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Last night my blues band played the town's Art Centre. This may not sound a particularly big deal but for me it was one off the bucket list. The venue isn't big, but it has a good reputation and has had some very good artists and bands play there...the likes of John Martyn (obviously when he was alive), Andy Fairweather Low is there again soon. The first time I went so see a band was at this venue, I was in my teens and went to see a band called the Cult Maniax, ironically last night, my first time playing there, our guitarist was in the Cult Maniax. This was a ticket event, we didn't sell all tickets but the venue were very pleased with the turnout, I think we out sold a much better known blues band a few weeks ago. It was a great gig. When we finished the first song we received a massive cheer. I think this really spurred us on and gave us confidence to not just play the songs but to entertain as well...if you get my drift. Post gig I had people come up to me and say how good they thought it was, never had that before. This was the first time the band had played an established venue having to sell tickets (we usually play pubs) and we were all really chuffed with how it went.

I feel like I'm in a really obvious game within the Crystal Maze now, wearing an ill fitting jump suit, knowing full well that everybody at home behind the tele is shouting at me, "What a Richard!, just freaking listen and get it already you ****!".

I'm a big fan of WRs Heavy Weather but for me Percy Jones with Brand X top the fretless bill (I've got the 4 CD set Nuclear Burn so can't decipher which album is best!).

Brand snobbery and much competition I reckon . Used and owned a few Laney rigs over the years , never had a bad sound . A bass player local to me uses a Laney rig ( DPseries ) and sounds enormous Like the look of the newer Nexus , just think its so competive at the pricing and maybe they lack an endorsee or 2 . Must remember where I left / put / stored / my RB9 too …hmmm Gary

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put the guitar together today just a mock-up to make sure everything fitted and I was pleasantly surprized that it all fitted ok, the pups were a bit tight and I think I will need a little shim in the neck pocket or sand a bit of the bottom depends on how lazy I feel, I will take it apart tomorrow and try to get a coat of lacquer on it. got to put another hanger on the wall now.

It was! Good high-energy stuff and good audience. Really sorry I had to leave early, but you don't want to be on the last bus out of Stockport on a Saturday night 😞 Hoping to get my band to one of your Sunday afternoon open mics soon.

I always wanted to release an album that not only was it not recorded at A=440 but each individual track was off by a different amount. And then to mess with people's minds even more the tunings of the individual tracks would also be different depending on the format - CD, Vinyl, iTunes download, Amazon download, Spotify stream etc.

Whether you're a fan or not, check out June Lee's transcriptions of JC's stuff. Amazing works of scholarship & musicality.

Just for the anecdote... More years ago than I care to remember (even if I could ...), I was an active member of the organising team for our local summer festival (Les Trois Elephants; look it up..?). Ideas for a 'theme' were always in discussion over the winter hiatus; one suggestion I made seemed to strike a note with the others. I had contacts, from a previous job, with purveyors of second-hand pianos in the North of England. They had (and still have...) entire floors of a very large building, heaving with pianos of all sorts, many of which have no value as instruments (wooden frames, you see...), to be had for a song and a penny. My idea was to bring over to France a Tautliner full of pianos (about fifty or so...), build a pyramid as part of the festival decor, and, at a suitable moment, set it alight. Stuffed with adequate preparation (ping-pong balls stuck in the strings, rubber bands, a bit of pyrotechnics...), the blaze would 'play' itself; it was to be recorded, both from outside and from a couple of sacrificial mic's inside. The budget was accorded (modest enough; the truck cost more than the joannas...), and a few days before the festival, they were delivered. That's when it all went wrong. Seeing these pianos, half of the team, and more onlookers once they heard the news, decided that these 'instruments' were in too good a state, and would grace their homes. Once a distribution of the better looking furniture (for that's what they're classed as, really...) had taken place, there were so few pianos left, it was not worth piling 'em up..! The remaining pieces were scattered around the festival site as ornaments, but the Biggest Blaze of Pianos in the World did not take place. A shame, really, as I could otherwise have played you the resulting cacophony. I'd especially ordered (and paid extra for...) a player piano, which was to be the summit of the edifice, playing away by itself until things go too hot. Never mind; at least I tried. The festival was, despite not having this show-piece, a great success, and for several more years since, including this year.

Cracking build Andy, first class. Len must be chuffed.

