Leaderboard

Played at our favourite venue, the Coach House in Paignton last might. Our drummer is on holiday in Tibet with his GF so we drafted in our son who was our previous drummer. He brought a good crowd with him and quite a few haven't seen him play before. We played really well and had a great sound. Plenty of singing along and some interesting dancing by some punters. A great night. Always good when he deps for us.

Played under canvas in Dorset in a howling gale. The audience, all hardy campers/mobile home owners, were made of stern stuff and stuck with us. We got a fish and chip supper and free drinks thrown in! Here’s our audience (taken by me when soundchecking as I am wireless).

Our seven piece swing band played inside a store as part of the city's downtown Christmas walk last night. It's a small shop but we had hundreds of people coming in for the three hours we played and got lots of good feedback as we worked our way through a mix of swing charts and some Christmas songs arranged for a band like ours. We played well and were done at 9 and got paid too . I used my Yamaha SLB 200 instead of my DB due to limited space. A shot from inside and one through the window from the street. 👍🎅

Here’s my first attempt at building a guitar (other than a cigar box one) - something I’ve been wanting to do for many years. Key components are: Body: Alder PJ Bass from GuitarandBassBuilds.com Neck: Jazz bass neck from Twin—cam on ebay. Stain: Wudtone Hot Auburn and Goldenrod burst for the body. Pickups: I picked up a set of second hand (but barely used) EMJ Geezer Butler pickups on ebay - which included a full plug and play wiring loom. Other bits: mostly new and used parts from ebay. The build has mostly been quite straightforward - the most involved aspect being the staining of the body and neck. I was pretty pleased with the wudtone kit. I’ve spent a lot of time mulling over colours and eventually decided to try a burst effect. The application process was actually fairly easy and I’m very pleased with the result, although the contrast between the two colours is not quite as pronounced as I had imagined. i finally got the guitar finished yesterday and have managed to get the action and tuning set up fairly well after a couple of hours of fiddling with it. It sounds and plays great (to my limited experience). Now I’m thinking about my next build for which I think I’d like to do my own body shaping and routing and possibly build my own neck.

Played with the covers band yesterday, an after dinner gig for Marie Curie fundraisers. We set up in the morning and the BL of a very successful local band popped inn recognised the guys and lent us a small lighting rig. After pa sound issues at last gig, we just used it for vox (four of us have mikes) and bass drum (tiny gretch kick) I just set all the eq flat for a morning soundcheck, all we did was tweak up one guitar and the keyboard and sound was ace. Knew my sound would be ace with squier anniversary p into bass terror ans gr bass cab 😎 just had a tiny bit of treble boost. What on earth are all those tone knobs for 🤣 Unshamed dancy crowd pleasing setlist. One guitarist plagued by tuning issues and other things went off piste but no total disasters and the audience were dancing from our first song and had a riot of a time. Venue want us to do gigs, one audience member said she wants us to do her wedding.

Well - my bits box is certainly wide and varied. As I vaguely remembered, I do indeed have some genuine and unused Mustang/Jaguar slide switches. The great thing is that I therefore also have the proper short and threaded screws This is where @ped and I agreed it should go: For the pickguard I drilled the corners of the slot, cut the middle out with a scroll saw and straightened everything up with a couple of needle files: For the chamber, the same as the pickup chambers - hog out with a forstner bit and then chisel the 'waves' straight. This is before I did that latter step. For cable access, I simply need to drill a short hole between the controls chamber and this new switch chamber. And it's in: Tomorrow will be sorting the two pickup ring 'skirts' if I can find the material I'm hoping to use. And after that it should be all of the actual construction work done - it should be then just a case of wiring it up and putting it back properly together

Done 3 gigs this week. Sunday was my favourite venue for our acoustic duo at The Lookout on the Pier in Scarborough. Usual brilliant audience, with some great requests which we managed to fulfill. Forgot to take pics but this was the view as I was loading out.

Enjoyed last night. British Legion just 10 minutes up the road. Have been trying to get a gig there for ages. At the end the Manageress came up and said how much she enjoyed it and how she was kicking herself for not booking us a couple of years ago. Dropped a couple of songs that never work and improvised a couple that did, so that was cool. Got paid well and back home by 12.15. Lovely job.

