12stringbassist

We stopped playing one place near Rochdale because we decided that the cart in was torture (down a side alley, down some steep steps) to pile our gear on a really tiny stage and then play facing a disinterested bunch of smokers, who just ignore the UK smoking ban and have to try to perform to a more engaged crowd way off to our right. The venue has been taken over by the management from the brewery and the first thing they wanted to do was cut our fee.

Last night, we played at the Remedy Bar and Brewhouse in Stockport. A great and very hospitable little venue with a good listening crowd. We went down really well and a number of people asked us when we will be back. It will be next year, as they only have bands on once a year, as there are so many bands trying to play there. That makes it difficult to build up any following there. Nice to see Josie from on here pop in to watch our first half. The stage area is more cramped than it used to be, as they have moved bands near to the entrance to the bar, from the other side of the building. I think their neighbours have been kicking up about noise. Still manageable, though. A good night.

The ESP guitar is a lot better. The Chinese ones are not bad for the money, though I had to get an amount of work done on mine to make it worth taking on stage.

Well I got the ESP and am going to just keep that one now. I can't justify two Clouds. Hello Gumtree.

A great tune wasted...

No idea if it was painted before fretting, but imagine yes. Frets are perfectly clean. Side view of neck: A bit of recording video - apologies for crappy video sound.

It's Gibson scale. The body is small, as per Prince's request, which makes it look out of whack a little. Width is what you would expect on an average Les Paul. 42mm at nut. 53 at 12th fret. The neck is a definite C - a bit of a tree trunk, but nice to play. Here it is next to a common or garden Strat. I am getting an ESP Cloud tomorrow (below), so it will be interesting to compare them.

Rubber bullets > The hospital song by 10cc. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dTnvhGHDGA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4NYG6DZHIg

This is what I am currently inflicting on the world.

I have always fancied a Prince Cloud type guitar and thought I would take a punt on one from Sunfield Music in Miami. The price wasn't bad, including case. It turns out that they order from China and get them shipped direct to you. Anyway, back to the guitar. It arrived reasonably quickly after ordering and I escaped customs charges on it. Out of the case it looked amazing. No case included, so i got onto them by email. They confirmed that they case would be internally shaped, so I accepted having one shipped. Well worth the money (I got slapped for customs on the case). The guitar needed work: Replacement posts for the bridge. Frets leveling, as notes choked when I lowered the action. The pickups are branded EMG, but I doubt they are anything at all to do with EMG. Packing under the pickups to raise them. The pickups are quieter than a Strat I was alternating with this evening.

Bog celebrities encounter - Birmingham NEC: George Harrison and Dave Edmunds. Beat that.

A best of Roy Wood that takes in solo and group stuff.

On Sunday we played at a really well-attended local family fun day. We were put forward for the gig a while ago, but the organisers opted for a bunch of local lads, who were dirt cheap. The day before the gig they cancelled, and I got a tip off to ring the organiser. I mentioned our quite reasonable fee and he gulped (even though he was on the spot). I then mentioned we had done the local beer festival for the last two years and look to be established there for some time to come. He cheered up and said 'great, that's a deal'. We turned up on the day and we went down fine, had a great time and finished in time to head off and do our jam night down the road. I asked the organiser who the band were who let him down, when he paid us. He didn't name them but said it was "a bunch of local lads who hadn't realised it would clash with the England game".

I was in a band a couple of years back with a static set list that had very little drive or feel to it and the other two players were not up to much. I was doing jam nights with my current band members and after some time off for a serious op and recovery decided to make that my full-time band instead. Much better. I started to enjoy playing again and played a lot better. I took on lead vocals, so it was a slightly nervy time, but i got there (I hope).

Nope!! I would have that straight on the 'dire mistakes' page of www.slayed.co.uk if it was!!!

I played one at the weekend and it was a place with it's own monster PA, so we didn't have to cart ours along. We went on at 10pm, which I think was a bit late. Our first half went down really well and we played it like we meant it. Our break was fairly short between sets, but the crowd started to drift and when we kicked off again and saw them leaving... for the first time, all of my momentum just went. I just felt like stopping. With the number of people left in, I just couldn't bring myself to go into the sing-along crowd pleasers. Unusual. I think tiredness due to my health condition was catching up with me. Oddly, the pub management were more than happy with us, but I felt like we had lost one for a change.

Putting the call out to all our musician friends. The Three host a jam night most Sundays 6.30 - 9.00pm at Bar One Ten, Elliot Street, Tyldesley, M29 8FJ. Musicians - please share! Why not bring your band down to do 3 or 4 songs to a good audience and maybe get a Saturday booking at the venue? Want to get up, but don't have a band? If we know the song, we'll play it with you. We have folders full of lyrics and if you message me in advance, we can maybe learn some songs to back you on. Bands welcome. Your chance to rehearse those new songs in front of an audience and have a few beers, too. All acts get 3-4 songs, then the next act goes on, and so on, and then we will go around them again. We want everyone to get a turn. Come on down and make yourselves known to the host band and we will get you up, **guaranteed**. Quality back-line amps for 2 guitars and bass are provided, drums and PA for three vocals is in place. We carry spare instruments for use, but you can also bring your own. All we ask is that you have some idea of what you are doing before you go on and don't hold a conference onstage, as it eats into other people's time. Also. please watch the other performers when you have done your slot - it's only polite to do so.

Nothing I have ever played through has matched this, or come close to it.

Those B and G strings are right on the edge of the neck from the look of it.

Ask how long your audition slot will be and then, when they have answered, say you will learn the first x songs to fill that time.

Show her this and tell her to count herself as lucky.

I had dithered about buying a Cloud guitar when Schecter put a limited run out and missed out on one. More fool me. He who hesitates is lost. I saw an advert on Facebook for a Cloud replica from a company called Sunfield in the USA. The price was reasonable, including case, so I thought I'd have a punt on a purple one. When the tracking information came through, it showed it was coming from China, so I prepared myself for the worst. Chinese guitars can be either good or horrid. The tracking info showed it was on the way to the airport, but nothing else, but it arrived here in the UK fairly quickly. It came extremely well packaged but not in a case, so I am in the process of chasing them about that. The guitar: Well, it looks absolutely superb. The action was quite high, so I took it down. The strings choked on the top frets if I did string bends. Bah. So it went into Jack's Instrument Services in Manchester and they have made it into a pretty good guitar. New posts for the bridge. Fret leveling. Tweaking the bridge ferrules. Packing under the pickups (No, they are not EMG's). Setup, etc. After that work, which meant I was without the guitar for a week, I ended up with a pretty spectacular looking and really playable guitar.

My wife is (quite) tolerant of 50 guitars, 3 bass rigs and a few guitar amps, some of which make it into the house.

"That PA is big" They don't come smaller. Take her with you shopping for a smaller PA and steer her to the big stuff. "That bass rig is big" I have to be heard and it's still a small rig. Take her with you shopping for a smaller rig and steer her to the big stuff. "Two bass guitars..." Several different arguments - safety backup always wins.

Our gig list is at www.thethree.org.uk - We are back there in November and at the Romiley Arms at some point, also the Remedy in Stockport and the Crown.