Paul S

To be honest I think he lost contact with earth some while ago.

7 minutes of joy

Saw SAHB many times - once really early on before 'Next' had been released, they opened an all day affair at the Ally Pally (just looked it up - 5th August '73, Uriah Heep headlined) starting with a cover of 'Crazy Horses' Front row were chucking bottles up at them, for some reason. As good a front man as Alex Harvey is, I found I was always completely entranced by Zal Cleminson. Saw Zal a couple of years ago when his band Sin Dogs played at the 100 Club in London. He's stil got the charisma.

The 8th of Noughtober 2021?

I am sure it's a doddle if you have the skill, tools and steady hands! I am sadly lacking in all those departments But - it looks like there are off-the peg lightweight bodies to be had. I can't work wood but can screw things together

Oh well, Bach to the drawing board Looks like it is the '54 P bass body I am after, didn't realise the distinction until I did a bit of reading this afternoon. I guess I could always put a bitsa together - looks like lightweight bodies are available. Sell a couple of basses to fund it, maybe.

Yes, I believe that is the thing with these - quite a lump. I wonder about the MIJ Fender versions. The Bach ones Davie suggested might be getting stock in the new year but the guy who answered my email said shipping costs into the Uk now are crazy high. Still, I am not exactly down to my last bass so am in no hurry.

thank you! It does indeed.

Thanks Davie. Now they look very interesting, although the one I would be most interested in is out of stock. Have you dealt with them or even own one?

I was wondering if there were any that fitted the bill. Superficially looking like a 50s but lightweight with an arm contour. Just curious Muchas gracias

They used to make cheese triangles, wrapped in silver foil. I use the term cheese loosely. I don't think there is any band - not even the ones I favour the most - where I like all of their output. So it is always a balance of % good/bad. And for me, despite growing up in the 60s, the % of good in the Beatles is very low. I like a few songs, especially when they were a Chuck Berry tribute band :), but mainly not my thing. But that is music for you - just like any art form it is subjective. Not liking the Beatles doesn't make me a bad person*. Plenty of other things, perhaps, but nothing Beatles related. 😂 *I was in a band for 5 years where the other 3 were all massive Beatles and Zappa fans. Especially Zappa. I had to endure lengthy passes of song lyrics being quoted and everyone giggling.

Fleetwood Macaronesia?

It's probably easier to fit a blues trio in the corner of the Dog and Centipede than a 7 piece funk band with brass section. But, bottom line, it all depends upon what you like. If you don't like the genre you aren't going to find it a good fit. Maybe ask for a sample set list before auditioning? If you see 'set one' Red House and nothing else listed you might want to swerve that band.

I couldn't do that. Turn up to rehearsals/gigs with someone knowing you were going to sack them. Seems a bit shabby tbh.

TI Flats on everything for me Love the sound, love the feel.

Your post could be a copy and paste of my thoughts on these little beauties. I put a Hipshot bridge on mine, much more confortable for palm muting as well as any other benefits. What is the pickup you have?

For my blues rock trio I have a tablet attached to the mic stand. Even though it is all about the guitarist I actually do most of the mc stuff. On it I have the set list with some notes such as key, who wrote it and when. The latter two I like to throw in occasionally, a few folk who see us regulalry have said they find it interesting. I can usually remember the key (though not always!), most often remember who wrote it but certainly struggle to remember when certain songs were written. But I don't sing at all so when we are playing I am nowhere near the mic stand anyway. Well, small pubs I am but not through choice. Going to be adding a smartphone holder soon as we are trying out some lights that are controlled via an app, if I actually need or want to change settings - for some reason the app isn't available for my tablet, which is a shame. But big names using scrolling screens - seems to me to be very common. A few times at the O2 we've had seats right to one side of the stage and you can see the screens on the front edge of the stage, plus the tech sitting at the side with his laptop controlling the screens. Bottom line - I'm not sure I like to see a singer staring fixedly at words when singing but if it is just a safety net I really don't see what the fuss is about.

I had to count up. 12, plus an EUB and an electroacoustic (but they don't count, do they) 12 is too many, I need to shed a few.

Absolutely. His solo in The King Will Come on Live Dates has one of the best uses of wah-wah I have ever heard.

That doesn't surprise me. MT's sense of entitlement and indignation comes across so strongly it was beginning to overshadow the evening - one of the reasons I left early, couldn't be doing with it. I can easily imagine he was a nightmare to be in a band with. Nevertheless, I will spend this afternoon trying to somehow dial in a similar tone to his Thunderbird out of my Epiphone Classic Pro I'm thinking more high mids.... we'll see.

I just had a little read up about the twists and turns of the band. Apparently Andy Powell sued Martin Turner to stop him using the name 'Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash' so I guess that puts a future reunion off the table.

I would imagine that ship sailed a while back, sadly. Be nice, though. And Ted Turner.

Consecutive nights and a massive contrast. Thursday I saw Level 42 at the IndigO2 and it was just about as good a live performance as you could wish to see at one of my favourite venues. Last night I went to Hockley Community Centre at a recently re-opened venue calling themselves 'The Soundry' to see Martin Turner ex Wishbone Ash. For contextv the Wishbone Ash album Live Dates from 1973 remains to this day one of my favourite albums and when they played the Kursaal at Southend the same year it, again, was up there with the best gigs I have ever seen. God they were bad, I left at half time as I didn't want to hear them massacre any more of my favourite songs. Both guitarists were mechanical with absolutely no spark, feel or soul. Chap on the left looked like a rabbit caught in the headlamps and was WAY out of his depth. Chap on the right was better but you'll see better players most weekends in most towns. Martin Turner's voice - never the strongest - was weak and flat, backing vocals were flat - a shame given that vocal harmonies are such an important part of the songs. I didn't appreciate the 3 or 4 minute lectures about the inspiration for writing the lyrics of each song. They just didn't gel as a band. The one saving grace for me was Martin's bass playing. I think he had the most amazing tone out of his Thunderbird, one of the best live bass sounds I have ever heard. But even then he made a couple of shockinigly bad bum notes. Maybe the clues were there - playing a 200 capacity venue must be indicative of something. I've read interviews with MT and he seems very bitter about the success Andy Powell is having, referring to them as a 'Tribute band' as they hadn't written the songs and therefore had no meaning. Well, he certainly laboured that point. My advice to you, as a fan, is get a better band to do your wonderful songs justice.

I was there Thursday, superb. You mentioned your mate is the drum tech. Any idea what the weird mis-shapen cymbal is? I don't recall seeing it before.