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All I can say is don't do what I did. I had no plan and wasted a lot of money on stuff I don't use. I discovered lights can be too bright as well as not good enough and still have a couple of PAR lamps that will blind any audience. You can dim most lights but not when they are on automatic sequences. Most of the automatic sequences are too fast (designed for dicos not bands) and using a DMX controller is as much work as setting up the PA and getting a mix so it doubles your set up and knock down time. Fortunately lighting has become a lot cheaper and more reliable and so far I haven't lost any led bulbs. Most local bands I see seem to have settled on a single set of 'party lights': a set of four PAR lights on a stand with a sequencer/sound to light built in and operated by a footswitch. I have one of these and it does a job but willleave either the band or the audince in the dark. They take up a lot of floor space though and aren't absolutely stable. I wouldn't put them anywhare an audience member could knock them over. I quite like the LED bars like the ones in the video. Most of them are 1m long and you can shove six of them in a canvas bag. They are great at up lighting a wall or your banner, You can sit them on the floor to illuminate your front line and increasingly I've used them on short stands (basically tiny speaker stands with a top hat to fit the light) which gets the light where you want it and takes up less space. My current set up for a small to medium venue is 4-6 strips all mounted vertically on stands. Two point back at us to illuminate the band. the other four go behind us pointing at the audience with one pair running a sequence and the other pair running sound to light. If there is space we'll put up the Party light set. We also have some dirt cheap lasers that do the dancing dot thing on the ceiling. These are low powered lasers that don't need a dedicated operator or a licence. I'm finding the strips a lot more convenient than the 'party lights' they take up less space in the van and are more versatile so you can adapt to each venue. Both band and audienbce get more light too. Without the clumsy overhead stand set up time is about the same for all six as a single party light. For me lighting is an irritating necessity, get it right and the band look really professional but it's a lot of work and nobody pays you extra as a pub band to have great lighting. As it get's more sophisticated i have wondered about offering an optional lighting package to venues.

Random use of Theory words "when I play out of tune I was modulating"

As @JJMotown mentioned, it’s probably too much backbow. To check if it’s the nut simply press the string on the 2nd position and tap with your other hand right above the 1st fret. There has to be a little relief. When you hear a light “tick” when the string hits the fret then it’s okay. When it’s already pressed against the fret and you don’t hear the string hits the fret your nut is too low.

I think they are at peace with themselves.

Different shop, alas. Some of the founders of Musical Exchanges from left; Dave ( the owner), Stu and Gary Chapman who recently worked in PMT in Birmingham and latterly Fairdeal.

Couple of gigs for me this week. Regular Wednesday evening at the rock and roll club - busier than the last few weeks and we played tighter too, we’re really starting to gel now. I’m thinking of trying my Danelectro Longhorn out down there at some point, may fit in nicely. Last night saw our acoustic duo playing at a birthday party for a farmer a couple of villages from where I live. He sells sunflowers from one of his fields, so the marquee was suitably decorated. I took my Fender Kingman bass, and we used his PA - RCF tops with Mackie bass bins, a throwback to his previous life as a DJ. The initial brief was 3 x 40 min sets - first one background stuff as the guests arrived, second one taking requests as they ate ( gourmet burger van, excellent!) and then the last set playing stuff for dancing. However, largely due to the free bar people got up to dance early on in set 2, so we had to keep it going. Really pleased we had the large PA, as it needed to kick a bit and it did! Last set was full on, lots of the audience on the makeshift dance floor. We finished around 11pm, absolutely knackered though. We packed away and left the party which remained in full swing. Still, we were paid handsomely, well fed and watered and also gave out a few business cards so overall a good gig. Just glad I have today to recover. 😆

I saw The Undead last night at Rebellion. Bobby Steele's band (ex Misfits guitarist) They were great but the sound was a bit dodgy. Miffed there were no xxl shirts but never mind... adding his autograph to my misfits signature tattoo today.

Congrats WoT. Looks lovely. I like those vintage Jazz necks too - just that extra little bit of depth to them, making them really comfortable. Having a look around, these come in some lovely colour combinations. Is it Will at BassBros bringing these in?

Too Hot To Handle - UFO

Your line of questioning was a bit odd and if you read any of my posts elsewhere you'll see I frequently use the word 'subjective' when making comparisons, simply because I know what may appeal to me would be abhorrent to others. Simply because I say the Bongo was fantastic (it ticked so many boxes), I shouldn't need to have to justify that to you by providing a list of instruments by way of validation.

Fire - Jimi Hendrix

Is this list still up to date, I wonder? I wanted to share the list with someone based in Belgium, but @marcoelwray can't be found. Pilot error on my part? Or has this member left the forum?

Buzz from top 4 frets is one of two things. 1, the nut is cut too low (nut needs replacing or there is a superglue and baking soda trick, do a Google search for this). 2, neck has too much back bow (turn truss rod 1/4 turn from left to right facing the bass in upright position to resolve). The other option is to change the strings to some higher in tension then your current ones.

Welcome to the club !

Beauty!

Sleep That Burns - BeBop Deluxe

First gig back for 7 months for various reasons….. Good warm up, bit rusty, but a fun one.. Then the following night, a hot one, but I had a great on stage sound, full Ashdown rig on full tilt, a lot of fun…..