chris_b

Sometimes it's just better to pick a new name. Status Quo was called Traffic until Steve Winwood decided to use that name.

I've bought and sold basses using bank transfers, here and in Europe, pre B***** of course. It is a leap of faith but as I only buy and sell on Basschat and you can get a feel for the situation if you know the person or have seen them around for awhile. I probably wouldn't get into a sale with someone who had only just joined, or had no history. My preferred process is to meet up with cash. I've driven to Birmingham, Brighton and Margate and a few places in between for the right gear.

I've been playing bass since before many here were born, and for a year, just before Covid, I took lessons from a West End player. I told him he probably wasn't going to shift me out of my rut, but could he make it wider. He didn't teach me anything I didn't already know but he taught me how to use it in different ways. That improved my fretboard skills, improved my fluency and made me think differently. . . . took the blinkers off. Anyone who thinks lessons can't teach them anything, or lessons won't improve how they play, is wrong.

There is another bass player with my name in Australia! I discovered her when I was trying to set up my first email address. I think she plays classical and double bass, so our paths have never really crossed.

I just found this on Facebook. . . . I know a little something that so many do not appreciate about Donald, but that those of us who worked with him in the financial services game have known for many decades—LONG before he ever made a run at politics. His stated motives rarely reveal his true agenda. His showmanship and charisma bedazzles the uninformed, which is exactly how he likes it. He never signed a contract or met an agreement he wouldn’t violate or wriggle out of if it suited his hidden agenda. He never met an investor whose purse he didn’t consider his own in some strategic way. And he never met a human being he wouldn’t screw in order to advance or satisfy himself. If you want to understand his beef with Panama, don’t look at the canal to which he now points. Look at Trump enterprises and their fraught financial and criminal relationship with Panama, and look to the Russian oligarchs who bought condos in his Panama Tower. If you want to understand his fixation with Gaza, don’t look at the Palestinian or Israeli people; look at the real estate value he now perceives that Gaza holds, and he’d like to unlock. If you want to understand his insane, obsessive beef with energy renewable windmills, don’t look at the wind energy aspect; look at his beef with Scotland over his golf course and the nearby windmills that damaged his idea of its aesthetics. If you want to understand his irrational hatred of Obama, don’t look at the policies of the Obama administration; look to the annual press corp dinner where Obama poked fun at him and bruised his ego. If you want to understand his demonization of Democrats, look not to Democratic social policy, but to the fact they didn’t want him to run under color of their party. If you want to understand his hatred of “immigrants” don’t look to the actual contributions and challenges related to immigration, but to his own germophobia and personal disgust for all things “dirty and brown.” What he does SO masterfully, as many sociopaths do, is figure out how to align, however temporarily, his own personal agenda with the drives of those he can then USE to help him execute it. And the GOP fell right in line with that abusive strategy. The GOP now looks much like a battered wife who would LOVE to quit Trump, but who also knows their financial security, personal comfort, and social status would collapse if they ran away. And they fear they won’t get much sympathy or support from the people who tried to warn them not to marry the dude—a serial, liar, cheater, thief, sadist, and a generally Bad Person. Many of the GOP politicians today are busily masking their own abuse from the general public; at some point, however, as they watch their power continue to erode, their reputations get smashed, and themselves get blamed for the extensive abuse they now suffer, something’s gonna give. I don’t know what it is, but every bone in my body FEELS an energetic convergence heading toward a massive, MASSIVE explosion—coming soon. Author ~ Eilene Workman

In the 70's we had a band called Ramrod. I've heard of at least half a dozen other Ramrods. As was mentioned earlier, bands with the same name weren't problem if they were working in different parts of the country.

I get it. They were ready for the message they wanted. Trump gave them nothing but lies and because that's what they wanted to hear they lapped it up. Doesn't excuse the Republican states trying to fix the rules and laws to prevent a fair election in the future.

A couple of interesting interviews on Times Radio. . . . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w9h7QbwPjaw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CUMDP_GR54

Weren't they overthrown with the covert help of the US and their very bad economies? Over the years bad economies, including hundreds of thousands starving to death in Russia, China and North Korea didn't bring about a tipping point in those countries. Own the military and you're a dictator for ever, and you can guarantee that's at the top of Trump's To Do list. There is no right wing any more only Trump's MAGA Republican party. Why anyone would vote for dictatorship rather than Kamala Harris, beats me. Haven't they heard of tactical voting? Anyway, there is no alternative for the anti-Democratic voters, so they behave like turkeys voting for Christmas.

It beggars belief, but there is no reality in MAGA world. The "MAGA faithful" are in total denial, as are all cult members. When they are without medical care and social security, unable to afford the massive sales tax and can't afford to educate their kids or buy food, and Musk has turned the US Government into Musk Inc and put tens of thousands of Americans out of work, everything will still be Biden's fault and Trump will sort it all out!!

He's already got one. Bird flu is decimating US poultry flocks, 162,586,638 reported cases so far. Egg prices are rising when Trump said he would reduce them on day one! I don't think that will pass unnoticed. They've also had crossover and at least one human death.

Too much is being made of bad sounding rooms. 99% of the gigs I do are in venues with a good sound and most of the bad sounding rooms can be managed. So getting a good sound is still the most important thing for bass players. The sound of a bass can be a challenge but with good gear there is very little that can't be resolved. Badly designed cabs are a large part of difficult sounding rooms. Buy properly designed cabs you'll get a better sound right out of the box.

The Delta plane in Toronto was using AI auto pilot to land.

If you are in a band where those are 3 things you have to worry about then your tone and the sound of the band are the least of your problems.

I believe Charlie and Doug had the first Plek machine in the country and were responsible for a lot of the development in the early days.

If this were the case people wouldn't be trying to sound like Cliff Burton and Steve Harris etc. Heavy bands are no different to any other band. Your tone is the most important thing you can get right for you and for the band. All band members making their sound fit into the band mix is the next objective. Sounding good on stage and bad in the room, and vice versa, is a fact of life. . . . occasionally. . . . but if you get that on every gig, there is something wrong with your signal chain.

Sorry but I disagree 100% with that. Having a good balance in the band has nothing to do with each musicians sound. If you don't have a good balance then you have to get one. If you have someone in the band who won't compromise on tone or volume fire them. If you can't fire them drown them out. Once you fix the band issues you'd better not sound bad. So your tone does matter. I know from experience that if you sound good you will play better. IMO every part of the signal chain has an effect on the sound of your bass. It's accumulative, one thing can't make you sound great, but one thing can make you sound bad. If you've made the right decisions and your signal chain is working well, you've got yourself a unicorn rig. Now you just have to combat the room!!

All OK for me Windows 8.1 Luddite

Other normal stuff people can't do. . . . We've been asked to put digital clocks up during University exams. . . . because many students can't read the time from traditional clocks!!! Sounds like something is missing in their education.

My wife still laughs about my dance moves from the 70's!! Strange, cos I'm certain they were the height of cool.

Really? Most professional PA systems are powered by D class amps.

It might be difficult for the Blue states to actually cede from the Union, but they can stop paying the Federal Government their taxes. Without the money being distributed from Blue states to Red states, the Red states will quickly go bankrupt.

I'm a Precision guy, so I want fat, warm, articulate and clean. Thump and low mid fullness required in spades.