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A bass t shirt. Apparently.

In fairness, it's not a proper bass as it has 5 strings. 😀

Acoustic gig. We played a Community Service Award Event tonight. Strictly background stuff. We played a 45 minute set and " walk on" music for the award winners. Nothing to share, other than it was an easy gig. A 5 minute commute for me. I think we probably sounded pretty good in the house . The full Maple Road band plays Saturday night. Were going back in time a doing a late night bar gig. We haven't done a bar gig in years. Daryl

Like this: Thanks @AndyTravis for facilitating.

A few days late and no pictures (so no incriminating evidence), but I had fun gigs on Friday and Saturday. Friday was with The Underbites, loosely a punk band playing originals. The venue was Arlene’s Grocery in lower Manhattan. Arlene’s is a fixture in the rock scene in NYC. Good backline, good PA, good house engineer and, overall, just a great place to play. We had a modest crowd but they were enthusiastic. We played a fast, tight set that was well received. The high point for me was that the young crowd that had come to see the earlier (and much younger) band stayed to hear us as well (not always a given in NYC) and they were VERY complimentary. I don’t think they were expecting the old guys to be a much better band - but we were! Saturday was another punk band; Bedpan Fight. An absolutely hilarious group with ridiculous original songs. I’m a recent member of the band but I’ve known them for years. The (excellent ) drummer, my old friend Vic, is even newer to the band but we’ve played together many times and we’re a formidable rhythm section. The venue was Mr. Beery’s, a dive bar about an hour outside the city on Long Island and the lineup was four female-fronted punk bands. All the bands were great, the atmosphere was very collegial, the local crowd was very welcoming and it was a really fun time. The high point of that one was the bassist from one of the other bands, a very lovely young lady who was easily six feet tall ( and a very good bassist) , coming up to me to tell me how much she loved our set, loved my playing and thought my Rickenbacker was beautiful! It takes one to know one. That ended up being a very late night for me; by the time I dropped the drummer off at his apartment in Queens and then drove home to Brooklyn it was past 2:30 but it wrapped up two fun nights of gigs.

I bought this because I wanted something that will handle two ohms, I've been using a Mesa D800 up to this point but it's started to get unreliable, I've also got a trace Elliot AH300SMX, which I love but I can only use it with one cab. I wanted something old school, I know I'll probably start an argument now, I don't mean to, but I don't really like class D, preferring old school solid state, I'm convinced I can hear a difference. Anyway, I read loads of reviews on the Fafner and they were all pretty good. It's of a size, not being overly big and heavy, that means I can take it to smaller venues with just the super compact, , but it'll pack some punch through both cabs at larger venues. Pretty excited to try it out at it's first gig tomorrow night...with both cabs!

I had something more like this in mind, if I'm honest! [hat tip to the Maruszczyk 'Phoenix' configurator 👍]

Just watched this , interesting that he's being perceived as grumpy and pissed off , I'd suggest that's viewing it it through the prism of modern day content, I found it striking how candid he was , just hanging out with a fellow enthusiast being natural , nothing to prove , confident in his abilities but we've become used to seeing anyone on camera straining really hard to be loved , liked and subscribed !

That’s me. I'm a part-time T shirt model.

HA! Stand down emergency, if you'll pardon the pun. Plan B came through unexpectedly well. I have all the stands I need now. Massive shout out to my local, friendly, independent guitar shop - Ramjam in Aberdeen who had the exact stands I was looking for - not in their official inventory but bought for their own purposes but not used. Sold them to me especially. Great bunch of lads. See you tomorrow!

I watched the content. I think I am just too old to understand the TikTok generation. Boxers that can’t really box, musicians that could be replaced by AI and extremely smug and irritating presenters. I guess it’s a DIY approach and back in the day old farts like me said the same thing about Punk? Whatever its all the equivalent to junk food for me. I guess it has a purpose for busy people with a bewildering amount of other distractions but it’s all a bit pointless. A snake oil salesman got caught selling snake oil to people who want snake oil IMO. Bloke is a tit but IMO so are the people that consume this stuff.

