's all fluff. We played with a band from Basingstoke one time and their manager had clearly read the site and actually asked how our dates went in Uzbekistan. I've never been further east than Cyprus. +

I saw her at Wembley Arena around this time. It wasn't a particularly enthralling gig; it was very low on content and high on padding out. Every song ending was about five minutes long, with her just going, 'Oooooooohwahwahwahwaaaaaaaaah,' and she bought her mum out for another five minutes of the same. That said, her voice was incredible. What a waste. Just say no, kids.

The Surround Series edition of XTC's 'The Big Express' arrived yesterday. Been so busy building a wall and doing family shizz, just sitting down for a listen. I don't have an ATMOS system, so just good old Dobly 5.1. Really very good. The more Steven Wilson does of these, the better they get. (The Tears For Fears stuff is sublime.) I know there's been issues locating the masters for the rest of their back catalogue, I'm really hoping this won't be the last one. This one was a very pleasant surprise when it was announced.

Size aside, the tech behind the visuals has been in place for quite a while. In simplistic terms, capture is done digitally or on a large format wet film (ie IMAX) using a single or multiple fish-eye lens(es). The image, when displayed on a spherical canvas plays back without any wide-angle aberration. Simple, but very clever. Pity it's U2.

It's a case of look-at-me syndrome. We're all guilty of it. I suppose it's all about how we're wired; I've never really been the type of person who has any desire to follow the pack insofar as instrument choice goes, but I do like to use well set up instruments that look good. Knowing how you want to sound is the primary thing, a very high percentage of [your] tone comes from amplifier and outboard kit, not the guitar itself.

The colloquial 'we' spend an absolute fortune on 'improvements' on instruments; bridges, machines, pickups, preamps, nonsense about 'tonewoods', neck materials, frets. And so on. We worry about neck profiles and width of nuts. Poly/nitro finishes. Years ago, owned a Mustang bass. To my delight, under the chrome pickup cover was a Stratocaster pickup. It sounded perfectly fine. This my friends was a turning point for me where aftermarket upgrades are concerned. The only reason to replace any hardware is if it's broken, missing or doesn't work properly.

Here comes the voice of reason. For assorted reasons, swapped out a fair few pickups in my time, irrespective of the maker/cost etc, the end result is that all of them sound more or less the same. All this nonsense about growl, vintage warmth/aggression can be dialled in from your amp/outboard gear. Any nuances from pickup to pickup will be lost in a full-band context anyway. Your listening audience don't give a toot about your pickup choice either! Go with the cheapest or the ones that suit your visual aesthetic. Even better, support small makers, like Josi Warman.

This video popped up on my You Tube feed yesterday. I've shown little interest in Harley Benton products (but I suppose at the entry-level price point(s), they're probably a decent option if you're looking to build/customise something). Instrumentwise, I'm no fan of the headstocks, but they do mention a Firebird model, which could look nice if it had the bound Jaguar neck on it with blocks on it (that features in the 25th Anniversary models). Anyhow, bass stuff is from about nine minutes. There's a nice prototype EB2 style thing; the headstock looks decent (no bits missing), don't really like the look of the machines - cloverleafs might look nicer. The travel bass is interesting!

I've got Ged2112 DI and a the Dug Pinnick stomps, have tried both into the effects return (with limited success tbh). I suppose I'm not really interested in throwing ££ at more hardware. Looking for a one box solution.

I think I need some dirt, it's a fundamental factor in the tone I'm chasing. I ran a Sansamp RBI into a poweramp for years, the only reason for downgrading was that I was just sick of the weight of everything! If Tech21 rolled out an RBI head (like the old VT Bass), I'd be in.

I've been running a Darkglass AO900 (into a pair of DG 1x12s) for about two years. Absolutely no issues with headroom, weight, portability, although I would say it took some time to actually form any kind of bond with it and more than any amplifier I've owned previously, it seems to respond very differently to anything I plug into it (which is a bit of a b*llache). It's very aggressive and I'll admit that the Alpha/Omega overdrive voicings are difficult to keep under control. I'll admit I love what Darkglass are doing generally. Now then, questions. Should funds allow, I'm thinking of moving the AO900 and going with a Microtubes X900 or Exponent, from the online content I've watched (although very stylised) probably the X900 may suit me better. I'd appreciate if there's any X900 users here that could offer a bit of honest input. Desired tone for me is kind of Geddy Lee clank; the AO900 isn't delivering that, and I'm wondering whether the X900 will deliver something more controllable. I'd like to do a side-by-side comparison. Anyone?

