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I’ve used UPS a lot, know the driver like an old friend. Then a couple of weeks ago the Mrs wanted to ship some stuff and I recommended UPS. No one came.Went via ParcelForcetwo days later. UPS tantric sex: you stay in all day, no one comes.

The trick about writing good lyrics Is to just use your sense of empirics When you come to use 'Orange' You'll just have to write 'Sporange' You'll have everyone in hysterics.

'Just pick phrases you like from other peoples songs and stick them together without a thought for logic, grammar or copyright.' (Noel Gallagher, 1994 - Probably)

fixed.

Now that's worth repairing

I know, i was lucky to get a piece that nice! although hopefully enough of that lovely figure will show through the inlays. the thinking is that the dark "cloud" pieces are supposed to look like the breaks in the clouds during a thunderstorm, so the ziricote is as much a part of the overall scene as the pearly bits. sort of like how lightning illuminates the clouds as it passes through: whether or not it works out that way remains to be seen... okay so exciting times are coming... THE INLAYS ARE CARVED OUT!..... but not in yet. most of the rest went fairly smoothly... again apart from those bits of lightning. next time i do an inlay... no lightning. annoyingly, by the time id finished doing all the waves, i'd got fairly good at it. no doubt by the time i come to do the next bass i will have forgotten all of this. for any of you interested what a fretboard looks like before the inlays actually get glued in, and what inalys look like not in the fretboard: you can probably see to the far left of the first picture a little black square in the first wave, turns out i went a tiny bit too deep there, so thats a little square of ebony veneer that covers up my mistake. in the end, i separated the large cloud pieces either side of the lightning and did them separately, it was just easier that way to get it to all line up nicely. you can probably also see on that picture the two bottles of CA glue poised and ready... well that picture was taken pretty late, and the missus told me to tidy the kitchen and go to bed. so you'll have to wait for the big reveal once theyre all glued in. you can also see on the second picture the headstock with the tuner holes plugged and the sides cut off. im going to glue some new maple wings on tomorrow to accomodate the new headstock design. for now... heres the fretboard with the inalys just laid in place: they all lie within a couple of tenths from flush, so they should all look very nice glued in and sanded back. the only real concern is the black MOP clouds... black mother of pearl isn't the most consistent, and so sanding back even a few tenths of a mm can really change the shades that show through. im hoping this won't be a big issue, but i really like the clouds nice and dark so hopefully they don't lighten up too much once sanded and polished.

I would imagine there is no empirical answer to this as everyone is going to have a different left hand. For me, finding my optimum neck was simply as case of play as many basses as you can, usually bought and sold on at a huge loss, until you discover what it is about the bass neck you like. It could be the cross section as you have illustrated. It could be the width of the neck at the nut. It could be how close together the strings are. All in conjunction with how far apart the strings are at the bridge. But I found I had to live with a bass for some time before making a firm decision on it - just trying one in a shop didn't help. For years I was convinced I preferred narrow necked basses and anything more than 40mm at the nut was a struggle. Then necessity forced me to play 5 string basses - much wider than 40mm - and discovered that the width of the neck had nothing to do with it, string spacing was the key factor. It just so happened that narrow necks had tight string spacing. So I can happily play my 5er with a 45mm wide neck but still struggle with a 43mm wide 4 string P bass. Actually struggle is the wrong word - just feels less comfortable.

I will continue uploading this kind of videos, so keep in tune. Please SHARE the video, it helps a lot. SUBSCRIBE to help to widen the love for bass guitar, and also to encourage me to make more content.

Jack wins on avatar alone.

Oh dear, look how the simple things in lyric writing have changed. Once upon a time, you just needed to wake up in the morning.

Doesn't matter whether you're a novelist or a songwriter, you always start with vaguely autobiographical stuff. This is a bit like singing and playing bass at the same time. Get the bassline sorted first, then worry about singing. Write about what you know until you're comfortable with writing. Once you're happy with the writing bit, engage your imagination and make things up.

DPD deliver Shalla's food - they email me to tell me when it's due and who the driver is. Last week there was a problem with their system so delivery was "cancelled" - rescheduled for the following say - only to arrive two hours later. They went the extra mile despite tech problems...thinking about it now, I should have added something to the "Daily awesomeness" thread but was busy photographing an amp which I'd sold...old age...I forgot.

Only your hands can do this. No body else can. All you can do is play as many as you can and see what feels comfy and doesn't get in the way of how you play. I play 5 strings mostly. I know that a 48mm nut is too wide for me, and that rules out a lot of instruments. 44.5mm is a narrow 5 like on a Stingray 5 and I like that a lot. The feel of my 45mm nut bass is hugely different to my Ray even though there is only 0.5m difference. The neck profile is very different and the bridge spacing is larger meaning the strings splay out more as I play up the neck. The Ray is quite chunky in the hand and the Marleaux is much thinner, front to back. If the Marleaux was as chunky as the Ray I don't think I would like it - but it's slim and easy to play, just in a different way to the Stingray. Get to a good shop and try as much as you can!

The EVO IV head is fantastic. Just take time to work out what each slider does and itll be fantastic. People seem to love them with Barefaced cabs. However, having owned a SC g3 - and i loved it, if i was to buy again I would be a super twin - especially if you are after the sounds you previously had from a 4x10 & 1x15 cab set up. Replacing it with a single 12 falls short when loud. Choice of cab for me now is a markbass 610 for big gigs, and i picked up an ashdown RM212 (2x12) for ridiculously cheap money for smaller gigs. The 212 is pretty heavy for what it is though - seems heavier than an Ashdown compact 210.

