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Hurtsfall played the Nottingham Craft Beer Festival in Sneinton Market on Saturday. If you are not playing covers these events can be a bit hit-or-miss and on top of that we were the last band playing that day, so we didn't really know what to expect. Sneinton Market is currently the "happening" area in Nottingham where all the interesting independent shops are situated in units in the old market buildings. On arrival we discovered that the beer festival had taken up the whole of the Avenues area and was entry by ticket only. However to allow people to still use the shops you could get in but didn't get a wristband which was required in order to buy beer. As performers we all got wristbands but I don't recall being asked to show mine before being served. There were two stages - one outdoors where unfortunately the performers seemed to be mostly ignored and also had to compete with all the other music - there appeared to be at least one DJ set up on every avenue, and the other in The Grove where we were playing. Probably the most convoluted load-in so far this year. There was only one entrance and some of the avenues were blocked off half way along the length meaning that getting all the gear to the venue involved not only negotiating all the beer festival attendees but also doubling back on yourself to get around all the blockages. Certainly not as easy as the last time we played at The Grove when it was possible to park directly outside the venue. Thirty minute turnaround between performers, whilst someone played on the other stage. No time for a proper sound check, set up, just one verse to make sure we could hear everything in the monitors and a couple of minutes to get changed and then we were on. Luckily there was nothing "miss" about this event. The venue was packed (that's not that difficult as it is really tiny) and it appeared that quite a few people had come specifically to see us play. Cue dancing, singing along to the songs and cheering in between. We even got our first proper encore. I'm a firm believer in both bands and the audience have to deserve an encore. None of this coming back on stage just because a couple of your mates have shouted "more". We were technically past the live music curfew but the sound engineer said do one more and so we did. Even sold some merch afterwards although at this sort of event you don't really expect to. Load out was much easier as the festival was over by the time we had everything packed up and we were able to leave by a much more direct route. As usual here's a couple of photos: Next gigs are on 10th July Supporting Miranda Sex Garden at Rough Trade in Nottingham, followed by Goths On A Field festival on Saturday 12th.

Acoustic duo gig yesterday evening at a local pub - birthday party for a friend’s wife. We played in a room at the back of the pub which used to be a brewery, with a flagstone floor but very uneven. We both spent all the gig balanced precariously on stools with one foot on the ground, not ideal but no alternative. I had to put wedges under our PA speakers on one side to prevent them from falling backwards! We did our usual request format and had some good ones. Because there was no room for dancing it meant we could play more slow tempo tunes, including ‘Sweet baby James’, ‘Rotterdam’ and ‘Let’s stay together’. Bad planning meant the buffet was served during the start of our second set, but we ploughed on regardless as we were due to finish by a certain time. Didn’t seem to matter, and we went down well so all good. Load out in the rain but meant it was quick! Got two more gigs this Tuesday and Wednesday, then a week off, phew.

Sunday afternoon saw our (Rascallion) first live performance since August last year (long story!). The event (outdoors at a local pub) had originally been billed as "Country Music Day", featuring a local female solo acoustic singer followed by us, so we'd worked up a set featuring a few of the more country-adjacent tunes we've not done for a while, and added the 6/8 at 49 BPM delights of "Tennessee Whiskey" to our usual CCR / Eagles / Petty / Stones country-rockesque fare. Sometime over the last month, the event then morphed into a combined Sausage & Cider Festival and SSAFA Fundraiser, but we decided to stick to what we'd already put together, and it mostly went OK despite rehearsals being sporadic due to various members being ill or otherwise unavailable. After Meg had entertained the crowd (and us) with two sets of country classics plus a few very good (and in one case very funny / raucous) originals, it was our turn to spoil everybody's afternoon. Apart from a number of on-the-hoof arrangement changes courtesy of Mr Singer (OK, maybe he was just testing out our recovery skills, but I suspect not... ), a couple of the carefully-crafted intros we'd worked up at rehearsal on Wednesday going to pot as various folks piled in before they should have done (think we need a few more counting lessons... ), and a few other minor moments by all of us, seems we got away with it judging by the amount of applause, outbreaks of (possibly cider-induced) dancing, and complimentary comments at the end! Used my 1997 CIJ Jazz, faithful old Ashdown MAG300-C210T combo (acquired from @karlfer of this parish about 15 years ago, and which doesn't get to see much action these days), plus the usual board of Micro Thumpinator > NUX tuner > Ampeg OptoComp > Ampeg Scrambler > Ampeg Liquifier > Ashdown 12-band Graphic EQ/DI > Behringer DI600P DI. I somehow contrived to play the whole of the first set and a chunk of the second with the sub-harmonic engaged on the amp having omitted to disengage it after our last rehearsal, but I don't think anybody noticed. 🤫 Anyway, that's hopefully got the rust knocked off prior to our next gig this coming Saturday at our spiritual home of Anderby Village Hall. Might have some videos to put up later, if I can manage to get them off Mr Rhythm Guitar's phone at rehearsal, but in the meantime here's the setup, and a combined "Post Your Pedalboard / Footwear" shot.

