Leaderboard

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

-

OK... before I fall asleep, here's the crack. Sorry if I ramble. I was asked to do the gig about three months ago. At that point, no-one really knew what was going to be in the set. Over the following weeks, I was drip-fed some possible tunes, so I just started to do my homework as much as I could. Bear in mind at this point I also had no idea who would be singing any of them, either. I'd heard Ralph McTell was coming along to do 'Streets of London' with a choir, which is a song I love. He rarely - if ever - plays with a band, so I was surprised and pleased when he asked for a bass accompaniment. I guess it might have been because it's a big hall, and wanted something for the choir to lock into. Video Killed the Radio Star was an interesting one... I bloody love the tune. The bass part is mint. So when I heard Trevor was going to be singing it, I immediately prepared myself for the possibility that he'll play bass on it, like he always does live. Sure enough, I got the call to say he'd be playing bass on it. We don't get a chance to rehearse with the stars until the day before the show, so I had to learn the part anyway for band rehearsals the previous week. I was slightly gutted, but I saw it coming. Fast-forward to first day of band rehearsals, and I walked in, cases in hand, and said 'morning!' to our MD. Before I'd even put my cases down, his phone rang... it was Trevor, saying it would be simpler for him if I played the bass. Happy? Hell aye. The band is me, drums, 2 x keys (one being our MD, the other being Alan Clark from Dire Straits.. about to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!), guitar, 4-piece brass and 3 lovely backing vocalists. Rehearsals were hard work, but fun. If we were flagging by the end of the week, we were kicked up a gear when we shifted to the Arena on Friday night. I'm lucky enough to have been involved in some big productions before, but this was another level. Four flown arrays, three massive LCD panels, 22(!) cameras, scores of crew... just a logistical head-scratcher. All the cues and camera positions had to be worked out and rehearsed - the show also features comedy sketches, etc. - so nothing could be missed. We ran though the tunes a few times on Friday night, and all day Saturday (a 12-hour shift). Sunday morning was dedicated to sketch rehearsals (the Auf Wiedersehen Pet cast traditionally reunite for this show, and there were other great artists in there too, including Johnny Vegas, Jason Cook, Vera off the telly, and that). We got a quick line check, and no time to get adjust to the room. We were going in cold! We kicked the show off with (Reach Out) I'll Be There, which sounded massive... and it all went like a dream from there. Along with Trevor and Ralph, we had Jill Halfpenny singing 'Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now', A great up-tempo blues with local legend Ray Stubbs, Tim Healy sang a great Alan Clark song, Ryan Molloy (Jersey Boys) did 'Can't Take My Eyes Off You', and was then joined by Joe McElderry for an incredible duet on 'Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me', which took the roof off. We closed the show with a couple of Lindisfarne tunes, 'Clear White Light' and the Tyneside national anthem, 'Run for Home'. Then... we had to kick around for an hour or so, and muster the energy to do it all again! The second show was looser, as you'd probably expect. The evening crowd were a bit more raucous, too. It was fab. So proud to have been a part of this - the show is massive, and so many people have worked incredibly hard on it. It's worth it - it's going to raise thousands and thousands of pounds to help young creative talent on Tyneside. GEARCHAT.. I kept it simple, 'cos that's all I know. A pick (for Video Killed the Radio Star) Fingers (for everything else) LR Baggs Venue DI (used for in-line tuning only) Maruzczyk Jake w/rounds > House DI Limelight '67 Precision w/flats > House DI Handbox WB-100 head (Thread here), and absolute dream of a head I have on loan. I'm considering selling a kidney to buy it. Big, rich and LOUD. My R-400 was under the stage in case I felt like switching to it, but I didn't. TKS S212 cab (best cab ever) > Mic'd ...and that's it. It sounded marvellous. DVD's out in April!

Ha! And there, my friends, is everything you need to know about choosing a bass.

I know we had this before some years ago but it's worth it again and I always really liked Ronnie Lane's bass playing.

Things not to do in a music shop?

Love them! Here are mine..... Two very rare Hamer Impact basses (designed by Kip Winger) - these have a very Spector 'feel' to them......... and a white Hamer Scarab bass.

Just pinched this off Instagram...

... and Ronnie Lanes bass if you're interested:

I prefer Alder or Ash! In all seriousness I am of the opinion that the neck, and in particular the fingerboard wood makes the biggest overall contribution to the dynamic of the instrument.

Remember this? David Paton on the bass we don't mention....

Still my favourite looking bass. A super rare Hamer Impact neck through, from the 90's..

Given the amount of GAS evident on this forum alone, I'd say A LOT.

You leave my hole career out of this.

I've had a slew of the LMII, LMII, Rocker, etc heads, all of which were pretty ground-breaking a few years ago, but are now kinda Last Generation Class D, and sound it. Like other folk, I always had to zing the LMs up with an always-on pedal in front of them, which ultimately doomed them for me. The cabs...I've had the 104HR and the 15 combo and 15 extension, and again, they were good at the time, very light and efficient but just not as efficient or light as kit that has come out since. I hated the tweeters, they were a major turn-off for me. They may not be in the same price bracket as the likes of Vanderkley, Berg or BF, but at £650 or so for a 212, they're not far off, and, for me, if I'm going to that expense, a little more to get the best is well worth it. A pal of mine in the retail business always said "It's very hard to sound bad through MB kit", and while I'd agree, it's still kinda damning with faint praise... All of the above obviously is IMHO, YMMV if you like the cab colouring etc, etc...

Not surprising, a comically backwards thinking company run by clueless idiots that produces novelty knock-offs of classic instruments. This is their latest idea, apparently the cost is $4,999: Based on that alone I can't think of a more deserving company to go bankrupt.

