Leaderboard

When on holiday to Houston to visit friends I used to frequent all my old music shop haunts. One in particular, Guitar Centre on Westheimer, had a second hand Warrior Signature for sale at nearly $4k! Stunning bass that over a period of about 5 years I asked to play whenever I was there. Loved the neck, balance & small body size but the strings and setup were awful. The last time I was there I tried it again and it was still less than stellar.....but they had dropped the price slightly to $3,600. I decided that I had to get rid of the hankering once and for all so I offered to pay them for a new set of strings, battery and a tweak of the setup. If I really didn't like the bass after that then they just got themselves a free set of strings and a better playing bass (= more chance of a future sale). They half heartedly agreed and put on the new strings (without cleaning the fretboard etc!! ) tweaked the truss and lowered the saddles a bit. I sat down, plugged in and played a few riffs........WOW....it was an absolutely different animal!! It played and sounded wonderful. I decided to make them a "cheeky" offer of $3k as it had been sat in their stock for at least 5 years that I knew of. I thought, start low and you can always increase your offer......didn't need to, the manager accepted straight away! That bass was mine for the next 11 years and never let me down or dissapointed.

Hi guys From the first day when my Sandberg arrived it was difficult for me to get used to the H+S pickup combination regarding thumbrest. It's ok to hold it on a humbucker or single pickup, but the sweetest sound spot for me is somewhere in between, a bit closser to the humbucker. ...so I made a custom 3D printed thumbrest. Here is how it looks 🙂

Use the 'off' switch then. It has a similar effect to the 'block' button on Basschat 🙄.

I ordered a couple of enclosures from Tayda between Christmas and new year for a couple of projects I have on the go. I went for the custom drill and uv printing service. took me a while to actually wrap my head around it all. I usually drill, paint and design myself but wanted to find out if their any good. They arrived yesterday and I have to say the quality is impressive. The purple one is a megalith clone from a pcb, i already have one but I built this one to reduce the footprint and remove the heavy button. The green is stripboard version of a Dunwich D-120 for my guitarist. Which is based on a matamp. Hence the look. And the band logo.

I know it can't be just me. Would love this, especially at this price but it's collection only from Cheshire. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304764333728?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=wAjAjwKBRQG&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=&widget_ver=artemis&

I always had a soft spot for Knocking at Your Back Door, despite it having some the dumbest lyrics I've ever heard (even by Ian Gillan's very high standards - so bad it's brilliant).

Highway Star for me. I’m not familiar with much of their material but we do this in my classic rock band and I just love playing the bassline.

That paints a picture This is BassChat so I'll limit myself to bass. Look for another band, unless this one is gigging regularly you won't need to give up on this one. As my wife says 'don't put your dirty underwear out until you have clean'. So you are a reader, with a musical background who can also play by ear. You know enough about music to improvise and you can sing, at least enough for you to do backing vocals and maybe harmonies. You take what you do seriously and you want to work harder. You may not realise it but you are hot property. Stop apologising about your age too. I didn't start playing until I was 55, zilch/rien/nothing apart from a few guitar chords as a 14 year old. I've been between bands a couple of times and in multiple bands when it looked like a band had reached the end of it's development. Musically those gaps were the most fertile periods. I filled them with regular auditions which forces you to learn half a dozen songs quickly. I also teamed up with friends at open mics, depped for a few bands and just generally took anything offered. It forced me to learn a lot of songs and I hate making a fool of myself so even the open mic stuff I worked at. That's the way to get a lot of different rhythms under your fingers too, every genre has things that make it what it is and everything is a learning opportunity. I briefly played in a country band, how hard can it be? It had me screaming, playing simply and well with nowhere to hide is a discipline itself. The advantage of lots of activity is that there just aren't that many musicians out there and they will soon get to know you. Become part of that community and things will come along.

Its £50 and just made for a jazz bass, so if you have a jazz bass, its not hugely off a set of strings to give it a try and see how it goes. Yes, there are flaws in the concepts, and I haven't got a jazz bass so I can't try it, but for what it is, if I did have a jazz bass, I would probably give it a try.

