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Photos from Hurtsfall's Wednesday night gig:

In Isolation will be playing our version of "I Believe In Father Christmas" at all our December gigs. There will be a CD single available to buy as well.

@Andyjr1515 Thanks for your really nice comment. Appreciate it. I originally was going to use a Telecaster kit from a supplier to provide the neck, bridge and electrics, but after building it, I found the shape of the neck was too deep and I struggled to play it as my thumb was in agony after a while. Too many rugby injuries have taken their toll on my body. So I built it, enjoyed doing it with my daughter and gave the guitar to the local schools music dept who were very happy to take it off my hands. By this time, I had laid down the foundations of the 3d printed body and had designed the neck module depth (not width) to fit the other guitar neck. I then started looking around for a guitar neck to use instead and found somebody selling the neck I used on eBay. I took a gamble and it's a great neck. I'm 90% certain it came off a guitar similar to this https://www.axebition.com/electric-guitar/yamaha-rgx-121d. It's stamped RG121DM on the end but no date I could see. I'll be honest and say it never ocurred to me to change the neck height in the 3d printed neck module to compensate for the fact that this neck was not the one I planned for. My thinking is that the original neck was thicker than this one and simply putting a 1.6mm shim in brough the neck up to the same spec as before. Of course that could be complete b0ll0cks and it all just worked. I think the more experienced amongst you are ascribing a level of planning, competence and expertise to me that is wholly unwarranted, I think in my case three wrongs made a right. I've never thought about building a guitar before, so I tried to work out what I presumed would be the fundamentals, the length of the neck from the 12th fret to the bridge, the height of the fretboard and the height of the bridge. Everything else was just guesswork and trying to make it fit a shape I recognised and could print. In hindsight I made so many design and printing errors, I am mortified I got so many things wrong. Anyway, I have now: 1. Shimmed the neck up by 1.6mm 2. Lowered the nut by 0.5mm, glued it on using wood glue. 3. Raised the saddles so there is more adjustment. 4. Drilled a hole in the bridge module so I can run an earthing cable. As this is a 3d print, drilling is normally a big no-no, but as this is a proof of concept, I wasn't going to print another module, this time with a hole, and spend 10 hours waiting for it. 5. Put an earthing cable from the bridge to the ground on the control panel through the newly drilled hole. 6. Swapped the wiring around so that the switch works the right way. 7. Repaired the output socket. 8. Fixed the loose knob 9. Set the string height so its the same as my MIK Telecaster. 10. Tuned it up. 11. Plugged a NUX Mighty Plug Pro, attached headphones and strummed a barre G. Well knock me down with a feather. The damm thing worked, hum was almost all gone, tiny bit in the background but I've heard worse, it sounds great. The neck pickup sounds better than the one on my genuine Telecaster, the bridge pickup, not so good. The tone controls work. No neck buzz, no idea why, luck I guess, the 3d printed nut is fine, no idea how long it will last but it's 24 mins to print a new one. I'm going to leave it overnight and see if the strings go out of tune, but I'm quite pleased with how its turned out. I can still see every mistake I made (and there are lots) but not too shabby for a first effort. Now for V2 Rob

I got my ABM 600 IV from @ern500evo last night. Got home and plugged it in. Once I'd realised that the mute button was on and and got some noise out of it, I'm well impressed. It sounds awesome and I've just got the eq set with everything at 12. It's a huge improvement over the Orange Terror I was using, much bigger sound, clearer, nicer valve drive sound. I think I might actually be able to stop using my preamp pedal that I needed to make the Orange sound acceptable. Can't wait to get to band practice now and crank it up loud.

Although one will have to go, this triple threat of mighty beasts does look mildy arousing...

I acquired an older 300 watt combo and not knowing its history just wanted a quick MOT so I can rely on it. I removed the head from the cab, sent it by courier and Dave Green turned it around within a day changing the control pots and deemed it all okay to fight another day. Charged me £9.20 and £10 shipping plus vat, came out at an amazing £23.04. In this day and age of utter wangers out there, it is so refreshing to have an absolute smiley encounter with an amazing company. Thanks again DG and Ashdown.. 5 stars!!

