Leaderboard

Last night I began my 20 gig countdown to retiring from The ELO Experience with the annual visit to our hometown gig - Hull New Theatre. As usual it sold out so we had around 1300 people in. Slightly different this year as we had a flying PA which involved a lot more time and manpower to set up. However the improvement was definitely noticeable to the audience ( and me too, being non IEM’s!) so well worth the hassle and expense. I dropped a couple of silly clangers but nothing drastic and the band as a whole played well considering our last gig was mid November. Bit sad for me knowing it may be the last time I grace the stage there, but still a great night for us. Caught up with a few old friends in the pub afterwards too so happy days.

Right, that's it done. Back panel lacquered a few days ago and pinned on this afternoon. Yay, I'm a pedalboard guy now!

Whereas I welcome it. When someone dies they are dead. They have died. This recent trend to say 'passed' is, imo, just a pointless euphemism that is simply ducking what is perceived to be an uncomfortable issue. Yet it will happen to every single one of us. Seems daft to me.

That's lovely and £1,000 more than my one.

She was very kind to me, and had some nice words about my voice after the first thing I recorded on Radio 1 in the 80s. I never forgot that complement. Very sad indeed.

Clean...... turn it up, plenty of mids, P bass or Thunderbird, old school. Pedals? Cobblers.

I can probably answer most of your questions relating to Trace Elliot products made between 1978 and the end of 1986.Fred Friedlein (MD),Alan Morgan(sales) and I (designer) were the founder members of Trace Elliot.designed all models up to then including GP 11 preamp, GP7 preamp and the AH 150 combo amps. The amp heads AH150,AH 350x,the biamp model and the most popular AH250 and AH500 heads. Stuart Watson.

Hi folks Just wanted to show you another fantastic ACG I’ve acquired from the great Alan Cringean. This one is a pure joy both in terms of feel, playability and tone. Alan’s work is second to none. This is the Krell model, 5 string and 35 inch. ART maple on top of a swamp ash body. Ash neck with wenge strips. Fingerboard is flamed sycamore with blue dots from the bass body. Luminlay side dots. Hipshot ultralite tuners and Hipshot bridge then finally a John East Uni Pre 4. Pickups are a FB humbucker in the neck and an RFB humbucker at the bridge. This combo can cut through the mix no problem. If 2024 is the year you’re looking for a custom bass then get into ACGs website. Alan is a pure gent and any communication I’ve had with him has been top notch. All the best Stuart

I remember Oasis (in their prime) saying they keep tickets at £20-30 each as they know the kids and people similar to where and how they grew up couldn't afford more. Always had admiration for them for that.

Small, medium or large?

What the hell does 'world-leading pickups' mean? Leading the world in what exactly?! I'm blaming my age, but the nonsensical bo**ocks that is employed in the name of marketing and that is so ubiquitous these days is really starting to grind my gears...

+1 for the Behringer B205D. Played a support gig a little while ago and the headline acts bassist was using one with his db and he kindly offered to let me try it. It was one of those tight little stages where you are almost stood/sat on your amp, so having this thing at ear height was a godsend. He obviously knew it well and had the eq spot on and it produced a surprising amount of bass from its 5” speaker. Plus points I could clearly hear every note I played, downsides I could clearly hear every note I played. Note to self, stop prattling around on the internet and practice more instead 😂

Just what the world needs - another Fender clone.

I'd recommend using a decent recording interface, and not use an amp at all. Most bass is recorded directly into the desk. Just my tuppence-worth.

Utter overkill IMHO. 8x10s are only for bands with roadies. Where are you using it - an aircraft hangar? Even if you're recording the cab sound with a microphone, you only need a single speaker cab to do that.

Extraordinary person and life, all too easy to overlook that at a time of serious sexism and elitism she was always seen by audiences and colleagues alike as the real deal and never a token, and that was still the case 50 years later among audiences and colleagues of very different generations and cultures. RIP Annie ❤️

Sansamp - Punchy, grindy tone without distorting Then add a: TC Electronic Spark Booster - adds as little or as much grit as you want or: Joyo Double Thruster (budget copy of a Darkglass B3K and just as good IMHO) You don't need anything more than the Sansamp plus one of these.

In general, I've found that bass is only interesting to bassists.

No argument here!! Just move on. There's an old saying: 'None so queer as folk'.

