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Save space by putting the jazz combo under the desks. It would also stop them raising their instruments and so stop spiralling, which as we all know “is jazz” ** ** attention jazz-fans : please watch the Motown documentary film “The Commitments” before flaming me with posts along the lines of “jazz is just so much more than that” and “thats country jazz, we don’t play that around here”

I played out at a local pub called the primrose in Leeds last night. It's a night where they put on five bands and so we got a 35 minute set and feels like a Leeds rite of passage . There was an old Peavey bass amp provided but I took along my rumble 500 and I was glad because the sound from the peavey was pretty mushy and muffled. I took my sire V7 because I find that it gives me a nice crisp tone without being quite as in your face as a stingray. The music in our band is funk rock so I need something that this going to sound nice when slapped. I also just got a boss me 90 b on Thursday and so I had set up a load of patches because on one of the songs I switch between a clean sound and an octave pedal and then distortion and then octave and distortion. I had foolishly added a bit of envelope filter to the clean octave sound and when I played it at gig volume it was definitely a bit too much top end. Oops, I'll join the me90b discussion later on the appropriate thread... The first band on were a very tight rock band with a female singer, bassist playing a p with flats very nicely. Our set went pretty well with the usual issues with speeding up when we get excited and the guitarist struggled a bit with his guitar dropping out of tune all the time I think next time we need to get the guitar out of the case in advance so it can get used to the temperature in the room. The PA was a bit muffled though which doesn't really work for the hip hoppy lyrical delivery and my partner said that when I spoke through the microphone she couldn't make out what I was saying so definitely the PA was just not quite right. Shame because we have been practicing three part harmonies for a while and I think they probably got lost in the mush. I also tried a Bluetooth wireless set up my dad lent me and it worked great. The band after us were a four-piece metal act called 6 foot under with a fantastic front man and really talented musicians, in particular the guitarist who had that trait of sounding amazing but looking like he was barely moving his hands. I'm not really into metal at all anymore but I appreciated their musicianship and the show. They even gave out Yorkshire tea bags with their qr code on it! All in all a fun night out, just a shame there weren't that many people out to listen.. I wore my altra lone peak trainers as always.

According to the Schecter website (very comprehensive!) the Jeff Loomis JL-7 is fitted with a two-way truss rod. When you talk of a shim, I'm not sure what or where you mean. Basically, with a two way, the trussrod bends independently of the neck and works by bending in the horizontal slot in the neck. As such, yes, there is the tendency for the nut end and the heel end to dig into the bottom of the slot as it tries to straighten the neck. Generally, the neck obliges before it actually damages the wood, but if it is a particularly stiff neck, or if you are trying to adjust with the strings under full tension, it might well. But there doesn't look like it has done structural damage and so, if you are able to get the relief you need, I wouldn't worry about it (but do remember to loosen the strings before you tighten the rod )

Chant No. 1 - Spandau Ballet

You could fit a trumpian-ego into that

I met up with James to buy his Mustang. Easy as pie to deal with. Cheers James.

I've really got into the U-Bass world this year, I now own a fretted and fretless. I personally would like to see a Ubass specific place to go in our gear section, like we have for double basses etc, as any U-Bass threads do get lost in the usual traffic stream. There's many different ukulele basses coming onto the market now and also string choices, designs and their development are getting more comprehensive month by month it seems. I use my bass ukes more than my bass guitars and upright at present simply because I have them always at hand. In the car, in work... they are so good for on the fly ideas and practise. Every bass home should have one! Maybe there's enough of us now to warrant the creation of a U-bass sub section (I know that there's at least a few of us lurking in our diminutive closets 😄). Just a thought for the Basschat massive (especially the mods 😘) Thanks, Miles

Carry on with a late surge , I must have put the date wrong DOH I’ve amended it !

Well the run of excellent gigs came to an end last night. A club gig that doubled as a members event. The audience was our age demographic but dancers were few and far between. Maybe they were saving themselves for the upcoming festivities. However onwards and upwards to next week when we’re back in pub land for a new venue on the outskirts of Chesterfield.

Another excellent transaction with @floFC!

I sailed through my bypass earlier this year - though I was fit and well and hadn't been ill - and went straight back to it once I was allowed to drive again. I did that because I was determined not to stop gigging because of illness etc but For a long time I've been considering it. I'm an early retired 64 , fit and well and do several volunteering jobs so it's not my age - I'm just bored with it. I played in a pub in Castleford ( never go unless you're forced , and even then don't go !! ) about 8 years ago and it suddenly occurred to me that I'm still hawking my talents around the same toilets as I was when I was 17. I've had plenty of laughs along the way and done nigh on 2000 gigs but the truth of it is that I set out to become an artist and settled for being a craftsman. That's my greatest regret. These days I get more joy from noodling around at home than the ' groundhog day ' feeling of gigs. So - yes , gather ye rosebuds etc but when the time comes to chuck them away - act. I haven't done that and it's been a mistake.

I have the 100 and the 500 combos. The 100 is loud enough for most stuff I play (pubs) but the 500 has more power (obviously) and disperses the sound better so I use that a fair bit too. Both are cracking amps and, in my opinion, sound best when the 'vintage' button is engaged.

Abracadabra - Steve Miller Band

The neatness of an office, the tools of a workshop, and the accessibility of a spare bedroom. It's a good space to use - not just the desk, but also the whole room.