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What have I discovered and what can I share? These are just common sense and have been in many threads on Basschat in the last 10 years. Effective bass lines are the best. Simple bass lines are the most effective. A good "Adam Clayton" is worth his weight in gold. An almost good "Jaco" misses by a mile. Your groove is more important than your sound. Obviously don't sound bad, but what you play beats the sound of your gear every time. The audience or your mates might tell you you sound good, but if you're a good player you'll be asked to join bands. Get the basics right. Second nature, so you can't play it wrong. Then you can focus on the good stuff. Learn to keep good time. Don't count but feel the beats. Play every note exactly in time.The basic difference between the world's best and semi pro is the quality of the timing. If you're going to stand in front of an audience, bring your best game. Every time. It doesn't matter if they are not listening or there is one man and a dog. Go home knowing that you couldn't have given any more, even if you were playing the Albert Hall. Learn to sing. Bv's are a bare minimum and will make you more valuable to your band.

It's been posted before, but both Chas and Dave played on this ...which was later sampled by Dr Dre for Eminem's breakthrough single 'My Name Is'. So, in conclusion, RIP Chas Hodges, international hip hop superstar.

The R-400's getting a WB-100-ish facelift... pics just posted on FB:

RIP indeed. Great player.

All wired up and making a noise!! I fitted an EMG 35DC and 2 band EMG preamp in the end.... A few little things left to do but the end is in sight!! Will post some more pictures later.

Worst gig ever was a band showcase, or at least that’s what it was billed as, at a Country Club/ hotel type place. We were told there would be travelling expenses plus food and drink for all the acts. Arrived at venue to be told that travelling expenses info was incorrect, not really an issue as it was only half an hour or so away from us. We were a originals rock band, all hair and Ibanez guitars (as was the thing back then), we then get told we were on between the magician and the Neil Diamond impersonator, alarm bells are starting to ring. Go to the backstage room, here’s the free food and drink, a huge bowl of stale crisps and a crate of out of date light ale! Get through the gig, being largely ignored or frowned at, and as we’re packing guitars away in the backstage area, the organiser comes in and says “well done lads, you finished second, Neil Diamond won”. Feeling very deflated by now, our guitarist pipes up to try and cheer us up and says “ah well, he was very good, at least we came second” at which point our drummer walks in and says “turns out only three acts turned up, and while we were getting ready backstage, the magician tried to saw his assistant in half but the table broke and she fell off the stage and fractured her wrist, and we only beat him by one vote”! Luckily no one else wanted the light ale so at least we could drink enough to see the funny side of it all!

I caught the gig at the Jam House this week and as a big fan of Gil Scott Heron & Brian’s collaborations it was great to see him. I’ve now seen them both live. Anyway Yolanda was on bass and she is great. She captured the vibe both tonally and with her note choices and fills so with that and the fender rhodes it was back to that authentic 70’s vibe. She was playing a fender jazz bass 5 string and usually when i hear bass players on these basses playing notes on the low B string they generally sound disconnected from the other strings but this wasn’t the case this time. She uses the B string a lot rather than just to drop a low note here and there, and even when she was digging in or doing a bit of slapping on it everything was consistent in tone, weight and volume. Could be a compressor in the signal path or just good technique on her part or both but whatever it was, it was a pleasure. I look forward to catching her gigging with her own band at some point. A superb musician

Like most ‘debates’ on Internet forums it’s a case of If you like it buy it if you don’t don’t. We can rationalise opinion or choice but ultimately the chat was about cost. We’ve had the Warwick price hike chat, the EBMM price chat, the new Fender Pro price chat. Sandberg are pretty market appropriate in their ‘regular’ range price before heat and vibration treatment, relic’ing etc. They make as strong and reliable a product as EBMM or other non fender brands. Have the detractors played one? Compared one to their fav brand? Had some actual time playing one of just decided they don’t like it? The internet eh! Proper ball ache!

Down the rehearsal space/gig venue this morning - I swear the new finish makes it sound better! The Marshall has decided it - white piping coming soon.

Well this is really something.

Spoken to Lee At Gallaghers in Grimsby. Hes found out that ALL the last batch of 12 to 18 RPBXs have come with the wrong necks but marked up correctly and been sent out to retailers. Another batch coming in October but because they are en route they cant check for correct necks. Im waiting and if they come with P necks, swapping mine for one of that batch. Lee's always a great guy to deal with and keen on price too. If anyone wants this J bass with double P pups, talk to me!!!

