Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Leaderboard

Popular Content

Showing content with the highest reputation on 26/11/23 in all areas

  1. Cat Burrito
    I had a couple of band things coming up this week but I lost my amazing Mum after a very long illness on Tuesday. I was with her when she died peacefully. I hoped I would be up for a new open mic at the pub down the road that my friend is running but figured I would take things a day at a time. My bandmate came over yesterday to run through our songs. To be honest, I welcomed the distraction. We worked up a version of Boys Don't Cry, which I remember buying the 7" single on holiday with Mum back in '86. Obviously I dedicated this to her from the stage. I think we did about 8 or 9 songs and I mostly played on my 8 string mandocello. It was my time venturing out socially and I am pleased I gently pushed myself. I have another big band project on Tuesday and this was a dummy run for that. I think I passed with flying colours... although I have the worst hangover today! I'm not looking for sympathy, I am forever grateful that I had a truly inspirational mother. Happy to take sympathy for the self inflicted hangover. I think I'll reign it in when I get past the next couple of weeks.
    19 points
  2. neepheid
    Bittersweet night last night with Nine Lives at Grays Inn in Mastrick, Aberdeen. It wasn't super busy, but the folk who were there were up for a boogie so we had a good time anyway. Bittersweet because it was the last gig with our outgoing singer. He's had to quit the band due to increasing family and professional commitments and while we're gutted to lose him (because he's a bloody good singer with a great attitude) we're grateful for the 5 years (3 effectively - thanks COVID) we've been playing together. Anyhoo, it was a decent sendoff (although I wish the gigs had been swapped, Friday's gig was way busier), we played pretty well, and didn't make it too mushy at the end - no public announcement, a handshake all round, a bit of reminiscence after we packed up and that's it. Nine Lives v2.0 is no more. We're working on crafting Nine Lives v3.0. I finally figured out that I can have double the fun at a gig - what's the point in taking two basses and only using one? Swapped 'em at half time. So you get a double dose of festive gear: And, as an added bonus - the bar staff took a wee video. Oh man, that Markbass stuff is clear sounding, innit? Mistake amplifer more like! That was the JC, bass nerds. Grays Inn Nine Lives 20231125.mp4 Oh christ, you can actually hear the bass. I'd better get better at playing the damn thing then!
    17 points
  3. mep
    Played a party for the local Harley bikers last night. It was in a pubs function room that wasn't great for acoustic, but it was packed so ok. They enjoyed it and the singing along was quite loud in places. We've played better TBH. I hsve been having some problems with my amp that appeared at our last rehearsal that I think is due to my DI out that I'll investigate further today. I took my spare amp and that worked fine. It was the first gig eith our new backdrop that we are all pleased with.
    16 points
  4. warwickhunt
    Last night's gig was 'work'! I turned up, I entertained, I got paid, I went home. We were booked to play mixed covers (2x45) at a working man's club in an ex mining village, to an audience of regulars + the local football team's presentation award. Well, the football attendees didn't turn up, the heating in the club was broken and as a result the few punters who turned up didn't stick around, mainly due to the fact that it was a massive flat topped concert room that could easily hold 500, hence it was 'cold'. In fact I had to play the 2nd set with my coat on (it was a nice coat btw). To top it off some young woman thought it was OK to ascend the stairs to the stage to take over on the vocals! We immediately stopped playing, which is just as well because it meant I was on hand to grab her arm when she drunkenly brayed her head off one of the club's speaker cabs mounted on the wall. As the woman was lead away by friends, the band started up again (back in on the same bar we stopped on without even a count in )... only to have to stop 16 bars later as the drunken lady's friends shouted abuse at us for not letting her sing! Hey Ho, they were escorted from the building by club staff. However, 2 songs later we stopped yet again mid song, as 3 club employees remonstrated with a drunken bloke who was staggering around an empty dance floor with a full pint in his hand ('NO glasses on the dance floor' signs displayed all the way around the room). We got through the rest of the night, stripped down (photo of my rig so it didn't take long... thankfully), got paid, with apologies from the staff and promises to get us back as we were great and 'SO professional'. It sounds like a whinge but it isn't really! I've been doing this for 40+ years so I know that I will get nights like this (and possibly worse) but who knows, the next gig might be a screamer and balance is restored!
    14 points
  5. martthebass
    Gig in a city centre pub in Wakefield last night with the glam lads. Lovely staff and well looked after but sadly it was a pretty poor turnout. It was the pubs first birthday and they wanted a party atmosphere but this is tough when you don’t have the numbers. It was a pub grub come sports bar type place and as often seen once the grub and sports finish the punters move on. That aside, those that stayed were very enthusiastic and we had a ball anyway, as we always say it doesn’t matter if you’re playing to 20 or 200 always give it beans!
