Cat Burrito

I used them for a couple of bands in the 90s but haven't missed them over the last 20 years. In some venues they really lift the professionalism and as mentioned in other posts, they can look a little sad and cluttered. It wouldn't be my priority in 2018 but I don't have a problem with them.

Anyone vaguely alternative at school had a Cure phase in the 80s. I liked the bass player Simon Gallup. I felt they did some killer songs but there was just a bit too much that passed me by. Robert Smith really hasn't aged too well as this photo that was doing the rounds a while back suggests.

It goes full circle. I've recently been looking at acoustic basses, having got rid of my last one 12 years ago. I'm back on roundwound strings after 20yrs on flats and experimenting with effects. And having ticked the box on owning a Rickenbacker, my 2nd one I bought last year is something of a firm favourite. So I would certainly say never say never.

My main rig (plus I have a PF500 head and a BA108 practice combo not pictured)

I've had both and there are definitely good and bad examples of everything. I think everything I own now is 21st century but with classic / retro stylings. I had some great 70s basses though. Were they better? No. But I get that people want a bit of vintage mojo to get closer to their idols / the classic era. We live in the consumer age and players can have whatever they can afford. I wouldn't knock a player for spending £6k on a classic Fender anymore than I would a friend having a modern PRS, which although not to my tastes I have to remind myself it wouldn't be my instrument!

We toured around Scotland in Summer '16 ; 8 days with a hired big splitter van and hotel rooms. We had to work hard with only 2hrs downtime on one day (in Edinburgh) but we managed to brake even. It's tough but you can do it. We lose on some shows but often manage to brake even. I guess the view we take is that music is art and we're not in it for riches. I play in a couple of other groups, one of which does covers, but this is just to keep playing and performing.

No worries. It's not unusual for all of us to miss something that is perhaps so obvious to others - we all do it.

Over the last couple of years on forums music stands seem to have become the new pick vs fingers topic. Thankfully this thread seems to lean towards a healthy common sense approach. Some forums get very silly about such things.

It's Em so it should and does work. It's a pretty widely used sequence for that very reason.

I can't imagine the 20t would be but I play in a quiet and a loud band and it keeps up with both - probably sits around 4 on the dial with the quieter band and up to 7 with the louder group.

You've got a mightly selection of Ampeg cabs there fella! I have a PF500 as back up (early issues long sorted but for some reason it comes up every Ampeg thread) but went for the PF50t as my upgrade. I've long been an admirer of the PF800 though.

Pretty crazy to set limits on age. If you can and you enjoy it, that's all there is to it.

They seem to average out around £550 but I occasionally see them just under £500. I'd imagine when examples come up secondhand there could be a bargain for someone. It's one of my cheaper instruments but I think it holds it's own against the more expensive stuff.

I'm quite taken by that Mooer Hustle Drive pedal in the video. So many of them sound rotten to me but that works for my tastes.

This would be my lot...

"It's all about the music" is a fairly tired cliché. It's about how it makes you feel, it's a soundtrack to people's lives. Music is about passion but music can also be about fashion. Sometimes the non-image or simple show is a statement in itself. People seem to default to thinking of Pink Floyd lightshows or Alice Cooper onstage beheadings when they think of the trimmings that come with rock n roll but the reality is it can also be Bill Wyman's 'at the back nonchalance'.

Cheers Graeme, I did not know that. Very cool. If you are in a position to scan / photograph the page and DM me on Messenger, that'd be really cool.. and worth a pint! My MU membership expired in 1995! Valve amps do sound lovely but yes, I'm getting to a stage where a lighter option would probably be easier. I'm hoping that I can last out a few more years yet though. I think a few of the class D options come close. I'm quite impressed with the Fender Bassman stuff. I had an old 1978 135w head that nearly broke my back but sounded like heaven. Unwisely I flightcased it which must go down in history as my least wise bass decision.

Just to kickstart this, you heard my PF-50t when you saw me play. I don't think it is *that* loud so personally I'd avoid a PF-20t for anything other than studio work. I've not done a side by side comparison but it is certainly what Ampeg were aiming to do & although they don't seem to be huge sellers, the reviews all suggested it got you in that ballpark.

I have a guitar shaped bottle opener on the zip of my gigbag. Everything else is just a bonus.

My full rig, complete with hat!

Happy Days!

Alice Cooper. Great basslines from the Dennis Dunaway era, a fantastic show and he seems like a really decent guy to be around.

Buddy Holly. A young (frighteningly so) pioneer who played guitar, wrote, sang and produced. Just incredible when you look at his legacy and one can't help but wonder what would have happened if he had not been taken so young.