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Played with The Inevitable Teaspoons last night at Krakatoa in Aberdeen. Man down cos Stu the sax had his shifts changed on him so was somewhere on a rig somewhere in the North Sea. 4 band bill and we were playing last. Things were going to plan until the second last band came on - for some reason the sound gremlins came out of the woodwork and hit them hard - things not working, then feedback when they were - knocked things about half an hour off course. Anyhoo, we did make it on. We were a bit grumpy by the time we got on so we played quite angrily - fast and ragged, especially the first couple of songs. Tried a new song and ballsed it up royally - second chorus is supposed to be half length but half of us did the repeat. I was "right" but that doesn't matter when the result was that it sounded like a jumbled mess. Oh well. It got better towards the end though, and had fun machinegunning the audience at the end of the last song so we'll see. Speaking of which, there was a decent crowd for a BOTB gig and there was some enthusiastic dancing going on - even had someone doing the worm! BB1200 was Bloody Brilliant. Pedalboard worked, in that it didn't spontaneously collapse, or wander about the place when stepped on. All in all, got to spend an evening with my mates, play some tunes and drink some beers - with all the awful stuff that's going on in the world it can't be that bad, can it?

Dep over the far side of Swansea, hours drive each way! Most of the setlist was playing on the jukebox, which showed that we were going to go down well. Fourth gig for this band so all went ok, broke my 'number of bvs sung' record! Took my little Hohner B2 as backup, played four or five songs on it for fun. It's LOUD. First time I've gigged it since the 90s!

Played one of my fav venues The Dreadnought in Bathgate with Emergency Exit punk covers band. Kick off was 8:30pm and went to get changed 10 mins before. Was only a handful of punters in so we thought we were about to play to our mates and more of a paid rehearsal than a gig but we decided we would just go for it big time. We started our first set and within 10mins the place was busy and everyone was up bopping away to our punk classics. At the break the sound guy came into changing room and asked if we were happy with sound which is always perfect at this venue. We mentioned it being a lot busier than we expected based on how many were in when we started our first song. He then told us that all the other bands start at 9pm and do 2off 45min sets while we start at 8:30pm and play until 11:30 with a 15 min break in middle. People tend to arrive just before 9pm for the bands so they are all rushing about to the bar when they hear the band have started. They get their money's worth from us. A few other punters said the same thing 2.5 hrs of pure punk. You don't get that anywhere else. Few wee mistakes but nothing drastic. Not bad considering we've not played for 8 weeks. Turned out to be a great night and we made a tidy wee sum. Booked again for later in the year too. Manager told us that was a great turn out for a January gig as historically its dead in January after the Xmas and New Years gigs. He was fair pleased with the turn out. Happy Days. The punks are back in 2024. Dave

Second gig of the year for Yellowhouse and another packed house in a good venue in Essex - we were expecting January to be quiet but it's been great so far. We've been running with dep singers for nearly 5 months now as ours is broken and it's been a really positive experience. It's got us off autopilot and learning to keep our ears open much more and i've really enjoyed it.

Wee pic surfaced from the punk gig last night. Taken by Sound Engineer.

Busy weekend with the Phil Collins tribute act NO JACKET REQUIRED. Fab gig Friday at Dorking halls where I used’the beast’, my faithful old wal and tonight’s ( ok last night 🤣) gig at the Hazlett theatre in Maidstone. Decided to use the ken smith for a change, such a comfortable bass to play and sounded great! Audiences at both shows were very receptive and really got into it!! All in all a very enjoyable couple of shows and a pleasure to play with such a nice bunch of people 😊.

It’s just the right time for me Dave. Get my pension next month and want to retire from touring and being away from home to spend more time with my partner and family, and going to see more live music! First played with the band in 2009, then permanently since 2011 so been with them a good while. They are a great bunch of people to work with, and will really miss them and the crew. Before that I was in a function band for 16 years, again gigs all over the UK and some abroad, so it’s been my professional life for around 30 years, as well as nearly 20 more before that as a semi pro. Am blessed to have managed to make a living doing something I love for so long. It’s obviously going to be a massive change for me, but plan on continuing with the acoustic duo which I really enjoy, along with any dep gigs that come along that I fancy doing. Can’t ever imagine not playing at all!

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.

