Rich

First ska gig outing with the Q4 last night. Perfect. Sat well in the mix esp. when I favoured the neck pickup. And so wonderfully light! To say I'm pleased is a total understatement. The Trojan logo and the neck 'inlays' are all vinyl stick-ons, easily removed without a trace. I'd have like some Spector crowns but they're next to impossible to find. EDIT: see below for updated pic!

Thats a good idea… wouldn’t necessarily be cheap but I reckon you’d end up with a strap that would outlast your grandchildren. Keep us all informed if you go down that route plz?

We’ve got a ska gig at a Coronation night celebration party in Salisbury… I really really want to get a Pistols ‘God Save The Queen’ t shirt to wear for it… 😄

They're proper Schaller straplock bodies, but the fluted front washer is from the cheapy Stagg knock-off of the Schaller locks. I liked the look of the washers but the straplocks themselves didn't feel as substantial as the pukka Schallers. I'm always intrigued by comments that the Schaller locks 'fall apart' or that the nut comes loose and it falls off the strap. I've used Schallers since 1986 and only had to replace my original ones a couple of years back because one literally wore out, i.e. the metal wore so thin that it finally failed (see pic). Was I just lucky? And the loosening nut can be solved by using some threadlock -- Tamiya stuff can be bought for as little as a fiver on fleaBay and is worth its weight in gold. I use the stuff everywhere.

3.5" wide padded leather Maruszczyk item, won as a raffle prize at the South West Bass Bash a few years ago. It's starting to get that gorgeous beaten-up patina you get with brown leather sofas, flying jackets, etc. First time I used it, the dark brown padded inner left a massive big brown stripe right across the white t-shirt I'd been daft enough to wear. I gave it (the strap) a good scrub with some leather cleaner and got rid of the rest of the excess dye and it's been harmless ever since.

I could have saved a tenner by getting my last set of Elixirs from Amazon rather than Strings Direct. But as far as I'm aware, Strings Direct pay their UK tax and don't treat their employees like dirt, so SD will get my money every time. *opens potential can of worms*

Nope, different band.

Current bands: Soul Destroyers -- soul covers plus much more, with lots of silliness. Name was already in place when I joined and after nearly 30 years is unlikely to change. Train To Skaville -- I think you can guess what we do. Again, well-established name when I joined. Selection of past bands: Thursday's Child -- first band, so named because we had a long way to go to be even remotely good. Closer Apart -- first really good band and my only serious attempt at stardom. Came quite close to a record deal. It was the 80s and pretentious band names were a legal requirement. Desperate Head -- rock covers. Name was in place when I joined, don't know where it came from but I suspect large quantities of dope were involved. Lead singer was the son of Brian Gregg, bassist with Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. He came to see us once, didn't say anything (good or bad) about my playing. Didn't say much of anything to anyone, in fact. Thud -- jazz fusion trio. Name taken from the Bruford tune.

Waaaaay back in the early 80s, I really wanted to form a quartet and call it Max Headroom And The Thirteen-Foot Three. Then a couple of years later this bloke came along and ruined the idea for me.

Ta for pointing that out, I'd never have guessed it from the pic.

Union of the Snake - DuranX2

The thread is about playing in church, so can we please stick to the musical topic and leave the proselytising for the pulpit? Many thanks.

You'll be more than welcome. Bring any gear you want (or bring none, it's your choice) and remember to not have a big breakfast

So am I.

Ooh, that's not a bad shout. My G-B Shuttle 9.2 available if we go down that route.

Ain't nuthin feeble about a lamb cutlet. Mmmm.

My god. People have been publicly flogged for far lesser crimes than that. If you listen carefully, you can hear the poor thing crying. At least when I fitted the EMG pickup in my old Roadie 1 (in my defence, the original humbug died and I already had the EMG in the spares box), I had the good sense** to put it in the original pickup cavity. ** a rare thing for me

Nice one. Personally speaking I always prefer rounds on a fretless. I know it's a very personal thing. I'm going to move this to the reviews section if that's ok.

Yes, these are always v.interesting, some surprising results too. I'll have my Barefaced cab if you want to do a 2x12 comparison, although I think that was what we had in 2021. Did you do one last year? As for a live player, I'm not sure I'd want to get my feeble chops out in public...

Bassically Taps - Stanley Clarke

Damned if I’m going to miss it this year. So I’ll start the ball rolling with the gear list: 1. Rich - Spector Q4, Shuker 5-string, Genz-Benz Shuttle 9.2, Barefaced Super 12T

I bought a set of BBs and the G was dead straight out of the pack. I mean deader than Julius Caesar. Far too dead to crackle.

I've probably missed it, but is there a date for the 2023 BFSWBB yet?

Dunno about anyone else but Sunday usually works best for me... Saturdays are a bit more difficult as there are always Things 'We' Need To Do apparently.