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I wish i'd seen this thread earlier, i've just come back from a music shop where the first thing i did was light up my trusty crack pipe, then I started morris dancing, and in the excitement i shät myself, and with all the energetic morris dancing it sprayed all over the equipment in the shop. When the staff tried to stop me, they took me by surprise and I accidentally assaulted them by throwing excrement at them. It all worked out in the end though because I apologised and purchased 1 used plectrum for 9p.

After acquiring and really liking the Mesa Subway Preamp pedal, I decided I would like to buy a Poweramp - ideally small - to give me a small but powerful gigging set Ultimately ended up buying this: GSS Sumo 1000 Thus far I am blown away by the size and power. My Mesa MPulse 600 is a very loud amp, the Subway/Sumo combo is easily as loud whilst giving me the Mesa tone I like at a fraction of the weight. Pretty good on “girth” too! Still needs lots of road testing etc, but so far so good!

...and I've just played Streets of London with Ralph McTell. Just him, me, and a choir. It was gorgeous.

Cheers! Here's a few more I took later yesterday. A shot from my stage position Some flightcase porn (this is only a tiny part of it!) The backstage village (basically, the producer needs all the cast members to be in this area at all times. It has to run like clockwork) One of the millions of camera shooting it. There's cameras everywhere, and GoPros all over the stage Alan Clark, a fantastic keyboard genius who I'm sharing a riser with. In April he's being inducted into the R'n'R hall of fame with the rest of Dire Straits. An today is showday!

Definition: Bass Bash is a term used for a day hiding from your so-called loved ones (family) to spend with your true love ones (instruments) and other like minded individuals in a secret location known only to those who play the aforementioned gear and frequent these forums. There are the odd exceptions, Happy Jack/ Bluejay, Grangur and Mrs Grangur, and Silverfoxnik & Hamster whose lovely wives (only one each) support these events with copious cups of tea and cakes. However, normally they are populated by sad old gits who want to talk about a subject (The Bass guitar and equipment) that no other band member or "normal" member of society can even bear to. Along with the attendees, you will find some beautiful examples of the luthiers' art which are available for the aforementioned sad old gits to try and discuss at their leisure. Other features of Bass Bashes are seminars and gear trials, (seemingly) never ending Raffles, and of course a great review by our own Bluejay which is generally better than the event itself. Stay tuned to the "Events" thread for details of your next/nearest one.

Here’s a murky shot of playing Video Killed The Radio Star with Trevor Bloody Horn :-D

Squire are one of the worst brands available these days. It's a real shame. Then again, how can one be surprised, them trying to cash in on almost copying the name of a really good competitor (Squier). I hope bankruptcy will be their fate.

I refuse to play anything unless they provide me with a music stand.

Funnily enough it’ll have a maple top with transparent coloured finish probably so your suggestion is bang on where I was headed! Builder? Maruszczyk

Thanks again for all your get well messages, I’m very grateful. i have a hospital appointment tomorrow to assess the damage. Hoping the doctor will have some good news for me.

Always fancied one of these...

A few pics from a couple of years ago just to give a little taste of the SE BassBash. Me and the lovely Herbie, the main rig room, John Rhino Edwards from the Quo trying my bass and John Bentley from Squeeze giving a talk and playing some. Sadly I was too ill to attend last years!

Did anyone mention cake?

Best bass hang out ever, bassically (see what I did there). A chance to do all the things you mention... ogle and try out gear you’d never find in one place anywhere else, jam if you want to (I’ve never actually got round to that), meet other BCers in the real world, chat, listen to interesting and varied seminars if you want to... I first went three years ago, ostensibly because Silverfoxnik asked me to do a talk on Wal basses. It’s been a fixture in my diary ever since. Great bass day out. The second year I went Herbie Flowers was chatting - I wasn’t to miss that! John from Squeeze was fascinating. Last year was Davey Rimmer from Uriah Heap. I’ve no interest in the band but it was fascinating to hear his thoughts on playing and stepping into big shoes like John Wetton’s and Trevor Bolder’s. Steve Lawson was random, philosophical and amazing too. For a flavour you could do much worse than checking out Bluejay’s excellent photo blogs on the Bashes... https://silviabluejay.blog/2015/10/05/basschat-south-east-bash-2015/ https://silviabluejay.blog/2016/10/05/basschat-se-bash-2016/ https://silviabluejay.blog/2017/12/08/basschat-se-bash-2017/ Basically, get it in your diary and I doubt you'll regret it.

I'm part-way through a big long epic of a day today - more of the stars have arrived, so we're working though the tunes with them at various allotted time-slots. It's a huge production and logistical operation, with a massive crew - the band are just one cog in the wheel. Every song has to be rehearsed for lighting, camera positions, VT cues, walk-on choreography... if one part isn't right, we do it again! Like I say, I can't give anything away, but I've had a couple of OMG moments today... and I get to do it again - for real - tomorrow. Get in :-) Here's some arty shots I took during stolen moments...

Thank you for the rapid reply.

I didn't get that far, they were on their way back and talking to my little lad who would have been non-the-wiser. I wouldn't want to steal WoT's thunder, anyway

I'll bring my Greenboy/Fearful 1x12 if that's the case.

Tim Bogert .

