Marvin

Probably on BBC Sounds. Bono on Desert Island Discs. I'm not a big fan of U2 or Bono but I actually quite enjoyed the bits I caught (I was at work, in and out the van). I'll try and listen to all of it at some point.

Mike Mills in REM or Tony Levin in Peter Gabriel's band.

I'd love to get back into a gigging band. What puts me off is trying to find others who have a similar outlook as myself. Basically, because I've been out of the loop for some time, the only people available are those who would pay to play at the opening of an envelope. Not really for me.

Send it back if you can. For that price I'd expect a factory set up to have no problems. Is your luthier buddy a luthier or someone who just does set ups? Either way really, it shouldn't take someone with experience and knowledge to diagnose the potential problem, and tell you what's wrong in a short period of time. I've become very wary of people who've been in bands, tweaked their own guitar a couple of times, then all of a sudden they're calling themselves a luthier. I used a guy once who told me the neck on my Korean Squier was made if 'rubbery maple' and that's why the action would always be a problem. He was talking drivel. I did the set up myself after he had been at it, it was fine. Now anything I can't do I take to a guy who makes acoustic and electric guitars, an actual luthier (the lead singer in the Manics uses one of acoustics)

There will be those who knock him, but I hope I'm able to do a +2hr set to that standard when I'm 80...having done a gig the night before.

Anyone reckon Macca's band bass bod is playing a Limelight?

Standard BBC utterly abysmal mix. First song Macca did the whole band was drowned out by Wix's acoustic guitar. And FFS why are Macca's vocals so low in the mix. Do the sound guys not care?

He may as well be playing a cardboard cut out, I can barely hear any bass at all

Jo Whiley is irritating The only performance that's interested so far was by Les Amazones D'Afrique. It was just on the beeb.

Anyone into Public Image Ltd might be interested in a documentary about them on Amazon

Sire V7. Always gets used more than my P bass. I bought the P bass for a punk band...that I knew some if the venues we'd play my gear my get a knock or two.

I tap my foot, maybe saunter around a bit, but mainly just tap my foot. This mainly due to the 'stage' areas I've played have always been quite small, or there seems to be a lot of gear belonging to other band members around me. I dare not move too much for fear of standing on a lead and dislodging it from its connection or knocking over an instrument.

Friend of mine and fellow bass player, his band suggested Hit me... I just went 'ooof, best of luck. It's a bit of a work out apparently'. Next time I saw him the band dropped the idea. He could play it up to about ¾ speed but not faster. I told him he did much better than me...as I'd never contemplated learning it. 😁 I tell myself it's a horrid song and I wouldn't want to know it anyway. Lying to myself means I get to keep my basses.

As I wrote in the P bass thread, I really like the simplicity of a P bass and its tone. However, the bass I use most is a Jazz style bass. It's a Sire V7. It maybe just this bass, but I find the neck about the best and most com I've ever played. The only negative is the inevitable hum if you only use one pick up. It's never a problem if I'm not going through a PA, but does rear its head whenever going direct to a desk. I don't tend to use the active tone controls, but they're there if I want them. Tone wise, I was actually very surprised when my wife recorded me at a gig to find out what I sounded like. The intro to one song was just me, and I sounded really woody and upright bass...I was using flatwounds which helped. Perhaps it's just this Jazz bass, but versatile and just feels right.

I didn't realise until recently that a friend of mine lives with Sam Tanner of said Brother Strut. I knew she (who is a great singer herself) was with a pro muso but not which one. I might have to blag to tickets for their next tour 🤪

I like the simplicity of the P bass, there's no fuss. Even the look of it is simple and quite minimal. The bridge for example, it's neat, uncomplicated and functional. And then of course there's the tone which can work for almost anything despite being quite fixed.

I've never been and never wanted to go. And after watching the 50yrs of Glastonbury programme on BBC2 last night I think my stance is somewhat vindicated. I'm not one for being burnt to a crisp or alternatively drowning in a lake of dysentery. 😁

Definitely

Some strings, which aren't really gear I classify as sundries, and I bought some fret wraps....which I don't like so won't use so don't count either 😁 That's it.

I've only ever had basses with bolt on necks, but that's simply down to those basses being the best I could afford at the time. Otherwise it's not something I have a overriding preference for one or the other. I like Fender style bolt basses, the Ibanez SR I had with a bolt on neck was great. But I've always liked the old Aria SBs (?) with thru necks. At the moment I'd like to buy a Cort A5 plus with a 5 piece thru neck...IT LOOKS AWESOME. Phwoar 😁

Nailing a song on air guitar

Pinch of salt, pepper and garlic...

Not a chance. That said I did let a bloke at a gig ' have a go on' my bass. I'd got talking to him during our break. He'd been a semi-pro apparently and said how much he liked the Sire V7 I was playing. He had to give up playing because he had MS and could only play for very short periods. So I let him play with the band for the first song of the second set. I shouldn't have really, he was far better than me.

I'm 100% certain I'd be awful, probably worse than my fumbling efforts on bass. The closest I've got to drumming is when I sat behind the drummer's kit at practice and she said 'you actually look like a drummer you know'.

Stumbled across this, it's probably already very uncool...especially for a man of my mid-life crisis years. 😁