Printed a smaller height nut, printed a 1.6mm shim and put them on, adjusted the saddles and tried to set the strings the same height as my Squier 89 Telecaster. Different neck but it's all I have to go on and to be my utter amazement, its quite nice to play. The Yamaha neck is great, the tuners are really smooth. This is really nice neck and for £30(?) is fabulous value. Suspect it's 30+ years old but great value. I'd prefer it to be a little wider as I have big hands but I can live with it. However In the process I broke the cable off the output socket so that will need repairing and the soldering iron is downstairs and I have a 44 page business case to review before 17:00. So thats me for the day Rob

A band is never "better than that venue" and even if you think you are don't say it out loud. If you don't want to do the gig politely turn down it down, saying the band are not available that night. You never know some point in the future this might become a gig worth playing and you don't want to ruin your chances now by something you'll regret later.

It's finally wired up and working. A few problems. 1. The action is so high, the strings are in different timezones to the neck. 2. The nut isn't fixed down as I don't know how to fix it. Also not sure which is the front and the back of the nut. I think the front is the flat side and the rounded side goes to the tuners. 3. The hum from the guitar is appalling. Not sure if this is because there is no cavity shielding, poor soldering or bad/no earth. I suspect earthing but not going to look at it tonight. 4. I misread the wiring diagram so the switch is back to front but it does work. 5. The pickguard looks like it was put together by a five year old. It is lighter than my other Telecaster, the neck feels good and if I could reach the strings to press them down, that would be better. No idea about how it really sounds until I get the hum under control. I suspect I need a cable from the bridge to the earth on the control panel but thats tomorrows work. However it plays. Not very well (yet), but it does play

It seems like a bit of a short month this time but with December next week, I guess it's time to get voting! Just a quick note regarding December, it will, as tradition, be a cover song challenge, any cover you have recorded over the year will also be welcome. As per usual, I have had all year to think of a cover to do, but have not yet decided! Anyway back to business... The Inspiration for November was chosen by last month's worthy winner @SH73 who offered us .... "Something futuristic" So please use your 3 Votes to pick your faves from the following... 1 @AndyTravis Its a holding track , I think ( Lurks) 2 @Dad3353 Just keep going. Don't look up, keep your eyes down and try to look natural... 3 @Boodang The image reminds me a of the game Bio Shock. With that in mind this is the result. 4 Lurksalot We had grand little Lurks over last weekend , and he played the piano for a while , when I say played, we set the soundscape, I hit the record button, and he had some fun making a lot of the noises. It was ideally a soundtrack for one of our 'expeditions' in a star wars kind of way, but I did a bit of cutting and restructuring and I thought it fitted this quite well, if a little dark. 5 @Leonard Smalls I got to thinking about a certain type of person for whom the future is only acceptable if it stays exactly the same as the present, hence a ditty about some bloke who won't never grow up. 6 @Wolfram The soundtrack to a carefully-planned and executed mission to rescue the Princess and her people. Channelling a little Vangelis maybe, and segueing into a full-on dance track, I present "Follow Me"! 7 @MoonBassAlpha I got a strong Blade Runner Vibe from the pic, so there's a bit of that ambient element, but then I DO enjoy bashing the drums too 8 @sammybee the 4 in the foreground look like they are heading home after a heavy night in the club as the sun rises.. 9 @upside downer Get me out of the Paranoid City, where the trees are scorched and the living is gritty, oh, won't you please take me home? A wary and weary band of cyberpunks plot their route through the mean streets where fear, suspicion and mistrust rule. 10 @fingers211 At some time in the future, (actually it's 18 minutes after the Rush album), if you have a thought of your own or one deemed to be out of the collective, then a blue light glows round your head only seen by the "Thought Spotters" . Once spotted, you're escorted out the city gate !! 11 @BabyBlueSound Halloween is long gone, but the Post-Halloween Prowl is still on! Cheer up, hit the derelict streets, get your digital sweeties, and try to have some fun for once in this wasteland 12 @SH73 Human T`Error inspired by Terminator movies Weighed in , Weighed in That's 12 pieces of original compositions for your delectation , have fun listening and choosing your Favourite 3 Voting ends at midnight November 30th

On Saturday I was on my way to a gig with my 1940s/1950s style blues and I needed to take a bass as backup to my double bass that wasn't a modern Fender (the band leader told me!). I went on FB and found what I thought was a modern Burns reissue bass for £100. Agreed to pick it up and use it that evening. When I turned up the guy was a bit flustered as he'd had a huge response to the advert. He pulled it out of the case, and it was an original 1962 Burns Vista Sonic bass in untouched condition. Feeling a bit wary, we had a chat and it turned out it was his grandads and he was selling it for him, and he wanted it to go to a musician as he didn't play. Not really knowing much about Burns guitars (despite my username) I took it to the gig and popped it on display if needed (it wasn't). When I got home, I checked out how much they're selling for and was blown away. It's going to the shop today for a bit of work on the electronics, but a pretty bonkers day. The gig money paid for the bass, too.