I had a similar experience, in the early 80's I assumed I was simply a crap bass player because I sounded nothing like the players I was trying to emulate. Then as the gear got better, it became obvious that yes, I was just a crap bass player after all, albeit one with better gear

A bit late posting but we played another fund raiser last Sunday at the cathedral in North Bay where we played in February of 2024 to help raise money for roof repairs and this time they even paid us for our efforts. Probably at least 200 in the audience, a bit lower than we hoped but it was a beautiful spring day and I think some folks decided to enjoy the good weather. We had a vocalist with us this time and she was great as usual and really knows how to work those old jazz tunes. We did a swing set and then I switched to tenor banjo and one sax player used a bari sax to play a bass line and we played a shorter Dixieland/trad set. Good fun and the church and the band both made money. Shen SB 100 into the Bose PA and Baldwin Ode banjo. The word on the cross above the bass sums up how I feel playing some of the songs. 😊 Edit: Keyboard player is there but hidden behind the alto sax player.

Loaded up for tomorrow ...

Took some new pictures of my Epiphone Jack Casady Signature. I modified this bass about 20(!) years ago with a Gibson lo-z humbucker from a Les Paul Bass that I had bought on Ebay at the time. I was not so impressed by the Electar element that Epiphone had developed in collaboration with Jack Casady himself. I never believed the marketing story that Casady didn't think the Gibson element of the Les Paul Signature was good enough. Knowing Gibson, they just had no idea how the original element was put together and then made a brave attempt to come up with something as close as they could to the real thing. Anyway, I took the plunge at the time and put the saw in the gold top to be able to mount the large oval Gibson humbucker in it. Thanks to CTS I managed to get hold of the right potentiometers that match the low impedance of the element. And the three-position rotary switch does not operate an impedance converter, (as with the original Epi JCS), but chooses from the three coil-taps that come out of this majestic Gibson pickup with no less than 8 wires. The head of the bass also got an overhaul. Every JCS suffers a major neck dive. So I replaced the tuners with much lighter Gotoh Res-o-lites. And I also adjusted the shape of the head slightly. Makes a huge difference I also fitted the bass with silver cap reflector potentiometer knobs. I modified the pickguard to match the shape of the chrome pickup ring. I placed a chrome bridge cover. And behind the bridge hangs a so-called Modbar to keep the double windings at the ball end of the strings away from the bridge saddles. I replaced the plastic nut with a bone nut. I've used the bass many times since. Live and in the studio.

Its Dancehall Friday...and I'm gonna do something a little different. I'm going with some Americans! Bornjamericans had a string of hits back in the day...on well worn riddims of course Enjoy some 90's US Dancehall vibes this weekend.

*Sigh* I’ve read all the replies. This isn’t about that it’s about chasing clicks. It’d bandwagon jumping from content creators who are, ironically, using the downfall of this guy to build their own channels.

Sigh. Like it's been stated about 9000 times here, it's not about the fakery. It's about the intellectual and actual property theft, the copyright infringement, and the fact that he's doubling down and continues ro make money on Insta, continues to sell the stolen stuff, etc. I guess we can't be upset about blatant disgusting thieves any more without assumptions about what we're assuming? 😁 It's so obvious when someone doesn't even read the topic they respond to.