Saturday night was in a school hall playing bass for the local concert band and it's 25th anniversary concert. Was good fun but a total sweat box, especially when the band committee insisted we all walked on stage in full uniform - ie shirt, tie, trousers and heavy band blazers. Luckily the jackets came straight off when we got on stage.....

I gig all my basses, regardless of how much they cost. Instruments which don't get gigged get sold. Edit: I'll expand upon my answer. While none of my basses are truly "irreplaceable" I do own several which would be a monumental PITA to replace in terms of sourcing, plus any mods I've made to make them play/operate the way I want them to. So while not strictly speaking "irreplaceable", I'd rather bloody not have to! I own basses which make me happy, and I'm happiest when I'm playing them. So they get played. I take simple precautions when out and about - not leaving them unattended (there is at least one band member in the "stage" area at all times), using an appropriate stand for the bass (like not trying to precariously balance a T-bird on a mini stand for instance) and just taking the time and care to handle them properly. Been gigging since 2009, and not once have I had a bass stolen, picked up and mucked about with, knocked over or damaged. Not saying it's impossible, but with some simple safeguards, chances can be minimised.

Lose the vanity and wear glasses, varifocal lenses allow you see up close and far away.

I've always wanted an Ironbird bass but never really expected to own one. Then last week, after my after-dinner nap, I was browsing through Facebook Market place and saw one for £250, including the case. Even better, it was only 3 miles away. I immediately offered to buy it and collect it within half an hour and I did. Now that I own it, I'd like to know more about my new acquisition. I've done a bit of research but details are sparse. Also there are no real markings on the bass or in the 'bag of spaghetti' wiring compartment. How can I tell where the bass was made? Does the serial number suggest it was made in 1989? Is it right that the 'R' logo is a custom build? Anyone have any ideas on what the set of toggle switches do? The case is ridiculously heavy and well built. You could throw it off the Eiffel Tower and the guitar inside would remain intact! Any information will be gratefully received. ............. and by the way, do any of the music shops sell a prop to hold the neck up? Just wondering!

Unless these people are working 12 hour shifts/7 days a week they have little excuse for not having time to practice. I have a full time job, a young family, a critically ill Mother and doddery Father....and still manage to find time to practice for a new theatre show, a theatre show dep, a local covers band and other occasional deps/wedding gigs. Not meaning to sound like a martyr, but if you are serious about your music you FIND the time... for practice, rehearsing and gigging!

Played a dep gig for my old soul band. The set had changed slightly since I last played with them, Boogie Nights, Never Too Much and Let's Groove had to be learned and polished and then rejigged again with all the mistakes/changes the band have added 😂 Boogie Nights intro and outro had become my Achilles Heel, the bridge I needed to cross to enjoy this gig fully. The gig was a wedding reception at the Stones Hotel near Amesbury (more than a stones throw from Stonehenge, which seems a blessing on Solstice). We did 3 x 40 mins sets with 40 min breaks which were filled by a DJ. I was a little apprehensive due to the heat that afternoon but the room was large with a high ceiling and a couple of stage fans plus the fire exit was open...cool as a cucumber! Gig went well, the long breaks between sets was welcome and I was pleased how the new stuff went even if they didn't go quite to plan, any bumps in the road were dealt with calmly 😁. Even Boogie Nights went well! The big plus playing in this band is that I get to sit in the engine room with Dave, probably the best drummer I've had the honour of sharing a stage with. He is my rhythm version of an old pair of comfortable slippers, it all clicks with him (lovely shirt too!). Overall a grand night and a good pay packet at the end of it 👍🏻

Ah... It's actually a short jacket and a long skirt. Far too hot for the jacket. I wore the skirt but not the leggings I usually wear underneath to spare people a glimpse of my pale hairy legs. Sometimes you have to live dangerously if the weather demands it...

All my basses are "best". They are all tools, are replaceable (although I would rather not have to) and were all bought to be gigged, so leaving them at home has never crossed my mind. Same for amps and cabs. I'm not going to sound my best if I leave the "best" gear at home.

