TrevorR

Love my MarkBass rig. One helpful hint. When dialling in your tone start with the VLE and VPF filters OFF (fully counter clockwise). Then use the VLE gently to tame the tweeter if needed and the VPF if you want to dial in any smile curve (mine stays resolutely OFF, if I was a slapper I’d probably love it dialled up).

That would be my feeling... if it’s a pub gig where you’re playing to the pub’s punters and there’s also party/hen night etc that happens to be in that evening then you’ve just got a built in audience who are bevvied up and ready to hit the dance floor. Take that as a win! And point out to the landlord At the end of the evening what a successful, floor-filling band you are, and yes you would like to book 3 more gigs please... If you’re booked for a private function by those throwing the party then band rates rise accordingly. If you’re booked for a pub gig At pub gig rates and you arrive to discover it’s a private party... that’s more tricky.

In a Post Script... being a bit sad like that I looked up the credits for the Frozen II soundtrack. Turns out that bass is courtesy of Abe Laboriel Sr, percussion by Alex Acuna (ex of Weather Report) and the absolutely spot on 80s power ballad parody guitar lines were by Dean Parks. Which is appropriate since, between them, he and Steve Lukather probably provided the guitar on 90% of those big, cheesy 80s power ballads in the first place! No wonder it sounded so perfect (and so good).

Although, to be fair, if they were to sack the bass player too... just watch out Twittersphere!

Took the tiddler to see Frozen II this morning. It was, of course, a properly good Disney romp and perfectly targeted at its demographic. The big songs are equally bombastic as Let It Go and will be torturing parents for months to come. BUT by far the best thing was that the creators have sneaked the ultimate 1980s rock power ballad video right into the centre of the film. One of the characters, Christoph, sings an “I’ve lost my girl” tear jerker called “Lost In The Woods” which musically and visually pulls out every Total Eclipse Of The Heart, I Wanna Know What Love Is, Against All Odds cliche... from the framing of an opening shot in the forest which has a branch and pine cone in the foreground so it looks like the character is singing into an old valve condenser mic on a boom stand, to the walking in and out of rays of light.... from a close up with the character’s hair blowing just right in the breeze as he stares off into the distance to the silhouette of a lost love in the distance which turns out just to be a shadow... it was all there perfectly done. None of this would possibly resonate with an 8 year old but this middle aged bloke was grinning from ear to ear. And then when the Bo Rhap style choir of reindeer turned up in spotlights around Christoph’s head I nearly wet myself laughing! Well played Disney. I’ve already suggested to @cetera that he should include it in the set list for the Rock Anthems and Power Ballads show, “Leather & Lace”, with which he tours the country!

My Nots are more defined than my Hots... so... NOTS Oval Lakland bridges Oval Delano pickups Cream pickup covers (like 70s Di Marzios) Modern single cuts Comedy (unergonomic) bass and headstock shapes Warwick flat D shaped necks Maple fingerboards VV wiring, give me a toggle switch or a blend knob any day Lack of frets More than 4 strings...

So sorry to hear about your decision @Lozz196 but it sounds like, in your heart of hearts, it’s the right one for you at this moment in time. As others have said, I’m sure that you’ll find an outlet which gives you the buzz of playing to a room full of people who are loving it but which is sympathetic to whatever balance you need for your physical and mental health.

As with any instrument it's what you do with it. My chum Victoria (Berklee graduate in performance and composition no less) moved over from guitar and keys as her main instrument to uke about 10 or 12 years ago. Here she is doing an impromptu slot at a Never The Bride gig about 9 years ago with the band comping along to one of her tunes... We'd got chatting to Nikki at the interval and she insisted that Victoria do a number...

