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100 Club on Sunday night supporting Ferocious Dog again. It's a very shallow stage but I managed to get my drums set up to the side of theirs. I do love playing here despite the challenging sound. The room is so thin, you get loads of FOH bouncing back off the wall. I am still seriously injured but the others moved all of my gear for me, which was most appreciated. The set went OK but I'm known to our fans as "the smiley drummer" and I was apparently smiling a lot less than usual. Our frontman embarrassed me by demanding sympathy from the crowd... but at least that meant they all knew not to squeeze my ribs right? Nope, two different fans asked for selfies and when I agreed they put their arm around me, grabbing me by the ribs and causing my to cry out in agony. Oh well!!! Here's my bright red kit looking cool AF next to Ferocious Dog's boring effort!

I’ll take some better ones later on, these are the sellers pics. Not perfect condition but it’s 40 years old, so taking that into account it’s pretty good - it’s been bought as a working bass anyway, so a few chips don’t matter, came in the original Yamaha hard case, which is a bit battered but always nice to have it

Considering that as of the beginning of 2025 In Isolation in it's most recent state has come to an end with Singer Ryan's departure to work on other things, we've been very busy recently. There was a farewell gig at The Salutation Inn in Nottingham as part of the Spellbound Goth night and an EP plus two new videos. The EP has three new songs - Light In Darker Times, Middle Child Millicent and Phantoms as well as a Matt Pop remix of Middle Child Millicent. It's available from Bandcamp as a limited edition CD version and on all the usual streaming and download sites. We also made two videos, Light In Darker Times which features the band: And Middle Child Millicent which doesn't: I'll be concentrating on my other band Hurtsfall, we have a new single out next month and are currently finishing off our debut album for release later in the year. We also have a number of high-profile gigs coming up including WGW and Twisted Firestarter.

I hate it when you can't get your sausage roll out of the soundhole!

A few of you here might know that for the last couple of years, alongside playing in my own band, I've also been a member of a fairly well known group that has been around in very various forms since the punk/new wave era. I've done two short British tours with the band as well as a couple of stray dates, the most recent being what seemed to be a very successful gig in November. The main man had floated a handful of 2025 dates by us a few months ago and we had dutifully blocked them out only to learn that a much more comprehensive tour had been booked as the ads hit social media. The drummer and I immediately cleared our calendars but the guitarist, a life-long jobbing musician, had just taken on his first ever straight job and simply couldn't commit to every gig. Having been told categorically that it was very much every gig or no gigs, he recommended an acquaintance to replace him. Our group WhatsApp got a bit quiet after this and we heard via mutual friends a couple of weeks later that the bandleader had met with this new chap and he was cheerily telling people around town that he had been asked to get an entirely new band together. We sat on this knowledge for a couple of weeks and I found that my usual back and forth of messages with (let's call him "Pete"...) simply stopped, even the non-musical rubbish that we often shot around. And then came a group message asking if we could squeeze in a rehearsal for a couple of stray January gigs and an odd "can I get a copy of the backing tracks - there's some things I need to check". At which point I mentioned that I'd heard someone was telling people in Manchester that he'd been asked to put a new band together... This had the predictable effect and both the guitarist and drummer vented the frustrations we'd kept bottled up for the preceding weeks. It was all turned back on us: we'd indulged rumours, got the wrong end of the stick and maybe it was time for a new start. "I'll see if the new guys can do the gigs"... two minutes later "they can!" - must be the shortest amount of time it has ever taken four musicians to read a message, let alone confirm 18 dates. And that was more or less it until on Christmas Eve a Facebook post appeared announcing an emailed "review of the year" type missive including "how I was sacked by my own band due to one member's stupidity". Said missive was inaccurate and quite insulting to the guitarist in particular and so I formulated a response and posted beneath the FB post. The slew of (public) messages that followed was both infuriating and vindicating and I don't think anyone could be in any doubt as to where the blame and the truth variously lay. Interestingly, the line is now that we staged a mutiny as we hadn't appreciated that our current 4-piece band was to be plumped into a 3-guitar, bass, keys and twin-drummer line-up - he should probably feel grateful that the economics (and stage plan) for that were never put to the test. It's ever so sad though. We were a great band and we went far and above what could ever be expected of musicians in terms of practically and psychologically keeping that band afloat. One day I'll tell of all the ridiculous tantrums, indignities, endless sacked van drivers and surreally farcical events that we went through. And the gazebo. It's going to be a great little book. I had a lovely coda of schadenfreude over the weekend: we received a message featuring a screenshot of a mayday message sent as the band's van had broken down part way to a gig on the south coast, driven by the previous tour's second driver, who had originally been sacked in part due to his constant efforts to join the band onstage. That did feel pretty good - well, that plus I'm so much better looking than the new bass player... Onwards and upwards 🙂

Phase 1 completed - Sansamp BDDI replaced with Bassrig 64 - I do like that Bassrig. Next Phase will be to: 1. remove the Sweeper and Sub Up and fit an HX Stomp 2. change the Yler battery for a Harley Benton Powerplant with has enough oomph to drive the Stomp.

