peterjam

I posted a bunch of piccies on the Moffat Bass Bash FaceAche group. Once again it was an excellent weekend - just the right mix of professional and personal - and I don't know how we're going to top having Steve play and chat. I'll be boring on at the local bass players to get along next year - it's amazing that people don't realise there's a world-class luthier on their doorstep.

Does anyone have any experiences with the Pigtronix Infinity Looper pedal to share - good or bad? I'm thinking about using it with my Chapman Stick - looping bass parts then playing, (or looping), melody parts over the top.

Ticket bought and space reserved in calendar - no gigs that weekend!

I'd be happy to have a wee night out in Aberdeen - I'll have had my tea first - depending on the gig list.

Now the dust has settled it's time to say what an excellent weekend that was, m' young friends! Good food, good beer, excellent company, good tunes and an outstanding collection of gearage! Thanks must go to those behind the faultless organisation, as well as Boon Blandford and Sandy Sweetman for their sterling efforts backing up the bass-e-okey. I'm looking forward to seeing the numerous pics that were taken. Keep the faith!

I shall be there on Saturday. Staying in the Travelodge London Fulham Hotel, (North End Road), on the Friday night.

I didn't realise I looked that out-of-focus when I was playing! Plus I forgot to wear the porkpie hat. Here's a link to the Bass Bash album on my Faceache page. Feel free to save the pictures for your own use. [url="http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/media/set/?set=a.4929490727982.170565.1619880660&type=3"]http://www.facebook....19880660&type=3[/url] Once again, thanks to the band - you were truly stellar! Hopefully, I'll arrange my calendar a bit better next year so I don't have to rush off for a gig.

Thanks for the responses - the guidance is very welcome. I finally went for the H1 - imagine my delight when I discovered it came bundled with Steinberg Wavelab LE 7 (it's on the 2GB micro SD card). We're gigging this weekend - Sunday 4th - so it will be used in anger. I'll be posting the results on the bands FaceAche page. [url="http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/StrumSum/193114527412256"]http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/StrumSum/193114527412256[/url]

Would you say the Zoom H1 or H2n would be better for a live recording? I'd like to leave it running and then chop the file into tracks afterwards - do I need to put 'marks' between the tracks?

Apologies for not replying to this thread before - I've been busy between gigging and a holiday. I've bought a couple of e-books, (The Sticktionary, Stick e-Lessons and the Big Book of Polychords - all by Chris Crain), and I'm working my way through them very slowly. I think the way to approach this instrument is not to look at it as a different bass, but as a means to play as much or as little music as you want. I play bass in a blues band which already has two guitar players, so I need to think very carefully about what and when to play so that the Stick doesn't muddy up the overall sound. I understand that Tony Levin will sometimes only plug in and play the 'bass' side of his Stick, so it's like you can apply this instrument to any situation, but you should think about context - you don't switch all your foot pedals on at the same time, so you don't need to be playing bass and melody all the time. The fact that it comes with a stereo cable is leading me down the 'melody amp' road - Fender Mustang or Line 6 Spider IV? GAS kicks in again!

[attachment=118516:P9141105.JPG] Meet my new Chapman 10-string Stick, which arrived safely on Thursday. It's rosewood with deep matched reciprocal tuning, medium gauge strings, ACTV-2 pickup, black tuners, and turquoise dot inlays. Tuning goes like this - Melody (right to left) Bb, F down a 4th, C down a 4th, G down a 4th, D down a 4th. Bass (right to left) Bb, F up a 5th, C up a 5th, G up a 5th (same note as the melody open G), D up a 5th. I've only been playing through a small amp so far, but still sounds cool. There will need to be a lot of practising before it gets a public outing!

I've recently fitted a set of SIT Power Wound Nickel strings (NR545125L) G 45, D 65, A 85, E 105 and B 125 to my 5-string. I'd previously been using Elite Medium Vs, (G 40, D 60, A 80, E 100 and B125), but I was hugely impressed by the SITs that were fitted to my ACG J-Bass when I bought it. They're really toppy, but they still have a well-defined bottom end and don't lose their brightness as quickly as Rotosounds or Elites seem to do.

