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Reason for my original enquiry, latest bitsa project to land….

But it was way better than the finishes that followed - that partially see-through white that looked as though they'd run out of rattle can and couldn't be bothered to get another one to complete the job, or sh!t brown.

Hey all - I would be really interested to hear how the Bassrig Fifteen compares to the Super Vintage. Does anyone here have experience with both? I use the Super Vintage all the time and love it, but as a huge B15 fan I'm considering switching.

Same. It’s truly horrendous. My friends know really dislike bare wood finishes but I’d have the most crazy figured wood style over Antigua any day. I’ve tried to be charitable about it but it just looks like congealed fat that’s got mould round the edges. Or an ashtray that’s been spat in. Or the look of someone’s skin after they’ve gotten severe frostbite and their fingers are going black. It’s that visceral for me!!

The break angle over the nut needs to be sufficient to hold the string in place whilst not reducing the compliance of the string. If you look at the first photo in the OP you'll see that the G and D strings pass under a string retainer and therefore their break angle is fixed by the position of the string retainer. Since this is obviously a sufficient angle, it follows that ideally the E and A strings should have the same break angle. That means the A string should probably have one more turn around the post and the E one less.

Does anybody have any experience of Granotone speaker paint? I'm looking at options for finishing the cab. So far I could paint it in a similar way to @Pea Turgh or I could use a more traditional textured speaker paint or I could do something off the wall like Rustins textured step paint in red. I rather fancied red speakers and did look at Tuff Cab but they have none in stock of any colour. I've been told Tuff Cab is really Aldcrofts in Bolton but a number of people elsewhere have stated that Aldcrofts are very difficult to deal with. I'll drop them an email and see what they say. I can drive to Bolton quite easily if I choose to work in Manchester for the day. Most of the black speaker paint appears to be expensive and come in quarts or fathoms or gallons or something. The Warnex stuff appears to be in German and even though I lived in Hamburg for a while my German is crap. There's doesn't appear to be a lot of choice here so wondered if anybody had tried Granotone or have other suggestions for a tough finish. It looks like there are more open mics and other sessions comjng up so I think I need a tough finish on these cabs. Thoughts welcomed. Rob

Got some Stray headline gigs coming up before The British Lion tour. This Sunday we’re at The Hot Box in Chelmsford for a late afternoon gig - but it’s sold out! The following Thursday we’re in Ramsgate at The Red Arrows club then on to Hastings on Friday at The Carlisle supported by Gypsies Kiss.

Maple Road Saturday 11/22/25 7:00-9:00 "Join us in the newly revamped Eden Ave. event venue located inside Game Over, downtown West Bend! Full bar, killer food menu including smash burgers and a Saturday night of live rockin' blues tunes!" I don't know about this one. I have one main concern. This is downtown West Bend (30k). We're not a 3 hour Saturday night party band. We're a better fit for the larger Summertime afternoon multi-band festivals and fairs, playing for 1.5 hours. This could be a real dud. I've been wrong before. And here's another issue. Dep drummer. Daryl

I bought a Trace Elliott Elf amp off Ian , it was virtually new , in mint condition. Quick replies , next day postage , 100% recommended Basschat seller .

Went to see Sirom - they bill themselves as an imaginary folk band from Slovenia. There's three of them, and at least fourteen instruments. All acoustic, from some Mongolian two string bass to penny whistle, from a Moroccan 1string violin thing to a weird nine string cross between a bass banjo and a lyre to a hurdy hurdy. And lots of things to bash. They played four "songs" in just over an hour, there were repetitive beats on a home made glockenspiel overlaid with clashing zither melody and African two string thing that became a big fat groove, then dropped out to leave ethereal singing interspersed with gong and one of em playing a dog bowl with a violin bow. I normally hate folk music. But this was like they played all the folk music in the world at the same time. I loved it, and would urge anyone to go see them, they're in Brighton this eve , then in Belgium...

I'd imagine it's on the list, and if it isn't it will be after one of them sees this thread.

A very good point. Although I have substantial liability insurance, I intend only to do this on larger stages such as on world tours and possibly cruise ships (if visible on stage) where the risk of poking someones eye out is reduced, as can happen in pubs. I'm hopeful that when I fully master the switch-back, with strong audience eye contact and head-twist winking, I will be generally admired.

Showdown - ELO

I wonder where this is intended to be put into practice? There are a good few places where you're more likely to be ridiculed than admired.

Read the room…. PLEASE! 😎

Why not get a guitarist to fill in for you? I mean, it’s only four strings which is two less to cope with. It’s easy, innit?

RIP Mani, not many bassists make the front pages when they pass, says something about just how much you influenced music and culture 🙏

i was thinking only the other day about how they must by now be desperately brain storming fresh video ideas ...i mean surely there is only so much to be said about bass but here they are still knocking them out.

i try not to cut the strings too much ...got caught out a few times when transferring from say a stingray to a jazz ..i just make sure that the capstan is always top to bottom even when there is a string tree ..force of habit.