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Ah the swings and roundabouts in my head…honestly… In July 2021, Epiphone announced Pelham Blue Jack Casady basses. I missed my old Jack Casady terribly, I sold it when I was broke following the birth of Oldest Daughter. It was a gold Peerless made one I bought when I worked in a guitar shop - I played that thing until my hands couldn’t play anymore, festivals, gigs, somewhere in my memory also says a TV show…anyhow. Here’s me playing the gold one - think this was in The Raymond Review/Soho Review bar… So I got a blue one - and it was lovely, just as i remembered them to be. I got a Babicz bridge on it and changed the knobs to Gibson Amber top Hats - just looked better than the light gold speed knobs it came with. At that time I was in a funk/rock band and played lots of slappy tight stuff - the Casady just sat watching on, and eventually I sold it. As things have a habit of doing - everything changed, I planned to knock it all on the head And stop playing all together. Then a chance exchange of messages turned into a band and it’s going really well - I have myself a lovely Gibson Ripper, and I’d love a second one - but they are inordinately expensive… Ive tried all sorts as a backup - the best being a Shergold Marathon - now with our very own @Maude Anyhow fate stepped in - and my blue Casady reappeared! The Ibanez case, amber knobs and Babicz all telling. I messaged @Grooverjr Turns out @MM Stingray 62 had replaced the machineheads with Grover’s (as now used by Gibson) which is definitely a worthwhile upgrade - smoother and more reassuring. So, it’s home… Couldn’t be more chuffed. Does everything I need - rehearsal tomorrow and gigs 30th/31st… And, it’s blue…

Not from the last couple of gigs, but a few weeks ago we played a fundraiser for my boy's school- great party, organiser had got hold of a decent stage and we had a lovely old time! Raised a good amount, too. A little clip of our We Are Family/Alright Now fun- but not much bass playing... VID-20240714-WA0014.mp4 And here's a little clip of a Prince tune. VID-20240714-WA0010.mp4

Oh god…I’ll never have enough post it notes 😂😂😂

Just wondered if anyone remembers a cheap cafe that I used in Tin Pan Alley in 1966. My first job was aged 16 in Foyles Book Shop, Charing Cross Road, starting in the summer of 66, I was living in a bedsit in Hampstead (landlady was sister in law of Tony Garnett, celebrated producer/actor and thoroughly nice guy) most lunchtimes were spent prowling round the area, looking for cheap grub. the cafe I remember with the most affection was, from memory, just a few doors along Denmark St from Charing X Rd junction, in a basement, cuisine was mostly Italian crossed with “meat and 2 veg” lady in charge was a formidable Italian with a foghorn voice, I can still hear her bellowing, “ONE MINESTRA” into the dumb waiter, which brought a bowl of the best minestrone on the planet, I believe her name was Renee. I loved the vibe of the street and the occasional glimpse of famous faces, another memory concerns the strangest E Type Jag, it was two-tone pink and yellow, divided longways like a rhubarb and custard sweet, the pink side had a yellow seat piped in pink, the yellow side had a pink seat piped in yellow, very tasteful. Many years later I learned that the line from Elton John’s “Your Song” “I sat on the roof and kicked off the moss” referred to him and Bernie Taupin working in a publishers over one of the shops, this being around the time of my lunchtime prowls. Several of the bookshops in Charing X Rd at this time had cinema clubs showing Indie films from UK, US and Europe, often with poetry readings and folk singers, not far down from Foyles just off the main drag was Bunjies Folk Cellar (from memory, in 66, it was known as, “Bunjies Coffee House” but that might be influenced by the fog of the years 😂) In the days of no Internet, the wall on the stairs down to Bunjies cellar was covered with notes, posters, stickers advertising gigs, selling kit and with messages like, “Can anyone drop off a guitar in Hamburg?” So glad that I saw that scene, at that time.

