How was your gig last night?

[asingardenof]

21 hours ago, colleya said:

With such restricted room, the Ibanez SMS 1005 came into its own. Our singist, who has become used to avoiding the bass headstock on cramped stages was most grateful for the headless.

I'm tempted by such an arrangement myself, our singist does like coming within my potential strike zone. I'm not sure a P-bass to the skull would go down well!

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

 

Sorry, yeah, I missed that rather important bit off! The Thunderbird has always been my best sounding bass. I did a bass comparison video over lockdown and it was the one everyone singled out (bass sound samples on iphones must be gospel, right?!). So I knew the Thunderbird would sound amazing. Mine is surprisingly light too. The Blackstar was really good. I like the portability (coming from an Orange stack previously) and looks, but tonally it was brilliant. I use a lot of chorus and distortion with the duo (having previously not really used effects on the bass much before) and it does exactly what I want it to do. 

 

And thanks. My look is pretty much the same 24/7. I maybe tone it down by about 30% for the day job but otherwise I am dressed the same whether onstage or shopping in the local supermarket. I think my Dad gave up on my phase a couple of decades ago! 

That's always handy to know the Blackstar amps are ok.

Like the look of a T bird but having had an Epi version the neck dive was a bit ridiculous even when i moved the strap pins. Are the Gibson ones better. They do have a distinct sound, deep and solid.

Have to say you've put me in GAS for one of those Red Rics again. At some point i'll try one of the new ones and maybe go for it. I like the tone of a Ric as its basically what i like in a bass tone. I love my Jazz basses but i adjust my eq to get as close to a standard Ric tone so i'm wondering why i dont just buy a Ric 👍

 

Dave

[dmccombe7]

2 hours ago, asingardenof said:

I'm tempted by such an arrangement myself, our singist does like coming within my potential strike zone. I'm not sure a P-bass to the skull would go down well!

Would maybe knock enough sense in him to keep him well away from a bass headstock.

Dave

[Paul S]

2 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

 

Like the look of a T bird but having had an Epi version the neck dive was a bit ridiculous even when i moved the strap pins. Are the Gibson ones better. They do have a distinct sound, deep and solid.

 

 

I know you didn't ask me but I have an opinion   I had a Gibson Thunderbird for a while, a nice light one at 8lbs, no neck dive.  Sold it, missed it, bought an Epiphone Classic Pro TBird, nice light one, around 8lbs.  No neck dive.  The Classic Pro has a set neck and Gibson pickups and, to my knackered old ears and hands, sounds and feels exactly like the Gibson did.  My particular one actually had a better fit and finish compared to the Gibson, too, and came in around a grand cheaper secondhand. 

[dmccombe7]

25 minutes ago, Paul S said:

 

I know you didn't ask me but I have an opinion   I had a Gibson Thunderbird for a while, a nice light one at 8lbs, no neck dive.  Sold it, missed it, bought an Epiphone Classic Pro TBird, nice light one, around 8lbs.  No neck dive.  The Classic Pro has a set neck and Gibson pickups and, to my knackered old ears and hands, sounds and feels exactly like the Gibson did.  My particular one actually had a better fit and finish compared to the Gibson, too, and came in around a grand cheaper secondhand. 

Mate had a white Epi T'bird with neck thru that looked gorgeous and he said it wasn't too bad for neck dive. 

Dave

[3below]

First outing with new (to me) prog Jazz rock band - all originals.  A good evening out with a small but appreciative audience. The usual game of keeping the blunders as well hidden as possible, which for the first time out in this line up we did well.  You can just see how we contained our drummer :), the eagle eyed will spot the Barefaced cab - Dubster being used with a fretless Warwick

 

 

I had forgotten the joys of loading kit into the car, have an early meal, leave home at 5, drive for an hour, setup, play 2hrs +, pack kit up, drive home and sleep.....   How did I ever do this when I had to work for a living as well.

[Cat Burrito]

13 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

That's always handy to know the Blackstar amps are ok.

Like the look of a T bird but having had an Epi version the neck dive was a bit ridiculous even when i moved the strap pins. Are the Gibson ones better. They do have a distinct sound, deep and solid.

 

There's a lot of talk about neckdive on Thunderbirds but the trick is where the strap lock is. Gibson moved it to the back of the neck about ten years ago and bam, problem solved. On the old ones, if you stick the strap button on were a neck plate is (cheaper Epiphones actually have a neck plate, otherwise it's where it would be), problem solved. My Gibson one is really loads better than the three Epiphones I have had. I've had Squiers that are 90% as good as a decent Fender, I think my Gibson really was worth the money.

[Cat Burrito]

Cheeky little Monday night appearance at The Lamb in Marlborough last night. I used to underage drink here but a few days shy of my 50th, I was quietly confident that'd I'd smash the Think 25 policy that they now have! Another outing for my Thunderbird and I loved the night. My boss came down from my regular job and loved it, plus I must have known about 50% of the people there. We played well and a few locals looked us up on Spotify, which was cool.

