Leaderboard

I found a couple of photos recently which I thought I’d share, I don’t know if they might be of interest to any of you. It’s my dad, Martyn Gibson, who played bass in the early sixties, before marriage and fatherhood took over. Dad played in a band in Stafford from 1963 to 1965, initially they were called The Countdowns, later The Sneakers, and they played originals and covers, a bit of RnB (Ray Charles etc). They played all around the Midlands. They supported Johnny Kidd and The Pirates, and often played with a band from Leicester who went one to become some of Showaddywaddy. My dad’s first bass was (possibly) a Hagstrom PB-24-G; from my research they were also branded Kent and Selmer but he can’t remember and the headstock isn’t visible in order to identify it properly, but as The Beatles became popular he splashed out on a Hofner 500/1. The shop in Stafford (H.E.Parkes & Sons of St Marys Gate, Stafford) ordered it direct from Hofner in Germany with a hard case for forty pounds (or guineas, he can’t remember). How I wish he’d kept it! He had a Vox amp (didn’t everyone then?) but he can’t remember exactly which model.

He always struck me as a colossal bell end.

VOCALIST REQUIRED FOR TERRIBLE BAND Unreliable egotistical diva required to sing badly before their voice fails half way through the second song of each two hour set. The ability to come up with various poor excuses and not turn up for gigs and practices less than half an hour before they need to be there is a must. Must also be able to argue equally with ALL other band members and have tantrums on and off stage whilst maintaining a drunken and/or stoned condition. The ideal applicant won't even turn up to their own audition and preference will be given to applicants who have extremely poor personal hygiene. If you think you can live up to these high expectations you probably won't be arsed to respond to this advert, if not please feel free to message me here.

An empty guitar case will often get you into a gig for free.

Another useful little idea. I’m going away to London for the weekend. Packed a bag and noticed that the zip has come off. Don’t worry though, a pedaltrain nano+ bag can hold a shaving bag and all your weekend essentials.

I guess if your musical palette is as one dimensional as Gene Simmonds he has a point. However, to make such a sweeping statements shows an enormous amount of ignorance of music genres and fellow musicians. Alternatively, he's being a bellend. In fact, either way he's a bellend.

As above. I've never picked up a guitar. Never played one. Never been interested. Went from a percussionist (the classical variety) to a bass player and never regretted it. The only significant downside is that guitarist show me chord shapes and the answer is, "you're wasting your time there mate". I was wondering how many other people here are bassists without the seemingly obligatory intermediate step of playing guitar? And how do you feel about it?

Tone bends for the win: (You don't have to watch the whole video, just a wee bit of noodling at the start!)

Such as the following: *******, *****, ******** and of course *******.

I put my vote on the Shift Line Olympic Tube Preamp. It’s a great unit and sounds really awesome. It does the pushed tube amp unbelievably good but it doesn’t do overdriven sounds. It’s the best “clean” preamp I’ve ever tried, and I own a bunch. Le Bass, Tonehammer, SCR-DI, Vintage Ultra & A/O, Hartke Bass Attack I &II, MXR M-80, 3Leaf the Enabler, Verellen Meatsmoke, Noble, Rusty box and probably a couple more. It takes dirt really good and the cab sim, especially the 8x10, is fantastic. And the headphones is dead silent, perfect for silent practice. And the whole unit breathes quality. I wouldn’t hesitate buying another if something happened to this.

Simplified things a little but very happy with this.

I think you've saved yourself a lot of pain. I first picked up a guitar nearly half a century ago and I'm still no better at it. I discovered I was much better playing one note at a time and picked up bass after a decades-long sojourn on sax. Some things just suit you more than others. In my last band I used to catch the rhythm guitarist squinting at the notes I was playing... he squinted a lot as I usually played fretless.

I read the brand name initially as "Firewood" - probably wasn't far off the mark

!!!!! Look what arrived

Even a gorilla couldn't bend the gauge of strings I use.

My name is Walbassist and I am a string bender.

I am sure the Gene Simmons supporters would approve - better clarity and definition to your cake eating that way.

I've decided to find this whole thread offensive, even though my pampered first-world life is pretty sweet. Anyway, I'm going to get on the internet and moan about it endlessly, just see if I don't! Or maybe tomorrow - Bargain Hunt is on soon and I must prepare tea and biscuits...

My personal opinion about this Grade A douche aside, I also 100% disagree with what he's saying. I've never seen any funk players live using a plectrum. If he said that to Larry Graham or Bootsy they'd laff in his faces (both the monster one and his stage make-up)

Anybody else think he looked less creepy WITH the makeup?

If that's what clean living does to you I'm off to find my next vat of toxins.

The bass is a Cold War-era East German Musima copy - the irony is that the original hardware on these was decent - the original tuners would have been torque-adjustable Gotohs. Wonder if the seller binned the old bits just because they were old, & "upgraded" it?

He Always Struck Me As A Colossal Bell End - The second of today's entries on my list of potential autobiography titles.

Wow, just come across this thread....what a total blast that must have been It's very unlikely I'll ever get to do anything that massive so thanks for sharing - I'll be thinking of this when playing at The Dog and Duck squashed up against the PA!

