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Last minute booking for 4 Play 😒 at Edward’s Bar in Grantham. 4:30 start, home by 9… great! 45 min drive each way. A little grim on the drive home coz of the weather. Played well enough, good feedback, decent pay and we played all bar one of the requests that came in. Another Sunday afternoon gig next weekend. I LIKE Sunday afternoon gigs!

… a brief appraisal of the wonderful Mr Karn from the excellent PDBass.

Any excuse...

A couple of months ago I was asked if I would like to join a newly forming blues band. I was quite flattered to be asked to be honest, as some of you might know I haven't been playing bass for very long (just over two years) having been a guitarist for the last 40 years. The guy forming the band is quite well known around here, having been in two rather famous and successful bands in the 80's, touring the world and doing TV. The other musicians are not slouches either, one moved to Chicago for five years to immerse himself in the blues, and the drummer has played the Royal Albert Hall, twice! Rehearsals are low key but diligent affairs, well run, well planned, briefed in advance on what to learn. Three new ones each week, and by the end of rehearsal they are recorded as a reminder of form and structure. All rehearsals are at the band leaders house, in his cellar, which is well kitted out and comfortable, and we often retire to the pub around 9.30 for a bit of reflection. The thing I hadn't anticipated, was being asked to try out a few of the numbers on lead vocal. Which I did for the first time on Wednesday, and it seems they have stuck and are now my tunes. More will be coming my way in due course. It's the one thing I thought I would never do again, sing lead vocal. This time last year, I would never have managed it, as playing bass and singing is a whole other level of difficult than playing guitar and singing, but here I am. Onwards. Rob

Not exactly my gig but I wandered into my local and was treated like a minor celebrity. At the end the band's set, the promoter insisted all the regular musicians get up for one song. Of course they picked a song I didn't know, so I recreated Bob Dylan's performance on the "We Are the World" video". They are all amazing musicians but I think I added nothing! 😸

I've gone back to using my '64 Hofner 500/1 bass as my main player again.

Thanks for posting that... Mick Karn was one of the reasons that I started playing bass when everybody around me was learning to play guitar. His unique style and sound were so inspirational. I have most of his solo albums - not easy listening for non bass players which goes some way to explaining why he wasn't commercially successful however you only need to look at the list of collaborations to see that he was admired by his contemporaries. I just hope that his music and fame have the longevity that he deserves.

Board as of today Free The Tone make great equipment

I was amazed at how brilliantly well the whole thing was carried out. You read about things like this in other parts of the world but rarely in the UK. The whole place was well designed and constructed, with a superb foyer and bar area for the punters along with excellent backstage facilities ( green room & excellent dressing rooms etc). There was a Meyer Leopard line array PA installed too. I heard someone say the whole thing had cost £1.8m to bring about, and they were expecting to be back in the old theatre by the latter part of 2024. ( Am guessing the new structure will then be taken down and sold ).

Not last night but earlier today. Played the new Tyneside Americana and Blues Festival this afternoon with Ten Bob Blind, our female fronted Americana/Country band. The festival was organised over three days with three stages all within a local social club. The festival was really well attended with over 400 attending each day. Lucked out with the provided back line, an Eden World Traveller head and Markbass 2x10 supplied by the PA guy who was also a bass player so I had a lush sound both on stage and FOH. Hopefully this festival will become a regular on the national calendar 🤞

Played in Dartford last night. The Orchard Theatre was closed down as a result of defective concrete that was found in the roof in September 2023, and our gig there soon afterwards was cancelled. However, due to amazing work done by Dartford Borough Council and Trafalgar Theatres, they managed to construct a brand new temporary theatre venue close by to The Orchard, which was built and opened for business in late November 2023 as The Orchard West, only 9 weeks later! Absolutely incredible feat, and shows what can be done when people work together. Businesses in the town were worried that they would struggle without the theatre bringing in people, and the council listened and reacted accordingly. It was ready for the Panto season! Anyway, we had around 800 people in ( holds just over a thousand) and it went really well. Great audience and the theatre crew were amazing. A long drive back though, dodging muppets on the M25 and M1 as well as long 50mph speed restrictions for no apparent reason meaning I got home just before 3am. Bit of lunch soon and then am driving up to Scarborough this afternoon for my favourite gig with our acoustic duo. Severe weather warnings in place so crossing everything.

