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Just had the second practice with my new band and I have to say I'm absolutely loving it. Don't get me wrong, it's as rough as a badgers @rse and would make most "professional" musicians ears bleed. But, having tried to get something together for years with loads of different people, it's fantastic to be in a room with like minded people where it just flows. I think it probably works because we're primarily a bunch of mates who go out drinking together and happen to play instruments. Were all in our 40's and 50's and have no delusions of being rock stars. Isn't it great when it just gels. No egos. No agenda. Just playing for the love of it. Do gigging, paid musicians still get that?

Last night was the second of five dep gigs that I'm doing with a Rolling Stones Covers band this month. The first one had gone well - just a couple of little stumbles where they play things a bit differently to how I'm used to, but on the whole very good. Last night was really brilliant. Great venue in Brum. Very small stage, but plenty of room for the punters to dance. All ages, really nice atmosphere. Very helpful sound guy. But near disaster struck as I was loading in. Managed to trap my finger in the door of my boot! First finger right hand - my main plucking finger so to speak!!! 😮 So quickly got a glass of ice from behind the bar and stuck finger in that for a long time. Skin broken just under the nail, but luckily pad of finger OK although very tender. So I soldiered on and didn't even notice the pain during the first half (despite Paint it Black and Sympathy for the Devil!) but afterwards it was really throbbing. So spent the break with my finger in a glass of ice again and it was OK for the second half. It went so well - people smiling, dancing cheering. Some bloke wanted his picture taken with me during the break. He kept going on about what a great guitarist I was, and I suspect that he thought the guitar solos were coming from me, haha! I didn't disabuse him of the fact 😄Also, most of the members of the other two band I was in had come along as well and they all really enjoyed it. And I'm getting paid - which all helps to eke out the pension. Feel like a proper musician at last. Very happy bunny this morning, despite throbbing finger 😎☝️

Only four years ago so not so interesting a story - my still most loved GMR 5, in easy arm's reach right now. I went into Promenade Music in Morecambe knowing only that I wanted to play bass and wanted a 5. Gary spent two hours helping me choose, and wouldn't let me buy until he was sure I would be happy with it - which I am more than. Still grateful to him! My grandson - just turned 5 - is obsessed with guitars, and most loves my Aerodyne. I kind of hope he'll think of it as his first bass (he was not quite 4 when this pic was taken). Anyone else would have to prise it out of my dead hands, but if he does grow into a bass player it will be his 🙂

A few recent additions to my board has inspired me to give a bit more thought on better ordering my chain and I've reset my board as follows: 2 inputs (AB-Y) [allows easy switch e.g. between electric bass and EUB] -> Compressor [Cali 76CB] -> Octaver [Valeton OC-10] -> Synths [Matryoshka & MB SS] -> Gated Fuzz & Drive [Mastotron & SA Aftershock] -> Filter [SA Manta] -> Modulation, EQ & HPF [Zoom MS-60B] -> output / amp Somehow managed to get them all onto my Metro 24, which was a relief!

Last update for a while, here's the twins upright on stands just to get a better look at how they look. They are now hanging in an old wardrobe until they have hardened enough to be safe to handle without risk of marking the lacquer, somewhere between a week and eight weeks, I really don't know until they get there.

The MTV Unplugged version of this song/intro is amazing on the album, (which is available) as is the bass playing.But its not available on YT. This is very cool though.

STICK! My Mk 1 Custom Series Wal is going nowhere!

If I have any trouble remembering my first bass I only need to pop upstairs and get it out of its case! 1981 Aria SB700. Lovely bass!

