Leaderboard

If you don't feel like reading, just pass this one by. Nothing is simple anymore. Montreal, 1971, Shed 25. Owned by a football player (Montreal Alouettes) down by the docks (where the large storage sheds were numbered). At night, the area was so dark you had to be careful carrying gear. There was nothing else around but a small restaurant 5 or 6 blocks away where you had to swim through the snow drift as you went down several steps with red and green neon lights flashing in the snow. I remember fueling up on cheap scotch, fried eggs and two cups of coffee. The waitress was Muriel with the nice smile. An establishment feeding beer daily to longshoremen and motorcycle gangs. Long torn down. We were 15/16 and it was our blues band with blues harp: Messin' With The Kid, Jumpin' Jack Flash/Johnny Winter and Johnny B Goode. Don't even tell your parents about it. By day it was the hangout of the notorious Dubois Freres Gang. Lucky for us they never were around at night. The women wore nothing and were very young. It was all new to me then. They used to rush us when we came in saying, "Ooh! Les Musiciens! Gadze! Gadze!" There were actually very sweet. The older ones were much more street savy. The customers were all old enough to be daddies, but their tips probably fed them. This was when Montreal had been long established as an open city and just before the modesty laws were instituted. First time we saw bouncers in action. Some drunk decided to argue football with the owner. They took him outside. They came back in without him. We got nosey between sets and witnessed more blood on cement than we imagined possible from one guy. We were going to ask for more money. Another night I sensed something while playing, only to see this hand twice the size of mine playing along the neck with me. Everyone was laughing. I felt like Pee-Wee Herman in the bikers bar. I was glad when he finally sat down. It was the Outlaws having a beer stop. The old guys driving the little sidewalk sized snow plows would drive like speed demons down their routes and then stop in for a couple of hours to have a few beer and sell pot. Then we had to play for women who were auditioning their dance routine. We'd play Help Me Baby and Green Onions. They liked it. It was mind boggling for a teenager. I can still smell the tobacco and beer stained carpet if I think on this too long. I don't think this routine exists anywhere today, except maybe Calcutta or the Barbary Coast. We split $40 for each night, six nights a week and stopped after three weeks as we all had day jobs. That's my lurid little tale of musical debauchery. Now tell us what the cute lady is doing with the price tag around her neck...?.

Our old singer had a habit of running up mid song and taking my hat off me..... annoying but she thought it was funny, until one gig I’d turned around and was facing the drummer and she tried it as I turned back around... not quite a black eye by the end of the gig but close. Thankfully my bass was ok. 😂😂

Well apart from a string tree it's finished and I'm really pleased with the way it's turned out........... 😀

Grrrrr……………….😣

A white or chrome cover, a lipstick or bronco type PU would have been nicer IMO.

On the subject of t-shirts, mine's not bass clef but definitely bass (and me 😁) on my long sleeved tee.

You could always try a collaboration with this guy: https://www.joinmyband.co.uk/classifieds/hear-goes-nothing-t1126047.html Now you be sure to keep us all posted, y'hear?

It sounds like he is a control freak , if the band is a multiple album selling outfit earning you a great living, then he is also a great guy to play with , if you are pub covers band, he is a knob

BOOM! Got the job!!!! Band is called Fraudio btw. Absolutely stoked and in need of a beer or two. Now begins the hard work!

Hi, I'm currently studying music at uni and am in the middle of a business module. As part of this module we have to create a musical brand and work out how to market it through market research and other forms of marketing theory. I've chosen to go down the route of a session bassist, as this is what I aspire to do in the future and therefore am collecting market research for this. I know we're all mainly bassists here, but it would be much appreciated if you could fill in the survey, particularly anyone with experience of producing, songwriting or leading a band. The questions are pretty basic and it should only take a few minutes. If you think I have left anything important out, please let me know! Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/TJ7MPS2 Many thanks!

