Leaderboard

I picked this up yesterday after having discussed the build with the luthier around 10 weeks ago. Walnut / maple / shedua body Maple / mahogany / cherry neck and board Herrick multicoil pickups Lusithand Double NFP Sandberg bridge. look close and you’ll see many differences compared to the bass it was inspired by.

Pics as requested. I'm not the best at photography though I'm afraid. It's hard to capture the sparkle in stills. No neck dive. Tiny headstock and lightweight tuners. I was thinking about moving the strap button to the top horn as a personal preference but it seems to work well where it is for me at the moment. .

Lovely Pre-Christmas Gig in a local country pub, great fun and the first outing with my new acquired Stingray Special. My Stingray Arsenal gets better. Merry Christmas All!

Cheers for the positive comments guys, have a great Christmas and new year

Last gig before Christmas was at the "Piv" in Nuneaton. We love a Sunday evening there (4-6pm) as it's nice and relaxed, plus a great musically-aware crowd. The guitarist's voice had also recovered enough overnight to get through. It was a bit of a strange start though, because for the first half an hour it was rammed with guests for the wedding reception in the other room, all togged up. A bit strange for an allotment society social club. Anyway eventually they drifted off into the other room, but leaving the bride who lingered for another half hour or so... plus the crowd that we were being paid to entertain. It's such a great sounding room. The Sterling was out again after enjoying it so much on Saturday, and I (and the others) could hear absolutely everything I played (luckily not too many cock-ups!). It was a picture of clarity. Footwear: black Docs Favourite compliment: it's great to hear a band that can really play their instruments My response: let me know when you find one! One day I'll have to get someone to take a photo while we're playing 😂 Two more for the year - NYE and NYEE (the night before, because they really wanted us for NYE but we were already booked!). Anyway, time to put the feet up for a few days. Have a great Christmas one and all!

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you who have supported the site this year—whether by becoming a Supporting Member or purchasing tokens for the marketplace. Your contributions enable us to keep improving the site, reduce our reliance on advertising, and dedicate time to supporting our community. I mention this now because December typically sees a noticeable drop in revenue, and with the challenges many individuals and businesses are facing right now, I’m especially grateful to those of you who continue to renew your subscriptions. Of course, I also deeply appreciate everyone who visits the site, shares their knowledge, and offers support to others. A site like BC is only as valuable as the knowledge contained within the membership. So, thank you once again. I’ll be taking a bit of a BC break over Christmas and New Year, so I want to wish you all a relaxing, joyful time with your friends, family, and instruments 🎸. Cheers, Ped