Yep, we`ve been together for almost 5 years now, have released 3 albums, 3 eps/singles, played festivals, done overseas gigs/tours, and it`s all still incredibly good fun. I think a lot of it is to do with age, similarly we are all 40s/50s with no illusions of being stars. As such with the ego malarkey out of the way this is the most successful any of us have ever been, probably due to it being a hobby, albeit a very time-consuming one, and primarily done for fun/the love of it. We don`t take any money from the band, it all goes back in to the pot to pay for recording, flights, ferries, hotels, more merch etc. This coming week we`ll rehearse Mon, then got gigs on Tue/Wed/Thu in Bristol, Manchester and London respectively. Later on this month we have another 3 gigs in 3 days, Stockton On Tees, Edinburgh & Doncaster. That`s off the back of releasing an EP at the start of this month, at The Rebellion Festival in Blackpool. Were I to be in my 20s doing this I don`t think I would have appreciated it at all, probably would have just got riotously drunk at all the gigs (which is what I did in fact do at the smaller gigs I did back then) whereas I realise now that I`m incredibly fortunate to have my hobby enabling me to do all of the above. I reckon being able to do all of this in my 50s has made me appreciate it all the more.

I'm not that experienced or knowledgeable so perhaps shouldn't be sticking my head over the parapet. But strikes me you must be playing Wembley if you need those size cabs and amp power. I play a Markbass 500w head into a 1x12 cab 8 ohm (so giving me only 350w) and playing quite large pub gigs I've never had the gain over midday on the dial. Also, how young are you and your back? You'll find it a lot easier to carry a couple of light but quality small cabs than a 410/12 or 1x15 dinosaur.

My 63 P-bass. Originally belonged to a great friend and bandmate who tragically lost his life in road accident. I acquired the bass from his widow, who had unfortunately stored it in her loft, causing all the paint to peel off the body, and the frets turn green. I had it restored by Paulman in Huddersfield some 30 years ago, and it remains my Number One to this day.

And in the meantime, the first length of kerfing strip goes on. This is the strip that the top and back will glue onto. It is set a mm or so higher than the sides because the top and back will be dished - the kerfing will be sanded down in the radius dish so that is ends as a close fit to the dished top and back before gluing - I'll explain that better when I have some photos to illustrate it!

There are various ways of thicknessing an acoustic top. In the end, I used a similar method to one or two classical guitar builders I've seen in various places. Sounds surprising, but it uses a block plane! First cross grain, then diagonal and then with the grain: I did sharpen the blade before I started, and these are SUPER thin shavings, but this is the best surface I've ever managed with a block plane! This is straight off the plane: When I was about 3.6mm, I moved onto the scrapers. This is now down to 3.3mm and I will move to a large sanding block to drop it down to about 2.9mm. I say about, because I am using the tap tone approach (great video on one of Robert O'Brian's 'Luthier Tips du Jour' videos, although he uses a thicknesser sander) rather than aiming for a specific thickness. I will not, however, drop below 2.7mm tap tone or not!

Utter pish - I play what I want because I enjoy it and don't feel sad in the slightest. I've enjoyed playing a lot of good music over the past 31 years - other people's music. So to reiterate; utter pish

Have you got an Arno Carbur2 (?) burnishing tool? They are in a class of their own for sharpening cabinet scrapers

Patronising nonsense. I guess you're not a fan of Oscar Wilde, then, who rightly said: "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness". +1^^ Very well put. Couldn't agree more!

Well my main gigging bass is a 2015 US Precision, and I`ve found that that series are the best ones for me, so I have four of them, as such it`s unlikely I would trade in for anything different as simple-tastes me has already found the ideal.

So would I. But that's mainly because I don't like jazz basses.

To give it a more “classic” look I have decided to create a Fortress Flashback type pickguard in 3 ply black. I’ve always liked the Flashback pickguard look. See pic for an example. Also need to install new side dots (nothing special, but some of the old one have sunk a little), so another small task to add. The benefit of going fuller size pickguard is also that I can go with more exact pickup placement and can place control knobs wherever I choose if it improves esthetics. I will be creating a pickguard template in cardboard, then transferring onto 12mm MDF and I will use the MDF template as the template for the pickguard AND as the pickup route template, it just makes sense. So next installment, template time...

We did both at that age. At the time being in a band was the only way I could get sh@##ed. Blue

My first bass was a Westone 1A Thunder ⚡ , bought from a friend in Newcastle in December 1993. It became "The Tiger Bass" shortly after. This was my main gigging & recording bass 'til I stopped gigging in the mid-2000's. It also featured on the band's album cover. I love this bass, I have never played a bass that is so comfortable (I did learn to play on it tho). Westones are not boutique or desirable, but this bass is the reason I still play.