This one.

Hi Vigier fans ! Some Passion 1 photos are available on the following link. I was lucky enough to be the first on it. http://www.californiamusic.fr/basses/4-cordes/vigier-,produit_4741_fr.html

Ah, you’ll love this. I went through the whole rigmarole again, checking leads, checking earths, everything. Then I looked at the signal chain, changed the battery in the Bass…….. guess what? Hiss, she vanish like the wind. Twin channels is us, B3n through one, straight through the other, my bass sound unmodified and the other channel with whatever takes my fancy. So happy bunny, rehearsing with it in full flight next week. Thanks for all your assistance guys muchly appreciated, it’s pays to ask🤔👍

First of all - thanks to @Woodinblack for the above help… might be useful for folk more at my level (Ie idiots) to go through how I got it going… Stuck a drum beat or demo from toy keyboard through it. Measured small voltage on input measured slightly larger at test point 1, bigger again test point 2 none at the volume or output tiny numbers wobbling around weren’t telling me much, so made an audio probe out of a Jack socket, a cap and two wires …. Ran that into my compressor at fasted and highest ratio… and into preamp to headphones… followed the toy keyboard beat around the circuit - figured the third stage 2n2222 wasn’t working switched it out for another one soldered it together, followed the beat to the end plugged in a bass and played!!

This might not seem like the answer that you want, but... A lot of people, bass players in particular, struggle to understand harmony because they don't have a solid understanding of intervals (how two notes relate to each other) and basic triads first. It's going to be hard to get your head around 7th chord harmony and the devices that Marcus Miller is talking about if you skip over the much less exciting foundation work. A good starting point is to look up the intervals of the major scale (major 2nd, major 3rd, perfect 4th, perfect 5th, major 6th, major 7th) and understand how those intervals are constructed (the musical spelling and grammar, if you like), how they're played on the bass, and how each one sounds. You don't necessarily need a resource that's aimed at bassists, and it can be helpful to work on some of this stuff at a piano/keyboard as it can provide an easier way to visualise certain things compared to the fretboard.

Ok, so we're boasting about our 6 music achievements now are we? Good, here I go ! 🙂 Couple of comment read out: one Lamaqc (or Lammo as we 6'ers call him 😉) , one Tom Robinson. Won the Marc Riley "Who's on My T-shirt" a few years ago, including an on air chat with Marc. See picture of the shirt ... can you guess who it is? My favourite band is the Fall so it was big moment for me, but a bit embarassing when he asks who my favourite band is. Got selected for a feature on Tom Ravenscroft where you pick two songs from a particular year, plus a significant object from that year in your life. On air interview included - pre-recorded though. Both the songs I chose where ones I first heard on John Peel, so was dreading making some clumsy comment/reference about his dad. (Songs were: "Mind you Own Business by Delta 5, and Heidi's Head by Kleenex)

Do they drink it in the Congo?

Had the Heptones for a show one evening - backing band didn't show & the guys did an impromptu gig one one mic (mine) over their version tracks - the audience loved it (think they did Book of Rules twice) 😎

😎

Watch until the end...

It was originally going to be a concept album about establishing a church on Sesame Street: "Pastor of Muppets".

I can warmly recommend the 28.6" scale Ibanez GSRM20 or GSRM20B Mikro Bass. Truly amazing instrument for the price, though you might want to swap out the pickups for some better higher quality ones to your preferences. And the GSRM20B Mirko Bass in Weathered Black finish looks pretty astonishing too:

@miles'tone, how about if you test a few works and report back here? Seeing the vastness of eight centuries of music, it might be an idea to narrow it down, and I'd guess we could manage to adapt our advice to what you happen to like. In the mean time, I'd like to draw your attention to, and possibly to hear your comments on, stuff like: - Stravinsky: Firebird Suite and/or The Rite of Spring. Part of the Firebird has been used by Yes as intro music to their gigs, so may be known, - the Bartok mentioned earlier. Bartok had an immense impact on Keith Emerson, - Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, - Satie: Gymnopédies or similar piano music, as played by Aldo Ciccolini or Reinbert de Leeuw (very, very different). If you do like Zappa's later work like Civilisation Phase 3 (yes, I've translated it for you ☺️ ), then please tell, and I'll try and find 20th century music that might fit.