    14 points
  6. markbunney
    Back home from playing at Pier 5 in Chatham this evening. first time playing here and I don’t think we would return. There were quite a few people in when we were setting up, but they all started to drift away and by the end of the night we were down to 8 audience members! It seemed more of a food pub, rather than a music pub. Other bands that we know who have played recently have said it was quiet when they played as well. It wasn’t that well set up for bands, we were stuck between a shuffle board and a barrier, and there was no dance floor either. on the positive side, the staff were nice, we got paid well and stopped playing at 11pm, so was home at a reasonable time.
    14 points
  7. Stub Mandrel
    Last night... first gig for a month and a bit. Somehow I managed to take a lump off my right thumb on friday and scratch my left palm (opening a paint can with an old chisel - tŵat). But I was ok if a bit sore. Then weird lead issues when setting up, possibly caused by a dent in a jack plug. Amp went very quiet just like @Woodinblack' issue! Reversingbthe lead solved it. But in the break I blew most of my cut and ordered two neutrik/sommer cables. Venue was a 400 year old pub, regulars love their music but odd layout. Band and dance area is a step lower than the bar. Very few people in the low section, but packed like sardines in the bar section. So notmuch applause as all holding drinks, instead shouts, whistles and appreciative comments. Feels odd. Did about 45/50 minutes first set, about 65 second set with an encore. Finished a few minutes before the curfew and a couple of punters came in and expressed their disappointment. So a weird atmosphere but a good gig. Our ott PA and lighting... used the AVII P and the Flea Jazz. Very different feel and sounds, jazz is more comfy and varied but the P has that oomph so gets the second set.
    13 points
  8. HoorayForAnonyms
    A simply stunning custom from Alan Cringean at ACG. Reduced to £2000 This is a video of the actual bass: I commissioned this is 2020 and took delivery in 2021. My aim for this bass was to have a medium scale super-P with extra flexibility and Alan delivered! It’s in immaculate condition. Unfortunately, wrist issues mean that I can only comfortably manage short scale 4-strings. The full spec is posted below. Happy to post or collection in Reading or London. No trades except for perhaps a Serek Midwestern or Spector Shorty. Model RetroB Strings/Scale: 5/32inch scale Currently strung E to C Body core: Ash Top/veneer: Holly no veneer Neck woods: 3 piece Wenge Graphite reinforcement F/B wood: Wenge 22 fret Radius: Flat Side dots: White Head plate: Holly no veneer Bridge: Hipshot Type A 16.5mm spacing Pre-amp: Passive Volume/Blend/Tone Bridge Pickup: ACG RFB 110 x 50 Bridge with coil switching (series/single coil/parallel) Neck: ACG PB 110 x 50 Neck - it’s a p style in a larger housing. String thru on E string Schaller strap locks Hiscox case
    12 points
  9. Woodinblack
    A place we have played quite often, easy load in, friendly crowd. Seemed a bit emptier than normal when we got there but fair enough. Wired everything up, did a sound check, all good, the place has carpets all through and soft seats on the wall, with backing, so you can turn it as loud as you want without feedback. Very little sound, turns out I have to pull the cable out of the dwarf a little bit to get sound, need to replace that cable or check it. Go to start, turn the bass on - weird distorted sound, not really bass.. drummer says 'oh you have your synth on' - no, its not even on the pedalboard. Bypass the dwarf go straight into the ashdown, same noise, replace wireless with cable, all fine, rewire for that (although cheap, never had trouble with that before). start fine, no sound to iem. In middle of the next song pull the iem cable a bit and turn it (in the mixer), bursts into life - wtf, what is going on. Continue, do first songs ok. But the bass is really quiet after that, on my iems I have to turn the volume right up to hear it, and this is the bongo. Look at the VU meter on the ashdown, it isn't moving, input led on the dwarf is going into the red. output is certainly yellow. Fiddle with the cable, all springs back to life, almost getting deafened. After break swap to my acrylic bass, as I mostly do these days, the first few songs the guitarist is telling me to turn up, which is a first in 7 years, checking the cables, everything is fine, looking at the vu, its moving, then it occurs to me, the acrylic bass is just way quieter than the bongo, so whack the input up and everything is fine. The gig in general was good, a couple of minor mistakes that noone noticed, crowd was big and into it from almost the start and at the end when we left (stopped a bit earlier than maybe we wanted to, due to the guitarist wanting to rush off), they were still shouting for more. So missed enjoying a few songs as I was worried too much, but it was ok in the end. I also found, that there is one song I sing and play bass to (feel it still), that used to cause me issues, but I realised it wasn't singing and playing I had trouble with, it was singing, playing and reading the lyrics as I wasn't sure. Turns out it is better to risk getting some words wrong that noone will notice, than to worry about it, and then the singing is better!
