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Hot and sweaty gig with the Andy Wales Blues Band at the Flying Circus in Newark last night. Lovely summer evening. I travelled light and just took my Yamaha BB604 - usually the last thing I’d associate with a blues band (when there’s a choice of a precision for example…) but in that format it worked really nicely. Got plenty of grit and punch if you play it hard, but smooth and fat if you ease off the gas a bit. Anyway, nice gig and for the bonus of seeing the northern lights on the way home. Pulled over on some dark country roads to watch them.

In over 30 years of playing I’d never played a Gibson bass (but I always wanted one). I remember in 2002 finding a Gibson Grabber for £250 in Trade-It (ask your dad) but it was gone when I called. Anyway, fast forward to 2024 and this dropped onto my inbox and promptly a deal was made. Pick up this week and the bass is here and what a wonderful thing.

Been interested in these for a while due to the nut width. This one popped up in conversation here and, well, one thing led to another and now it’s in my house! It came with a black scratchplate, which I thought looked ace, but the original white plate has aged to a lovely coffee-stain/cream colour, and looks absolutely effin fantastic! One surprise was the string width at the bridge - I’d just assumed it would be standard P spacing but it’s a little tighter. Nothing I won’t get used to. Changed the knobs just because.

Another wee Sold Out gig at Polmont Bowling Club. Lots of dancing, fun and just a great night by everyone. Half time sandwiches and drinks thrown in too. Used the Godin and the Handbox WB100 with Mesa SW210/115 cabs. Band members said the bass sounded more full. I still need to work on the hi-mids for better clarity at the top end tho. At moment i'm hearing bass and treble. A little more experimentation required Did have an aching back last night so thought i'd check the Godin weight and its 8.6lbs compared to 8 with my Sandberg VM4. Was a long gig tho started at 8pm, had a 30min break from 9:30pm to 10 and played until 11:40pm and then a rake of requests for pics with the band. Paid at half time and feedback was excellent. Got asked if we would be interested in doing a Dec gig at a venue in Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh. Guy was specifically there to see us with a view to book and was very impressed. 3-4 other enquiries on how to book the band too so all in all a productive night. Approx 1 hr drive home with virtually no traffic on country roads so that was great. I know these roads well from when i worked at Grangemouth for many many years. Dave

So, we’re setting up for an Islamabad open air spring festival… 6 bands and plenty of side stalls. Typically 36 degrees and sunny all week then a thunderstorm this morning. Hopefully the weather behaves itself for the next 24 hours as we’ve postponed it once already due to storms. I’m in three of the bands so should be a long but satisfying Saturday!

Hey gang I'm doing a couple of sold-out shows at Newcastle City Hall this weekend in the house band for the Auf Wiedersehen Pet 40th anniversary celebrations. 21 tunes, most of which I've never played before, all of which are bangers. We've been in rehearsals all week, with everything laid out as close as it will be in the night (albeit in a different venue). We're getting monitor mixes and FOH mix as close as it can be, so there shouldn't be a whole lot of work to do when we have production rehearsals in the hall tomorrow. Usually with gigs like this keys and arrangements can be rather fluid, right up to the show itself, and this one is no exception. It keeps me on my toes, especially as a non-reader. A few scribbled notes, a decent memory and a following wind will see me through. Gear-wise, I'm using what I use down the Dog and Duck... Handbox R-400 head, TKS S212 cab, and '71P with flats, and a Maruszczyk Jake with rounds (haven't decided which will get the nod yet), and an LR Baggs Venue DI (used only for silent tuning). FOH is getting the cab mic'd with a Beyer M88 and a DI from the R-400. I'm told a 50/50 mix is being used. The band are a bunch of great lads, and it's been a pleasure so far. Tomorrow, we're moving into the City Hall. I'll post updates when I can. This is Jamie. Jamie's a mixing GOD. Monitors...

I’m glad it’s in the hands of a player rather than someone who could potentially be a collector or seller, but it’s bad of a shop to renegade on an agreed sale.

That’d be this bass I built when I was 16. 16 year old me had very different aesthetic preferences than 36 year old me. It’s also the heaviest bass I’ve ever played 😂

I’ve had this happen to me and it’s really gut wrenching too. Bad form for the shop to do so. That’s noted.

