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Live Aid for me was the start of me taking up bass and getting into music. I had just turned 15 and was aware of music due to my two sisters constantly playing all the big groups of the 80's like Duran Duran, The Police, Level 42, Depeche Mode, Spandau Ballet etc. My dad was also into his big band Jazz and my mum was into her singers like Barry Manilow, Val Doonican, The Carpenters etc. So my childhood was full of music constantly playing in every room of the house. I hadn't at that time really gotten into music of my own as I was more into BMX and computer games but I came in from BMX'ing and sat down and by pure accident turned on the TV and saw the U2 set. I was blown away by it but mostly by Adam Clayton, strutting around the stage, with his black DM's, looking super cool, playing this beaten up Jazz bass and at that point I decided, that's what I want to do, I want to do what he's doing, I want some of that. From then on in, I got into music, took up the bass and the rest as they say is history.

Yowzah!

After the Live Aid performance, U2 very nearly split up. The rest of the band were furious with Bono for taking over and interacting with the crowd which forced the band to cut the song Pride which was at the time a huge hit for them, especially in the States. They ended up playing a 12 minute version of the song Bad due to Bono going off to interact with the crowd which meant they didn't have time to play their current hit single and the rest of the band felt like they were just passengers during the performance whilst Bono did his thing.

Year started playing: 1978 Number of basses: 4 (if my wife is reading this) (7, shhh) Music theory: 4 Technique: 7 (if I'm not being lazy) Groove: 6

Year started playing: 1966 Number of basses: 6 Music theory: 8 Technique: 3 Groove: 6

Year started playing: 2023 Number of basses:4 Music theory:1 Technique:3 Groove:5

Just seen Duff McKagan's signature on it too... About an inch under the bridge, it looks upside-down in the picture and has an '07' next to it. Looking at examples, Duff does sign with the year too, so this would be likely from 2007.

Year started playing: 1993 Number of basses: 2 Music theory: 2 Technique: 4 Groove: 8

In my recollection U2 were already proselytising about various causes by the mid-80's. I think Live Aid just confirmed to them that it could be an integral part of their identity as a band. It also encouraged and confirmed Bono's egotistical delusions that his opinions were important. It was a transitional point in history where musicians opinions on issues they were usually completely unqualified to comment on became important as their music and the clothes they wore ect. Righteous causes became an essential accessory. We are still suffering the effects in the present day. Musicians have to subscribe to certain opinions and values or risk being ostracised.

Just for fun. If you were a card in a Basschat Top Trumps game… Year started playing: Number of basses: Music theory: Technique: Groove: Marks out of 10 👍

It sure is and I will admit that I am a big U2 fan, or at least up until Achtung Baby. Certainly the music they were releasing throughout the 80's is for me absolutely incredible. There was also a bunch of bands that were universally liked at the time by young people. We all had our favorites but bands like U2, Simple Minds, The Alarm, Big Country were grouped together and then there were others like Echo and The Bunnymen, The Cure, INXS, Tears For Fears and to some extent The Mission were also very much liked by the same groups. Being a huge U2 fan, I was fortunate enough to work with the producer, Mark Wallis when we signed our record deal. He was chosen to produce our debut album and he was the mix engineer on U2's Joshua Tree album. He also produced the B sides on the album. I would spend many an hour discussing U2 with him which was also interesting. The one thing he told me which really stuck with me is something he said about Adam that sadly Adam is criticized for by other bassists. We were talking about Adam just playing 8's on a lot of track but he said there is no other bass player who can do that in time with as much consistency and drive that Adam. If you analyse each note, it is spot on in perfect time. Most other bass players waver in time but Adam is so accurate with his timing, which is why he does it so well. He is the same when playing 16's, for example on Where The Streets Have No Name. He said no other bass player he has worked with is as accurate or in time as Adam Clayton.

Well I've just bought it. If the signatures are legitimate and done by the likes of Alice Cooper, Geezer Butler, BSC, Ian Paice, Kerry King etc. then it's a steal and I'll very much enjoy having it in the studio! If they're not legit, then I still think its a decent enough price for a Gibson Studio Les Paul with Gibson hard case. Roll dem dice!

Feeling fancy with this one:

The Ampeg Rocket Bass combos have the same style Rolex and grille as the cabs that go with the PF50T. The B100R is a cool amp too, if you can find one.

The Fender Bassman TV is a great sounding amp, and available in various sizes (10, 12, 15 and 2x10" configurations). Quite heavy, but if it's not getting moved much it's an interesting option.

I had been doing them with a very janky sort of approach that was made very annoying by iOS refusing to mix my interface together properly. My woes are here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/509698-ios-video-app-audio-stupidity-work-round/ I solved it with far more cables than I ever wanted to use! Sounded ok though: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGI_tSFswQC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== I've since got a Line 6 HX Stomp which solves all the problems with far fewer cables - apart from a mains cable. I was using a powered board in that vid but I really wanted something more portable that I could go direct with just a battery powered compressor pedal. Then I could sit in the garden with my headphones and play along too. So this new Roland unit seems to be a great idea for a battery powered option. I then trimmed the video using the free version of Capcut. It's pretty good!

Incidentally, the pcb does look rather close to the metal case - is there insulation on the underside?