Come Dancing ～ The Kinks

A lot of updates from the last few days. While levelling off the back of the neck on Thursday, I found a void in the beech towards the heel end, not sure how I missed it when putting together the neck laminates, it may have had filler over it which prevented discovery, but it wasn't a very nice discovery... Didn't take any pics, wasn't in the best of moods at that point. After getting over the initial thoughts of binning it and starting again (which was a serious consideration at first!) I tried doing a mix of wood glue and beech sawdust, which ended up drying an orangey colour, then tried CA glue with sawdust, but again it turned orange, not quite as bad, but not good enough. So final option was to chisel out a section 3mm deep and put in a new piece. Made the new piece very slightly bigger than the chiselled out section so that it had to be squeezed in place with clamps to fit, put a thin coat of wood glue in and then clamped it in place. After giving it time to dry removed the clamps and had a look. I then set to work levelling it off and bringing in the profile so that I could assess the repair. Still needs to be sanded up through the grades, but it has levelled off well. Can still see some glue where it squeezed out around the edges, hopefully when it has been fully sanded it won't be too obvious. Next on the list was the walnut caps on the headstock. Cut the headstock thickness to size and drilled out the tuner holes, then sanded the front to make sure it was level across the face and then after cutting the truss rod access in the walnut, glued and clamped it in place. After the glue had dried, it was out of the clamps, then on with shaping and re-drilling through the tuner holes from the back. Gave it a quick clean with white spirit to give an idea of the finished colour. Then moved onto the back. Did some work on the volute first to get the shape right, then levelled off the back face, cut the shape of the volute into the walnut, then glued and clamped it in place. After it was out of the clamps, it was shaped and the tuner holes re-drilled from the front. Quick clean up with white spirit again. And final pic of the day with the neck profile cleaned. All of it needs plenty of sanding through the grades and the heel transition needs to be sorted out, but overall I am pleased with the progress. Need to decide on final headstock shape yet, think it is close...

That made me chuckle. I call one of our regulars the 'zombie dancer'. It is like she used to dance, died, came back to life and the small part of her brain that hadn't quite decoomposed contained a vestigial memory of what to do - but not entirely getting it right.

So tonight (i just got home at 3am urghhh i'm too old for this i swear!!) took the 1025 out for it's 1st gig 1st impressions - DAMN it shipped with some lite donkey strings - so i'm changing them tomorrow.. BUT !! played like a dream - as the venue filled up i rolled a little high mid back in on the amp and as i'm wireless went for a wander to the back end of the pub (singer was very confused as to where i was going) and BOY what a sound. This thing is an absolute beast of a bass i did make 1 mistake and didn't get the high adjusted on my strap right so now my neck and upper back are killing me after 2 hours playing but i can honestly say i loved every minute of it stunned by how P'bassey the P pickup actually is too i'm really not a fan of the J pickup singled out it's just too thin by itself but in that ctr position it adds just enough top/high mids to make every note cut through that mix like a dream yup... this is the new gigging bass for ever now i think defo part of the BB club now

I’ve never had an issue with the stock 3point bridge , but I’ve loved the look of the hipshot. This has been my favourite player for quite a while now, it’s a beautiful little thing to play. With a single pickup in the classic sweet spot this actually behaves much like a Pbass. Lightweight , and fun. I love this bass.

Some video from Wednesday night. https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=704796184315362&id=100000222668845&sfnsn=mo&mibextid=RUbZ1f Blue

The gig where: Access is easy. The drummer has turned up early and is almost set up as you arrive. It’s IEMs all round. Audience dance all night Fee is decent Drinks tab included. You're not driving. No queue for kebabs. Does it get any better! 😎

Short Squirt/ Long Jack It ～ Cake

The other two gigs this week were a Golden Wedding do at a local pub. Only about 30 guests, managed to get some up dancing to 50's / 60's stuff though, and home by 11.30pm so not too bad. Last night was the final gig of the year with The ELO Experience at The Corn Exchange in Stamford. Sell out crowd of 400 people, a lovely venue but a basta*d of a get in - everything into a tiny lift, then up to the top floor where it's then rolled down the steep centre aisle of the theatre and up onto the stage. Band played well, and our new sound engineer (and bassist!) Paul is fitting in well, with drums and bass sounding great in the room. ( Enclose a picture which shows my lovely bald spot which is increasing at a frightening rate - may soon be time for a new look I think.)

17 sloppy seconds. The Cure

At a rehearsal last week , I usually lug my ancient GK MB150, noticed it wasn’t up to snuff. Volume dropped and it was sounding distorted. I once blew the amp up and loved it enough to get the power module replaced. At the time GK were moving their manufacturing , it took about a year to get the part. I have a friend that knows these well , and it’s off for repair. Should return like a brand new amp.