I prefer the original recordings. The remixes and remasters make the songs sound like they were recorded now, so for me they lose a bit of character.

Big Beatles fan and I have no interest in re mixes. The original recording of almost any music is a snapshot of a moment in time, an era. I have no problem with the original recordings of any of the Beatles albums. The ones recorded in Mono still sound better in Mono than the faux stereo versions.

In my experience the science has little to do with what feels right. I have relatively small hands but I find the wide flat neck on my 83 P the most naturally comfortable to play. I do usually end up playing a thin jazz neck though just because it’s hard to play fast stuff on the P, but I never feel ‘at home’ on a J neck as much as on the P. I don’t actually think there’s much science behind it, it’s just about feel. Gut feeling will probably be your best guide, just go back and play them a few times if you’re unsure.

How bizarre - I just listened to them both and reached exactly the opposite conclusion! On the Woolley version, that guitar sound and the signature lick he plays at the end of each phrase are totally late 70s ... that sound and that lick were everywhere in the music of the time, and to me that version sounds really dated. On t'other hand, the Buggles version was uber-modern in 1979 partly because there was no guitar at all, and it still sounds strong today.

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.

Wow this is looking amazing, i cant wait to see the top carve!

Sorry, but what genius has added a pickup ashtray to the spec? The site example has a nice figured maple top, and they’ve drilled in the thing that 90% of people remove! 🙄 Si

I personally love the 435 for the price point I think it’s great, feels lovely and high quality finish, like it doesn’t feel cheap. Also used it on live recordings and have had plenty of good feedback on the sound, however did use some pedals. But regardless has been great and have given plenty of use and gigging about with it. Only thing was the D string nut was a tad loose and rattled which I think I’ve seen someone else mention but was an easy easy fix with a bit of glue.

If it gets to a "sensible" price before the last few hours it can scare off those looking for a bargain in the last few seconds.

I think you may be right ! Why are people bidding on it now ? -it's all irrelevant till the last 10 seconds !

Also bear in mind that you don't have to share your early drafts with anyone. Be prepared to prune, revamp and redraft, ideally in a highly flammable notebook. And if you're ever feeling self-conscious about your lyrics, put a Human League record on and reassure yourself that some people really do get away with any old Jackson Pollocks.

I think it's better not to have any preference for neck profile. Tell yourself you don't care and can play any profile and it will be true.

You need a bigger bed

I have friends in Canada that are still gigging most weekends. Don't know who their audience is, I never asked. I presume that it is all Brian Adams and Shania Twain covers?

My tinnitus has been pretty constant over the last 20 years or so, ever since I first realised I had it (I put some earplugs in for the first time ever and realised that the whistle I thought was coming from the telly was inside my head). Since then, I've worn earplugs every time I've ridden the bike, but not for rehearsals or gigs with any bands. I only notice it when someone mentions tinnitus, in fact. Bah.

Thank you for the welcome! Indeed I kinda am after 26 years here... although I spent my first 4 years or so with roommates from the SW of the peninsula (Jeollanam-do) and sometimes can have a bit of a "loose" accent when compared to the very straight-laced Seoul dialect And to add one little tidbit (for fun), when speaking English outside of Korea I always have to be careful to pronounce Seoul like soul/sole/sol so people can understand what I'm saying... Many might be surprised to learn that Seoul (서울) is actually a two syllable word, with a sneaky diphthong tucked in between...and a tricky final consonant to boot. The "eo" Seo is very similar to RP pronunciation of "o" in one/won, and ul almost rhymes with cool, but you have to touch the roof of your mouth at the end to form the terminal consonant into a proper Korean ㄹ. Kpop veteran Hyori did a song not long ago that kinda may help grasp the sound of Seoul, although for rhythmic emphasis she added a glottal stop in between the two syllables. FF to about the 1:00 mark...

If only I could skate.

The main niggles with the 1st generation were the tuners and battery compartments. The plastic battery compartments are very tightly fitted and the lids are prone to snap it seems. I must admit, whenever I've opened the ones on my V7 I've always been extra careful. Also the wire inside is very short and it's a real PITA replacing batteries. Although then new battery cover maybe not liked by all, it's probably an improvement. As for the tuners, I've never had a problem with mine, but know others have. Whether that's been rectified, who knows. The neck on the 1st generation was the killer thing for me about the V7 so the changes don't really do a lot. I like the 7.25in radius and gloss finish, so the new ones aren't that appealing. That said, I still maintain Sire are miles ahead of Mexican made Fenders.

Wish I'd know earlier...

To my eyes the Bugera bears more of a similarity to one of these than the Streamliner.

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...

Fantastic set of pics

Another plus one for Ashdown customer service. They aren't afraid of a ringing telephone either. I think the ABM is a reasonable substitute for an all-valve amp. Doesn't get you there exactly - but set the valve drive at the sweet spot and go.

Yes apologies! My day has been a busy one away from my computer mostly. Ok, if you are all sitting comfortably, then I will begin. But first, a quick recap. UPS Customer Services up until this point had taken 8 days to do what essentially feels like "not much". At the 11th hour, the UK CEO stepped in after a lengthy communication from the shop supplying the bass. And...... can you chuffing believe it, FOUND THE BASS in what seemed like 30 minutes flat! Yes, it took having to track down the UK CEO to put this debacle straight. Needless to say, the box (condition unknown at the time) was sent straight back to the shop in question to be inspected. I had a long, long conversation with them about how I was feeling and then FINALLY yesterday said box of joy was despatched out to me:

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.

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