Just finished the Proms show. Absolutely incredible, great pacing with amazing dynamics, harmonically and rhythmically complex whilst also being beautifully sparse in places. Normally i’d take unbridge at people saying he plays it safe.....far from it, as mentioned, the harmony and rhythms that weave their way through his songs and arrangements are definitely not ‘safe’.......that said, they are safe because he’s utterly in control, nothing is an accident, everything is constructed perfectly! Yet he still manages to create the magic that other artists only sometimes stumble on by being ‘on the edge’. If there were a couple of low-lights, it was Every Little Thing She Does and All Night Long, boring choices, but lots of amazing ideas within them to unpack and learn from! Yeah, amazing on the whole. Hideaway (song number 2) was a particular highlight! Wish I could have been there! Si

I think if you're wearing the dress and wig most people will know who you are supposed to be. If you get time you could draw on some sailor tattoos as well.

Two more jobs - soldering the wires and fitting the strap buttons. However, took the advantage of a little bit of cloud (not often in the UK we say THAT!) to take the arty-farty shots - taking photos in full sunlight is not an easy thing to do! Before those shots (and forgive the self-indulgence!), someone asked me why I've started scooping the back. Two reasons that can be seen in these two shots: It takes out a LOT of weight. Just look at how much wood has been removed - and this is a relatively thick body this time: It allows a superslim transition of the neck to the body. Again, this one has been made a little deeper (this one is 30mm at its minimum - my last build was 25mm where the body was basically the same thickness as the neck!) but still retains those pleasing lines at the transition. I've also left the transition relatively modest starting with a taper just past the 13th fret - I can always get the surform out if, after he's had a proper play with it, @Len_derby wants it slimmer further up Anyway, enough of the technicals - here are the fancy shots: As always, many thanks for sticking with yet another tortuous thread and for your kind words and encouragement - always HUGELY appreciated Andy

Every Laney bass amp I've played, in rehearsal rooms and at gigs, has sounded great. I do believe their lack of kudos, is merely due to brand snobbery. I've owned many top brand amps and cabs over the years and laney holds it's own with all of them.

I had the Nexus 1x15" and 4x10" cabs and absolutely loved them. They were very capable cabs but I just wanted and needed something smaller and lighter or I would still have them

The Nexus Tube head I recall was superb! Heavy, just like an SVT II or Mesa 400, but easily as lovely sounding! I also really liked the SL and SLS amplifiers and combos which have a pleasing tone and some clever features on board. 👍

Exactly. I used Laney almost exclusively with a thrash band I was in, 500w head 1x15, 4x10 and a Stingray, great sound. I hammered that gear, volume and transit wise, it never let me down.

Sorry, can't help with the GK but I have spent far too long watching your avatar going round

I have the same guitar and no way is that normal action!

Actually, you're both wrong. The timbre I used was poplar

REALLY? ARE YOU SERIOUS? This is as bad as people that think the wood doesn't make any difference to the tone. Pickguard on the 51 totally flips up the sound. It messes with the resonance, this is why Sting's bass tech (Danny) removes them. (er... just joshing. When new, pickguard all the way. When beat up, n pickguard)

Above the puppets too 😁

Fantastic story Dad 😍

Everyone knows helium changes timbre not pitch

Then my work here would be done!

It is rumoured that Andy was secretly developing a bass filled with helium. Development was interrupted when it was found that it sounded like a soprano ukulele once filled with the gas.

I’ve got a couple of pieces of Rocklite Ebano here. They are thin veneers, which would be suitable for headstock facings. The grain is quite open and very regular, it seems to me, and maybe a little soft. I think Christine’s idea that it may be plant fibre could be on the money.

Was she a victim of the 432Hz Police ? 😮

What a great discussion my only insight would be that I get where Lennies composition entry style comes from , they have a style that is supposed to sound like they do 😎 Where as mine just end up sounding like they do

That is amazing. So much detail work

Point is you can buy Shukers, highest spec Sandbergs, Bogarts, Alphers etc for that money.....

They rarely line up perfectly. It's rare to see a jazz or PJ line up either,no matter the brand. My last one had the bigger bridge and the centre of E string was 8mm from the centre of the E pickup pole. That was way too much,playing with fingers pulled the string out of the magnetic field. Neither the Herrick nor the Bloodstone line up perfectly on their PB-50s,it's just a trade off between bridge,pickup placement and nut width. You could get a plain cover for the pickup, out of sight / out of mind 👍

Is it the MN type you wanted? (Centre both 100%)

I remember buying my 1st Stingray in ‘93, it was a 2 band Sea Green (blue green) 4... obviously an H. Cost me an arm and a leg, I was 19 at the time. Nowhere near the ridiculous prices they are now..... still, such is...Fender has also increased prices over time and to me a Stingray = better value for money.