As it's my only bass, that would be a yes.

Saturday was a surprise 50th birthday party, in the upstairs function room at Starr Sports, Canvey Island. The birthday boy’s wife booked us months ago after seeing us severaral times, including another party in the same venue. Apparently he is a huge back to the future fan, so they had an “enchantment under the sea” theme, including decorations, and we offered to include a couple of songs from the film in out set, as well as a couple more when Liam, one of our co-lead singers was also going to man the DJ booth. I say ‘was’, because we got a message Saturday morning on our band group chat to say that his ME was playing up quite badly which took him out of action. This meant revising the set list for Jenny, the other lead singer to do the gig on her own - something she hasn’t done for a some time, particularly this sort of gig - as there are a few songs she simply can’t pull off. There was also a few in the set that she doesn’t usually sing or hasn’t sung lead on them before, but was confident she could. I realised this also meant I was going to need to up my backing vocals game, and sing some parts I don’t usually sing… which is fun! This also meant the DJ service was said we would provide before, between and after sets wasn’t going to happen either. Luckily, I have some party playlists already set up in the Music app on my iPad (aka iTunes) that would get us out of trouble. I just had to find a couple of extra songs from the BTTF soundtrack to play at certain predefined points during the evening. I needn’t have worried though. The evening went without a hitch. Jenny did an amazing job on her own. I feel she sometimes relies on Liam’s confidence to interacti with the audience, but it seems to have rubbed off on her. This venue also has a lovely big stage area and she made the most of it (as did I), confidently moving around and interacting with everyone. My curated playlists worked fine (thank goodness for Bluetooth on our mixer), although I realised that I can't switch to BandHelper whilst playing music. That's a mistake I won't make again! I also realised during our first set that I hadhn't synced BandHelper before I left home. So I connected it to my iPhone whilst it was playing music towards the end our break so that it would sync when I switched back to BandHelper, not realising that a FB messenger notification would pop up... loudly, through the PA system. Another mistake I won't make again! Ooh, one last thing, as this stage is so wide, last time we played there I noticed the speakers being so far apart, meant the drums didn't quite gel. So I asked one of the guitarists to being their DXR10 speaker to use as a centre fill. Sat it on top of the sub, plugged it into an aux out of the mixer, with the same mix as the main, and set to post fader. Dead easy, and sounded great. Definitely made a positive difference. So all in all, a good night after, despite the anxiety of being a man down.

MPV fiver - love it, love it, love it! Would I gig it? Yes indeedy.

This one makes me think of a micro pub near me that’s in an old workshop. The cobbles are so uneven that a regular who comes on his mobility scooter shouts his order from the doorway and they bring his ale out to him. It’s a pain when the buffet gets served during the set. No only do you lose people’s attention there’s a chance they’ll be no grub left. That’s apart from the drool running down on the bass.

Just choose an appropriately loud outfit; nobody will notice the bass.

I have taken a bass on a train. Never occurred to me to check whether it was allowed!

Party in the Barn. This was a ticket do with hog roast included. I'll try to be cheery about, despite missing Iron Maiden (my wife and son said they were fantastic!) So we actually had a really good gig. Nice to be working with a sound guy we knew and it sounded great. It was darned hot and humid though so I'm glad I took my fan. There were about 300 people there, around 200 of them that dragged their tables out of the barn to where there was a very slight breeze. It wasn't exactly the freshest of air though being a working farm 😂 A long, hot night but plenty of dancing. The Rumble was only just ticking over as on stage monitor as everything was through the PA

We played Summerfest yesterday. There were some pros and cons. It was one of the smaller stages. However it was an upgrade from the last two years after we lost our big stage contact. It was 99° so Summerfest attendance was low. We had an air conditioned trailer with a nice supply of cold drinks. We played a 45-minute set took an hour break then came back and played another 45 minute set. The best part of the gig was we went straight from the stage into the shuttle van. That was cool. Daryl

Could you tape a set list to the back of your bass? The first thing that popped into my head when reading your problem with the pedal screen, was the Gameboy magnifying light. Maybe not one of those exactly, but I thought it worth mentioning in case it might give you an idea.