    12 points
  10. dmccombe7
    Riverside Bar in Dumfries for me last night with Emergency Exit punk covers band. Reasonable sized audience so that was good. Another great night down there but a rapid strip down at the end and off home as i'm back out the house at 10am this morning for an afternoon gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. Jings i'm gonna sleep tonight. Was a very cold drive home at -6 oC and everything had a heavy frost at 1am this morning yet this morning there's absolutely no frost at all just 6hrs later. Dave
    12 points
  11. Muzz
    A return to gigging after being laid low for a couple/three weeks (and missing three gigs! Eeeeek!) with a horrible fluey thing that was worse than pretty much all of the 4 lots of Covid I've had*, a new venue 10 minutes down the road from me, which was a nice change...I knew the pub of old as a rough one, but a new landlord's trying to turn the place round, and tho it's early days he seems to be doing well...8:45 start, 10:45 finish - agency gig, so 2 x 45, but we did an hour second set as he was a nice bloke and people were enjoying it, I even stayed till everything was packed up, and home before midnight. We've got three or four dates for the new year off the back of it. That'll do. * Yeah, I know, but I live with a Nurse who worked on Covid wards exclusively, and even now works in a mask (she's on a Geriatric/EOL ward)...ironically, she's only had it twice, I've started calling her Typhoid Mary...
    11 points
  12. Belka
    We had a corporate gig last night right at the end of the Grand Pier in Weston-Super-Mare. Fun gig although a lot of hanging around as we had to load in at 4:30 with a first set start at 8:45. Our dressing room was next to the dressing room of another 'act' - 'The UK Pleasure Boys'. All I can say is that judging by the way they choose to position their Santa hats I'm we didn't have to share with them. First try out of my new (to me) 5 string and it performed superbly. It's sometimes not until you look at the photos that you realise what a nice rig you have.
    11 points
  13. neepheid
    Excellent fun last night with Nine Lives at the Balaclava in Fraserburgh. Got a message from the guitarist while the drummer and I were on our way there proclaiming it to be the emptiest he'd ever seen it. Nevertheless, we ploughed on anyway. Were running a bit late but still crucially got there just ahead of the singer to maintain the natural order of things. Yes, it was pretty bad when we got there - single figures, but I had hope - there was a table of fairly young folk had put on some pretty classic stuff and singing along to it... So we got cracking and our wee table of folk were into it right away. Somehow that energy must have leaked outside because the place started to fill up. Second half was really busy and it ended up being a brilliant night. The table I spied at the beginning stayed from start to finish - the heroes of the night for sure. Also had a table of guys come in towards the end of the first half and they were also well into it - singing along and liked the harder stuff - they were on their feet and worshipping the Maiden songs we put in. All in all, what looked like being a damp squib ended up being a bloody great night! Also, 10 points for Bassindor for colour coordination - Markbass stuff plus Sire D5...
    11 points
  14. Mickeyboro
    Not last night, but yesterday lunchtime, we played our third gig at St Peter’s church in central Bournemouth. I woke up with no voice thanks to a vicious germ, so the Otis Jay Blues Band did some extended numbers with extra solos to make up for my three songs. The venue’s promoter (dark shirt) got up to sing a couple too, which always helps. And we broke the ‘last Friday session’ attendance record with 100-plus. Rig was Barefaced One10 with Elf, guitar Sandberg VM4.
    10 points
  15. Shaggy
    As I’m currently winding my bass playing down to a low level I’m putting some stuff up for sale, mostly my main gigging gear. First up; a unique and very lovely Custom Thunderbird bass, that I originally acquired here on BC as a Fenderbird with P/J pickups. However I gradually converted it to a more conventional Thunderbird format, as it’s probably my all-time favourite bass design plus I also wanted a bass to gig with that sounded and played as good as my 1965 Gibson T’bird IV, but that I wouldn’t have to be too precious about. Anyway, specs: Body: made by Warmoth in one-piece lightweight mahogany, with beautiful 2-piece book-matched Cocobolo facings (NB: a proper top, NOT a veneer) with ebony pinstripe in between; the pics don’t at all do it justice, I’ll take some better ones if the sun ever decides to come out in darkest Wales..... Glass smooth gloss poly finish. I’m pretty sure that Gibson stopped Warmoth making Thunderbird bodies a long time ago. Neck pocket dimensions are specifically to take a standard bolt-on Fender type neck, so it would be very easy indeed to turn this back into a Fenderbird if so wanted. Only bad point: the routing for the original neck P pickup was very slightly wider than the mounting for the Thunderbucker I replaced it with, so there is a small 1mm gap on one edge (just visible on pic). I was going to fill it with a sliver of matching hardwood, but never got around to it. Pickups: Dual Thunderbucker Ranch ‘66 pickups, imported from the US at a cost not much less than I’m asking for the whole bass. Again, I believe that these aren’t made any more. They’re “reverse engineered” from original 1960’s Gibson Thunderbird humbuckers, and I have to say sound every bit as good as my original ‘65 T’bird - which has the best tone of any passive bass I know of. Beautifully