Not sure I understand, I thought you were making one? Anyway here's one I posted in the 'announcement' which says about placing it somewhere it can't be cropped out, etc. Either way, I think a venn diagram of photoshop experts and online bass scammers will have very little overlap, and anything we can do to make it less convenient, the better.

Hi guys I posted a new 'announcement' in the basses for sale forum today to urge people to include a note in their sales pics with their username. Please try to add this in your new and existing listings, even if you're a trusted member (as nearly everyone on here is) just to normalise the practice for anyone who has just joined. It's just another way to ensure listings can be verified as genuine and it will prevent people using cloned pictures from other sites. Cheers ped

Well. I’ve wanted one for a while… I’m not disappointed in the slightest. it’s a cracking 42 year old. Lovely weight. Very good condition. Yet to plug it in but just having a noodle feels awesome. thanks @walshy 👍🏻

Sounded particularly clean today in rehearsal 🤔

The great thing for semi-pro musicians who are otherwise retired or self-employed is that mid-week afternoon gigs are easy to fit in – as of course are holidays and things like golf, although I’m not a fan of either… This being the case for all five of us our band gets regular work playing at the many agricultural and steam-fair shows down here in Wurzel country; typical was the Gillingham and Shaftesbury Show yesterday, playing from 17:30 to 18:45 straight through. First act before us was a pair of glamorously frocked lasses, singing 1940-50 style harmonies a la Andrew Sisters, plus some more recent Post-Modern Jukebox style takes on numbers like ‘Bad Romance’ – I liked it! Following us was a funk-oriented band, with then a big brass ska outfit to finish. This year the organisers had coughed up for a proper mini-Glasto-type stage instead of pallets in a marquee, with a good PA and engineer who knew what he was doing, so we had no excuse for a poor sound! We were using guitar dep #2 from a choice of four – he’s very good. We rattled through a pretty mixed set (see attached), including a ‘new’ rock’n’roll medley featuring sax, where I actually get a total of 24 bars improve – whoopee! I must say that our KB player’s bass lines are worryingly good… Short video attached to prove we were there. Mrs G came along but made a beeline for the show-jumping (she had to give up riding a few years ago but still loves horses). Apparently our band could be heard at the main ring where she was sitting – ‘not a bad bit of sax,,,’ she mused later on the way home, ‘but I think the people doing camel-racing were a bit distracted by it!’ WhatsApp Video 2024-08-14 at 22.22.11_8eeb4d6b.mp4 1x75_minute set_v1.pdf

added this beauty onto the board!!

Cancelling wedding gigs and corporates dont work like that. If you do that, don't expect to work again - especially if the work comes through an agent. You have to plan for things like covid, illness, people being found under busses... and not being able to manage their own diaries.

When drummers find a snare that is louder than their current ones they have to buy it, even if they're too loud in the first place. It's just the natural order of things.

Double Squier Vista Musicmasters

A pair of '83 Ibanez RB920's One with frets & one without

I was just chatting with Lawrie @Burns-bass and he mentioned selling some gear because it solves a problem he no longer has, and it consolidated a lot of my recent thinking around gear generally, that is far from getting rid of gear on that basis, I was often buying gear that solved a problem I don't have (most notably the Chadwick folding bass that while absolutely beautiful in design and engineering terms was an absolute PITA at gigs generally, leading me to decide that the best bet was simply to sell it and take better care at gigs of my non-foldable DBs). But as with life generally, I suspect a lot of the gear we have is bought either explicitly or sometimes subcobscioulsy to solve similarly non-existent problems (by which I mean that we make choices based on a set of parameters that while current on web forums really do not solve any problems for us as an individual. Good examples for me Chadwick folding bass: as I've said, beautifully designed and engineered, but..... East P-Retro: again beautifully designed and engineered but having had three of them (!), I've always found Precisions just work better passive Enfield Fusion/EBMM Reflex: both beautiful instruments and technologically wonderfully advanced, but while the idea of a 'take one and only one bass to every session/gig'/huge tonal palette appealed, the Fusion stayed in Precision mode 90% of the time, and the Reflex never really got off the ground Badass bridges: I even bought one this week, what am I like. A difference yes, does it solve a problem, rarely if ever, but for some reason there's a part of my brain that drives me to try one on any Fender bass that's passed the 3-months at Beedster Towers test....... My therapist has put it on the list for our next session Neck LEDs: No more in tune on a fretless that without them, but annoyed the guitarist immensely 'If you want to be in tune that badly that you have to walk on stage with traffick lights stuck to your neck, perhaps try playing a fretted bass' Micro/lightweight heads: My biggest challenge with heads that fit into the pocket of a bass gig bag is my tendency to forget about them/lose them. Ironically the only time a head went down on stage and I needed the backup I'd taken the wrong (double) gig bag to the gig. i take two 19" heads to gigs now, because I have no problem with either size or weight. Expensive DB strings: Don't get me started.......... Interested to hear what gear falls into the 'solves a problem I don't have/never did have' category for the BC crowd?

