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That would hae me awake until dawn! 🤣

My dep last night went well. Hardest thing was many songs in different keys. Busy, noisy pub with dancing from the start. Plenty of room. A lot of songs I haven't done live before, a couple of older Beatles numbers for example, and Mama Mia. Cold as Ice by Foreigner and No Matter What by Badfinger are great songs I hadn't heard for ages I really enjoyed. Apparently I was a bit loud in the first half but corrected that in the second. Managed a few backing vocals. Had a message from the band saying I was 'brill' so that's nice.

BLOCKBUSTARZ at Lilliardsedge Caravan Park for the Hot Rods in the Borders weekend. Another great night was had. 3 yrs in a row we've been asked back by the Hot Rods guys which is nice. 2 x 45min sets that ended up a bit longer 9 - 10pm and then 10:15 - 11:30pm. Very warm on stage, sound wasn't quite perfect but sounded ok out front. We had problems with the drum channels on the desk and decided to just leave them out and play raw along with bass and guitar backline only. Only vocals thru our desk and the venues PA which is always a risky business but it works. Very busy night, all seats taken with every table full and standing at the back of the hall. Its actually a permanent marquee tent they have. Nice set up but stage is hollow and does create a boom so used my Gramma board last night. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. There is some doubt about whether the Hot Rods will run the event next year but organiser for the Park who books us said she would be happy to have us back next year same time provided the event goes ahead. Decided to give the Godin bass a run out and it has a wonderfully deep warm P type tone that i have to admit was very nice IMO. It was in PJ mode all night, both pick ups selected. Godin bass, Shure wireless, Keeley Bassist comp, Mesa TT800 Boogie channel, Mesa SW210/115 cabs. Sandberg VM4 as back up. Really quite liked that Godin tone tho and its a really nice bass to play with a narrow neck very similar to the VM4 but having that typical old Fender-ish tone it kinda suits the music more than the VM4 which has a modern tone in comparison. I believe Godin had Seymour Duncan produce the pick ups for them. 1.5hrs drive home along quiet country roads made for an easy drive home but my eyes were starting to get tired. Home for 2:30am by the time i unloaded the car, quick coffee and a bit of TV before bed at 3am, back up at 6am with a cat bumping heads with me to get fed. Today will be a quiet sleepy day. Dave

Not the usual bass players and hats thread I was on Gearspace earlier as I'm aiming to buy a piece of quite expensive audio gear and wanted some pros and cons. I've found about 999 extremely favourable reviews but also one very long and detailed post stating a categorical "If you buy this you are an idiot and you only have yourself to blame" sentiments! Something seemed familiar and I realised that the same guy had written a similar post about an interface that I'd also bought and which everyone else had likewise raved about; full of technical 'facts' and apparently more experience than anyone else, coming across with a strong feel of 'You might think you know a lot but you don't know as much as I do'. Reminded me of when we used to use Edward De Bono's Thinking Hats in a team I used to work in (what had do you try to wear, what hat do others think you wear, what hat might be more helpful etc, all very 1990's). I assumed the posts in question are this guy's (black) hat, but wondered what he was actually like in the flesh, IME a lot of people who wear black hats in the professional space were completely different in the real world). So a little bit of (amateur) psychoanalysis for BC, what hat do you wear on the forum, and what's your authentic hat......? To kick things off, I suspect I'm a bit of a black/white on here, definitely a green/red professionally, and mostly yellow with my friends and my family. Goes without saying I've a few theories about some of the regular members' hats also 🤣

I can help. I bought a HB PB20, was disappointed* by the fit, finish and fretwork so sent it back. Bought a Squier Sonic P and apart from smoothing off some fret ends, it's great. Feels much better quality and a step up from the HB. *disappointed because I have a few HB instruments that are great.

