Leaderboard

A bit late but it's been a busy week. Last Thursday I drove 400km to Manitoulin Island to play at a bluegrass festival with a band called Simply Blu (dumb name, not my idea) that I have been with for about 18 months. We have 5 members, 3 of us live close to each other but the others are 3 and 5 hours away so we decide on set lists and the three of us rehearse and then meet up with the other two at the venue for a run through. All are seasoned bluegrass players and excellent musicians and the music comes together quickly and away we go. We played two sets on two days of the three day festival and had a good time with only a few bad moments. It was supposed to be on an outdoor stage but incredibly bad weather for all three days with wind and rain and temps in the 10 to 13 C range meant we played in a small hockey arena that was on the festival site, sound was a bit of an issue but we managed, good FOH sound crew. I also played a set with a band that needed a bass player. I had never met them before the festival but they sent me a set list and I learned the 13 songs and I met them the evening before the gig, we had a one hour rehearsal the next day before our set and it went amazingly well. That band is basically a family band, the leader and his three teen kids are the main part and a banjo player and I filled things out and we all had a good time. The highlight for me was the Thursday night open mic jam, I was the only bass player at the jam and spent a wonderful two and a half hours playing some songs that I knew and a lot that I had heard but never played and a few that were new to me. Luckily I also play guitar so I watched the guitarists for the chords but in bluegrass that is made a bit tricky because they use capos all the time, I had some nice compliments about my playing so I guess what I played was acceptable. Great fun and I learned a lot, I'm primarily a jazz guy so I'm still learning bluegrass. We have two more festivals to play this summer and I'm looking forward to them. I used my old Czech bass with Spiros and a pickup into the PA and it sounded great.

I hope I get a chance to check out some of the cars too. We played this gig last year with no stage. This year they have a stage. We have not played together since March 8th. I found a clip from that show. Daryl

I've put the Meatball on my pedalboard (it JUST fits!) so I can do the final phase of testing against my Mutron. I might need to move the tuner sideways a bit but I stuck it down with that ridiculously strong dual lock and might leave that fight for another day P.S I sometimes like an octave or fuzz in the Meatball loop - I tend to use an OC2 but I might make another board just for the loop with another fuzz and phaser on it too.

Old furniture can be picked up for very little at the moment. I'm pretty sure that one of the major complaints from partners is how unsightly instruments are on stands in the living room. Possible solution??

This just popped up on my Facebook feed. It's a guys website (https://luthierylabs.com) - he's made a couple of Rickenbacker copies based off the 325 guitar body shape. Ignore the Home Depot and Fender logos on the headstocks! Despite my disliking of sunburst finishes, the bottom image is probably the nicer of the two, especially with the 3001 style headstock; I'd like to see one with a four-knob/black plate on that one. The bodyshape really works in my opinion.

I do own a Bite Bass, the P Body with two reverse P pickups with positioning similar to a 70s Jazz Bass. Im happy with mine, I only have (had) an american L2K for a proper high-end comparison. The Bass feels very well put together, very comparable to the build quality of the L2K. The pots got a bit scratchy as ftet 4 months of owning it, I still have to figure out why that is. I can send you an MP3 of a sound comparison versus a Squier CV60 equipped with an EMG Geezer P Pickup. I'll probably switch the pickups out to Geezers because I personally prefer the slightly more Vintagey voice of the Geezers. The Bite pickups do have their merrit though, they work perfectly in many applications, live aswell as in my very unprofessional home studio. I've actually picked up my Bass from their little Workshop because I live in Vienna (where there HQ is located) very lovely people. If you have any specific questions (anybody in the thread) please ask me them.

Ebolacaster

Might not even be workable if you don't have enough spare height on your bridge saddles and pickups which would have to be adjusted every time, probably more effore to fit than just swapping necks. Plus it negates the excuse to buy a completely new bass which is against forum rules.

They have 8 base colors which are a bit cheaper. I went for a custom color which was 30-40€ extra I think. They do every color, burst or graphic but it obviously gets pricier the more special you want. Not much different from other builders. I included a picture of my Bite Bass which is how I mentioned in a custom color -Eggshell white because their blonde was to blond and their white to white.

oh yes!

We are doing a Hot Rod and Classic car event in Aug at a holiday park with Glam band. We played the holiday park last year and by coincidence the car club just happened to be there that weekend. The holiday park originally booked us. The car club then asked us if we could play it in 2024 on same weekend but we were already booked that weekend so they moved their club event booking to suit us. Looking forward to it again this year and i might even get a look at some of the cars this time. Dave

THIS SATURDAY EVERYONE! Maple Road Blues Band plays this fantastic car show from 11am-2pm! Check it out! Jenny L. Abbott-Goodell Daryl Wheeler Max Jones Rory Grouse *Heidi Lange Rods -N- Relics Car Club We haven't played together or rehearsed in months. This is a car show, it's walk by traffic. We'll get a chance to work out the kinks for some of the higher profile summer shows coming up. Especially our 8:30 slot at Bastille Days. Daryl * I have no idea who Heidi is.