Hope you guys don't mind but i had to share this local reviewers comments from Sat nights gig courtesy of Big Hastie (Alex Hastings) Just makes me feel good knowing that people enjoy what we do for fun. Dave "On entering the Dreadnought on Saturday it was obvious there was going to be a 'bit of a party', as the tinsel wearers and battery operated plastic glasses wearers were in evidence, in amongst the 'doon the fronters'. Blockbustarz were in town for their customary Christmas Soiree, and it was going to be a belter going by the number of folk in the house.... Before we start, let's not kid ourselves, Glam Rock must be one of the most uplifting genres of music ever . No twenty minute guitar solos, no meaningful lyrics, just in and out 3 minute simplistically written songs, Before you could say "Pass me my tinsel please", we were all hand jiving and giving it some fancy footwork. Within seconds I was the proud wearer of a pair of the aforementioned lit up glasses.. ... All the classics were here as you'd expect... 20th Century Boy/T-Rex, Ballroom Blitz/Sweet, The Cat Crept In/Mud... (Best lyrics EVER in my book...) "The Cat Crept in, crept out again..."....Beat that Chris Martin.. .... "Hey Rock and Roll" sang the masses as Micky Blitz and Lynn led the way on vocals... Barry 'Bazza' Haywood was in his element, clattering his glammed up drum kit and suitably attired in silvery /gold garb , Colin was in 'full disguise' mode also glammed up assisted by a belter of a wig, playing some incredible guitar riffs. David too was in "Who's that playing bass??" mode. Barely recognisable from the lad I was speaking to before kick off... And how does Mike look 6 foot 8?... Oh wait, the 9 inch heels are a give away.. The long blonde haired Lynn doesn't need a wig gimmick but she was also tinselled and glittered up . We had Sailor/Glass of Champagne, Devil Gate Drive, Suzi Quatro and Roxy Music/Virginia Plain all added to by the folk 'going for it' doon the front.. None more so than my good mate Chris who is a one man 'what's what' of music in his choice of clobber. Rock and roll beetle crusher shoes, punk drain pipe trousers, a Rod Stewart leopard skin top, Elton John sparkly glasses, a Bing Crosby Hat, and a Wattie from the Exploited Red mohawk underneath the titfer.. Remarkable . We had Bowie/Rebel Rebel, Mud /Rocket, Elton/Saturday Night and a sing along rendition to Let it Snow! , Let it Snow! , Let it Snow! Great stuff.. "School's out for summer! " yell the punters as Micky Blitz spins his baton. .Who let the horses in?, here come the Osmonds.. "Crazy Horses" roar the crowd. Hell Raiser from Sweet takes us to the interval and a well deserved break for the band.. (I'm knackered just reading that back and that's only the first half of the gig. )...Part two began with Waterloo/Abba, Little Willy (who's been talking?) /Sweet, and my all time favourite up beat song, Tell Him by Hello..What a song!. It was a case of "Hold my pint please" while I had a wee jump around (for the 40th year in a row to this song going back to Thursday nights in the Greentree in 1984!)... Joan Jett/ I Love Rock and Roll and Suzi Quattro/ Can the Can took us to our first Christmas song..."It'll be lonely this Christmas" sang a swaying crowd to the Mud classic.. Brilliant... We had more Bowie and more Roxy Music before another Christmas Classic, Here it is Merry Christmas from Slade... "Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall?" sang everyone in unison.. ....More Sweet , T-Rex and another Alice Cooper number Elected, took us into the Mud classic (Have you noticed how many times the word classic has neen used so far. ) Tiger Feet which was followed in turn by Blockbuster.. "Does anyone know the way.... TO BLOCKBUSTER!". Class.. Now it was time for our third Christmas Cracker, Wizzard's, "I Wish it Could Be Christmas Every Day".... More crowd participation as my mate Chris turned from being Johnny Rotten to Bing Crosby by just putting his hat back on .. "Let the bells ring out for Christmas" sang the tinsel wearing crowd.... A spine tingling Loch Lomond /Shang a lang ended the night.. No Scottish person and I mean NO Scottish person doesn't have a wee tear in their eye listening to Loch Lomond, especially a rousing Shang a Lang assisted rendition.. Tremendous.. .. What a gig, what a band, and what a crowd .. Thanks to all concerned in making this another great night. Band, staff sound engineers etc.... Big Hastie over and out from the dread... "How was your night bigman.?"... "It was a classic!"

I spent a couple of hours with Alex at the BF workshop a couple of weeks ago, deciding which cab to get to replace my old 15" Compact. I'm fortunate in that they are less than a 5 minute walk from my office. I didn't expect an invite when I asked, but we'd been exchanging emails for a couple of days, so I asked if I could come in and Alex kindly agreed. I had a great time, spent some time with Alex in the studio room and also had plenty of time on my own to try different cabs, different setting on my bass and amp etc etc. Alex came in for a bit and played through my amp while I was playing with the controls to see what sort of tones I could get from each cab. We also spent some time while Alex got his pedalboard out, had a look at the collection of guitars and basses in there and just generally chatting bass and all things music. It felt more like spending an afternoon with a mate than auditioning kit at a manufacturer. No pressure at all to make a decision there and then. Here are my thoughts on the cabs I tried. My amp of choice is an Ashdown ABM so just on aesthetics, that ruled out the Mini, Compact and smaller 10s. Most of the time was spent trying out the Three10, Super Twin and Big Twin. All three cabs are exceptional. But in different ways. The Big Twin was loud, clear and deep. Make that DEEP and LOUD and clear. A lot of fun to play through unless I misfingered a note or other error crept into my playing. What you put in really does come out. It's a glorious cab, but far too revealing for me. The Three10 sounded like I expect a bass cab to sound, but more so. Loud, great bass and definition but smoother than the 12" cabs. Far more forgiving of my poor technique. The tweeter (which I'm never a fan of) could be dialled in to bring a bit of top end. I was surprised how good it sounded as usually I turn tweeters off within minutes if I'm using a cab that has them. The Super Twin was, to my ears, somewhere in the middle of the two. The tone reminded me of my old Compact, but more so. Really great bass, but less warm, more clear. If I was still using my Hartke, I may have ended up with the Super Twin as it's always sounded great with my Compact in a way the ABM doesn't for me. At the end of the afternoon I came away knowing that I was going to order a Three10. It suited the Ashdown really well. I'd arrived knowing I didn't want a tweeter, definitely wanted a painted finish and steel grill. I spent a day or two considering my purchase and ended up adding the tweeter, and chose black cloth and tolex. It's going to be long few weeks until I go down to collect it!

