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Let It Happen - Tame Impala

... when I had an email conversation with them about it regarding the Blackpanel '64, their design philosophy was to recreate a specific sounding amp/cab combo, not a general preamp type thing.

My Dad had one of these in his gig bag.

You could but Id recommend sticking in a Dingwall triple humbucker. You'll have to modify the body a touch obviously but I could lend you a hammer and chisel

Mine arrived on Friday. To say I'm delighted is an understatement. At 9.2lb it's no lightweight but definitely manageable for me - so happy there. This was a B Stock Bass so I immediately scrutinised it. All I could find was the tiniest imperfection in the paint on the front, invisible from a metre away. So for £289, an absolute bargain. The Rosegold finish is lovely, almost, but not quite, pearlescent. The neck is a bit deeper front to back than I'm used to and the finish is a gorgeous satin that feels really nice. It's got a slight tint that looks really classy. All the fit and finish is flawless. The action was a bit high with the slightest of back bow in the neck, but 20 mins with a tuner and a couple of Allen Keys soon sorted that. Got a nice low action on it now and it plays like a dream. I went for a Z3 as opposed to a Z7 for the simplicity of the preamp. I've got a bass with the Z7 pre - and it sounds great and is very versatile, there's just a bit too much there for me to manipulate quickly while playing live. What I've found though, is that each band of EQ on the Z3 is so powerful, I'm using it in conjunction with the volume control which again gives me a lot of choice and makes it quite the distraction! Having said all that, it sounds bloody brilliant. Just like a Stingray. I love the sound, but I'm not sure it's a sound I could use my current band. Although it sounds ace, the EQ can't really change the fundamental tone of this bass. It sounds like a 'Ray. Tweak the controls and it sounds like . . . . a 'Ray with the tone controls tweaked. And that ain't a bad sound to have! I'd been wanting to scratch a Stingray itch for a while now and had considered investing in the real deal, but I'm glad I didn't - I can't honestly think I'd easily find one as good as this - and for under £300! It would've been nice if they'd kept the 3/1 headstock that appeared on the prototypes, but this headstock looks good now they've reshaped it a bit and the gold Moniker looks tasty!

Additional - I've just bought a third set - we've got a gig coming up which is a right PITA to PA - wide open space, speakers nowhere near the desk, punters entrance/exit to the main door and the bogs is on the cable paths - spend most of the time sticking cables down with gaffer tape - F that! So we're going to use these doodads to connect the speakers to the desk, leaving a set spare for me to continue to do walkabouts and terrorise/amaze the punters. I've bought these from eBay and Amazon before, but this time I went straight to Lekato - https://lekatodeal.com/en-uk/products/lekato-ws-70-wireless-guitar-audio-system-transmitter-receiver-70-channels-40m and right now they're having some Black Friday nonsense - got 25% off so an already very reasonable £41 became an even more agreeable £30.75. Free shipping. Coming from abroad though, so perhaps the taxman will wipe the grin off my face and take that discount right back off of me, but you never know!

Actually. the proper answer is the bible. However terrible you are, you'll be forgiven. 🙂

I stopped taking my bass to our local jam night as it was just too much hassle - either lugging guitar+amp or double bass. Instead I've been taking my violin and improvising harmonies

Nice to see some bass specific programs on TV , definitely worth a look . Apologies if this has been posted before .

Sex Type Thing - Stone Temple Pilots

Another quick one, the complete Jeff berlin part for 'J.F.K.' from the 1986 Kazumi Watanabe album, 'The Spice Of Life'. Another one of the more accessible Berlin performances that most of us should be able to pull off. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/j-f-k-kazumi-watanabe/

How many of her friends are actually playing guitar? If she's playing with more than one and then an inevitable drummer then she will need some volume. Not my thing but a 100 watt Rumble would be a very good start and they are everywhere.

Phew. We are at Tenby Blues Festival. Last night we went to Bella Collins' late night jam. Turned into an epic session ending after 4:00am. Headliner Sean ‘Mack’ McDonald’ joined in and has an incredible touch on guitar (and played a storming boogie woogie onbthe piano after it was meant to have finished). Met a guitarist and singer and stood in for three songs (I have no idea what they were) with them, an excellent saxophonist and a young woman on drums who was really good. Got called up a bit later to support a lady who hadn't sung for a while and got her confidence to sing again. Lots of variety and really captured the feel of a big community of musicians. Our first time here and we're meeting people we know wherever we go.