TheRev

He died in 1976, bizarre gardening incident involving a prize winning marrow. The band don't like talking about it.

We've done 50+ support gigs for The Wurzels over the last 10 years - those guys are total professionals who have earned respect. Pete and Tommy are in their late 70s and early 80s and still doing 70 sold out shows every year. Mind you, some of the stories they've told us from their 70s heydays.....🤐

That was OutCider Festival which is one of four festivals by Fuelled By Cider, which my band are heavily involved in running. Scrumpy'n'western was pretty much invented by The Wurzels, but there were lots of other acts doing similar stuff from the 60s onwards. These days it tends to be more of a folk/punk type vibe.

That is good. I carried mine down King Street on a Friday night and was ready to lamp the next person who said 'ere, thats a gurt big violin mate'

Velvet Blues were the 'budget' option in the Velvet catalogue - about £180 a set IIRC. I reckon that someone who really wants a set would happily pay £100 to replace an expired set of Blues, but as Velvet strings have been closed for 3 years, there can't be many players still using Velvet strings as you really only get 2-3 years out of them (IME) before they noticeably lose their tone.

Only Spiro's sound like Spiros! Many of us on here have embarked on a very expensive string journey, only to end up back where we started - with Spiros! For the same sound but lower tension, Spiro solos tuned to orchestra pitch are your best bet. For a smoother sound, without the nasal Spiro G, that still has plenty of Spirio- like punch, try Pirastro Perpetuals. For a more traditional sound, try Evah Pirazzi Weich.

Nice to see the Chowny getting an outing!

We played the same gig later in the evening (just got home now at 1:30am) shame we missed you. It was a really nice place, hopefully we'll get invited back next year.

Meh, 7 years isn't excessive for DB strings. If you fancy a change, try a set of Evah Pirazzi weich?

A new G will sound a bit brighter compared to the others but it will soon dull down with a bit of playing in. How long have you had the current strings on? If one has failed, I'd be concerned that more are destined to follow.

Yep, look like Helicore orchestra to me. Those are designed for arco and can sound a bit dull for pizz, but EUBs have an inherently brighter sound due to their rigidity, so orchestral strings often sound better on EUBs. You happy with the sound or thinking of trying something else?

Can you take a quick photo of the silks at both ends?

No worries - PM me when you get back and we'll sort something out.

Sounds like you might need a gig bag for that.... I can drop it round to you if you're east/north Brizzle and not inside the ULEZ.

Don't loft shame the bloke! Maybe it's really nice loft?

Yep, in East Bristol (Fishponds). My main bass is a big 3/4 - 67 cm across the lower bout if memory serves, and it fitted in with room to spare. Dave

I've bought a new gig bag for my double bass so my old one is free to whoever wants it. I've had it for 11 years, so it's not in pristine condition - full description here:

The backpack straps on my Christopher padded double bass gig bag have finally given up the ghost, just as festy season is properly kicking in, and I really need those backpack straps to lug the bass across muddy fields! I've bought myself a shiny new gig bag, which means that my old bag is surplus to requirements and is just taking up space. Aside from the knackered backpack straps, all the other handles and zips, etc. work fine. I've had it for 11 years of regular gigging, so the exterior is admittedly a bit 'foxed' and almost certainly badgered... but it still works to protect a bass when it's chucked in the back of the van at 2am. If anyone is in need of a gig bag for a 3/4 (possibly a 7/8ths) double bass, they can have it for free, otherwise it's just going to the tip. Collection preferred but I can post at your expense. I can send/post photos on request, but when new, it looked like the black one in this image: Churrz! Dave

Gage Eminence or Yamaha SLB200. I own an Eminence and have played the Yamaha on a number of occasions and they both replicate the feel of an acoustic bass. The Larkin Blen in the for sale form would be good as well. The NS Wav gets a decent DB like sound but to me, it's a different playing experience.

The technique is the same but the sound isn't quite the same. Im my experience musicals/pit gigs don't care too much about whether its acoustic or electric, as long as you can play the dots and it sounds ok - a decent EUB would be fine in this setting. Die hard jazzers are more picky but you can point them at Eberhard Webber and Esperanza Spalding. What's the most important criteria for you? If you want to get out there and playing ASAP, then EUB will get the job done. If, 6 or 12 months down the line you still have that DB itch, you'll at least be in a better position to decide what you want from your DB setup. This was the route I took, and while part of me feels I should have gone direct to DB, I was out gigging the EUB; n a matter of weeks, which probably wouldn't have been thae case with an acoustic double bass.

I have a Stentor 2 in our rehearsal room and it's totally decent. I'd be happy for it to be my main bass. As for a setup, every double bass will need a setup at some point to get it playing how you want it - the difficult thing is knowing what you want! You can certainly play one 'out of the box' but if this is your first DB and the action is set high (as they tend to be to allow for later adjustment) then you may struggle to stop a note properly and could even injure yourself. If you're a bit handy with wood, it's not that difficult to cut the bridge slots a bit deeper and sand down the top of the bridge to get a playable action - just take your time and don't take off too much at once.. Is there a specific reason you want to buy new? There's a bunch of decent double basses in the for sale forum and all of them will have already been fully fettled for optimum playability. Dave

For simple and light, i'd pair the AI head from the 2Ten combo with a Barefaced One10. I've A/B'd the One10 against my MAS45 cab and prefered my MAS45 - it was just cleaner with better note envelope definition. The LFSys Monaco I tried at the SW bash was pretty close to the sound of my MAS45 so if the LFSys Monza @Phil Starr mentioned above sounds anything like the Monaco, then I'd take that over the One10. If you'd prefer to sell your 2Ten, then I agree you'll have a better chance of selling it with the AI amp installed. Replacement wise, and in the absence of new/used AI or Euphonic Audio amps 😥, then I'd go with an Eich 500 (essentially a Tecamp Puma 500, which is great for DB) or a Genzler Magellan 350, depending on your power needs/bank balance. I agree with Happy Jack that for DB, the amp is less critical than the cab, so a MarkBass Little Mark woudl do equally well (and be familiar as you've already got an 801). I've just had a look at the GR stuff as i'm not hugely familar with them and their AT cube acoustic looks very interesting - a bit like the AER bass cube but without the hernia-inducing weight. Same price as an AER though, but you can't have everything.

You can buy a decent beginner double bass for £1400 from places like Thomann, but you may have to pay a few £100 on top to have it set up to your son's liking. For £1000 you'll be able to buy a good used bass ( there are several in the 'double basses for sale' thread) which, although a bit 'road worn' will have been set up and have proven durability. If you're looking to spend around the £1000 mark, then I would always recommend going for a used bass - it's taken all the knocks its going to take and survived to tell the tale. I'm in Bristol - if you want to try one of my East European basses (each bought for less than £1000), you're more than welcome. Dave

Francis jumped on my Chowny SWB fretless within minutes of it being listed and a meet up in a car park in the Brecons was swiftly arranged - I'm just sorry I made him wait two weeks until I had a gig-free weekend! Everything went super smooth. Francis is a lovely bloke and a nifty fretless player with a proper classic BassChat attitude. Dave