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Great gig tonight. You have to love 2 hour gigs. We had a good set list and the gig went really fast. We took one ten minute break. More or less background music but it was fun. Our stage monitors were great tonight. Not many great pics but it'll give you an idea of what the room looked like. Daryl

What are you in prison for?

Ban everyone, from every demographic, from everything. Problem solved. Humanity will die out within a week or so and the world will carry on happier without us.

If it doesm't it'll save me a bloody fortune and give me around 2 weeks a year back 🤫

I was going to say that if forums all die out then at least the drummer forums will go as well. Every cloud... Then I remembered they can't read, let alone code! This law won't affect their cave wall scratchings.

Does it really have to be The End Of Civilisation!!! every bloody week?

This is an incredible bass. I have several jazz basses, including the Steve Bailey signature 6, the Marcus Miller MIJ 4, a fretless Squier VM, a Fender MIC modern player, and a few other non-JB fenders. I purchased this out of curiosity, but also because the SB6 is a rare thing that I wanted to keep pristine (so only use for gigs, not practice, to minimise wear and tear). I had pretty lowly expectations having picked up a few Affinity basses in guitar shops over the years. This is not your run of the mill affinity. The finishing is immaculate on the one I received, the output and tone is comparable to other passive JBs I own. The neck is a slim 12 inch radius, and feels like an Ibanez 6 string. String spacing at the bridge is 17mm, slightly less than the SB6, but as a result feels easier for finger style playing. I’m guessing the tuners and pots might wear quicker than my fender basses, but they are perfectly functional at the moment, and the bass stays in tune. I’ve found the neck on my Squier VM fretless so be a bit flexible (most notable when I am sat back on the sofa noodling), but this thing is as stiff as a board. The finger board was spotless, not dry and no fret sprout. The only adjustment I made was to lower the action at the bridge. The relief on the neck was perfect. In summary, I’m pretty shocked that Fender are selling this with the Affinity label, at the price point. As a university educator, I was fortunate enough to receive a hefty discount and only paid £205.00, direct from Fender. It really is a crazy bass for crazy money. If their QA is consistent, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to experienced players that want a genuine 6 string jazz bass, or those wanting to dip their toe into the 6 string world without breaking the bank. Anyway, I hope this helps. I’ll post some close-up photos when I get a moment. In the meantime here’s a photo I pulled together to compare the size and scale of the SB6 and Squier….

I've just skimmed the Ofcom pages, all 84 pages. It's draconian, bureaucratic, process intensive, intrusive and impossible to police. The fact that further guidance is still to be published will mean this Ofcom will probably have to be revised, though it does look rather thorough at the moment. The basic premise of the act is that any U2U service is capable of being used for any of 17 different crimes. So the smallest website that allows input and comments becomes a potential vehicle for any of the 17 categories. This is unenforceable in my opinion. Note that this is my opinion. Ofcom will need to increase its budget 10x or more to handle all of the workload coming through. Ain't going to happen. I would suggest that every single website asks Ofcom as many questions as possible and drowns them in paperwork. I'm also going to look at what the legislation says, if I can get it.

2024 ended with a cheeky little trip over to the Southgate Inn in Devizes. Armed with just my mandolin, I actually got the bus over. We got a heroes welcome from the regular customers and were greeted with "here come the goths". 😺 My wife snapped this one picture that sounds off a comparatively quiet year on the live front.

Board update. Just got an Ampeg SGT as Christmas present from my wife(she might have seen me watching tons of Ampeg SGT demos in youtube lol). Instant love on the B15 voice! Reason why I was GASsing on it. SGT switch is an always on for me. The preamp is surprisingly good! Took me few moments to dial the sound I’m after. Figured I’d be fine without the Cali76. The built in compressor is meh/okay but it works!

Looks alarming, likewise Basschat is very important to me, hope we`re not affected by this

I am giving away this Donner Dark Mouse Distortion Pedal. It is a Rat clone. It works fine, but the sound is not for me. Consequently, I am not using it and it is only collecting dust. It only cost me £15 used (no box), so it would be too much of a hassle to sell and post it. Well, see it as my Christmas gift to the BC community. Collection only (Leicestershire).

Me, myself and I.

That would be amazing. And a great example of a company listening to customer feedback. I was visiting the Yamaha store in central London today and spent a lot of time with the Ampeg PF-20. As much as I liked its tubey warmth, it might be a tad excessive to use just as di to go straight into my recording interface….I might wait to see if Origin come up with the goods before splurging on an actual tube head! The Ampeg is a lovely thing though….

