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Thanks for all the comments folks - really appreciated. I may possibly have had a speck of sentiment in my eye last night. Mrs B is gutted for me too and has said “we need to get you a new one, don’t we” Naturally I said, “yeah we do - a fretted 5 string so I can forget all about it”

I absolutely love this song - I did know about the Bruce Woolley version, and I quite like it. SHAMELESS PLUG: Did I ever tell you all about the time I did this? Yes, I probably did. But here it is anyway.

I can completely understand the feeling of wanting to give up with it - but often I find it's modifying/adjusting/fixing a bass which makes you feel closer to it in the end, and once sorted it will all be a distant memory. Try and forget about it for a week and come back to it fresh when you see Jon. At least he's agreed to have a look, it would be much worse if it was a custom from abroad and you face the endless 'dunno if I can sort that' sort of comment from so called repairers you might get in contact with (most of whom are qualified for no more than a re-string)

There really were some lovely basses at the Bash this year. He Mouse was stupidly good, as everyone has said but the one that most smacked my gob and made me fall a little bit in love (OK a big bit) was one of @cetera‘s Spectors. This finish to be precise. NB no photoshop involved, just a very slight change in camera angle... get a load of this if you missed it...

A beautiful monster.

He kept them on in bed?

At this point people usually suggest sitting down with the drummer and talking things through or having a 'band discussion' or helpfully reconfiguring your FOH so that the drummer gets 'his sound' and everyone's happy. Well, that never works, so wait until the next time you see him and then punch him in the nuts as hard as you can. No preamble, no 'Can we talk about your bass drum amp, Tarquin?' Just an overwhelming pre-emptive strike on his testicles. He'll probably leave the band on the spot, which is fine. If he doesn't leave, keep pulverising his gonads until he does then find another drummer and carry on.

Via this article from the Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/30/the-buggles-how-we-made-video-killed-the-radio-star You can either have the original. According to Geoff Downes: "Bruce [Woolley] tried to stop our version of Video and released his more straightforward version [as Bruce Woolley & the Camera Club] before ours, but it wasn’t a hit." Or the copy: Personally, kinda liking the Bruce Woolley version, though the Buggles one is still the winner. So: who knew the Bruce Woolley version even existed, and can we talk about Trevor Horn's bass playing...?

Either way, once Jon has looked at it I’ll be able to report back a full diagnostic. Unless I have done something monumentally stupid, in which case I will go strangely quiet.

Just for balance, I moved to London in July 1974. I cannot imagine living anywhere else.

This may come as a shock to some people, but not everyone lives in a large city. Some of us live in small villages with next to no public transport. My obese chelsea tractor might be out of place in a London street, but is quite handy when the rivers round here flood, which they do with some regularity - I live where the Windrush meets the Thames, and when we get heavy rain there is often a foot or two of water to drive through just to get to the end of the road. I have played gigs in marquees on fields thick with mud - 4 wheel drive can come in handy sometimes!

There isn't a bass on earth worth buying over 1500 quid. I really believe that. Music, soul, love, groove, is created by the fingers and the heart of the player. It's ace to have a lovely quality bass (or any instrument), something well made, that feels great, looks great and sounds great. But to me, you can achieve nirvana on an Ibanez, a Mexican P bass, Yamaha.... or a used Stingray, Lakland.... whatever, etc etc.... I just can't believe that in the hands of 90 percent of us, anything more than that is required. The chosen few, I guess, can afford a Fodera or similar... but honestly... why? Especially when Vinny can't come up with a better headstock.... There's WAY too much emphasis on expensive gear. Amps included. Treat yourself to a Peavey TNT 1x15 off eBay and kick some donkey..... Anyway... I expect I'll get shot down for that. Back to headstocks....

Here's the full, sordid tale...

And here's Trevor playing the tune live for the first time - 25 years after the single was released. He also introduces Bruce Woolley as "an original Buggle", he's in the band on stage.

They will probably have done a lot of work on designing and building a crossover so that the right frequencies are delivered to the correct drivers. If a "punter" puts 2 cabs together they will both be working with the whole signal so if there are mismatches in the drivers that might be apparent in the sound. With a good crossover the different drivers should fit together like a jigsaw, because they will be handling different frequencies. snap!

Just so that you all know, I am showing quite remarkable restraint in not making a comment here.

Also I hope the OP doesn't mind this turning into a thread about horrible headstocks............

I’m personally of the opinion that we're too reliant on cars. What London is doing is ultimately good, Birmingham are introducing charging in the near future too. I’d rather not breath air that’s polluted by car and lorry exhaust fumes. If you play in a band and absolutely need to drive to a gig to carry your equipment then car share, organise amongst yourselves so you’re travelling in the minimum number of vehicles. I’m no doubt going to get a lot of dislikes for this, but we simply can’t carry on as we are, gridlocked roads and pollution, it’s unsustainable.

I've seen a lot of drummers who want to put the kick drum through the PA, so it's not a surprise to see this. I think this is the drummer's equivalent of the guitarist who is massively loud but insisting that he needs to turn up because his cab is pointed at his ankles and he doesn't understand physics: the drummer can hear all of his other drums perfectly loudly because they are all facing his head, but the bass drum is projecting forwards, so he can't hear it as well and thinks it must therefore be far too quiet because he lacks the intellect and imagination to consider that people out front may be able to hear him perfectly well. The band I've just started playing with have a novel solution to this issue. The drummer has an acoustic kit with the exception of the bass drum which is a small electronic pad, which goes through the PA. This works brilliantly as he gets to hear it in the mix without deafening the rest of us with the actual bass drum volume out front.