Hello there! I joined the BB owners club in November last year … Mark

It’s a great stage/venue, Dave, I’ve been fortunate enough to play there a few times, a venue that as a youngster I dreamed of playing.

This brings back memories of that one time, at band camp, when I did 3 tons of LSD and after it had worn off, asked my friends, "So... did I do anything stupid...?"

NO BREADHEADS, MA-A-A-AN!

And you answer: "Because I haven't bought a third one. Yet." 🤣

Thanks all, nice to see some people from the right end of the country 😜

Spot what?

Part of the reason for sale was that it’s a big thing and it gets in the way. But I’ve managed to hide it so we’ll you’d barely spot it.

Fnar, anyone?

A Zen Master at the top of his game 🙏

A bit of an update as it's quite amusing... at least for me. I got invited to a gig the guitarist of the old band was doing with a completely different outfit not connected to the old covers band or the new derivative. Was talking to him during the break and as I'm organising a spring festival, and enough water has gone under the bridge now for me not to care too much, I said that the new covers band (the one they replaced me with another bass player) should play. The guitarist informed me that they wouldn't be able to do it as the new bass player had left. Such a shame I thought, but it has to be said I have given in to a bit of schadenfreude and I went home and celebrated by opening a bottle of good wine. Fortunately they had the sense not to ask me back! Turns out they have another bass player lined up but he's a pro, who I know, and he will even charge them for turning up for rehearsals... such a shame! Plus, he's currently on tour for at least the next 6 months so they can't do anything until then, and that's if he doesn't get another good paying gig... such a shame!! In the meantime, the guitarist is helping out a few friends with this new band but two of the musicians are new to gigging and, although good considering they've only been playing their instruments for a year, are in every other respect dreadful. But they're having fun, learning and fair play to the guitarist for helping out. But then he doesn't have any other band to play in at the moment... such a shame. Anyway, not bitter and twisted in the slightest. The thing that I am pleased about is that over xmas we all got back together and friendships seem to be healed. Although I doubt I'll play with them again, to be honest that means less chance of us falling out over stupid musical differences, so all good really.

That would have been me, Ruarl - I was wondering if it would turn up in this thread. This was literally my dream bass - as in the one I first coveted in my copy of Guitarist as a teenager in a small Welsh village in the early 90s. So to have eventually managed to own it many years later was just mind-blowing. I'm really pleased you've still got it and loving it - it still looks a beauty! I can't remember if I ever fitted new strings on it, though, so I'm dodging that one [I think I was in my DR Fat Beams chapter at that point, for what it's worth!] For those that asked about the body shape comparison: I also had a six-string Flamboyant headless fretless [edit: see following image] and of the two shapes, I felt this Original was better ergonomically. Though the Flamboyant arguably looked even cooler/meaner! Also, these two proved beyond any doubt that headless is the way to go if you want to go down the 6-string path. The complete absence of neck dive was an epiphany EDIT: Ah, here you go:

Assembled this bass during the quarantine era: Aluminati aluminum bass neck, patterned graphite fretboard, Sperzel locking tuners, stainless frets, 34" scale. Custom jazz bass style body, two passive EMG Jazz Bass pickups. I found the wooden knobs and the control panel cover via a luthier's liquidation site. Aluminati is based in North Carolina, USA, and makes aluminum necks and full instruments.

In order to try and find a bass that doesn't set off my on-setting arthritis I have joined the club having just done a part ex and received this bass as part of the deal. I know the brand (Fenix by Young Chang) but have never come across this particular bass. Does anyone know anything about them?

Squier Affinity Active Jazz Bass V. Fender MUST be shooting themselves in the foot even a little bit with these. How an entry level Squier feels, sounds and plays like these is genuinely beyond me. For reference my main basses are German Warwicks. I only tried one because it was the only 5 string PMT Romford had on the wall that day.I was NOT shopping for one 🤷‍♂️ On went the obligatory DR Sunbeams and a tort pickguard. Very happy 😊 And the B string feels and sounds like a B string should.

I'm sure they do if you type "wooden bass guitar table" into an AI generator 😆

My first "proper" Sei, back in the late 90s, was a 4-string with a beautiful ziricote top. Ended up selling it back to The Gallery after being unemployed for a while, unfortunately. I'd love to track it down, it was a beauty and sounded amazing (it had original Lane Poor pickups in it, with the Schack circuit). I also had this one for a while - it's a Flamboyant fretless with an ebony top, and Wal pickups and electronics. It was a phenomenal bass. I sold it to finance our first international move, and I really miss it.