Another very lovely discovery last night was when using the EICH T900 and the Monaco, playing my PBass with a pick I had the best sound I’ve ever had. Great rock tone and put my Ampeg gear to shame. First time I thought hell yeah that’s the sound I want !!

OK - confession time. When @PaulThePlug asked if I could convert a Squier guitar neck to a micro-tonal my answer was, of course, 'Yes!' Followed very quickly by the question, 'Er...and just what is a microtonal neck??' And there began a journey into a world previously unknown to me. Bands like King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard and their album Microtonal Flying Banana, Turkish traditional string instruments, etc, etc. Fascinating. The practicality...adding a half pitch between each semitone. I used the excellent on-line github FretFind2D program to work out the fret positions: Being non-standard (from a Western point of view) arrangement, it was going to need to be hand marked and slotted. We discussed whether it was easier to just ad a fret bang in the middle of each fret pair but, even though the human ear probably isn't capable of hearing the difference, nevertheless - as all measurements need to be done from the nut in anycase - it was just as easy to measure the correct scale positions. The hand marking was done with an accurate steel rule and a very sharp point! Next job would be cutting the frets!

all these boards are very neat so coming in like a brick, I switched the sea moon for the boss power driver

Sold my Ampeg cab today and the fella came to try it out equipped with a Sandberg California II VS4 I believe it was and it sounded incredible. Never seen or heard one in person before and now I'm currently trying to find one to order, had a play on the one today and i'm completely sold!

Frets in and new fret-ends being filed: So, with that done we have all the frets now ready for levelling, re-crowning and polishing. Oh, goodness...HOW many frets???????

My Spector euro 5 LX, Tiger stripe on mint condition with Bartolini pups and spector gig bag.

That looks like a 1970's switch board. So cool 👌

I agree Dave, really like that

Been listening to a lot of Herbie Hancock's 70s jazz funk albums and I'd nominate all his band members who both excelled on their instruments and also featured on hundreds of recordings by other artists. In particular there was guitarist Wah Wah Watson, the man behind the guitar on Papa Was a Rolling Stone by The Temptations. Other credits include Blondie, Beach Boys, Michael Jackson, Cher, Boz Scaggs...

Being of a certain age, Japan were my main band 1978/80...I can take joy from the spartanly attended gigs I schlepped up to London for; Dingwalls, The Venue, Music Machine, Lyceum, Royal Opera House. Me and a mate saw them at The Rock Garden and then got into The Greyhound a couple of days later. Mick Karn was always the primary focal point. Nobody/fans gave a rats bumhole about them early days. It was like they were our little secret. The Lyceum shows were interesting; the first was about a 1/4 full, the next was absolutely rammed. Quiet Life changed everything really. Gone was all the psuedo-aggressive punk/funk and the audience was just full of peacocks that were more interested in the clothes and aura behind the band rather than the music. Diminishing returns too. My last gig was one of the later Hammersmith shows and it was terrible, Rob Dean long gone, almost erasing memories of just a couple of years previously. Moving back to Mick Karn, yep, genius. Groundbreaking. Inspiring. Brilliant. I honestly don't believe we, as bassplayers, knew just how great he actually was until he was gone.

Helix. Seriously though I don't think I have used 9 blocks in a signal path on the Helix yet. My current default patch is a compressor, distortion/EQ, chorus, and delay (plus volume pedal and tuner) and that does nearly everything I need.

I once bought a bass on here from a guy in Norway. I bought it for the Status neck and the upgraded pickup/electronics. When I took the neck off I found 50% of his library card tucked under the body end of the neck. My fear is I now owe the Norwegian library service considerable overdue book fees 😂

I am sure someone will love this. But not me https://www.bassdirect.co.uk/product/nash-guitars-pb-55-2-tone-sunburst-extra-heavy-aged/

I'd like to share some pictures of my new custom built Rikkers Powerline. It has a red alder body with a black walnut top, maple neck with a ziricote fretboard, ceramic humbuckers, ABM bridge, Hipshot tuners and a Noll preamp. I couldn't be happier!

Not just me… the house band at my local jam night are so far ahead of me that they are in another galaxy, play anything, any key, swap instruments etc they just did “ Africa” and it wrecked. It was like I was up there update… they just did it again.

A bit late for this suggestion, but could you make the additional frets from a different coloured wire? It's going to be great when you sell it with the line "cutaway body, access to the 38th fret"

Takes me back to when my daughter was a baby and I had to change her nappies.

Cheers yeah it's a bit like a school science bench or one of those tape players we used to use in languages 😄 It's honestly coincidence that I love the Valco and Meatball pedals that happen to have the same type of enclosure. I bought the Valco fuzz first and just loved it. Maybe the looks factored into the decision to buy initially, but it's cool that they all sort of match.