constructed, with solid nickel-silver covers (not plated). Bridge: separate bridge / tailpiece like the 1960’s design, in chunky chrome plated solid brass. Also imported this from the US. Controls: conventional passive V / V / T, chrome dome control knobs. Neck: YOUR choice of: Neck 1: this is the neck I’ve mainly had on it for its time with me, long scale (34”) Epiphone Thunderbird neck in maple, mahogany tint gloss poly finish, with rosewood board; slim Jazz bass type profile. I believe it’s an older Korean made one - great quality anyway. The chrome tuners are genuine Gibson logo Schallers, which being in-line probably came from a 1980’s Gibson Victory bass. Currently with a Gibson logo truss rod cover, but I have the original Epiphone one with logo removed. Only bad point: The Epi neck is very slightly narrower at the heel end than a Fender neck, so there is a roughly 1mm gap on either side of the pocket, but it’s rock solid when screwed down. Or..... Neck 2: Warmoth custom long scale (34”) neck in solid wenge, wax finish, with slab rosewood board and headstock facing, and a chunky solid brass nut. 3 + 1 type headstock, with “elephant ear” Hipshot Ultralite chrome tuners. Really lovely quality neck; I think the very individual headstock really complements the body shape, and makes for a unique all-Warmoth custom that’s not overly derivative of the original design. Slightly chunkier profile compared to the Epi neck, more like a Precision, and being Fender-fit the heel fits the body neck pocket like a glove. With well-padded Thomann Thunderbird soft case. Looking for £550 on this with either neck; the Warmoth neck is clearly a more expensive and higher quality one than the Epi one, but the vintage Gibson tuners on the Epi neck are ultra rare and easily worth £100+ alone. Collection from South Wales, near Swansea - I can deliver to Bridgend services M4, or possibly further for fuel costs. Postage a potential option, but I’m putting 4 basses up for sale and only have one box! Any questions or requests for specific pics; please message me.
    9 points
  16. StingRayBoy42
    Played one of the worst gigs I've ever done last night... horrible grotty little (anti) social club somewhere in the Midlands. The sort of place pregnant women go to smoke. There was a loud ten piece soul band playing a private party in the next room (who sounded pretty good to be fair),there were about 20 people ignoring us, half of whom were kids under ten. Everyone was vaping indoors, including some of the kids I think. There was American football on all seven enormous TVs and a dog wandering round. One guy sarcastically danced, a women asked for Mysterious Girl by Peter Andre, apart from that, total silence. No applause, no engagement, nothing. I'd rather have played to the proverbial brick wall. Longest two 45 minute sets in history. 😐 Played the StingRay and apologised to it four times. We packed up in 22 minutes flat, which beats the previous record by nearly an hour. Got paid cash and let us never speak of it again.
    8 points
  17. Staggering on
    Thanks for that post, that song has been in my life for years and I played it at a somewhat similar occasion. I was in a band almost 40 years ago(I can't believe it!) that played that song. When the bass player of that band died just before Covid hit another member of that old band and I told some stories about the band and sang a few of the songs we played all those years ago at a celebration of life for the man and ended with " You ain't going nowhere". By the time we finished the song about half of the people in the room including me were in tears. It was especially touching because we hadn't seen him for years but we knew that in the interim he had become a very sad alcoholic and that alcohol basically killed him and we were trying to remember the good times and the fine man we knew and the song just fit the situation perfectly. By the end most of the people were singing or at least humming along with us, a magic moment. Ah, the power of music, we are so lucky that we can play and experience what music can mean to an audience and us as well. I'm getting a bit misty eyed just remembering that day and humming that song.
    8 points
  18. gafbass02
    Standard stuff last night, a local venue that’s a converted dockside warehouse, so live as all hell. Tiny stage for us all to squeeze on to, but was pleasant enough, they danced, they sang, we invoiced and afterwards I found my straplock in bits all over the floor, but thankfully, my expensive bass had somehow managed to stay on the strap!
    7 points
  19. Len_derby
    A charity event at The George Inn, Ripley, Derbyshire. My covers band, Top Deck, headlined the multi-act event to raise money for a local youth project. A very busy pub and lots of money raised. The crowd demanded, demanded I say, that we play Mustang Sally for an encore. We obliged. 😆
    7 points
  20. neepheid
    Meanwhile, Canadians are out in their shorts and t-shirts thinking it's not too bad...
    6 points
  21. tauzero
    Open mic night. I learnt (as my friend, a singer/guitarist announced it) that an old friend who had run the first open mic I dragged Mrs Zero to had died. He'd told me the song and the chords beforehand but I didn't know the reason until he said it on stage - cue a short interval of me saying "what?" and him saying "yes, John Benbow passed away on Sunday". Anyroadup, John had hosted this open mic night that had started Mrs Zero on her singing career (if that's the right term) and I had finished up as the bassist for the house band. So we played "You ain't going nowhere" as a tribute to him, as that was one of the songs that he played regularly.