Of course forums won't disappear - this is only UK legislation - people in the US, EU and rest of world are not affected by this nonsense. But the post from the owner of thefretboard.co.uk is absolutely right: under the current proposed legislation, it will become almost impossible to run any kind of online forum from the UK, and international forums will just block all IP addresses from the UK. The risks are just too severe - a fine of up to £18 million and a criminal conviction for the owner / managers. The legislation was drafted with only large, commercial, multinational companies like Facebook, X etc. in mind; if the legislation is enforced as it stands, those will be our only option in the UK for any kind of online discussion, unless we use VPNs to access international forums based abroad... which we all will... which will make the legislation utterly pointless, apart from having destroyed a large number of UK businesses.

2024 was by far my most difficult year to date for a long list of personal, professional, and emotional reasons. It makes me even more determined to value and enjoy all life has to offer in 2025 🙏

We shall blame @Lozz196 for this. defo right on the spot regarding build quality and sound, much prefer this Pro line and super easy carry. both cabs spec’d the same, I think I’ll learn each of those two separately and send the cab sim I prefer on each situation 😊 play time! Ander.

Humber-Ela Ela Ela - Rihanna

As long as they're protecting me from you nasty people, I'm OK with it.

I'm pretty sure that they're trying to sneak through the legislation while we're all binge-watching Hidden Secret Mysteries of the Lost Nazi Gold on the Titanic. With Dinosaurs. And Vikings.

Is it a joke? Is it 1984? Are those politicians really even more stupid as they really are?

I gave it one last try before turning in for bed... What has two thumbs and now has both outputs on a 4003 working as they should?

Last night was another concert with my teacher's Young Artists Orchestra, as usual augmented by a few adults in the bass and cello sections since a lot of the kids are too small to play the larger instruments. For some of the easier pieces about 7 of the youngest players aged 5, 6 and 7 joined us on stage for a total more than 35 musicians and as usual it was a great evening with a nice mixture of Christmas songs and the audience of about 300 loved it. Most of the kids started in my teacher's program at age 3 or 4 and so the oldest at 19 are very skilled musicians. For the fourth time my teacher asked me to add to the bass section and this year there were three bassists, two of them play better than I do and they are 9 and 16! I have learned a lot in two and a half years of lessons but these kids are fantastic, the younger one was a prize winning violinist until September when she decided to play bass and she is amazing on it, very smart and very dedicated. I wish I had started with the bow when they did at age 4 instead of 75, I am by far the oldest in the orchestra (78) and get immense pleasure from being a part of the group and as a side benefit my playing has improved and carries over into my jazz and bluegrass gigs. Here's the bass section after the concert.

Big corporate Christmas Party gig tomorrow night. We're not a Christmas Party band. However who can turn down 2k for a 6:00-8:00. I'm not trying to brag but I don't think I've ever played a 2 hour gig for that kind of money.And it'll be a long time before I see another one. Lol Daryl

When the bass player isn't being sawn in half by a table... He's gone bloody walkabout, again! 20241214 Tolbooth walkabout.mp4 Bloody wireless pest!

My 2024 Jetglo Ric 4003 has arrived. This was secondhand from (Gasp) Cash Converters. I particularly wanted a 2024 (or 2023?) model for the usable bridge and single truss rod, so when this one appeared at a decent saving over a new one I jumped on it immediately. On inspection it is in near mint condition, the only mark I can find on it is a tiny chip at the tip the headstock. After unboxing, I tested it and initially thought there was an intermittent problem with the bridge pickup as when switching to it the sound was cutting out, however I then found that this only happens when using my ridiculously heavy Fender curly cable with woven covering. It seems the weight of the cable was pulling the plug and doing something to the weird mono switching jack used for the 'normal' output. Once I swapped the cable out for a more normal cable the signal was rock solid. I don't have the correct cable etc to try the rick-o-sound output yet, but I'll be placing a thomann order soon which will include the necessary bits & bobs amongst other things. Over the last few weeks since deciding to buy a 4003 I have accumulated various things to slightly customise it: 'Traditional' Rickenbacker knobs with bass/treble & volume/tone text to replace the jazz bass style knobs Rickysounds clear thumbrest Rickysounds black pickguard (bought when I thought I was going to acquire a Mapleglo 4003) A set of Ernie Ball Cobalt flatwounds 40-60-10-95 (I use these on my Gibson & Epiphone thunderbirds & think they should suit the 4003) A set of Schaller Chrome S-Locks — The 4003 is fitted with strap buttons compatible with S-locks but due to their small size I wouldn't trust them with my usual rubbery grolsch washers. It is not practical to replace the stock strap buttons as they use a machine screw fixing rather than a wood screw. I nicked the black suede strap from one of my guitars and fitted the S-locks. I'm not sure whether I will use the black pickguard but I will put the cobalt flats, knobs and thumbrest on soon. I will probably shield the bass with anti slug tape at some point, however I saw a Youtube video of someone who did this including putting copper tape on the back of the white acrylic pickguard and I'm sure it had a bit of a copper-coloured tinge after he refitted it. Maybe I'll try Aluminium tape on the pickguard or rather than sticking the tape directly to the guard, or make a slightly undersized plate from thin opaque black plastic card stock to go under the pickguard and shield the underside of that to prevent the copper showing through.

