All Activity

I play weekly in church and thought I was relatively match fit with regard to playing. I took a 13 hour light ents TV job today. It turns out that I am not. The problem with the church stuff is that I am making up my own lines using chord charts and vibing with the (really good) drummers. So it is all good. However, today was much more involved with regard to reading. There was one solo fill high up the neck which I managed to nail down in practice but when the red light was on I made THE most spectacular dogs dinner of it. There is zero chance that will ever be broadcast. So my reading is certainly not match fit. I also did some Double Bass work there. I have not played DB in anger for a few years. WOWZERS, it is hard physical work. Actually getting the instrument to respond in the way I want takes a lot more hand strength than I have at the moment. I mean, I did stuff, but I am knackered now and I am going in for round 2 tomorrow. So I guess I am going to have to practice. Ugh.

In fact I just remembered - it was in PMT that a young fellow told me "We don't deal with Neutrik" this was about a year and a half ago .

Charlie Sheen - King's X

Was in PMT a day or two before they shut in Cardiff - bought a snark tuner I found the service in there very pot luck - sometimes helpful - other times zilch I started getting things a few mile out in A Strings a couple of years ago - now that place is excellent for service - I can get all the things that the other places wouldn't have in stock - like Neutrik plugs and lengths of speaker cable - or literally anything I asked them to get in - they have been growing slowly and its well deserved .

Eagles tribute show in Newcastle... a great venue, but a big space with a very high domed ceiling. A great house PA, engineer and lots of punters mitigated any issues. Lots more shows coming up with these chaps. I absolutely love it.

That’s interesting to know @Phil Starr, I know a good few amps have a baked in eq with controls set flat, nice to know Ashdown went that way.

Normal service now resumed! A couple of weeks ago Mrs Axe decided that decorating the landing, stairs and hallway, and fitting new skirting boards and carpet in the latter, was suddenly The Most Urgent Thing In The World Ever. While I was at it I took the opportunity to re-route some ugly cabling and hide it in the walls and behind the new skirting board. The Draper chisel arrived nice and sharp, so rather than blunt it by trying to sharpen it further, I set to easing the upward-bowed edge of the chassis shelf. I was able to get it so that the chassis went in freely, and I smoothed the chiselled surface down with various grades of sandpaper and gave the raw wood a couple of coats of clear satin varnish to match the existing finish. I won't be winning any woodwork prizes but now I can press ahead with the build - yay! I've carefully measured and marked up the chassis lips for where the M6 cage nuts will go and drilled them out with an 8.5mm square bit. Only joking, I've drilled 7mm diameter holes and will need to file them out square to take the cage nuts. I've had to widen the existing mounting holes in the top of the headshell to take M6 bolts. I've decided to use spring retainers for the 6L6 valves rather than bear traps as there won't be the amount of vibration that you'd get in a combo - and I hate those bleedin' bear traps! I also did a quick review of my components and realised I was missing a few bits so I added them to the order. It's good to be back in the saddle!

Good score there

I'm 43, 6"2 and in decent shape, but I'm gubbed the morning after a gig! Dont expect it to get easier.

And welcome to the low end.

I run marathons - but don't like to talk about it... I'd suggest getting into kettlebells. You only need one to start with and there are loads of routines on YouTube. Something with a deadlift, a swing, and a clean and press. Those 4 movements will build core strength and give you a good cardio workout at the same time. Throw in a suitcase carry and at least a 20minute walk a day (although I appreciate you have breathing issues). We all need to have functional strength to carry gear, load in and out and stand for a few hours.

Great advice gents. Pre fade definitely the way forward! Like you Phil, I have wireless on my bass and will wander into the audience on a couple of songs to listen to the FoH mix (and I do that anyway for a few numbers as we find the audience really enjoys the interaction!) Our singers do like a bit of reverb in their in ears - I guess I should investigate whether a post fx / pre fade set up is possible on our A&H CQs as that would seem ideal for the singers.

If you are making all possibilities available, I do support the idea from @BigRedX . If you are intereated in loading the pickups with other coils, you can use simple switches. If you want to blend coils so that they keep their original voicing, consider active mixing of the coils. If your EMGs are battery powered, mixing can be done with passive hi-Z components, but I recommend using Noll Mixpot or John East blending between pickups. One hundred possibilities is a great idea, but most of the options are useless. At least in band context. You will most probably use two modes, like single and series humbucker. There you can hear the difference, and the sounds are useful.

By any chance do you like white basses with tort pickguards and rosewood boards? Nice collection mate I'm just being silly 😂

Back up for sale by the looks of it https://ebay.us/m/fLBGJA

Robert DeNero’s Waiting - Bananarama

...because of the wider and therefore stronger string vibration. Some manufacturers like bartolini make neck pickups weaker to balance the levels.

Nice score there, well done, I had the 300 for years and it never let me down, it actually put me on quite an ashdown journey though lots of their amps and cabs over the years, they have a great after sales reputation too

Try a set of LaBella Super Stetps SS45-CB, exposed core strings, which is the same as a piano string. You won't find a better definition on all notes and a better intonation. They need a new setup because of their conception, but that's all. These strings are also made by Rotosound as PSD (Piano String Design), F-Bass (rebadged LaBella Super Steps), Galli with stainless steel (MSB) or nickel options (RSB), Fodera (Anthony Jackson set) and I think that's it. Don't mismatch the exposed core with tapered core...

The Subharmonic button needs to be monitored that it is in the off position before playing.

Behold! an Ashdown MAG 250. it was a 10 minute drive and was decent to play for a few minutes. Something for a newbie like myself to get started on. it is perhaps too late to ask what you guys think of these, as I’ve already got the amp but what won me was the option to add a cab for 500w total power plenty for future pub gigs eh?