Horses for courses, isn’t it? We’ve had discussions about bringing in new members and deps and so on, and found ourselves in agreement - the four of us are the band. Remove one of us for a gig, and it’s no longer ‘us’. It might be good, it might even be better (god forbid!) - but it wouldn’t be us.

There are different levels of fun. if someone is constantly not learning songs or misses rehearsals, because they are only doing it for a bit of fun, the fun goes out of it for others.

A friend picked up the first version of the RB400 when it first became available. He was a mentor , and when he first showed me the amp he was incredulous that such a small package could have such tone and be so loud. It wasn’t too long before I picked one up , it was the second version with the detachable power cord. You could easily pick it up with one hand! That was astounding. The first thing I noticed was the tone. It never failed , despite the drops and bumps. There were times I cranked it , but it gave me all the power I’d think I’d need. It did everything. It was the most reliable amp I’d ever seen. I have sold the two RB400 amps that I owned , they are both still in use. And still have a classic MB150 combo and a tiny MB200. I did blow up the 150 and loved it enough to get it fixed. And the fan on the 200 got clogged up and stopped working , things got hot , fried , and there was another repair. They both work perfectly today.

I go blank often in gigs however much i practise. It can be half a verse in before i remember whats what. My best defense is to practise playing along with random songs on Spotify so if i do have to wing it it won't sound too awful playing by ear for a bit. I hope my band pals aren't reading this....

"Is running a band really worth it? I think the short answer is it really should be!! Playing a key role in enabling both yourself and your bandmates to make great music, playing a fantastic instrument to appreciative audiences: should be massively rewarding! But dealing with endless admin is never fun. Figuring out how to avoid musical burnout, and keeping things fresh / not getting jaded can be a challenge, and has certainly been for me over the past year. Having like minded and enthusiastic bandmates to help share the load makes a big difference. Also easier if you all have the same goals e.g. is this a primarily a hobby band or are you aiming for something more semi-pro? How many and what type of gigs (e.g. pubs vs functions) and working out what leadership style is going to work best to get you there e.g. band-ocracy or band-tatership or something in between? These words are from a fellow BC'er, on another thread not too long back about BLs, which I found had so much wisdom: 1. Be respectful 2. Good communication 3. None of us are making our millions so it needs to be fun 4. Make bandmates feel valued if you want them to stay

having read all this, I've forgotten what the original post was!! I've been in and run bands since 1986. In that time I've played with mad people, quiet people, good players and bad. As already said, it's not the best players you need but the players that help themselves. I now play with a select few people that are organised, well equipped and easy going. My last band was around for 30 years. The BL was the bass player and ran the diary really well, he had all sorts of deps at the ready etc. He had cancer and continued to gig up until the end. I took over running this band and playing the bass (I was at the time, the singer). Drummer coudnt run a diary and missed plenty of gigs, so I told him to clear off, then the 2nd guitarist became all about himself. He started playing with a cleaner sound and got louder and louder. It was awful, so I took the decision to finish it. If it's too stressful, just stop doing it, IMO it's not even worth talking it over with your bandmates. It'll just revert to type in the end

Sounds great! Really tight and you're obviously having a brilliant time, top stuff!

