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Chatting to a friend the other day, back in the 70s his band needed a stand in bassist for a European tour. They auditioned Pino and turned him down. 🙄

Unfortunately that is almost the exact opposite site of London for me, I'm nearer North East and that's South West 🤣 nonetheless I'll have a look, worth a bit of a drive for a job done well!

Try Monkey Wrench. Foo Fighters basslines songs are deceptive, full of syncopation, space, unintuitive structure. Even their simplest songs will add a beat, drop a bar or stick in an unexpected rhythm change.

... can't wait 😁

Michael Rosen?

I pretty much agree with most of what you've said, the only thing I kind of dont agree with is being moderately well known. Despite being together for only 4 years, they still achieved success with Love Will Tear Us Apart which charted at No.13 in 1980 in the main UK chart and No.1 in the UK independent chart. Their album, Closer also topped the UK independent album chart. New Order however have the biggest selling 12" record in history, 2 No.1 albums and a no.1 single so quite a bit more success. If you replace Joy Division with The Smith's, then what you wrote fits both bands, short lifespan, moderate success and cult following, a no.1 in the independent chart but minor success in the main charts. I'm not a fan of either bands really but I do love New Order.

In practice, well-made spade connections are more reliable. A proper crimp tool causes cold-welding, there is better strain relief, and a little spring bit on the spade engages the hole in the tab so it can't vibrate loose. It's been widely demonstrated that soldering wires to crimp connectors decreases their fatigue life. Thus is why crimps are ubiquitous for automotive and aetospace applications.

I use Dave who is based in Kingston if that’s the correct side of London for you? https://davebarlowguitar.co.uk

After 12 months of ownership, the ol' 2K is still an absolute winner in every sense.. 👍 Not longer after purchasing it, I also got a reasonable deal on a Roland JP8000, too - I clearly was having a moment but more on that a little later. So, the everything I said about the Korg after my initial purchase still rings true but obviously, I know the machine quite a bit better now. I regularly take it to gigs when performing with the electronica duo as it's great for ambient parts of the set or those that are in free time. I've programmed any number of pad and lead sounds into it - some with movement and others that are just static but I've rarely struggled to translate a sound in my head into a patch - I find it unusually intuitive although it's also possible that the synth is just that simple to use!? Obvioulsy, within the limitations of the four note polyphony, the single (albeit multi-mode) filter, no dedicated pitch envelope and a few other details I'm struggling to recall at this moment, it's a brilliant synthesizer. The only thing that tripped me up a little was that two layers of sequencer part are reasonably straight forward and auto-assigned but the third needs to be assigned within the menu - all can be patched to different fuctions (such as pitch, filter etc) within the menu system despite initial assignments. A row of 16 knobs control the strength / invert the assigned function per step (again, trigger mode, number of steps and beat sub-division are adjusted within the menu system) which is great for real time tweaks but you have to make sure it's in the sequence edit mode as the knobs usually control other parts of the synth. In addition to the usual synth functions, the MS2000 has two effects units built in - one is a modulation module with chorus / phase / flange and the second, a delay unit. Both are tweaked with two knobs offering depth / speed for the wobble and time / feedback for the delay. Whilst neither are bananas, they're both easy enough to dial in usually adding a degree of size, depth space to most sounds - the delay is beat syncable, too - very handy. There's also a basic EQ but I've never really felt the need for it - a compressor or reverb might have been more useful. Despite being all digital and the tech being 20+ years old, I find the Korg incredibly 'musical' and a genuinely inspiring bit of kit. I'm not in anyway bored with it and despite occasionally bumping into some of it's limitations, I'm sure I'll continue to find new sounds which will lead to new ideas - superb. 💯 So, that JP8000. It's really good and offers a number of features that the Korg simply won't do but I'm just not inspired by it in the same way. The Roland has a bit more a cult following and something of a legendary status - well deserved, too as I've done some lovely recordings with it over the last twelve months but we just don't quite 'get' each other. Despite the JP being the 'better' machine, I'd pick the MS everytime - it's not something I can easily justify with words - there isn't any particular aspect of the Roland I dislike and I'll keep it around for a while yet as it is useful tool, I'll probably keep the Korg indefinitely..

Is it from Bez?

Personally delighted that the Govt are introducing this reform: https://www.theguardian.com/money/2025/nov/17/reselling-tickets-for-profit-to-be-outlawed-in-uk-government-crackdown Great news for those of us wanting to see live music having saved up for the actual face value ticket price (although these can be eye-watering!) and not some ridiculous rip-off figure. The only remaining fly in the ointment is the continued ability of the online platforms to charge a "service fee", but hopefully this will also be capped to a reasonable amount.

I put a "Bassist available" ad. on Gumtree. I've just had this reply: "Hi. I have a germ of an idea that I'd like to discuss with you. I have no musical ability whatsoever. I can't sing, and I can't play any musical instrument. There is almost certainly no money to be made from my idea, although there is a musical aspect to it. Intrigued? Curious? Ring me on........."

G&L is pretty '80s! https://richtonemusic.co.uk/g-l-tribute-series-l-2000-left-handed-bass-3-tone-sunburst-2nd-hand/

It's also just possible to use spade terminals which crimp to the wires without soldering, though I recommend soldering if you can do it.

If it helps this is the back of the Speakon sockets. They are neatly marked as +1 and -1 the +1 is connected to the +1 on the second socket and then to the + or red terminal on the speaker. If you use a jack socket then you are very naughty, but the tip of the jack is the +1 and the sleeve is the -1.

We all get it, you’re not a fan of Peter Hook. Loads of people are, myself included. The thing with all this comparison stuff is that no one’s right and no one’s wrong, you simply can’t add a measurable quantity to what’s essentially an emotional response, it’s different for everyone and that’s what makes the world go round. This whole debate is like comparing dick size, a pointless exercise that leaves everyone feeling a bit inadequate.

@Stub Mandrel I'll try and make gaskets for the jack sockets and for the plate. That would be neater than sealant, which knowing my luck, would mean I'd attach myself to the cabinet, never to be released. Much like Hans Solo in his Carbon tomb . Rob

Brooks SparkleBird. In Cobalt Blue candy finish