Paul S

Def. keep the Encore. What I would consider doing in your situation, assuming you have any DIY skills whatsoever, is very carefully dismantle it. Keeping note of where everything went with lots of pictures or diagrams at every stage. Take your time. See how it all comes apart, which bits are connected to whic other bits. Gives you the opportunity to give it all a damned good clean. Put it back together. Precision basses are pretty straightforward and you'll learn tons doing it.

You have clearly made this up. The clouds don't ever part for long enough for the moon to shiine in south Wales.

This is even more fascinating that Kniphofia northiae offsets In a strange reversal I have no idea what you are doing but it is magnifcent 😂

No, not yet. I haven't bothered my own GP with it thus far. But it is nice to know there might be something to help further on down the line.

It's a nuisance, for sure. Left hand is worse but right hand also not great. My job was designing gardens and I drew the plans by hand but unfortunately I haven't been able to do that for some while. One reason I retired early. A good mate of mine is a GP and he is keeping tabs on it, thankfully.

Reminds me of the joke. Advice for travelling through bear country. Sew or otherwise fasten small silver bells into your clothing - the tinkling noise scares them off. FAQ. How do you know you are in bear country? Check for bear poo. How do you recognise bear poo? It's usually got small silver bells in it.

Saw them at the Cliff's Pavilion, Westcliff last night. Great show. Since I saw them last MK has shed a decent amount of weight and looked great. His voice was even better - best singing from him for years. I wonder if the two are related? Great set, too - loads of oldies. Not heard them play Microkid for yonks. Technical problems - something in his board went wrong and he ended up playing the last few songs and encores going straight into the amp with a lead. And his white bass developed a problem with the output jack so he abandoned it and stuck with the red one. It did impact on the sound but I thought it was interesting to hear the band without his effects in the mix. Someone in another post mentioned a rumour that this was going to be their last tour. I don't know if that is right but they kicked off with 'Almost there' which I haven't heard them play for years. When they started to gig after COVID they kicked off with 'To See You Again'. I wonder if MK enjoys playing around like that, giving off little clues? Also on the last few tours he has always ended the night by saying 'See you in 2 years' and he didn't this time.

I'm 66 and feel every bit as energised about a forthcoming gig and, on the night, playing as I ever have. Next day is another matter... I have a low-level neurological condition called 'essential tremor' that makes my hands shake. It's getting worse - a full mug of tea rarely stays full for long - and I guess this will ultimately decide for me when to pull the plug once I can't play accurately any more. Given that I don't play anything complicated that day is most likely a long way off

My 3 piece blues/rock oufit get £300 for our monthly residency - guaranteed 12 gigs this year and we've been booked for all of 2024, too. I am pleased with that. We do go out for £250-£270 if it is a new place we want to try out but ask for £300 for a repeat. We got door money at a blues club a couple of weeks ago and walked away with £500, which was a pleasant surprise. Conversely we get support gigs and music festival gigs that barely cover expenses but we consider to be worth doing for the old 'raising our profile' thing - which has actually happened so we continue to do them. Plus we have got some great media showing us playing bigger stages by doing that - which is priceless. What other hobby does this?! At the end of the night you have a smile on your face and some cash in your wallet. Long may it continue.

I used to think that once bands/performers had started to lose it they should pack up. I've probably said as much on here before now. But I have recently had a shift in mindset. If they want to carry on that's entirely up to them. The main question is - do I want to see them? That's up to me. Example. Last week I saw the Hamish Stuart Band at The Maritime Room in the fabulous local venue The Cliff's Pavilion. You can maybe squeeze 200 in there, tops. Now Hamish lost the power and control of his magnificent falsetto many years ago and some might find his vocal performances in recent years to be toe-curlingly awful. But he still has the funk and he still draws in a band of top session musicians. Rhythm section was Ash Soan and Steve Pierce. Playing in a small room. It was a total thrill to hear them improvise thier way through some of Hamish's most famous songs. As a vocal performance it was not great (he has been worse, tbh, but I guess his voice is well oiled, fresh from a tour with Ringo Starr) but as an enjoyable gig it was stupendous.

Understand the term, understand yourself. Google it, Tim. Then reflect back and see if you recognise anything in your history of posting that might possibly fit.

This coming Sunday we are supporting Susan Santos at the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket.

Interesting comment. You must rank as one of the most narcissistic people I have ever encountered - do you understand why?

Looking increasingly unlikely I'll be able to make this one, after all Sounds like I'll miss a treat, too.