I have mentioned in a number of threads about pedal power supplies why many of them are not fit for purpose. The buzzword is isolated, but in many cases especially for the sub £100 products the isolation is only via the voltage and current protection circuits. True isolation in terms of the power supply means that neither the 0 V or ground connection or the positive voltage, normally 9 V is connected to any other pedals 0 V or 9 V line. If either is connected to another pedals supply there is a good chance of Hugh or buzz caused by earth currents or injected Clock signals. My first idea was to utilise a multi secondary main transformer feeding traditional LDOs. Low Drop Out regulators are integrated circuits that incorporate serious regulator circuits (usually) to obtain a steady and relatively nice free voltage. Well likely looking through the site of an electronic supplier I noticed some compact switch mode supplies that were PCB mounted looking at the data sheets showed that, as with most switch mode supplies, after the initial regulation and smoothing, there was transformer isolation of the mains and secondary sides of the circuit. It was clear that a number of these small circuit blocks could be mounted on a PCB to give a good pedal power supply. After several years of thinking I sat down and designed a PCB to give me four totally isolated 9V supplies. The beauty of these circuit blocks is that the pins are on a standard layout and the original ones from the French company MYRRA and others, including UK’s Vigotronix were interchangeable. In addition, they can be bought in many voltages. Both types can be seen on the complete module above. The MYRRA one are dark red and the Vigortronix are orange. The Vigortronix range are slightly more powerful, giving 3W while the MYRRA ones are 2.5 watt. However, MYRRA do a 5watt one on the same footprint. I have just tested them for the first time and all four are working 1% of the stated 9V off load. I will try them with a load later.

Take a rest. Repeat ad lib. Come back. We will be here.

No. It's against the law to use any 15" speakers cabs. . . . health and safety.

Here’s a VIP in the wild (not mine):

Good tune Tandro, on hearing that this came straight to mind , old classic

BLACK HARDWARE GOOOO!!!

Have they a cheap 62 Jazz as well?

They might be irrelevant to you. They could be irrelevant to all if you are playing very quietly through your stage rig. That would require excellent monitors for everyone else and a PA doing the job out front. For the average pub band with a vocal only PA the technicalities are VERY relevant to bandmates and audience.

I watched a couple of the videos. The part that makes me feel old is the way all the plagiarism was from other primarily online content creators, and not some of the gigging, record creating players who originated those jazz/funk/fusion styles. Even ignoring the ethical aspect, something about that just sort of leaves me cold. Like it's a gamer mentality applied to music.

Chatgpt... so near and yet so far. I even told it the number of strings and tuners should be four. Thunderbird 2-Inspired Bass Guitar Design Body Shape: Form: Sleek, asymmetrical body echoing the curved, aircraft-like lines of Thunderbird 2. Inspiration: The body mimics the green fuselage with a forward-leaning, aerodynamic front horn and a shorter, angled lower horn reminiscent of the craft’s landing gear pods. Material: Swamp ash or alder for weight balance, with a matte olive green finish and subtle panel lines etched in for a metallic look. Color Scheme: Primary: Military green (Pantone-matched to Thunderbird 2) Accents: Yellow striping around the edges, black detailing (like warning markings), and "2" decal near the lower bout. Neck: Construction: Bolt-on or neck-through maple neck with a matching green headstock. Fingerboard: Rosewood or ebony with dot inlays shaped like tiny landing pods or retro-futuristic circles. Headstock: Design: Shaped like the cockpit of Thunderbird 2, with curves and a visor-like top edge. Tuners: Four chrome or black tuners (2 per side or 4-in-line, depending on balance), styled with angular gear housings inspired by VTOL jet nozzles. Pickups & Electronics: Configuration: P/J or dual humbuckers for punch and clarity. Controls: Knurled metal knobs for volume/tone, with toggle switches that look like control levers from the show. Bridge: Chunky, aircraft-inspired design—possibly custom-machined aluminum with industrial-looking vents or gear-like detail. Special Touches: LED edge lights under the pickguard or body perimeter (subtle, green glow). Engraved serial plaque on the back: "International Rescue Equipment Division." Thunderbird 2-Inspired Bass Guitar Design Body Shape: Form: Sleek, asymmetrical body echoing the curved, aircraft-like lines of Thunderbird 2. Inspiration: The body mimics the green fuselage with a forward-leaning, aerodynamic front horn and a shorter, angled lower horn reminiscent of the craft’s landing gear pods. Material: Swamp ash or alder for weight balance, with a matte olive green finish and subtle panel lines etched in for a metallic look. Color Scheme: Primary: Military green (Pantone-matched to Thunderbird 2) Accents: Yellow striping around the edges, black detailing (like warning markings), and "2" decal near the lower bout. Neck: Construction: Bolt-on or neck-through maple neck with a matching green headstock. Fingerboard: Rosewood or ebony with dot inlays shaped like tiny landing pods or retro-futuristic circles. Headstock: Design: Shaped like the cockpit of Thunderbird 2, with curves and a visor-like top edge. Tuners: Four chrome or black tuners (2 per side or 4-in-line, depending on balance), styled with angular gear housings inspired by VTOL jet nozzles. Pickups & Electronics: Configuration: P/J or dual humbuckers for punch and clarity. Controls: Knurled metal knobs for volume/tone, with toggle switches that look like control levers from the show. Bridge: Chunky, aircraft-inspired design—possibly custom-machined aluminum with industrial-looking vents or gear-like detail. Special Touches: LED edge lights under the pickguard or body perimeter (subtle, green glow). Engraved serial plaque on the back: "International Rescue Equipment Division."