Maybe he did - we wouldn't have been able to hear him.

I've had someone tell me I should use old strings and not change them because Jamerson used old strings. I don't remember Jamerson playing much metal though. Maybe he played on Justice For All

Here are two recordings. This is just a demo off my MODX, not me playing. The DAW version was direct in to my UR22-C interface. The Wireless version was with the MODX going directly to the Transmitter, and the Receiver feeding the same interface. It's not an even playing field but you can get an idea of how close they sound. No EQ used. Both 24bit/48khz. When I went to record this I had an issue where the Receiver wasn't picking up the signal, but after a re start it was fine. Something got keep an eye on though. Direct.wav Wireless.wav

Andy Baxter has just listed a ‘62 slab board Precision with loads of mojo. https://www.andybaxterbass.com/collections/bass-guitars/products/1962-fender-precision-bass-sunburst-3

Medium the does the cheaper expression pedal labled future impact work with the c4?

Save yourself a heap of money and just go straight into your computer via an interface, and if you need any effects use plugins in your DAW. If you aren't playing live you can at least dispense with the cab if you want to record the tone of the amp, but you can get the same result with an ABM 300

They're pioneering a new form of short scale.

Having owned all the models you mentioned, I found I preferred the BB414. Slightly slimmer neck. They all sound very similar, with no massive " wow that sounds much better " moment. There all really good which ever one you decide on.

Our own @Andyjr1515 did one when he built my Psilos bass.

Well the 73P and the 66J were my two best. The P came in one piece, the J took a couple of years and came in seven pieces from seven different donors. If I don't get back into the workforce soon, the 73P may become the worst purchase!

Scroll to the first post 😉 #heretohelp

The Behringer B105D (50W) / B205D (150W) models could be just the ticket? Have had good experience with the B205D with my bands. Decent value for money too.

That looks a lot like Utera basses logo. Guessing Hipshot made them some with their logo on perhaps?

New toy: It seems decent, quite futuristic compared to individual analogue pedals. All the software and connections are intuitive (no need for a manual) and I've got some good sounds from it. Slight issues being: The tuner doesn't work well with the open E (it's fine on 12th fret instead though), no dedicated Bass effects or Amp/cabs. You can change presets, volume, and access the Tuner on the pedal, anything more involved needs phone/app though which is a bit of a shame. I suppose the thing is: Is it better than the NUX Mighty Plug for headphone practice, Zoom B1 four for band practice/backup, or a pedalboard of individual pedals for gigs? I think the answer is it's kind of the middle ground. It's bigger than the Nux but has a built-in tuner, more effects and longer effects chains, more presets, and more hardware controls. It is smaller than the Zoom and has Bluetooth and rechargeable battery and longer effects chains, not as editable without a phone though and I think I generally prefer the effects on the Zoom (they tend to have more parameters to adjust). A tradition pedalboard wins for being tough and more foolproof and easily adjusted/footswitch stompable for gigs. P2 will be a good pocket sized backup though, or good for having access to effects you don't have. I think for me it'll mostly be used for band practice rather than carrying about a full pedalboard. Perhaps I'll use it more than the mighty plug for home headphone practice - especially as it has a tuner. I don't think I'll use it at gigs, good as a backup though.

Don't cross the streams. As volume does change perception, perhaps make recordings with gain and volume set identically for each cab, and then import each recording into Audacity and use the Normalize function to get them all to the same volume. Then use both sets of recordings, with explanations, for listening tests.

Double bass is tortuous and exhausting, it’s why we play it 🧐

Her death has really got me thinking. I'm 63, started off a punk ended up in a pit and all the clubs and dives inbetween.. done a lot, loved it all. To me she was more than Peely, maybe because she was a woman...I dunno...In a way the female equivalent of Bowie tho not a musician, just one of those people who maybe influenced more people in the pop scene than it's realised.

As it happens I've just seen this on YT. 4 separate videos going through 48 different bass drive pedals pretty much in order of price. Low, mid and high gain settings for each. Should give you an idea of what you might like to try. I now want an EBS Multidrive!

"It's gonna be free practice for us tonight...super quiet"... Lead Singer Well it was the start of "dry" Jan, but that's maybe going to be the worst prediction of 2024 already in the bag! Was a huge amount of fun!