I’ve just put my foot down re an annual charity gig - done it for the last three years on the promise of a paid gig which has never materialised, two hours travel time for what should be 45 mins but always get shortened to 30 mins because everyone else overruns, in a pub that is packed, raking in the money for the owner without even a free glass of water for the band. Taking the proverbial.

We've only got two gigs in Dec before Xmas (so far), so it's only been a token Last Christmas to chuck in (four chords all the way through), which is a relief...

We'll be doing Xmas songs by Sweet, Slade, Wizzard with the Mud song being added this year too. Not sure how the Mud song will go down but our guitarists old band used to do it and it was a big hit with the audience so we'll give it a try. Relatively easy one to learn too. Got gigs on 2nd, 16th, 22nd and 23rd Dec We have one on 31st but not sure Xmas songs will be suitable after 25th. Dave

It arrived …. Great bass and very impressed, nicely set up out of the box and plays like it should This will be joining my Dakota Red Vintera as my main working basses

SIRE V5 24-5 & P5R 5 REVIEW: Specifications V5 24-5: Body: Alder Bolt-on neck: Roasted maple Neck profile: C Fingerboard: Maple Fingerboard inlays: Blocks Fingerboard radius: 241 mm (9.5") Nut: Bone Nut Width: 46 mm (1.81") Scale: 864 mm (34") 24 Medium frets Pickups: 2 Marcus Vintage-J Revolution Single Coils 2 Volume and 1 tone controls Pickguard: Aluminium Gold Marcus Miller Vintage-S Bridge Mechanics: Premium Open Gear Hardware: Chrome Colour: Tobacco Sunburst - The weight of the bass reviewed here came in at 4,45kg. on my luggage scales. - The current price for a V5 24-5 in this colour at Thomann is 659€ and this includes a chrome pickup cover for the neck pickup and some basic tools to set-up the trussrod and bridge saddles. Note: Except for the V10 and P10 series Sire basses do not come with a case or gigbag (they do in the US, but not in the EU), so keep in mind you'll need to buy a seperate gigbag or case in case you don't have one yet. Specifications P5R-5: Neck: roasted maple Fingerboard: Rosewood Neck profile: C Scale: 34" (Long Scale) Fingerboard radius: 241 mm Nut width: 48 mm Bone nut 20 Medium small frets Pickups: Marcus Vintage-Fat Precision Revolution Split Coil Volume and Tone controls Tortoise pickguard Marcus Miller Vintage-S Bridge Chrome hardware Colour: Cream White - The weight of the bass reviewed here came in at 4,34kg. on my luggage scales. - The current price for a P5R-5 in this colour at Thomann is 498€ and this includes some basic tools to set-up the trussrod and bridge saddles. Note: Except for the V10 and P10 series Sire basses do not come with a case or gigbag (they do in the US, but not in the EU), so keep in mind you'll need to buy a seperate gigbag or case in case you don't have one yet. So now that we've got the technical details out of the way we can move on to the actual review. 🙂 First up I'ld like to mention that the changes Sire made to the pickups and necks are really taking these basses to the next level. Both the newly designed P and J pickups (for the passive series) have a significant amount of extra lows and low mids and sound less "thin" and "modern" than the previous versions which already sounds like a big improvement to my ears. Also, the roasted maple necks with the satin finish on the back and the rolled fretboard edges make playing these basses so easy and comfortable that the neck-feel alone almost justifies the cost of buying one (or more) of these basses. The V5 neck has a nice tint to it that lies somewhere in between a dark roasted neck (like the one on the P5R) and a lighter roasted neck as you can find on many of the V5's and has some very nice grain and even some striped patterns in there you usually only find on more expensive "grade A" maple necks. The neck on the V5 is noticably slimmer than the beautifully dark roasted maple neck on the P5, but to my surprise it's also a bit deeper, making it lean more towards a comfortable D-shaped neck whereas the P5 neck is a bit wider and feels more like a flat C-shaped neck. Personally I loved both neck profiles, with a slight preference for the P5 as I prefer wide and flat neck profiles in general. The set-up on both basses was close to perfect straight out of the box, with the action being slightly higher on the V5 24, but nothing 5 minutes of adjusting the height of the bridge saddles couldn't fix. The set-up on the P5 is as close to perfect as I've ever found on a production instrument straight out of the factory and I haven't found a reason to adjust anything on this bass so far. I literally took it out of the box, tuned the strings and started playing it, and it has been very hard to stop playing ever since. Regarding the pickups; The biggest difference here is noticable on the P5R as the original P5 pickup was a little mid forward and lacked some low-end and some warmth, while this newly designed P5R pickup (which will now also be used in the regular P5's with the maple fretboard) has plenty of low end and added warmth in the sound, which makes it more suited for more vintage sounding styles of music while still retaining the note definition and clarity needed to slice through the mix like it was butter. Even though I usually end up swapping the pickups on almost all of my Sire basses, this P5R has me wondering if I should do that this time as the pickup it comes with from factory really sounds great in a band context and might not need an upgrade at all. With the V5 pickups I can also notice a similar high roll off and some added lows when compared to the previous versions of these pickups, but the difference is less pronounced and obvious than when comparing the new P-pickup with its predecesor. The only flaws/dislikes I could find were a little discolouration on the side of the roasted maple P-neck and the fact that the end of the fretboard and the neck pickup are so close together on the 24 fret jazz bass that it can make slapping -in the right spot- a bit more of a challenge. Also, the tuners are still quite heavy causing some neck dive, but as Gotoh recently came out with some super lightweight drop in tuner replacements for these Sire basses (Gotoh GB528) replacing the tuners with some lighter and better ones now became a lot easier for the modders amongst us. All in all both basses play and sound great straight out of the box and wether you're more of a P-bass fan or a Jazz bass fan, you can't really go wrong with either of these i.m.o. Since I've grown to like the Pbass sound more than the Jbass sound over the last couple if years I couldn't help falling in love with the P5R and therefore I will be keeping this one. Considering it's one of the few decent 5-string Precision basses on the market under 2000€ and it being this good (compared to a MIA std. Precision 5 and a Fender American Pro 1 it definitely held it's own) for less than 500€ it really is a no brainer for anyone looking for an affordable 5-string Pbass i.m.o. If you're in the market for a new bass I would definitely advice checking some of these new Sire's out as you could easily be surprised with the tone and playability that these new Gen3 series have to offer. Greets & Grooves! Don

