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We do key changes and then detune a semitone for most songs to suit the singers. It can make it quite difficult to reproduce the original bass lines on a 4 string in some cases. That said we are not trying to be a tribute act, so I don't always stick exactly to the bass line unless it's a really integral part of the song. It would be hard to recognise, e.g: How Long, Keep on Running, I Gotta Get Out of This Place, if you didn't play the original bass line. We also have a lead guitarist who is obsessed with tempo, so we end up playing everything around 10 beats faster than the original. He accelerates during the set as well. Its pretty impressive that he manages to get the solos for Sultans of Swing and Come Up and See Me right, while playing them significantly faster than the originals, Lol! I saw a band locally where the bassist didn't play the original bass line to How Long, in fact the only thing that was the same were the words. It took me most of the song to realise what they were paying. Personally I think that is a step too far. There is room for interpretation but fundamentally changing a song seems either wrong, or lazy.

We Built This City - Starship

Pretty much any two cabs together will sound better than either alone. The only way to know if Cab A plus Cab B is better than 2xCab A or 2xCab B is to try all three combinations side by side. That's not an option for most.

Is it up there with the nitro vs poly paint tone debate?

I like the look of that, and $299 seems a decent price that'd hopefully translate to about that in £. seing as a $ is £0.74 and I suppose there are import costs. Tough, simple and looks like it can do all the things you really need for gigs: Tuner, compression, drive, EQ, line and XLR out, fx loop, simple to access presets, and some nice to have extras like filter, IRs, Chorus (I wonder if it can do other modulation effects or delays?), midi. I suppose the key thing will be if it sounds good though. I'm not against digital, but there is a big variation between a good digital overdrive and a bad one.

it looks great

Mike bought a couple of bass bridges from me in what was another perfect transaction. He paid promptly and kindly let me know when the bridges were with him. Thanks Mike!

I love it on my HB MP-4 (EMGs and LHZ-04), but am note quite resolved about it on a Squier Contemporary Precision (rerouted for reversed P) with Bartolinis Classic and flats.

Deff Fenders. Cant believe no-ones said it yet **edit** I also found them quite stiff compared to similar strings by other manufacturers

Never seen one of heard of it. Looks quite cool though.

Depends on the reasons I suppose. The tribute band and the function band I play with stick closely to the originals for obvious reasons; a few are in different keys, but arrangements and other important details stay the same. In the other hand, my solo work and my blues/soul trio are full of “interpretations” of songs which have been rearranged and rejigged into something that works best for us in those formats. That’s not the same as being too lazy to learn parts, or being incapable of playing them properly. That’s just freedom to experiment (with the caveat of them actually sounding good!). But yeah oversimplifying or messing with songs for no good reason seems a bit daft.

I've just listed my BB734a matte black in the for sale section if anyone is looking for one.

Ha ha, a swing and a miss, it happens.

Feedback for sales and purchases here

I guess an audience has its views too, bit like some ppl in a band randomly feel need to bleat ‘f@ck Trump’ cus it’s their opinion 🤦 go figure🤣

Out of those I can do the following: Sunday April 19th 2026 (last choice because got a gig on the 17th, hence why I can't do the 18th) Saturday April 25th 2026 Sunday April 26th 2026 Saturday May 9th 2026 Sunday May 10th 2026 Had some close calls around these dates with band and personal stuff recently so it would be good to get it tied down soon.