Richard R

A thoroughly fab day, lots of great basses and amps. The Jabba semi-hollow fretless was fantastic, shame my fretless accuracy isn't. @fiatcoupe432's Passini with the picolo strings was fun too. However it's the people that make the event worthwhile. Talking to friends from previous events, making new ones, that's the fun. The basses are just an excuse. Many thanks to @scrumpymike and family for the organisation!

At this rate those of us getting there roughly on time will be accused of being tardy latecomers with no commitment. Especially by Frank and Stubbs, nasty pair when they get together and gang up on you. Good job they were never in the same year at school. Or the same school for that matter. Time to do an LF test then, assuming all is well, put some fuel in the car.

I no longer have my Basschat lanyard. It's heroic sacrifice is documented here: I don't have the time today to print off a cool badge. I will be wearing my profile picture though 😊

Is Ruby an Austin/BL Mini, or a BMW MINI? If it's the former then you are the next Dr. Who and I claim my £5!

I have managed to miss this entire fight story, and therefore the drug reference. 😅 So clomifene might have a use among middle-aged bassists after all.

🥳🥳🥳

From Wikipedia: "Clomifene, also known as clomiphene, is a medication used to treat infertility in women who do not ovulate, including those with polycystic ovary syndrome. Use results in a greater chance of twins.It is taken by mouth once a day, with a course of treatment that usually lasts for 5 days." Unless it also enhances rhythm and groove in middle-aged bassists I don't think it's something we're likely to encounter on Sunday 😉 I'll stick to asking folks to weigh their basses and starting a BC-wide database.

This is the first draft Bass Weights spreadsheet. The first sheet is for input, the other tabs have a couple of example graphs. I've not included too many data fields but enough to provide some stats. Not quite sure how the best way to do this is, but Mike's suggestion is that we set it up in the small room and periodically have weigh-ins. Hopefully there will be something interesting in the data - I was tempted to include "weight of owner" as a column to see if there is a correlation. Bass Weights.xlsm

Better still give the big foam rubber hands to the person doing the slapping 👐

Absolutely superb result! Like it a lot. I would send the pix to the contact you made at Xotic, thanking them for their help and that this bass had nice wood under the finish. I would also create a Word document of all the steps you did (pretty much this thread!), print it out, and keep it with the bass. Then when you sell it on there is a) provenance that it really is a refinished Xotic and not a neck on a random body and b) a neat record for the next owner.

Three in a row here! 😁

So many 5ers on my bucket list in one place!!

Are you staying over on the Saturday night, or speeding along the M4 at silly o'clock in the morning?

Thanks @scrumpymike. It's about 2½ hours for me, so I am unlikely to be there before 09:30.

Dumb question: what time can we arrive? I've read through the thread but can't see it anywhere. Apologies if it's on every page and I can't see for looking!

I always liked the Riley Elf. https://www.carandclassic.com/list/37/riley+elf/ Not much space for basses though.

We recently blew up the electronics in one of our Yamaha speakers - testing an old amp that it transpires was both faulty and dangerous! If nobody else wants them then I'll relieve you of the Crescendo parts. If anyone else does then they can have them.

Be careful, you could get almost anything if the denizens of the DOI read that!

I've found the Valenti strings I won at a previous bash but then mislaid. 5 string set, 34" medium scale Nickel. I'll bring those for the raffle.

If anyone has any use for some of these then let me know. Free to a good or bad home. They are similar to film cannisters, but have silica dessicant in the lid. Good for dust, small screws, etc etc.

Depends on the colour. I have a dozen or so still remaining, but will not be getting any more. As I have switched to a continuous glucose monitor I no longer get them. So if you do want any let me know.

Welcome aboard! Shout out to local music shops, especially the independents 🥳 I would strongly recommend taking a look at both StudyBass.com and Scotts Bass Lessons. I was an newbie 4 years ago, aged 51, and thise sites were fantastic for getting the basics right. StudyBass.com is completely free and isn't as shouty as Scott can be. Getting things like hand position, bass position, how to avoid injury and RSI are really important. Then there is the nominally less interesting stuff like scales and chords, but mix those in with tunes you like to build good muscle memory. Welcome to a great hobby, and a friendly forum. 🎵🎵

Distinctive 👍

Sometimes things go well, and occasionally they go very well. I was "depping" this morning with another band at church. Normally my son plays bass and his wife plays flute in that band, as they were away I was on bass, the normal keyboard player dusted off his violin, and we had another keyboard player who is really a classical pianist. So apart from the BL on rhythm guitar it was all new instruments. Everything clicked, it was the most enjoyable service I have ever played, and the best I have ever played as well. There was pulse when there needed to be, space when required, eveyone worked seamlessly together. The keys and piano interwove beautifully as if they had been playing together forever. I still messed up in one song, but as I dropped out the piano filled straight in as if it was planned. More importantly the congregation thought the music was good and really sung well. It was a completely new experience for me, I hope it's not unique! Have a blessed week everyone.