    6 points
  22. Staggering on
    Our seven piece swing band played in a store in downtown North Bay last night as part of the city's annual downtown Christmas walk that included music, Christmas tree lighting and special events on the street and fireworks at 9:00 to signal the end of the evening. It was around -11C with a very strong north wind but there was a very good crowd and we had a lot of people drop into the store to hear a song or two and I was on my way home by 9:30. As usual in venues with limited space I used my Yamaha SLB 200 instead of my DB and it sounded great. We have done this gig before and it's always a relaxed fun time although some of the Christmas tunes we played were a bit rough in places since we don't play them often but the audience didn't seem to mind. 👍
    6 points
  23. Paul S
    My lot had our monthly residency gig at The Shamrock in Ipswich last night. We didn't play particularly well - same passion, same spark but more mistakes than usual - nevertheless we went down very well. Only a few of our regulars were there but this time a handful of folks who had seen us elsewhere came to see us again. Plus some new blow-ins who hung around, too. However, a slow blues in the middle of the second set killed the mood and a lot of people left after that. Usually the light and shade is appreciated but clearly not last night. Also before we got going the pub team confirmed 10, not 12, dates for 2024 saying they liked to have other bands. Which is a bit odd as it was their idea in the first place. No free drinks for the band, either, for the first time in the two years we've been playing there. Looks like the honeymoon period is over but I guess we'll see how it pans out next year. On the plus side traffic there and back was easy and I got parked a couple of hundred years yards away.
    6 points
  24. Shaggy
    As I’m currently winding my bass playing down to a low level I’m putting some stuff up for sale, mostly my main gigging gear. I suspect this will probably end up as a commission sale at one of the vintage bass shops, but I’ll give it a go here first. This is a rare bird; I believe only 800 ever made; USA made of course. Martin are a very long established and respected US company well known for their high quality acoustic guitars and mandolins. This was part of their most serious foray into the world of solid bodied electric instruments in the late 1970’s. It combined Martin’s top-notch craftsmanship and tonewoods with the best US-made components of the time; Grover, DiMarzio and Badass - but it proved not to be particularly successful, probably too expensive and not different enough to other instruments available then. Solid maple body with the then fashionable Alembic-inspired faux “body-thru” walnut stringers, in natural blond finish which has aged to a lovely pale honey hue. Mahogany set neck (long 34” scale) with dark (Brazilian?) rosewood board and headstock facing, brass nut. Stauffer styled headstock shape, a nod to Martin’s German/Austrian 19th century origins. Very nice thin satin lacquer finish on body & neck, not at all the thick gloss poly “toffee apple” finish typical of the era. Grover Titan tuners, chrome finish. DiMarzio model G pickup (same as their Model One but housed in a separate mounting ring with height adjustment), with coil phase switching. Passive circuit with volume and single tone controls. Badass 1 (original model) solid brass bridge, chrome finish. A really nice and unusual bass; the core tone is unsurprisingly quite Precision-like albeit with rather more sustain, but switching the pickup coils out of phase creates a more nasal and scooped Jazz bass type tone that’s very usable. 100% original, complete with the original very protective fitted hard shell case. These hardly ever come up for sale, and are almost invariably over £1K when they do. Asking £800 on this (which is less than I paid many years ago). Collection from South Wales, near Swansea - I can deliver to Bridgend services M4, or possibly further for fuel costs. Postage a potential option, but I’m putting 4 basses up for sale and only have one box! No offers or trades please, it’s priced to sell and I’m just as happy to keep it. Any questions or requests for specific pics; please message me.
    5 points
  25. neepheid
    Why do people do this? "This is our last song" - "AWWW WHAT, WE'VE ONLY JUST GOT HERE" - err, it's 1 in the bleedin' morning, we've been playing since 10, feckin' get here sooner in future!
    5 points
  26. Rayman
    So there it is finished, complete with its new Gotoh GB707s. As you can see, it bares a few scars, but man, this is a lovely comfortable bass that sounds killer. Very happy.
    5 points
  27. lee650
    3Leaf Audio Proton - Version 3 (in funky purple) boutique envelope filter pedal from the USA, based on the Mutron. I've not had this long and bought it from a lovely member of this forum. I've had a few 3 leaf filters and found this the easiest to dial in a great slurpy sound. I'm needing a new rig,(an operation imminent on both wrists, is making me rethink my gear) and keep buying things with my gig money, so I have to move some gear on. I literally don't use envelope on its own, just with an octave on one tune, so owning this is really overkill. Its in fantastic condition (velcro on bottom) and comes with the original Box and manual. From the manual "The Proton is a modern homage to the classic Mutron III envelope filter. It has a wide frequency response that sounds great with every instrument. Version 3 has increased input sensitivity to work better with low-output instruments, and it adds a tone knob for variable control over the filter cutoff frequency." SOLD
    5 points
  28. JapanAxe
    At least 4 of my recent messages on Join My Band to people seeking musicians have been met with complete radio silence. Exasperating as this may be, it’s a useful indicator that the person posting the ad is not worth working with - they’re too disorganised, thoughtless, or inconsiderate to make even the briefest response.