 

 

Doubly cool was that my stepson turned 16 and is a big fan of this band. We got him a band hoodie. Nick, the other half of the band, is also his teacher so I have the dubious honour of actually being his second favourite member of the band!

 

 

[Greg Edwards69]

16 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Like the look of a T bird but having had an Epi version the neck dive was a bit ridiculous even when i moved the strap pins. Are the Gibson ones better. They do have a distinct sound, deep and solid.

FWIW, I had a Tokai T-bird some years ago. I'd fancied a T-bird shaped bass for ages and I managed to snag this on in a liquidation sale. IIRC it had a set neck and more modern bridge style (not the traditional 3 point gibson style that falls off if you remove all of the strings).  I added a strap pin that cured any neck dive and it sounded pretty darn good. Only problem I had with it was me. At 5'7" I felt daft playing it - it wore me than I wore it. Huge unweildly beast of a bass with a headstock situated roughly half mile from where I was standing. I just couldn't bond with it, and I really wanted to.

[neepheid]

3 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

 

There's a lot of talk about neckdive on Thunderbirds but the trick is where the strap lock is. Gibson moved it to the back of the neck about ten years ago and bam, problem solved. On the old ones, if you stick the strap button on were a neck plate is (cheaper Epiphones actually have a neck plate, otherwise it's where it would be), problem solved. My Gibson one is really loads better than the three Epiphones I have had. I've had Squiers that are 90% as good as a decent Fender, I think my Gibson really was worth the money.

 

The latest Epiphone Thunderbird (the Vintage Pro or 60s as I think they're calling it now - the one with the two piece bridge and chrome pickups) has the strap button at the neck heel also...

[martthebass]

10 hours ago, Cat Burrito said:

Cheeky little Monday night appearance at The Lamb in Marlborough last night. I used to underage drink here but a few days shy of my 50th, I was quietly confident that'd I'd smash the Think 25 policy that they now have! Another outing for my Thunderbird and I loved the night. My boss came down from my regular job and loved it, plus I must have known about 50% of the people there. We played well and a few locals looked us up on Spotify, which was cool.

 

 

Doubly cool was that my stepson turned 16 and is a big fan of this band. We got him a band hoodie. Nick, the other half of the band, is also his teacher so I have the dubious honour of actually being his second favourite member of the band!

 

 

Awesome mate! Have a great 50th!

[martthebass]

A trip across the Pennines yesterday to a small pub on the outskirts of Stockport. An enthusiastic but smaller than usual crowd - the weather had negative effects. Sadly they closed all the trans Pennine roads other than the M62 just after we arrived so the return trip was a real bugger.

[dmccombe7]

21 minutes ago, martthebass said:

A trip across the Pennines yesterday to a small pub on the outskirts of Stockport. An enthusiastic but smaller than usual crowd - the weather had negative effects. Sadly they closed all the trans Pennine roads other than the M62 just after we arrived so the return trip was a real bugger.

But a good gig and that's what its all about. 👍

[Stub Mandrel]

Had a good gig on friday. Someone dexcribed the crowd as 'muso night' so no pressure... in the end we probably played one of our best performances.  Even did a bit of call and response with Alex and took an insanely fast solo for Bullfrog Blues. A fair few new songs too which was nice. Great prep for the Earl Haig next weekend😁

[Dr.Dave]

Guitar player's Marshall went west during the first song. We trooped off again while his mate went and got his from home a few mins away but it ended up costing us our break as we had to be done by a certain time.

 

Pity because I took my newly purchased Ampeg PF350 along - intention was to use it 2nd set but because we went straight through I stuck with my TC. I took my stack knob Jap Jazz. The sound cuts through two Gibson/Marshall set ups better than my Precisions do but it does seem low output compared to them. I have Duncan 1/4 pounders on both Precisions so maybe that's why although I know a lot of folk seem to think Jazz basses are low in output. I do like it but it showed another of the reasons I always preferred a Precision which is because of the shape of the Jazz body it wouldn't sit on the larger of my stands at all and was a bit wobbly on the small one. Guitar player said to get a hanging stand but it's no lightweight and not sure i'd trust it.

[karlfer]

On 07/03/2023 at 11:32, Greg Edwards69 said:

FWIW, I had a Tokai T-bird some years ago. I'd fancied a T-bird shaped bass for ages and I managed to snag this on in a liquidation sale. IIRC it had a set neck and more modern bridge style (not the traditional 3 point gibson style that falls off if you remove all of the strings).  I added a strap pin that cured any neck dive and it sounded pretty darn good. Only problem I had with it was me. At 5'7" I felt daft playing it - it wore me than I wore it. Huge unweildly beast of a bass with a headstock situated roughly half mile from where I was standing. I just couldn't bond with it, and I really wanted to.

I'm 6' 1" and I still have to get a taxi to the low F on a T'Bird.

[Obrienp]

1 hour ago, Dr.Dave said:

 Guitar player said to get a hanging stand but it's no lightweight and not sure i'd trust it.

You will be fine with a Hercules stand: they do one, two, three guitar stands. I have had three basses of various heft hanging on a 3 guitar stand and it is absolutely rock solid.