They were made by Status, not TE. Mark Gooday created the design with Rob Green but Status produced them and manufactured them, hence why you were able to buy the spare parts via the Status website for a significant period of time. They were originally a brighter white but as with most white basses, it's in its ivory/cream phase but then it is almost 30 years old. Nice catch!

SATURDAY NIGHT! (I know that's not last night) Depping with Manchester Ska Foundation at The Empire in Rochdale. I play with them about once or twice a year, but hadn't for a while so I was looking forward to it. I love playing with these guys as the gigs are always good and they're all cracking musicicans - I really have to raise my game! Early get there (6:45), I had to drive down actual cobbled streets to get to the venue which my crappy Hyundai i10 wasn't happy about! Bit of waiting around as the sound engineers were covering for the usual guy, so there was some confusement about channels, stage boxes, phantom power and such and such... All setup evetually, soundcheck all normal then lots more waiting round as we weren't on until 9:30. (I popped over the road to see the Town Hall, which is "widely recognised as being one of the finest municipal buildings in the country" apparently. It is rather grand.) The place was pretty full when we went on for the first set - a decent mix of people who'd come to see us and random Rochdalians (Rochdalers?) who were in there anyway. We cracked through the first set and sounded great. Highlights were 'My Girl Lollipop' which I absolutely LOVE playing and 'Ghost Town' (one of my favourite songs EVER), especially the trombone solo... Goodness Gracious, that girl can play! Oh, and 'Nite Klub' (Bass Solo!) which I did well on - I got a 👌 from the Sax player after my solo, which I was happy about! 'Hands Off, She's Mine' (The Beat) was a new one for me but I did pretty well (It's pretty straightforward to be fair) I'd done my homework so I was happy with my playing, right up until I completely (and I mean COMPLETELY) buggered up the 'coming back into the slow bit' bit in 'Special Brew'... I wanted the stage to open and swallow me up. I apologised profusely to the band at half time, they laughed and said "You did it better than Al (the usual Bass player) normally does" and blamed the drummer, so no harm done. Quick Lime & Soda and (Strawberry Jam Firerose) vape break and back on for the second set. The place had filled up nicely and the crowd were loving it. Second set highlights were 'House of Fun' (RELENTLESS Bassline! Lots of fun!), 'Too Much Too Young' which is a blast to play, 'Message to Rudy' (there's about four notes in it, so I just went on autopilot and enjoyed myself), 'Our House/Wings of a Dove' Mashup which is pretty complicated (all modesty aside... I'd put a lot of work into that, so I smashed it) and 'One Step Beyond' which always goes down a treat (except I forgot about the 'Swan Lake' keyboard solo in the middle and had to busk it (badly)... cue more laughter from the rest of the band and an amused 'Gotcha!' look from the keys player). We end with 'Night Boat to Cairo' and everyone gets a solo... my solo was... perfunctory at best... (It's over F and Eb minor... can't get my head round it!) but it went down well enough. The band were grateful for me stepping in and I feel lucky to play with them, so everyone was happy. Decent payer, quick packup as we didn't have to take down the PA, twenty minutes back to my dear old Ma's place for a bottle of Henry Weston's Signature Vintage (6.8% ABV). Played the StingRay (I'd taken the P as well, but... couldn't resist the 'Ray) -> Small board (I only used the chorus for the 'Nite Klub' solo) -> 'secret weapons' board (Thumpinator -> VTDI) -> MarkBass 802 -> PA. Shoes were the Black and white leopard print Converse (Peach Pink sparkle don't really go with the whole 'Two Tone' vibe...). An absolutely fantastic night all round. Apart from 'Special Brew'.