    5 points
  29. Shaggy
    As I’m currently winding my bass playing down to a low level I’m putting some stuff up for sale. I rather feel quite a pang about this one, as I acquired it in a trade about this time last year to satisfy a 40-year old itch of wanting one, and very lovely bass though it is, its acquisition coincided with my starting to intensely focus on playing my other non-bass instruments. This is a Thunder II, I believe from 1983, and is exactly the same spec as the P/J version of the Thunder III other than having the earlier pre-Eagle headstock logo, and with creme pickup covers and TRC rather than black. Matsumoku (Japan) built. Neck-through construction, solid Canadian ash body wings with the darker “walnut” finish, rock maple neck with walnut stringers, ebony fingerboard with real mother-of-pearl “snowflake” fret marker inlays, chunky solid brass nut and bridge/tailpiece. Switchable passive or 18V active operation, controls explained here: http://www.westone.info/manual/index.html In very decent nick for a 40 year old bass, with a few small dings and scratches, and some light tarnishing to the bridge where the lacquer has worn off the brass. All original as far as I’m aware, bar the truss rod cover which I had custom made in the USA to replace the missing one. Lots of love for these from bass players, and decent condition II and III models are getting increasingly scarce. Looking for just £550 on this; you’ll see them going for £1K+ on evilBay. Collection from South Wales, near Swansea - I can deliver to Bridgend services M4, or possibly further for fuel costs. Postage a potential option, but I’m putting 4 basses up for sale and only have one box! Any questions or requests for specific pics; please message me. Edit: price drop: £475
    4 points
  30. stewblack
    My regular working board for my main gigging band. Other more lighthearted projects get the more fun pedals
    4 points
  31. casapete
    Thank you all for your interest. Band leader has the details of people who have replied, so hopefully it will be one of our own who end up with the band! Cheers, Pete.
    4 points
  32. lozkerr
    I'd fancied the idea for years without doing anything about it. A friend at uni had been the original bassist in the Dogs d'Amour and he tried to convince me to get a bass, but I bought a cheapo electric guitar instead because, well you know, guitar. When I moved to Leeds in 1993 and started using dial-up bulletin boards, I encountered someone who had been a session bassist. I toyed with the idea of getting a bass but never took it any further, even when I wished I could play like John Deacon. Then back in 2015 when my marriage collapsed, I finally decided to give it a go, as I wasn't getting any younger and I thought it might stop me spending the evenings inspecting the world through the bottom of a bottle. I stuck with it, and began to improve first from books and then from lessons from @wilko_66, who is a superb teacher. it helped that I'd played other instruments in the past, as my reading ability and theory came back and after several house moves and a few failed auditions, I ended up in my 80s post-punk band which consisted of people with far more experience than me. I really had to push myself to get up to something approaching their level and we played our first gig ten days before lockdown. Since then, we've gone from strength to strength and tonight we played to a packed venue as a two- band bill along with a 90s cover band. My start in the bass world was late and looks like it was unconventional, going by the posts above, but I'm glad I finally got there!
    4 points
  33. TrevorR
    Mentioned the result to Lol and he said… ”That's great news Trevor, I'm chuffed to have been a little part of something that was so much fun and also contributed to such a good cause.”
    4 points
  34. msb
    It arrived. Now I’ve been using it in my little rehearsal nook at the in-laws. (We look after my mother-in-law) That’s where I keep the e500. I usually run a tiny Phil Jones C2 cab with it. The C2 sounds great at low volume , but doesn’t do loud well. So it’s the perfect solitary practice cab , but doesn’t handle band rehearsal. That’s what plan to use the One Ten for. I have a rehearsal Monday night so I’ll hear how the Barefaced cab sounds at volume. So far , at quiet levels , it’s sounding really good. Tomorrow I’ll try it with my little Aguilar head at home. And so far , I really love this little cab.
