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Well I think the bass is a hit!!..... 👍🏻

Last night's gig rig. Alembic F1-X and SF-2 into a Synq 1K0 power amp and Barefaced Big Twin II

Colin Moulding - XTC He, Tina Weymouth and JJ Brunel were the reason I bought my first bass, a Columbus Jazz, in 1981.

I'm a big fan of Ewen Vernal, the original bassist from Deacon Blue who's gone on to other musical ventures such as playing with Kate Rusby amongst other. I always find his bass playing so creative and integral to the song without being overstated. Tracks like Your Swaying Arms are (to me) absolute bass playing gems.

Friday’s rig…:

A wedding gig at a stately home in the Peak District. A typical long day, there from 15.30 until 23.30, but were looked after well. An extra bonus was wandering through the parkland by the light of the full moon during the breaks.

First gig for the covers band last night, as a private party for one guitarist's birthday/friends of the band. Bonkers audience all waving their phone torches for 'with or without you' much fun but sometimes felt like chaos on stage. Really fun friendly night and some nice appreciation from audience.

There is a loft space above my garage so when I sorted the workshop I put a reasonable sized loft hatch in. It's really handy when it drops down... And, with the door open today with it being so sunny, I had a visitor

My daughter started at 8 on an Ibanez Mikro. An excellent little bass in it's own right. She's still using it 5 years on (but casting not so subtle glances at my Lakland Precision 🙂).

This is my latest rig I went for the GR 2-12 and 1-12 I can walk into a gig with one in each hand the 2-12 is 11 KGs and the 1-12 is 7 KGs it sounds the nuts and has a small footprint,it’s every bit as good as my Vanderklay rig which I might move on oh yeah the bass is my latest Status five string say no more about these beasts

Not exactly 'my', not exactly 'a gig', and not on bass, but............. My first 'gig' since lockdown: I joined a band (on vocals) for 4 songs at a pub gig. Punk covers, went down really well, got some good feedback from the crowd and it felt great to be back performing. Still buzzing!

progress should BE ready Soon

I've made a new template, cut the fretboard roughly to size and started cutting the side slots. The fretboard extension for a thumb rest is starting to take shape.

We did Scunthorpe Baths Hall and Sunderland Empire Theatre this week. Scunthorpe gig is one of our nearest so always enjoy it. A great venue with top facilities and a good sounding room. Sunderland is another of my favourites - modern building containing an old style theatre, great crew and always an appreciative crowd. A really enjoyable gig.

Turns out it's all well! Thanks all

I have done both and enjoy both. Unfortunately the only gigging originals group I have done was not very original and also had written there stuff, so it was basically like being in a not very good covers group, in that you had to do all the already written music that someone else had written, rather than just the good stuff that other people had written. You also get a lot more flexibility with covers than with other peoples originals. Actually, I also spent some time in a punk 'originals' group, but to call that original would be pushing the line of 'original' a bit far.

Markbass do a Velcro one that attaches to cab handles etc. They're very good https://www.andertons.co.uk/markbass-bass-keeper-basskeeper?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=surfaces&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuOSRj8bU9gIVE-vtCh3FwAAnEAQYASABEgJG0_D_BwE

Well that was interesting! Guitarist had just arrived when he got a phone call regarding a family emergency. After a while it was still not clear whether he would be able to do the gig so I nipped home and picked up guitar, amp and pedalboard. On the way I called another bassist to see if he could dep, but to no avail. I played the first set on lead guitar (no bass) which I have done before but don’t enjoy because it feels very exposed. Guitarist appeared in the audience during this, so at the break we got him to set up. This he did with no apparent regard for the stage space I would still need. I moved my mic stand back a fair bit which made things tolerable, but he’d also left stuff on the floor which made it more cramped than it needed to be. Given the somewhat pressurised situation I didn’t address this with him, I but I certainly will if (when) it happens next time. Not the most enjoyable night but the club audience seemed to like us and the BL paid me extra for bailing them out.

The mention of them being a Rebellion type band makes me even more eager to find out who it is.

Ah...! First couple of days with the 5HH and loving it - took it to practise yesterday... It came really well set up and I didn't have to touch the action, just the truss rod a tad bit when I changed the strings to Chromes flatwounds... Slamming tone and lots of flexibility thanks to the extra pickup. Depending on the type of player you are, one pickup is plenty - I don't see myself using them all in the 5HH for live gigging in my punk rock band, but I will defo use some of the tones in the studio. Positions 2 and 4 (inner and outer coils from each pickup combined) add a very very cool character! What I'm saying is, if you have a chance to get a HH version go for it, but if you want to scratch the itch of having a Stingray and you only have single pickups you will not be miserable. For me, it does the job where my base sound is on the 4H, whilst the 5HH lets me do other genres (soul/neosoul forays) and different tones out of the pickup positions. I can see myself using both evenly, keeping the 4H with NYXL's - the string choice adds a lot of flavour of course...! I will change the pick guard to pearloid most likely, and that switch tip to black of course, why'd they use white when the hardware and knobs are black....!

I’m going to suggest one who is not well known despite being in a very well known band. Doug Yule was in the Velvet Underground after John Cale ‘left’ and played some pretty cool bass lines. But he has been airbrushed out of the band history.

The Soup Soup Song (It's in His Kiss) ～ Cher

A 2 hour journey to spend time in a studio with an artist you like? I’ve done the same playing for people I don’t like. 😂

Just took delivery of a Sadowsky Masterbuilt. It’s an amazing looking thing and I hope it sounds as good as it looks! That’ll be a job for this evening.