Haven't posted this since I completed the project back in August, but here it is! I converted a BB424X into a lookalike BB2000 over the course of a few months. Have a watch: https://youtu.be/7FuJalEa8UM Currently working on converting a BBN4i to fretless, project video should be up within the next month. If anyone has details regarding the possible cease-and-desist from EBMM to Yamaha regarding the tuner configuration (or about the model in general), let me know!

R.A.C. P.E.C.T. - Aretha Franklin

So you've got a "year of conception bass"? Hmm, wonder if that's a reason to buy another bass?

Took me years to save up and get it. Used to record a few albums and play all my big gigs. Now safely stored under a futon.

I think you're missing the most important point. It's got flashing lights!

An A/B switch at the end of your effects chain. A goes to the amp. B goes to a headphone amp.

We do some Susan Tedeschi, John Prine, Buddy Miles and some Tom Petty. Not traditional covers. And our band is very heavy on guitar solos. Traditional covers in my area are the bands that play "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey Daryl

First show done…

I love them, but I ended up with a Sire P8 instead, which is superb for the price. 18nn bridge spacing too!

I find it impossible to dislike CB. First, he's genuinely musical, even if it's not really my taste. Secondly, unlike most YouTube slapmeisters, he gigs and is in two real bands.

I've had Cort Rithimic pictured below since 2016, I think. I've got that picture saved as 'bass collection 2017', which would be about right. I'd actually sold all my bass gear and had bought some guitars that I was messing on with. In about 2013 or so I found myself in a funk with bass and decided to shift over to guitar. It was fun, but the desire to play bass again came back big time and I suddenly found myself absolutely hooked on Jeff Berlin's my music and playing. I found the Rithimic listed for sale here by the well-known British rock bassist Neil Murray in the summer of 2016. I also bought a Markbass Jeff Berlin combo amp and a TC Electronic Corona chorus pedal to make the right noises. I've played countless hours on it since and it now has Jeff's signature on the back of the headstock. I still own the Pedulla too, which I must have bought around September 2016.

I still technically own my Hohner Arbor P copy that I stole from my brother in the early 90s. Some idiot* defretted it with a pair of pliers so the neck is like a banana and covered in splinters and plastic wood stuff. Completely unplayable, unsellable and useful only as a cautionary tale. No pictures as it lives at my Mum's in Manchester gathering (more) dust - she asks if I'm going to take it with me every time I visit. I am not. *Me

Sadowsky Metroexpress from the stock sale on Thomann…absolutely brilliant!

Thank you so much everyone for posting about this bass, it looks like I’m going to be the new owner! I’ve wanted a Wal bass since I started playing bass guitar when I was 16… I’m 34 now. I’m a huge fan of Flea/RHCP, he is why I play bass and I love Tool/Justin Chancellor and my old bass tutor is a big fan of Rush, we saw him do a talk together last yet… I have my own alternative rock band called Earls of Eden https://www.instagram.com/earlsofeden https://www.facebook.com/share/iTN6fLnVYZxkh2Zt/?mibextid=LQQJ4d and we have our debut album coming out later this year so give us a follow! I own quite a few basses including an Alembic Europa, Rickenbacker 4003, Music Man Stingray Special, American Standard Fender Jazz & Precision basses. In “real life” I work in HR in a bank - the day job pays for the hobby! Would love to be a full time rockstar but happy to just for fun. Anyway, I’ve been hunting for a 4 string fretted Wal MK2 for several years now. 2 years ago I emailed Wal to enquire about pricing and Wal owner Paul Herman said they are not taking any new orders and have a backlog over 4+ years long… I’ve emailed them a few times since and they just don’t even reply anymore so I figured getting a new one now is just impossible… so I’ve been searching online the past few years on every guitar shop website and reverb trying to find one. The handful of Wals I did find were all either MK1s or Fretless or left handed or 5 string MK2s ranging from £6-12k. I tried out a Wal MK1 in denmark street last week and they were asking for £10K!? Fretted MK2s seem to be very very rare and sell almost as quickly as they appear online in minutes… So I was on the Facebook group “Bass Players” https://www.facebook.com/share/grWV6JkPGoL4nUsS/?mibextid=K35XfP and I noticed on Tuesday someone had made a post asking about how long it takes to order a Wal bass… https://www.facebook.com/share/p/rxY21NrA5VMrchkD/?mibextid=WC7FNe I then from that thread started chatting to a guy called Michael who had just bought a 2nd hand Wal MK2 from someone off this bass chat website and suggested I check there so I made a login on Tuesday night around 10pm… …Then on Wednesday afternoon while I was working at home on my laptop, I was bored so browsed basschat, noticed this thread talking about a fretted Wal MK2 in a guitar shop in Wales and I was excited and shocked… I immediately called up the shop at 3.20pm (they closed at 3.30pm), spoke to the owner saying I wanted to buy the Wal. He said he had already sold it to some American. I said I would pay more and it’s easier to send it & sell it to me in London than a dude in the USA. The owner said he would think about it and call me later. That evening at 9pm he called me and gave me a price to outbid the American and we agreed. The shop owner from Wales is actually coming to deliver me the Wal in-person next week… (he needs to be in London for his band’s producer apparently so an excuse for a visit haha). I’m so happy and I almost can’t believe it!!! Thank you again everyone, I’ll send a pic once I have it in my hands!

