All Activity

True, And you can run into some of the stars when we catch the shuttle Vans to the stage. Daryl

Pete, Sounds like it should be pretty cool. And I'll take a few hundred in the crowd any day. And the line up from 1979 is just the headliners. Daryl

It's always fun to be part of these big events, even if you're not on the main stage.

Fortunately, the only time I've ever used Preparation H was to put on a new tattoo years ago! Summerfest looks like a great event - shame we don't really have anything similar this side of the pond. The bike rally I'm playing (the Farmyard Party) is one of the biggest ones in the north of England, not quite as big as Stormin' The Castle in the North East, but still about 6,000 people on site. They have a blues tent (stage) for the old school bikers who still like their blues - will probably have a few hundred people or so in there. Maybe a 2,000 for the main stage (that I last played about 8 years ago with a rock band).

Thanks Dave, It should be good. We've been playing Summerfest every year since 2009. However for the last 3 years we were relegated to what I call low profile kiddie stages. This is the first time in 3 years where we're back on a respectable and proper stage. Daryl

Gracious me - that's extremely helpful. Can I just check the Intro; Chordify is suggesting Cm - Bbm - Fm - Ab/Bb. How does that look to you, please?

It seems you’ve already have friends who play DB. Always worth getting some lessons to start you off. It’s a completely different (and hugely rewarding) instrument to play. Dont cause yourself any damage. Love to hear how you get on.

Dave, Not rock & roll ? When I fell and broke my ankle a few weeks back a tube of Preparation H ( hemorrhoid cream ) fell out of my front pocket. Daryl

This. Only I use 40-120 gauge strings. I never dig in and never feel the need to.

The Anagram is one interesting piece of gear!

Pete, Take a close look at the Summerfest 1970 line up. Much more diverse than what we have now. And just think we're an hour north of Chicago the blues capital of the world and no more blues headliners at Summerfest. Daryl

I found the SPB1 to lack overall clarity in the mix, had a nice warm bassy sound but def a sit low sound. Not had a GZR but have tried them and yes, there is the upper mid push to them. I’d try boosting somewhere between 1kHz and 2kHz if your gear has that, if at that point you’re still not getting what you want then I’d try the GZR.

Bought a set of strings - they turned up promptly, and were the advertised strings! Can’t really ask for more than that.

Probably won’t get to that at mine tomorrow night but it’s a small pub and I’ll be squashed into the alcove with the kit and behind the guitars so I should probably try to find my fan before I leave the house!!! 😵‍💫

Just got in from a rehearsal with the classic rock band. For some reason my fretting fingers just wouldn’t work on some songs this evening, no idea why as other more complex passages were fine. Still a great time though, and as not a gigging band I’ll not waste any sleep over it.

That’s good about the Ultra Jazz. I won’t be able to do the measurements until tomorrow I’m afraid.

GPT coming to help here… —- 🎶 “Lose It” – Ben l’Oncle Soul Key: C minor → modulates up to C♯ minor Time: 4/4 Feel: Soul / Funk groove Bass scale suggestion: C minor pentatonic → C♯ minor pentatonic (post-bridge) 🎸 Intro (8 bars) | Cm | Cm | Cm | Cm | | Fm | Fm | Ab | G | 🎤 Verse 1 (8 bars) | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | 🎶 Chorus (8 bars) | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | 🎤 Verse 2 (8 bars – same as Verse 1) | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | 🎶 Chorus (repeat – same as before) | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | | Cm | Cm | Fm | Ab G | 🌉 Bridge (8 bars – Modulation starts here) Modulates up 1 semitone to C♯ minor | C♯m | C♯m | F♯m | A B | | C♯m | C♯m | F♯m | A B | 🎶 Final Chorus (in new key: C♯ minor) | C♯m | C♯m | F♯m | A B | | C♯m | C♯m | F♯m | A B | 🎵 Outro Repeat chorus progression in C♯ minor and fade out. 🎸 Bass Groove Tips: Use pentatonic scales for fills: C minor pentatonic (before bridge): C, Eb, F, G, Bb C♯ minor pentatonic (after modulation): C♯, E, F♯, G♯, B Emphasise the root–5th–octave movement for funk feel. Fill ideas over Ab–G walkdowns: consider chromatic or scale-wise lines to connect smoothly.

I love the sound of breaking glass. Nick Lowe

Thank you very much and the Elwood comparison would be awesome! The Dimarzio Ultra Jazz should be the same size according to online infos

Just checking back in to report on how the Spirocores are settling in. I’ve done a few gigs and multiple rehearsals with them and I’m absolutely loving them. They’ve really opened up the tone of my old Boosey Hawkes Excelsior and are really rewarding to play. Dig in, and these strings respond with all the growl you could ever need, go with a lighter touch and you have mwah for days, and vibrato shimmers. I only play pizz so I can comment on how they play/sound under the bow. All in all the took about a week to fully settle and about another month of light use to fully open up.

I don't feel like you go to many metal concerts...

Fair enough regarding active basses. I only ever use my active bass in passive mode. Each to our own. The parallel serial switch sounds like a good idea. Worth going after that. I forgot about the pickguard. That should cover up any unsightly holes and rough edges. Just keep in mind what I said about the bridge pickup on the Mezzo. It may be difficult to find a direct replacement of the same size. Worth checking the dimensions before ordering, unless you want to do some woodwork there too. There is no pickguard there to cover up any rough edges. You don’t need to change the original barrel jack socket. You can use the extra ring terminal as an additional ground connection, or just ignore it. I don’t really like barrel jack sockets on basses and they do tend to develop faults. Also I don’t think the sockets Ibanez use are particularly good quality but that’s just my personal preference. I have a Maruszczyk Elwood (Jazz bass clone) medium scale at home. I will measure the front pickup location for you when I get home. I’m not sure if it is in the ideal position but it sounds very good to my ears.

.125 string, has the zing of a smaller string but enough heft to add weight behind the note. Much, much more importantly than that, the setup on the bass needs to be spot on. Neck as straight as you can get away with, nut cut well. When you string a new string, when just under tension, push down hard at the break angle over the bridge saddle (towards pickup) to create a cleaner break. Makes the world of difference. Experiment with tapered strings too.

I get really good results with lighter gauge (.125 B) Elixers on my MPV-5. I also get a pretty good B tone with the HB flats on my Dynabass. Less happy with the B on my fretless Spectracore using low tension flats. I do use the B up the neck and find, like many on here, have tone and intonation issues above the 5th fret with fatter B strings.

Bit of growl I guess?