I love learning new stuff at home, rehearsing, gigging - all aspects of the process of making music. We are lucky in that our drummer, Joe, is a farmer and there is the most amazing 11th century thatched barn on his farm that we use for rehearsals. The family used to hire it out for weddings etc but decided it was too much hassle, so it is pretty much ours to do what we like with. The acoustics are great We rehearse sometimes just for the fun of it as we all love making the music but generally there is a plan - a new song or a different arrangement. Here last week, you can see half the barn, we were running through a new song for us - Jesus Just Left Chicago - take 1. Alan had polished the vocal a bit by the time we played on Friday. https://www.facebook.com/Octaneblues/videos/1092408504761471 Test driving our new lights, too.

Would be much better if it had a steel insert that opens beers.

Just Don't Know What To Do With My Shelf ～ Dusty Springfield

Hi, have you tried D’addario black tapewound strings, I’ve got 2 jazzes with them and they give a nice warm deep sound

That’s a great way of describing it @miles'tone I have a (ahem) few US Fenders, all great instruments but the true feeling of joy that I get from playing my 2013-16 series maple fretboard Precisions just doesn’t happen with the others. That would be the wealth.

Fret slots cut, started on the brass fret markers

Gig in Marsden, nearly ‘moors country’ last night. Didn’t look too promising at first with only 8 punters in at 8:30 so we delayed going on until 9:30. Placed filled up to capacity before we went on and two great spots were had and enjoyed. Did the first Christmas song of the season, the full Christmas show starts in earnest next week at one of our favourite little pubs in Huddersfield.

Honky Bonk Woman - Rolling Stones

I started out playing Fenders over 40 years ago, and have never been without one. The only brand I used instead for some periods has been Musicman, which I’ve always considered to be the way Fender basses evolved. Had to sell my last MM fairly recently mainly down to the weight issue, not being able to find one that was under 8lbs. Currently still have my original 63 Precision, which would be my go to for everything if I could. My main bass is a Fender P-Lyte, which weighs 7lbs and I don’t have to worry about leaving it on theatre stages unattended. I have an identical spare too. Know its not a regular P-bass, but I can still get some authentic sounds from it, the build quality is superb and it has enabled me to carry on gigging into my 60’s with no shoulder fatigue on long gigs. Still dig the 63 out when I can though, it’s a killer! There’s just something about a proper P-bass that is so right, and it’s worth taking some time to find one that feels / sounds exactly how you would expect. Nothing against other brands, but if I want a Fender then I don’t want one that looks like one, I want the real deal. If I was looking for my first Fender I’d probably go for a tidy s/h Mexican P-bass and then play it for a while before deciding if it needed anything upgrading. In my case I’d be happy with it stock, but another great thing about Fenders is they are easy to modify if you want. (Possibly pick up and controls if you feel the need, but don’t bother with changing the bridge as the benefits are IMO never worth it.)

This thread is going cost me a LOT of time 👍

We did a private do in a place we’ve played loads, only to arrive and find that they had refurbished the function room into - yep - A giant bathroom. No soft furnishings, high angled ceiling. But everything’ was still eq,d to last nights giant bathroom, so it wasn’t too big a deal. First outing for my new SR300e. A tad heavier and less sophisticated than my sr500/1200s, but much nicer to look at 😂 IMG_0608.MOV

Just catching up. Welcome to the challenges of finishing - it's a rocky climb! The most important thing is that you have a neck and body that fit nicely and the strings and bridge line up! Just reading your thread, there are many things that can affect adhesion of paints (which is why, generally, I don't do paint finishes), but one of them is certainly that many, if not most, manufactured bodies have a residue on the surface and always benefit from a thorough sanding before doing anything. It may or may not have anything to do with the problems you had (did you use a primer?) but I was reminded of this when I saw the tung oil result...it looks surprisingly light coloured. Is that residue of the white paint there too? If so, it might be worth giving the body a rigorous sanding - right down to proper bare wood and then try the tung oil (other oils work OK - Tru-oil; Danish Oil; etc) which might soak better into the wood, darken it and be quicker to dry. The test if you are sanding is to take a clean facecloth or dish cloth, soak it in water, squeeze it out and wipe the surface of the sanded wood. The dampness should darken the wood as the water soaks into the grain. Any residue of manufacturing or previous finishes will show up as light patches. When the dampness darkens the wood and is pretty even, then you know you are down to un-contaminated timber and then you can let it dry before starting the first 'soak in' coats of your preferred finish.

