BillyBass

I recently learnt 'Limelight' it took me absolutely ages to memorise it, particularly the bassline during the guitar solo, there is so little repetition. I would spend a few days on it, put it to one side then come back the following week. I still haven't 'nailed it' I still make the odd mistake or hesitate here and there but I don't need to check a tab or my notes any more. There is something really rewarding about learning a song by Rush, it's a bit like climbing a mountain.

I learnt 'Down in a Tube Station at midnight' by The Jam over the last couple of days and our drummer has requested we do 'Decode' by Paramore, so that's next on the list.

There goes Concorde again - Native Hipsters

My band does this (and a few other songs that go lower than E) and I'm either going to buy the hipshot Xtender or go the 5 string route. I don't want to manually detune or bring two basses.

Top of the Pops - The Rezillos Banana splits - The Dickies Telly programmes that long ago bit the dust

"Armalite rifles...Police and IRA...Armalite rifles...use them every day" Gang of Four Holiday in the Sun by the Sex Pistols, with lyrics about going under or over the Berlin Wall '1 2 3 4 what are we fighting for? Hell I don't give a damn, we're going to Vietnam. 567 open up the pearly gates, well I ain't got time to wonder why, were all going to die' by Country Joe and the Fish

Do Seymour Duncan do Big Macs?

Using rehearsal time for learning songs is a big waste of time and money. Songs should be learnt at home and rehearsed and nailed in the studio.

What @dave_bass5 @inthedoghouse and @Lfalex resonates with me. I always had a day off work before rehearsals so that I could learn and practise stuff for the following day and the drummer and myself have been pretty strict about only bringing in others that share our dedication. We have a guitarist now that seems to be as keen as us but we had to let the previous guitarist go as he had too many family commitments. We are serious and have no time to be wasted by others that aren't.

There is a lot to be said for buying from a bricks and mortar shop. The Bass Gallery and GuitarGuitar in Camden are not too far from me and are quite close to our rehearsal studio. I have made good use of the Bass Gallery and if I buy online, I'll do my best to use GuitarGuitar so I can take anything faulty back to the Camden branch, and I have had to do this a couple of times.

We have no pets in my house, but if my missus bought some cats and they did that, I'd be looking for a Korean restaurant to take them off our hands.

During the first lockdown I did very little work and averaged about 2 hours practice per day. I'm working now but I still manage several hours a day on my days off. Lockdown has really been good for my bass playing, but the bass, for me, is an obsession.

As an electrician, my first thoughts would be that the issue was with the kit, not the electrical installation. Mains in the UK is dirty but its not that dirty. The 'cleanest' socket you would have in your house is one with nothing else plugged into that particular circuit. Try plugging it into different sockets on different circuits, assuming you have more than just one ring final socket circuit in your home, and unplug other stuff from sockets in the same circuit. if the socket itself has reversed polarity, i.e. the neutral conductor is connected to the line terminal in the socket and line to neutral, then this could well cause issues.

I think Eich have shown a bit of foresight including the 8 ohm option. At least you can then pair it up with a second one to get the most out of your amp.

How is the hand? Any progress with physio yet? I'm a Spurs fan, so I couldn't stick any West Ham paraphernalia on my pedal board, even if it was the best thing since sliced bread. I am getting along quite well with my DI-2112 though.

I looked into the Stella recently but, as you pointed out, Becos haven't got their heads around the Brexit related additional paperwork so aren't selling to us any more! So how exactly did you get one?

I've bought a few things from the GuitarGuitar website and have had a few dealings with the store in Camden Town. They have always provided excellent service, I would certainly use them again. My experience with PMT has been a lot less positive

The Three Reverends, sounds like the name of a band.

Nice looking Reverends there. I picked one up in a shop once, it was really light, felt like it was made of balsa wood. The orange one looks interesting, half P bass, half Stingray.

In the UK most MarkBass amps are priced in the mid range, more expensive than TC Electronic, Peavey and Hartke but considerably cheaper than Aguilar, Bergantino and your Mesa stuff. I believe they are considered more up market in the US, perhaps due to their price? I have a MarkBass amp but wouldn't brag about it, they aren't that good; it has good EQ points, fits on my cab and was on a deal. If I had one of your new TT-800s though I'd certainly show off😉 A friend of mine works in a backline/PA hire company in London, renting out kit for gigging bands in London of an evening and receiving it all back in the early hours (at least before Covid). In his experience the MarkBass kit was reliable as he saw few returns of faulty kit.

The 12" Barefaced cabs are painted, the 10"s are tolexed.

That would have been the smart thing to do. Next time!

I will do!