Boodang

Overwater ‘C’ bass. Played one at a show, if I remember rightly a 36” scale tuned to low C. Another bass I regret not buying when I had the chance.

Ovation Magnum I or II. Love or hate it body shape, unique pickups, as used by Jah Wobble.

The delta metal fretless neck thru as well (rather than the current ‘money saving’ bolt ons). I was at the bass centre in Wapping many moons ago and had one in my hands but instead bought a Warwick, which, while not a bad bass, is not a Vigier. I do regret not buying it and now almost impossible to find.

I don’t about vintage more like something you find in an archeological dig! The copycat is awesome tho!

I had this where after decades of playing I’d reached the end with bass… but not music. I took up drums. Then about ten years later bass entered my life again and I play in bands doing both. so maybe a change of instrument is in order?!

Unlike muting strings there’s a lot of energy and there’s varying degrees of sympathetic buzz. Sometimes a finger on the reso head will be enough but if the bass player hits the right frequency then even holding the snare wires at one end won’t stop it buzzing at the other and the only options are to release the snare tension or put your finger under the snare wires.

I’m a drummer (as well as a bassist) and unwanted snare wire buzz is something that I’m acutely aware of in band situations. For a lot of intros / endings I reach under the snare drum to mute. But also I pay a lot of attention to the tunings of the snare heads as well as the snare tension, particularly when it comes to avoiding this issue. Oh, one thing for your drummer to try, on the snare reso head, try loosening the lugs slightly either side of the snare bed which should help reduce sympathetic buzz.

That's a shame and puts you in a difficult position. Audience feedback sounds like the only thing that might make a difference but that's awkward, you can hardly canvas the crowd on the night like a focus group.

I'm a drummer as well as a bassist and I absolutely hate the hand grenade kick sound out of the PA. So, I'm that band member that does the sound engineering at gigs.... but only because no one else wants to do it. I hate juggling bass/drum duties with mixing, it takes my focus away from playing but hey, what can you do hire a sound guy, like we can afford that. Anyway, one way to do deal with it, and what we do, is record the gig. I do it two fold, from the desk and with a field recorder in the room to get the audience perspective. As a band we play it back to analyse our performance and see what needs tweaking, that includes the PA mix which the band are quite particular about.

One of my fav albums, along with Bright Size Life and certainly my preferred Jacob period. Sounds like a really interesting band, will definitely have to check them out.

Brit Club beer festival. Got some great British ales and Belgium beers in. These pics taking just as we set up, but did get about 200 people once it got going. Setting sun straight into stage area with everything, including us, getting really hot. Bizarrely fried my Aguilar tlc pedal which gave up the ghost. I put on 5 bands, I was in four of them. Made sure the last band was the one I wasn’t in so I could enjoy a few ales before having to pack up. Everyone played well, started off with chilled vibes playing the likes of Bill Withers, then Hendrix/blues, punk/new wave, a 80s/90s cover, and finally my mates metal band at the end. Oh, and used my new (to me) Zoom L20 for the FoH and monitoring and worked a treat. So easy to get a good sound. All told, a great day but after playing for four hours and a 12 hour day of setting up and packing everything away I’m having a very lazy day’s rest.

I had a lull recently with bass playing inspiration. The thing that got me going was composing solo bass pieces but the real driver was that I created a SoundCloud account so that the music didn't just stay in the shed but is actually heard... albeit by about half a dozen people. I'm still working in it but knowing that complete strangers are going to listen, and judge, your output makes me put extra effort into it. Good luck with the treatment, hope it all goes well.

Thanks... it's a Treehouse nesting bop kit. Considering the small size it has a big sound. The BD is particularly punchy.

Sorry, thought I was on the drummerworld forum!! My mind is going but what the hell, it's posted now! Please feel free to delete tho... unless you find it vaguely interesting.

Recently I bought a nesting drum kit but as it turns out there are advantages to having a bass drum where the front unclips reso head intact. I prefer an unported reso head which would normally be an issue when it comes to internal mic'ing but when you can take the front off the drum in seconds it's so much easier. Plus, I had three holes made in the drum, one for the snare holder, one for the tom and one for the ride. As it turns out I only use two so there's one spare for the mic cable. I think in future I'll get my bass drums made this way as it sounds great but is easy to set up for recording/live.

Ah, if only I'd thought of that, we might still be playing... although I doubt more profitable!

I started an Eberhard Weber tribute band doing his solo work, took three bass players to take his place. Did one gig, everybody said what the actual F was that and the project hasn't seen the light of day since. Took a year to learn the songs and get them down properly but the effort was worth it from a musical growth perspective if nothing else (certainly wasn't a financial success!).

Well, if you want British have you considered a custom. Now, if Andy hasn't retired, and his web site is still up and running, you should check him out. There's lots of good luthiers but Andy seems particularly good value. https://www.andyviccarscustom.co.uk/custom-bass-guitars.php An example of Andy's work.

....also, just because you want to play doesn't mean people want to listen. Something a lot of amateur bands fail to take into account when they inflict themselves on an unsuspecting audience. A friend of mine has a band that keeps moaning about how little they get paid but I have to keep reminding him they're lucky they don't have to pay compensation to the audience for the psychological damage they cause with their dreadful playing.

I was in a band that insisted on being paid what I thought was outrageous amounts of cash... as a sign of respect for all the hours of practice they'd put in. Funny thing was they would play some venues where the audience to see them were less than the punters that would have turned up just to have a drink if they weren't there. My current band have put there money where their mouths is. If the venue makes more money we get paid what they think we're worth. Seems like a bad business plan but so far it's paid off quite well.

One second of backing track is too much for me. Live is live. I'd rather it sounded raw than turn into band karaoke!

You should have used the Elvin Jones trick of nailing the front of the bass drum to the stage floor! Worst house kit I've ever used had a split snare batter head held together with duct tape... I've learnt since then. Always have at least my own pedals and definitely my own throne or I'll get back ache, plus a spare snare head! I don't mind so much if the kit is ok but why insist when there's enough time to set up your own kit?! I've just invested in a nesting kit in bebop size to make the load in & out easier in the hope that'll persuade venues I can use my own with a minimum if fuss.

Is it white or pink noise?

Each gig the band say they'll help setup but there's always a reason why it ends up being less than it should. But.... the results are worth it and they really are nice guys just a bit flakey. Having said that, if it was a permanent state of affairs, we were gigging every week and it wasn't the case that I'm moving country very soon, I would be laying down strict ground rules. To put it in perspective the blues band is so good we're planning a small tour to take in festivals and clubs around the Baltics ( where I'll be based) next year.

Not wishing to subvert this thread into a gig setup moan but I feel your pain. I’m in three bands and circumstances have meant I own and supply all equipment for the lot apart from guitars (it’s Pakistan and you can’t get sh!t here and I’ve got keys bass leads stands drums mixer mics pa you name it). I don’t mind but did a gig on Friday and the rest of the band turn up and say we haven’t got long to finish set up and sound check, take one look at my face which expresses yes but I’ve been setting up on my own all the gear for the last 4 hours, and they shut up and get on with it. Next posting (different country later this year) and I’m going to turn up with 5 mins to go before the gig with just my bass and F off before the the vocalist has got through his self aggrandising ‘thank you’s’ to the audience!