chris_b

The crowd are very generous with the bucket. Which is why the management's short-sightedness is going to lose them a great earner. I like the Welly boot idea. Nice one. We also have a card reader, which gets used a lot.

My first thought was Jim Horn. Looks close. . . .

Sorry, spelt his name incorrectly. . . . still isn't Emilio Castillo. . . . he's not black. Doesn't look like Doc Kupka either, but this was a long time ago, so I'm less certain about that.

A 2 x 8 cab wouldn't be enough for me. I did a duo restaurant gig last month, with a guitarist singer, and I took a 110. With a drummer the smallest rig I'd use would be 2 x 110's or a good 112. I also use one or two 110's at home. You can always turn down, but turning up doesn't always work.

A major university in London started to move towards course work instead of sitting exams. Now they're moving back to the exam room due to the amount of AI students were submitting as their own work!! We're also seeing smart watches being used for cheating in exams, alongside multiple phones secreted in socks and anywhere else they can think of. I guess technology has always been used for cheating, but these days it's being used by students on an industrial scale. AI is a powerful tool for good and bad, depending on the person using it.

I don't know who it is, but that's not Emile Castillo on sax. Great band though.

The band leader is negotiating, but they think they are already paying enough. They actually pay us about half (so it's a very good night for them) and we make the rest up with the tips. This is a pay cut for us on a very successful money making night for them. I can't see us being there more than a few months longer.

I've been house bass player for a jam that's been running on the first Monday of the month for 26 years. We've seen 4 or 5 managers come and go in that time and the new management has decided that they don't want us sending the bucket around! They don't like the look (ffs). They get about 4 people in on a Monday night and about 100 on our jam night. We're looking for a new venue.

I'd like to see anyone use AI to copy how I play. Good luck to them.

Beat me to it!!

My guess is that very few players are going to gig with these combos. Looks to me like they're intended for music rooms, studios and home players.

Sorry, but no!!

I have a Sadowsky pre amp which is excellent. So effective it almost makes my Cort sound like a Sadowsky.

I had the Road Ready 115EV (and 210EV) version and permanently damaged my back. At one point I stupidly tried to buy this 215 cab but couldn't even get it into the car on my own!!

Does that mean actually made in the UK? Supporting the Chinese and US economies is something we should all be questioning these days.

IMO Aguilar amps take some beating, I've been playing them for over 10 years now, but my replacement list would include Mesa Boogie 800D, Bergantino Forte HP2 and Genzler.

My experience too. . . . wish I'd thought of that saying!!

I've played in many bands where the band leader hadn't bothered to learn the song properly. Trying to get them to change just causes grief, so I shrug my shoulders and play their version. I played with one idiot who couldn't get the arrangements right from one gig to the next! Several times his " impromptu changes" caught me out and it was very annoying to be told that I needed to learn the songs!! Apart from him it was a good band, with good songs and good players, so I stuck it out. In cover bands I prefer to be playing the original because IME they never rehearse, so it's better that everyone sits at home learning the original arrangement and it's easier for deps to seamlessly fit in.

I don't dream of basses. I own, play and gig the best basses I can find, so every day I’m playing my dream bass. The next bass is always an upgrade, so the next one will be an even better "dream" bass. Currently I'm gigging a Mike Lull PJ5, which I've been playing for 15 years and a Sadowsky RV5 jazz, which I’ve been playing for 9 years. I've seen basses that are just as good, but "just as good" doesn't make the sale. I'm (happily) at the stage were better basses don't come along very often.

I’ve done charity gigs. They cost me money, so I expect to be paid. I object to the expectation that it's OK for musicians to give their time for free and no one else is expected to. They don't use that line on the bar, venue or catering companies!! I guess being a musician isn't a real job, so it doesn't matter! Giving your time for free for charity? A neighbour used to be a senior executive in the Red Cross. You wouldn't want to know what his salary was, and pension now is!!!

Yeah. Those 6 string bassists don't have any limits!!

I believe there have been manufacturing delays because Barefaced has moved the business to a different location. That's always going to slow things down.

This has to be a mistake1! I'd email Alex , explain what they've done and ask them to send you a cab that matches your current cab. IMO it's reasonable to expect newer models to match older models, unless they've highlighted any changes.

In a 212 discussion, I'd question whether we need a 212 at all. Using the right cab might mean you only need a 112. With cabs I always used to over compensate. I prefer a clean sound so if 1 would be good enough I'd use 2. On very loud gigs I used to run a Berg CN212 and Berg AE112. Then I switched to a Barefaced Super Compact and Super Midget, and found that these cabs were louder than the 312 stack. I also screwed up once on our jam night. . . . I forgot to plug in the SC! I only discovered that at the end of the night, so the whole gig had been run using only the SM. We had some heavy handed players that night including a reggae player who doesn't take any prisoners and the SM was loud enough for all the guys who got up. Maybe Alex's claim that 1 BF 112 is as loud as other manufacturers 212's might be true. Since then I've used one Super Compact on several occasions when I would have previously used 2, and not found it wanting.

I was driving past last week and decided to visit Bass Direct. I haven't been there since the upstairs was opened up as their secondhand dept. I tried a couple of fantastic basses, had a long chat with Mark. As always, had a great time being surrounded by great gear. I also tried to visit Bass Brothers, who are only down the road. As they are appointment only I sent an email via their web site, giving them several days notice, but they didn't bother to answer. Thumbs down from me.