Al Krow

If the UK (alone) spent the same amount on funding fusion research as we've done on the ridiculously wasteful track and trace (£37 BILLION) and the much more useful furlough (£73 BILLION), then the whole ruddy issue disappears as we'll have pretty limitless clean energy, and can then focus on locking in with the kick drum instead.

Growing trees to make basses isn't the worst thing environmentally, by a long way, particularly if the forests are managed sustainably. Each wooden bass = carbon captured. If burnt, the same carbon is released back into the atmosphere. The electronics used are going to be "dirtier". We've taken just a one-person return flight between us a family of four over the past 5 years and that was to visit a sick relative. That works for me in terms of thinking about the environment. I'd love to say the same about pontificating celebs flying to Extinction Rebellion events in their private jets. In my books, making musical instruments and music are some of Humanity's very best things. So I'm certainly not going to angst about getting another bass.

Adele – 30 was one of my most anticipated album releases for the year, but... As someone who fell in love with Adele’s huge song writing and vocal skills on her first two albums, 19 and 21, which were both rightly regarded as both being fantastic, I, together with millions of her fans, was very much looking forward to her latest offering. Thoughts? Well she has well and truly discovered the ‘40s – no not her fifth decade when we will no doubt get 40 and 45 from her, but the 1940s. It’s just that a lot of wonderful artists got there a long time ago and did it so much better! I felt that 30 was lethargic throughout and a lyrically lame emulation of writers such as Cohen and Dylan which, in contrast, she did superbly with her beautiful cover of “Make you feel my love” on 19. But then those words were actually Dylan’s not hers. It’s a really interesting question as to who popular albums are written for: the artist or their audience? The answer, I guess, must be “both”. 30 felt as though it was catharsis for Adele’s own emotional journey rather than one she was particularly bothered about taking her myriad of fans with her on. But there again she’s a global superstar and I’m just an average Joe, so that’s surely her prerogative. Was it worth a 5 year wait for this latest album? Certainly not for me and it may struggle to get a second play in the Krow household although, no doubt, it will shoot to the top of the 2021 best seller list.

Just out of interest, how do you think bass players' husbands or partners might jump in on the subject? 😉

You'd need a vast list, though, if you were going to cover every make and model, as so much boils down to individual taste. Dirt pedals appear, not surprisingly, to be the most popular pedal type, but there are loads of (100+?) different overdrive and fuzz pedals. The other thing that's kinda interesting is how folks' pedal boards have evolved over time. The main pedal types I've used have been pretty constant over the past 4 years, but I've changed / upgraded most of the individual pedals as my tastes have changed or better kit has appeared on the scene. Hmnm...that topic could also make for an interesting separate thread 😊

Good question! I suspect many folk haven't come across the benefits of a reverse-P and wouldn't regard it as an improvement, but would see it as modded bass that is no longer an "original". I wonder if you described it as: "reverse-P set up similar to Hooky's PH signature bass to deliver a tighter P-bass sound" it might do justice to the work you have put into it? GLWTS

I've got 5 gigging basses (all 5'ers) and 5 more specialist basses (e.g. 8 string, 6 string, EUB) which currently just get played at home. Having churned quite a few basses over the past few years, I guess I've at least managed to suss what bass shapes, weight, electronics, scale lengths and string spacings work for me and it's brill to now have a herd that I love playing; so any changes here on in are likely to be tinkering at the edges. The test for me these days of whether to move something on, particularly with my gigging basses, has boiled down to "am I always reaching for one of the others and not that one?" If that's the case, and feel that won't change, then I know it's time to say farewell even if it had previously been one of my go-to basses.

By coinidence, there's a thread just started over on Talkbass with a poll of what effects bass players are using - although it's focussed on covers band bass players whereas the posts on here will also include plenty of originals band musicians and "bedroom" bass players not in bands. But it might be of interest anyway - here's the link: Covers bands - besides a tuner what pedals are you using and on which songs?

Had the pleasure of meeting Dan in time honoured fashion in a Holiday Inn car park off the A2 where goods and cash were exchanged! Pity we only had a few minutes to chat but, from my perspective, I've managed to get an excellent Berg cab for a very fair price and Dan is a real gent to deal with.

A little Motown patch for the B1-4: Motown [AK-EQ].zb1f

@Richard R What a splendid bass! And a relatively shallow tapering of the string spacing, not dissimilar to my Ibanez GVB36. Made me realise I knew precious little about Brawley, but have managed to find your NBD thread with lots more detail

Any Black Friday deals looking good and potentially a "best" (hopefully not a worst!) purchase?

Gobsmacked by just how much the bass player had clearly become the de facto creative director of this most successful song writing crew, and who the rest of the band looked to for leadership and direction.

Stunning example of a fantastic brand. Congratulations!

Yeah right. You know full well that the real reason is that it's not orange enough for you 😁

BB 2004 comes pretty close - even has the reverse-P J set up.

Yes, yes and yes! 😎 What model have you got?

I hadn't clocked that @mrtcathad also got a Spector in his life, which has blown him away. Kinda interesting that quite a few of us Yammy fans are also huge Spector fans. I'm definitely a signed-up member of that particular "dual-bass club".

Ampero Stomp vs HX Stomp vs GT 1000 Core Comments 1. The GT 1000 Core has an 'Assigns' menu which is similar to Snapshots (perhaps even more versatile). 3 parallel paths vs 2 for the Ampero and HX. Lack of balanced output a bit of an omission. 2. Plusses of Ampero: Larger 4" colour screen is a significant upgrade; lower power consumption vs HX Stomp should mean it doesn't suffer from similar overheating issues. Competitively priced. 3. Negatives of Ampero: lacks 'Scenes' feature of HX Stomp; less good recording bit-rates; apparently the pitch shifts suck on current release...

Oi PJ, keep up! 😁

Not sure you have any need to apologise! I mean "Does the choice of wood have a material impact on bass tone or is it largely there for aesthetic reason?" was pretty well covered in the first 17 pages of this thread and on numerous predecessor threads. The discussion your post kicked off and some of the responses it drew, particularly from Mr Mandrel who has clearly thought deeply about this subject over many years, were actually brilliant in terms of insights into the creative process for you and others and to what extent being mindful of your audience / customers plays in shaping what you and others are creating (in your case pretty much zero). And, if it's not welcome on here, it would certainly have merited its own thread.

And here's the Spotify link for the rest of us: Great opening line btw "Are you a believer?" - loved that.

Paul - very well done, mate! Really enjoyed - a well crafted and catchy tune with a ton of energy! When does the Latin America tour start? 😊

@owen please put me down for one of the tickets if they're still available? There's a few other London & Home Counties BC'ers who might also be up for joining us! And I'm sure PJ will be able to twist my arm to swap seats part way through the set so he gets a full view for part of the show 😉