Paul S

Basschatters! I have just put together an extremely basic website for my band. Disclaimer is that I have no firm idea what I am doing and used a simple site builder thing to put it together. But I know what I wanted to do - my aim was to make it basic and no frills, just a place for people to get the bare facts without loads of extraneous twaddle about where each of the band members gets our shopping etc. We only have the one bit of live film/recording, so that is what is up there. And we don't have many pictures to choose from, so I have put the best of a bad bunch on there. [url="http://www.xerocks.co.uk"]http://www.xerocks.co.uk[/url] Does it work? Can it be seen ok on a variety of browsers? Should I add/delete anything? What might I consider for the future? Appreciate any/all comments.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1370879631' post='2106784'] The guy who related this tale came from Basildon area, don't know anymore than that. ....Norfolk inbreds...how dare you, just because I call my wife sis' sometimes [/quote] Basildon, eh. So we change the joke from Q - what is the definition of a virgin in Norfolk? A - A girl who can run faster than her father. To Q - what is the definition of a virgin in Basildon? A - A girl who can run faster than her step-father. Not a lot of difference, perhaps. The biggest question of all is why the heck anyone in their right mind was doing a gig in Basildon.

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1370860086' post='2106311'] She was also on Later with Jools Holland recently, probably still on iplayer if you missed it. I guess it was the same backing band, bass player did EUB and normal electric from what I recall, sounded nice. [/quote] I saw that this morning on the iplayer - I think only the guitarist was from her band, the others were house band I guess. Thanks for the name - yes, just looked him up - Hutch Hutchinson. And those U Basses are the ones - both sold and acoustic. Great player.

I saw Bonnie Raitt at the Cliff's Pavilion in Westcliff last night. For some reason I had no great expectations about the gig, so was delighted to experience one of the most sensitive and emotional performances I have ever heard. What a voice! Bassist was unbelievably good with such a light touch you would barely notice him. Everything he played seemed *exactly* right for the song, from acoustic blues through Jazz to soulful ballads and even reggae. And on an assortment of instruments - Jazz, Jaguar, EUB, acoustic fretless (upon which he excelled) - even some strange little thing that looked like a ukulele but sounded like a bass. One of the best gigs I have seen for an age. If you get a chance to catch her this time around try to make the effort.

Ditto. Played our 4th gig together at what is one of the best little rock venues locally (Riga Music Bar, Westcliff). Turned in an energetic and powerful performance of some classic rock belters, all things considered, to some 10 or so door paying customers - who had seen us before and came back to see us again. We were invited back, which is great news. It is the age old paradox - takes gigs to get a following, but unless you have a following you can't get gigs. Not sure of the solution.

Definitely worth doing. I find it interesting to see how changing the various changeable bits affects the playability/sound and am gradually inching towards my ideal bass as a result. If you aren't in a rush it is worth keeping an eye on the classifieds here - generally most things you might want turn up at some point. You can pick stuff up cheaply second-hand and, if it doesn't work out, move to on again without taking much of a hit. Or, like me, keep getting more shoeboxes to keep it all in 'just in case'. My starting point was a scruffy MIJ P-Bass I bought on here that was very lightweight with a vintage tint maple Mighty Mite Jazz neck on it. I swapped the vintage tint neck for a natural one on here then, over time, most of the rest has been changed since as well. It has become my main gigging bass now. Note - that little toggle thingy on the left does work for being able to type in IE10!

Me too, since I got the, ahem, upgrade to IE10. Also sometimes I get the type face locked in strike-through or under line without being able to change it. Edit - I also am unable to click backwards after the first time, so need to navigate via the links.

[u]Bump for tonight's gig. No idea what is going on but I can't get rid of underscore or do a return to go to the next line!!![/u]

Bought a Gator pedal tote from Fraser. Stupid cheap price, sent immediately, arrived beautifully packed. Cheers!!

For me, ever since an occasional lower back problem became a chronic one, weight of the bass has become *the* most important issue when considering buying a bass. For long-ish rehearsals it has to be under 9lbs. I can get away with gigging with a 9.5lb bass that I have - but always pay for it the next day. The tone makes it worth it, though. But ideally I like 8.5lbs or under. You don't have to sacrifice sound/tone but you do have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince - at least, I did. After trying a gazillion basses I have a number of sub-9lb basses that really hot the spot for my requirements from which I can pick and choose depending upon the band/gig/what colour socks I am wearing etc.