Gruv Gear Fret Wrap. After many years of playing rock music and succesfully using my right palm to mute notes or even lightly touching string next to fretted notes on the very odd and rare occassion, I suddenly decided that I really OUGHT to get a fret wrap because... well I had seen the actual cool people on Basschat and Youtube etc using them and I needed to try and be a cool guy too. I fell in love with the naturally more expensive cool Dekade version as it looked the coolest thing I had seen that week so promptly ordered. After using it for about 2 mins, I realised what an utter waste of time it was, and I would never really be one of the actual cool people, and maybe I should just carry on using the techniques I had already been using for years. What a Tw@t. Anyway if anyone wants it I'll gladly post it to you as Im sick and tired of seeing the damn thing. In fact I feel rage just thinking about it. I hope this counts as an "ought to get" thing.

I made a rookie error on my last gig, towards the end of the gig we got the ok from the venue for one more song, at the end of the song thinking that was the end of the set I took the cable out of the amp input, unexpectedly we then got the ok for another song. The rest of the band started playing,I start playing and there is nothing coming out of my amp, I glance at my pedal board as that is the usual suspect for most issues and then realise I haven't plugged my bass back in.

I've never seen one of those before. Dave

First Gig Report We knew it would be challenging. It was a pub gig at The Monument in Newbury just in case any of you know it. A really tight space, even for a 4-piece. Full PA (tops, bass bins, monitors) plus backline. Ceilings between 6'4" to 6'6". Heavily damped pub, curtains, carpets, packed full of raceday punters enjoying the "refreshments". The Monaco was placed in a corner against two walls. I've tried to represent it with the sketch and photo below. The sound was much better than I expected but I'd like to understand more about how this placement against the walls and the low ceiling affects it. I could hear myself well and never once felt like I was "driving blind", like I have in the past but it wasn't like Monday's rehearsal. Obviously environment and placement play a part. The sound was exacerbated by the "dancers" knocking the cables out of the front monitors and us losing those a few times during the set. Would raising the cab have helped? I didn't take my platform as I had such a good experience on a Monday, I didn't think I'd need it. What insights have we got? Any advice, folks?

I'd have a look around for one of the 40th Anniversary Squires. They punch well above their weight. Talking used, I'm just in the middle of a deal for a mint condition (never gigged) CAR 2016 MIM Standard Jazz for around £350. They are around, but you have to dig a bit. Sires, as others have said, are always consistent, and now they all have those lovely curved neck edges. If you like Music Man, the new Ray 2 passive Stingray looks a lot of bass for the money and sounds great in the right hands, as well as the last of the JHS Vintage V96's - @Mike Brooks says the 'Reissued' models sound scarily like the real thing.

Ooops! I transcribed 'A Potter's Song' from the 2015 Maria Schneider album, 'The Thompson Fields' but there is no online recording I can post on here (Schneider is very hostile about these media companies exploiting musicians - who can blame her). It's a beautiful tune to play, though, if you have the recording. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/a-potters-song-maria-schneider/

Fall At Your Feet - Crowded House

I know the average age in basschat is 103, but I didn’t know you were old enough to remember the Spanish Inquisition. Having you considered running for US president?

I’ve had a RH750 for about 10 years and have found it to be a very reliable and versatile amp, what with the tweakable eq points I have been able to replicate the sound of just about any amp, in particular my Trace Elliot 250 SMX which I was finding a bit too big and heavy to lug around. A couple of the knobs began to crack, but I contacted TC Electronic and they immediately sent me a replacement set for free which I fitted easily and I’ve had no problems since. Also I find the three presets very useful. I have preset one set as per the TE 250 SMX, the next one completely flat, and the third one with completely different eq plus compression and distortion etc, all a bit bonkers really, so I can quickly get the right sound for whatever the musical situation or for the size and type of room, plus all very tweakable on the fly. Oh, and the built in tuner is amazing, very useful indeed. Still get the dreaded GAS 😱 from time to time though, so may well get tempted by something else eventually!

Props to Nile and Jerry for realising that it's pointless to try to make CHIC v2 sound exactly the same as v1. Jerry playing CHIC lines his own way was always going to be the best solution.

Same here - I recently swapped a lovely Nate Mendel Precision for [yet] another Jazz bass.