I saw a 'stealth' telecaster bass that I really like the look of and I haven't got a black bass so I think I might give it a go 🤔

Aye, but can ye trust t'rod..? ...

If you want to here the SuperLight Sandberg go to 20mins in this video.. Sandberg - Thomann/Studio Chimiel. Sounds fantastic. If you’re a Jazz Bass and Slapper, you’ll love this.

Give your guide dog a pat and a biscuit from me.

i was never bitter about it , after years of thought , decades it could be the whole idea of show biz & fame ? ,, the ruthless effect it has on people ,, during those 5 weeks they tried every guy around who knew 4 strings ,, one week out of the 5 was cancelled , live music , but no jam session ,, maybe its true ,, if i only played the 1st note & bar ,,could it be , they had to stop it , ? WKD a bar down the road used to hand me the bass as soon as i walked in , yeah , so the whole thing made me completely not interested ,, in how good / big name / look at me musician , some people are , not all , you tube changed all that ,, we started to see few brilliant bedroom musicians taking on the pros ,, quite happy on you tube

I’ve got one from back when I was a DJ during the rave days in the early 90s, this is really embarrassing. I used to play at illegal parties in disused warehouses and squats, rickety old buildings, dirt and broken glass everywhere etc. One night, just before my DJ set, I’m up on the rooftop of a particularly dirty burnt out building, chatting up some girls and trying really hard to look cool, going on about my DJing skills and impressing them with some very boring ‘rave’ stories. I look at my watch and tell them “it’s time for me to hit the decks, ladies”, and with a wink and a smile, I turn the wrong way, trip and fall off the roof. I fall about 25 feet and land on my àrse with a loud crescendo. It’s chucking it down with rain, and I land on a pile of wet cardboard boxes filled with garbage. One of the girls is screaming, the other one is pointing at me and pìssing herself laughing. Somehow I am unharmed and there’s not a scratch on me. It takes me a good 20 minutes to find a way to climb back into the building, and I then spend the rest of the night drenched, with a huge brown muddy wet patch on the àrse of my bright yellow ‘rave’ trousers, stinking of garbage and hiding from the hot girls on the roof.

Looks like "reasonable travel time" varies a lot.I play in two bands that rehearse an hour away from me and both bands rehearse weekly.Gigs(15-20) are also also at least an hour away.I also have played in pit bands for musicals that also require an hour each way.Unfortunately things always seem to be on different days/evenings due to work/family/other musical groups ,especially in the 7 piece swing band. I live in Northern Ontario in Canada where nasty winter weather is just part of life and sometimes the drive to rehearsal is a bit more of an adventure than I would like but I'm smart enough now to know when to stay home on really bad days/nights.I'm 72 and still working part time as well as my band commitments but as was said above "being in a band at all is golden" and even though I figure it actually costs me money to play in the bands it is worth the time and money to me.I have gear(BG,EUB,DB,amp) that works for me and is paid for and currently have no GAS,well,nothing serious. As I have said before, we are so lucky to have music in our lives and be a able share it with bandmates and audiences.I am fortunate at my stage of life to not have some of the responsibilities that many of you have but I also realize my time is running out and I want to use it musically as much as I can,I'm contemplating finding a DB teacher(also an hour away of course) to help me with my DB skills and augment the teaching vids on the net.I live in a very rural area so any type of public transportation is out of the question...remember this is Canada. I'm lucky I get to play lots of different types of music with very good musicians and at this point I'm willing to make time for it and my playing is improving as I try to keep up with them.Making music is magic.

I struggled to get this one together. I've gone through a lot of variations on it before finding a small part that I liked then built the track around it. Hope you enjoy.

For fake wear on fake fenders? Yeah, why not? 😀

It’s one of their “Masterpiece Aged” models. Looks like you’re paying an extra grand or so to have someone ruin a perfectly nice £1-2k bass for you.

Just read his Wikipedia entry, and also Dave Peacock's. Interesting to see the latter was described as 'musician and bass guitarist'.......

Welcome! Nice Ibby, I hope you get it sorted out quickly and easily.

