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Three acoustic guitarists, two saxophonists, a brass player, a drummer, a singer with amp and mic, plus me playing unamplified. Somehow, I managed to be complained at for being too loud.

I don't really play electric bass - that's the thing that has 'idiot wires' on it isn't it? Oh sorry 'frets' 😉

Phew! That was tough one at the South Benfleet Social club. Intensely hot, even massive fans and iced water could only do so much. The audience were appreciative but I think the heat was wearing on them too! Lots of applause but very little dancing. We’re back there on August 16th and a few people said they’re coming back to see us again, so that’s always nice to hear. We played well, some of my regular mistakes were ironed out, so pleased overall. Best part of the night was a cool shower when I got home!

Hi I have a Sansamp BDDI and one of the selector buttons (the first one) won't engage any more. I did contact Tech 21 to see if there was an official repair centre in the UK, but no. Therefore.. does anyone know a good electronic engineer/repairer more versed in music equipment that could fix it? (I'm in the Bournemouth area if there is anyone local.) Thanks

How was my gig last night? One word, sweaty! Played our local Billy Bootleggers with our acoustic trio, supplemented for this gig by good friend and multi-talented percussion, harmonica, and vocalist Mr Les Young. We were on straight after a local Dolly Parton impersonator who was entertaining a ‘bottomless brunch’ crowd who migrated off to other venues in and around the Ouseburn delta before we struck a chord. This gig is one with a mainly passing trade, but we did our usual trick of getting folk to stay so we had built up a medium sized appreciative crowd by the end of our second set. Lilly, my 1960’s Boosey Hawkes Excelsior coped really well with the heat and despite my fears, remained in tune for the whole gig, which is better than what I managed 😂 Picture may be used to keep small children away from open fires etc.

Art of the Mountain Banjo was by Art Rosenbaum, I think I have a copy somewhere. The first time I heard the term 'clawhammer' was when Ken Perlman's book came out in the '70s. I learned to play about the same time as you: I learnt from listening to Guy Tucker, who lived in Manchester in the late 70s, and from books by John Burke and Miles Krassen. There are lots of terms for the style, and various attempts to bold on esoteric definitions after the fact, but I think it boils down to a matter of opinion.

I’ve had 4 gigs this week so been quite busy… Last Sunday afternoon I was playing with the blues band at a pub in N.Lincolnshire. It appeared that very little had been done by them to publicise it so we played to a small audience ( and a dog! ) Finished bang on 7pm, and was back home by 7.30 - one of those rare times for me when I just wanted to take the money and run. Tuesday was a gig with the acoustic duo for a birthday party. Played in a nice garden, and managed to set up in the shade thank goodness, it was a hot one. Took along my little Ibanez PNB14 very short scale, and it suited the gig perfectly. The low tension strings were a welcome rest for my fingers, and the gig went really well, with a couple of enquiries for similar events. Wednesday was my weekly gig at the rock n roll club. Took along my large stage fan which helped with the heat. A good crowd of dancers in as usual, and we did more slow stuff than usual as they were getting a bit sweaty. Used my recently acquired Hartke head into the 4x10, am getting used to this now. Friday saw the blues band playing an early evening slot at Farmyard 2025, a large bikers festival on a country estate in Helmsley , North Yorks. A very well attended and organised event, with great staff and tech crew. Days before the gig I realised I no longer have a ‘big’ bass rig, and so took my (nearly vintage!) Barefaced Compact cab to use along with my Rumble 500 combo. Although the combo would have been sufficient, when the Compact was added it gave it massive clout so I ended up using them both. We did an hour set, which went very quickly. Nice to play on a big stage again, and I really enjoyed it. Also got to meet @peteb who was playing with his band ‘The Gentlemen Rogues’ immediately after our set ( see pics). Was knackered yesterday, but just getting ready for another gig today with the duo - a party in a local village pub starting around 4pm. Definitely taking my fan for this one, so hot today.

I’ve had this 6 string a good number of years now and it continues to be fantastic. Does anyone else have one of Marko’s lovely creations ? pictured here with my 4 string bass with multicoils and filter preamp.

We were chatting about this the other week on Brooksy's Bass Corner. Fender basses are a real lucky dip, as they are literally constructed from boxes of necks and bodies, etc. Yours does seem to have had a replacement neck from an AVRI 62. As NJ mentioned, as long as long as it plays and sounds fantastically for you, what does it matter? (Although the history of the bass is always interesting to delve into!) Also, the '88 neck means that you have a few more years' neck reliability in the bass. Some of the older ones have a habit of ejecting their truss rods through the finish eventually, and develop 'humps' in unusual places.

Usually you can tell when they're going, as your signal starts to aurally disappear through several frequencies. Some instruments emit a high pitched whine when the batteries are getting low, but not usually Fenders. How long have they been in the bass / how long on average is it plugged in? I usually habitually change the batteries in my active basses annually, and I never leave the cable plugged in when I'm not using the bass, as I don't want to get caught short on a professional engagement. Nine volt batteries usually stay at 9 for a very long time. I'd say that yes, 12-14V would be the minimum for an 18V preamp to run at maximum efficiency.

Hi, Which is the minimum voltage to change the batteries in an active bass if it works at 18V? It's Fender Precision American Elite. I forgot to check them and yerterday I had to change to passive. I've checked batteries today and they have 10,42V. Too low. One IA says that it works well till 12-14V. I would like to check in order to avoid what happened yesterday. I've had to open back tap. Is there any way to check it without opening the back tap? Thanks in advance

I got a 4 string 35" Jazz Bass tuned BEAD and the GHS BEAD set with a 130 B sound great. Obviously you have a 5er but the tone out of this particular low string would be worth considering. None of that flutter/wobble you can sometimes hear on various low B strings. And the GHS 5 string sets are reasonably priced.

Thanks Pete I was a self taught and not very successful banjo player back in the days when Scruggs was seen as not really folk music. My 'tutors' were Pete Seeger's book and another which I think was called the Art Of The Mountain Banjo or some such name. I spent hours trying to get the picking styles right but foolishly never really got on top of many songs. That three finger technique that she uses was one that I learned at the time. I never heard anyone at the time describe down picking or frailing as clawhammer but certainly now that seems to be common usage. It's nearer 60 years than 50 since I last seriously tried to play the banjo so I may have misremembered

No this P is staying, but now I need another with Barts 😆 Glad you're happy and it sounds lush from your description. "Dreamy" - love that!

Yes, sound hole plugs work. Take a leaf out of the double bass players book who use F hole blockers to reduce feedback on loud or difficult stages. Also, bring that HPF up to about 60hz. I played a gig yesterday with my acoustic double bass on a very resonant (I.e. empty wooden box) stage. The whole gig I was on the verge of run away feedback and playing open strings was an absolute no no. Sometimes you just have to modify your technique to suit the circumstances of the gig.