I used to have a Mustang bass and it fitted a standard (Thomann) guitar gig bag. It fit nice and snug and honestly, there was absolutely zero need for any kind of neck padding.

Jeepers. That website is horrific, any interest in these strings dissipated seconds after opening that link.

We're on a holiday break, rehearsal this Friday afternoon; I've not played a note since the last one, nearly a month ago. To be honest, I prefer not rehearsing every week, losing the desire in that, it's absolutely zero fun. We all know the material backwards and I see little point in it. Frontman uninterested in doing new stuff and pretty much forbids jamming.

Outside of music, most signings have been fun. Jasper Fforde was an absolute hoot, likewise Ben Aaronovitch. Bette Davis mentioned I was very tall, Nancy Reagan asked if I'd come far, Stephen King was thoroughly miserable and didn't even look up, Bill Bryson used to live around the corner from me in Egham recognised me and was very nice. All better than being bitten on the arm by Tommy Lee.

I've had the book on pre-sale before it actually had a title (someone posted the ISBN online and boom there it was, 'Untitled Memoir'). The ticketing price is laughable; irrespective of your choice of bookstore - Amazon is retailing this at £27.00 (still too much IMO) - but possibly having to fork out another £80+?? Does this include drinks and canapes? Nah. I realise that Ged has god-like status in some areas of the bass playing community, but elsewhere, I can go and do an event with authors I want to actually meet and greet, for less than a fiver or free. Ben Aaronovitch, Farnborough Library 31/10/23 - £2.00. Jasper Fforde, free.

I've been asked for set lists a few times - this was times where I was doing 100% original sets; it was at the same place we used to play, a council owned arts centre in Bracknell, so I suppose they're just sticklers for officialdom and form-filling. God know what the council have done with the forms containing song titles like 'Brain Eating Zombies', 'Mailorder Girlfriend', 'Suitcase Pimp' or 'Disco Tek Dancing'. Probably using these to try and create a profile on us. Elsewhere? Nah.

I couldn't bear to be in a covers band*, I've seen a few too many and well, I find the whole experience kind of awful. Everyone who knows me knows this is my stance. *That said, detest playing covers too - but don't tell our singer. Half our set is stuff that our he had some success with in the 1980s/90s, plus Suffragette City and Did You No Wrong. I'd honestly prefer to do more original material. Occasionally, I'll get a comment that something isn't right and I'll just mutter something about having no point of reference (mainly because I've not actually listened to any of it). Take it as you may, if you don't like what I'm doing, then sack me; it's not like I'm making £££. What I'm playing is a country mile better than what's on the originals.

But what quantifies 'lower quality bodies'? The Flea models aren't plywood, they'll be jointed, maybe two/three-piece bodies; Fender don't pancake bodies. Uncertain how they're glued, but there wouldn't be anything particularly horrific under the finish.

The nitro finish should come off with (lots of) acetone and a cloth. The fear would be what is actually under the nitro and/or what Fender have primed the [Flea] body with. Personally, I'm really not a fan of these mass production Signature model guitars (did a gig years back where two different bassists turned up with Fleas), much better to make one in your own image.

There's a lot of good people on here that'll be more than happy to do the control plate, and to make it even simpler you could go with a quick connect mechanism to hook up the pickups. Easy peasy. You've mentioned elsewhere that you have '£900 waiting'. This is easily doable. Easily.

That's actually a prototype Gene Simmons Model III. The Double Axe. Limited run, 150 I think, $12k. Apparently he played something similar for a few minutes at a Wicked Lester gig in 1971 and Gibson's thoughts were, as everyone is harping on about the lack of Grabber and Ripper reissues, they'd just go straight for the money grab, because 'Kiss fans are stupid, have deep pockets and will buy any old crap'.