I often think some covers bands aren't genre specific enough, a lot of people who go to gigs regularly are loyal to their genre, Mod, Ska and punk are popular in my area, you can please some of the people all the time, you can't please all the people all the time

Black scratchplates rule. You are all wrong with your fake toilet seats and horse brass preferences.

Have you tried messaging @KiOgon (John) he's usually pretty prompt replying.

never ashamed of anywhere I've played, but plenty of pubs that I wouldn't ever drink in. Not the rough ones - that's most of my drinking life - but the awful, Stella Artois & John Smiths serving town centre pubs who have an entertainment budget to spend on bands, or awful dance around your handbag type bars, Weirdly all of those were played in a punk covers band, and we got repeat bookings at some of them

Oh and this was the first outing for the famous UPS Saga bass! Sounds pretty damn sexy I think.

This isn't technically true. Some session bassists are brands (Will Lee, Pino Palladino etc.) but they develop their brand through years of playing and exposure, not because they simply tell people they're great.

Hey Blue, I understand your pain. I also didn't want anyone to see me when I played one of those basses!

Hiya, I'm not really trying to make the case for the gt1b, each to their own etc. Just thought folk might like to know about the assignable pedals. That said, I'll try to answer these questions as I've had the gt1b myself. 1) at a gig or rehearsal I don't think you'd want to be messing around with assigning switches. I think you'd want to set that up at home. That doesn't prevent you tweaking effects units 'on the fly' though. 2) sound and tone etc are subjective but to these ears the effects sound very good. The amp models and overdrives were really good in particular I would be very happy to gig or record with them. But, as ever, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 3) Is there an OC-2 in there? Almost. The octave is an OC2 clone and, again, I thought it sounded pretty good. I was using the -1 sound and liked it as an OC2 sound-alike. I didn't use the -2 sound so can't comment on that, or on the other synth sounds which I didn't use. In general, I think you'd set up your 'board' at home and then tweak it easily at the gig / jam. That is very doable. I still think the best multi for on stage tweakability is the Boss ME80b, which is an oldie but a goodie! In the end I couldn't quite get a driven OC2 sound that I liked from it, (despite liking the octave and overdrives individually!) . I also prefer the simplicity of analogue units with a single knob or maybe two. ... the gt1b sounds great though.

The best at different things can come at different times in our lives. My best as a university lecturer was about 15 years ago, and I recognised that and gave it up 10 years ago. I will almost certainly never be as good a bass player as I was a lecturer, but my best as a bass player is yet to come. With care and practice and a following wind I won't live to "cessation". I don't want to.

Here's my twin Stingrays....and my real twins 😍 They're my babies, all four of them.

Not a bass - my first-ever 6-string guitar was a quite decent Columbus SG copy which I had in 1980. Aside from a bolt-neck & fake humbuckers, it was a pretty reasonable facsimile of the original, down to having a very slender, volute-free neck/headstock junction. Can't quite remember how it happened but it probably involved the enthusiastic execution of inept powerchords, playing along with Motorhead or somesuch, and a surprise meeting of Columbus headstock and bedroom wall. I do remember a sudden loss of string tension and very rapid de-tuning. And then the "plop" as the newly-liberated headstock hit the floor. I lacked the skills to correctly repair my newly decapitated guitar - but I didn't lack imagination: I've still got it now.

I bought this Precision bass just over 3 years ago I think. It's originally a Squier VM and had satin finished maple neck/fretboard. Not long ago I'd had it up for sale as I'd sort of 'gone off of it'. However, I bought a Mexican Blacktop P bass neck for it. It's now my number 1 bass. The new neck has lacquer finish, which I prefer, and the much nicer looking spaghetti style Fender logo on the headstock. I went the whole way and got an F neck plate as well I shouldn't like this bass at all as I've never been one for natural finishes, but this is now such a lovely bass. It feels nice, and with some flatwounds on it, it sounds gorgeous. They're not the best photos, but here we go...

Adam Clayton managed two gigs in a row once without a new signature model for the third gig, does that count?

