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My XL2 was $A3600 in late 86. Just looked up todays $ on the RBA website - $A12000.

Moog MF Delay is my favourite .. but not cheap .. also got Seymour Duncan Vapour Trail which is also nice, it’s got interesting side feature that allows effects / vol pedal adding to delay trails if wanted .. these two both analogue, also have a cheap digital delay which is fine (sonicake) .. digital generally more clarity but I prefer the darker analogue repeats which can act almost like a ‘ducking’ delay ..

I haven't had my CD / vinyl back yet, so I can't confirm the format of the CD. As you upload .wav files for your tracks it will tell you how you are doing for space on each side of the vinyl album. I recall mine having a minute or so plus some seconds left on each side. Guidance: https://elasticstage.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/29846764606097-My-album-is-slightly-longer-than-your-23-minutes-limit-per-side-Is-there-anything-you-can-do You can have different running orders on vinyl and CD. You click and drag in a menu whenyou've finished uploading. My CD has two bonus tracks. You need to use their templates (and Adobe Illustrator) or upload separate .jpgs for the front and rear covers and the vinyl inner sleeve (which equates to the gatefold on the CD. You do get a preview of the final artwork. Don't put any text near the egdes. Not my video:

Used to have a flashback .. long time ago. Wonder if there is anything better in terms of clarity, tracking and friendly to low end Which won't cost a fortune.

Venue's lighting, it's always great to play with proper lights.

That's a very nice looking bit of kit. Love the personalised touch of the bird, although I personally would have had the backplate on the front, precisely because I don't really like the neck-through contrasting woods look! Wouldn't it be a boring world if we were all the same? You will, as others have said, not be disappointed! I'm currently trying to work out what I can sell to finance another ACG. I've been getting into fretless but much as I have a really great bitsa with a great fretless P neck and and some filter preamp goodness I always go back to the 'built for me' fretted ACG and realise how much more I get on with the feel and the sounds. So the only answer (ahem) is to get Alan to build me a fretless version of it! The fact that a Vigier, an alu neck Kramer and the aforementioned fretless, all of which are fantastic basses in their own way, will all have to go to finance it should tell you all you need to know about how great an ACG is. The asymmetricl neck profile and the flat board are what really do it, I think. It just feels so much more fluid to play and the bulge always seems to be in the right place, either allowing my thumb to rest in a more natural position and shifting the palm down a bit so it allows the fingers to move more freely or sitting right in the joint when I shift to a more baseball bat type grip for chords.

Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz

The Eagles - one of these nights covers band I’m in added this to the list of songs to practice ahead of next rehearsal on the 24th. One I’ve not heard previously but already I like it

Go Away - Strawberry Switchblade

Friday night I had a last minute (8 hours’ notice) dep with tribute band Dire Streets, at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall. I’ve done quite a few rhythm guitar deps with them over the last few months, but I hadn’t looked at the bass parts for a year, so I took my iPad and read the dots where necessary.

I’d been thinking it’s been a while since we last heard about this; can’t believe it’s been that many years!!

.....aaaaand here's a whistle-stop walk from the rear of the arena, across the backstage village, and up to my little bit of the stage:

You weren't far wrong 🤣 It's taking a while for me to pull myself together, not helped by having to be at work in my proper job at 8am this morning. Ouch. So.. yes. Matty Healy! Sting! Lewis Capaldi! The latter two were closely-guarded secrets, and genuinely took the audience by surprise. The bad news: they did self-contained performances that didn't need the house band, so I didn't get to play with them. The good news: they were amazing, so I didn't give it a second thought. We did two shows, each around 3.5 hours long (it isn't just music - there's comedy and that too.). We opened the show with Chris Rea's 'Let's Dance'. As well as being a bit poignant, it also captures the essence of the show and fits the band line-up perfectly. We had loads of dancers on stage, and it was a real high-energy start. From there we went into a reel called Rakish Paddy, again with the dancers aided by a quick costume change. After that, Cuddy's Cave, a beautiful musical poem... it's a love letter to the region by the wonderful Nev Clay. Over the next few hours we played songs including December 1963, I Can't Make You Love Me, Always a Woman and Hit the Road, Jack. It all went swimmingly. Of course our special guests grabbed all the headlines, but that's fine by me... the charity is going to benefit massively. Need to sleep now, 'cos we're doing it again in 2028. Here's a clip of the finale:

I only use a gang harmoniser for a few things, but I would say I never have thought a single BV sounded wrong or weak. Its a lot better than just a normal solo singer.