sPiKi

Thanks Basinski.

Thanks for the response Burns-bass. That is clear to follow. Have you investigated this yourself?

With the chancellor announcing support for the self employed, can anyone explain clearly who is/may be entitled to it? I run a covers/function band as a small business with my brother and we complete a self-assessment return every year and have done so since we started gigging several years ago. The loss of earnings to us due to COVID 19 has been considerable (tbh I try not to think about it). Since March we have had cancellations for at least forty weddings and corporate functions and about the same in pub gigs. Music is a second source of income for me. My main employment is in education where I am employed full time. What I can't determine is if that cancels me out completely from getting any government support. Can anyone explain clearly if I might be entitled to any govt support at this time? Thanks in advance.

No stock at Sweetwater either: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SubwayTT800--mesa-boogie-subway-tt-800-lightweight-800-watt-bass-head

Try TUSQ 0.88s or 1.00mm. I use the 1mm 'warm' / yellow ones after switching from Tort 0.88s. Much prefer my tone now.

Good shot of the binding on the Mercalli.

Well if you know the meaning of mercalli, you'll get the significance of the image 😁 ! Bench recycled shortly after destruction.

I should add BassApprentice that I bought the Mercalli on the strength of a discussion on TalkBass and this review on YT (mine is the newer model with lightweight tuners, roasted maple neck etc.). I just thought it looking mighty and I was intrigued to try it out for myself. I didn't have the chance to try it first either and I don't regret it for a minute. Just check with MCM if they would take it back if you didn't like it.

I would agree with that description, that the Mercalli is more rounded. I have found the Decision pickups are higher output and played with a pick, the bass can do throaty/aggressive really well. It delivers a big, full sound. It did take some experimenting with the blend knob and my amp settings to find the tone I wanted. A little goes a long way with those pickups and the controls on the Mesa Subway head (I recently upgraded to the D800+). The control configuration on both basses is exactly the same. With the Mercalli, I tend to favour the blend knob slightly forward, towards the neck pickup. It just seems to give it a clear but weighty thump than either pickup soloed. Like a Precision but with a little more bite if that makes sense. The bridge pickup almost sounds like the equivalent on a J bass to me. I tend not to solo it, although for poppier songs in our set, I would roll the blend slightly towards the bridge, just a little more definition. Dead easy to dial in your tone. In short, if I had to pick I would choose the Merc over the Decision. Not only does it look cool (it's described as metallic copper fire and isn't as orange as the photos would suggest), it is very easy to get a tone that I'm happy with and sounds better through IEMs. Again this is just my experience, but I have found that I spend more time tweaking my IEM settings with the Decision, but once I get it, I don't touch a dial for the rest of the night. The Merc is also slightly lighter. The Sentinel is another matter entirely. Now, if only they made a short scale Mercalli!

Big Reverend fan. Let me introduce the family - Mercalli 4, Decison P and the Sentinel. Bought the first from Andertons, the other two from Merchant City. Richard at MCM is fantastic. Although I still have my USA jazz, it hasn't been out of its case or gigged in the two years since I got my first Rev. The blend knob is a great design and simplicity to use at a gig. I got the Sentinel just before the lockdown and have played it every day since. Just plays and sounds so good. A really first class shortie. Having playing over 100 gigs with these 3 basses I don't quite get the toy analogy particularly with the Merc and Decision which feel substantial to me but we all perceive things differently. If you fancy something a little bit different, are really well made and great after sales (in my experience) then Reverend are definitely worth serious consideration.

I have just bought a Mesa Subway D800+ from Mike. The whole experience was first class - communication, description of the item, packaging and pricing...not to mention a really nice guy. I would highly recommend Mike to any Basschatter.

Thanks Mike.

As a teenager I was a big Iron Maiden fan and loyally trooped down to my local music shop to pick up a copy of the just released 'Powerslave' album. Once I got there I saw they had a picture disc version of the album which I just couldn't resist. After I trekked home and put the album carefully on the deck I was mesmerised by all this new Maiden material and listened to it the whole way through it one sitting. However, when it came to the song 'Powerslave' itself, about two thirds of the way through, the song speed up. Bruce was singing 'Tell me why I had to be a powerslave' in a chipmunk voice! For years I thought that was all part of the epic feel to the song. My mates hated Maiden and I didn't know anyone else who had a copy I could check against to see if this was intended. The disc is now on the wall of fame in our practice room.

Recently bought a Reverend Sentinel short scale bass. Brilliant guitar and a joy to play.

As I have been working from home, I have taken time to try to get into Failure. Previously I had liked a couple of their songs, but found the albums hard going in one sitting or even listening to on car journeys. Thanks to Spotify and sitting at my desk for a few hours a day, I have had time to listen properly. I created a best of Failure playlist to play in the background. I now have several of their songs embedded in my head. The playlist has grown to about 30 songs. Some good stuff too among the Failure off shoots and Ken Andrew's solo album. Check out the bass on this one:

A band called The Mayan Factor. I'd never heard of them until I was listening to Pucifer on Spotify and clicked on the 'other people like' tab. Great discovery! I know little about them other than they're from the US.

Ok, thanks for the heads up. Who knows what could be announced next in terms of support.

I haven't had a chance to catch up on the news today yet, but has there been any discussion or proposals to provide financial support for the self-employed including musicians? I was just calculating that between this weekend and the end of June the covers band I play in is likely to have 14 pub gigs cancelled, amounting to a loss of earnings close to £7000. That's not to mention the weddings we have lost too (although we've been fortunate to reschedule one or two for the autumn). Any thoughts on this? Thanks for any advice.