I tend to learn songs by ear using bass tabs or music. I also like to write out the music in full which helps me remember it in two different ways. I also like to know the songs inside out so that if someone else makes a slight mistake i can keep going and they are more easily able to catch up kinda thing. If someone does make a mistake and others follow i'm more able to adapt as i know the songs really well. To be fair i've been playing same songs for almost 5 yrs in one band and 2 yrs in the other with only minor changes over the years but i practice the full set at home at least once a week and always the afternoon of a gig time permitting. It gives me an air of confidence when playing. I've had situations where i couldn't hear either the vocals or the guitar very well so its paid off knowing the songs really well. I can more or less count the bars in most songs altho i don't actually do that but the notes i make are stamped in my head for instant recall Dave

Overview. I recently purchased a Bergantino Forte HP2 along with a Forte gig bag. I have to say, I absolutely love it. The amp isn’t absolutely perfect from a blind user’s perspective but the imperfections can easily be worked around and to anybody who is not blind, I doubt they would even be considered to be imperfections. So, here are my thoughts. Disclaimer: I’m just a dude who plays bass in a few projects and bands for fun, I am by no means a pro musician or online reviewer. All views are my own and I have not received any payment or other incentives to produce this review. I am only reviewing gear that I actually own or that I have access to due to items being on loan from various friends. Build Quality. The amp: I think the form factor of this amp is very nice indeed. It’s immediately clear when taking it out of the sturdy and padded box that this amp is built with extremely high quality components. It has a smart aluminium body with unusual but very grippy rubber feet at each corner. It feels really sturdy and none of the knobs or switches feel loose or cheap. The gig bag: Again a very nicely made product, is well padded, has good quality zips, has a large outer compartment that is big enough to fit the amp power cable, speaker cables and the bluetooth footswitch and still have space for ear protection, spare batteries, screwdriver etc. The main compartment is perfectly sized for the Forte HP2 and because it is top loaded the amp is easily accessible without having to lay the bag on its side to get to it. The shoulder strap is a permanent part of the bag which I like as there is no chance it can become unclipped. I’m definitely glad I bought the gig bag, it somehow manages to do a superb job of protecting the amp whilst not being bulky, which I very much appreciate. Amp Dimensions & Power. Dimensions: Width, 13.25” (33.66cm), depth 8.375” (21.27cm), height 3.75” (9.525cm). Weight: 6.4 lbs (2.9 Kg). Power: 600 watts into 8ohms, 1200 watts into 4 ohms, 1200 watts into 2ohms. Knobs & Switches. The knobs on this amp are nice and solid and feel good under the fingertips. The master volume, input gain, compressor and drive knobs all have an angled slice cut out of them that has a recessed line in the centre so you can easily feel what position the knob is at if on a dark stage or if you are blind like me. All of the EQ controls have a centre detent which I always like to find on an amp. The input gain, compressor, drive, high and low pass filter and master volume knobs do not have a centre detent which makes sense of course. Something I absolutely love about this amp is that the master volume knob is massive. In fact Bergantino themselves refer to it as “one big knob”. As you can no doubt imagine, having a master volume knob that is 4 or 5 times the size of all the other knobs is perfect for blind players or people who are forever operating on dark stages. The push buttons are of good quality and respond well under the fingertips. However, they are the type that do not stay in or pop out when pressed. This did throw me for a minute to be honest, mainly due to my tactile requirements as a blind player. Having said that, it is immediately obvious whether the Mute, Punch and Bright buttons have been engaged. This is also true of the Drive Engage button, although if only using low levels of drive it might not be quite as obvious. What I do is turn the Drive knob all the way up before pressing the Drive Engage button. That way it is immediately clear that the drive circuit has kicked in. All I do then is dial back the Drive knob until I have the level where I want it. The DI pre/post function is controlled by pressing the Punch button for a few seconds. Similarly the 4ohm/2ohm setting is toggled by pressing the Mute button for a few seconds. You can also switch between two high frequency EQ settings by pressing the Bright button for a few seconds. In all cases an LED next to the button changes colour to indicate which setting has been selected. This of course poses a problem for blind players. Ultimately you could ask a band mate to confirm which colour the LED is displaying. I think realistically this would be the best and safest way to get around this as the last thing you want to do is set the 4ohm/2ohm setting wrong and end up damaging your equipment. This won’t actually be a problem for me at all as I have an 8ohm cab and a 4ohm cab that are never used together meaning that when I use the 8ohm cab the speaker load is 8ohm which has the amp running at 600 watts, whilst when using the 4ohm cab the amp will run at 1200 watts which is the default setting for the Forte HP2. The power switch is a rocker style, is good and solid with a positive clunk under the fingertip when engaged. Features, layout & ease of use. Front Panel, from left to right. 3.5mm aux input jack (top): For connecting external devices. 1/4” instrument input jack: (bottom). Compression knob (top): Turn clockwise to increase amount of compression. Input Gain knob (bottom): Adjust for instrument input level. Overload indicator LED (next to input gain knob): Flashes when input stage is being overloaded. Master volume knob: You can’t miss it, it’s massive! Protect indicator LED: Comes on when amp is overheating, if it is receiving dirty power, if air vents are blocked, if cables are damaged. The amp automatically mutes if this occurs. Clip indicator LED. Comes on if output signal is clipping. Drive knob (top): Turn clockwise to increase amount of drive. Engage Button (at 5 o’clock position next to the Drive knob): This button engages/disengages the Drive effect and is also switchable via the Bluetooth footswitch. Press and hold this button or the Drive switch on the footswitch for 2 seconds to toggle between primary and secondary Drive functions. The amp will always power up with the Primary Drive function selected, regardless of whether it’s engaged or not. Drive engage indicator LED (next to Drive knob): Lights up when drive circuit is