Stapled some fabric to the new baffle, couple of coats of tuff-cab, and it's pretty much done! I'll measure the final dimensions and put it here if anyone's interested, but basically this is the 6FE100 in an 8.5L box with a flared 27cm long 68mm OD downpipe port. The box is tuned to about 60Hz I think. Really pleased with the sound, although unfortunately my grill cloth isn't quite thin enough so there's a bit of rattle from that, even if I tighten it up with a heat gun and glue it to the baffle. So I've ordered some different stuff that'll hopefully arrive early next year.

Thanks to the BC legend that is Ash, I've welcomed a short scale Sterling Stingray to my wee collection It's in great condition, extremely well set up with a low action and well cut nut. It sounds just the way it should, and is great for my back and bad arm. I had one before, but just couldn't the action where I wanted. So that's that itch finally scratched

He was probably praying to get arrested for the publicity.

The law is that he was restricted from being there because people go there to harass people who have to go there. He was asked to move, he didn't. He was told to move, he didn't. He refused to move against a police order to move from a restricted place and he didn't. He got arrested and fined. I don't see anything unreasonable in that. If he wanted to do 'silent prayer' he could do that anywhere, he didn't, he wanted to harass people, luckily people have protection from that now.

I don't actually own a fretted bass and find frets, dots and binding massively distracting. I don't have a pony or a tail but did have long hair and a waistcoat once.

Made a couple of mods to my Squier Jazz. Changed the pickguard for a Pearloid one and added a fender High Mass Bridge. She lookin pretty if I do say so myself.

It's never been about recouping costs for me and to be honest I doubt I could handle touring/lots of gigs...suppose I'm just at the point in my life where I enjoy my homelife more than playing a circuit of shitholes here in 'blighty or having a schedule that unduly affects family life/schedule outside of band. In the (somewhat) unlikely event that Pearl Jam came knocking, then obviously that might change my mind. 😏

Never owned a suede waistcoat and never had a ponytail either.

No he’s right, they’re only permitted in Oxfordshire. I tried to play one in Sussex but was arrested for wearing a suede waistcoat in a built up area. Shame really.

Just a quick message wishing you all a very Merry Christmas! 🤶🎶🍾🎄😊🥂

Yeah, I think I probably over-reached with what I could reasonably get out of a 6-inch speaker. Interesting learning experience though, and it wasn't particularly expensive to learn. I'm mostly just pleased with how the cab itself has turned out. It was more a sewing exercise than a can building one. The speaker/wiring is the most straightforward part of the process. Look! built in cable pockets!

As someone who has seen @NancyJohnson play, I can say that he's being modest about his ability on bass. Or as a songwriter for that matter. I for one am very specific when it comes to what types of bands I'll be involved in. I don't think that's being egotistical, just that I know what I want and that I'm quite happy to search for it. As such, the 2 bands I'm in now are exactly right for me at this moment. Ironically, one of them is my own band. At least nominally. I sporadically get asked to join or audition for a band and I'll generally have a listen and decide based on that. More often than not, I'll decline or I might play one gig to test it out if I've got nothing on or am vaguely intrigued. There are a lot of bands or people who think that they are amazing and just aren't. For me, I want being in a band to be something I enjoy and the other members do too. I don't want to be the best musician in the band, nor do I want to be the sole songwriter. I like the collaboration and comradery if you will. I would like to say for comedy value that both bands only tolerate me as I'm producing the material for free, but in all seriousness, that's not true. There is a running joke in one of them as to how much the album would have been if they'd paid me and every so often I'll figure it out and have a laugh about it. Hey, it gets me a free lift to gigs! It's worth saying though that I spent about 18 months looking for things or people before I got where I am now.

