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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...

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 forgot to mention that - I was advised years ago not to use silicon polish but the car polish I use doesn't contain any

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.

I just got a new hb pb50. I owned the old one with Wilkinson pup, the new pb50 with Roswell pup sounds better. Output is around the same, but the larger poles on the Roswell pup give a more vintage sound, which I like.

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.

Bankruptcy in the US doesn't necessarily mean the end of the line. If Gibson file for Chapter 11 they'll be protected from their creditors while they restructure the business, which could include selling off some of their subsidiaries and intellectual property rights from companies which they've acquired and ultimately wound up. It also allows them to seek new finance. Even if restructuring fails and no new finance is available then the creditors have the option of acquiring the company and it's assets in lieu of the debt. The chances are in that scenario the debtors would attempt to sell the Gibson brand and production facilities to a third party who could then acquire them without taking on the current debt. Even if Gibson has to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, which basically means the complete liquidation of all assets, the brand and production facilities would still likely be sold as part of that process. Gibson may be doomed in it's current form but I'd put money on the brand and the classic designs being in production, one way or another, for a very long time to come.

Fewer student guitar players? That doesn’t bode well for bass only manufacturers then, not that I think that’s correct. I was only talking to someone on Friday about my experiences at university. I graduated in 2015, I was one of only 12 bass players in my year. We were easily outnumbered 4:1 by the guitarists. I think with Gibson it’s maybe more to do with their pricing point, quality control and models etc. I’ve never ever played a Gibson bass, I don’t think I can even name a particular model or a bass player who uses Gibson. That’s more me though. Other major builders have lots of models of both guitars and basses, basically a model of guitar or bass to suit the divergence of music that’s played nowadays, and to suit different people's budgets. Take Ibanez for example. They make fabulous basses, a student of mine plays a 6 string bass that he bought new for a ridiculous price, and the quality is amazing. They also make tremendous pro quality instruments that are equal to most custom instruments. It’s not all just blues and rock n roll afterall.

I thought it would be Adrian You can't go wrong either way then. And if you want it light, ask him, you'll get light.

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:

That is very pretty

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.

Saw Bas had ordered a new pedal that was on back order so got him to cancel and buy used from me instead! Prompt payment as always.

I can't think I've ever had a problem with a tuning peg..?

The number of people I know who regularly forget straps, plectrums, leads and, in one memorable gig, their drum pedal... ...nope, I can’t see a single flaw in the removable tuning key alternative.

I can’t see anything up with it. Its a lovely Fernie ball preciseman

I'v never measured my action..not interested really! I lower to the point of perfect balance between playability and string noise for me, its entirely subjective

A high gloss oil probably

I usually play different stuff to see how the bass responds, so some double-stops up the dusty end and also seeing how comfortable the bass is to play. They never have straps on them, which I find annoying cos I rarely play sat down. Last time I tried a bass in a shop I played Pump it Up by Elvis Costello over and over and got some funny looks from the sales guy. I then found the same bass cheaper and with a hard case on eBay and bought it (I know, I'm going to hell just for that).

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.

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

Was it worth it? Well I can now hear the frequencies between 60-70Hz, rather than them being almost non-existent, so yes I'd say it was worth the toil of making all those bass traps... but that's me. I make a lot of bass-heavy music and so anything that improves the low end is going to translate (hopefully!) into better mixes. The proof of that pudding will be in the eating In the meantime, I just need to find a way of stopping my two young boys from using the bass traps as karate practice pads whenever they come in the room. Hmmm. PS: it's taken a heck-of-alot of reading/researching for me to get my head around home acoustic treatment, but it's been 'fun' (I get that my idea of fun is perhaps unconventional). If anyone else here is scratching their head over this stuff, then ask questions here and I'll try to answer as best I can and save you some time.

Trevor Horn.

Reminds me of a comment I can't remember where I heard about, from someone in a shop saying "We almost never hear anyone trying out a guitar actually playing a song". It wasn't about me but it could have been - I run through my favourite 12-bar blues walking lines, (1) because that's what I'm going to mostly play on it, and (2) because (as said above) I'm nervous in that environment and feel the need to do something I'm completely solid with.

I've always wondered why the flat part isn't removable and why tuners don't use a T spanner type thingy - like a football boot/golf shoe spanner. This would prevent accidental knocks. The drawback would be that you'd need to always carry the spanner and "quick tuning" for that slightly out of tune string would become a thing of the past. Seems I've found out why my idea has never taken off. Maybe there's something in what Essential Tension says..

Grade A plonker, don’t stress over it.

Sir Richard Head III move. If he was upset he could have had it out with you in person. Calling it out from the stage is utterly pathetic. What a tit.

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

Not sure they're addictive - however if you can get on with them they're good. However, there are flat wounds and flat wounds - I was put off them when I bought some of a certain make and once fitted put me off playing the instrument largely because the string tension made it feel like arm wrestling. Probably OK if you're a double bass player wanting to play a bit of bass guitar. Since then I've found several types that I really get on with including TI, Roto Solo bass (actually not fully flat wound but half ground), EB group 3 and EB cobalt slinky flats. These all have one similarity - string tension more or less the same as round wounds. The cobalt flats are absolutely amazing and are permanently resident on my Stingray Fretless whilst TI flats are a current fixture on my Classic Stingray. Im not sure about wearing them in - the first set mentioned resulted in the bass not being used very much. Strings are such an important part of an instrument, I don't think anyone should have to compromise - choose strings that compliment and suit your playing - we are all different and one person's utopia is often another's anathema - including flat wounds - you have to remember flat wounds were really a thing of the 50s, 60s and to an extent, early 70s (when bass was not really heard that much in pre hi fi days - at least in the UK) - ok they are popular currently but it is largely a retro thing in my opinion. I personally love Pino's Precision sound with John Mayer using flat wounds - and am convinced Bernard Edwards used them on his Stingray for some of the famous stuff in the late 70s (based on flatwounds being the only way I can create his popped string sound on We Are Family plus Stingrays shipping with them till mid 78). However Pino is probably one of the world's best bass players - I am not and however much I aspire to play like him I probably won't and I doubt flatwounds would be that much help in me getting there anyway - it's more about technique, knowledge and feel.

Bump lol

Hi folks, After asking around here for some advice I decided to take the plunge and get myself a Harley Benton 6-string bass. It’s arrived today and I thought I would share some details with you. I’ll start by saying I am very pleased with the bass. It’s a neat yet simple design and it feels nicely made and well finished. I was expecting it to weigh quite a bit but actually it’s quite light – certainly a lot easier on the shoulders than my Harley Benton Jazz. The neck is very playable. Being a 6-string it’s clearly chunky, and the shape reminds me quite a bit of my Squire P-bass albeit even fatter. Despite the size, I find the neck pretty fast and there is no problem reaching the low B string. It came really well set up with a nice low action. The intonation needed seeing to but otherwise it was playable out of the box. The electronics are pretty nice too. It’s got a 2-band active EQ with a blend and volume. It also has the option of going passive when the volume pot is pulled out, in which case the treble control becomes a passive tone control. Sound wise it has quite a bit of growl to it. It almost reminds me of a Warwick in that respect. The active circuit is pretty hot and can easily bring on some distortion when the bass control is tweaked up even a little. However, it’s a nice sound and pretty flexible. I’d say the passive sound is the nicest – clean and rich and certainly much more impressive than a bass of this price has any right to sound. I’m off to band practice with it tonight so I’ll report my experience with it in the wild tomorrow, but until then it looks like Harley Benton have designed a really nice bass for just silly money here.