Merton

It was a bit odd! I think the idea was to get people line dancing in the space but that only really happened when the dancing girls were on before us!

PS - the bassist for the Shania Twain UK tribute act which played after us had a 5 string Wal, sounded ace. If he be on here, say hello! Would be interested in your thoughts on the organisational side of things 😆

Loud. A bit too loud tbh. Katy Hurt was booked to play the Country Roads festival in Southampton; a bit odd for a festival at the end of October but thankfully we were under a massive marquee just outside the Southampton Guildhall so the cold and wet weather didn’t dampen the mood too much. Organisation was pretty … lacking. In the 48 hours preceding the event we had 3 different arrival times/stage times/set lengths, and when we arrived for our soundcheck at 3.30 were told in no uncertain terms that soundchecks were not on the cards at all because no-one had told or prepped the crew for anything 😕 The “green room” was a tiny tent outside the main marquee, hemmed in by a giant concrete bench, and the “backstage area” also doubled as the fire escape, except the marquee flaps were tied together and they led to metal fencing which was all bolted together. This “backstage” area became a nightmare as we finished and the next band were prepping; it was carnage trying to get off stage with our gear as they were setting up theirs in this tiny space and also trying to get onstage whilst our guitarist was still packing down (always a bugbear - f**king WAIT for us to be completely clear). Plus the floor was soaking wet so we didn’t really want to put our gear directly on it. Anyway, organisational issues aside, we managed a loud, raucous 45 minute set (which we’d been told by the organisers as we arrived was 60 minutes…) and, on the whole, had fun. Katy’s acoustic kept feeding back and the onstage volume was blisteringly loud but overall actually I had a good balance of all the instruments. We sang, rocked out and enjoyed ourselves, then ate our token free hot dog and left 😃 Photo to show the daft “VIP” area directly in front of the band which meant all the crowd behind the barriers were miles from us and a bit annoyed they couldn’t be closer…

Still doesn’t answer my specific question, which @lowdown kindly has. Thanks all

I’m with @binky_bass on this - how does what @Prog shared tell us it’s Crown Court? Genuinely interested to understand

Now down to 4 basses in my stable, two medium scale ACGs (below), a short scale ACG and short scale Conway Instruments fretless. Ever since Alan built me my first 32” bass back in 2014/5 it’s felt like “home”, and after several iterations as I played around with different shapes, woods and pickups, earlier this year he built me what I can only describe as the most perfect bass for me - the 5 string RetroB (see here). I’ve thoroughly enjoyed gigging her all summer and got to thinking how comfortable I find the RetroB shape both seated and standing, and how much I love the RFB pickup in the bridge position (essentially an ACG take on an MM). So I commissioned a 4 string version. It’s less exotic - no fancy top wood and accent veneer, no blocks in the board - but it’s scratched an itch I’ve had for years about having a black/maple bass whilst also giving me the shape and tones I am after. So these are my medium scale siblings now and I really can’t see anything making me want to change them.

Did anyone see Marlee King opening the show? My mate was playing drums; he also happens to be dtum and monitor tech for L42 of course 😁

My latest ACGs have this config (albeit ACG proprietary pickups based on the MM and P) and I absolutely concur.

That is quite lovely ☺️

PS, and I saw The Virginmarys back in 2010 when they were still a 3 piece with a bassist. They were superb. Their first album was produced by Toby Jepson (of Little Angels Fame) and it’s a great slab of bluesy alt rock.

Tbh the first time I saw Florence Black (Feb 2020) the volume was much much better and they blew me away. More recently they’ve just become that heavy overly loud mush. I saw them on the Tremonti tour and felt the sound for the whole night, both bands, was sh1t. Far too loud, way too much boom on the kick and a huge, undefined bass mess. Heavy music doesn’t have to be horribly loud and undefined to make it heavy!!

FTFY 😜

I’m not, but I think we have a plan!

Bought recently but no longer need. Andertons-branded. Free if you can collect from me (normally RH6 postcode but also in TN14, OX11 or M30 reasonably regularly)