Dr.Dave

I'd happily gig with a Squier Affinity Jazz and to spend the change on a few pints and a painted hussy.

Played a battle cruiser called the Galway in Retford last weekend. Let the singer ( who was trembling like a crapping dog all night ) sound check my mic because I was busy with a pint of Dancing Dragonfly and couldn't be bothered to do it myself............ came home with Covid !! Whoopee - 2 years working in a covid jabbery and being Santa to grubby working class rugrats and I've dodged every bullet only to catch it from a shared mic !!! No symptoms BTW. I've always said bugs can't live on me. They take one look , say phuq that for a game of soldiers and go elsewhere.

What's on my set list .............. Footprints and spilled beer mostly !

Sunday morning conversation..... Wife - what was the band called last night ? Hub - can't remember , I had a few too many Wife - were they any good ? Hub - can't remember that much about them... Oh - they had a right gobby bastard telling nob gags with a stupid looking bass , I remember him , I'll go see him again. My job is done !

Here's some beer bottle labels under a clear pickguard on my 'ray.

There's a simple solution to pick guard woes. But a clear one. You can put any design you want underneath it and change it whenever you feel like it. I've got beer bottle labels under one of mine. I'm going for green shield stamps next. I have black and white union jacks on another - just a design I printed off the internet. You can buy sticker sheets cheaply - wrapping paper - newspaper articles etc etc.

He's got a shed load - literally and it's a big shed - of amps and other kit. You name it. Why he doesn't bring a spare I don't know.

Guitar player's Marshall went west during the first song. We trooped off again while his mate went and got his from home a few mins away but it ended up costing us our break as we had to be done by a certain time. Pity because I took my newly purchased Ampeg PF350 along - intention was to use it 2nd set but because we went straight through I stuck with my TC. I took my stack knob Jap Jazz. The sound cuts through two Gibson/Marshall set ups better than my Precisions do but it does seem low output compared to them. I have Duncan 1/4 pounders on both Precisions so maybe that's why although I know a lot of folk seem to think Jazz basses are low in output. I do like it but it showed another of the reasons I always preferred a Precision which is because of the shape of the Jazz body it wouldn't sit on the larger of my stands at all and was a bit wobbly on the small one. Guitar player said to get a hanging stand but it's no lightweight and not sure i'd trust it.

Gig - no problem. Lifting in and out - no problem though I do sometimes put a sports support belt round me. Short drive home - no problem. Long drive home.... I sieze up in the car. Before now I've had to crawl out head first. When I get in I have to be careful how I sit back or I won't get out of the chair again. I go to bed like a thousand year old man curled up in a ball and wake up the next day like nothing happened. I could sit at home and watch Ant and Macyntyre get talented in a love jungle or whatever it's called or I can think to hell with it and crack on. Sadly , I know some of you have proper serious back issues and it must be frustrating beyond words.

I don't think band splits always have to be equal. If someone offers you a gig and will pay you £x but you're fully aware that they'll personally be making more than you will then you're free to either accept or decline. The higher up the chain you go the more common an arrangement this becomes.

All that matters is that everyone is open and honest. It doesn't need to be equal so long as everyone's happy with their agreed lot.

Don't forget my oft repeated mantra which came courtesy of a Pat Travers interview. Buy the bass that feels right , anything else you want can be fixed with a screwdriver , a soldering iron or a spray gun. In this case you probably only need the spray gun

Everything apart from speaker cabs but I use two anyway. Spare amp , Spare bass , spare mic and stand - every single lead/cable/whatever. And I never forget my golden rule which is if you're using a 20 foot cable then a 10 foot one is NOT a spare. I suppose my second bass isn't really a spare because it's different - as is my amp for that matter - but it allows me to carry on which is the point.

Looks like I just joined up. Bought a pf350 , basically because I always wanted an ampeg and something that will fit into my cajon bags with a Barefaced one10 like my TC heads do. Not tried it in anger yet but one observation - why on earth put a recessed air intake on top of it ?? You may as well take the case off and empty your hoover bag inside it. Plus - somebody somewhere is going to stand a drink on it. Guaranteed. Then what's going to happen ? What were ampeg thinking with this one ? Anyway I'm having the top of the case off and a session with the vac brush nozzle and some switch cleaner. I'll cut a little foam insert to sit in the recess when it's not being used. I don't have the drinks issue because I have a drink holder attached to my mic stand. It's a drum accessory I think.

I play about three random notes to make sure everything's working then hit the bar !

My Chorus pedal arrived on time , safe and sound . Many thanks , my friend.

I remember we had albums by folk like Max Bygraves and Val Doonican and my Dad was a huge fan of the Black and White Minstrels - in fact it was probably seeing the Black and White Minstrels on telly that sparked me into wanting to be an entertainer of some sort. I remember thinking how brilliant it must be to be on a stage making people happy like they did. There was another thing though. The Sound of Music. My Mum loved it - saw the movie several times including dragging me off to see it when I was about 6. Played the album over and over. I hated it with a passion I can't properly describe and it was forever banished to the far corners of my mind ! A few years back it was on telly at Christmas. From the second it started to the final credits I sat there knowing every line from every song fighting back tears and thinking of my Mum. Clearly all those tunes have remained in my brain all these years and as a result what influence must they have had on me as a musician ? Where the sentimentality sprang from I don't know but - as the saying goes - sentimentality if for those who want the luxury of real emotion but cant afford it.

That's the principled response. I took the ' get the cash and do one to Lanzarote for a fortnight with it' approach.

I had this embuggerance with a flight cased acoustic I'd taken as a trade. Strictly collection only including meet up option. No shipping under any circs , do not bid unless you'll collect etc etc. Bloke from London bought it - straight away he paid and asked when I would be posting it. I said not happening , you should have read the description correctly etc etc. Now it gets good..... Bloke called me a racist. Said I was only being horrible to him because he was Asian ( as if I can tell his background from a username - plus how does he know my heritage isn't the same as his ) and that he wasn't able to read the description properly because he didn't properly understand English - and that I should have taken that into account. At this point I googled his name as ebay had sent me his details - turns out he was a consultant at a London hospital. A Doc working in London that can't understand English but can communicate perfectly well enough to accuse me of all sorts ??!!! Anyway - I wanted his money and he was the only bidder at my slightly inflated starting price so I just sent it to him , leaving me a few quid down. Plus I was rattled with the racist thing. Hopefully it arrived in little pieces and his wedding veg has since dropped off.

He's well known for playing Precisions but clearly , judging by the other comment , you were joking anyway.

The stack knob arrived on Friday and got used in anger last night. Well pleased. It cuts through two Gibson/marshall set ups better than the Precision's which is why I got it. It's a CIJ re-ish. As are the heavily fettled 54 blue flower and the Daphne blue 50s Strat. The sunburst Precision is 50 years old this year , I've had it for 45 of them. The Dimension is a tarted up Squier made in... wherever they make Squiers.

Just come in - 62 stack knob CIJ re-ish c2002 with pre-CBS terrier ! Sounds growly when pushed... and so does the Jazz !

Just bought a pedal from Patrick - arrived quickly and well packed and I'm very happy. Thanks , mate.