[dmccombe7]

32 minutes ago, Obrienp said:

You will be fine with a Hercules stand: they do one, two, three guitar stands. I have had three basses of various heft hanging on a 3 guitar stand and it is absolutely rock solid.

That's good to know as i was looking at them this afternoon 

 

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

On 12/03/2023 at 19:18, Dr.Dave said:

Guitar player's Marshall went west during the first song. We trooped off again while his mate went and got his from home a few mins away but it ended up costing us our break as we had to be done by a certain time.

 

Pity because I took my newly purchased Ampeg PF350 along - intention was to use it 2nd set but because we went straight through I stuck with my TC. I took my stack knob Jap Jazz. The sound cuts through two Gibson/Marshall set ups better than my Precisions do but it does seem low output compared to them. I have Duncan 1/4 pounders on both Precisions so maybe that's why although I know a lot of folk seem to think Jazz basses are low in output. I do like it but it showed another of the reasons I always preferred a Precision which is because of the shape of the Jazz body it wouldn't sit on the larger of my stands at all and was a bit wobbly on the small one. Guitar player said to get a hanging stand but it's no lightweight and not sure i'd trust it.

 

Get a Hercules!

[Greg Edwards69]

On 12/03/2023 at 19:18, Dr.Dave said:

Guitar player's Marshall went west during the first song. We trooped off again while his mate went and got his from home a few mins away but it ended up costing us our break as we had to be done by a certain time.

 

Pity because I took my newly purchased Ampeg PF350 along - intention was to use it 2nd set but because we went straight through I stuck with my TC. I took my stack knob Jap Jazz. The sound cuts through two Gibson/Marshall set ups better than my Precisions do but it does seem low output compared to them. I have Duncan 1/4 pounders on both Precisions so maybe that's why although I know a lot of folk seem to think Jazz basses are low in output. I do like it but it showed another of the reasons I always preferred a Precision which is because of the shape of the Jazz body it wouldn't sit on the larger of my stands at all and was a bit wobbly on the small one. Guitar player said to get a hanging stand but it's no lightweight and not sure i'd trust it.

Another vote for the Hercules hanging stand - I've used mine for years with a variety of basses both light and heavy with no problems. And a lot more stable that a traditional folding stand.

 

Also, tell your guitarists to get something like a sansamp just in case his amp implodes again.

[Len_derby]

A rare outing for The Daz Kelly Band, playing for a birthday party at the King William pub, Milford Derbyshire. Daz on Guild resonator, me on Harley Benton shorty P and Craig on the boxes. There’s a nice photograph on the wall behind us. The landlord had a ride in the two-seater Spitfire as a special birthday present.

 

[Dr.Dave]

6 hours ago, Greg Edwards69 said:

Another vote for the Hercules hanging stand - I've used mine for years with a variety of basses both light and heavy with no problems. And a lot more stable that a traditional folding stand.

 

Also, tell your guitarists to get something like a sansamp just in case his amp implodes again.

He's got a shed load - literally and it's a big shed - of amps and other kit. You name it. Why he doesn't bring a spare I don't know. 

[Bluewine]

On 03/03/2023 at 19:00, stewblack said:

First time Bandeoke at a music pub in Bristol. Went very well and was done at a cut price as it was the first time he'd tried it. But even then no cash at the end of the night.

I shall wait to see if it's forthcoming before naming and shaming.

Gear wise I went armed only with the TC Electronic 2x8 can I bought from @Stealth of this parish, thinking pub gig that'll do. Turned out to be a deep stage and a big space. Thank goodness our man Stealth had souped up the cab with some powerful speakers turning it into a 4ohm cab. I was running the little beast almost flat out and it coped admirably.

 

No cash? We were playing a nice room with a good crowd and at the end of the night, no money. We had to go back twice and demand our money. They paid us and stopped booking us.

 

Blue

[Bluewine]

We're going to record this one live.
Maple Road 

Rockfield Music & Media
Germantown WI
Saturday Night 3/18
8PM

 

Blue

[casapete]

We resumed our gig last night following a 4 week lay off. This has been down to band illness, followed by a 

cancellation due to bad weather. Anyway, last night was a welcome return to Cheltenham Town Hall, a 

handsome building in the centre of town. We'd only found out a few days prior that it was Cheltenham 

Gold Cup day, so the town was rammed with race goers which made for an interesting walk round when

we arrived a bit early.

The hall has a rather cavernous sound going on, but had a lengthy soundcheck (see pic) and were happy with it.

The gig went well, although it's surprising how 4 weeks off can affect you - had

a bit of back ache and slightly sore fingers, probably my age! We did the gig as a one off, as another gig

originally planned en route got cancelled. This meant driving down from East Yorkshire and then back 

afterwards, around 400 miles in total. Of course, there were massive diversions on the M42 which meant

driving back through Birmingham and suburbs to find the A38 back up to the M1. No wonder I'm a bit

knackered today, although glad of a day off to recover. 

Tomorrow I'm doing my favourite gig in Scarborough with my acoustic duo, should be a much easier do!