Haha...the very same question (word for word) originally appeared over two years ago in another thread. Victory dance bassline? - General Discussion - Basschat

It really depends on the bands and how dedicated the musicians who are in more than one band are. I think that covers bands can be more flexible as to who is on stage, original bands not so much. I've done originals bands with deps and it's never been as good as having the proper band member on stage. Those deps that had a couple of rehearsals weren't too bad even if the musical vibe wasn't quite there. Those who thought they could wing it with recordings of the songs we were going to play and some practice at home on their own came unstuck, sometimes quite spectacularly. Also not one of them could follow simple dress code of "wear black, no obvious band or brand logos, no trainers for guitarists". If you are a band with a definite image and stage presence, having someone on stage who obviously hasn't made the slightest effort looks totally crap and in retrospect it might have been better to cancel the gig. I have tried four times to be in more than one band and every time it has not been a success. Originals bands thrive on the last-minute important gig. If half the members aren't available because they are playing Dad rock covers at the Dog & Duck it's going to acrimonious. If members are in two originals bands there is always going to be jealously if one is doing better than the others. As an example the band I'm in currently weren't doing a lot of gigs when I joined. They were mostly writing and recording, so when the opportunity came up to join a much better known band (in the same genre) who had an album out, a publishing deal and some fairly high-profile gigs, I jumped at it. For a while it was possible to be in both bands, we had separate set rehearsal nights, and our gig schedules only overlapped when both bands were playing the same event. I had a strict rule that I wouldn't try and use my membership of one band as a direct means to get gigs for the other. However over the last 2-3 years it was obvious that fortunes of the two bands were shifting, and there were starting to be problems with my availability as my first band was getting more and better gigs. When the singer of the second decided to call it a day at the end of last year, I used it as an opportunity to tell the others that wouldn't be joining them in their next project as my other band was too busy for me to be able to dedicate sufficient time. It looks like this was the right decision. The band I'm still with are very much on the "up". We have on average a gig every other week until the end of the year and two gigs already booked for 2026. We're currently finishing off our album for release later this year. As far as I know the other band have done nothing in the last 6 months.

OK hold on... there seems to be some people waking up angry this morning for no reason.... vain seems to be being mentioned a lot....quit playing etc etc.... I'm the least vain person out there I wear prescription glasses for driving as its my longer vision that is slightly off, so that takes care of that. I can then see perfectly. Close up I'm absolutely fine, what I'm not fine with is tiny small pedal displays on my zoom ms60b+ which is the size of a normal boss pedal on a dark stage with awkward colour contrasts, and the angle it is shown. So I have the juxtaposition of the glasses would probably be fine for reading the pedal and set list, but absolutely awful for playing the bass, as it would look all out of perspective, ie a lot closer to me and larger than it actually is. The question is/was relating to what ideas/tricks/methods do people use when father time starts catching up. Ie larger screen displays, higher screens, audio cues, different straps.. .. Etc

Apparently according to the description it has 20 frets. Do they come in a separate bag? If you happen to have another neck, its fine for £1.75!

Unless needed by a pregnant woman, or the elderly, in which case give the seat to them and show the world that bass players are better than guitarists who would fight all comers with sharpened plectrums 🤮so that their Les Paul might enjoy velour and comfort foam and a nice view through large windows

Here you go, Dave - the Richard Sinclair part for 'The Sleeper'. The Breathless album (hereafter known as 'The Pointless Album' was from 1978 and I have to say it completely passed me by (as did a lot of Camel, it transpires). The guitar charts are few and far between, Dave. I am working on my guitar reading and find the same problem that I always had with learning to read bass parts; there is a dearth of interesting material to draw upon (outside of classical guitar which can be a bit, well, naff). So I decided to try putting together charts of my own. It takes a lot longer and, whilst I can do most bass charts without a bass in my hands, but I cannot do the same with the guitar so the process is much more laborious. As for how, I have learned that patience and tenacity are my super powers and, if I start something, I generally keep going until it is finished, even if it is a long drawn out process. I can't complete with the young gunslingers and I don't live where there is a massive amount of Jazz happening but this I can do any time of the day or night with no pressure. Once it is done, it is there forever. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/the-sleeper-camel/