You've gotta laugh! I feel exasperation more than anything else. Oh, and I also had 2 gigs cancelled because both venues decided to redecorate!! I was definitely in 4 bands at the start of this year. I might be in another, but they've never asked me to join. I'm assuming I'm in because I get called for the few gigs the do. So I think I'm ending 2024 in 1 1/2 bands. I'm hoping my, "When one door closes, another opens", theory proves to be true in the New Year! May your 2025 be happy, healthy and prosperous. . . . and there's as much bass playing as you can handle. Cheers guys.

Port noise is much better with the 68mm downpipe. After swapping between the two drivers, I've decided to go with the 6FE100. It does require an enormous port, which presumably takes away from already-limited 8.5L internal volume, but somehow it still works. There's not loads in it between the two, but the 6FE100 sounds a bit fuller on the lower strings (even works with a low B) and is a bit lighter. Having made that decision I've glued the port in and rounded the edge over with the router, which takes the port noise down to close to inaudible. Unfortunately it does mean cutting a new baffle, as the 6FE100 is a 6-hole mount and I'd put 4 T-nuts in the baffle for the Fane 6-100. I did the first one with a jigsaw but it came out a bit wobbly so I thought I'd go fancy and use the router and a jig: After getting most of the way through the board I cut through close to the line with a jig saw and used a flush trim bit to clean it up:

That's probably the most concise definition of the majority of governmental policy and action I have seen. The internet is fundamentally ungovernable and now pretty much the entire economy globally is reliant on it there can't be any actual blocking but the whole nation state and democratic process house of cards will fall quickly if their ineffectiveness becomes too obvious so you get this kind of dog whistle legislation. The cynic in me also wonders whether Meta and their like have been whispering in ears as a way of driving more and more traffic onto their platforms where we can be data harvested and advertised to. As many others have said BC is a haven and there are no doubt countless other forums that provide vital informal mental health and wellbeing support to people in an increasingly isolated world. Proper integrated policing and better education, support and more access to community -online or otherwise - is the real solution to keeping people safe but that takes money and time and real dedication, and puts less coin in the coffers of the big players, so it's a non starter. I hope BC and all the other decent forums find a way to keep going somehow.

Jeez, what a hovel! They kept cows in there before you arrived, right ? #joking 👍 im playing “stand by me” next OM night alongside a professional singer - no pressure

Keyboards played by Kirk's MD and grammy award winner Shaun Martin, who sadly passed earlier this year after suffering a stroke in his 40s. Such a talent....RIP.

Your excuse of already owning a 6 string cannot be accepted! I already have seven 6 strings... I still bought one!

Drama aside, I think it's unrealistic to expect anything you order in December to arrive before Christmas. I do agree sellers need to advertise realistic shipment expectations. Thomann always takes a week and change when they advertise a three day turnover.

I am sure he will be delighted to go through 30 pages for this year and previous years to find rulings of a similar nature. How else would one want to spend Christmas?

Oh my gosh - They're great for French Cricket too!! The kids don't have a chance against me now.

It's a generic budget-end 70s P copy - I suppose the name's uncommon & that might constitute 'rare'. It's thought that a lot of these identikit instruments came from an organisation called Matsumoto Gakki Seizou Kumiai, or the Matsumoto Manufacturers Association. This was a collaborative group of manufacturers supplying various components - necks, bodies, hardware, electronics - through an order-book system, to be assembled & branded up to order.