I’ve tried it. Well now. It sounds really rather different to my 51P partscaster. Far more open, lots more snarl and much more in the mids. It’s not as spaced as a Precision - much less of that piano like quality and far more growl in the mids. Then there’s the hollow nature - it’s got some the air and hollow thump you get from a hollow body but still has plenty of sustain (centre block no doubt). Compared to my precisions it doesn’t sound like a Precision. But it’s not 100% Ric - it’s like a bag of Ric flavoured crisps - sort of Pricisionbacker if you like. However, it sits so well in the mix when I play along to stuff - far more presence and up front sound due to those highlighted mids. Interesting. Have tried flats and roundwounds - rounds seem to accentuate the Ric side more, flats the P side. I have an idea for sound samples so bear with me..

Its a great Bass Jeff and is my first 5 String that I have owned and played, the neck is very easy to play and its light weight , well balanced and sounds grand, its just that I managed to get some birthday money and have upgraded to a more expensive bass and I don have much space to store instruments at the moment, I'm sure it will go to a good home and good to good use.

I guess most people are conditioned and shaped by sounds they feel comfortable hearing. Do I like this? No. Neither do I dislike it. However, it is interesting. And that’s more than most.

I think part of the issue that is that some people find it difficult to see the subtle but important difference between 'P*ssy Power' & 'P*ssy Melter', therein lies an issue of a wider understanding of gender issues. It's worth highlighting that it's almost certainly not the word 'P*ssy' that is 'offensive' to people, it's the aggressive nature of the full name (backed up by the tone prints description). Now, of course, Steel Panther are a complete parody, they very much subscribe to the South Park/Team America ethos of 'as long as you take the pee out of everyone equally, you're fine', which actually I'm fine with.....they're fully aware that they come across as sad, washed up old rockers with outdated views on women....that's the point, it's a commentary on the 80's & 90's rock scene......just so happens they can shred too. Without knowing any numbers, I suspect SP have as many female fans as they do male fans, because everyone understands the parody, and they like the comedic music. If there is a lack of understanding as to what the band is exactly, again, that's a damning indictment of a wider lack of education around gender issues. Again, it's important to re-iterate that SP are characters, when Satchell responded about the TC thing, that was Satchell typing from his account, not Russ Parrish, the married 47yr old dad who plays the character. However, take Steel Panther's approach out of context, take it away from the show and the fans and the bands self-effacing ridiculousness, and it starts to hit a little bit close to home for a lot of women's everyday experiences. Parody is a fine line, and it requires a fair amount of set-up and context in order to work, which is why I suspect TC took it down......should someone at TC have figured this out before they posted it like 2 years ago? Probably, how many females are working in their marketing department I wonder, let alone their engineering team?! (Women in engineering is a whole other discussion). But as this, and the few other examples of mildly misogynistic names highlights, the gear industry has had some catching up to do. Fortunately, the prevalence of things like 'booth girls' at NAMM and other such shows being something that has (thankfully) decreased as manufacturers realise that they are simply alienating potential customers (Fender cite that 50% of their new customers are female: https://www.forbes.com/sites/petercarbonara/2018/03/28/for-fender-guitars-the-future-is-digital-and-female/#1f1f3d7e4a37). Names of products I feel are simply on the company, if they want to alienate and exclude certain potential customers, fine, if they wish to attract the wrong type of male customer who misunderstand the 'joke', let them, it's their livelihood. Again, I suspect that's why TC took it down, not because they felt the need to censor after a petition forced their hand, but because they feel they made a mistake about something and would prefer not to lose customers over it. As to why people have picked up on this as opposed to focussing on sexism in rap music? I suspect it's because for female guitarist who's onto rock music, this is in their back-yard and one that has been difficult enough to get accepted by as it is. If they have no interest in rap, they're probably not going to jump in on issues within a world they don't understand, especially if they're white. However, if something becomes important to them within the world that they reside (the guitar gear world), they're going to jump on it as something they're directly involved with. It's a massive discussion, and clearly goes much further than just women who play guitar, but with this forum being overwhelmingly made up of what I suspect is to be white men, it's worth us checking our understanding and approach before crying 'the worlds gone mad' (not aimed at anyone, just a general statement). Si

Thought I'd join in the with the 'Mustang with early 70's Precision' game Si

If you just want 2D any vector-based Illustration program will be fine. If you are already an Adobe Creative Cloud subscriber, then Illustrator will be included in your package. Otherwise have a look at Affinity Designer which is currently on offer for £33.99

It's not tobacco smoke, I have a strat copy here that has lived in a non-smoking teenagers bedroom for a long time and that has loads of yellowing. I think it's more UV damage than anything else.

This was only €80. I call that cheap.