Looks like a decent sized stage that many of us would dream off playing on Dave

That’s a Peruvian Yucca Flute, water messes with its core tone 👍

I recently had an experience with a, let’s call him Alex. He was a minor name in ‘90s and a longtime friend of the guitarist in my current band. He came to see us, so knew my abilities. Subsequently, he asked me if I would add some bass to his latest recording project, which I did for free (the fact he asked me right after the session if I might be interested in joining the band sent some ‘you’re not getting paid for this’ vibes). I left it alone, but he asked again and said there was a ‘launch’ gig, so I put in the hard yards to learn the songs from his back catalogue for the gig and was good to go. Then, all of a sudden, there’s a booked, nationwide tour (small events, pubs, shops, etc). I said that I wouldn’t be able to do some of the gigs and ask subtly about the logistics (to be clear, I don’t believe there were any). He cops a strop and says he needs someone who can commit to all the gigs, fine I said, I understand (it was only my time wasted and some fuel to get to the studio and back) good luck and all that. Next thing I hear, from my guitarist (who is also involved in the project and has the same issue with the sudden ‘tour’), he’s gone a rant on Facebook about people being unprofessional. The guitarist calls him out on this and subsequently quits. Then Alex, stiffs the recording studio for their fee, saying it’s down to the guitarist. Fortunately, we know the studio owner and have a good relationship with him and he doesn’t seek the fee from the guitarist, knowing it’s our fault and has kept the masters. Whether the ‘tour’ ever took place is a mystery, certainly the first ‘album release’ gig was cancelled. Everyone I talk to about it, who know Alex, says that I dodged a bullet and I’ve subsequently heard some tales from his antics in ‘90/‘00s that support this. Some folk need to have a hard word with themselves. I apologise if this rambled a bit and detracts from the OP, but it has been a useful bit of catharsis for me.

Oops

Yes, I saw him at the Edinburgh Festival about 20 years ago.He wrote a book about his life as a session bassist called 'My bass and other animals' and he took to the road telling stories from the book (which is great by the way).

I feel your pain @Dom in Dorset. Situations like this make me grateful that, somehow, I managed to raise smart kids who’ll come and dig me out.

I always wanted to be a professional musician but once I realised 95% of it was playing Oliver, Grease or backing up middling pop singers at holiday camps I sort of realised it wasn’t for me. It sounds disparaging and I don’t mean it to be, but I’m not sure the life of a pro is easy in 2025.

Here's mine. Acquired from here are few years ago, and fettled by Martin. It's early - serial number is "9". And the seller passed on to me an old Guitarist magazine which had a review of this very bass. It has the Schack circuit with dip-switches for EQ frequency. The two little black dots near the bridge are 3-position coil-tap switches. Oh, and it has LEDs in the neck-edge fret markers 😎 There is lots to love about this bass. It plays beautifully, and produces a huge range of sounds. As others have said, the necks are like nothing else. Two minor gripes: 1) The bridge has narrow slots for the strings to pass through. I bought a set of DRs to put here (the strings it has are awful) and the overwinding at the base means they don't fit. So now I don't know whose strings to buy! Any ideas? 2) It doesn't hold its tuning as well as my other instruments. This one I can forgive, though. All my other instruments are bigger, heavier, tankier things.

Old thread I know but if anyone is still looking, Lidl have these in the 'middle aisle' at the moment!

Well, I fell off the gear abstinence thread wagon pretty spectacularly after just one day. First an Origin BassRig 64 and then a ridiculously inflated Octabvre MKII. I regret nothing, other than foolishly selling the latter years ago for about 45% of what I’ve just paid to get another. (I may need to sell a couple of things to recoup some costs; if anyone is after a Source Audio Artifakt, my spare one may be appearing soon.)

Only just getting around to posting the XMas gigs........bit of a washout to be honest. First time in 10 years that I haven't had the Flu jab and, yup, came down with a dose on XMas eve eve. Scuppered the XMas eve gig (and XMas dinner that I'd pre-paid....) and the betweeny Saturday. Was just about compos mentis for NYE and managed to get through it. To be honest, the gigs I did make weren't the best, not as well populated as usual, not sure if this is a trend but I've noticed the last couple of silly seasons have been hit or miss for gigs. Still we take the rough with the smooth. On the positive side our IPO registration for the new band name came through so an ex-band member who had caused 'difficulties' after leaving the band can no longer cause grief on that front. A bit of a break now as I go in for more surgery but will hopefully be back at it beginning of Feb.

Dave aka @Dov65 and I were the same age, 59 years old is no age to go to sleep forever. I know, I'm repeating myself, but that's quite a shock. And he was such a nice person. 😢

Oh no, this is so sad, I used to chat with Dave quite a bit by PM and we would send each other strings and all kinds of various stuff , truly a generous and thoughtful guy, I’m gutted 😞 , condolences to the family

I think this is the correct advice for me. I really like the bass and it sounds ace and is super sturdy, which matters when you play the kind of places I do. I don’t have the time, patience or temperament to do it myself and I don’t mind paying someone - especially if they are local and a great person as I know from my own bitter experience that money is tight. Appreciate the feedback and advice.

Sorry to hear of Dave's passing. Condolences to his family.