I've toured with the Scott Dixons - never seen a guitar damaged in one, but they always ended up dented/deformed around where the lids attach after a while and become an absolute pain to close up. Recently picked up four Enki cases for a touring client - two of the new X series, and two (one guitar, one bass) of the original AMG versions, as that was all the available stock in the UK that week! Have had them in car boots, planes, vans, and on a truck over the last three weeks. All of them weigh in around 21/22kg fully loaded and flew as standard hold baggage on Ryanair without issue (their bag limit is 20kg but we had other stuff under weight so worked out with weights pooled - most other airlines are 23kg so should be fine elsewhere). The new X series are definitely neater - handles and latches are all recessed, so when you're stacking them in a van they're much easier to play Tetris with compared to the AMG where the handles protrude. The lids are much easier to remove and replace on the AMG though - the moulding around the hinge pins on the new X series makes them very awkward to slide back on in comparison. Only really an issue if you're using the cases as guitar stands and need the lids off and out of the way, otherwise you can just hinge them open and closed without removing the lid. Definitely happier with them than with the Scott Dixon alternative though, and the new X range has a triple guitar case too (which there was no UK stock of, unfortunately, else I'd have had them!). Been using them in lieu of a guitar rack while I've had limited workspace on a support tour and they've been great.

Starr Sports, Canvey Island, on Saturday night. Load-in and set-up went quickly and smoothly. Everyone (well, nearly everyone) knew their roles and what to set up now. It was also somewhat aided by both singers now migrating to the Xvive U4 system the two guitarists and I have been using, meaning less trailing leads for P2 IEM packs. A bit of a challenging audience in the first set, apart from a group of young drunk booked going nuts over the heavier stuff, and getting way too close and knocked the singer's sample pad over - he managed to grab it before it hit the deck. The bouncers turfed them out shortly after. It didn't help that the bar has a new pool table in the middle of the room that is way too close to where bands play, leaving not enough room for dancing - and it can't be moved... at all. (Honestly, this is one thing that really pees me off in some venues). Oh, and shortly before we started, I came out of the loo to see the female singer walking away from chatting to the drummer and catch her flares on my guitar stand, and watched in horror as my Ibanez EHB fell face down on the deck! Luckily, it appears to have survived its fall unscathed apart from a small ding in its headstock. The second set was much better. More party tunes in this set and more lubricated people ready to sing and dance (at the space next to said pool table rather than right in front of it). Obligatory encores and we were done by midnight. By this point, I was running on fumes (and Red Bull) due to a late night the night before and a very early start (cruise ship dinner party with family - get to bed at 1am and didn't realise until I was awakened by my uncle phoning our cabin that we had to be out of the cabins by 7.30am!) So yeah, I was rather tired by this point, but we all mucked in (well, nearly all) and was tucked up in bed by 1.30am. Next stop, The Sarah Moore in Leigh. Earlier start than usual due to them showing the boxing after (🙄). It's usually a good one for us, but sadly our last one there as it's closing in the new year as the building owner want to build flats!

A varied weekend. Gigged at the Flying Circus in Newark with the Andy Wales Band on Saturday night. Our dep drummer did a sterling job despite not having had a chance to rehearse together. Then on Sunday I did the sound and lighting for the local kids guitar club Christmas concert at the village hall. Encouraging to see schoolchildren taking such an interest in playing instruments, and having been involved with a few of these events over the years you can see their abilities developing. Nicely done.

So you've got £20 and you want a fish supper. You've found exactly what you're looking for... Cod and chips for... £19.95 It's being sold by a reputable chippy Would you buy this classic British dish, holding it, wrapped in newspaper, actually eating it with one of those wooden FORKS! This is just my pickled onion. 👉DO IT 👈 !!!! Granted, I would rather it was rock eel than cod and I realise my 5p change isn't quite enough to buy some mushy peas, but yes, no matter the price, because I like a few chips and a nice bit of cod, why not? You only live once. £19.95 Reasonable at half the price and if I'm not mistaken, after the opening speech by the Vicar, I think there's a tombola, or maybe it's a raffle? I really shouldn't have had that second sherry. That's almost certainly a fine way to spend a Saturday afternoon at the Letcombe Regis village fête Again just my pickled onion .