engaged. Flashes once when primary drive is engaged, flashes twice when secondary drive is engaged. Variable low pass filter (bottom): This control adjusts the Low-Pass frequency of the amp from 1 khz when the knob is turned fully to the left and 10 khz when the nob is turned fully to the right. Variable high pass filter (bottom): This control adjusts the High-Pass frequency of the amp from 30 hz when the knob is turned fully to the left and 120 hz when the knob is turned fully to the right. Bass EQ knob (bottom): Adjusts the bass frequencies, plus or minus 10db @ 65 hz LoMid EQ knob (bottom): Adjusts the LoMid frequencies, plus or minus 10db @ 250 hz HiMid EQ knob (bottom): Adjusts the HiMid frequencies, plus or minus 10db @ 1khz Treble EQ knob (bottom): Adjusts the treble frequencies, plus or minus 10db @ 3.5 khz Punch Engage Indicator LED (top): This indicator illuminates orange when Punch is engaged Punch button (top): Engages the Punch filter of the amp and is switchable via the footswitch. It also toggles between Pre and Post EQ for the DI select when pressed and held for 3 seconds. DI Pre/Post EQ Indicator LED: Illuminates green when “pre” is selected and yellow when “post” is selected. Bright Engage indicator LED: Illuminates green when the Bright filter is engaged Bright button (top): Engages/disengages the Bright filter and is switchable via the footswitch. It also toggles the bright frequency between +6db @ 2khz and +8db @ 7khz when pressed and held for 3 seconds. Bright Frequency Indicator LED: Illuminates green when 2khz is selected and yellow when 7khz is selected. Mute Engage Indicator LED: Illuminates red when Mute is engaged. Mute button (top): When engaged the Main output and DI output are muted. The tuner output in the back of the amp remains unmuted for silent tuning with a connected external tuner. Pressing and holding the Mute button for 3 seconds will toggle the amp between 4/8-ohm operation and 2-ohm operation. 4/8-ohm or 2-ohm Indicator LED: Illuminates green when 4/8-ohm operation is selected and yellow when 2-ohm operation is selected. (The fan is automatically engaged when in 2-ohm mode). USB Port: Use this port to insert the Dongle for the bluetooth footswitch or to install new firmware from a flash drive. It can also be used to power/charge an iPod or similar device. Rear Panel, from left to right. Power Switch (top). AC socket (bottom). 1/4” Tuner jack (top). 1/4” Headphone jack (bottom). 1/4” Effects Send jack (top). 1/4” Effects Return jack (bottom). Ground Lift switch (bottom). Direct Out socket. 2x locking speaker connectors. Sound quality. This thing is absolutely amazing! Without any drive engaged at all and with the EQ flat the amp is crystal clear and is completely neutral as far as I can tell. The EQ is incredibly easy to use and I found that minimal adjustments made a big impact on my tone whilst keeping everything as clean as a very very clean thing. Once you start using the various tone shaping tools built into the amp, pretty much any bass tone you could possibly wish for is right there at your fingertips. The Punch and Bright buttons make a significant difference to the tone even with the EQ set flat. The variable high pass and low pass (VHP and VLP) controls give you the ability to filter out any pesky boomy frequencies from your bottom end or tame any unwanted frequencies from the top end. Moreover, they give you even more control over any of the available overdrive and fuzz firmware options you use. I really like the compressor on this amp too. It does a wonderful job of smoothing out your tone whilst somehow managing to not compromise it in a negative way regardless of where you set the compression control. Using the firmware options. The ability to install overdrive and fuzz firmware options onto the amp was, along with all of its other great features, a major point of interest for me. As a rule I do not like using digital equipment as it invariably features digital displays which as a blind player, I have no chance of being able to use. However, when I looked into this amp and learned that the firmware could be installed using a flash drive, my cautious interest became a full blown desire to get one and I have to say, I am not disappointed. As a fully blind but competent computer user I am more than capable of using flash drives for file transfers and storage anyway, so downloading the multiple firmware options from the Bergantino website is easy. There are 17 firmware options currently available for the Forte HP2 on the Bergantino website ranging from a B15 to Tube Screamers and multiple fuzz offerings. Once you’ve downloaded the files and made sure you’ve followed the detailed instructions on the web page for how to format your flash drive and name your firmware files, installing your chosen option is incredibly easy. If you are blind, here’s how to do it. Step 1: With the amp switched off, insert the flash drive with your chosen firmware file on it into the USB port on the front of the amp. Step 2: Switch the amp on and immediately press and hold the Bright button for a few seconds. Basically, I count to 5 before letting go and that always seems to work. I always leave a good 20 seconds before I remove the flash drive to allow time for the firmware to install. It’s as simple as that. Once you’ve removed the flash drive, you’re good to go with your awesome new firmware choice. Summary. Quite simply, this amp is the best amp I have ever owned or played through. It’s incredibly easy to use, has intuitive controls and a logical layout. It’s beautifully constructed, light and looks great. The range of tones it’s possible to get out of it are almost unbelievable and the amount of head room is ridiculous. Even though the amp is not technically 100% accessible to me as a blind player due to the style of push buttons and use of LED lights to indicate certain functions, it’s incredibly easy to work round those issues and to be perfectly honest, there isn’t an amp anywhere that I have found that doesn’t use LEDs to indicate things like clipping, mute on/off, drive on/off etc, it’s kind of a necessity really. The fact that it’s so easy to install different firmware options and use the amp in general outweighs the slight inaccessible bits by a loooooooong way. So would I recommend this amp to other blind players? Yes, but only if, - You are a competent computer user, as installing the firmware will not be possible if you are not. - You don’t mind finding a work around for the bits that aren’t accessible or are happy to just ask a band mate to tell you what colour an LED has changed to when you press a button. Every time I play through this amp it sounds fantastic. Ultimately it makes me want to play more and I think any piece of equipment that inspires you to play more can only be a good thing. To find out more about the Forte HP2 and other Bergantino products, visit the Bergantino website at: https://bergantino.com/

