Leaderboard

Ever since I was a young boy, I've played the silver ball From Soho down to Brighton, I must've played 'em all But I ain't seen nothin' like him in any amusement hall That deaf, dumb, and blind kid sure doesn’t understand the complexities of possible multiple visas or work permits when travelling and performing in Europe which some industry experts say will be expensive and potentially prohibitive - especially for musicians at the start of their careers.

Hmm, I need a buffing wheel. Dirty... Well, it’s been 20 years... And now I’m going to set the bugger up. bit of a klonk on the fingerboard at fret 1. Anyhow, it’s really well put together.

I'm waiting for a special edition 'Landlord Magnolia'. Repainted about twenty times in multiple shades of heavily chipped cream emulsion, complete with authentic brush strokes, cat hair and cigarette ash and a random assortment of screws in various sizes and shapes holding pieces of hardware on. Because: 1) The asking price doesn't reflect the actual cost of making them any more than a Louis Vuitton handbag price tag is justified in the cost of a bit of printed leather, some polyester lining, some chinese made faux gold hardware and about half an hour of labour. 2) The asking price doesn't reflect inflation. 3) They get to charge more for their mid-level instruments because they have turned their previous mid range instruments into halo models. The only justification for increasing the prices is because they want to and they are going to continue raising prices until they see a significant drop off in sales. And when that happens, it doesn't really matter because most of the brand-related interest will then focus on the mid level instruments where they'll be arguably making more money anyway because they're cheaper to produce. I think they don't care about a small number of people complaining about prices. If a small number of people DIDN'T complain, it would suggest they're not charging enough.

I never sit when practicing. All my serious playing (in front of an audience) is done standing up so that's how I practice.

It seems that Daltrey has become the person who is trying to put us down and stop us getting around. Given the lyrics of "Substitute", of course, geography wasn't really his thing. I don't want to see noted vocalists getting into questions of government they don't understand, for the same reason I don't want to watch senior politicians trying to dance. It's always clumsy, their timing always stinks, you always respect them less, and it's always a moment that haunts them forever.

Whilst him being shown to be an utter hypocrite is funny. It’s also distracting from the point, that this farce that’s been foisted on an already struggling creative industry, is anything but funny. It was dismissed in parliament two days ago. We can’t give up though, and need to keep campaigning - hopefully until this whole dark and utterly pointless project has been reversed - but at least until those working in the creative industry are able to carry on working unhindered across borders, as they have for the last twenty or more years.

I sit on the floor.

They’re factory built instruments made to a basic design that apart from a few tweaks hasn’t really changed in 30 years, which is why people are comparing prices (and used prices are still around the £800-1000 mark for a US model). I’ve recently had a 2020 special (it was returned as I really didn’t like the changes to the tone) and it was well made but it’s no boutique custom build. The side by side comparison is valid when you compare the current std colour black models - £1999 vs £2899. It’s not a Christmas discount - Andertons even had the aqua sparkle 5 HH at the same price months ago. It’s an identical bass (aside from hardware colour) at a 45% markup. The cold hard facts are no customisation options at all, no fretless or left hand (unless they’re not advertising them on their site and are available as a custom order, because I’ve not seen one in a shop for a long time) and a reduced set of (IMHO) not very nice colours for a massive price increase. I think that fits the description of mass produced, even if they are hand finished.

New strings on the Masterpiece for the first time in about a year... this thing roars!

As a point, the new rug irks me. but...I let her get the rug to soften the new Bass arrival...

Directing the band is a skill. I do a lot of deps and the gigs that go well are usually lead by a band leader who is good at communicating. I play with one guy who will change the song as he feels and it rarely goes wrong, because he is giving directions all the time. Never a dull moment. The shambolic gigs are usually those where the band leader is trying to direct the band by using a long stare and attempting thought transference.

Can I join please? After 14 years, I am back with Ibanez

True but I'm sure there will be a hell of a demand for live music, when this thing is over. People will be desperate to party like it's 1999. I know I will be.

There was a video of Daltrey shared by JOB on Twitter. He quite clearly has or had absolutely no idea whatsoever about how the modern creative arts industry works. He came across as a totally arrogant fool. I never liked his music anyway.

