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Coming Around Again - Carly Simon

Ah, there's going to be a keys player who also does BVs, plus Geddy has been doing vocal coaching. Should be interesting.

Nice. You just need a bit of teak in there and it could be the Fawlty Towers breakfast tray bass

Thanks...sorry, I skipped over this. Lots to unpack here. Yes, I accept that and thanks for your wishes. It's a good suggestion and I can see it helps with stickiness. I did glance at the homepage on Saturday and thought it needs more of a hook. Perhaps you've highlighted one! Unfortunately the layout of the site limits how many separate text sections I can add. So I've included it with the strapline. Yeah, there's a dilemma here. The associations with high tech are a market thing and the reality I know is...more pragmatic. Strictly in visual terms, I can't really play the craftsmanship angle even though the necks are hand made because there's no realistic way to set up warm lighting or bokeh focus close ups on slow motion. Layering is a messy business. And, I can't play the high tech angle because these necks are hand made so there's no high tech apart from CNC unless I get into mass manufacturing with some nice shiny aluminium moulds at US2600 each. So I've gone for authenticity instead and perhaps that's callenging a few preconceptions. But this is exactly how Geoff Gould started. Not sure what to do but there is the old adage of 'if in doubt then leave it out'.

Sorted, very easy 🙂

I love the convenience of home delivery of stuff as much as the next person, but I think part of retail therapy for me used to be getting out and about, or actually making a day of it. So I can still remember the "event" of going to buy my first couple of guitars (from Spectre Sound in Bingley, long gone now), also the fun of going into Leeds for the day - the only place you'd be able to buy heavy metal CDs! I certainly don't have any memories - good or bad - attached to the last time I clicked "add to basket". My point being: maybe the more satisfying part of retail therapy is just getting out and about. Although I appreciate that if you're living with chronic pain, or depression, a day out at the shops might be the last thing you'd want to do.

I have a shaker board (Tecamp pleasure board) and a Backbeat. The board is brilliant, but it stays at home. The BackBeat (G2) is fantastic and I find it really odd playing without it, now. There are lots of ways to connect it depending on your use case but for me it's simply a case of using the Backbeat cable which sends a signal to the unit and provides a 1/4" output to my pedalboard. I have a Boss Katana GO plugged into the send on the BB so if I want to play somewhere other than my office (where I have a dedicated headphone setup) I can use that. Believe it or not, the makers of the Backbeat finally released an app which give you control of the unit. They have also added functionality for some different pre-set response curves which help tune the unit to a sweet spot. Weirdly, however, that can'r be adjusted via the app (yet) but with some trial and error it's a case of set and forget. The units seem quite reliable, when you consider the beating they get - and the customer support seems pretty good for those who have had issues. Keep in mind that the pack makes a bit of noise when it's shaking - not a problem live or with headphones but it might be annoying for a suppose trying to watch Place in the Sun whilst you're belting out phat basslines. Finally, the G2 is a significant step up from the original unit. It responds more evenly, it's lighter, lasts longer and has more flexible routing. Overall, I'd say they're well worth the money and the feel is a real game changer.

Too Much Monkey Business — Chuck Berry

Those Hal Leonard arrangements are very useful, and Paul Murtha seems to have a talent for keeping as much of the original feel as possible. The practice playlist in my signature is stuffed full of HL arrangements.

What are you doing when you first play a musical instrument? I'm not talking about the guys being sent for lessons on piano or violin, by enthusiastic parents, but the average guy who has probably been inspired by a band or some songs. You want to play those songs with the band, so you chose an instrument, buy one and play along. That either works or it doesn't. If it works, and you are struck by that bolt of lightening, you start playing along with other songs, as many songs as you can find. Which is pretty easy these days, with YouTube etc. Before you know it (in this case) you're a bass player. Lessons can come later, if you want to get serious. It took me over 50 years to have my first lessons, so whether lessons are relevant or not depends on your ability to work things out. I can't think of any player I follow or rate who had lessons.

However, this is really annoying: I can see three good seats in a row. I can't buy one ("There is a minimum of 2 tickets for this ticket type"), nor can I buy two ("Stranded single tickets are not allowed, please adjust your selection"), nor can i buy three ("You must select 2 tickets together") 😬 😖 🫠

Prices for London?

I like that! thanks for sharing! Yes, beefy, robust, reliable, meaty...all qualities that can be applied to a well made bass guitar graphite neck. I always get caught by that one if I'm not paying attention.

They have a good reputation in the pro/semi-pro sound reinforcement community.

Pic of the neck heel on my 450B, which is of the "chunky" type (same also on my 650B), so as suggested above I'm assuming the ebay one is probably a later model with a more sculpted heel. That's top dollar for a 450B, but I guess seems reasonable when compared to a Fender of similar vintage - and I know which one I'd prefer to have.

When I started to learn to read in my forties it was a game changer. It really did open up loads of playing opportunities. Just pitch up and play. No more worrying about if I had learned the wrong key or arrangement. There’s endless community music groups around and often it’s only the bass and guitar players who can’t read. Far more chance of getting the gig if you can. And it really is not difficult to get to a grade 3 level. 5 mins a day of proper practice on reading and that’s achievable in a year.

I got incredibly lucky with the waiting room and got an amazing seat for a price I'm happy with on the second night in London. Looking forward to it.

Not sure you’ve secured your position on the moral high ground there…

I felt like Martin Lewis banging the table for the plucky little guy.

Myself and Ash exchanged 2 fab basses, great comms and always a pleasure doing business with him, we both ended up with a great bass...

Definitely, for myself I was looking at buying a better acoustic guitar around Xmas, but then had the realisation that I simply love the one I have and love playing it, so why look to change. Similar with basses, I`ve my Sandbergs for their weight when with the band, but I have my fave bass already for home use, I get such a buzz from playing it that I just don`t get from any of the other basses.

So final update for this. after watching a clip of Kinga Glyk playing her Jazz bass and listening to her lovely tone I resetup my Yam. Straight neck; 0.15 mm relief from 1 to 24th fret at 7th fret. And set the strings from 2mm down to 1.4mm. obvs redid the pickups and intonation. this is how the bass should be, and it sounds killer now so glad i didn’t defret it. I would have been really pissed. I spent a lot of time trying and failing to get rid of fret noise when all along half the sound i wanted is exactly that. anyway thanks to all who contributed and common sense prevailed I think, maybe, or was it just dumb luck. Idk.

Wow. Much as I love/loved Rush, that’s a lot. I’ll wait for the eventual DVD, because the sound and the view will be better. I don’t have a particular problem with new drummer/keys players, but that’s a lot of money for something I have found mostly unsatisfying when going to stadium-sized gigs in the past.

Its not getting what you want, its (still) wanting what you already have, thats the secret.