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May I just say, I’ve been here since 2009 and in that time, I’ve met some amazing people with quite a few becoming firm friends. I’ve bought great gear here without any hassle, sold gear without any hassle, and engaged in great conversations about all things bass. What a great space to share with so many likeminded folk. Thanks to all who frequent this place. I just wanted to acknowledge how valuable this place is. Cheers ☺️

I hate this place.....before BC I was a successful business man with a strong financial portfolio. However my addictive bass buying has now seen me living in a tent behind a soup kitchen in Cowdenbeath. Damn you Basschat....

Urnie. Benny hill

In a bit of a rush I ordered some new strings. Saw the usual packet, ordered etc. Delivery wasn't what I expected though - instead of Ti Flats, I had ordered Ti Rounds. I knew Thomastik made rounds but I didn't know they made "Jazz Rounds" in the same series. My curiosity was stronger than my desire to send them back so I stuck them on my Sandberg. They are very flexible like the flats are. The wrap wire is a very small gauge so finger noise is very low for a round. They also don't feel like other brands of nickels I have tried - I usually don't like nickels at all and stick with steels for rounds. These feel different. I have no idea if it's just because of the smaller wrap wire or if it's a different alloy mix, but I like them. Thomastik claim they are supposed to be the same as the flats but with a bit more cut / top end. I think that's true at the treble end, but the low end is still closer to a round than a flat. Nevertheless they have a very nice balanced tone and are easy to play. As usual, there's only 1 gauge option so that will either suit or not, but I like them and they'll be staying on the bass - and not just because they are as expensive as the flats! Will be interesting to see how long they last compared to the flats. I have a rehearsal on Saturday so I'll see how it goes.

Reply from GM - 'Very cool! Fetish Guitars is the place to go poking around. You’ll find that this harp guitar (which I read as S. Castorina) is a variation on their 1957 jazz “model 22 cello guitar.” I read his address as Via Biscari, 7, which it’s not Carmelo’s. I see that others built this same basic design (and there were DOZENS of Sicilians building, sharing & copying from each other). What’s unusual here is that is a super late harp guitar (I’d say late ‘50s). Though American harp guitars died out quickly through the 30s, Italians (in most locales) kept at it a good decade longer, but this is really an anachronism. An “old” harp guitar with a thoroughly modern body/design. Probably a custom order – would love to know the player’s story! Best, g Gregg Miner President, The Harp Guitar Foundation Board of Governors, American Musical Instrument Society Have passed this on to the owner.

Me skankin’ with my trusty Hofner Club ….

On cello rather than bass...

Played at an awesome venue in Burton on Friday night- Burton Elite Venue : The Ritz. First Gig where we were supplied with in house PA, and a sound guy, and he did an awesome job of making us sound good! Ticketed event, and there was just over 120 people there. We played our asses off and did pretty well, if I'm honest! We got great reviews from the owner and sound guy after the night, so hopefully we get invited back. I got thrown in the deep end for the last song- we played an oasis song that the entire band had played before in their previous bands, but not me! A quick check of the tab, and managed to pull one out of the bag 🤘💪 The other band members have all done some session musician stuff in their 30 year careers, whereas I'm certainly catching up, having only played for 5... Playing with those that are better than you though really does make you better. It's pushing me hard! Anyways, filled the dance floor in the second set, so happy days.

The 14th South East Bass Bash will be on Sunday 23 October 2022 - 0900 - 1700 At Jubilee High School, Surrey, School Lane, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 1TE Get the date in your diaries!

OxiContinental Breakfast - Courtney Barnett

I think it was her brother Paddy that had a penchant for exotic instruments. Wuthering was recorded at Air Studios under Dave Gilmour's wing in '77 I always thought she was an incredibly clever writer and the fact that she was a late teen when she wrote Wuthering. But because Wuthering was the first single anyone had heard from her, it wasn't known at that time, that she had written The Man With A Child In His Eyes when she was 13.

So I saw the KT Bush band at the Rose of Lee (music pub in s.London) in 1979. Might even have been her first gig…. I remember thinking it was more theatre than anything else, don’t remember there being an actual stage, she kind of floated into the audience (maybe 200 of us?) good gig - stayed to the end! We all knew it was something special…..

