TrevorR

Oh, those bring back memories. Is that the sort with the bolt on neck and a metal neck plate on the back of the guitar? A chum used to play one like that. Built like a tank, as I remember.

I’ve got 4 guitars - two acoustic and two electric... 1995 Gordon Smith G-90 prototype (won in a charity guitar raffle - presented to me by Steve Howe), 1998 Gordon Smith Gypsy II semi-solid, 1999 Brook Tamar acoustic - ordered the day after the eclipse in August 1999. The back is two piece lightly figured walnut from a tree that blew down near the Brook workshop in the great storm of 87. 2003 Fylde Gordon Giltrap Signature acoustic (won in a charity guitar competition - presented by to me by Gordon Giltrap). Gordon Smith really are one of UK guitar building’s best kept secrets. Wonderful guitars that punch way above their weight in terms of how they sound and what they deliver! Other instruments: 1988 Fylde Octavius Bouzouki , 2000s Brüko ukulele. Here they are...

Fylde Electric? You’ve GOT to post a photo of that!

Neither was I... Though, to be fair I do prefer the neater look compared to a chopped up bit of dish sponge...

I beg to differ, I was browsing a bass group on Facebook and spotted these mutes made by a woman in the States. The happy customer comments caught my eye given that one was attributed to a certain @wateroftyne of this parish. Ordered a couple on a whim. They’re great, look good and the little handle makes them easy to get in and out...

Berlimey! Is that Mr Etheridge? Top guitar player.

It’s utterly ridiculous but I must confess I always had a hankering after Barry Devlin from Horslips’ shamrock shaped bass...

Ah, I wondered if someone would post a Stacatto Bass - magnesium alloy neck and interchangeable fibreglass bodies in different shapes! Made/promoted by Mick Jagger’s kid brother, Chris Jagger.

Currently listening to pre-release review MP3s of the new Kansas album, The Absence of Presence. The album’s not actually out until the end of June. Tell you what, it’s a bit good!

These intervals derive from the scale, so, in C (because there are no sharps and flats so it makes the visuals easier...). The C Major scale is... C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. If you give each note a number to show where it is in the scale you get... 1 C, 2 D, 3 E, 4 F, 5 G, 6 A, 7 B, 8 C. The first note in the scale is usually referred to as “the Root”. The 8th as “the Octave” (Latin for Eighth!). Never heard this referred to as “root unison” - although strictly correct in grammatical terms it sounds made up - it’s always referred to as the root or octave. This note has a frequency exactly twice that of the root - the scale notes’ frequencies aren’t random, they all have mathematical relationships. All the other notes are referred to By their position in the scale, so... Root - C, Second - D, Third - E, Fourth - F, Fifth - G, Sixth - A, Seventh - B, Octave - C. In the MAJOR scale the distance between the root and the 3rd is 4 semitones - so because it derives from the Major scale, that 4 semitone interval is referred to as a “major 3rd”. The C minor scale has some different notes as some of them are flattened by one semitones (including the 3rd - plus the 6th and 7th). C, D, E♭, F, G, A♭, B♭, C So in the minor scale the distance between the Root (C) and 3rd (E♭) is only 3 semitones. This three Semitone interval is referred to as the “minor 3rd” because it derives from the minor scale. Any 4 semitone interval between two notes can be referred to as “a major 3rd”, any 3 semitone interval can be referred to as a “minor 3rd”. For example... “So, from the G you go up a minor 3rd to B flat.” The 4th and 5th don’t commonly have these major/minor variants so can be referred to as perfect 4ths or perfect 5ths. But just 4th and 5th will do fine. They can be flattened or sharpened but in this case tend to be referred to diminished (down a semitone) or augmented (up a semitone). Hope that helps explain the terminology.

You are confusing “scales” and “keys”. In any song in a major KEY the usual chord progressions are built around this pattern... 1 Major , 2 minor, 3 minor, 4 Major, 5 Major, 6 minor, 7 diminished. The chords within the key derive from the notes which are available to use in the scale. This link explains how the chords are built up from the scale notes... https://www.fundamental-changes.com/harmonising-the-major-scale/ So in the key of C the notes on the scale are C, D, E, F, G, A, B, C. Using only these notes the standard chords (Root/third/fifth) created are as follows... 1) C E G - C Major - interval between C&E is 4 semitones, a major 3rd, making this a major chord. 2) D F A - D minor - interval between D&F is 3 semitones, a minor 3rd interval, making this a minor chord 3) E G B - E minor - interval between E&G is 3 semitones, a minor 3rd interval, making this a minor chord 4) F A C - F Major - interval between F&A is 4 semitones, a Major 3rd interval, making this a major chord... and so on up the scale... 5) G B D - G Major 6) A C E - A minor 7) B D F - B diminished If you think about it simple songs on a major key don’t ONLY use major chords, there will be some minor chords thrown in, this relationship between the chords in a key explains why. Apologies for the God-bothering content but here’s the chord sheet for a song we do at church that demonstrates this for the key of C... there are the above minor chords scattered among the major chords... Understanding this principle is also really helpful in decoding/deciphering a new song a it gives a clue of what notes/chords might be available to use and might come up next...

