lemmywinks

Aye it's a good rehearsal space, we'd rehearse there even without a family connection (although we don't get a discount!) as I'm not keen on other local ones. Nice to have somewhere clean and warm where the provided equipment is adequate.

Yes that's our drummer!

I play in a party band called The Secrets but we do more out of town gigs really. Playing a wedding at Bartle Hall tonight in fact!

Thornton, well the derrière end of Thornton just before you get to Fleetwood.

Hahaha, I'm not sure there was CCTV then, certainly not in dark, dank Wigan!

I still remember getting a train from Poulton to Wigan to pick up a 5 string Warwick Streamer for £250, dodgy meet in a train station to hand over a bunch of used notes for a tatty looking gigbag. Best return journey I've had as there was nobody else in the carriage and I got to play my new bass all the way home. Good times!

I have a selection of OBBM speaker cables which I held onto even though I moved onto a powered cab, saw little point in parting with them in case I need them in the future. Fantastic quality cables which will last you a lifetime, could probably use them as a tow rope if your van breaks down.

Some of the comments do get a bit personal, I think it's fine to have a little giggle at some of his creations without getting too nasty, he seems like a pleasant enough bloke with some odd ideas about guitars. Not harming anyone, enjoys what he's doing and has some happy customers. I can see a genuine use for the wide neck guitar conversions even if the execution seems a bit Heath Robinson,. It's the odd bodging like swapping tuners, knobs and pickups for ill-suited non matching ones and trying to pass them off as upgrades that does me. As long as the buyers like 'em who cares though?

If you need a 5 then stick with a 5. If you need wider spacing than the 5 you currently own then sell it and get a different one. You don't need to break the bank, Sire 5 strings have 18mm spacing which is what I use. Sounds and plays every bit as good as the Warwicks and custom basses I've owned.

With the thicker straps get a 10mm (I think, don't quote me on that) hole punch and make a round hole in the strap for the straplock to go through instead of trying to force the leather onto it. There's a thread on here detailing how to do this. EDIT here it is:

I never feel any movement during transit, when the bag is zipped up it clasps the bass a bit more and the padded neck block holds it in place. I got mine pretty cheap (won an auction for a new one for £77) but I'd happily pay full price for one.

Used them for a decade, no problems. There's a guide on here somewhere that describes how to punch a hole in your strap which ensures a better fit. I just use the black washers off eBay now as I never take the straps off my basses.

Have a look: The front pocket isn't particularly bulky if it's empty and will flatten a bit against the bag. Here's mine fully laden with a large Fishman preamp, 3 cables, a compact power supply, 4 batteries and a few bits and bobs in the zip pocket at the front: With a J bass in the Blake has a a lot of free space around the edges, it was apparently designed to take all manner of basses and people on the other thread found the Chowny fits. I use mine with a compact bodied Cort and it's fine though, definitely protects the bass with no issues.

Haha yeah I started a thread on those cases when they were £30, I bought two! Possibly a bit on the big side but for the money they're the best out there, I prefer the pockets and features on the Gator as everything I use seems to have it's place. No doubting the quality of the Blake though - it's a true premium bag at flimsy gigbag money.

I use one of these for my Sire Jazz: https://www.thomann.de/gb/gator_g_pg_bass_guitar_bag.htm Rigid soft case which has a great array of features like a laptop/tablet pocket (I put my Fishman DI in it), cable velcro loops, string pocket on the front, large pocket at the headstock (can fit a standard DI pedal), inbuilt rain cover along with two handy pockets in the main compartment for 9v adapters, batteries etc. Although it's long it's very comfortable to carry and is very tough, the padding does a great job of protecting your bass and there is a large padded section at the bottom to cushion the strap button. Best gigbag you can get for £99 IMO and as good as much more expensive high end brands.

A Steinberger style cricket bat bass? Can get a cheap set of hardware on AliExpress for £30: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4-String-Headless-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Bridge-Guitar-Part-Black-Alloy-Guitar-Bridge-Musical-Instruments-Accessories/32818598478.html?spm=2114.search0104.3.93.a4fb20aaSvqUiz&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_4_10152_10151_10065_10344_10130_10068_10324_10342_10547_10325_10343_10340_10548_10341_10696_10192_10190_10084_10083_10618_10307_10820_10301_10821_10303_10869_10868_10059_100031_10103_10624_10623_10622_10621_10620,searchweb201603_45,ppcSwitch_4&algo_expid=37c2491b-3fbb-46ac-a85b-b899e503d12e-14&algo_pvid=37c2491b-3fbb-46ac-a85b-b899e503d12e&transAbTest=ae803_2&priceBeautifyAB=0

Good to hear from you David and welcome to the forum!

Load the PA and drums in first, keep everything off stage. I set up the subs and tops, run cables to the desk which our guitarist takes charge of as he does our sound usually. Set up lights and run cables for them, do mic cable and stage snake runs. Then drummer sets up as we bring the rest of our gear in, I only use a small powered wedge, our guitarist has a little combo and the keys player uses in-ears, then I set up a little monitor for me and the drummer so we can hear keys and vocals, everybody else has in-ears for this. Sound check, put the banners up (they're the pull up type) then have a pint, unless the load in is difficult we are done in under 45 mins easily these days, some gigs where the access door is right near the stage we're done in half an hour. We've made loads of adjustments to our gear (both PA and backline) to get into a routine where everybody has something to do, it's mainly me and the guitarist but lackey work like assembling mic stands and packing cases away is done by the keys player. Next step is wireless lights I think.

Have a look at the Bartolini TC3

Looks like distribution in the UK has switched from Proel to these guys: http://www.mslpro.co.uk I'd give them a shout.

I had the acoustic guitar version of that case many years ago, extremely high quality for a well priced semi rigid gigbag with tons of protection. Good job too as I sold it with my acoustic and the couriers bounced it around various depots for a week, guitar arrived back with me and then eventually to it's new owner completely unscathed. Pretty bulky though, moreso than the already chunky Blake gigbag.

It's a necessity for me, I didn't really want to move from 4 strings. Nothing particularly complex or flashy about 5 strings either I don't think - you see tons of people playing them and there's nothing difficult about it, in fact I can now play a fair few songs in our set without moving my left hand position so it looks much less impressive!

Worth having a look at this auction, I've got two and they're great quality cases being sold at clearance as the company is out of business I think: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Original-Blake-Bravo-Guitar-Case-Brand-New/323345917152?hash=item4b48eb24e0%3Ag%3AbhYAAOSwcs9a7Jv4&_sop=15&_nkw=blake&_from=R40&rt=nc BIN prices are now £48 which is still less than half the original price. There's a thread somewhere on here.

MarkBass Nano too, ex demo one here for a good price: https://www.livelouder.co.uk/product/markbass-nano-mark-300-bass-head-ex-demo/?gclid=CjwKCAjw4avaBRBPEiwA_ZetYuGqgcVfFUmg1B_atcC_QygVChy3PFBml40bF-NND95CLEnFaIEoIRoCKeAQAvD_BwE Has a Speakon combi jack and is 21cm x 20cm so more in line with the GK than the Trace.

It's about screwdrivers now bud, pay attention!