Completely disagree, musicians have always used sheet music or pieces of paper with their notes scribbled down on, this is the modern day equivalent, I wouldn’t expect my singer to remember every word to every song of our 6 hour+ repertoire so why should I for every bass note?

Not sure that kind of sensible advice will get through to most of us on here😁

I was in a band with a really bad ukelele player who helped herself, which is why there was never any gig money ...

The last two frequently-gigging bands I've been in (one for 15 years, one for the last couple) have both been run by the singist/guitarist, and to be completely honest I'm more than happy to let them do it. It takes an amount of energy to get it all underway, and that energy is fuelled by an ego which needs it, so I've always been happy to zip it and let them lead, and my job (apart from the obvious one of learning and playing the songs right) is to be supportive and diplomatic around that. I've said before that there's more than one skillset that makes a good band member, and if my part in the machine requires me to play some songs in some ways that I wouldn't choose to myself, it's a small price to pay for not doing all the other background work a gigging band needs to play the gigs.

I’m glad I’m not in some of these bands. It’s meant to be fun 😜

Now I own the most scammed bass of all time

As you say, you can fool the casual observers a lot of the time, especially if you don't put much effort in as this, but it is another deterrent and perfect is the enemy of good, so better th

Pelham Blue is rather special 👍

You only need to follow the advice on the Newtone site if your are using their strings with round cores. You can safely cut the hex-core strings to length before fitting or bending them. This advice came directly from Newtone after I queried it with them. It appears that they still haven't updated the instructions on the web site or packaging.

Here we go, some nice pictures.

I am sure Flea used all the gear back in the day. I am no Flea expert just remembered reading it in BP at the time. Interestingly enough I remembered I had other issues and found them, Feb 96 (the One hot minute album) his tech gives a run down on the whole rig and the pedals he is using. @Higgie and @Bagman you were actually both correct. The tech says he is using AW2 and FT2 and ODB3 but also MXR Micro Amp followed by an dbx 160x compressor. Either there was no interview for Californication or it was in the only 3 missing issues for me from this period but he is again in Aug 2002 for the By the way album. He says he used no fx on record but is using Boss ODB1 , MXR Micro amp but is now using Q-Tron live. I clearly had lost interest in fx pedals at that time since I already had the answer to my question. Sorry for the derail.

Aloo Dolly — Louis Armstrong

Now the missing stuff does annoy me - if you're going to take the FAAFO approach, at least F around with everything. I see in the Sire Z video they had to pin a comment saying that both basses were switchable active/passive. Come on guys - that's a seriously interesting angle and a thing that SBMM basses don't have (correct me if I'm wrong)

Yesterday was awesome. Loads of great music. It's such a friendly, relaxed atmosphere there. All the staff were great, security are great and even the heavy rain wasn't bringing peoples mood down. We took both my kids yesterday, my youngest daughter is 12 and it was her first proper metal gig, she had her mind blown while watching Baroness up near the front. I was working hard keeping her safe as all the crowd surfers went over but it was worth it. Gina Gleason is now her guitar hero.

Congratulations The early 400RB's are fantastic aren't they? I discovered how great the 400RB is by chance when I went round to meet a bass hero of mine, the lovely James Eller to drop off a pedal he'd bought off me. We had a cup of tea, chat about gear & I had a play through his 400RB, and loved the punchy articulate tone it had. Wanted one but they seldom come up for sale in the UK. Then shortly after that, whilst I was out on a business trip to Nashville, and by chance found one in a dusty old pawn shop in the city suburbs. They didn't want much for it, I think about $100, so I snapped it up & brought it back to the UK in my suitcase I got the chunky 110v transformer changed for a more efficient 240v toroidal one, which also made the amp lighter. Gigged it heavily for a while, and it never let me down & still using it today after 10+ years. It's my only amp and still sounds great, especially with a couple Vanderkley 12"s getting the 4ohm potential. They are a wonderful amp IMHO, so easy to dial in a nice tone. Keep on to it! Cheers 👍

Hard case is a bit bulky, no?