This is going in the same direction as "what direction should I place my bass knobs" thread. There is a reason why you have never thought about it before. Because it is totally irrelevant.

Every bass is interesting! Last year, one of the folks brought along one and his amp which was diametrically opposed to what i choose, but he liked it and that's all that counts. Another brought along a nylon stringed uke bass, which looked like a toy, but turned out to be rather good!

There is this one https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Thunderbird-Bass-Bridge-and-Tailpiece-Set-1963-1969-Chrome-/121479626823 Also available from https://www.philadelphialuthiertools.com/bridge-and-tailpieces/bass-bridges-and-tailpeices/thunderbird-bass-bridge-and-tailpiece-set-1963-1969-nickel/

3 little darlings. Practice? I remember that word....

My first bass was a Zenta very much like Kodiakblair's above ^ but with two pups (only one of which worked).

Congratulations. The fact that you’re a bunch of mates in a band together is great, I think. We’re the same in my band. I remember a rather condescending thread on here a couple of years ago where bands consisting of mates were getting a bit of stick, for some reason. ‘Boys night out bands’, I think they were referred to, as if that were a bad thing... Anyway, it’s supposed to be fun, so good luck to you. The feeling you describe is still there for me, despite our band existing for a few years now. However the more time goes by the less the dog work appeals, to the point that even rehearsing feels like a chore now, but gigging is a different story and something that I look forward to from the minute I wake up on a gig day. We get paid but it’s not about the money, it’s about the fun, and sharing the adventures we have together out there on the road.

First of all: congrats with the band and with that feeling. As Skybone said: may it continue! As to "gigging, paid musicians": before, I just played for the love of it. Money was needed to survive, but without the love, I'd have stopped doing it pronto. My last two bands had conflicts between other members. After some mending attempts I quit both. These days I just dep, and only to help someone out. In these cases I'm not there to enjoy it, though I might enjoy it a lot.

Long may that "feeling" continue! Good luck with the new band.

Cheers Mart. Wish it was my damned YOB, you young whippersnapper....😅

I simply can’t think of anything I’d swap it for...

Spot on, super quick and an absolute pleasure!

Why would you want it to? If anything it will sit in the mix a bit better (Stingrays can be overkill): Precision > L1000 > Kiloton > Stingray

Interesting project - let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Cheers

Hahaha

I take it you have checked string tension. The D'Addario website gives figures. Very rough figures needing adjustment for scale length and string type and weight. Guitar: 6 x 17 lb: 102 lb Bass: 4 x 37 lb: 148 lb On a true archtop with no centre block to strengthen it, I would be holding my breath. Then there is the neck and its relief to worry about. Once you start bending a neck, that just increases the moment (as in leverage). Again, I would be somewhat nervous. There is only so much a truss rod can support.

My 1980 Wal Pro 2E has been my most treasured possession since 1986. The only thing I would even momentarily consider swapping/selling it for would be another Wal, a five-string fretted one.

OK , I'll leave it here , it needs a far better singer on it , but I can't do any more takes , though I think I had more goes at it than any other one , as I just thought it was great fun to do

Not for me, I understand, actually good idea, it's a handy tip

My two year old says “bass song” and then does her “bass dance” very odd

I had some terrible no name EBO copy, the body was about a centimetre thick and was virtually unplayable, I didn't know about setups then, also I only had a Marlin guitar amp. I joined a band and bought a green Yamaha Attitude Special from Manson's in Plymouth. It was a revelation. We sacrificed the EBO copy to the bass gods on a bonfire in the back garden in return for magical bass powers.

Finding time to practice with 4 kids So you're in a 5 piece ?

I have had up to five basses in the past of various makes and models but now I have just three.... ...and I am very, very pleased with them and GAS free 😎

nope, my playing is equally inept whatever colour bass I'm using.

New guitar arrived just before i went on holiday. Seems fine. Ive just changed the tuners to a set of black Hipshot locking tuners. Made a big difference as far as keeping it all in tune goes. Not a cheap upgrade, and the first time ive every done this mod, but well worth it.