    4 points
  35. JapanAxe
    I’ve recently been looking for a quality band to join, on either bass or guitar. In the last month I’ve attended 3 auditions and I thought I’d share my experiences here. (1) Lead guitar in a 5-piece playing a mix of pubs and festivals. I wasn’t sure I wanted this as I’m trying to move away from pub gigs, but I thought it would be worth trying in case I really liked the band. I played the audition numbers ok but I reckon my lack of enthusiasm showed and the next day I got a polite and friendly Dear John message. (2) Lead guitar in a start-up function band. The audition venue was an old farmhouse in the middle of an industrial estate populated mostly by dodgy car repair businesses. A bass player turned up to unlock the door but had little idea what was going on. Inside the building, which smelled strongly of mould, a first-floor kitchen had been equipped with a PA, drum kit, and a couple of amps. The BL (drummer) was late and the singer who was to be auditioned at the same time had cried off, so we played one song with no vocals, and I sang a couple more. As I was leaving the next candidate arrived and I was amused to see him heft a huge speaker cab from his boot, oblivious to the steep and narrow staircase that awaited him. All I’ve heard since is that the BL had had some car problems. (3) Bass guitar in a well-established party band. Although the band is not especially local to me, they do decent well-paid gigs including weddings. I did a fair bit of preparation before the audition, going through their online videos to see how they tackled the songs - not just the 3 audition numbers. The auditions were in a proper well-equipped rehearsal studio, and I took my cue from the band by taking my ampless rig and IEMs. They were a nice bunch of guys and all went well. Next day I got a message thanking me for coming and inviting me to be on their dep list - they are still looking for a permanent bassist. I call that a result. My search continues - on Thursday I am playing guitar at the first try-out rehearsal for a start-up functions band. The organiser is an excellent female singer who I’ve worked with previously. The best leads often come through people you already know. The rest of the rhythm section seem to be from the big band / theatre pit world so I’ll be interested to see and hear how that translates to a party band environment.
    3 points
  36. Shaggy
    As I’m currently winding my bass playing down to a low level I’m putting some stuff up for sale, mostly my main gigging gear. Next up; a 1998 German made Warwick FNA bass (Corvette body shape, though it was never designated a Corvette). Lightweight swamp ash body with carved flame maple top, ebony pinstripe “binding” line in between. Amber “antique violin” finish, which seems to be a thin satin lacquer. Fully recessed Warwick straplocks (strap ends also supplied), gold plated hardware. Preamp (original factory fitted): Seymour Duncan 3-band 9V active circuit voiced specifically for MusicMan Stingray, with “slap bias” switching on vol control. Neck: Long (34’) scale 24-fret in ovangkol, with wenge board and JAN adjustable nut. Regularly waxed, so beautifully smooth. 2 mods to this bass: Original ceramic MEC pickup replaced with Aguilar AG 4M (Alnico V) MusicMan pickup; based on the original 1970’s MusicMan Stingray pickup. I personally much prefer the tone on this to the MEC; it’s slightly more scooped with prominent low mids, more growl and punch yet also more clarity. Original pickup included. Original neck swapped with one from a 2001 German made Warwick Streamer LX Jazzman. This was only because I preferred a slightly slimmer neck on the Streamer, and a slightly wider P profile neck on this bass. This has been my “go to” gigging bass over the last 6 years or so, simply because it’s so comfortable and ergonomic to play, and just always sounds good. I’ve never played another single-pickup bass so responsive to changes in right hand technique, whether with pick or fingers. A brief funky live clip (thru Mesa Walkabout & Mesa 2x10) https//en-gb.facebook.com/SouLotionSwansea/videos/1815503435163445/ Looking for merely £550 on this. Collection from South Wales, near Swansea - I can deliver to Bridgend services M4, or possibly further for fuel costs. Postage a potential option, but I’m putting 4 basses up for sale and only have one box! Edit: Near-new Warwick gig-bag included in price; lots of padding, weatherproof, shoulder-straps, plenty of pocket space. Any questions or requests for specific pics; please message me.
    3 points
  37. Shaggy
    Mesa Big Block Titan V12 Silverface, USA made. As I’m currently winding my bass playing down to a low level I’m putting some stuff up for sale. Often described as the Rolls-Royce of bass amplifiers, with good reason. Specs blurb here, so no need for me to waffle on about them: https://legacy.mesaboogie.com/support/out-of-production/titan.html In near mint condition, rack-mounted in a shallow SKB flightcase (4u, so 1u of free space above the amp). Very portable for an amp of this power. Complete with footswitch and manual. I bought this a few years ago from a top Basschatter, who had literally just had the amp serviced by Mesa Boogie in California. They’d done a couple of upgrades to improve cooling; fitting a more ventilated case to the chassis and adding an additional fan. Reason I bought it was the rock band I was with at the time was getting rather too loud for my Mesa Walkabout - however, this coincided with the band upgrading to a 2KW state of the art PA, so I did the sensible thing and DI’d straight into the desk, using the Walkabout as DI preamp and stage monitor. So tragically, this has never been gigged in my ownership! Asking £900. Collection from South Wales, near Swansea - I can deliver to Bridgend services M4, or possibly further for fuel costs. Any questions or requests for specific pics; please message me.
    3 points
  38. LITTLEWING
    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!!
