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Hi gang Just part-way through Trevor Horn's new autobiog, and it's blummin' marvellous. He's a humble, likeable bloke, and his journey from the pit villages of County Durham to the global pinnacle of polished pop via dancehall bands and Yes is remarkable. There's a reasonable amount of bass content in there too. Well recommended.

My current 3. 1975 Rickenbacker 4001, a 1969 Fender Precision and a 1980 Musicman Sabre.

I can't recall if I've posted this before on this thread, but here is my original 1969 Precision with a B neck, c/w original case, both covers (one shown), thumb rest and even the original Fender strap.

Well, Friday wasn't the finest evening in our gigging career! We had a feeling it was going to be a bit iffy when we noticed on Thursday that the "Band Night" event posts on the FB page for the village hall we were playing at had all disappeared. After a quick message to the chairman of the committee, the event appeared again, but without anything much in the way of interest being shown. Anyway, after the usual rigmarole of tracing and eliminating various odd hums and buzzes (which invariably seem to emanate from Mr Singer's crappy acoustic amp and pedalboard... 🙄 ), we managed to get a decent sound, though unusually I had to ask to be turned up quite a lot in the mix - looks like our resident poultrygeist (don't ask... ) has been fiddling with the desk again. So, there we are, all set to kick off, when the hall folks announce they're going to start serving food now, so could we hang on? We do, and eventually launch into the first set half an hour later than planned, to a rather disinterested (but well-fed) audience of thirty or so people. On the plus side, that was more than the eight who turned up for the last band who played there, and the two new numbers we'd thrown together at rehearsal on Thursday went well, so we'll be treating them to a bit more polish before the next gig. Other than that, the first set felt a bit like hard work - they're all songs we (mostly) like individually, and they do usually seem to go down well, but there's a growing feeling that they just don't work as a set, so we're going to rip up the list and do a bit of set-bashing in the next couple of weeks. After a short break, the second set was, as ever, an absolute delight to bash through, though the delayed start meant we had to drop a couple of songs (in addition to the one I'd inadvertantly managed to leave off the list for the first set - oops!). The audience response remained muted, though at least they did applaud after each number rather than just carry on talking, and we got several compliments at the end so it would appear they were actually listening after all. Honourable mention goes to the two people who I noticed were actually watching us and tapping their feet all night! From a personal point of view, the onstage sound was great as was the FoH, and it was one of those nights where everything just seemed to flow without really thinking about it - in fact, the couple of times I did think about it was when the minor flubs occurred. We've another gig booked at the same hall in December for a birthday event, but after that I suspect we'll not be playing there again - apparently there have been several changes on the committee, and it looks like live music isn't particularly part of the scene there any longer. Oh well, plus ça change an' all that...

Earlier this year i got Jaydee to strip this bass and refinish it to show the natural wood. I didn't dislike the original colour it but preferred the natural quilt maple finish. I left the back of the headstock in the original colour.

Sort it out Ashdown n reissue the hyperdrive in a small package... Please 😁

Eat to the beak. Blondie

Get a contract next time and they cant argue about it. We do that for any new gigs with the Glam covers band. To be asked to play something completely different or you dont get paid is a threat in my book. To be honest i wouldn't go back. I guess i wouldn't have got paid that night. It amazes me how some people think you have a set list for every eventuallity up your cuff is simply ridiculous. No pay, sore face i reckon. Dave

French Fishes in the USA - Debbie Harry

My Youtube lesson last week on the Noel Redding bass lines from Red House went down really well. Since then I've had some requests to compare these bass lines with the Billy Cox bass line from Red House live at Woodstock. If you're unaware of Billy Cox, he was Jimi Hendrix's long time friend who joined him in the band after Noel Redding left. The version of Red House at Woodstock is really iconic and it's interesting to see what Billy Cox played after I’ve looked at Noel Redding's bass lines. The two bass players are very different, not least because Noel Redding was first and foremost a guitarist. But personally, I see merits in both of their bass lines and enjoy all the contrasting versions of Red House. I’ve made a full transcription of Billy Cox’s bass line and you’ll find this under the video lesson. It’s in standard notation and Tab. Enjoy, and it would be interesting to hear which version of Red House you prefer. https://youtu.be/Et4vV7Vpnqo

So I used the combo at rehearsal last night (could have used the supplied Ampeg SVTIII through matching 6x10). All I can say is one is a happy boy this morning - two guitars playing through small valve combos plus acoustic drums and the Ashdown was hardly ticking over. Big fat authoritative tone, but the mids from my fretless were cutting through beautifully (unlike when using said Ampeg rig). Looking forward to gigging with the rig now.