Having just realised that we're two-thirds of the way through the S-W Bass Bash Year (October to October 😊), Mrs. Scrumpy and I decided to indulge in a bout of nostalgia by re-visiting last year's event. So glad we did, as it's reminded us what an awesome event our Bash is - and why we bother going to all the trouble every year. For those who haven't yet been (or have kinda forgotten, as even WE sometimes do), Rich's post-'23-event message sums it up as follows: "If there are a handful of things I've taken away from yesterday, it's these: 1. Oh god, the food. And oh GOD, that crumble. ❤ 2. What a lovely, lovely bunch of people you all are. It was like spending the day with people I've known all my life. I could almost get emotional about this. 3. Between us, we don't half have some nice gear. Oh my word yes. Playing @Buddster's lovely '76 Jazz through my own rig was a personal highlight, and possibly a big mistake... 🤤 4. A renewed deep sense of satisfaction with my own gear. Having drooled over everyone else's gear (especially @Kateplaysbass's immensely cool little green number), I was playing my Shuker and realised that I was really listening to it in a way that I don't normally, almost never have in fact, and I've fallen in love with it all over again. I'm a lucky so-&-so. I think we all are, actually. Thank you all again for a wonderful day. I only wish Norm and yorks could have been there with us." Couldn't have put it better myself! We're already looking forward to seeing you all again soon! PS: Stewie, how are you liking that 'love-child of a bass guitar and a white Cadillac' you acquired last year? Must confess I was a teeny bit jealous.

There's some fantastic stuff in this thread. Thanks everyone for sharing. I've been into afrobeat for about 10 years and have come across some great stuff in that time. I formed an afrobeat band a few years ago when I lived in London. There's a strong afrobeat and African music scene in London which was great to be a part of. In terms of afrobeat bass playing, my approach was always very minimal and to provide a strong foundation that sits within the other parts of the song. The band I played in had 10 members so sparse playing meant I could give more room for the other layers to lock in and not get too muddy. Here's a video of my band playing an original tune. https://youtu.be/bwTxpshM39k?si=cvLrlv58bHqpsUus I played a few gigs with Edd Bateman who is a fantastic bass player who plays African music. He's got a YouTube channel with loads of videos on different styles of African music. https://youtu.be/ghAcuTLM5DI?si=CNG61gZkJn6YYuFj

Consider it your civic duty to try one and report back

But with the doors closed you can't see them.

Great choice! For those who haven't seen it this is a good illustration; https://youtu.be/K3lgmnsTdcA?si=xxs4aKL7VXxSblbF

Our singer / guitarist keeps trying different "bug" style wireless with the latest being a Boss unit but he is constantly having issues with them varying from loud buzzing to signal drop outs and even volume changes with some. His vocal mic is a Shure wireless system with no issues, Other singer has a Sennheiser wireless with no issues and i use the Shure GLXD16 pedal wireless system with no issues. I started with the Smooth Hound but started getting problems with it buzzing and very occasional drop outs. It was the buzzing that caused me to change to Shure. For me and it's just a personal opinion based on varying experience on stage with different musicians over past few years i can't see past the Shure gear where iits built like the proverbial brick s***house and has never wavered at any gig, so simple to set up and use plus its also my main tuner. Dave

I'll be back on this soon - I didn't mean to leave this dangling - been away, got ill, life-crap etc. Thanks for the responses and ideas - I'm going to reply.

Honest to goodness 1998 USA Jazz in Aquamarine. No mods apart from I replaced the white guard with a white pearl.

The design aesthetic reminds me when we first did graphic design at high school (Corel Draw back then), some kids had never had the freedom of so many fonts, colours and clipart before so just used all of them together out of sheer excitement.

There was a lengthy thread here a few years back, honestly it should have gone to a vote...people paying stupid money for shims or just sticking a bit of cardboard/creditcard under the neck heel. It was amazing how people would advocate using StewMac shims ("Noticable sustain," or something) when a playing card would have exactly the same result.

@Dave Evans Your "about me" runs to 9 pages. Your "philosophy" also runs to several paragraphs. You need a single paragraph on your Home page that says who you are, (where you live, what you play, what kind of music you play, (age?), how long you've been playing) And that's it. Even your 2 posts here are extremely long winded and difficult to follow. When people contact you, what kind of communication are you doing yourself, because I'm already disuaded due to what my first impressions are. And you could be seen to be spamming Basschat with you website. I'm trying to be candid while remaining helpful.

A lot of musicians and the general public to this day, have not acknowledged, or are even aware of the achievements of John 'JR' Robinson. He was also responsible for one of the most iconic drum intros in pop history. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Robinson_(drummer)

Never underestimate the importance of anonymity.