Best wishes for 2025 to all, but especially the organisational team at BC who do a brilliant job in providing such an amazing forum.

It finally arrived this morning making a great Xmas present from me to me. I will give my thoughts once I have time to play with it.

Meanwhile, after that protracted detour into outer space, where exactly does all of this planned legislation leave Basschat and other such forums?????

You can die from exposure.

I've had quite a successful year in that I like everything I've bought so far. Ibanez Ehb1506ms: Lightweight, sounds good, very easy to play and I find the higher strings much easier to play when reading music as I don't have to jump about so much. Durham Electronics Sex Drive: A very light boost pedal which seems to make everything sound better. It has some subtle compression settings on it too. They are designed for guitar, but a couple of friends have used them for bass for years, so I had to try one! I use it for guitar and bass gigs. Shure Glxd16+: I wanted a wireless to make sound checks easier, especially when the bass is not going through the front of house PA. It's difficult to know how it sounds in the room if you're tied to the amp with a cable. It works flawlessly, is rugged and sounds indistinguishable from a cable. Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 v2: I'm still getting used to this as I changed the cab I'm using at the same time as the amp. It has just the right number of controls. It's simple, but with enough variation available to find the sound I'm after. I prefer a more vintage sound, so this suits me well. Barefaced One10: I had the Big Baby but there was something about the sound of it I didn't like. It was almost too good! I'm quite lazy too, so the idea of having a cab (or two) that I can carry with extreme ease appealed to me. They sound great and round off the edges of the sound rather than being too transparent (which hides more poor technique perfectly)! I would like the option of more highs though, so am on the lookout for one with a tweeter... and then I'll use all three together! Fender Tony Franklin fretless Precision: I bought this on a whim from a local auction. I've never played fretless before, but thought if I'm going to get one, may as well be a half decent one. I was surprised by how much easier it is to play than I expected (much like the Ibanez 6 string). It also sounds amazing too, so I'm cconsidering switching to this from a fretted Jazz Bass for one band I'm in. It's quite light too which is a bonus! Phil Jones Bass X4: I wanted something small for home practice and this seemed to fit the bill. It's a bit too clean sounding for my liking and even rolling the treble off completely, it's still too bright. It's the worst purchase this year, but still ok. However, the next item fixes the issue... Origin Effects DCX Bass: A nice tone shaper and overdrive if required. I use it straight into studio monitors or into the Phil Jones Bass X4 and like the interaction between the controls and the subtle compression that adding a bit of drive gives. I've decided not to buy anything in 2025 though except the aforementioned Barefaced One10T if one comes up for sale.

Well my brothers and sisters in Basschat... Whatever happens, I have made acquaintance with so many good people. I have met up in real life with some interesting characters and we've had a good natter and a laugh. I even regard some of you to be my friends because you have indulged my clumsy attempts at wit, listened to my woes and responded in ways that show me I am not alone after all that's happened in the last few years. NOBODY can break that. Happy Christmas, safe journey and a Happy New year to you all. John

It's a few months later than originally planned but my Shuker 6 singlecut was completed last week. Just in time for xmas. Now I just need a 4-string to complete the Shuker trio.

EB Cobalt flats are my default goto on my short scales now. Traditional flats have never really done it for me soundwise, but as alluded to above there can be something a little odd about the harmonics on the first few frets on a 30" E string when using rounds (probably my brain has just been indoctrinated for years by the sound of 34" harmonics so anything different sounds odd). The Cobalt flats have plenty of bite and life to them but I find they also negate those weird E string harmonics. Fantastic strings, little bit pricey but so worth it.

Best has to be my Sterling Stingray 5. Its punch sounded fabulous in the shop and blew me away when I first gigged it. Worst has to be a Boss bass overdrive. No matter how much I twiddled the knobs, I could never get a decent sound out of it. I've replaced it with an EHX which I hope will be an improvement.