Hanging Around - The Stranglers

Thanks for all the help I finally hit the mark w my bass it's finally feeling the way I slap. I slap with phenomenal speed. I needed a string that could be able to react to my quirky quickness (say that five times fast). It's gonna be a while till, I find my next need to fill on my bass. I can relax now no stress worries about strings, bridge, no nothing but plucking, and slapping. Stuff I tried,in past year, BP 100 fishman pickup, K&K Clicky pickup, Weed Wacker ultra lights, Superior deluxe, La Bella super nil, Aquila Sugar slaps, & Changed tail gut to 3/32 Cable. Shadow Rockabilly Preamp, Bass Bone OD, got rid of Bass Bone OD stuck w the Shadow preamp all powered through Older Legacy Acoustic BH200 Head & 410 Cabinet, And now new maple bridge with 1/4 anodized adjusters. A shop in New Jersey is my Go to place Called Gollihur Music.

Here's the genesis of The Blues Brothers Band, before Jake & Elwood joined...

Crash and Burn - Pat Travers

I'm thinking of all the tribute acts you could start, Beige Against the Machine? Queens of the Stone Beige...?

As a youngster, pre- internet I hadn't really understood who Katy was ha ha! - And for those still wondering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missouri–Kansas–Texas_Railroad

Not a full answer, but perhaps an approach? In this Dan H video he is getting a moog like sound using a Zoom B3N I'm not sure if this is a built in patch or one that he crafted, but some further googling should be able to locate that info. Depending on the Zoom unit you have, it may already have the patch/effects loaded ... or you can load effects from other units in the same "generation" ... this site has details. S'manth x

Cracking!

Update: Mats in EBS has just sent me out a pair of replacement drivers. FYI they are Delta Lites but slightly different to the commercially available ones as the off-the-shelf version doesn't have the solder/spade connectors that the ones in the Neoline 212 use. Oh, and they cost a lot less than buying from a UK retailer even with shipping from Sweden. I'll give another update as soon as the new drivers arrive. Oh, and I'm thinking of putting the blown drivers on Basschat free to anyone who wants them. I'm pretty sure the coils are cooked but I don't know - maybe someone can use them for spares. What do you think? Or just take them to the recycling centre?

Found a picture. Andyjr1515 did the work for me.

Many, many, many years ago, I was briefly a Blues Brother with a vastly more talented singer/guitarist. As he was taller than me, I was 'Jake' to his 'Elwood'. In the act we played about a third of the set as the Blues Brothers, with various other disguises that covered the Beatles and various rock and roll stars.

Good shout Chris! I've been a Radio 6 fan for about 10 years now... Personal favourites are Guy Garvey and Cerys Matthews on Sunday afternoon. Iggy and Tom Robinson are great too. And, when I'm in the mood for some funky music and great bass lines, Craig Charles is always a good listen on Saturday evenings.. It's so obvious I think, that no one ever really talks about it, but having really talented musicians /singers curate and present their own radio shows is an absolute no-brainer! Give me that any day over the facile, smug, self-serving 'DJs' that have dominated music radio for decades.

Mahna Mahna - The Muppets

Afrodeutsche (Henrietta to her mum) is bloody marvellous. We're often driving out to weekends away when she's on and she manages to play a great, eclectic selection of stuff. Old school soul, world music, dance, ambient, folk, whatever. A pleasant, intelligent person to listen to as well, like meeting someone enthusiastic about music with a good record collection. Highly recommended.

I've always wondered whether the bridge cover could be attached with magnets instead of screws, which would enable you to pop it off easily - along with the mute, which could be stuck to it.

That Old Black Magic Woman ～ Frank Santana

Long Tall Texan - Wilko Johnson