Staggering on

I feel better now.

All of us with heart issues will be following your progress and hoping things go well.Glad to hear you plan to keep gigging. Best of luck!

I had angioplasty procedures last October and had stents put in two heart arteries that had some blockage and was gigging within a week.I did not have a heart attack and there was no damage to my heart.Both of my cardiologists said to keep on with my normal activities and continue on with several meds they prescribed.So far so good,I will be seeing the cardiologist for a long term checkup in a couple of weeks and will have several tests done and I'm hoping all is well and I can keep going with my quite active life at age 72.I might even be able to stop some of the meds if things look good. I am a worrier and have had lots of stress in my life but I am learning to handle it better, well,a bit better. Good luck and remember there are a lot of us in the same boat, or maybe the same band seeing this is a BC thread.

Absolutely!

Actually Huey,Dewey and Louie.

Pleckin' and grinnin'? ...hmmmmmm...

KNA DB-1 pickup This pickup is a wing slot type and I had to do little bit of filing and sanding to get a perfect fit but it comes with wood shims that are used to make a snug installation so it was really very easy to fit.The extra information/instruction sheet that Mark Gollihur writes and is included when you order from him was much better than the basic instructions that came from KNA,Mark was in on the development of this pickup and his advice is always good about anything related to basses.The pickups are made in Europe. I haven't spent too much time with it yet but it is definitely a lot different than the K&K Double Big Twin that came with the bass.Output is significantly higher direct to the amp or preamp and the tone is much more woody and can be shaped easily with amp or preamp.I installed it in the G side wing slot as KNA suggests and it is quite even across all the strings, unlike the K&K that was hard to balance both tone and volume across the strings. I might have more to add after I have tried it at a gig through the Bose PA but at this point it's a definite thumbs up for me.

Sunday gig with the seven piece "little big band".We played the same venue as we did in March("Jazz at the Junction" held in a Legion hall) and had another full house of about 100 in a smallish room and they loved it.We did our usual two sets of swing charts and then a shorter Dixieland set where I switch to tenor banjo and one of the band plays tuba.We got another standing O at the end and will be booked back and we got paid. The big thing for me was the gigging debut of "Marilyn",the Englehardt Swingmaster blonde bass I got a few weeks ago.I usually use my Yamaha SLB200 EUB with this band but decided to introduce Marilyn to the world at this gig and it was great.I ran through my K&K Pure preamp into our Bose PA(which can be set for different types of basses including acoustic upright) and the sound was perfect and I had lots of good comments about the sound and the sheer visual impact of that big blonde bass. I used the K&K Double Big Twin pickups that came with the bass(it is ten years old) but will be using the new KNA DB-1 pickup next time, I got it too late to be used for this gig. Not a very good pic but you can see Marilyn waiting in the background while we finish setting up before the gig.

A large Swiss Gear laptop bag works for me, lots of separate compartments of different sizes to keep cables in and lots of room for odd things.Sturdy handle and it even has shoulder straps that I haven't tried yet.

Going upright-Stagg 5 years ago,Yamaha SLB 200 about 3 years ago and this year bought a double bass and I've never had so much fun.I've also learned a lot about bass music and play much better than I ever did before.Sometimes changing instruments can open up a whole new world.The DB came after I travelled to the BC double bass bash in April and when I got back to Canada I just had to get a "real" bass.

The Double Big Twin is not fitted in the wing slots,the piezo pads(4) are held to the bridge with adhesive.I have the same pickup on the Engelhardt Swingmaster ES 9 that I recently bought used and am awaiting the arrival of a KNA DB-1 pickup that I ordered from Gollihur.Mark suggested this wood encased wing pickup for my bass to cut some of the string noise and get a more woody sound.It also has a higher output than the K&K and I may not need to use the preamp(K&K) that came with the bass. I am expecting the pickup soon and will report on its performance.A little research that I did turned up a lot of positive reviews for the DB-1,including comments from some BC members. The KNA is also one of the lowest priced pickups which is a bonus if it works well.Many of you know the Gollihur site, it is a goldmine of information and they know what they are talking about and ship worldwide.They are in the USA but have sent my pickup to me in Canada with no issues, they do this stuff all the time.Mark will answer email or phone questions about all of the products they sell and just about anything else related to basses. Edit-some of the above comments came while I was writing, sorry about the repetition.