Well, there's always room for another colour...

SUNDAY! There was a thing in the daytime first, I'll shout when I get to actual Last Night. The first outing was a Morris do (Morris haters (ie: anyone with any sense) close your eyes for a bit now, I'll tell you when you can open your eyes again). We (Beorma Morris (the answer to a question that nobody has ever asked)) had been invited to dance with the Witchmen (who are very well respected in the Morris world (and rightly ridiculed everywhere else)) along with five (?) other sides outside a pub (!) in Isham near Kettering (pronounced "Ket'rin"). Picked up Selly Oak's finest Japanese Trombonist, drove to Ket'rin in glorious sunshine, arrived to freezing cold, grey (gray?) skies and rain, stood round (outside, in the freezing cold and rain) watched idiots dance around, shout and clout sticks together for a bit, did a few dances (I didn't dance, I played Sousaphone but it was SOFJT's first ever public dance (she they dance as well as playing Trombone (and fiddle) but not at the same time)), questioned my sanity and life choices and complained about how cold it was. Quite a few people there, they enjoyed it, we were good (I found this out later, I can't tell), the rain eased off eventually and a good time was had by all (apart from the cold). Played the Sousaphone, wore New Rocks (Reactor 55s I think) and a kilt. All done, packed up, back to the car, heating on full, saw a garden with a full sized sleigh and two ghastly fibreglass Reindeer (I love a hideous christmas tableau), head off to Stratford (-upon-Avon) for the final gig of the weekend and year. Morris haters, open your eyes, we have finally reached actual last night. LAST NIGHT! The Sax Pistols at The Stratford Alehouse, Stratford (-upon-Avon)! Eight piece brass band (Two tenor saxes, alto sax, bari sax, trombone (SOFJT), drums, Sousaphone (me), BL alternates between trumpet and alto sax). Fantastic tiny little micropub, packed to the rafters when we got there, stage about the size of an EHX nano pedal so I had to stand in front of the door (!). I was still wearing my Morris hat and kilt when we arrived, it turns out (some of) the band have a (sort of) steampunk vibe anyway, so I just went with it. Very quick setup (I had to clear the stage to make enough room to get the Sousaphone out), pint of Stout (on the house!), all acoustic so no soundcheck or anything and then we were off. Opened with 'I wanna dance with somebody' and the full house absolutely loved it - it is a pretty impressive sound. We did a few carols in between the usual stuff, the BL was getting the audience involved ("Sing it for the baby Jesus!" sort of thing, hilarious), the drummer was brilliant (first time I've played with him), the BL is a fantastic player and proper lovely bloke, and the Trombone player (SOFJT) is just *superb* and really shines in that sort of lineup (funky pop tunes, do your own thing), harmonies, solos, countermelodies, joining me on Basslines... they're *such* a good musician, a real joy to play with. Went down a storm, I think most of the audience were friends of the band TBH but it was great to play a packed (if tiny) venue, and have a laugh with the audience between songs. (The place was so small and full, there was nowhere for me to park my pint, so I had to ask a woman right in front of me to loook after it and pass it over between songs. Hilarity ensued.) Played Sousy, wore animal print Converse. And a kilt. Highlights were the Trombone in 'Just a closer walk with thee' (Old New Orleans style hymn), the audience singing 'Sir Duke', the breakdown in 'Uptown Funk' and going for a walk into the audience in the last song - turned around to see the BL had joined me. Fantastic night and a really lovely last gig of the year.

Received this bass a few days ago for a decent deal. I've been wanting flats and a rosewood board jazz and watching a lot of older Joe Dart videos. When this came up I had to investigate. I've had one before in a gorgeous see through butterscotch with a maple board it is one I should have kept with hindsight. Initial impressions are that this is what I would expect, a fantastic quality bass, great feel, attention to detail is great with the exception of not actually having 70's pickup spacing. The neck is lovely with the blocks and binding. I've only just fitted some La Bella flats to it so will be giving it a full set up before properly testing it out in the near future, but I can see this being played through the Fender Bassman a LOT.

