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Bought some strings from Merton in a simple and pleasant transaction that was completely devoid of any complications whatsoever. Bravo sir!

Just bought a beautiful Musicman Stingray from Dan which arrived today. Superb piece if kit in an immaculate case with all the bits. Packed really well, great communication all the way through the transaction. Highly recommended Basschatter.

My Rics..

Two separate Jams this last week. A bass player chum has started a monthly Country Jam in Staines which is very convenient for me. It was their second one last Thursday and so I brought my bass along. Got to play quite a few songs - 5 I think - as there was only me and Chloe who were there. Another bass player who had arranged to play couldn’t come along so I got a couple of his. Fortunately they have a broad definition of “country” which embraces Americana and stretches as far as 70s Fleetwood Mac so it’s not all tassels and stetsons… Though I’d be lying if I said that there weren’t a few who come along suitably attired. The songs I played included Tulsa Time (a blend of Pistol Anni and JJ Cale in style), a Teddy Thompson tune, a rootsy version of “You’re Still the One” and a Chris Stapleton song. Nice atmosphere so I think that it’s going to be a regular one. Last night was our regular Monday Night Jam in Woking - this time a blues focused night (in the loosest terms, of course). I ended up playing on three songs (She Does It Right - Dr Feelgood, me singing on that one too; Julie London’s jazzy version of Blue Moon and Rory Gallagher’s Bad Penny). I also got asked to sing Fire by Jimi Hendrix (that’s blues, right?) which was a lot of fun. She Does It Right was a lot of fun. I’ve wanted to do some Feelgoods stuff for ages and this seemed like a good opportunity. Bad Penny suffered from typical jam night issues. The singer seemed to be singing a different version of the tune, different meter/tempo, or maybe a different song (a perennial problem with that singer) - which would have been fine but the guitar player stuck rigidly to the chords sheet he had written down rather than listening to the singer and adapting to what he was singing. I needed to go over and say “He’s still doing the verse again!” and help guide him through. It was still fun to play though. Love that song as it was one of my late brother’s faves. And can I just say how much I LOOOOOVE my Sandberg. Such a nice bass to play. ❤️ Our next “theme night” is our Christmas one so I have about a month to hatch my dastardly plan - a Christmas version of… WAR PIGS!!!! God bless The Barenaked Ladies.

Day Tripper. Beatles.

50 million year trip - Kyuss

Many thanks 🙏

That feature really appeals to me - would massively increase the amount of strings that would fit - particularly flats. The Ibanez Mezzo 4 string (32 scale) had the E string tuner relatively far from the nut so could take a wide variety of strings, but it was a small post so long scale flats would still break. Had to get specific medium scale ones. The 5 string mezzo was actually worse for string availability. I used Dunlop medium scale flats on that exclusively. Really lovely strings - but at about £90 they'd have to be! Reverse headstock is a very easy solution to the problem. If I ever ordered a second Lionel I'd spec a reverse headstock for that reason.

Oooh, the sound of my old age!!! Oh, joists..! I thought it was joints. You really must speak up, my girl... ...

I recently got a plate made for my Jazz bass by tiny tone. They can copy an existing plate if you send it to them or they may have a template of your Warwick bass. The plates are handmade and a great fit. Their details are: phone: 07522 500673 website: tinytone.co.uk

Are you going for the stainless steel or nickel steel frets? SS will last forever.

Oooh, the sound of my youth!!!

Every fender ever built is a bitsa.

Never had a problem with mine, looks the same distance as other Dingwall models to my eyes.

The 2025 "A Matter of Time" album continues her signature sound, mixing jazz, pop, and classical influences. Laufey - Lover Girl | Spencer Stewart

It was on my list and it's already arrived, though I'm not allowed to touch it for fear of eternal banishment to the naughty list. A Trace Elliot AH300 GP12 with 15" and 2x10" cabinets. It is sat in the corner of my practice room under a sheet and with just the occasional creak of the floor joists settling.

Earl Pilanz on eBay. You might need to send him the original if he hasn't made one before.

Slightly random question here, but wondering how you find the ergonomics of resting your thumb on the neck pickup (esp the 5 string)? It looks an awfully long way away from the strings, so is it a big stretch, especially across to the g string? And with the rounded pickup shape do you find your thumb slips off the top?

So..! A Cynic, eh..?

Exactly. Nothing comes for free... there's always something to pay in some way, somehow...

Ahem...