Local music shops where I live are more like this. Me: Hi. Him: Arr. What be ‘ee looking forr? We ‘as a nice range of galoubets, serpents and lutes. Or a dulcimer if ‘ee want summat new-fangled? Me: Errm, actually I’m more interested in bass guitars..? Him: Guitars? Arr right, well we’ve got a very nice baroque guitar over ‘ere… Me: No no, a bass guitar. Him: {confused} Well it don’t come with no base, but… Me: No, a bass. An electric b… Him: {recoils in horror} Elastictrickery?? Why, 'tiz the work of beelzebub! Are you in league with the dark one? {yells out to the back of the shop} Perpetua! Assemble the townsfolk and loight the bonfire! We ‘as one of satan’s imps in ‘ere! {exit Rich, pursued by pitchfork-waving mob of very closely related locals}

Pis up. Will get some better ones in better light.

Bahdum-tish

I never could get on with picks Great for getting stray pieces of beef out of your teeth though

Before and after. Fully disassembled, cleaned, polished, chipped paint touched up and reassembled. No idea if it works yet until my new speaker lead arrives 😂

Why not? It's just another sound the thing can make.

While we're on the subject, here are to links to online acoustic calculators that I fine very useful. I posted one of these earlier in the thread, but here they all are for convenience: Room Mode Calculator #1: this is by far my favourite; a really well-presented room mode calculator that clearly shows the likely problems based on room dimensions. Includes some well-written notes about room modes here. Room Mode cCalculator #2: this one is hosted by Bob Golds, who's something of a legend in the world of acoustics. Again, shows the likely problems in a room based on its dimensions Both of these calculators also include some useful (though somewhat technical) numbers such as: Absorption needed to achieve RT60 (the time taken for the sound to decay by 60 dB when the source is removed), based on industry standard recommendations for professional control rooms. Gives an approximation the volume and surface area of acoustic treatment needed to achieve this - prepare to have your jaw drop and your room shrink considerably! Shroeder frequency: in simple terms, the frequency below which you should focus on absorbing bass energy, and above which you should focus on tackling mid-high frequency reflections. Porous absorption calculator: for approximating how effective your DIY panels might be. Flow resistivity numbers can be hard to come by, but there's a handy thread on Gearslutz that has lists of some common materials to help you get started. As a very rough guide (take with a pinch of salt as I could be wrong!) you can try using the following Flow Resistivity figures for the Knauf fibre I've mentioned in this thread: Knauf Dritherm 37 (low density 15kg/m3): 5000 Pa.s/m2 Knauf RS60 Slab (density 48kg/m3): 12000 Pa.s/m2

The Aux in does go to the output jack, not the XLR

I've used mine for this too. They go for cheap 2nd hand!

The first thing I'd try is to take the jack socket out of the bass and plug a cable into it. The solution may be as simple as bending the jack socket slightly so that it grips the end of the plug properly. (I once let a player with an Epi T-bird play through my amp at an open mic. When he used my (Planet Waves) lead, there was no output, even though the lead was fine with my bass. He was only able to get a signal using his lead. The only reason that we could think of was that the input jack on the Thunderbird wasn't a standard length, and I've heard that Planet Waves jack plugs can be slightly longer than standard too.)

Assuming you've also eliminated the amp, could be the contacts inside the jack socket, the solder joints to the socket, or the solder joints at the other end of the wires running to the socket. Or, come to think of it, internal breaks in those wires, if they weren't replaced when the socket was replaced. Consider replacing the socket and the short run of coax cable from the master tone control to the socket. And always loop your lead through your strap.

The SA OFD is a great pedal to give you a flavour of / introduction to a bunch of drives. The Aftershock, in terms of core gut drive tone, takes it to another level. The OFD is nice for messing about with at home. The Aftershock will take your audiences' heads off if you want it to, or provide something mellower but crunchy and very usable, live. Ok I'll come off the fence, and let you know which of the two I prefer, in a minute...

Isn't that's just being PICK-y!

Really? Who did it for them then?

It IS all in the fingers. Except when I'm playing with a pick. Then it's all in the pick.

Mine is seafoam green also and it's a really nice colour in the flesh. Sadly still no word on my neck which they have had for over two weeks now. I emailed for an update yesterday but have had no reply yet. Very tempted to send the body back and ask for a full refund. If i was a custom builder and had messed up someone's order I would be bending over backwards to rectify it quickly and keeping the customer in the loop at every stage.

When it comes to wireless headphones (or speakers etc) you almost always get what you pay for. That said, if you’re intending on playing bass through the headphones, wired will always win.

The wet and dry paper arrived yesterday so I had a bit of time this morning to flat the headstock and apply the decal (I love working from home!) I’d never used Rothko and Frost before but the decal I ordered from them is excellent, quick delivery too, I’m impressed! I didn’t want to put a Fender logo on this build; I don’t have a problem with people using Fender logos on their builds but I wanted to name this one something different whilst maintaining the Fender aesthetic with a 70s style font. As my little boy Bruno has been interested in this build, and wants to help me with the assembly (I’ve kept the nasty nitro paint well away from him!) we decided to call it the Bruno Bass No.1 (same as my username too). We also signed the back of the headstock together for posterity too. So, I’ll give the decal 24 hours or so to fully set and then I’ll start the layers of clear coat over the top.

Nice....thankfully I don't need one as everyone in my band is great (and some of them are cute)

And another one...

I may rename it triggers broom! New East electronics on order, then maybe some hipshot tuners with a D drop. All that will remain of the original jazz bass will be the neck plate saying "made in Japan" which NONE of it is .. except the neck plate😂

And here’s the reason. Iris Julia, 8lb 6oz. very beautiful!

Updated/expanded chart for ABBA's 'Dancing Queen', now note-for-note: ABBA - 'Dancing Queen' 2018 update Here's a play-along:

Here's some proper photos of the show and that... https://www.sundayforsammy.org/2018-photo-gallery

Couple of new builds - I finally have a compressor that does what I want it too. I'm very happy.