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Good Riddance - Green Day

FWIW Vonderplanetz - Door to Midnight

Well, 2025 has been tumbleweed for me and to be brutally honest, I haven't missed the band-centric activity. Had another hand operation last week (success already); this has been hindering things. Pencilled in for a studio session in January. On the up.

Goodbye Stranger - Supertramp

I wonder if the McCartney association is as much of a curse as a blessing for the violin bass. In the same way that some people are put off by signature models because they don't want people to think that they are trying to emulate that player. And the association between McCartney and violin basses is very strong indeed, to the point where it's one of the few models where non playing audience members might actually recognise it and think of it as the 'Beatles Bass'. Obviously McCartney is a great player, but not everyone wants their playing to be associated with or compared to someone else.

Compression or Limiter possibly an EQ pedal probably a light overdrive selectively a filter

No Son Of Mine - Genesis

What do you expect with an endorsement from Richard Nixon?

PS - yup actually super easy to assign expression pedal to control parameters. For example: assign expression pedal --> tremolo rate with min = 0 and max = 80, and at the same time assign one of the display knobs to show tremolo rate (to give you both a real time check on actual rate and ability to dial it back in on the knob should you choose to). Just adds a fun / useful dimension for live use to what appears to be a very cool mid-range multifx.

Bastards - Machine Head

No changes through the year with my main band - had a reasonable number of gigs, no conflicts in the band, bringing new numbers in a little slowly as our singer also performs in shows so we can be a bit limited for rehearsals during show runs and show rehearsals. We were chatting after a recent rehearsal and the singer and the drummer both said they were happier than with any previous band (and had stayed for longer). It's the guitarist's first band, but he's happy, and I'm as happy as I've been with any previous band. I went to a new (to me) open mic and when there got invited to be house bassist at another open mic, an opportunity that I jumped at. That then led to the open mic organiser asking me to dep for his band as their bassist couldn't make a gig, which then extended to the next gig, and a couple of further gigs, and then being asked to join the band on a permanent bassist, which I accepted. I joined an originals trio - however, the drummer dropped out after he became she (not anything to do with we other two, she just had a lot going on and don't think she could cope with the extra stress). Then the BL went on holiday with his boyfriend (that he was living with), and when he came back he let me know he'd split up with the boyfriend and was moving to Leamington from Coventry. He still wants to carry on with the trio when we can recruit another drummer, but at the moment communication is a bit erratic. So current status is permanent bassist with two covers bands, indeterminate status with an originals band, house bassist for two open mic nights (well, three, but last Wednesday was probably the last one for one venue). I've been asked to play with a couple of other people on an ad hoc basis, stemming from the open mic nights, which is nice.

SBL are very clever in recognising that their target audience aren’t overly proficient - hence need the lessons. Scott and Ian are great at expressing their wonder of each other’s skills for example. I haven’t watched the video mentioned but doubt the shock was genuine, unless it was due to the speed rather than method.

Great info on this thread! From my own thread the other day on jazz bass component weight (which I'd encourage others to participate in): Jap 75RI jazz: 773g Jap Aerodyne Jazz: 703g Also from an eBay seller I enquired of, Jap 75RI jazz: 740g Reported on talkbass, 2 Fender replacement roasted maple jazz necks came in around 680g. I'd definitely aim for under 800 as the 773g one ain't particularly light to me. For tuners there's also the 35g Gotoh Carbon-o-lite but they are pretty spendy. I bought some of the Gotoh GRL510C (the slightly heavier 12mm version) via eBay and sucked it up on customs duty.

You’re right, it does happen on the 100 , but also on the 500 too. The DI is post master volume, but I have no idea why. TBH it’s the only niggle I have with these amps, and can be solved by using a DI box if it’s a problem. If you rarely change your stage volume once it’s set, then it’s not much of an issue but still a bit weird! Incidentally on the 800 it has been sorted - you can switch between either pre or post on the DI.

That's terrible news and at such a busy time of the year, sorry to hear that you won't coming over here for a vacation. I hope your medical consultation goes well.

Hey Huff, sorry for the delayed reply. The necks are hollow tube construciton but filled with epoxy resin. I'm not sure what you mean by grade though, would you like to clarify?

I bought strings from Joel, the second time we've traded. All went well - good comms, prompt delivery. I'd be happy to trade with him again. Thanks Joel!

Tina is the only one on that list who played a Hofner for most of her career. Nothing against Hofner instruments, but they've been a niche offering for more than 50 years now. Time for a change.

Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap- AC/DC

Synthmaster One, KV331 Audio’s easy-to-use wavetable Synthesizer is FREE for a limited time. Free until January 4th. https://www.synthmaster.com

Imon Butterfly Had Brains Stayer Pudgie Mumble Pie Phiph Jig Country BBC Psychedelic Curs

My year began with our singer and lead guitarist both announcing they were leaving. The year ends with new folk now well bedded in and the 2 leavers are willing to dip from time to time. Even better is the healthy gig diary for 2026. The old singer has started a new trio project with myself and the bands drummer on guitar so I'm looking forward to progressing that. And a patient teacher has turned me from someone who couldn't play drums into someone who can play them badly. A good year

Welcome TG.

Mark