Rockin' my Parker!

Impressive work for a young lad.

I owned a black Pro I for a while, absolutely lovely bass with a fantastic B string and weighed 4kg. The B string was great and the neck felt amazing. I will end up with another one soon no doubt! I think the string spacing was 18.3mm, it was certainly narrower than my 4 string but very comfortable and if anything slightly easier to play

It is a very odd name, but not as odd as this…

Seeing as this is a thread about Charles' tapping skills and you mentioned, Bernth, it's probably worth posting this.

No Chance - Billy Connolly

Picked this B stock Andertons own brand Strat up just before Christmas as it was an easy way to get a white body for a project guitar but I'm having second thoughts as it's rather good! I find myself playing it more than any of my more expensive guitars. I'll change the strings and put some Lemon Oil on the rather dry (12" radius) fretboard and live with it as is for now. Amazing what you can find for little money these days. Excuse the window reflections in the main head on pic.

I don't have much call for P basses, but everyone needs one, right? So this was my lockdown panic present, of which the body, knobs and scratchplate are original. Pickup is a Seymour Duncan housed in a cheap cream housing. Loom is Kiogon, neck and tuners are Fender 70s-style and bridge is one of them chunky Fender Mexico jobs.

I'm not sure you'll get a MIJ 62 reissue within budget, if you see one at that price then snap it up. They're a fantastic bit of kit and my favourite Fenders. If you haven't played on before just be aware that they have a gloss neck, narrow frets and a more curved fingerboard radius. Some people don't like a gloss neck, but that and the frets are what I really love about that range. Sire do make great J's and they're worth a look. If it were me though I'd be picking up a G&L Tribute JB. The neck is glossed and it's also a tad wider/rounder in the hand (back to front, the nut width is the same) than the current Fender MiM line up. They're nice basses for not a lot of money. There's one in the classifieds now (that has nowt to do with me)

Was listening to this album last night, good tunes on there, Flabba laying down some nice basslines with Harrison Stafford , I’ve put the trailer first full song

The trick is to take your time to set up a good sound at a technical rehearsal. Once you know you have a good mix then that becomes what you take to every gig so it is then just about adjusting the volume to suit the venue. You might want to adjust the eq to match the room but something you’ve taken hours doing is going to be much better than making adjustments from behind your PA which you can’t hear. It takes a bit of discipline not to change your instrument volumes gig to gig and I still go out front with a radio connection to have a listen but unless someone competent is sitting out front mixing it’s the best you can do.

