Paul S

Stray Cats at Hammersmith Apollo last night. Saw Brian Setzer a few years ago when he did his big band Jump Jive and Wail stuff and his guitar playing was amazing. Really edgy, some phenomenal licks. So when Mrs S spotted this coming up we thought it had to be done. Setzer's playing last night was slicker with the spikes and bumps smoothed out. More Bill Hayley than Stray Cats IMO. And once you've done that to rockabilly the tunes can tend to sound much the same as each other. Some cheesy 'spontaneous' well rehearsed, poorly delivered lines 'well, gee, Slim, whadda ya reckon - shall we play X?' type stuff didn't help. Lee Rocker's slap bass was great - he played with energy and enthusiasm, also sang a lot - whether buy design or necessity I don't know as Setzer's voice was giving out fairly early on. We gave it an hour but left early. Which meant no crush on the tube going home, which was good. Best thing I thought was to see most of the punters in full rockabilly regalia, tattoos and hair gel. I imagine the die hard fans would have enjoyed it regardless.

And there rests the case for the defence, m'Lud.

As long as you forget the other 9...

I have one of these rifle bags and it fits my Squier Mustang 'exactly' It is also nicely padded with some hard protection on the sides, plus pockets for ammo should the punters get out of hand.

Not in all cases and certainly not in mine. If I wear a bass for a gig or rehearsal that weighs anything over 9lbs - these days more like anything over 8lbs - and my back will be killing me next day, no matter how wide the strap or how well the bass balances.

I bought an old hard case at a boot sale that fits 'ok'. It is a better fit for a Mustang bass. I am guessing it is a guitar case. Epiphone make an SG bass hard case but, call me a snob, I just can't allow myself to subject a Gibson to the indignity of it I've recently ordered one of these from Gear4Music which, if the measurements work out OK, will be a nice snug fit.

The evening makes for a great sing-along! Well, if you know the words. Hopefully we will although it has been a while since our last gig...

Just love mine - beyond the honeymoon period I am still head over heels. I've even got used to the bridge.

Fantastic! I'll be standing at the back but singer Noel will be glad to have some heckling...

Next to the Cricketers Pub, used to be called The Riga Bar some while back. Be great to see some Basschatters there - come and heckle!

I have found that I prefer a wider string spacing for my rather agricultural finger style playing, which I seem to be employing with increasing frequency. With a pick I am happiest with 16mm but prefer 18 or 19mm when fitting my fat fingers in there.

That's because I am a tightwad

I'd nominate 'Another Brick In The Wall (pt 2) if no-one else has. Especially on the outro. The bass in Tom Petty's 'Break Down' lays down the vibe for the whole song, too.

I lied! 45mm nut width. Sorry about that, I mis-remembered.

Do have a photo? 😄 Go on then...

I have a Jake 5 string with a 43mm nut width that weighs 8lbs. Yes, a 5 string. Lovely thing it is too. So a 4 string will weigh a decent chunk less.

I had a Silver Series Precision once and, straight out of the box, it was one of the nicest Precisions I have ever owned or played. And when I then consider it cost me under £200 in terms of vfm it couldn't be beaten. I should never have sold it - lightweight, 40mm neck and, the best thing, the most fantastic woody tone. I've had a handful of other A series, E series MIJ Squier Ps and a couple of JVs (still have one) and although not as good as the JVs (but a fraction of the price) it was as good as the others. IMO etc.

My sister has bad rheumatoid arthritis and used them for a spell when she had to go off her usual meds. She said they helped but only a bit.

I am currently tempted by this Danelectro - the single cut 56 bass, which is short scale and very lightweight. Not as, ahem, 'distinctive' as the Longhorn. At the moment Amazon have it listed for pre-order, currently out of stock, at a stupid low price of £232.40 compared to the rest of the bunch at c£450.

A casa mia

I absolutely love this idea. Might well do it.

The 'one hit wonder' band Stretch had an excellent track on their album Elastique called 'Navy Blues' which is an undisguised song about an adult man lusting after a schoolgirl. The vocal has been double-tracked with a kind of breathless, dirty phone call effect (especially at the end) so I am guessing it was a swipe at paedos* (especially in the context of 'Why Did You Do it' being an angry song directed at Mick Fleetwood - the reason the band got together iirc). But even though I think it is an exceptionally fine song (bass tone to die for and superb guitar solo) I do feel slightly uncomfortable listening to it. Mind you it is so obscure I don't suppose many people would have heard it anyway *yes, I know, paedos don't always talk like that. Be a bit of a giveaway if they did.

How about some nylon tapewounds?

Hiscox are very good. I prefer the fitted SKB ones as they fit a P bass quite snugly inside and the latches seem tougher but that's just my preference. I am by no means lightweight (100kg +/-) and have been known to stand on both cases, with basses inside, to prove a point about how tough they are.