Just checked and it failed. This is a good thing because it gives me another compelling justification not to go up to London when the Missus starts banging on about art galleries and Peter Jones in Sloane Square. Thank you, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London - you may have f**ked up tens of thousands of people but you have immeasurably enrichened my life.

Postmodern Jukebox put up a version the other day

my favourite version - it's the B-side on one of their singles...can't remember which

If only I had that excuse.... 😂

Ahem...... 'John Deacon' anyone?! 😂

Actually you can be more confident in a bass after a neck repair. If done properly (and I've no doubt it will be) the neck will be stronger than it was before the break. Take a bit of time out, decompress, then get it sorted. A bass that's had as much attention as this will be, in the end, fantastic and what's more, a very personal instrument.

Cheers Trev! It's a beauty indeed...... and I've had it upgraded with active EMG DC pickups and an EMG-BT 18v circuit.... I've created a monster! lol!

I was thrilled to finally see my fave bassist/singer Peter Cetera (ex-Chicago) last night at the Barbican in London! Front row centre seats AND I met him after! It doesn't get better than that....!!! 74 years old and still has his amazing tenor voice intact...... and he played a fantastic set list of classic Chicago and his solo hits. Textbook!!!

As a young lad I was transfixed by the effect he had on girls - that cheeky lopsided grin and big eyes. I just wanted to be like him. Which, given that I strongly resemble the cactus in my avatar, was always going to be a big ask. But he was the epitome of cool back then.

Of course, regardless of what anyone else says or thinks, he is by right afforded legendary status simply because of his excellent contribution to Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds.. (IMHO of course)

Normally neither do I I thought a quick tweak wouldn’t matter and would be quite fine. Mind you, I tried that with Mrs B and got a slap for that too

You pays your £12.50 but the crap is still going in the air. My question is where is that £12.50 going to?

I saw Turin Brakes and Eliza Shaddad earlier this year, they were absolutely brilliant. I'd seen Turin Brakes for the first time last year without knowing anything about them - I went along with a band mate who had a spare ticket - and thought they were one of the best bands I'd ever seen. So, I promised my wife I'd take her to the next gig they did our way. It was a brilliant gig, and Edie Myer is an absolute gem, both on bass and as a general good laugh. Eliza Shaddad was superb, probably one of the only support artists that I've ever really taken much interest in. There were people at the gig who'd bought tickets specifically to see her. I'd definitely see them both again.

I'd be in a queue for a flat pack.

I found this website to be very useful when trying to figure out the best impedance for speakers.. http://www.bcae1.com/spkrmlti.htm

Don't overlook used BBs from the 80s/90s such as the 1100S and the unreal but rare 3000S. Both PJ configuration, both awesome, however people are asking silly money for those basses now. Some guy was asking for a grand for a Taiwanese BB1100 recently. For me, any of the Yamaha BB series are worth checking out, new/old and regardless of the price/affordability.

I use a 1cm strip off a playing card cut to heel shape - doesn't seem to compress like other card or paper, works very well. If I want to raise the whole neck I'll use a whole card in there - usually a Joker, or the Ace of Spades - for mojo and coolness. Yes, I know.

It's a re-list. I'm willing to give the seller the benefit of the doubt and assume it's an error rather than assume he's a loony: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-II-bass-identical-Thunder-III-new-strings-new-Gator-hard-case-/163303451162 That said, there are numerous unassuming little Westones listed at batsh!t prices, for example: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weststone-Thunder-1-A-Wine-Red-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Fully-Set-up-Made-In-Japan/291981481509 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-The-Rail-headless-bass-made-in-Japan-1985/302930017224 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-1-Electric-Guitar-1982-with-original-hard-case/253940672863

You don't have 21L per driver as the port and drivers take up volume. You'd model it in your case with 4 drivers. A pair of 10cm ID ports would give acceptable port velocity. With a 70L net cab volume they'd be 20cm deep. You have to figure out what volume they occupy, plus a liter each for the drivers, to find the remaining net box volume. Then you'd do any further adjustment of that box volume in the model to see any required lengthening or shortening of the ports. Don't sweat getting it all perfect, a tolerance of 5% or so in either direction is OK.

So, to paraphrase Father Ted, put the louder one further away. 🙂

I've had this.... It's like having two bass guitars playing at once.... I'm sure it's been said already, put the kit through the PA. Job done (usually). Two bass amps pumping out similar frequencies (but different notes) will often (Not always) screw with sound.

I'd be tempted to put the drummer through the PA. I don't mean miking his kit up, I mean repeatedly pushing him head first into the speakers until he gets the message. Having his own combo for the bass drum has to be one of the daftest ideas I've ever heard.

Sounds like your drummer is a selfish fool who's thinking about his own sound at the expense of the band ! it would give me the raving hump ,and to be honest i wouldn't put up with it i have played with scores of drummers over the years at every level ,and have never come across one who mic's his own bass drum through a bass amp what sort of music do you play ,and does the rest of his kit go through the p.a. ?

Yes, 1. Tell him to put the kick through the PA thus moving the source away from your amp. 2. Gating the kick through the PA can help to cut back on the ringing. 3. Using some sort of padding in the kick drum to stop the Res head from ringing can help if he hasn't done that already. 4. Effective EQ'ing (That you can not do with the TC head and 15" speaker. Taking in to consideration 4b. The kick is tuned well.

..or near offer...of course.

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