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St. Alphonso’s Pancake Breakfast - Frank Zappa

The gig itself was a bit shit - private event in a posh garden, lovely surroundings but it was cold and rainy so we played most of it to an empty garden occasionally punctuated by their kids doing cartwheels However I did get to use my newly contoured and painted custom bass which felt much nicer

Have you thought about emigrating?

Move to a different part of the country

I went to see my friend's band last night in a pub. He would tell me how great his lead guitarist is, how almost famous the drummer was.. etc. He's not a bad singer himself and a really nice guy. So I was interested, in a nut shell, even after the first song... terrible 😝 They are all experienced players but.. awful, obviously people were leaving, I could feel those who remained of the audience were gently mocking them. A band that can empty a pub. 🙄 Asked what do I think... erm.. what can I say? I tried to find good points but there weren't any. What can I say to the guy?? 😳 I really don't want to upset him. My view was: 1.this "great lead guitarist" was just another standard noisy power chord+fast meandering solo type, usual standard for a pub band. 2.drummer's kit sounded floppy, snare was saggy and his playing average at best 3.singer (my friend) - vocals mostly not good, some was truly horrible, thing is I know he can sing really well. 4.bassman was average, just plodding away with no real expression, as in, every note was a full length 8th, his sound was ok. 5.the song set was an odd mixture of pop and rock covers, I know some bands do their versions and usually "murder" a song I was thinking of doing guest appearances in their band but having heard them, I wouldn't want to ruin my reputation 😄 - I could do the "musical director" role but again that would appear out of place. I think they are too stuck in their way to want change. One suggestion was just to form a new band with my friend the singer, I could then steer the ship without offending anyone. I'm sure many of you have seen similar situations, any suggestions on how to approach this sensitive issue? The easy one is just to stay away, keep out of it.

I will do my utmost to make it. Shifts can be difficult sometimes.

Guitars sound different, that’s true. Vintage basses often have lower output pickups (mine do, at least). To some extent I do believe it’s a placebo. Particularly when the amp, effects or studio can be used to alter and augment the sound. One of the most famous, Guy Pratt, had the vintage electronics in his vintage Fender swapped for EMGs didn’t he? I’d had a glass of wine yesterday, but what I wouldn’t want is someone to spend £18k on a bass thinking it was imbued with some magic. (Or assuming it’s so rare and they’d be able to easily sell it for £18.5k in the future - because that’s really not going to happen.)

I'm saying this to hopefully be helpful and constructive, but I think this is an overreaction. You're asking the question, so I imagine you might think so too. It sounds like your singer reached out to say that he's in a seriously bad place, and it seems that your initial response to him is framed around how this might inconvenience your holiday. There are likely a number of reasons why he's struggled to communicate or find a prompt time to talk, but he's probably not trying to mess with your time off. We often assume bad intention towards us that just isn't there. Hanlon's Razor helps me out a lot. If you want to resolve the band situation, don't take it personally (because it almost certainly isn't), give him space and help him to feel that he isn't being a burden. Being frustrated with him and leaving the chat is only going to push him away.

£18k Is a crazy amount of money for a guitar but if I was lucky enough to be in position to buy that Jazz bass I would. Yes you can buy many much better basses for that kind of money but it's not the point. I saw an advert for a mk1 Ford Escort being sold for £25k, some for much more. My £2k Vauxhall Astra is a much better car in every way but it's not a 50yo very cool and desirable car to certain people.

I disagree because I believe i can hear a difference, even on the clips Andy Baxter puts out. If there wasn’t, are all those professionals who play them live and in the studio putting up with the maintenance and potentially devaluing their asset for nothing? if you do believe it’s a placebo, more power to you because you can buy a much nicer instrument or custom shop copy for a lot less.

Breakfast At Tiffany's - Deep Blue Something

Corrected myself.

"Rubberband Girl" - Kate Bush a bouncy song and bassline

If I recall correctly, the BBVI is the BB1600 for the Asian market, I’m sure someone will correct me sooner rather than latter 😎🤘

"Happiness Is Easy" by Talk Talk is very good RIP Mr Thompson

Agree, your browser auto-completed the password. G4M are still going - I ordered some bits from them a few weeks ago.

Breakfast at Sweethearts - Cold Chisel

Singing last night in Patterdale in a concert with the community choir. Mostly American Song Book stuff and musical theatre.

I’m Eating in Bed - Cardiacs