I bought one of the 3D printed kits from Ebay. It just needs some 25mm x 25mm stripwood and eight woodscrews. I carefully cut the stripwood, 4 pieces, to the length I wanted. All good and I used some dark mahogany wood stain I had in the garage. There was a little bit of a wobble so I unscrewed the screws slightly and pressed on two corners to try to straighten it out. CRACK! B*gger. After calming down, I used the remainder of the wood to replace the broken brackets. I also added some feet to give an angle and some small blocks to add strength. Adding the new side pieces adds 50mm to the width, and it is now bigger than the padded bag I keep my pedal board in! Here it is with the wood colour on again:

fretmeister AKA Monsterslippers.

This. My Black Widows had alu' domes and they didn't lack crispness or dispersion.

I've been there, I came back. Getting out for a while was good for me, coming back was even better, enjoying it more than ever now 👍

That’s what I used for quite a few years and I’ve still got one of them, great cabs , nice deep bass

I know I can get the job done no matter what gear I'm using, but I definitely enjoy it more, and consequentially play better, when the sound is good. Also if you manage to put together a great signal chain, the rest of the band will think it's you playing better!! You gotta tick as many boxes as you can.

Way ahead of you:

The baass was half way round from me

At the risk of skating dangerously close to politics, the mainstream media news outlets and governments, it's not as if anyone is setting an example there either. They don't even care if they straight up lie. This behaviour is so ingrained it has become the norm. Social media is a toxic dump overwhelmed with the likes of the Turras, the thirst traps, the desperate for validation, the click-baiters, those who sell their pound of flesh under the pretence their channel is about quality content.. More and more, I really don't feel I have a place here. Speaking of which, for some reason the algorithm served up some "relationship mentoring" (pffft) videos the other day and the subjects were almost gleeful in cheating on their partners. WTaF? - Cheating, fakery, lying, lacking integrity.. Good for the soul apparently? Good for the stats.. Stop the world...

I am thinking about recording a reaction video to all of these reactions to the reactions to the reactions to the original Danny Sapko video. What do you think?

It takes a special 15 to be heard off axis. Most are functionally deficient in the off axis department.

I'm on the Join my Band and Bandmix mix. Had success with both. Also looked at local Facebook groups. There's generally one or two groups in your area. I just searched FB for musicians wanted in my area. Once you get a foot in the door and you're reliable and friendly enough you will find offers coming in from bands you meet looking for a bass player. I'm 65 and up until recently was in 3 completely different band styles. Glam Rock, punk rock and classic rock but was all a bit much and cut it back to the Glam band which is more successful. Don't be afraid to take on a band that's not what you listen to. It's a foot in the door All the very best with it. Dave

Nicely put @tegs07

Ugh It’s like looking at Charles Manson in a tutu. I’d rather look at a rickenbacker

Thank you! It was a pretty special moment. To me, anyway. And we had a great crowd:

First view of the neck offered up ... and yes there's a lot of that heel that needs to come off!!!

Sunday evening gig in a local, with a new guitarist and new drummer. Slimmed down setlist, of which we’d only run through half together on Wednesday afternoon. Vocalist/guitarist and I have gigged together for the last eight years, so fit well together. Drummer and I gigged together for 12 years in the late 80’/90’s, he dep’d with us for one gig in 2022, so I trust him and he’s brilliant. New lead guitarist has some brilliant vocals, especially with the couple of Cult songs he’s brought, gigs with another Band and does his one man show too, so he’s fitted in well. New line up gives us four ( well three and me ) lead vocals and an awful lot of gigging experience. Cant help but think this might be the start of a good thing.