I've had lots of Fenders over the years but now don't have any Fenders, despite being particularly fond of the J design, and don't see myself ever owning a another one. In my experience, there are plenty of companies making much better instruments, based on Fender designs, which cost far less money than "the real thing". Unless you feel the need to alleviate the pressure and be seen with that logo, don't bother. You'll get far more joy being open minded and exploring what alternatives are out there.

Unless you are looking for a specific sound, look or 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 or 12 strings etc, no one really needs any particular brand. What you need is something that sounds the way you want to sound, plays well, feels good and possibly looks good as well. I've never really bonded with any Fenders that I've owned over the years. My current basses are a Warmoth Dinky body with Status Graphite neck and EMGs so Fender in type but no where near any Fender I've played before. The other is a Musicman Sterling HH which has a loose connection with Leo Fender

Well that was bloody great. First gig in a few months due to folk on holiday etc. I'm always a little nervous after that much downtime - will I remember the songs? Turns out the human memory is a little more resilient than I gave it credit for. Had an amazing gig at the Butchers Arms in Inverurie last night. Slow start but crowd streadily built up during the first half and thankfully didn't bog off during the break. This may have had something to do with after the last song of the first half. After we finished the last song of the first half, the singer was telling everyone we were going to have a break and I absent mindedly started noodling the riff to "Groove is in the Heart"/"Bring Down the Birds". The crowd cottoned on to what I was doing, the drummer joined in and then we had someone rapping to it - they were really good! I have no idea what she was saying, but she was in time and had good rhythm! Second half went fantastic, lots of dancers, and only one minus when a pished wifie came in, tried to steal the mic from the singer a few times, got into a fight with a bloke who came across to stop her and finally she got kicked out by the door staff. Some annoying other pished wifie was indignant that we didn't know any Fleetwood Mac. Here's 40-odd other songs you seemed to enjoy, but no, the whole thing's effed because we don't know Fleetwood Mac. OK then, off you pop Cobwebs well and truly blasted out. What a great night!

You should apply the same logic the next time she buys another pair of shoes.

My blues rock trio Toredown played at our 'regular' pub in Ipswich, The Shamrock, last night. I arrived a bit later than usual, found a rare parking spot virtually outside. We didn't get to fully set up until after the footie as our space was occupied by viewers but as the place wasn't busy we could get kit assembled by the side - in the event we kicked off at around 9.15ish, so not too bad. We have played better, all of us made mistakes but nobody noticed or, if they did, cared. By the time we were a short way into the first set all our regulars had turned up and the place was packed. Security had to turn people away at some point. Really good atmosphere, we went down really well, got paid more than we asked, no road closures on the A12 homeward bound so 60 mins to my door. Wonderful. Nice to see @Dazm66 who plays with our drummer Joe in another band. Next gig is supporting Dr Feelgood on 15th Dec

Played in a massive converted warehouse venue last night on Gloucester docks. Basically a giant bathroom acoustically speaking. It was fine, with the only thing of note being me watching with my usual amusement as a drunken ‘expert’ regaled our sound engineer with lots of pointing and hand gestures. When I spoke to him afterwards, it turns out the guy was brilliant and actually really helped with some advice that transformed the sound and resolved a bass bloom issue. I suppose mathematically speaking it had to happen eventually 😂😂😂

Ah that’s a single cut style build nearly finished

I can just watch this on repeat: And of course, anything with Mr McBride on it, but his recent recordings with Joshua Redman, Brian Blade and Brad Mehldau are fantastic: https://www.jazzwise.com/news/article/redman-mehldau-mcbride-blade-return-with-longgone-and-share-video-for-disco-ears

Last minute gig last night - saved me from a dead weekend. I arrived first, "where do the bands set up mate?" "Over there under the TV" In between the two toilet doors. Nice. Wait, that space is the width of a TV. Umm

Lurking in the background....the monster

I’ve owned a few fender jazzes and Ps over the years, and my main bass is an old precision. Along the way I’ve briefly owned a Sandberg TT4 (jazz) and a Lull PJ4. Both nice basses but they didn’t sound like Fenders. If you want to play a Fender, get a Fender, not something that’s a bit like a Fender.

Actually, Shakespeare could be a clever choice for a desert island. His plays were written to be performed not read, so you could spend your time doing one-man shows to the wildlife. It would take a lifetime to learn, which given the circumstances, you'd have the time spare.

Time for some body sanding/buffing, and frets