Created as a contrast to the 'I Hate Gigging' thread, in which some of the comments I find utterly depressing, I would like to think that the majority of Basschatters do actually enjoy the gigging experience. I get that there are some that cannot deal with getting up in front of a crowd or prefer to make music behind closed doors and that's fine, but let's leave the hate out of it. I for one certainly wouldn't do a single gig that I wasn't looking forward to. I don't understand why people would, unless of course they have to for financial reasons. Through 40 years of gigging, I cannot recall a single date that I haven't looked forward to. There have been a few that I've been a bit nervous about for one reason or another, but in the main, those days are long gone. There have also been a few gigs that once I've arrived at the venue, it has become clear that it was not what any of the band were expecting which can be a bit of a buzz kill, but I think we've all had a few of them. For me, gigging is about putting smiles on people faces and getting them moving. I don't do it for the money (although it's a nice bi-product) and I certainly do it for any kind of adoration; it's just a great thing to be able to make people happy and then leave feeling like they've been entertained for an evening. I'm not saying I wouldn't find it a strain, but I would be out every night if I could. Let's hear it for the love of gigging.

All plastered up and windows in...

I had a cracking 2 weeks in Saalbach Hinterglemm during my early years of skiing. I am a huge Austrophile, love it there.

Last time I was skiing, a good few years ago. However we have booked for February! 😃

Latest incarnation of my wee board. The volume pedal has gone, in its place I've got a home-brewed buffered mute footswitch with tuner output. The red 'mute' LED flashes for better visibility. Clearly visible are the bike-chain fixings I'm using now instead of velcro. Everything feels much more secure now. Not sure how long the warning sticker will last. I was having a bad day when I put it on there

There's a tribute band called Cloudbusting, and features Kate Bush ex bassister and ex partner, Del Plamer. Palmer played bass on many tracks on 2nd album Lionheart and subsequent albums. He wasnt on the first , The Kick Inside His bass line on Kashka From Baghdad is stunning on the original, which he stated he should have used a fretless, as it was a track that was perfect for one. So here he is with Cloudbusting and superb vocalist Mandy Watson. Del on a Zon, by the look of it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ-9TWI-UAk

Tips? Have a lesson... And keep your ankles flexed so your shins push into the front of the boots. That keeps weight over the front which makes turning much easier, as you'll then be using the whole edge. And learn how to carve as quickly as possible, as the beginner's snowplough turn and stop hurts far more!

I chose flats many many years ago for a few reasons, the first was i liked the smooth feel of them and there was no finger and fret noise, also they sounded much warmer than rounds , not all flatwounds are a dull thud ,it depends how you eq them, I’ve had some that were too bright for me , admittedly I don’t know anything about rounds now

The Cat Crypt In Mud

if you can get a model made then having the bushings custom made would be the cleanest option, If you get stuck with the model then i might be able to help (design engineer by trade) at work we have had some stuff made by these guys with good results, the prices have been reasonable as well https://fractory.com/ you just need a cad model to upload to get a quote. Matt

and the B string on the 5 is most excellent

Trying some Shpongle for this afternoon's entertainment.

You've got a tent?! You lucky, lucky bas...😂

Newspaper tent - Luxury!

Me in my ripened fullness (my avatar is my great grandpa)

Well, it all depends on what kind of tent you are living in. Is it more like the one on the left or more like the one on the right?

I have one and I'd never sell it. Unique and incredibly well made.

But at least you have 84 basses to keep you company….

With regard to comparing the sound of a Bass VI to more "conventional" instruments I couldn't really comment since I've never spent any serious time with the ones mentioned in @Joe Nation's post. Standard tuning of a Bass VI is E-E a octave below that of a standard guitar. Baritone Guitars tend to be B-B for 28" scale or A-A for 30" scale, although just like any guitar you can actually tune them any way you want. My Bass VIs are tuned EADGCB because the open C string is more useful to me than B for for drone parts in our songs in C and Am. Most Bass VIs have three single-coil pickups in roughly Stratocaster positions, but the tuning will mean that you don't automatically get Stratocaster-like sounds out of them. Baritone Guitars tend to have two pickups in the typical guitar bridge and neck configuration (either humbuckers or P90 type), and from my experience with a 28" scale baritone tuned B-B it was pretty much like a typical guitar but lower in pitch. Bass VIs are very different beast. You can get guitar-like tones out of them, but they are also a "proper" short-scale bass guitar albeit one with two extra high string and closer string spacing. Have a listen to this live clip of my band Hurtsfall where I'm using the Eastwood Hooky Bass VI and get both guitar and bass type sounds out of it. The Hooky is a bit of an oddity in the Bass VI world as it is based on the Shergold Marathon Six-String Bass and appears to be aimed more at bassists rather than guitarists. It also has a single humbucking pickup mounted somewhere between where the bridge and middle pickups would be on a typical three-pickup Bass VI. Having said that the majority of the tone is courtesy of the Line6 Helix I play through, and my "back-up" instrument a Burns Baracuda with three single coil pickups (normally using the middle one) sounds much the same through this set up.