Been in a covers band for about a year and a half. I have got to know the guys pretty well by now. We are all in our 60's and the oldest,the keyboard guy has just turned 68. The band has been going for about 7 years and during this time they have settled in to a set of songs which cover our weekend gigs and allow the set to be changed slightly each gig. It's pretty clear now that we need a few more songs to keep it fresh as they say! During a conversation after a gig the other night it was made clear by the keys guy that he really wasn't in to any new songs coming in as he feels we have everything covered and that the band was super tight...which it is. The rest of us tried to push him a bit in to being open to at least running over some ideas.He then said he would but it may take some time as he is struggling with our current set and mistakes have started creeping in now and again. In all fairness we all make the odd slip up from time to time. But after having conversations with him on the way home it seems his general health isn't that good at the moment and he would prefer using his practise time to keep on top of the current set rather than lose any ground by bringing in songs that will take up his time and headspace. We have had a chat and at the moment we are giving him the option of doing what he can to get through the gigs. There isn't any question of replacing him unless he feels he is no longer up to the job. Fingers crossed we get through the year as ther is over 45 gigs between now and December. Anyway...anyone else in similar situation with band mates or indeed themselves. I am 63 in a couple of weeks and hopefully have a few years still left in me! In fact I have joined another band and have a bundle of other songs to get on with! Now...where did I put my bass!!..

Played at my favourite gig last night with my acoustic duo at The Lookout on the harbour in Scarborough. Usual request night with plenty of variety. I was a bit shaken doing the old standard 'Have you met Miss Jones?', which I'd forgotten was such a bug*er to play - unusual changes throughout (for non-jazzers like me anyway) but my guitarist partner held it all together and nobody died. Can't have been that bad as we got another gig offered at the end of the night for a customer's private party, so all good. A sold out gig despite the appalling weather, which made for an interesting drive home for us. We're back there in a couple of weeks, and I'm already looking forward to it.

Mmmmmm, Karn versus Pastorius..... The 'Pastorius opened the doors' argument is reasonable, but there's something about Karn's style that does seem to have been possible even had Jaco not popularised fretless. When I was 20 Karn seemed to be the epitome of new wave cool, listening to those lines today he sounds kinda......... Jazz 🤔

Are YOU having a problem with the weight? If not then don't worry about what others think

Finally got my mitts on a Sandberg Lionel today. This one to be precise. I have to say it was lovely. The neck was smooth and fast, felt like a cross between a P and a J to me. Wasn’t a fan of the active circuit but in passive mode I really enjoyed the tone. I have always been convinced I’d get a maple neck/maple board if I ever had the funds to buy one but the pau ferro board was gorgeous and I expect helped with the warm smooth tone. Certainly gave me some food for thought if I ever get to the point of being able to afford one…

Sorry! I thought this might be a thread about parliament. As you were.

Based in Colchester this store operates on an appointment only system, took me a few attempts to time my visits but this weekend they had a time slot available! The store is amazing laid out to mimic an old western saloon and the vibe here is awesome Stock is very good too, separate rooms to demo and they make you a coffee as well. No feeling of being rushed and a great buying experience Service is absolutely spot on and I would say they are probably the best store I’ve visited and will become my main supplier now based on their service etc If you are near to Essex it’s worth checking them out but get an appointment first !

My lovely horse. - Father Ted (you might have to be a Craggy Island nerd to get it… sorry)

I feel particularly lucky to have seen Japan twice, both times at Hammersmith Odeon in 1981 *christ...* I still listen to Modern English, the support band for the first gig. Just reminiscing to myself really, nothing to see here...

Well they both certainly had their own unique and distinctive ‘voice’ on the instrument, which I always think isn’t that common - a lot of really good players can sound like a lot of really good players, but don’t have their own distinctive voice. Of the two, musically, Mick Karn appeals to me much more. A genuinely unique musician, and also cool as f**k. It’s a winning combination!

Totally agre with the chap, except that Mick Karn should be rated, not "up with Jaco", but "well above Jaco".