I' m a Hamer lover In the late 90's I have read this Bass Player review of the Hamer Cruise Bass 2tek and so I dream to get one of these (impossible to find locally at this time...) Now I have 3 USA Hamer Cruise Bass. One fretted with the Gotoh bridge, one fretted with the second version of the 2tek bridge, and one fretless with also the second version of the 2tek bridge The second version of the 2tek is cool because it is not too heavy They are really well made. Schaller small tuner (though they feel good and are precise), multipiece maple neck with part of quartersawn and some of flatsawn, the 2tek add some clarity and sustain, the Seymour Duncan pickups gives you some warm lows that match perfectly with the clarity of the bass. With the small tuner, the bass is well balanced and the neck is solid It' s a passive super jazz bass. I also really like the fender bass with vintage specs but the Hamer have something so easy in comparaison. The cut through highend, massive jazz bass sound that is strong and easy to dial with Bass Player gives this bass a rave review with the maximum notation at every level for the first time to an instrument (and I think it was the only one) and they finished the article with something like "It kills !"... I understand why

I'm in the Alder camp, although I do enjoy the aesthetics of a nicely grained Ash body. In the context of playing live with a band not sure I can hear a difference though.

Generally sound like you know what you're talking about. This is the equivalent of going to your doc and reeling off a number of medical conditions you've been able to rule out with confidence before he tells you how irritated he his with people who use webMD for self diagnosis. Both GPs and music shop staff want you to be ignorant and at the mercy of their expertise.

Looking really good!!

I'm sure not I think with my builds, fate has ample opportunity to do its worst whatever

I don’t think this is wholly out of place here:

My beloved B12.

I can fret it. Byl was my nickname when I was young. I made something like 10 instruments on order and wanted to start making that for a living, but after around 10 years of absolutely not earning money I stopped definitely. I was also making repairs for guitars, basses and amps (I was well known for my knowledge in tubes). I even made repairs for high end hi-fi shops but fortunately (according to their retail price) they don't get out of use that often except for CD players. I used to work for the local shops and even for some other luthiers for their electronics issues or their clients amps. When I stopped, everybody asked me why I did it. My answer was always the same : Being honest will not make you earn your life and some of you still owe me a lot of money ! End of the (sadly usual) story.

Check out YouTube, there are a couple of vids on there where a guy is plucking strings while moving a pup up and down the body from bridge to neck and even sideways just for good measure. Very interesting.

We supported Midge Ure a few years back, he really does use out of the box Vintage Midge Ure Signature guitars he played through a Marshall Bluesbreaker pedal into a stock Vox VT120 amp......a set up that would be sneered at by many pub band players, it just shows how talented he is as a guitarist

Plectrum!!! Yeuchhhhh!!! I'm just jealous! Thanks for sharing, cool kid.

I've still got my US Jazz, but I wouldn't buy another US bass... I think they've got a bit silly pricey, despite the obvious quality (obvious in mine, at least). I would absolutely consider buying a MIM... and I think PJs are the future. PS... Karfler... love your crap mex.

Yup - all looking good! As you've described, that'll work for you. That will give you a perfectly serviceable setup - and it'll sound great.

Typical bass player doing it up the corner, come on why not right by the front door near the till!

Whenever I buy a car, I test drive it by first revving it as hard & long as I can, hoping that people notice me. Once I have their attention I attempt a doughnut manoeuvre I saw on YouTube (I stall quite a lot, but I think I look cool). It never occurs to me to check if the breaks, clutch, gears, lights work, or if the cars structure is sound...or, heaven forbid, it fits any practical needs. OK, so my cars never leave my garage (but no one in the showroom knows that, they all think I'm the Stig maaaaan)

Trevor Horn.

I've told this before. . . . A friend was looking for a guitar as a 50th birthday present to himself. The guy in the shop got down a US Strat and Rob, who was mightily impressed, said, "But this is only for playing in my bedroom." The shop guy said, "Mate, 90% of the guitars we sell are to people who play in their bedrooms, and the other 10% should do."

Is the only bass that I had since I started to play ! I will never sell it! Great instrument

Gently tip a small amount of baking soda into the E and A slots until you have about as much lift as you need. Then pour in a couple of drops of superglue and let it solidify. A surprisingly effective fix. Doesn't sound like it should work, but my chemist friend tells me that they combine to form a sort of basic cement.

Yes you may moan that EU imports may become unaffordable soon, but looking on the bright side, the lucrative trade deal with India is almost in the bag. Who needs Nordstrands when you can take your pick of the best indian sweatshop-produced pickups made by 9 year old slaves instead? Tone for days.

And this is what it comes down to I bet, there possibly are technically better ways to do it but they would be more expensive to make and more complex/heavier so maybe less reliable/ hardwearing. Then there is the issue of getting people to buy them, when more than half the bass playing population seems to struggle with anything without a Fender logo on it, it could be a step too far for many. Life is a compromise.

Guy sounds like a total Rooster. I knew a guy who worked backstage at the old Academy in Birmingham (the one that used to be the Hummingbird). He told me that certain bands specifically requested that the staff didn't talk them. He once said something along the lines of 'sorry mate' to the singer from quite a famous American band when they happened to be passing in a narrow backstage corridor before a show and the guy just completely blanked him, despite the fact they both had to turn sideways to get past each other.

The Damned at Folkestone Leas Cliff, they’ve recruited the mighty Paul Gray back in for bass duties, listen to the black album there’s some great playing on that.

At the risk of lowering the tone, I'm seeing the Dead Boys in Birmingham on Friday