A new reissue of the non-reverse Thunderbird. Colours sound great, chrome hardware too! Not sure about the headstock logo. https://www.gearnews.com/namm-2021-gibson-official-line-up-revealed/

I love this thread - it's like a thousand thousand Hail Mary's for those of us who've ever felt a tad guilty about our Bass Acquisition Programme over the years... 😁 @Merton - that Status Groove was a quality bass! Wish I still had it (famous last words round here of course). Naturally, I blame @ped and @Kiwi for setting up this cloud based porn shop in the first place ... "I'd have never, ever purchased all that bass gear if it weren't for them, your Honour..." 😩😁 Back on topic, I can't remember all the basses I've had since I got my first Woolworth's special as a Xmas present when I was about 14... 🤔 ..But I'm guessing it's at least 10(0). 😉

He’s really handy - particularly if you love Japanese gear. Absolutely spot on guy. And it was packed well enough to survive a fall from an aeroplane. Heads up guys - he’s called Denis and he’s absolutely sound. https://reverb.com/shop/denniss-gear-bazaar-167?utm_source=rev-ios-app&utm_medium=ios-share&utm_campaign=shop&utm_content=929219

It’s top quality - like the Godlyke I sold to @bassfan (they’re deffo from the same factory - Deviser/Bacchus) playability is great too now the mange is off it... it’s had a life though - for sure. Swirly 🙄 One of the switches may need cleaning out as a bit intermittent. But it’s magic. May tweak the setup as I did it all in haste.

A long spell of rain can have a devastating effect on the farming part of the business. All the ink gets washed off the subsidy cheque. I’ll get my smock.

So what is Andyjr1515 up to now?? I will reveal tomorrow (assuming it's worked - or in a day or so if it hasn't ) And polished frets and rounded fret-ends:

The eagle has landed...

My wife may just want us to trade places... 😂

Rather than different hands, it's normally fingers up for sharp keys (1 finger= G, 2 fingers=D etc.), and fingers down for flat keys (1 finger=F, 2 fingers=Bb etc.). You don't see it as much anymore, but it's common with old school bandleaders. It's easier to see 4 fingers point up and know it's in E, than to mouth E and have half the band mishear and start in a different key.

That is very easy to say when you have visa-free access to the whole of the EU should you want to gig more than 50 miles away from your home.

Whenever Mrs Shaggy has a go at me about the number of basses cluttering up the house, I usually show her cetera’s list to show her there are bassists with a worse problem than me...... (I’ll now include Hellzero’s list) Mine; in roughly chronological order, so starting back in 1977, those still with me in bold: mid-‘60’s Kalamazoo KB1, black/white pg / rosewood (cost me all of £25, paired with home-built amp) Columbus Jazz bass copy, 3TSB/ tort / rosewood (urgh......) 1979 Ibanez MC900 Musician, natural stained ash / ebony (the only one on list bought new) bitsa fretless P, natural ash/maple (only bass for the next 16 or so years......) 1980’s Graham Crook custom neck- thru fretless, natural sapele / ebony 1980 MusicMan Sabre, natural alder/ black pg / maple 1977 Ovation Magnum 1 fretless, natural mahogany / ebony A couple of self-build bitsa P’s OLP MM5, natural quilt maple / maple 1973 Rickenbacker 4001 (Jetglo) 1990’s Listerud Totem 7-string, natural wenge / maple 1972 Fender P (modded P/J & fretless conversion, 3TSB/tort/ebony) 1978 Gibson RD Artist (modded passive, natural maple / maple) 1980’s Gordon Smith Galaxy bass (semi), cherry sunburst / rosewood 1990’s USA BC Rich Eagle NT Custom, tobacco sunburst / ebony 1997 Rickenbacker 4003 fretless, mapleglo 1980’s Steve Smith long-scale “EB-2” (semi), Cherry sunburst / rosewood 1978 Gibson RD Artist, Fireburst / ebony 1965 Fender Precision (L-series), 3TSB / tort / rosewood Paulman Custom 5 string, natural quilt maple, rosewood 1985 Wal Mk 1 Custom fretless, American walnut / ebony 1969 Gibson EB-2DC, cherry / rosewood 1976 Alembic Series 1 (long scale), birdseye maple, ebony 1975 Travis Bean TB2000, natural koa / alu neck 1965 Gibson Thunderbird IV, sunburst, rosewood 1972 Rickenbacker 4001, flameglo 1958 Gibson EB-2, tobaccoburst, rosewood Custom Warmoth Fenderbird, cocobolo, rosewood 1977 Kramer 650B, American black walnut / alu neck 2000 USA Fender Jazz ‘75 AVRI, natural ash / maple 1985 Gibson Explorer bass, Ferrari red / rosewood 1983 Wal Mk 1 Custom, wenge / rosewood (acquired in modded state and restored by Wal to original spec) 1966 Vox Wyman bass (made in England), tobaccoburst / rosewood 1957 Fender Precision, tobaccoburst / white pg/ maple 1982 Wal mk1 Custom, amber flame sycamore / rosewood 1979 CF Martin EB-18, natural maple / rosewood 1977 Kramer 450B fretless, American black walnut / alu neck 1981 Gibson RD Artist CMT, vintage sunburst / ebony Bitsa P (“Sid Vicious” tribute), Oly White / tort / maple 1998 Warwick FNA (MIG), amber flame maple / wenge 2001 Warwick LX Streamer Jazzman (MIG), French violet flame maple / wenge Two things apparent to me when making the list- 1. I’ve kept too many of them, and 2. how many basses I’ve traded with a certain Mr Chris Beedster (there were a few amps and acoustic guitars too....)