It might be worth thinking about getting one of THESE. I know people with serious arthritic knees who can ski again by using a Ski Mojo. Not cheap, but it means you could get back on the slopes... Just to get you more jealous, I've just bought my first ever pair of new skis - they're 95mm at the waist, and 154mm at the shovel. And despite their proper off piste/all mountain shape they're designed for fast on-piste carving. They catapult you out of turns like you've got a jet engine!

There's an Ibanez shortie on the market now for £135, can recommend to anyone who wants to peek into the world of SS for a reasonable price.

The two founding members of Sphongle are Simon Posford and Raja Ram, who also made Goa/Psy trance under the names Hallucinogen and Infinity Project respectively. They're quite different from Shpongle though, more full on and upwards of 140 BPM, E'd up four to the floor bangers. Viz Sphongle, you can't go far wrong with any of their albums.

As you were @fretmeister... I was using the Super Alloys!

Monkey Man - Toots & the Maytals

I initially thought one mic would do, but this 'ere Gear4Music geezer grabbed me and said, 'wanna buy a mic, eh? Eh? 'Ere's one for twenty notes my darling, but just for you, I'll do yer two for 34 quid, 'cos I like the cut of yer jib, whadda yer say? Gowarn, yer know yer want to.' They're cheap wee Sub Zero mics and I doubt they're particularly good quality, but if I can hear the wedges and singers, all's good in the hood. Having two will give some added flexibility - I was thinking of pointing one at the singers and the other at the nearest wedge monitor. The ZS10 IEMs came with a few different tips and after trying them all in turn I think I've found a pair that work well. I'll try a few different ones if I still think I'm not getting a decent seal. I've been bombarded with noise three times on the trot now and I'd like to hear nothing other than what's coming through my IEMs. Aye, Auld Reekie gets its claws into you. I'm in the middle of tourist central, at the top of the Royal Mile. I bought this place six years ago, after being exiled south of the Rio Tweed for most of my life, and I can still recall how I felt when I'd stop at the top of The Mound and just look across the city in awed wonder. There's plenty to b|tch about, no doubt about that - the Airbnb blight, overtourism, the never-ending car wars, the state of the roads, yada yada - but this is a fantastic city. I do feel very privileged to live here and have been born here[1]. [1] In Leith. Please don't tell the Old Town locals. They'd hang me in the Grassmarket if they knew]

Aaarrgh! The gear I ordered arrived this afternoon, too. The Zoom R8 looks the biz all right, provided I could instantly kill the feed from the main desk and have enough inputs left over to hear what's going on on stage. Not a huge bit of gear, either. <thinks, thinks, thinks> Now that I've got the gear, I'll see how well it works in practice as a first step. I bought a 4U Gator rack case as well, so that my Eden WTP600 can fit in alongside the splitter mixer. That's a good incentive for my wee brain - I'll have to bring a spare amp by default if I want any monitoring! I'll try it out at rehearsal on Thursday and report back. We're getting too loud in the rehearsal studio as well - in our run-through before our last gig, one of our guitarists used a phone app to measure noise levels and we apparently hit 125 dB at one point 😱 If we can't dial it back, I think I might suggest that everyone stands on the opposite side of the room to their amps so they can clearly hear the racket they're making - and I'm as guilty as anyone in that respect.

Marcus Miller magic on this cracker from my favourite Sax cats.

That's kinda the point?? I don't think it was ever intended that users bought multiple modules and swapped them etc. Its a way of Markbass releasing an amp without a spec, and the buyer can spec it exactly as they want at the point of purchase, almost like a custom amp. Great idea, but doubt it was remotely economically viable for them.

Ironically, if you're being literal it may have been a valid attempt! You could make a very good Faraday cage out of a sieve.

Well I wouldn't term it a rebroadcast station as that implies some sort of active amplification. But yes the human body is a factor in the environmental noise being picked up by the bass. Whether you regard it as rf depends on what you call rf. In this case it's primarily mains related frequencies that are 'everywhere' that are detected by a High Impedance magnetic pickup. So 50/60 Hz depending and associated harmonics. It's relatively simple to show that a hand near an inductive pickup induced a signal in that transducer. Also bear in mind that the bass bridge/strings are already grounded. It doesn't matter whether you ground yourself by touching the strings or another bit of grounded metal eg a chassis screw on a rack unit or mixer. In either case the noise will be reduced. Depending on your own skin dryness / conductivity you may get better results with a dampened finger 🙂