I sticker bombed a pickguard recently. Stickers all over it, scalpel/razor blade around the edges, sprayed clear satin varnish over the top - I have this anyway for other hobbies, but Halfords stuff will do fine. Be careful with cold and humidity - both can result in clear coat coming out cloudy/powdery. Do a test spray on something else and dial in your distance and number of passes based on that. I know my choice of stickers will not be to most peoples tastes, but I don't give a monkies.

I’ve got a rehearsal Wednesday and a gig Friday so I’ll report back 👍

True dat and applies to pretty well any "originals" outfit, whatever the style.

Last exit for the lost - Fields of the nephilim

My TC Signature StingRay arrived this afternoon. I must say I’m really very pleased with it. It has passive electronics (series; parallel; single coil pick up settings. Boost on the volume control (or cut if you use it that way round), and passive tone control. It weighs around 8 lbs, has a nicely figured two piece swamp ash body, roasted maple neck with a very dark ebony board. All the hardware is black, including the hardened steel strings through bridge with mute system. The sound through my Mark Bass LM3 and 2 x 10 Traveller is great - I think I prefer the series with the tone control around centre. It has a perfect Musicman sound, looks, feels and plays excellently - the neck is, as always with roasted maple and the Musicman oil and wax finish, incredibly slick!! Some photos……

Our first gig of the year. Last one was in October. Had a moment when I had no sound out until I realised my headphone switch was enraged on the back of my RM500. Drummer forgot the legs to his floor Tom so after a quick sound check i went home to get our sons spare one from his old kit we store for him. We had a great sound and were well settled in for the 2nd set. Good to me back at our favourite venue and catch up with the regulars who really enjoyed us being back.

Interesting video but, of course, only just touches the surface in terms of the decision making process. It's a big and fairly complicated topic because, like many things in a bass construction, everything affects everything (another way of putting my oft-quoted belief that 'guitars and basses are a series of compromises held together by hope' ) Absolutely. Two problems with going to or below 19mm: - A player issue: quite a few players will end up with hand cramp due to the position of the thumb and resulting muscle pull directions of the fingers. Some of that, of course, depends on your hand size - A practical issue: a truss rod slot is, as a rough minimum, 10mm deep at the adjuster position underneath the nut. The fretboards are usually around 6mm deep in the middle. The amount of wood underneath the trussrod for a 19mm deep is, therefore, 3mm max in the centre and less either side of the truss rod slot due to the curve of the neck profile. And just under the 1st fret is where the truss rod is applying all of its force downwards. And yes - trussrods sometimes come through the bottom of the neck... Not quite. If the laminate wasn't there, then it would be the base wood. So if it is a maple neck, then a mahogany or walnut splice will reduce the stiffness because those timbers bend more easily than rock maple. If it is a mahogany neck, then maple inserts will increase the stiffness. If it is a maple neck, then ebony inserts will increase the stiffness. Ditto the fretboard wood. And that - although how much of this is detectable to the average player (and almost always not detectable to the average audience ) is the topic of many debates - is why adding mahogany inserts to a maple neck is thought to add a touch of warmth and adding ebony inserts to a mahogany neck is thought to add a touch of mids and treble.

The earlier Ibanez Soundgear basses at least can be a bit whippy because they're too thin...despite laminated necks, which kind of supports Andy's suggestions about depth.

I have a 5 string: Mine was a display model from Andertons, which was on a deal. I've had it for a month and a half now. Mine had no shielding/noise issues like 'Low End Lobster' had on his review model. They are expensive for a Mexican Fender but they aren't a standard Mexican Fender, they have a better quality bridge, Di Marzio noiseless pick ups, rolled fretboard edges and all the flash colours. This was my first fiver and I bought it to coincide with a time I would be spending at home while work was being done on my house, so I've played it a lot. I like mine. It's a good bass for the money and I like the sounds I get from the DiMarzio Jazz pick ups and the pre amp. Mine weighs about 4.5 KG or a bit under, ok for a 3 hour rehearsal. There only issue with mine is that it is a bit neck dive. This is my 7th bass and 1st fiver; it's the first bass I've owned with neck dive and I found it irritating at first. Fender spent all the extra on the bridge , pups, gold coloured bits etc, why didn't they put on ultra-light tuners? That would help. I have decent 4" straps so I can live with the neck dive and apart from that, I like it.

I think that “most people” are probably unaware that Macca played bass. As far as they’re concerned it’s just another guitar.

I think there is a similar explanation for ‘Ye’ as in Ye Olde Tea Shoppe. It was never pronounced with a Y ….. there just used to be a symbol (thorn?) for a TH sound and it looked like a cross between a Y and T. Sometimes printers would just use Y assuming that everyone would get it. Or maybe some later people read the thorn(?) as a Y.

So when you join an originals band, who have the set already written, you're actually joining a cover band?

Billy Gould is one of the best. Never over plays, knows where to leave space and can play like a beast.

Ok I’ll whip this bad boy out. My 1963 Fender P in Lake Placid Blue. It absolutely sings💙

Took my BB2005 for a little spin recently with a new crew. Played through a DG AO 900 and BF BB2:

I've never played originals and have never had the urge. I get a great deal of pleasure from learning new songs and playing them to an audience. I've also never understood the musical snobbery that some people have regarding playing covers vs originals. After all the Beatles, Stones, Chili Peppers all played covers. It's all music after all. No one gets their panties in a twist when an orchestra "covers" some long dead composers music do they?

Got the Boss WL-50 on the board now. Only temporarily as I’m changing it all onto a Nano+ on Monday, so I can mount a CS6 power supply underneath

Dear Friends, attached the final version ( Rendering ) of my new EVO 4 Headless Bass Bridge , including tuners 😎