You may disagree with my comments about the 1/8-rated power designation for labeling, but it’s fact not opinion. Its part of every global safety regulation and in order to legally place the CE mark under the CB scheme regulations, the power consumption that’s on the label must be the minimum of 1/8-rated audio power or higher IF the manufacturer intends for the amp to be used at higher average duty cycles. Every product that complies with CB scheme (IEC 60065 or 62368 with national differences) is required to be marked in this way. I do this regulatory stuff every day as part of my design work.

A lot of really cheap ukes have tuning, intonation and playability issues and hold the player back. For a small upgrade you can get a pretty decent one. You don't need to go high level, just something around 100 quid, similar to a starter level bass.

I was literally about to do that.

I have a nice solid wood Donner ukelele I have no use for if you want it? Pay postage and it’s yours. I have one of these which I got at an incredible price from Toby. http://www.jazzboxukes.com/emporium.htm

Clarification? Oh. I see what you mean. No. I'm just a diabetic with tourette's.

Ibhad a couple of instances in which it was the machine heads themselves that were rattling. Try touching/holding the machin heads in various ways and see if it changes. It may not be the one attached to the A

I had both USA Deluxe HH in 4 and 5 strings. I really liked them, especially the 5 and in retrospect I don't know why I got rid. Reminded me a lot of a StingRay 5 in the neck feel,profile and string spacing. Sounded stellar too, especially the in between settings (both inner and outer coils) No drop off in volume between settings. Price on these is going up from what I can see. They were silly cheap a while back. Not now

Where did this "would of" thing come from? It's "would have", or "would've" if you're desperate to shave off two characters from what you're typing. Is school crap now? When did the word "neck" begin with a k? Why can't people be bothered to spell "Squier" correctly? It's right there in front of you on the bloody headstock! I see break/brake regularly swapped, along with heel/heal. Yes, they sound the same. Sounds mean nothing when you're typing/writing... OK, I'm done. Or am I?

No, that is not what it means. That is the power that is drawn by the amp at 1/8-rated audio power in rms metrics, into the minimum rated load. It's a minimum labeling requirement by the global safety regulations (assuming that it does comply with IEC 62368-1. The actual amount drawn can't exceed 200 watts but may in fact be less to account for any duty cycle additions beyond 12.5% that the manufacturer wishes to address. It's fairly easy to take that power consumption number and calculate the approximate rated audio power... Since the average efficiency of a SMPS + class D amplifier is 85%, take 800 watts RMS, multiply it by 0.125 and divide the result by 85% and this number must be less than 200W. (800 x .125)/.85 = 118W which is less than 200W. Now is this amp a good idea for a 200 watt/4 ohm speaker? It's perfectly fine as long as you don't have an accident, have a lapse in good judgement or have unrealistic expectations of the speaker's capabilities. It's one reason why we see blown speakers, nobody's perfect.

(What's So Funny 'Bone) Peace, Love and Understanding? ～ Elvis Costello

Not so...I had one - really liked it. Very good basses, well balanced, good tonal range, nice neck and great build quality (always an issue for me with Fender). They can be picked up for relatively silly money - after all they're not a J or a P so your hardcore Fender-rite can't be seen playing one in public. Don't be put off by negative comments by others who think that Fender should have stopped designing new basses after introducing the J bass.

Fun gig, not a huge crowd. I was happy with my playing. We had a lot of cool grooves last night. Daryl

Long time since I've posted on here as I've had my hands full with a new job, new baby and a new puppy, but I was able to finally find a status neck. I made some sleeving out of carbon fibre tube to reduce the tuner hole diameter allowing me to fit some Gotoh GB707 tuners and get it strung to make sure everything aligns right. Made a carbon fibre neckplate and battery cover for the back so everything ties in. This is how it looks now, little bit more work left to do. Need to do a bit of resin work to sort the holes in the back of the headstock and want a thinner battery cover but I love how it looks.