Borrowing the idea from another forum but why not. For me it was the JHS Punchline

I don't book gigs . However, I can wind leads and set up mic stands. Does that count? Lol Daryl

We played in Nottingham this year and we actually got a decent amount of pay supporting the Soap Girls, which was nice! Not only that but we sold merch too so all costs plus a bit towards the next album were covered. Next gig we're also getting decent pay, especially as it's only half an hour away! But it's taken us nearly 5 years to get to that stage - in the first year we rarely got more than about £30, sometimes nowt! We played once in the Valleys to the barman, the other band and a cardboard cut-out of Marc Bolan. The barman gave us £13 - which was good as the venue was empty! What was strange that nobody in the town seemed interested in coming to see bands, or at least not if they'd never heard of 'em unless it promised well-known covers - folks couldn't be bothered to go and see bands on spec like I used to when I wer nobbut a lad. We'd go and see any band just in case they might be good...

Indeed... To get going on whichever originals circuit you have to build enough interest and/or following that you get gigs that will pay well and people will buy your merch. Which means playing either for very little or nowt in order to get going. It's nowt to do with being not very entertaining or badly organised as Mr X asserts - there's no way a new originals band is going to be self-sustaining unless they've got a "name" in the band, or are already incredibly well-connected. Otherwise a reputation is built over time, and all the organising stuff learnt along the way. And a little, or lot of luck is also required! Not only that, but it helps if you're in reasonable proximity to decent venues or scene, if not it takes a lot of effort and banging your head on brick walls to get your name out there!

Last one of the year for us in one of the best cover band venues in the City.

My last long squeeze would be happy to play two or three gigs a night, largely unpaid. Punky originals. There was a following of sorts but this whole 'you have to sell 100 tickets' thing is a non-starter; there's only so far that friends and family will support you and most of those would be expecting freebies if it was a ticketed gig. I'd always worked in an office, 9-5 position so there was little necessity for the band to generate income through gigging, although I suspect there was an expectation elsewhere that we were supposed to be getting paid, although the circles we revolved in didn't support that. I always thought of it as being more a (very) serious hobby than the opportunity to make millions. That ship sailed a few decades ago. We were very well organised; both vocalists from my last two (main) bands had a list of contacts as long as your metaphorical arm and they were the prime gig-getters.

Schaller/Hipshot/whatever 🥴 yes. That'll teach me to post from memory without looking it up to check. 😅 And I publically put my hands up, Jon - it is currently doing sterling work in my Eros EB-3.

That's a lovely bass. May it bring you much joy. I've got a 2025 and it's fabulous. I expect a 1025(x) is very, very similar. I'd love to hear one of these with flats on. That might be a very good combination.

It's not making silent prayer illegal; iit's preventing sing silent prayer (or anything else) as a form of protest in an area where protest is banned to protect vulnerable women ftom intimidation.

Thank you so much @Lozz196. We just love doing what we do. We all get on so well together. We have talked about widening our wings a bit and maybe looking Newcastle, Yorkshire and Northumberland areas but will discuss that in more detail after the festive period. Not sure we'd get as far down as your area but you never know. We did get asked to play Brighton earlier this year but financially didn't make sense for us. We are planning to widen our gig base South thru 2025 but will see how that goes. Dave

Great little heads really, still tiny without sacrificing features. I left the Spectracomp on mine after doing the obligatory tour of Toneprints, nice bit of icing on an already tasty cake. Not sure where the HPF is at but it definitely seems higher than on the more powerful versions. It's worth watching the Uriah Duffy video (or just reading the manual) regarding the eq points btw as they cut and boost at different frequencies. Bass cuts/boosts at 80hz/100hz, mid at 500hz/800hz and treble at 1.5khz/5khz. https://mediadl.musictribe.com/download/software/tcelectronic/tc_electronic_bh250_bg250-208_manual_english.pdf