Two USA Laklands: Two vintage Jazzes: Two Precisions:

I've run bands for 20 odd years, I recently quit. All enjoyment in playing has gone. I resent a lot of musicians - in reality, most could not hack a 9 to 5, answer to a boss or generally be accountable for their actions. The more I did and more successful the band became, the more people demanded of me but their input became less and less - it got to the point where I was literally second guessing every bit of laziness which had crept in. I couldn't even rely on them to correctly plug in XLRs or even setup their own gear within an hour. I remember bllcking the drummer because it took him 3 hours to set up his kit and plug in the mics (incorrectly) - but yet it was me being unreasonable and imagining things. Numerous phonecalls informing of mismanaged diaries - or no appreciation where gigs were. They'd take the gigs then not realise the gig was 3 hours away with a sound check at 5... and they didn't finish teaching until 5... Just general lack of adulting stuff like that. Great musicians are in demand - and as such will be swayed to other gigs and expect any problems which they cause to be solved by other people. They get away with it because people want good players... Oh... and the days of finding your own dep vanished, it became my issue every time. If you want to solve your headaches - the best band mates are not the best musicians. The best musicians in the world are useless if you can't depend upon them being there. Looking back, I'm still amazed I managed to keep things running and never missed a gig or let anybody down... but I am not prepared to go out as a 7 piece where the first time folk have met is in the car park. That's just a ticking time bomb til disaster with a contract with name on. And you know what, I'm now looking at life appreciating all the time I have got back where I'm not sitting in a van dreading what the next band related phone call is going to be about. Don't get me wrong, when we played, we were crash hot... just the overhead and my stress (not their stress) just wasn't worth it... and what with agencies and a race to the bottom on price, the corporate band/wedding band game is doomed anyway.

My current band is in it's 12th year. We started as friends or friends of friends (the guitarist would join if his friend could drum etc) and we quickly progressed from village fetes and self organised gigs at pubs. This was after our singer who is ambitious and very positive about what is possible in life blagged us a large booking in front of the great and the good of the community and we started to play the local theatre and weddings for considerably more money than pub fees. Half the band (the core is 8 of us) got a bit casual about this work, thinking just to be booked was good enough for the clients but they weren't that interested in quality control, with charts not being played accurately, tempos not being met or chords being forgotten on a regular basis. But they liked the reputation and they liked the cash. The guitarist, much as he is a valued and trusted friend had us over a barrel as we rehearsed at his using a lot of his kit. The two singers, one of whom is my wife, and I were getting embarrassed and frustrated by this attitude as the male singer does a lot of the sales, my wife does all the organising and logistics and I do all the music prep. As a degree level trumpet player myself I grew particularly tired of writing basic charts for the horns that my students could play only for frequent car crashes to occur. I also hated counting tunes off at a certain tempo for the drummer to start at a completely different one- he had a complex about being the drummer that rushed. Our sax player had to leave after some ill health. We brought in a cruise ship level replacement. In the end I asked the trumpet player to re-audition for his place as one person playing the rhythms correctly and one of them wrong was worse than what we had before. He quit, then the guitarist realised the 20 year old dep we were using was kicking his behind and he went, eventually followed by the drummer. We restructured as a limited company and now have about three players available for each role depending on availability. If a player does a gig they invoice. If we've ended up working with players that don't turn out to fit in for whatever reason, we don't book them again. Result? A band that is friendly and happier by a country mile, also delivering musically on a much more consistent basis. If you're prepared to put in the work behind the scenes, I can thoroughly recommend this model for a band.

Back to nano board going for a more compact setup and channeling my inner IMA. XD Here’s my utility board.