Cat Burrito

Radiohead's Creep has the electric guitar come in early but they left it in as it sounded good. Reading this thread, I don't think I want some of you lot to hear any of my recordings!

I have recently revived my old sixth form band with the guitarist and we are using a drum machine with sampled keyboards that we played. This picture was our collective pedals. Lots of flanger, phaser and distortion.My Tech21 VT bass pedal is missing (at the studio for another project) but the pedals for the bass are in the case and the other pedals are the guitarists.

I had an accident at work during lockdown and had a bit of a payout. I always wanted an Orange AD200B head. Normally £1750, I picked up an immaculate 2 month old one for about half that. Granted it hasn't had a load of use yet but the moment will come.

I play(ed - pre-Covid) in two different three piece bands. One has a guitarist on a 50s hollowbody style guitar and the other has the guitarist on a Les Paul. If I learnt one thing from this experience, it is just as important to think about what the bass player is playing. My Jazz sits great in the mix of a 4 piece but sounds terrible in a 3 piece. The Hofner, a Precision, a Ric or a T-bird sound fine. Have confidence in the musical spaces but remember if you make a mistake it jumps out a lot more where there is less room to hide i.e. a bigger band.

Top tip Lee; put your location in for better replies. Maybe include a bit about you guys so they can gauge it. I'm sure the perfect candidate will be on this site.

Deedpoll is about £12. When I got divorced I couldn't wait for my ex to Change her name - she didn't until she remarried. My current wife on the other hand changed hers back to her maiden name within a few days of splitting with her ex. If it bothers you, change it. I know a few friends who have changed it and it's no hassle. My first band had stage names back in the early 90s. I have never had a nickname and didn't want a stage name but compromised by using my middle name as my surname. I changed it back for the next band.

Same as I use at the Dog & Duck...

Yeah, the phone works. My other half has it now and I have an identical Orange one, purely due to my obsession with colour coordination. The cat stand has been in the family since the 1900s.... the cat since 2007.

A few occasions I have been tempted to list him on Basschat Marketplace but he's a good lad really.

Definitely a lot of hate for them but if you want one, try one. I had a Mapleglo 4003 about 12 yrs ago and sold it on quite quickly. Never really bonded with it. It was a nice bass but a lot of money to sit as part of a collection. Kinda missed it so I picked up a 4003s in 2016. It's done a whole album and a fair few shows and is probably one of my most played basses. It sounds great, looks cool and fits the vibe of the band I use it with. The downside I find is that on the various FB groups for Ric owners some of the owners come across as real idiots but then I bought it to play it, not talk about whether the USA flag sticker stays or goes!

I don't have pics but going back over 12yrs there are only two that I wish I'd bought and both owned by (minor) names. One was a vintage Fender Precision in red that boasted the claim of being ex-Musical Youth and the other was a 1976 Bicentenery Gibson Thunderbird (ex-Quireboys) that was only around £650 at the time. Obviously now it would be nearer £3k. Regrets, I've had a few, but then again too few to mention....

I think with the current Covid-19 situation things are much more heightened. My super busy main band has been almost radio silence for over a year and quieter bands have gotten busier / creative during lockdowns. I guess everyone is fighting their own battles from those who have been furloughed through to those who worked throughout in public facing. Line-ups can be a challenge at the best of times, and sadly these aren't even the best of times.

When I was younger it seemed I could only manage a genre at a time. Now my tastes range several genres. I think playing an instrument opens your ears and opens your mind.

I've owned both. Both are great. The Hofner is a little less common. It's short scale and they do (or did) a long scale which is one of my main basses (pictured) - pre-Covid I took it on numerous tours across Europe and the UK. The JC basses are really good too. Quality wise, they are pretty similar. The Hofner's just are a bit rarer and mine always got comments (& who the hell comments on the bass?!). Short scale basses can have a few problems with intonation which is why I got shot of my short scale verythin. No intonation issues with my old JC or the long scale verythin.

We'd still have Off topic. I'm not sure if that is a positive or a negative!

Credible enough for me anyway

I grew up with role models like Paul Simonon so I have always slung pretty low (since the 80s). As I have got older I have raised it very slightly only for it to come back down. I know technique wise it benefits from being slightly higher but you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

I did 10 yrs of UK Americana and we did a few bluegrass sets. I wound up on the upright bass for most of those but the advice here is correct, lots of root / fifth. You can liven it up with the odd cheeky run. Foam under the bridge and roll back the tone a bit, coupled with flatwound strings and you will be in the right area. And don't use a pick if you are after that sound.

My 4003s is from 2015 and the front pickup in isolation is quieter. I find this is more problematic on some setups than others. On my practice amp it sounds faulty but running it through my big rig it sounds like there are no issues. I initially thought I would be having to buy new pickups but I am quite happy with the stock setup now.

Whilst I generally agree with the responses, was it said as advice or barked as an order? I've bought gear to fit a band's vibe (both tone and image) and had suggestions about expensive kit where me saying "that'd be cool but it's outside of my budget" was accepted as a reply. Most people are pretty reasonable and if the reality is you were thinking of upgrading and they suggested a platinum service response, surely a middle ground can be found where you meet at a appropriate compromise for everyone.

From a moderating perspective I have hidden a few posts (some a bit contentious and others not doing anything wrong but referencing the contentious posts). No warnings at this stage. This is a topic that is going to generate differences of opinion and there is a 100% chance someone on here won't share your views. Keep it civil. Use the ignore feature if someone else's views make you want to do this but it's ignore, not publicly announce that you are ignoring someone! A lot of us use overseas sellers so it is an important topic and it would be good if we can keep this thread running.

Continuing the Jodie bought an Aguilar cab from me theme, I wanted to add my own thumbs up for a smooth and effortless transaction with Jodie. A bassist who it would appear can usually offer an absolute masterclass in GAS restraint that we could all learn from! Deal with confidence!

In terms of case law, it's untested water because it hasn't happened yet i.e. been put before the courts. I did two gigs since the pandemic (both socially distanced) & the second was stopped by police. We were onstage and didn't get why people were walking out. It turns out one punter got drunk and decided to kick a police car outside. Everyone suffered. The police seemed to take this up with the event organisers. We were never spoken to. It was a shame as it was really well organised with all the social distancing / track and trace measures in place.

I'm not really a Crue fan and don't like stuff that is too heavy but I thought that Corabi album was really well done. My ex-wife loved Crue but I was always more Hanoi Rocks (& if you know the history...). After Ratt, check out Arcade. I thought the debut was good fun.

This year I have bought LPs by Red Lorry Yellow Lorry and the March Violets. 48 seems a great age to have an awkward teenage Goth phase!