In this very forum a thread was started 15 hours ago re a stolen Phil Jones bass amp, anyone notice that?

Hmmmmm....seen at the double bass bash in April......

Lovely bass,and I imagine the GAS was increased when we all saw Aud's Eminence at the double bass bash in April.That event convinced me that I needed a "real" upright to go with my Yamaha SLB 200 and so I ended up with "Marilyn". Well done.

You're right,I loved that and will check out some more of their work.Thanks.

Absolutely,in my books anyway. Great talents, saw them in Vancouver and was glad I did.They always seemed to really enjoy playing with each other and complemented each other so well.

Just getting through the post show let down after a very busy week.I was playing in the orchestra(yup, we had strings) for an amateur production of "Chicago" and although it is a slimmed down and cleaned up version of the Broadway show and is referred to as the "High School Edition", the music and orchestrations are for the most part exactly the same as the Broadway music.Luckily the musicians(14) are experienced players who have played many shows and some play in bands I am in and did a fantastic job with some very demanding music. Listen to the movie soundtrack if you want to get an idea of the level of playing demanded.Last week was three days of rehearsals and three shows.Of course the band had rehearsed a number of times before this. I was a last minute addition to the band when some extra money became available and I was asked to play...are you ready...tenor banjo!Almost 40 years ago I was very busy gigging with Dixieland type bands in Toronto but I haven't really played any serious banjo music for a long time so the last couple of weeks were real a real workout for me trying to get back some of the licks that I needed for the show and to get back into reading a banjo score instead of bass music. It was a great experience to do the shows and I had a fantastic time playing some good arrangements with excellent musicians.Three nights of full house with standing O's for cast and orchestra all three nights.On top of that I got back into playing banjo and even had couple of little solos in the show which I managed to play OK. I guess the point of the story is that if something that sounds interesting is offered to you,go for it because you might not get another opportunity like it again. Swing band rehearsal today playing bass and also a few Dixie tunes on banjo.Love it. As I have said on here before, we are so lucky to have music in our lives and be able to share it and have fun with others when we are playing. I have been gigging for 56 years and still get a thrill.I better go practice now...

OK,like "some" drummers.... 😁

Speaking of disco, we had a singalong version of Mama Mia on TV here in North America last night with the words going by at the bottom of the screen.I knew they had done this with the Sound of Music at live performances and in cinemas and on TV but the Mama Mia singalong was new to me. Is it making the rounds in other parts of the BC world? ...I didn't watch much of it...

Thanks Geoff,your lessons and videos were a big help when I got my EUB and now I'm reviewing some of them as I work on proper techniques for the DB...and having lots of fun too!

Back to your room sir!How dare you. It would have to be very cold and it would be the last last piece to go into the stove.

I wondered if anyone would pick up(oops, sorry about that) the wood shedding image and I'm not surprised that you got it first.

I blame BC for this!After attending the BC double bass bash in April I developed a serious case of GAS and this is the result."Marilyn" is blonde, curvy and has a sweet voice and I couldn't resist her. She is an Engelhardt Swingmaster ES 9 that was purchased from Gollihur 10 years ago and has sat virtually unused since then and is in absolutely mint condition.To make it even better, she came with all the paperwork for her and a K&K Double Big Twin pickup,K&K Pure preamp, an Ingles stand,German bow, three types of rosin, quiver,mute and several books including an untouched Simandl.She was dressed in a lovely green like new Gollihur bag.I also got the original almost new Thomastiks that the bass started life with, she is currently strung with Correlli 370 F strings.The original owner has been playing pedal steel in country bands and just wanted to get rid of the bass because he wasn't using it. I am still tweaking the preamp and my amp to get the sound I want(I play jazz standards in two bands) but it is certainly fun and I am also enjoying trying out my woeful bow technique. She came home with me yesterday after a 13 hour 994 km road trip to pick her up.It was a long day but in Canada drives like this are a fact of life. I'm still not sure why I did this at my age(72) but I plan to have fun with her.I have a gig tomorrow night but I will use my trusty Yamaha SLB 200 EUB and save "Marilyn" for another day. Thanks again for that great day in April,it was just what I needed to make me pull the trigger and join the "real" DB world.