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Black or White - Michael Jackson

When I saw the pic of the box in your hallway, it did cross my mind that it would be hard to return it if you needed to, and here we are. Thomann often just write things off, refund or account credit, and tell you to keep it as the return is just not economically viable. Bax won't be able to resell this bass, so they ought to just refund you and leave you to do what you want with it. Otherwise it's just going to cost them more!

We do a couple each year. One is for a friend of the band who lost close family to cancer and we donate our services FOC as all ticket sales go to the respective cancer charities. We also do a mental health charity sponsored event, these are done on a budget so we ask for expenses.

If you're in a small town, lie about your location in your social media and any other bios. There's lots of small venues in cities who support the scene by only booking local bands as support acts. Those are the venues you need to get in to. Thats where you'll gain a following and be seen by promoters. Im in Frome in Somerset, our nearest city is Bristol so if we want to play there, we have to say thats where we're based. Be as helpful as you can if you want repeat bookings. Send the venue logos and pics straight away if they want them and make sure they have a tech list so the sound tech can be prepared and have an easier night. If he's prepared for a standard 4 piece rock band and you turn up with 9 horns without warning then he won't want to see you again.

That’s so clean I’d have probably mistaken it for a join, assuming they had grafted that bit on to save money on neck timber 🤦

I think, in the first place, it’s important to have sufficient skill and experience to perform at the correct level. If you’re crap the punter and venue will be quick to let you know. Assuming you’ve got the goods, then having the professionalism to communicate well with venues, market and promote the gigs is a major selling point. Lastly, simple things like turning up on time to gigs, being affable with the staff/organisers, talking with the punters before and after the performance consolidates a good impression and helps secure future bookings.

Do you have any contact for him?

I'm now playing in a band that has been around a long time (I'm new) and the majority of the gigs come either from an agency or rebookings from venues previously played. There's a few functions in the calendar too. The band has a good reputation for delivering a good show and the guys are all very personable and no dramas. There's very little promo material and cold calling venues to get bookings is a challenge because there's nothing to show them, so it's a combination of reputation and having a good strong loyal customer base that brings in repeat business. I get the impression, though I haven't asked, that they don't play many/any venues they don't like mainly because they've been around for >15years and have learned what venues to choose to return to.

I sold mine (the stripped defretted one) a couple of years ago

You could look at the Sennheiser hd 25. They're on-ear and sound quite warm in the low end

Ebony And Ivory - Stevie Wonder And Paul McCartney

Welcome 👍

Update on this. Took it to my friend (who is a luthier) and he noticed a crack in the neck. Not a small crack, a monster one. It’s under the finish so it existed before the bass was painted (i.e. I didn’t cause it!) Bax admitted this was a fault and agreed to a return. However, they refuse to pick it up. So I’m stuck! They suggested I took it to a pickup point but couldn’t tell me of one that would accept it. After a week of discussion, we’re nowhere further forward. Thankfully, I enjoy these interactions to some extent and will be filing a Moneyclaim with the court on Monday if they fail to provide a solution. I’m charging storage (at £15 per day). Will update in the fullness of time.

Arguably, Gibsons are wrong, because both Tone controls affect both pickups; Rickenbackers address this by: a. putting the tone caps on the pickup side of the selector switch so that they're out of curcuit when their respective pickup is off, and b. keeping the circuits independent right up to the output sockets and even allowing them to go to separate amps (Rick-O-Sound).

Another dep gig last night with my 'new band' (I'm getting to be more regular than their regular bassist) in the smallest venue I've ever played. There are a number of small shops, coffee bars and alcohol bars in Mumbles that appear to have been set up in former domestic housing. This one was in a terrace of 'houses' and was pretty much the living room and dining room knocked into one. We were a 5 piece with keys set up across the narrow width of the room at the back, with keys, electric drums and me against the beer wall (see photo) and the singer and guitarist in front of us. I was at the end that bordered on the narrow space between the end of the bar and the passage to the toilets. Fortunately, I'd been warned about the space and took my EHB1000S. Even so, I felt like a drawbridge all night, having to lift the neck as people went past. By the end of the night, I had two people stood next to me and another three directly in front, effectively blocking the route to the loos. Having been hit in the mouth by my microphone as the stand was jogged by a drunken dancer in the past, I'm never happy when the audience is so close and for the last 30 minutes or so I stopped singing (BVs) and moved the mic stand. Shortly after, it was hit by a drunken punter who had already lost her balance. Had she not been grabbed by her partner, she would have become part of the drum kit. All this said, it was a very friendly audience and there was no hint of ill will or aggression that often happens with such a crowded... er... crowd. From the off the place was bouncing and by the end of the night, all the chairs and most of the tables were occupied by dancers. The owner was dancing on the bar. The set was mainly 90s and 2000s rock covers with a few oldies thrown in. As I have mentioned previously this era of music passed me by at the time so when I first started with this band I had a lot of catching up to do. But there are some great songs that I missed out on first time around. That said, my two favourites in our set are 'Mr Blue Sky' and 'Born to Run'. At the end of the night, after the landlord had climbed down off the bar, we were given extra money over the agreed fee which is, perhaps, the most telling feedback. Once again I was really pleased with my sound, which was nice and punchy without booming. With a keyboard and drums going through the PA the potential for lower mids and bass 'mush' was high but we managed to keep the mix nice and clean. I was using the two TE 1x10" cabs fed by the power amp stage of my Peavey Minimax 600. The signal chain into the FX return was slightly modified because of the lack of space; instead of the floor pedal board, I had pedals on the amp itself (I have velcro strips on it for just such and occasion. The chain was Behringer TU300 tuner/mute > Ampeg classic pre-amp > Sine HPF (set to 40hz) > Behringer DI. We were debating whether to DI the bass but I didn't think the size of the venue warranted it. The option was there just in case. This was the first time I'd tried out my new XVive U45 IEM system. Paired with a set of KZ SAR earbuds, it was plugged in to the headphone out of the mixer and I had a nice vocal/drum/keys mix and some protection from the stage volume. On the feet last night were a pair of black Skechers. I had some nice compliments on my playing and on the sound of the kit. No photos or videos of the band have surfaced but here are a couple I took of the set up pre-gig. This is the width of the 'stage'. Beyond the speaker stand on the right is the entrance to the toilets. I was stood under the speaker with my head just brushing the underside of the cab. Sadly, the beer wall was not our rider.