In case anyone in SE Essex is free this coming Saturday - my classic heavy rock covers band, Xerocks, is playing at Riga Music Bar in Westcliff. Set list includes stuff from Van Halen, Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Led Zep, Iron Maiden, UFO, Whitesnake - some of the usual suspects, of course, but also tracks by more unusual bands thrown in such as Black Country Communion, Chickfoot. Worth coming to see our guitarist, who is pretty damned good. Bassist not so hot, mind... My gear will be TC Classic 450 through Barefaced Compact and Midget, in case anyone is curious. Can't decide which bass to use. I think we have a support, so will be starting around 10pm. Way past my bed time these days so come along and give me a nudge at 9:45.

I have a '93 MIJ Squier 'Silver Series' P. Bass which weighs around 8.5lbs and the tone is more woody and P-Bass sounding than any other P-Bass I have played! It also has a relatively narrow neck at 40mm. Straight out of the case, it is the nicest P-Bass I have had - no need to mod, though I have put a high mass bridge on it as I find the BBOT uncomfortable. Something going on in those Silver Series pickups that is rather nice. And they usually change hands for around £200 +/-

Cheers SR Pete. I am trying to get the posture right and start off in the correct position - but it seems to keep moving... Be interested to hear from anyone who does use the stand whilst playing and the pros and cons of it.

I was wondering if anyone used the Stagg stand for their EUB whilst playing and what it was like? I think it might help alleviate/eliminate a lot of the issues I am having at the moment (but then maybe it is just practice) with regard to keeping the beast steady and also allow it to stand there when I change to regular bass. Any experiences? ta!

Back now. Thanks again for replies/links. It is the brace that is moving, not the end pin - which is tight and not moving. I'll try your suggestion. I have another question but will start a new topic I think.

Just had a look at mine and it has a slot, rather than a hole, for fast string changes etc. Not exactly a quantitative assessment, but it looks to me like you could fit a car tow rope through it. I had to fit an extra ball end from an old string onto the G string to stop it sliding through.

Bought some strings from Gerry in a totally smooth transaction - excellent coms, great chap to deal with, a pleasure doing business.

Well, I am possibly the second person, then. I bought one a while back - like you Geoff I was curious about short scale - and I loved it. I love the short scale, love the thin neck, love the light weight. Neck dive cured with a wide, rough strap. I ended up sticking in a DiMarzio pup, Kiogon wiring loom (now the tone pot actually does something) and, best of all, Hipshot Supertone bridge (which is superb). I will definitely gig with it. Jezzaboy - PM incoming....

That would be great, thanks. I'd be particularly interested in lowering the action - I guess filing nut and the bridge slots to get them even is a good starting point. Two other things make themselves apparent - a 'quacking' on or about the F on the D string (is that an Fing quack?) and a wobbly hip brace that the pietzo picks up. Easy fixes?

Wow. That could keep me amused for ages! Thank you for those pics, really useful. I am off on holiday tomorrow but will get a proper chance to fiddle with the new bass when I get back. Cheers!

Thanks for that. End pin seems secure enough. I guess I need to have the beast up loud to notice a hum. Nothing at home practice levels. Maybe it was a 'Monday morning' bass.

Thanks again. Yes, my nut is just above eyebrow level (!) so the hip brace is around waist level. As I doubt I will be straying very high up the fingerboard (thanks!) I have also taken off the small angle bracket thing. Pizz - pronounced Pitz? Mods - not done anything other than stick some foam under the strings near the bridge. What else should I be looking for? The end pin seems secure, not wobbly, which I have read can be an issue. Nothing else seems a problem at the moment apart from a tendency to do some extra mwar noise around 3rd fret position on D string. Not sure why this happens as the neck seems true. One of the main reasons I wanted to join the EUB club was because of this: [media]http://youtu.be/6VsY_h7CBbY[/media] I've just started with a new band and we are doing some bluesy/jazzy/funky type stuff including this wonderful Animals cover by Robben Ford. Didn't sound right on a fretted bass for some reason. That does sound like a rather lame excuse to give into gas, though...