Pretty crass thing to say. He wasn't talking about 'your' mum, it was a figurative term of speech. A lot of people on this forum aren't going to have mums for various reasons yet you have to try to weaponise it. For a man with a history of low scoring posts I do believe you have set the bar even lower. Well done.

Facebook link of some vid from last Saturday's gig at Blues at Barleylands, Billericay - a Jeff Healey tune 'See The Light' https://fb.watch/nWlFa4jPa_/

At 66 I've reached the point where I am the best bass player that I can be - aspiration for improvement becomes inexorably balanced against increasing decrepitude. Does that make me a good bass player? Not really, I don't have the chops or theory. But am I good enough for what I do? I believe so. I might not do much but what I do is OK.

This. Most bridges, even cheap eBay jobs, have the relevant measurements on the listing. But a Gotoh 201, for example, will be as good a bridge as you could ever want and costs £35 from Thomann.

Tomorrow night, The Shamrock in Ipswich, my lot continue our monthly residency.

I aim to get it mostly in pan.

It doesn't have to be complicated if you don't want it to be. Take lessons and learn music theory if you fancy it but don't put yourself under any pressure or feel any obligation if you don't. Doing so might just put you off. And a lot depends upon what your musical aspirations are - if you are looking at earning a living as a pro touring bass player sight reading and technique will almost be a necessity. But playing Dad rock with mates down the Eel and Gherkin not so much. I played guitar as a yoof, stopped playing anything for 20-odd years then in my 40s took up bass. I'm now 66. I applied the same principles to bass as I did guitar - after all, it is a stringed instrument with the same notes etc - and just listened and copied. I play both guitar and bass with a pick, with a little finger style for good measure, and that made the transition easy once you get your head around the bigger strings spaced apart. I don't know much theory, I've never had a lesson. I am sure my playing would be better if I had made the effort with both but I somehow never got around to it. After a while you pick a lot of stuff up - I can't tell you why certain runs work but can hear when they are right or wrong. Once you've copied and pasted your way through a lot of music you can recycle those bits and put them together for yourself. My own mantra is to play for the song, not for the hard-on. My night is complete if people walk away thinking 'what a great band' and not 'what a great bassist'. This has worked for me, anyway, and the sort of music scene I am involved in - in spite of my lack of formal input I am fortunate enough to have been in bands with some extremely good musicians during the last 20 years.

Saturday afternoon's adventure. My blues rock trio Toredown played a little blues club in Billericay called 'Blues at Barleylands'. They rent a social club every Saturday afternoon and put on blues acts - sometimes pro-acts that are on tour. We'd not played there before so didn't quite know what to expect - the deal is you get door money after they take out expenses but apparently guaranteed to get £300. The place itself is what you'd expect a small social club in the sticks to be like, a little bit jaded. Lots of tables and seating, large bar. Easy load in from the dedicated car park via the fire door. Slightly raised corner stage, lots of power points behind black sheets. Covered pool table for us to stash our cases. We arriveds early, set up and sound checked before most of the people turned. Who then kept on turning up, I reckon there were around 60 people when we kicked off - not capacity but busy for a small place. Well, what a reaction! To say we got a rapturous response would be an understatement. I know the band are good but the genre is rather love it or hate it. In the past we've played pubs and gone down like a lead balloon. We have our monthly residency at a music pub and that is brilliant but still get the occasional idiot distracting us. This lot, being a dedicated blues club, totally loved it. Huge cheers after every song (after most guitar solos, too), at the end people wouldn't let us get on with packing up, kept coming up to us wanting to chat. Even with me! Such a diffrent vibe from playing in a pub. No drunk tw@t shouting for Wonderwall. No drunks, in fact. At the end we were handed an envelope containing £500 - a much bigger payday than usual - and we sold some CDs, too. Absolutely fantastic. Post gig some lovely comments on their Fb page. They immediately booked us again for next year, too, promising a packed crowd as word gets around. I used my recently acquired Gibson SG - my go-to now - straight into the desk via a TC Spectradrive. Sounded good, really sits in the mix. Obligatory pic. Looks like I am doing a mic swallowing act.

I recently bought a Squier Vista Series Musicmaster bass in a deal on here. Actually, more of a steal as the seller wsn't asking much! I've had them before and am very pleased to have one again. Punchy little fella, going to satisfy my Fender flavoured short scale GAS - I was considering buying a JMJ Mustang to see what the fuss is about but, actually, don't think I need to now.