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Standard January pub gig last night. Improvement on the previous visit to this venue, but still quite quiet. The germs are running me and the singer a bit ragged right now, but we got through. Used a tidy little rig which I do like.

I don't think we we're in our comfort zone. We do better playing in kitchens. Daryl

IMO cheap supermarket beer is in the process of killing live music.

Gigged last night at O'Neills Leicester. We assumed it would be dead, but there was a good crowd in that really enjoyed it. In fact, they were the best audience we've had all year. Good to see the lads in the band again, good to be back out doing it, good gig to ease us back in, really enjoyed it. Not even dry january or the weird buzzing in my IEMs could dampen the mood. StingRay -> Small pedalboard -> Amp pedalboard (Thumpinator & VTDI) -> Markbass CMD121H Feet update - red socks and black/lime green crackle Converse. It's good to be back!

Here's one of me in full costume at our BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers night in The Cave in Paisley (near Glasgow) Dave

My niece has her own Indie band. She's been in the UK charts but makes very little money from selling her music (Her music has streamed ten million times on Spotify in the last 10 years but the annual income that has produced is the equivalent of the average salary of a lollipop lady). She can't play in the EU any more due to the visa restrictions and legal hurdles Brexit created, therefore she's had to apply for Irish citizenship (her grandmother was Irish) so that she can play gigs in the EU in the future (her band will have to stay at home because they only have UK passports). Making an income from original music is very difficult these days.

Let's not get political here.

Just having a think... mainly due to the dire situation current pop music is in.. The cost of living at the moment is crazy. How youngsters are supposed to own a vehicle or home, or even rent is beyond me. Being a musician has always been seen as hard graft, being in an originals band trying to 'make it' was always fought with little money and being difficult to make ends meet. But, with a bit of luck it was possible. But now.... How are bands supposed to make it or even try when even renting a flat is astronomical, hotels and b and bs cost a fortune, you can't buy a decent van for under 5 grand, tax and insurance will be the same, and then there's fuel and food???! Most will be forced into a job before even being able to give it a go. The only ones I can see having half a chance are bedroom producers on their laptops. I can't see genuine real bands having a chance at all. Is new music and new bands strictly a rich kids game going forward?

Heh, found a piece of 5mm hardwood ply in the shed. Back panel is go! Now, about that logo. I thought of doing a cheeky sendup of a famous logo and I decided upon doing something Moog-like. Found a font that someone had created in the sprit of the Moog logo, asked for permission to use it, got it, then got to work using it to create this: How will I get this onto a piece of ply? With another cheapskate move - the old homemade carbon paper technique - scribble f loads of pencil on the back, tape it down then trace over it with a pen... Admittedly, it was super faint so I had to go over it again with the pencil to have a useable guide. Next question - what now? Paint? Sharpie? Scrub this off and create a waterslide decal? In the end I did none of those things and went back to a craft I used to partake of as a child - woodburning. First pass with the big round tip on the iron yielded this: Then moved to the fine tip for the corners and the little musical note thing inside the 'p'. I'm really pleased with how that came out! Time for a wee mockup (some paper straws keeping it up where it will be when attached) That turned out way better than I anticipated. Really pleased with it. All that's left to do is lacquer the back panel then attach it. Will probably use wee panel pins and just nail it on, like the backing panel on an Ikea wardrobe.

They don't fit anymore.

I agree. The volume thing has gone crazy. It always surprises me how many audiences put up with it. I play with a couple of blues rock trios and my amp for those gigs has more watts than my first 3 bands put together. I'm also using industrial strength hearing protection when playing with those guys.

Your question assumes pop music is in a dire state. Not everyone would agree with that statement. Also, is cost of living actually worse now than times like the late 70s (when lots of great bands were making music)? And it's cheaper than ever to get budget equipment an old laptop and record your band and self-release music and promote via social media. I'd say in many ways it's a great time for making music. Just different to how it was before.

I've just spotted that BBC 4 TV is showing a film called 'The Great Double Bass Race'' at 11.30 pm tonight, 7th January. And hopefully also on iPlayer, it would be about the only thing that isn't if not! This film tells the story of the first double bass festival on the Isle of Man, in 1978, and features Gary Karr amongst others. I remember watching the film when it was first shown and thinking, I've really got to go to the next one. I still haven't been.

Thank you! Liza Baker from The Voice UK. Some tasty basslines

Messing around dialing in my gig board. Rarely pull out the 4x10

Must be down to the 6 months of darkness they get every year. What the poll doesn't acknowledge is that during the summer 6 months of light, Finland has the highest number of Simon and Garfunkel tribute bands.