Ah, couldn’t work it out when I enlarged it. So that’s a pretty strong mid cut and bass boost then.

That’s why they call you the working man...

Lol, it does t have to be Rush, or even Prog... here’s that big blue Ikea tray being put to use for a slice of 80s pop...

OK, so we’re all going stir crazy... here’s a little quiz I saw somewhere else to pass the time and channel all those pent up creative urges... Post up a recreation of a famous album cover using just bits and bobs found around your (locked down) house. First person to guess can then post their own and so on... I’ll start us off...

That’s always been my starting point. EQ at 12, VLE and VPF fully counter clockwise. As it is mostly my EQ is High and both Mids on noon. A slight touch of bass boost... maybe 1 o’clock, no VPF (never been a smile curve/mid cut fan) and a tiny touch of VLE (maybe around 8 o’clock). That’s a nice rich, punchy tone great for sitting in a mix with my basses and the way I play!

Completely agree about the VT Bass DI. Careful use of the “bite” button does add in a load of sparkly upper mid... kinda brings in a lot of that (what I think of as) “trade fair” tone, in a good way. Definitely worth exploring, especially with the “Character” control which allow you to vary the pedal’s core tone/modelling between a couple of classic amps and a more modern high gain tone.

Tiran Porter’s tone on this track sends shivers down my spine! Apologies for the God bothering content but I think the tone on this song is a great pick sound... Ironically reminds me a bit of Tony Butler’s tone back in the day with Big Country. Rather less God bothering... For all their Percy Jones-esque jazzy refinement those old Pro Series Wals could belt out a killer rock sound... And finally, always loved John Wetton’s bass tone on that first Asia album. The stabs about 1 min 50secs in are just immense, tone wise!

Just a quick Q... where do you have the VLE and VPF controls set? Full off? 12 o’clock? Somewhere else? They have a profound effect on the core tone of the amp. [Edit] Having said that, what EQ and gain settings are you using overall?

Jealous (of seeing Stevie, not peeing with Noel). Remember driving home one day in summer 1990 and randomly seeing a poster saying “SRV, Hammersmith Odeon, October 1990” and thinking “Wow, I'd love to see him live. I’m definitely booking tickets for that!” Then a week or so later the terrible news came through...

Something cool to get a Sunday morning started...

SRV

I love acid jazz but was only vaguely aware of Corduroy until their bassist did a chat at a SE Bass Bash a while back. So why all the cheesy cabaret stars? My dad ran the butchery department at Liptons supermarket in Truro in the late 70s but ran it like a proper family butcher’s shop, priding himself on great service to the customers (he got great Christmas boxes from the customers!). One of his customers was the manager of Talk of the West, “Cornwall’s Premier Night Spot” (read “only”). It was strict chicken in a basket circuit with variety acts and bands on the way down with warm up provided by the Viv Rodd Combo featuring Viv Rodd on the Hammond Organ. Dad would regularly get tickets for the family given to him as a tip - him, me and mum. Chicken and chips in a basket included. I was only 12 or 13 so was taken along on pain of death that if asked my age I was to say I was 15. It was never a problem because the manager had always reserved us a good table and greeted mum and dad with “Alfie, Ada! Lovely to see you! Come on in, I've got a nice table reserved for you.” No one questioned me after that! Saw some great acts there - all the 70s TV variety-show greats. They were all great and spotting the kid in the audience were really nice to me, chatting and giving me signed photos and the like. All except Mike and Bernie Winters... Mike was really nice but Bernie was a right #@%*... Best performer of all, and simply the nicest person to the punters was Roy Castle. Saw him every time he came down. Total gent.

Seen them too! Way past the actual having hits phase but they were professionally billed as The Merseybeats. But still fronted by Tony Crane.

Nope, seen ‘em both. And Paper Lace did “Billy Don’t Be A Hero” of course!