Miami blue US Pro ii. Stunning colour, sounds great too.

We do 4 at a time (and assume the drummer never listens to them)

A lesson learned: I didn't have a monitor and could only really hear the drums and my Bass (the rest of the band have in ears and PA but I use a cab), it caught me out on a few songs: not hearing vocals and guitar meant I missed the structure for things like when to go into the chorus. I immediately blamed the equipment ('I must get in ears, or a wedge for monitoring'), but really, I should be able to play all the songs to a metronome (let alone drums) so am going to up my practice regime.

MIJ PB70 reissue

The ability to learn fast is a skill to be learned. Now I have experience of jam nights (playing things blind with modest expectations) and depping (learning or refreshing 25-35 songs, with limited time, maybe no rehearsal with expectation of a quality performance) my attitude to bands learning songs has changed. I left a band after a year of honing things forever... The blues rock band I'm in, we will try and rehearse a song once or twice before playing it, but sometimes we will just jam something. This is largely down to knowing each others' style and habits so we can react on the fly; somee of our well rehearsed stuff is often different every time, although things like Radar Love are pretty much note for note every time. For more standard covers stuff, I think four or five new songs is perfectly reasonable for anyone, assuming a modest period to prepare. Ten is doable, if people are willing and able to put in the time, but some will struggle. Just two or three is barely worth the effort. As for number of rehearsals, just make sure they are for getting polished and used to playing together, not learning (the exception is if you all agree a new song and gave a shot at busking it).

Finally finished this project. Thanks Stoo for the idea. I added a feature to control YouTube which is super useful when practicing.

Mean Mr Mustard Polythene Pam She came in through the bathroom window Abbey Road

So this was today’s set up, as I still have the pins in my left hand where I severely damaged my thumb. Actually quite fun to try and convert bass fills that are second nature on the bass into something similar on the Moog!!