That's not how I read it. It's 529 bands per million inhabitants. Iceland would have 529 metal bands were there one million inhabitants there. Since Iceland doesn't have one million inhabitants, it suggests there are about 196 metal bands in Iceland for a population of 370,000, no?

Latest picture from Overwater of the build! Nearly there now!

Well, 2023 was pretty much a write off what with the band of 6yrs folding and illness on my part. So back to decent health and missing the gigs, I advertised my services on Bandmix and have a meeting / audition with an 80's cover band tomorrow. Looking forward to it. 👌

I really enjoyed the gig I depped for. I learned the songs I didn’t already know (I had to learn about 12 of 15 or 16). 4 or 5 were originals - it was fun doing them. One of them was entered as a candidate for the UK entry to Eurovision ( it didn’t get selected). I did an Instagram diary on the prep with the intent of putting it on YouTube as a guide to prepping to dep (still an intent😜). I had a practice with the guitar player. The gig went well. The key things for me were prep, get a run through with at least one of the band members, then enjoy it. I think it improved me as a musician.

Thanks Dave, More pics from last night. Daryl

I had a car for 2 months recently. My insurance alone was over £50 a month. The VED - £15 a month. MoTs are close on £50 a year now. An oil and filter change, even if you do it yourself is going to be close on £200 a year. Then you are losing money on depreciation that you need to put away into savings ready to buy your next car. I really don't think people realise how much they're spending on their cars. It's one of those slow drip things. HMRCC allow 45p a mile for a reason.

You might want to read this. As someone who works full-time in music and with young people setting out on their music careers, I'd argue there's never been a better time. True, the cost of living crisis is impacting a lot of people. However, gone are the days when you needed a record contract or a huge budget behind you to record albums or singles. All you need nowadays is a smartphone and some creativity. Youngsters are also pretty adept at marketing themselves using social media. https://www.ukmusic.org/news/new-report-reveals-music-industry-delivers-4bn-exports-boost-to-uk-economy/

Yes. I used to gig in the 80s with a 100w vocal PA where the vocals were just about audible above the drums. My bass amp was 100w combo. We now gig with a 2x250w PA and my bass amp is 500W. Not that we don't play appropriate volumes for the venue, but many bands have that kind of power and don't.

I suppose in the 70s & 80s the UK had student grants, so there was the route the likes of Bowie followed of going to art college and having a few years to experiment. Maybe I'm just too old, but for me loud volume is killing live music. We were at a pub last weekend, just for a beer. There was a band setting up and we would have stayed, but they were SO LOUD. The drummer was wearing industrial ear protectors...

Since nobody wants to pay for music anymore, bands need to magic up sizeable start-up capital from somewhere in order to be able to afford to do these tours where the people who won't pay for their music come out in their multitudes, cash gleefully in hand, to buy loads of their merch as promised... which they also need capital beforehand to have the merch made and transported along with their pretty, talented selves. You kind of need to have money to be able to afford to make money, these days. There's sod all label support, there's no real revenue stream apart from selling branded tat so, since the music is just a ludicrous expense and the branded tat is where the money is... why would you spend time making music and just sell a brand or your branded tat instead? Much easier and less stress, I reckon... or just put videos up on youtube where you make odd facial expressions for the picture to hook people into something they WON'T BELIEVE and maybe that's what people are doing instead of making new music?

The main thing for me is that the youth don’t seem to go out to pubs/clubs/venues as much as previous generations, be that due to cost or that they just seem to live healthier lives than my generation did. As such it’s a question of how to tap into your intended audience.

Property prices are killing live music. Business rates are based on property prices in any area. You can't enjoy living in a prosperous area and then complain about the price of everything. It's an oxymoron. Lack of imagination at live venues and pubs is killing them. Many pubs are "we are a pub, we sell beer. Have live music Friday night and karaoke Saturday night." mentality.

I have had 1000’s of basses, 50 of which have been Yamaha BB’s. 🫣 the size and “ars3” of the ripper is very similar to a BB, the horns are in slightly different positions. sound wise it’s comparing apples and oranges. both have their jobs…and they live in harmony in the rack.

23 gigs so far lined up so far for Mustang Sally - last year was 35 so we're on target!

The size of my gut dictates the length of my strap. Any shorter and my basses would be unplayable.

I tend to have my strap length to match how the bass sits when I’m sitting (or thereabouts). Fortunately, it seems to be pretty much the same for all my basses, regardless of body shape.

I have to have my strap average to slightly higher I guess, if it's too low I just find it unnecessarily difficult with my fretting hand, and increased strain. I'd rather be comfortable than look cool 😅. I've never actually measured how long it is though (matron), but I'm curious now....