Having spent years farkling about with various stands that fell over or fell to bits when someone looked at it the wrong way, I recently purchased a Tiger 3 guitar stand from DJM Music for £17.00 (via e-Bay). It's brilliant and great! It has a small footprint and the basses are very stable on it. Now all I need to do is work out how to fit a bracket to hang my Ashbory Mk2 bass on it.

I'm going to the Stick Men plus Gavin Harrison & 05Ric at the Manchester Academy on Sunday 3rd. Anyone else attending?

The problem is that I don't think that bands have much input into ticket prices, although they - or their management company - will sign up to the tour. The concert promoters and venues are all tied together these days, and Rush have admitted that they now make their money touring - a complete turnaround from their early days. Let's also place these prices in context and look at football tickets. The Championship playoff tickets for the West Ham/Blackpool game in Wembley Stadium on 19th May range from £166.23 to £380.00 - just to watch a bunch of bad-tempered, appallingly-behaved, frock coat-wearing dandies kick a ball about for 90 minutes, (you may have gathered that I'm not a football fan!). I am old enough to remember seeing the Rolling Stones supported by the Meters for £7.50 in the Glasgow Apollo, but I think the live music environment is better today. There is a huge resurgence in bands playing at all levels - from Enormodomes to pubs. I took my daughter to see the Time Machine tour and I'll be taking her and my son this time, as he is now a convert.

I would LOVE to get along to this event, but I have previous commitments that weekend. I understand that you're based in France, but would you consider running similar events elsewhere in the UK?

Ooh, I can feel the weight of expectation from my fellow bass players now that I've bought an ACG J-Bass! I've had it plugged into a small amp - not the big rig in my signature - and it feels and plays really well. The bandwidth of tonal variation is astounding, even through small speakers, and it just [i]feels[/i] right in my hands. I think Alan is doing the right thing making these types of basses. The people who buy personal, custom-built instruments are few and far between and they need to have firm ideas about what they do and don't like - there's no point in spending £2000 on an instrument and discovering it's not what you want. Any maker would be disheartened, having built a custom bass only to see it hang on a wall or sit on stage un-used. There has to be an entry level that moves players from the Gibson/Fender/Rickenbacker etc. camp and into the custom-build market. Although basses and bass players have made huge strides in development, (this is beginning to sound like a Charles Darwin presentation!), there's still a big conservative element out there. Witness the spate of signature basses - much as I admire the playing of Geddy Lee, Chris Squire and Jaco Pastorius, I don't want their basses - I want mine! And while we're on the subject, a Roger Waters signature Precision? Really? (Engage old fart mode) - I've lost count of the number of younger musicians that I've told, "spend your money on a really good instrument - it's worth it in the long run." Also, it prevents that 'I'd be happy if I had one more bass/pedal/amp/cabinet' syndrome we all know and love. It's very easy to focus on your gear and lose sight of the real reason we play bass - to express ourselves and hopefully give enjoyment to the audience. (Disengage old fart mode)

I'm collecting my ACG J Type 4SU, (serial number 0096), this morning. I met Alan at this year's Moffat Bass Bash - along with some other fine, upstanding members of the bass community - and I was hugely impressed by the built quality of his basses. As you'll see in my signature below, I don't have a 'conventional' arsenal of basses. I've always liked the shape and feel of the Fender Jazz, but I don't think you get a lot of instrument for the money unless you go down the Mexican route. I'll post some pics and a review once I've had it for a few days, but my initial impression was a bass with a wide tonal palette that sits very comfortably under your hands. Stay tuned for further developments!

Here is a link to the YouTube video mentioned by ou7shined above [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6SX6izYn9A"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6SX6izYn9A[/url] I think the Basse-okey, (we'll need to sort out how to spell it properly!), was brilliant. It's all too easy to sit at home and perfect a tune, but it's not the same as playing it live with real musicians - insert drummer joke here.

Hello, fellow bashers! I hope you all got home safe. I thoroughly enjoyed my first Bass Bash, and I've posted some pics on my Facebook page - my profile photo is the same as the one here. Next year I may pluck up the courage to attempt the Basseoke - total respect to those of you who got up and did the business.