But that is the thing, you will never pick it up so it doesn't matter that it sounds great. So looks are very important.

Wake Me Up Before You Togo - Wham

Tonight ( Sunday) at 9.45pm on Sky Arts they are showing ‘Concert for George’. A wonderful celebration of the music of George Harrison by a star studded cast, in my view it’s one of the best rock docs ever, up there with ‘The Last Waltz’.

Hi all, welcome to the year of finishing stalled projects. 🙂 This was my plan last year (this year🤔, you know what I mean) but looking after increasingly unwell family members and fighting the black dog meant nothing got touched. Earlier this afternoon I decided to get off my derriere and do something about sorting these projects So let's kick off with this Danelectro 56 that I bought cheap about a year ago, as it should be a quick turnaround. My plan is just a quick respray with a couple of different touches. At first glance it's not in bad shape and could happily be used as is, but where's the fun in that 😉. A closer look reveals a lot of touch ups, random screw holes, some larger digs and a patch of paint missing on the side. A quick strip down and we have this Sanded all over with 240 and got rid of lighter digs. Filled the extra screw holes and sanded again with 240 ready for primer. All primed ready for a final prep tomorrow and it might get the basecoat tomorrow as I'll need that dry for the next step. It's not the usual way of painting but I'll go into detail why when I reveal (read have decided) what the final finish will be. I've got some bits on order which should be here next week so hopefully it can finish this next weekend or the one after.

Weezer Blue album. Opening 3 tracks: My Name Is Jonas No One Else The World Has Turned And Left Me Here

From ELO's Out Of The Blue: Big Wheels Summer and Lightning Mr Blue Sky I like how it starts with one of the saddest songs Jeff Lynne ever wrote and gets increasingly upbeat to finish on a high.

Holidays in The Sun, Bodies, No Feelings from Never Mind The Bollocks Here’s The Sex Pistols.

The opening three tracks of Manic Frustration by Trouble, the way each runs into the next, just sublime

It is wrong to suggest that looks aren't a factor. An instrument could be the finest, well crafted, hand finished, Smithsonian worthy example of its kind - if that instrument is a Jazz bass, it can get in the bin.

Makes perfect sense Pete. Come and see us when you get the chance think we’ve got one in Hull and backin Withernsea in August.

Punks not dead!

If you were hoping to fraudulently sell a non-existent amp, it could be very useful to have a legitimate serial number to help convince your mark. Maybe he was trying to prevent this kind of fraud.

I've never understood people's hang ups around serial numbers, trying to obfuscate them like it will somehow provide access to their bank details

Cretan Hop ～ The Ramones

I went down that route for a while, I started with the B205D and then upgraded to the TC VoiceSolo. I also tried the Mackie that the Behringer copied. On its own the Behringer sounds like a loud transistor radio, the Mackie sonded identical. The TC had a much better sound but the Behringer at a gig actually worked much better, it's the mids you need so that boxy/tinny sound worked way better than you expect. The Behringer is so top heavy on a stand and I ended up with it on a separate stand. The TC was better but still clumsy. Aterr this I bought my own floor monitor which was better but you need to figure out how you will mix, that three channel mixer and feed through on the B205 and others is really useful. In the end I went in-ears and couldn't believe how much effort money and time I'd wasted on what is a way inferior sound.

Hey Daryl - yes it is. I use a 1001RB amp into a Neo 4x10 cab. Been a GK user for approx 20 years now, and never any problems with it at all. Had a few different models including a 700RB and also a 800RB which I still have and is one of my favourite heads ever, second only to my old Ampeg SVT rig. Are you still using GK stuff?

Aldi things she said she said. Simple minds

It’s mad - if you hear “you can do it” from Tragic Kingdom, very busy but clean as a whistle, then “hella good” - like 3 notes… he’s epic - and in my all time top 5 players. humble and chilled too. Dreamcar his recent project are amazing too.

Small, medium or large?

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.

Why have a fixed number? Put 10 songs on the list, start at #1 and work your way through. You might have 3 or 5 or all of them under your belt by the end of the day. The secret of good rehearsals is to turn up knowing the songs.

My band practice for 1 hr max and try to blast off 2 tunes every practice. Just get in, play through the 2 we did last week then hammer two new ones.

Cool, I'm a GK guy. I have several 1001RBs, 400RBs and a couple of RBX cabs. Daryl

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

I want one. Absolutely no need whatsoever but yeah that’s had some thinking time behind it for sure.