I've only gone and got the position. Great set of blokes, 58-62yrs old and I'm the oldest. Best get those Duran Duran albums out. Thanks for your kind comments folks.🙂

Too hot to Handel. UFO

Just revived the Lekato and…..wow!!!!. Nothing that small should be any good lol. At first i wasn't keen on how light it is, but then i realised that if it comes off my belt, the earphone cable will support it so it doesn't hit the ground. Im sure i wouldn't even notice if it does come off. Once i had found the correct cables to connect it to my XR18 (dont want anything to do with the thin cables it comes with) i was very, very impressed. Latency wont be an issue. I mean, i can sort of tell its there’s when playing in isolation but in a band situation it wont be noticeable at all. (Probably still more in time than some band members lol). Sound quality is better than i expected. A bit lacking in the low and highs, but i can EQ that in the Mixer without effecting the FOH, so a non issue. In fact i may just leave it as it will cut through a bit better when the band ramp up the volume. No hiss or hum so far. Stereo spread is good enough. Its not quite as wide as with my P2, but wide enough that it still sounds natural. In fact when i used it in mono it seems to give a better down mix than the P2. All in all, 99% happy. Im a bit worried about the lack of channel selection. I’ll have to see how that goes next week with the band. I noticed there is another version of this, with a different name and branding. £10 cheaper. I might see if my guitarist is interested in getting one as he is having issues with our old SubZero UHF system. It’s a mechanical issue rather than function. The receiver seems to be cutting out occasionally, as in going dead. Now, all this brings me to wonder, should i get the T-Bone 2.4 lol. I see some bugger has nabbed the used one i linked to above, so id have to pay £300. More than i really want to (this is all more for convenience and an itch rather than a real need). My reasoning now is, if my guitarist does get one of these, there might well be some issues with channels, so this would keep me out of the loop. The other 2 wireless units are Xvive, so they can move their channels if needed. Im sure 4 of use wont have too many issues. At the place rehearse there is large room that they have Gospel meetings, and we have had issues with their radio mics (apparently they have 7). We figured it all out and dont have issues anymore, but im wondering if adding fixed channel devices might cause them to return. I depend on IEM’s 100% so dont want issues like that, although the odd drop out is fine. I guess i could aways use the P2 if i do get issues. Sorry for the long winded post. Overall very happy but with caution. One thing id like to ask. Ive read numerous times that you shouldn’t put these devices within a few feet of router. I understand why. My issue would be we do have a router that sits next to our XR18, and the transmitters will be very close to that. I do have 2.4ghz disabled in the router. Is this going to help? Singer’s Xvive doesn't suffer any issues and thats plugged directly yin to the X18 already, and of course the guitarists Guitar Xvive is nowhere near the mixer.

Nest SAHB

Best selling single in the UK in 1983 Culture Club - Karma Chameleon | Mike Craig

I've said this before... the correct strap length ensures the buckle rash is centred on the back of the body.

strap length ? A bit personal, but lets just say i don't get many complaints 🙂

A Tune Bass Maniac or one of its Bass Collection clones would work well too. Lighter than an Aria but still a real 80s vibe.

Was it much different in the late 70s-early 80s?

Yeah but we invented Black Sabbath who invented metal. The rest are just tribute acts 😂

.That link has been 'disappeared' currently ...try this one (live at 09:00 Jan 7): Zio Analog Bass Premp DI Pedal

My Favorite: Charles Berthoud

I've taken a step back from the whole digital/profile/IR/cab sims et al and had a good think. Personally I think I got swept along by other people's desires and opinions in my bands (silent stages / IEW etc) and lost sight of the fact that I get a great sound from my gear (amp and cabs) and the new 'direction' was just trying to replicate what I already had but in an alternative form. If an amp and cab sounds great to me and works, I can still send a DI feed to the desk which can do what it needs, why would a pedal/preamp/Kemper etc be any better? My bass sound on stage can't detract from the FOH bass sound and if the band member using IEMs wants to hear the bass he can just blend it from the desk. In short; a digital/pedal/preamp format gains me nothing over what I've used traditionally. Don't get me wrong, some of the profiles I've heard are excellent and a profiler gives you the chance to switch from Mesa to Ampeg to Hi-watt via every amp in between BUT I personally use pretty much ONE sound for every gig and I like my Thunderfunk, so why would I need the ability to have all of the others in a 'live' setting? Studio guys might love this flexibility but surely the studio has this facility? Either way, I'm reverting to amp>cabs+old school pedals.