I live out in countryside so any rehearsals or gigs are usually about 40 miles from where i live. I have a limit of 1hr drive or 40miles. That takes me to one of the best Central Glasgow rehearsal studios. If i didn't drive i would need to get a bus that runs once an hour and then a train that runs once an hour and then a bit of a walk from station to rehearsal studio at the other end. There's no guarantee that bus and train link up so if you happen to get to the train station and train has just left you need to wait another hour so its not practical if you have a time slot at rehearsal. I currently rehearse on a Sunday so no peak traffic to worry about. I used to finish work at 5 and go straight into Glasgow at peak time. My work was only 18miles from the studios but it would take me an hour and 15mins nose to tail traffic on the motorway. Most i've done is 60 miles to a rehearsal but had relatively quiet motorway roads but that was just to help a band out during start up. My current band is well worth the travel as i'm enjoying it more than other bands i've been in recently. No ego's and just nice guys and all have an input into what we do. We all had a common interest prior to this band in Glam Rock music. Dave

@Muzz so you don’t like relics. I think you’ll find there’s a huge market for them and lots of people love them. They like the fact they don’t worry if they ding it. Plus it’s just a finish. Yes, a finish! It’s not an attempt to fool anyone there old or vintage. It’s an aesthetic! I don’t like black basses, but I don’t whinge about it at every opportunity. I know several player (relic haters too) who have sold basses that are less than 6-months old because they had a small ding, an imperfection. Crying at their beautiful things being scratched. It’s sad and hilarious. Bring on the relics I say, we play hard and don’t give a sh*t.

From what I can see that is a quick fix with some wood glue and on you go, however....that isn’t the point, if this was a new bass then the problem shouldn’t be there and I would either be asking for a replacement or at least some sort of refund to compensate for the damage and to get it fixed. Im Sure they would be happier letting you hold on to it and giving money off than having to do it all themselves.

Yes, very sad news. I did a summer season with 'Chas & Dave' down in Torquay back in the mid 90's. Spent many a night getting pi**ed and partying with them. R.I.P. Chas. Top geezer.

Yup, me too. I sold it because it looked cool but sounded crap. Then I bought this black one and I sourced a Dark Star pickup. Now it looks cool and sounds absolutely righteous.

I had the same in red, even more sci-fi looking than the black one, with the silver plastic bag. It used to be my office bass.

On the 14th August 1965 I was 10 days off my 3 month birthday. I don’t really remember what my main concern was. Probably breasts. I guess nothing much has changed

Ah, love that album. Overlooked IMHO. Shallow Be Thy Game is my favourite.

*waves*

....in warp speed time........

Basschat of course!

Welcome to the forum Adam. Do not attempt to repair it until PMT have made an assessment. If they say it is not their responsibility you have the choice of accepting what they say and taking the hit for repairs costs or seeking redress via consumer rights. You'd have no solid ground from which to present your case otherwise. For what it is, I'd remain optimistic that PMT will deal appropriately with it. PS; I agree. It's a great bass to take you further with your playing. I have the SR605 which is broadly similar. Given that these instruments are made really well, your issue should not present a challenge to the vendor to fix at their own cost.

Been playing for 40 years and if there's one thing I've learned playing in a band it's, don't get yourself in a position where you are being 'told' what to do by a guitarist or a singer. If you do, you may as well become a session player and earn some money! The real fulfilling part of it all is - you will be the only one that is! The realistic future for those that 'tell' others what to do is loneliness as everyone will eventually have enough and leave. Same as any relationship!

Yes, that had occurred to me. My counter offer would be to save them the bother and ask for a contribution to the graphite replacement.

He hasn't yet tried! A re-string is needed first! 😮

Wow, even Eddie the Eagle could manage 100m off that ski ramp.

It’s almost as if there had been some kind of avoidable event where a third of the population had voted for something that meant the pound dropped in value...

Don't underestimate the importance of correct nutrition when it comes to putting in a top notch musical performance. A dozen pickled eggs washed down with three pints of guiness is my personal recipe for musical success, but don't forget the cork - unfortunately being held in the Hague on charges of illegal use of biological weapons on civilians is somewhat hampering my availability for gigs at the moment.

.........well, resistance proved futile. 😔 This thing looks great, sounds amazing and plays beautifully. I quickly came to the conclusion that I didn’t need a HH model. 😎

I picked this up yesterday. It’s Charvel 1B from 1987 and considering its age, it’s in super overall condition. I was never brave enough and far too cool to own one of these when they were popular, but now I’m older and no longer give a stinky poo, it’s the perfect time to have one! My poor band may think otherwise. I forgot just how good these bolt on Charvel necks are: it’s incredibly comfortable and I’ve been able to get a seriously low action on it. It also doh said great too and the reverse P pickup is a great variation. Now, where’s my hairspray?

Smooth transaction, I bough a vintage Fender bass.

I’ve had my Clarus for over 10 years and it still works perfectly. It’s so reliable and works perfectly with upright IMO. Plus the new heads are tiny!