SATURDAY! Still not last night, bear with me. Cantina Band at Hennesey's in Digbeth, Brum (again). Loud, fairly rowdy Irish bar the Saturday before christmas... what could possibly go wrong?! Let's find out. Managed to park right outside (the car park had an old K8 phone box as the ticket machine which was very cool (if you're a nerdy phone box fan (I am))). Setup all normal, stage was just about big enough for us all. Guitarist was using a Kemper that he'd borrowed from a mate, which sounded a lot like his normal amp if I'm honest. He was excited about it though - kept talking about triple rectifiers, whetever they are. Rowdy (but seemingly OK) crowd, few mates of the band in, all good. A few up dancing for the first set and a few singing along from their tables, the DJ arrived halfway through first set and managed to unload his stuff through the stage (as we were playing) and set up - unfortunately, he unplugged our desk while he was at it, so the vocals all disappeared for half a song (probably no bad thing TBH). He seemed to be loving it, he was air-drumming along... turns out he's an ex-student of our drummer. The crowd interaction section in 'Blitzkrieg Bop' ("I'll say A! O! then you say "Let's go!"") went down a treat, people were pretty much queueing up to join in, 'Seven Nation Army' was very popular (not sure if you're aware, but drunken rowdy lads LOVE that riff and often improvise their own profane lyrics about what Darren does (or does not do) in his spare time), 'Anarchy in the UK' was well recieved, all good fun. Short break to ingest legal poisons, then the manager dropped an absolute BOMBSHELL. They were showing the big fun punching game (Dyson Furious (?) and Etchy Uzbek (?) would be hitting each other in the face for the entertainment of all and sundry) so would we mind only doing half an hour for the second set? You can imagine the white hot fury we unleashed at being told that we'd be finished for about 9 o'clock (which meant singer and guitarist could go home and watch Tegan Ferocious (?) and Itchy Offset (?) beat each other senseless (for entertainment)), but we managed to contain our collective ire and not let it affect our performance. Second set was good, full dancefloor by the end, wireless wander (through the dancefloor, right to the back of the pub, back round past the bar and finish up in the middle of the dancefloor) was great, paid, finished by 9, pack up, load out, back to my Pop's crib in the hood (Moseley) for 10 (!) for a pint of homebrew Pineapple, Mango & Spiced Rum Cider (ABV: Plenty) Played the Sterling -> small board -> secret weapons -> MB CMD121P, animal print Converse. I've had worse nights!

Played our final gig for this year at the Sun Inn in Beverley yesterday. Arrived a tad late to find the pub absolutely rammed, with the landlord having to be on the door to restrict capacity - one out one in etc. We got the PA set up as quickly as possible, quick line check and a feed into the house system for the rear of the venue and then got cracking around 5.30pm, playing as many of the dozens of requests that we could. ( Although we’re normally an ‘acoustic duo’ I took my trusty Precision Lyte for this gig, knowing the volumes we needed to play at would probably have me battling feedback with my acoustic basses. Turned out I was right ). Plenty of Xmas stuff as you’d imagine, including ‘Fairy Tale of NY’ which involved some of the ladies in the audience doing Kirsty McColl’s parts, thank goodness! We’d also arranged for a few friends to get up and sing a song with us, something we rarely do. First up was a local guy who sang the Ray Stevens version of ‘Misty’, then a friend who was celebrating his 70th who did ‘Mess of Blues’. During the 2nd set we had a mate do a great version of ‘Sympathy for the devil’ - he's recently left his band and sounded amazing - and then the landlord Paul sang ‘Wild Horses’ brilliantly and to deafening applause. Finally had another friend do Slade’s ‘Merry Xmas Everybody’ ( in the original key too!), and we were done. Although a few hours of mayhem, I still managed to enjoy the gig atmosphere despite having a bad case of man flu. Had lost my voice by the end though, and feel pretty crap today. Just hope I’m gig fit for tomorrow and NYE, playing at a hotel in Scarborough.

Not so much of a "gig last night" but today marks 35 years of playing live! With all the occasional rubbish that life throws at us all, it's been the one constant source of sanity. Across 16+ bands, several countries and several instruments (I reckon 80% of them have been on bass), it's been amazing. I'd be surprised if I manage a 2nd 35yrs and I definitely have reached a stage where I enjoy the small local pubs as much as the ones that sound more impressive. 22nd December 1989 was pretty woeful and I am so grateful we didn't have the internet but it will always be a fond memory because it set the wheels in motion for what was to come.

Ooh what kind of a messed up shuker thread doesn't have mine in it! Actually it has one I think, as I owned that 6 string up there ^ but the string spacing was too much for me. So I just have this: