Paul S

I was there. I am a L42 fan and have seen them more than any other band. Not because I am a huge fan of slap bass but I believe Mark King to be the most accomplished and complete bass player I have ever seen - his finger style playing is remarkable. I especially enjoy the early jazz funk stuff immensely. Not so much the pop phase. Anyhoo, I missed the earliest years but, since the mid-80s, I've seen them probably 2 or 3 times per tour whenever they tour. Which, in recent years, has been every other year for a big tour with, usually, a London gig in the non-touring year. So I've seen them probably dozens of times over the past few years, including locally at the Cliff's Pavillion in Southend (well, Westcliff, really) just last week on this tour. I. Mark's vocals. I don't kow when you saw them last but I would say, overall, his voice is much improved over how it was 2 or 3 years ago. He lost a lot of weight and his voice improved (as a result? Fitter?). But for sure the ballads were poor last night, compared to last week. If you last saw him 10 years ago, for example, then I would agree it is not as good as it was but it has since got worse and then better! As an aside, Mike Lindup's voice has improved tremendously in the past couple of years. TBF it needed too - always rather thin and weedy, it seems a lot more like the 'old days' and he can more ably carry the songs he sings main vocal on. I believe he is doing a lot of solo stuff at the moment so maybe using it more. II. Again, no chat is how it has been the past couple of years, especially when doing 'album anniversery tours' like this. They just play the album then the hits. Roachford, imo, spolit the entire set by not shutting up. I don't see it as adding value at all, I just find it irritating. Then again, he has just the one decent tune so has to pad it out. And why go through all the false endings/audience joing in etc then carry on (over time) and finish on a weak tune no-one has heard before? Mystifying. Anyhoo, I digress. III. Agree regarding the lighting, which did seem pared down for this tour compared to previous years, for sure. A reasonably complex light show was always a part of the gig but not this time. The back projection didn't seem to get used as much last night as it was last week, can't imagine why. Personally, overall I find the band as good as they ever have been. The brass section adds value and Nathan is a great fit, busy filling the sound and vocals. Phil Gould left big shoes to fill but Pete Ray Biggin just blows my mind. Perhaps the Sirens tour was their peak but I still enjoy them. Big negative for me - I thought it a shame that Mark King has started to introduce more showboat slap bass stuff again. There was a period of some years when he didn't do that but, on this tour, it seems to have crept in again. No need - it aint the 1980s any more. Just goes to show how two people can see the same show and leave with different feelings about it.

Ditto, Royal Albert Hall last night. Front seats of a box, £60 each. Ate at a Lebanese restaurant beforehand (yum), £65 for us both. Travel to and fro with a railcard £40 for both of us. Been looking forward to last night all year and considered it to be fantastic value. I guess it all depends how much each individual values going to see live music - there is no 'one size fits all' opinion. Personally, it is one of the things I enjoy most in life, more so than making music, so I am more than happy to pay for it.

IIRC the Hercules comes with an adaptor to screw to the top of a mic stand.

Assuming clip/fix onto mic stand, I've used both Hercules and K&M. The Hercules lasted longest in respect of my affections. I initially tried to save a quid or two and bought cheaper but regreted it.

I lean the other way. I'd be interested to know why you feel the need to take things up a level after playing for such a long time. Seems a shame to be getting stressed if there is no particular goal other than improvement for improvement's sake. It may not be your best course of action if you think about it. We are all different, I know, but this is my take. I am at best a mediocre bass player. Yet I have been fortunate enough to play in bands with some of the finest local musicians. I came to the conclusion that it actually doesn't matter that I haven't got a portfolio of technical chops. If found having a good ear and a good attitude got me most of the way. So I'd say accept who you are, what you do, relax and grab the enjoyment back. When it stops being fun it is time to stop, IMO.

I had one that I modded to sit on a tripod stand a la NS Design. I found that easier to manage, albeit the playing experience wasn't quite authentic DB Also moved the bridge up a bit so it would take regular DB strings.

I had one for a brief period, moved it on to someone here who had been yearning for one for some years - maybe he'll chip in. They are nice, more organic sounding than the Hohner B2 range.

That is grossly unfair, as it happens. I have had a handful and consider them to be have been excellent value for money. And David is a great guy to deal with.

Kind words, Nik, and the same back atcha. Did you have your eyes on anything in particular? I'm thinking maybe not the Harley Benton... 😂

Nik bought my Aria bass in the easiest of transactions. But, apart from that, he is such a lovely chap! We spent far too long chatting about gear, droughts and Life in general. An absolute pleasure doing business.

Well, it is short scale. There is a new fretboard with extra frets on the old long scale neck giving you the smaller intervals between frets. And if that is someone's reason for liking a short scale then I guess that is a winner. But not for me - I would prefer the whole thing scaled down with 20 frets on a shorter neck with the associated reduction in weight. Maybe, even better, a 32" scale, with appropriate body, neck and weight reduction would have been nice.

In my old blues rock trio I used to do the MC stuff. I'd always start with 'We are called Toredown. If you've seen us before we have some new tunes. Probably some new mistakes. (pause) But the same old jokes'. 'If you haven't seen us before we go something like this'... the launch into it straight off. We found that the more blues rock orientated punters liked to know something about the songs, especially the more unusual ones - what they were called, who they were by. Not each time. At one point in the gig guitarist Alan would change guitars and, if it was the right kind of crowd, I'd say something like 'There are always people who come to live music who are interested in the gear we use so while Alan is changing guitars I'll just take this opportunity to talk about his stufff. Earlier he was using a cream coloured guitar with two pointy bits and is now changing to a caramel coloured guitar with one pointy bit (pause) It's small details like that can make an evening, I find'. It usually got a titter.

Dave bought a pedal from me in a super-easy transaction. Hope it does what you want!

Not necessarily. The case could be dealt with at Magistrates court but referred to Crown court for sentencing if the judge considered he didn't have enough oomph at his disposal. We can live in hope.

I've had extreme experiences with Royal Mail/Parcel force in September. I have a lot of rare plants in my garden. When I say rare, I mean some are growing nowhere else within these isles. I collect the seed, give it to a lady who runs a nursery and she then lets me have the pick of her stock for my garden. A nice arrangement. I posted off all this year's seed and, after one failed attempt at delivery, Royal Mail say they have lost it. I posted something to Texas, it arrived inside of a week.