Old bass day? New old bass day? But either way I’ve now got an old friend back in my hands... back at the SE Bass Bash last month I was chatting to @cetera about my old Frankenjazz and he asked why I never brought it to the Bass Bashes? I explained that about 7 or 8 years ago I’d loaned it to a producer chum for a project and he loved it so much he kept asking to hold onto it for a bit longer. He really loved it and used it on a lot of projects. Months turned into years and I never had the heart to ask for it back. “But it’s YOUR bass, man!” Was Gary’s comment. Well from then on I kept hankering to get it back... more and more... so the other week I dropped him a line and on Monday we met up and swapped it back. I got the bass off eBay about 12 or more years ago from a web shop called Build-a-bass with the idea that it would be the basis for customising. It was back when you could get 2 dollars to the pound so it really was a steal! The story goes that Goerdt from Build-a-bass bought up a load of bankrupt/lawsuit stock from a small builder in Rhode Island (I think) who was building slightly too good Jazz bass copies back in the early 90s and has since been selling the fully loaded bodies and necks as parts. It all sounds a bit suss but, to be fair, the build quality is really good - including the quality of the ash body, the finish and the maple in the neck. Plus when I popped off the scratch plate the whole cavity was fully copper foil shielded and there was a “Sept 91” QA sticker... The neck isn’t as narrow as some Jazzes at the first fret with a bit more meat - which I really love. I like a “proper” Jazz neck, but I like this more! The plan was to change the tuners which were not the best quality, throw on a Badass II, swap the pickups and add a preamp. Of those I only put on some Hipshot tuners, added some Graphtech saddles and put in an Audere Jazz plate. The pickups sounded great and I never had the feeling I needed to change them. Keeping the BBOT bridge also retained the through body stringing. It’s great to have it back. It still feels and plays great and sounds fabulous to my ears. Can’t wait for an opportunity to properly put it through its paces...

Nah, turns out it was a misprint. Hope that @Billy Apple had a nice couple of weeks in Crewe!

Or have “Easy” by The Commodores as their first dance...

If it is a splinter (not 100% convinced but still...) then a baking soda poultice can work a treat for pulling it out... https://www.solvhealth.com/blog/5-creative-ways-to-remove-a-splinter

Using flash for gig photography (as a pro/semi-pro) would be one of the quickest ways to get yourself ejected from the building! Or at least produce only photos of an artist scowling at you. Even presuming that your flash had the reach to be effective across that range rather than just mess with your exposure. It’s all about wide aperture, balancing “film speed” with image quality, balancing shutter speed with exposure... ...not using flash!

To be honest I've be reluctant to store an instrument in the loft. In your situation I'd probably just stick them at the back of a wardrobe with shirts and coats hanging in front of them. Burglars are, by nature, opportunist and in and out quickly. They'll go for visible, portable, easily sellable stuff like consumer electricals, jewellery etc. They're not going to be looking around in clothing wardrobes or the cupboard under the stairs etc where you'd not usually find the easy, high value stuff.

Good news!!!

Martin, Sorry to have been the potential bearer of bad news. Hope that it all gets sorted out amicably and without kerfuffle.

I’m pretty sure it’s in breach of the Gambling Act. I’ve emailed Martin Sims at Enfield this morning via their FB site saying he should check it out and pointing to some Gambling Commission web links. Let’s see if it’s still up there by tomorrow... Maybe you’ll be lucky if they do a Big Bass GIVEAWAY @LewisK1975

Easy... I’d have three models... Mark 3 Wal four string. Flamed sycamore top with a translucent blue burst finish and matching headstock. Black hardware. Mark 1 Wal four string. Olive ash top in natural finish. Matching headstock. Silver hardware. Mark 3 Wal four string. Beech top. Natural finish. Silver hardware. I’m a man of simple and predictable (if eyewateringly expensive) tastes. And the bad news... Wal don’t do “endorsements” so I’d be paying full whack, just like anyone else. And waiting two years for them.

Excellent news! Good to hear that, once again, us having fun also helps some good causes.

You know, normally I really don’t like modern single cuts... but that is a really lovely, visually well balanced body shape! Lovely. Can’t wait to see it finished!

I’ll bring along my usual big bundle of review CDs and a Q-Tron that I won last year and never found a use for.

Change mine once a year on New Year’s Day (or the day after), whether they need it or not (they never do).

Those of you stressing about pops and crackles when unplugging an active bass, this is your friend...

And Vivaldi ‘s Four Seasons... or was it Four Cheeses...?

Yup, active players soon get used to unplugging their basses as they put them back on the stand after playing. Most basses use a stereo jack socket - TRS. When you put a (mono) jack in the R & S complete the power circuit as well as acting as negative/earth for the signal. Except on Wals where the socket actually has a switch built in which the jack plug physically closes! Typical Wal bit of engineering. Unplugging every time and a battery will last months, a year even! Plugged in the battery will just go after a bit, depending on how power hungry the preamp is. Active Bass 101...