    3 points
  39. Shaggy
    Trace Elliot AH600SMX flightcased head with 115 and 210 cabs, all UK made. As I’m currently winding my bass playing down to a low level I’m putting some stuff up for sale, mostly my main gigging gear. AH600SMX head: Massively powerful and flexible amp, rack mounted in a shallow 3u flight-case. 600 Watts, effectively 2x300W amps that can be run bi-amped via an internal crossover or in parallel. SMX preamp with blendable valve and SS stages, dual band compression, signature Trace preshape switch, 12-band graphic EQ, and front panel UV lighting. In excellent nick and full working order. Plenty of specs online. Pretty much all the amp anyone would ever need; monster power, but a thing of utter beauty on stage with the UV lighting on...... Matching Trace 1x15 and 2x10 cabs, tolex covered, in pretty good nick. The owner before me replaced the original drivers with modern Eminence units, such that each cab is now rated 400W RMS / 8 ohm; to my ears they certainly sound tighter, more powerful, and with more “modern” clarity than I remember from my old Trace gear. The previous owner also fixed a removable dolly board under the 1x15 with heavy duty braked castors mounted, which makes the whole rig a cinch to move about, but I have the original plain rubber feet if preferred. Old school but totally practical for gigging, Trace stuff seems to have a reputation for being big and heavy but I’ve never found it unreasonably so. What Trace gear certainly is is fabulous sounding, bulletproof, reliable, and easy to fix if there ever is a problem. Looking for a piffling £450 on all this; I’d much prefer to sell as a complete rig, but if it doesn’t go then I’ll consider splitting. Collection only from South Wales, near Swansea - I can deliver to Bridgend services M4, or possibly further for fuel costs. Any questions or requests for specific pics; please message me.
    3 points
  40. Dad3353
    That's 21° F, in old money.
    3 points
  41. neepheid
    I'm stealing that.
    3 points
  42. martthebass
    We’ve all been there mate, paid practice and all that. No fun though….even watching Strictly would probably win out.
    3 points
  43. zbd1960
    Last night was my first concert since moving to the Lake District - played in Carlisle. It was also my first 'proper' concert with paying audience since 2019. Nothing happened in 2020 or 2021 and once stuff properly restarted the orchestra I was left with doesn't do formal concerts. It was nuts day as I had an all day choir rehearsal from 10.00 until 15.30 for a concert next year. Dashed home, changed into concert togs and out for 17.00. Quick top and tail run through at 18.15 then concert 19.30 until 21.30. Programme was von Suppé 'Poet & Peasant' overture, Bruch violin concerto #2, and Dvorak Symphony #9 (yes, the Hovis advert one). The Dvorak is a serious workout.
    3 points
  44. iconic
    Good old boys still great at customer service, they gifted me a new speaker for a 10 year old plus EB180, next day delivery.
    3 points
  45. dutchwife
    You Make Me Peel (Mighty Real) ～ Sylvester
    3 points
  46. Bluewine
    I know exactly what your talking about. Daryl
    3 points
  47. Ed_S
    When I was in Y3 (age 7-8ish?) at school, I got sent to a room with a group of other kids to take a test. Turned out to be a musical aptitude (Bentley) test, and off the back of it I was offered lessons with a peripatetic violin teacher, so I ultimately learned violin and played in orchestras and string ensembles for the next 8 or so years. The first 4 years were really good fun, but when I moved to secondary school I had one violin teacher who was fixated on grade exams and then another who I think just liked the money, the school orchestra wasn't all that great, and as it became less fun I lost interest. I was playing grade 8 pieces, but had no interest in theory or taking exams, so kept on with it for long enough to get me out of PE lessons but ultimately gave it up. By that time, though, I'd had a school music lesson where the nylon-strung classical guitars were handed out and we were all shown enough chords to strum along with Everybody Hurts by REM. It made me think that guitar would be a fun replacement, but electric would fit better with the music I liked to listen to and I certainly didn't want to play dots or have lessons. We knew a guy who played and was looking to sell his starter kit, so I ended up buying a cheap 'Session Pro' Strat copy and a Peavey Rage 158 for not very much at all. I got absolutely nowhere with it, so decided to trade it in and get a bass instead - not because it would be 'easier', but my logic was that with 4 strings and single notes rather than 6 and chords, it might feel more familiar. My first bass in 1999 was a Squier P Special, and it rattled horribly but I could play stuff on it pretty much straight away. I took it back to the shop and was told they'd had issues with the entire batch so were refunding people and sending them back. After a bit of back and forth I managed to walk away with a Yamaha BBN4 instead of a refund, and I've been a self-taught bassist ever since.
    3 points
  48. SteveXFR
    It seems to me that to achieve greatness in terms of record sales, your music needs to be as mediocre as possible. See Coldplay and Ed Sheeran for examples.
    3 points
  49. Bluewine
    I'm a proud member of the February 9th, 1964 club. I watched The Beatles American debut on our Ed Sullivan Show. By the next day thousands of us talked our parents into buying us electric guitars and we all started rock bands. I know you've all heard this story a hundred times . Lol Daryl
    3 points
  50. Baloney Balderdash
    It's true, the tone is in the spirits that lives within the wood. They communicate with your fingers and tells them where to go. Hence where the "tone is in the fingers" sentiment comes from, though really it is the spirits. The fingers are only, so to speak, the origin of tone secondhandedly.
    3 points
×
×
  • Create New...