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may the 4's be with you

If you know your notes(especially notes) on a 4 string /scales etc. You should be able to switch between 4/5/6/7. The bass has the same notes/scales all the way up the fret board. If you don't know them you haven't practiced enough. Extended range basses are nothing to be scared of. IMO. In fact they are easier because your hand that plays the notes/ scales dont have to move as far. And they are better for your brain because your having to think ahead more. I will always be a 5 string player. Going to 4 is easier because of the pure physicality of the neck slimness, but I have to jump up the neck a lot more.

That's very tidy

Plus.... The promise of continuing support and updates is a big reason I turned on to helix.

White with tort pickguard. And I think it sounds class

Ask yourself if you really think a Chinese, budget made hi-fi amp with phono connectors is A) going to put out 1000w RMS and B) sound as good as your Crown.

That mid period where his songs were written by BA Robertson, Alan Tarney and Terry Britten was awesome... Some fine bass playing too by Alan Tarney!

Great review! But one BIG omission.... the 'Chunk' control! This one little control has such a huge effect on the overall distorted tone by adjusting the dynamics and harmonic overtones in the sound....

Not quite twins - my 1972 Musicmaster & brand new JMJ mustang

@Dood great job done on this awesome pedal. Those of us that have it know all about it being CAF

And, of course, when you're 16 you know you're going to live forever.

Well I hope so. It was your suggestion after all! To be fair, I know it will be more mic than I will ever need but it seemed too good a deal to pass up. And I've not read a bad review of it from various folks with different needs and different vocal styles. So I hope it will be a good choice. The stand and cable, neither of which I have at the moment, just sweeten the deal.

Araldite or a couple of dabs of silicone? EDIT. Or a couple of bits of blu tack. Frank.

I saw their ad, looks like a great setup, you're going to be busy, congratulations!! Steve

ugh...

Hi. In no particular order....(brain dump) Sounds are obviously identical. Addition of headphone output and master volume is Awesome! loving the colour screen, all the info in one place! and color represents block type so its easier to see at a glance what the blocks are doing. on the HXFX there's a lot of info, but its all spread around, and in B+W. moving blocks around the chain is harder, and unnecessarily so as there's plenty of knobs. You have to use Cut/paste the knobs seem to respond better. i love that it shows the midi PC on the preset selection screen. this makes it so easy if your using a midi controller. love the form factor Its TINY!!!! i wish they had put the screen on the RHS as i tend to play notes with my right hand and change parameters with the left. doing this mostly covers the screen with my hand. still, better than the HXFX i will miss ability to turn off more than 3 pedals on the HXFX addition of HPF and LPF in the global is awesome!!! HXFX doesn't have this copying blocks to another patch is easier on the stomp ill come and edit this post if i think of any more differences

I'm aware that the World has changed quite a bit, and will continue to do so, but when I started playing (mid-'60s...), the objective for us, as a group, was to write songs and/or adapt other's material to our format, and put on a concert. Our means were more than modest (I was the only one with a salaried job, for instance...), and we weren't looking to 'play out' every week-end at all. We begged, borrowed or 'acquired' a hall to play in, organised flyers and posters and put on a show. OK, it was modest (No; make that 'very modest'...), but, as our expectations were low, we were never disappointed. Obviously there was no notion of 'making money'; just the satisfaction of playing to a moderate audience of mates, neighbours, whomsoever... was enough, and one heck of a buzz when we finished our set(s) to enthusiastic applause. It's true also that my mentality at the time (and, to an extent, still is...) is more akin to 'Just William' than Beyoncé (I think that's spelt right..?), but I've participated since in similar ventures, some more long-lasting than others. But for advancing years and retreating health, I'd still be doing stuff of the sort. S'a matter of wanting to, really; it's not difficult. Just sayin'.

Putting in a great preamp with bad pickups is the wrong way around for me. The pickups are the first contact for a good sound. A good preamp will compliment the good pickups.