Splendid, Rob - a well-deserved Gold star & Smiley Face Oh and welcome to the club...clearly your journey towards total madness creative fulfillment will be continuing...

Been a busy couple of weeks in work & family life, but had a couple of hours today, so got the body sanded to a good grade then experimented with the two stains I bought. On the website, the amber looked brown enough and the brown tooled too dark, so I ordered both just in case. However, they look exactly as you’d expect on my scrap of ply, so the 50/50 mix I was thinking necessary was not. Managed to stain the whole body without making any mistakes. It will need sanding back again as the water based stain will no doubt raise the grain. Assuming it’ll also need a second treatment to make coverage more even and the colour deeper. Might pop a layer of amber over that if the colour isn’t warm enough, but will experiment on my ply scrap to see before applying to the body. Couldn’t resist a mock-up then! I had pondered altering the pickguard shape, but will likely stick with the original. I had to make a template as the original plate had shrunk quite a bit. Also might wire it with volume only (I always play with the tone wide open). Looks alright, don’t it?!

Uncertain whether this is posted here, but the the Geddy Lee biography is up on Spotify Premium. I've got the book but I'm finding sitting-down-to-read time limited, so this is a nice treat!

Virginia Plane - RoxyMusic

He might be kidding himself but he's not kidding the rest of us..😉😉

My working pair Ive changed the bridge on the red one to a Gotoh 204B bridge and will do the same on the black one.

Slade, Wizzard, Mariah (yeah, I know) and Pogues/Kirsty MacColl for us. And just one rehearsal this Sunday to dust them all off again. Good shout on "last Christmas", I may suggest it.

@Pea Turgh If mistakes are learning tools, I should be one of the cleverest people on the planet @BigRedX I've not even looked at the string height yet. The saddles can go lower. I'm going to print a nut to check things out before I start altering the the nut to fit. Thanks for the confirmation of the nut placement. Any idea what sort of glue would be good to fix the nut to the neck? Superglue, woodglue, uhu, hot glue? The bridge is not earthed yet. First job this monring when I go onto my first MS_Team call. can do that whilst listening in. I have some copper tape for cavity insulation. Lets see what difference an earth cable makes. V2 is already being thought about. Thanks Rob

We today got asked to play at our singer/guitarists work Xmas party. They asked us to play for free, as there was no budget left! this was for 200/300 people, and a big corporate in central london. We said no thanks, as a) it was taking the gypsy's kiss and b) would have involved us hiring a van and all travelling into central london together from various parts of Kent. this contradicts my earlier reply in this thread, and it would have been by far our biggest ever gig, but in this case the company was having a laugh

We're playing it safe this year and just planning to do Slade on the 2nd and 9th December.