Aston Familyman Barrett first then later Stanley Clarke.

Yesterday I picked up this Yamaha bb BP35 bass after wanting one for a long time in this colour. It really is a fabulous bass, and you can play pretty much any style on it. The slap tone is fantastic and it's passive. I'm not really a 5-string player, but love the B string power, so was using it a bit here, but this bass was local to me, so i got my hands on it. Please use headphones, the bass is removed from the track, you get them from karaoke version, great for this sort of thing. thanks

Will get that, thanks for the heads up. First month of my Electronic Music Technology course at ELP and we were marched round to Sarm East where we had the pleasure of seeing Trevor Horn recording ABC’s Lexicon of Love. At the time I was into Kraftwerk, King Crimson, Hawkwind, and Fischer-Z so wasn’t as impressed as I would be now 🤔

Here's my rig. Epifani Performance Series PS400 head and 2 x 2x10 Epifunky cabs. Also shown is my 1978 Electro Harmonix Deluxe Electric Mistress Flanger pedal. I've had this rig for a while now it's seen a lot of gigs.

Newcastle City Hall last night. Quite a big one for our singist, as he grew up in Morpeth, so he was pretty thrilled to be playing there. There's been enough of my rubbish pictures, so instead, here's a nice review. https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/23087116.review-kiefer-sutherland-impresses-newcastle-city-hall-2022-tour/

This is my favourite UFO track. I love the guitar solo in this by Paul 'Tonka' Chapman and the bass intro.

Features a young (21 ish) Marcus

Everyday I Write The Book - Elvis C.

One Way or An Author - Blondie

I got the 54 in for reviewing for De Bassist (Dutch Bass magazine), very excited. It certainly looks the part.

That sounds great!

Aha he does mention its not that light however, but he will weigh it for a future review.

Who made you King ? Not some watery tart I hope

Tweeters don't hiss, amps do. That said, the response of the BGH25-8 rolls off above 8kHz, where there's no useful electric bass content, but plenty of hiss.

Much of the anger has either dissolved into depression or is projected onto "others". Then you have the culture and normalisation of pathological narcissism, 'The Century of the Self', so that is obviously going to produce lean results. Just as the last of the native Indians were kept quiet on reservations with rough whiskey and baubles and bangles, we took to the comforters too... https://www.highexistence.com/amusing-ourselves-to-death-huxley-vs-orwell/ “Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.” Aldous Huxley - Brave New World.

You're better than me! I ended up enjoying to the track, rather than listening to your playing. And that, to me, means that your playing is good.

Nice one! I think a tort pick guard would really improve the low mids and help it sit in the mix just right.

Paul Gardiner from Tubeway Army/Gary Numan.

Lark’s Tongues In Aspic - King Crimson

Right...random thought coming out here... So I'm getting back into playing after a long break and thinking of brushing up on my slap skills! There are far better slappas than me out there...and better knowledge than mine as well!...but I'm thinking of keeping an online practice log as I relearn my old skills (hopefully they come back!). The practice log may actually force me to practice haha! Anyone fancy joining my journey?! I'll post some recordings of progress on here and probably my Instagram as well so that I dont pollute basschat with too much repetitive slap! come say hi if you like https://www.instagram.com/joseph.martyn.501/

Step away from the fish puns now! And also the Monty Python videos....

Capitalist indoctrination.. "So all I wanted in the end Was world domination and a whole lot of money to spend Everything I touch, everything I see, fame and fortune, immortality Well that's not much to ask, its really not..."

I have become very attached to this Sire M7 fretless 5 since I bought it, many months ago now. Well over the honeymoon period. Very versatile.