Hello It has come to my attention that NBs need Declaring so here it goes 🙃 I’ve been considering getting a Reverend Decision P for a while, I tried to find one to try it first but couldn’t make it work, I researched youtube and the internet in general for info but there wasn’t so much and then last week, i jumped. It’s not the right thing to do (buying without trying) but I must say this time it worked out for me. My midnight black Reverend Decision P arrived today and I’ve been playing it all day. Love the thing. The way it feels, the sounds you can get out of it, the weight and yes also the way it looks. I will probably change the strings to flatwounds but in the meantime here’s a little vid and a photo for happiness Hope everyone is well DDR NBD.mov

Frankly as we get older I feel we need to be mentally challenged, or our brains will vegetate. Interestingly, my brother in law, who is an professional electric guitarist/vocalist in his early 60s, has complained of forgetfulness and he's member of a band that is the house band at a local music venue. They play with different front men/women twice per month and he has to learn their sets. Some of those songs are standard but many are songs he's never heard before and he learns them pretty flawlessly every two weeks. I feel if he hadn't had that incentive to learn new songs, as a work out for his brain, the issue with his memory would be far worse than it is.

Sorry Peter! Have a look at What came this morning 😊

No, IME that's a pointless way of doing it - the tonal differences between having either coil or both in parallel is minimal in the extreme. I wired mine parallel (both)/single (rear)/series (both) - there's definite differences between series and parallel that make it worth actually doing. See the thread about the bass in particular here: https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/484563-belated-nbd-harley-benton-hb-50-prototype

Thick as a Prick, Part 1 ～ Jethro Tull

I spoke to Dave Green a few weeks back about a new cloth grill for a second hand cab I'd bought with a slightly rusty metal grill. He offered to make one up if I came down with the cab, real good guy to talk too as well. I didn't actually take him up as I've now sold the cab, but still, a great bit of service! Not sure how their US reps are, but it sounds like that's where some of the trouble lies.

My Vintage VJ74 arrived today. I installed the Hipshot tuners, oiled the fingerboard, checked frets for level, sanded the horrible gloss off the back of the neck, installed the straplocks, lined all the cavities with adhesive copper (including under the bridge for a foolproof connection) and gave it a good setup. Balances perfectly, electrics work as they should, sounds pretty good with some new Dunlop Nickels. BUT! The nut is going to have to be dealt to. It's a Graphtech, but it's cut all wrong. The outer strings were about 18 thou over the first fret but the inner two were about 15 thou and buzzing badly. Unfortunately it's been stuck in pretty solidly and will not budge, so I'll need to have a replacement on hand when I apply some brute force to it! Most luthiers think that 21 or 22 thou clearance is about right. As it stands presently, I cannot get the action down to where I like it because of the nut. Also, the slots are cut really deep in the nut, so the whole string sits below the top of the nut. Bad form Vintage. Otherwise it's pretty good all round. I have two gigs this week so will see how that goes.

The year is 2001. 11-year-old me is at the local music shop to buy my very first fretless bass. There are two available. One is a Yamaha RBX270F, basically the fretless version of the RBX170 I started out on, 2 years earlier. The other one is an amber coloured Yamaha TRB 5IIF I instantly fall in love with. Even at my age I immediately feel: this is it. This is the one. I want this bass. But the TRB is over twice as expensive as the RBX and the RBX is also pretty cool (because it’s black, you know how it goes). So I got the RBX. No problem, I’m happy with my bass. Two years later I buy my first fretless Fender bass. The wish for a TRB was still there. I had a fretted one (also amber), I had a defretted version of the TRB I (the one with the slap cut), but never that one. The amber coloured, fretless one. Fast forward to late 2022. I visit Dutch bass player Phaedra Kwant for a second episode of my podcast Basgasten. We chat a bit after the recording, and happen to stumble upon the subject of the fretless TRB. She says “well, I have a fretless amber coloured TRB that I bought from that very shop around that time. And I still have it.” So she gets the bass and hands it to me. And I feel immediately: this is it. The one that got away. So I ask Phaedra to pleeeaaase think of me first should she ever sell it. And then it’s December 2023. I get a text message: “Hey man! How’s life? I’m seriously considering selling the fretless TRB. Are you still sentimentally interested?” And so, this morning, I went to Phaedra’s studio and take home the bass I wanted to take home almost 23 years ago. And it’s still as amazing as it was 23 years ago.