Not a gig but next week i've booked a 3 hr rehearsal slot for the Glam covers band to run thru the Xmas songs we've not played for 11mths just in time for the first Xmas gig on 2nd Dec. WHOO HOO. Dave

Had a two night stint on solo acoustic for Cheltenham races, which is usually horrendous. This time however, it was actually rather lovely with minimal aggro and idiots. Quite enjoyed it.

Very interesting venue. The living room of a home is converted into a music venue. Lots of Victorian furniture and Persian rugs. There's a nice bar. No liquor license, people bring their own booze. Very well attended. Personally I wasn’t feeling my playing. Something was off. Daryl

As much as I love the music he made with Pantera, Superjoint Ritual and Down, I can't listen to anything by Phil Anselmo any more. It breaks my heart, but the White Power stain can't be rinsed out.

I'd say do what you all feel is right for your band. Years ago when I was in an originals band (you know, the one that made me hugely famous, stinking rich and dripping with laydeez) we had a rule that we'd play anywhere, for anyone and for any reason. We did some fabulous gigs and some real shockers. I learned a lot, drove a lot, fought a lot and acted like a complete knob a lot. However, as a proper grown-up in a covers band I like to think I'm a bit more discerning. We've done freebies (for the right reasons, of course) and turned down a couple of gigs which we felt wouldn't do us too many favours. The one thing I would say is that if you don't stand to gain what you want from a gig, be that payment, fun, exposure or whatever, then don't play it.

I misread your username as @TheGreek and spat out my coffee all over the keyboard

I just visited that very emporium today, on the way to tonight's gig East of Nottingham. Spoke to them a couple of times on the phone, and you know how some businesses sound like they'd actually like you to visit? Well, that. Great advice from start to finish, and they had exactly what I was looking for out ready to try. As I walked in with bass in old (15-20 years) gigbag, David said "How long have you had that? We made it!" Brilliant. Got the Gewa 4/4 as it ticks all the boxes. If I get a similar lifespan out of it to the old one, I'll be well chuffed. Heartily recommend both the bag and the shop. https://www.bassbags.co.uk/product/gewa-pure-bs-25-double-bass-gig-bag/

I brag a lot about my band. They're young,smart, fair and generous to a fault. We've been together since 2007. Maple Road gave me everything I'd ever wanted in a band.When and if this band folds that will be it for me. I'm too spoiled and I'm 70. I'll go out on a high note. Daryl

Trachea My Tears Smokey Robinson

I can't stress enough how isolation is only going to make dealing with mild sounds more and more difficult. Please see about retraining to accept sound into your life again under care of an audiologist or psychologist that is familiar with the problem. I'm saying this as a medical professional in the field of audiometry. Avoidance can only lead to more misery, social isolation and possibly deep depression. There is a way up and out but it's hard work and nearly impossible without professional help.

I’ve got about forty songs to have down for next Thursday. This time we will actually have one rehearsal. So I chart anything complex or unusual. And then when I look at it again I don’t have to learn it again. After I’ve run over something enough times a quick glance at the chart will remind me what’s happening , and I don’t need the chart to play it. But that quick look can save my bacon.

Thats an interesting idea. I have just about to print a 3d nut thats a little lower, I'll see if I can work it to use the tension rod slot to locate it. I will also print a few neck shims 0.75mm, 1mm, 1.25mm, 1.5mm, 1.75 and 2mm to see if that helps. If they do, I'll repring the neck module with the right size. This was originally designed for a different neck, so suspect thats my issue. Rob

Ooff Nice, here is my own 'triple'. I am now down to one cabinet and it is impractically heavy and loud, so I need to get at least one 2x12 or 4x10 (preferably 4 ohm) to add to my collection. Most of my gigging is with the Mesa Walkabout combo which is nearly out of shot.

And probably end up paying the karaoke DJ more than £300 too......🤬

My entry for this month. Song title Human T`Error inspired by Terminator movies

We've played Wizzard and Mud ones in the past but with a different vocalist.