I know of at least one big name Japanese guitar manufacturer who is readying themselves to buy out Gibson for their history and assets. Could be the best thing to happen to them. Japanese QC, forward thinking design and marketing etc...

Like most manufacturers, Markbass have never stood still and are currently going through a significant evolution. Sadly the new cabs (5 very different ones. 2 Marcus Miller, 2 Michael League and the Stu Hamm 2 x 15, which is amazingly articulate, given the configuration), which were launched at NAMM, won't be in the UK until June, I suggest you reserve your critique until then, because I suspect you will be pleased with the result! Preview here: http://www.markbass.it/media/upload_area/2018/01/18/cat_news2018_web_light.pdf I am currently getting my head around the new Little Marcus 800, and it is a beast! A very different beast, and while it can easily be made to sound just like an LM3, it is far more old school and a darker, warmer tone at its "everything at 12 o'clock" setting. With five tone knobs and that the VLE now extends a further 50hz down to 200hz, makes a massive difference... The new Combo I think will be quite exciting too, as the head is offset, meaning that the cab is as small and light as it could possibly be, given the frequency range it'll be handling. Both the 500 and 800 heads will be at the London Bass Guitar Show, where I will be working alongside MSL again, so do say hi if you're coming!

Shall I bring my G3 Midget?

Can't agree about the Thomastiks if you have a heavy playing style (like me). Thomastiks respond well to a more delicate touch ... they're wasted on me. LaBella FLs are the best but they're bloody expensive. GHS Baby Boomers or the Lakland branded strings offer a cheaper alternative that's almost as good.

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

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.

Surely in an anti-gravity situation the strings play themselves? And you don't need a strap.

siemano

Reef’s ‘Naked’, appropriate title for such a sparse bassline. It works perfectly for the song, but I hated playing this when my band had it in the set, bored me silly,

I just purchased a Hohner B-bass from Andy. It was exactly as described and really well packaged. Despite the best efforts of the morons in the post office it got here safe and sound. I would happily deal with Andy again

Ooops to the Spelling!

Ignore that... it's back but I know why now

I think thick necks are critical to that Vintage, thick P bass sound. That’s why I now have two Vintage, thick-necked Ps, the 50s in my video and a 59 CS... Everything with a skinnier neck didn’t manage to do it. The other bass that came close? The Yamaha attitude II, based on a thick Telecaster bass neck. It can’t be the be all and end all, but it makes a huge difference in my opinion!

Yeah, it is a versatile bass ( 2 humbuckers with coil taps) but I've some to realise that I don't need a range of tones from a bass, I just need it to sound like a Precision. And I have several of them already, so my EB4 has been in the 'for sale' section for a few weeks now. I'm taking the EB4 with me to a GD rehearsal, as the Precisions don't sound quite right for a 2 guitars/keys/2 drummers band. Also taking my only surviving Jazz bass, so will see how I feel about them tomorrow night. The EB4 is currently withdrawn from sale. I really should keep it, as it is by far the lightest bass I've ever played, and if I sell it, I'll probably injure my arm or back the following day!

Pulled the trigger on the La Bella 760N set - hopefully should arrive by the weekend!

New blog entry in the NAMM series - general views: https://wp.me/p2ZbyY-Ae

there's been several threads similar to this, I use a Trace head with lightweight cabs, get the best of both worlds, and a 200 watt old Trace head is more than enough IMO, used my series 6 200 watt head at the weekend, had it on 3 and was told to turn down! small pub admittedly but we have a bloody noisey drummer

I know it's the matt effect of the paint but that body looks as if it might be covered in red suede leather. It'd be an impressive look new but imagine the patina that you'd get after a full year of gigging with one like that! My limited knowledge of Fender lineage can recognise the mash-up of eras there. I avoid playing Fenders for preference. Frankenbass Fenders are interesting though. Could it be that I am becoming a FF* fan? *FF = Frankenbass Fender in this context. Other contexts are available.

Well I think you were very lucky to have gotten away with that! If I was the proprietor of a musical instrument retail establishment there is no way I would have tolerated morris dancing on the premises I can tell you!

Sad as it is it wouldn't bother me if they stopped making basses, there's nothing that gives me gas in their range.

Looks to me like a supreme level of skilled craftsmanship and incredible attention to detail was needed to create that instrument. Shame really then that to me it also looks bleedin orrible! A bit like if you'd gotten Leonardo Davinci to paint you a picture of a Ann Widdecombe in a string bikini.

Don't let your wife/girlfriend/ significant other know that you just bought another. Safeguards the bass and your nads.

My first thought after reading the thread title was ‘defecate in the corner’. I think I need to speak my therapist 🤭

Gene Simmons too. Sid Vicious released "Sid Sings" but I think that was debateable on many levels!

So what's that, given their obscene prices, about 3 guitars...?

You don't need a compressor because your technique is "not the best". A compressor will do nothing to compensate for poor technique. Every professional bass player uses a compressor - if not directly on stage, then compression will be applied by their sound technician at the desk. This is not fake news And it continually amazes me why so many amateur bass players haven't got their heads around why they should be using compression - and using it to their advantage. But heh, it's a funny old world innit.

I waited 4 months for a PA from DV247... and then the band broke up!

just think that they should know instantly when they've sold the last one in these days off computerised stock systems, so should show out of stock on their web site, I wanted it for this weekend, but it's not the end of the world but I don't want to be waiting weeks for it, think I'll give them a ring like you say

Met Scott at the London Bass Show last year. I asked him if I could take a photo of him playing my bass, he obliged willingly. Seemed exactly the same person as his online persona. #topfella

my next gig is cannibal corpse in Manchester its going to be brutal