My Maison 129p is my longest had instrument. Bought in '92 I think, and it sounds absolutely lovely through my Vox amp. Sadly, the volume knob on the bass no longer works so I have to get that replaced, and I'm planning on removing the name decal from the body at some point - someone here recommended T-Cut for that, I haven't got around to doing it yet. It was the second bass I ever owned, and the first 5-String. Mark

I had the later green stripe stingray head and will buck the trend and admit I liked it a lot. It was way better than the equivalent HH VS Bassamp of the time in my opinion and louder/more powerful. 150 watts @ 4 ohms and around 100 watts @ 8 ohms. Built tough, solid and very reliable. Loud as thunder as well. The preset tone buttons were admitedly a bit hit or miss but its simplicity was its strong point. I recently bought one for nostalgic purposes and did use it briefly with a band. It sounded great and was very reliable. As with lots of stuff of this era, they were weighty. The Stingray combo I had was immensely heavy which is why I've now sold it on to some vintage amp enthusiasts who were much younger and fitter than I am. They loved it even though it weighed a ton. The drivers in these big reflex horn stingrays are very efficient Fane units with 3 inch voice coils. Very unusual for the time. The one I just sold was over 40 years old and all original. If a nice condition green stripe head came along I'd be quite tempted but I wouldn't buy the earlier silver face ones. Too old, and will almost certainly need a bit of servicing especially if they look a bit tatty and well used.

This grand old lady, which I've owned for... twenty years 🤯 I did sell it to a friend in a fit of madness but luckily he quickly realised he was a Jazz man so I soon got it back. Lesson learnt!

Nope, but I do know their accordion player, Tommy Banner - small world.

I got the email from DPD today that it is on its way, so should arrive next week.

Here's my original video about using Zoom recorders for ambient mixes. I'm building a solution (when I get round to it) that could be an interesting tool. The soldering iron needs to come out!

Hi gentlemen. After some time chasing one used at a reasonable price I just got a GV5 and I must say it's the best 5 sring Jazz style bass I've owned. SO engaging to play. Skinny neck, responsive, punchy, barks effortlessly. Really loving it. I've owned a Sire V3 5-string for about a year and even tho' there's nothing wrong with it I never found myself playing it that much. At the same time I've been growing increasingly amazed by MarkBass Gloxy GV basses. I think the V3 is OK, plays nice, sounds OK, lots of tone options, but the tone is a bit too tame for me (there's more growly Jazz Basses). I've been particularly impressed by a Yamaha SBV-500 I got last Xmas (yep, the samurai bass), best Jazz Bass I've owned, I'd like those pickups for all my basses, super agressive, yet ballsy and detailed, lov'em. The bad thing about them is that going back to a normal Jazz Bass is a drag, all sound so "shy" to me now, including the V3. The Gloxy weights the same (about 4kg, doesn't feel basswood at all), looks much better, sounds better than any Sire I've played (and I've played many, mostly V7s) and is overall way more engaging to play. The only bad thig I can say about the bass is one I find really TERRIBLE. Volume pots' position is some of the worst I've seen on any bass, they get right in my way when picking (and I pick for half the stuff I play). IDK why this isn't a thing amongst instrument designers, controls should be DAMM FAR FROM THE STRINGS, like Musicman FAR, really, manufacturers please stop doing this, thank you. Haven't opened the control cavity up yet, don't know how messy it is in there, but I'm definitely dealing with this HORRIBLE design decision, either by removing knobs and leaving just the pot shafts, or maybe fitting some rubber washers to use as ultra flat knobs. If none of that works I'd think of more drastic solutions, such as going "fixed" active EQ, hide those 3 EQ pots, move the 3 top pots to the lower row and use it VVT like a regular Jazz Bass. Besides that BIG rookie'ish screwup with knob position the bass is AWESOME.

A nice change from the pub gigs with pisht punters on Friday night - album launch gig (Persona Non Grata by Noel Fraser - it's on all the streaming sites) for my erstwhile Singist/BL...he's gone all Country(ish), hence the daft hat and my check shirt. Unusual venue (tho a touch epic), the sound was apparently good out front, but onstage it was the swirly, bouncy, reverby nightmare I'd feared. The drummer was using a mix of sticks, hotrods and brushes, and he and I had to have his drums in our monitor , because even standing next to him it was tough to hear what he was playing on the more subtle songs...a good evening, though... I like this one, tho it's more about the bass than me...