My usual rig is a pair of 10s powered by an Ashdown MiBass 500W amp, but I can also use one of the 10s with a small battery amp for acoustic nights and small gigs. Unfortunately, at 300 * 300 * 450 mm, even that is a little bit too big to be unobtrusive, so I started thinking about something as loud as my 10 inch battery rig, but somewhere between a Phil Jones briefcase and a Roland Bass Micro Cube in size. Obvious first question, why not just buy one of those? Answer, the PJB costs more than I wanted to spend for something that would be used occasionally, and I haven't been impressed with the Bass Micro Cubes I have tried, possibly because I play low-B 5 string basses. My small battery rig is a class D stereo amp producing 12 W @ 8 ohms / 20 W @ 4 ohms per channel, and according to WinISD, will produce 106 dB from 100 Hz upwards at max volume using one 8 ohm Eminence Basslite S2010. The -3dB point is 66 Hz. That is what I want to achieve in a smaller box. After a bit of searching, I found a 5 inch Faital Pro driver, available in a 4 ohm version, and two of those in a cab 350 * 350 * 170 mm will produce the same frequency response and the same volume. However, Hoffman's Iron law kicks in here, in that a speaker can go low, go loud, or be efficient, but only two of those at a time. These smaller speakers take 4 times the power of the single 10 inch speaker to reach the same volume. However, for a battery-powered pub session of 3-4 hours, I can do that on one battery charge. A few pictures of the build - 1 The basic shape - speakers at the front, vent in between them, electronics compartment recessed into the back face 2 The cab is sized to include the battery, which sits on a sledge which comes in through an airtight hatch in the back wall. 3 I'm not sure if this is 'you can never have too many clamps' or 'you can never have too much bracing' Bill Fitzmaurice seems to have standardised on 15 mm ply and a shelf brace every 200 mm, and I'm using 9 mm ply, so I'm bracing every 150 mm. 4 Have I missed anything before I glue the second side on? More to follow David

What’s low supply, the number of basses from EBBM (due to covid etc) or the materials used? Either way, all mass produced bass builders will have the same issue, so if we don’t see huge price increases across the board, I’d be quite interested to know what unique issue ebbm is facing that can justify this. And, all the while, keeping US prices reasonable.

Definitely MM position - looks the best, will give better sound than the original position while retaining enough of a difference to the P.

I sure hope so mate, And hopefully we still have talented support crews, and they haven't all been forced to permanently change careers in order to survive.

It is a shame, the whole live music industry has been destroyed by the lack of financial support during the pandemic. I am genuinely worried that it will take many years to recover.

Here is my contribution to the January 2021 Basschat Composition Challenge, inspired by a picture chosen by the previous winner: Doctor J..! Inspired by opposites, this month, with the thought that this little fellow is having a great time, and feeling pretty lightweight. That's what I've wanted to portray, in simple terms; just the sheer glee of the falling drops. Sparse..? Yes; one guitar, two harps (all virtual...). Mixed in Reaper (what else..?), with no treatment whatever. Just a plain, simple mix. Thanks for listening, if you already have; if you're about to, enjoy.

All you needed was an HPF to stop that excessive cone movement.

It looked as if his first 'upward corkscrew' signal was an 'about to finish' signal, followed by a 'finish' signal.