Last night, played with Nine Lives at the Harbour Lights in Peterhead. As intimated above, had a rather nasty summer cold which I had fought through the worst of, but still felt about 75% strength. Still, the show must go on, sponsored by Lemsip and Kleenex if necessary. Got an instant boost on arrival - the venue has hired a sound engineer again! The last few times we played there, we had to rather annoyingly set up our own PA in front of their much larger tops and subs and do it all ourselves. No PA lugging for us last night. Instantly that perked me up! We got greeted by a friendly lass who had been mentored through 7 shows but last night was her first gig doing the sound solo. She did a great job and it made for an unusually quiet and civilised stage - our PA is vocal only for the most part. Nice change. My amp was my own personal monitor and it was barely on. Got a great monitor feed, could hear everything, nice balanced FOH sound, fantastic - lass did great for her first gig by herself. As you can imagine, having the sound basically taken care of us made for a very relaxed gig, and the adrenaline pulled me through enough to still get out there on the wireless and get up to no good. New move unlocked - hitting a ball on the pool table with the head of my bass. Need to work on that one because I muted the strings while I was doing it, but as I always say "people listen with their eyes" and I got a cheer for the audacious move. The game of pool was over BTW, there were two random balls on the table and no white in sight - so I didn't eff up anyone's game. Anyway, had a great night - it wasn't super busy but we did have folk up dancing and that's all you need. While we were packing up, to say the heavens opened was an understatement - a monsoon of rain, massive lightning strikes and booming thunder. Which thankfully moved on by the time it came to loading the cars. But the storm had moved in the direction of Aberdeen, so I ended up driving into it like a storm chaser - rain so heavy I had to slow down to 40 or so on the dual carriageway - massive lightning strikes - even saw the shape of it one time and the thunder came almost immediately after so must have been close! And my jammy luck didn't end there - when I got home proper, the rain was off again! God bless Scotland and its nutty weather Gear was a long, shaggy dog story plugged into a snotty hankie. No, wait - it was the Yamaha BB1200 followed by the Burny LSB-80 into a barely awake Markbass rig.

How was my gig last night? One word, sweaty! Played our local Billy Bootleggers with our acoustic trio, supplemented for this gig by good friend and multi-talented percussion, harmonica, and vocalist Mr Les Young. We were on straight after a local Dolly Parton impersonator who was entertaining a ‘bottomless brunch’ crowd who migrated off to other venues in and around the Ouseburn delta before we struck a chord. This gig is one with a mainly passing trade, but we did our usual trick of getting folk to stay so we had built up a medium sized appreciative crowd by the end of our second set. Lilly, my 1960’s Boosey Hawkes Excelsior coped really well with the heat and despite my fears, remained in tune for the whole gig, which is better than what I managed 😂 Picture may be used to keep small children away from open fires etc.

I’ve had 4 gigs this week so been quite busy… Last Sunday afternoon I was playing with the blues band at a pub in N.Lincolnshire. It appeared that very little had been done by them to publicise it so we played to a small audience ( and a dog! ) Finished bang on 7pm, and was back home by 7.30 - one of those rare times for me when I just wanted to take the money and run. Tuesday was a gig with the acoustic duo for a birthday party. Played in a nice garden, and managed to set up in the shade thank goodness, it was a hot one. Took along my little Ibanez PNB14 very short scale, and it suited the gig perfectly. The low tension strings were a welcome rest for my fingers, and the gig went really well, with a couple of enquiries for similar events. Wednesday was my weekly gig at the rock n roll club. Took along my large stage fan which helped with the heat. A good crowd of dancers in as usual, and we did more slow stuff than usual as they were getting a bit sweaty. Used my recently acquired Hartke head into the 4x10, am getting used to this now. Friday saw the blues band playing an early evening slot at Farmyard 2025, a large bikers festival on a country estate in Helmsley , North Yorks. A very well attended and organised event, with great staff and tech crew. Days before the gig I realised I no longer have a ‘big’ bass rig, and so took my (nearly vintage!) Barefaced Compact cab to use along with my Rumble 500 combo. Although the combo would have been sufficient, when the Compact was added it gave it massive clout so I ended up using them both. We did an hour set, which went very quickly. Nice to play on a big stage again, and I really enjoyed it. Also got to meet @peteb who was playing with his band ‘The Gentlemen Rogues’ immediately after our set ( see pics). Was knackered yesterday, but just getting ready for another gig today with the duo - a party in a local village pub starting around 4pm. Definitely taking my fan for this one, so hot today.

Hi there I'm Kev, living up in the Granite City and just starting out as a player. I've waited too many years (decades, in fact) to pick up the bass but am enjoying my beginner journey immensely, although progress is slow - aiming for accuracy rather than speed! I've already had a positive forum experience in purchasing from the classifieds (many thanks @rainbowreality ) and look forward to learning much more here. Hello to all!

Well… I love 51’/tele basses. Had a very nice custom shop “sting” and have had a MIJ reissue at some point. Saw this on a facebook page and just went for it. Thanks to @walshyfor doing the middleman bit. So spec is Fender neck - stripped, nitro refin guitarbuild ash body, nitro BSB fralin pickup Gotoh reverse machineheads bakelite pickguard bakelite saddles etc some posh pots and capacitors etc. Fender covers all slot-head screws as per early 51’s needs some tweaks to suit, but it’s ace. slightly heavy at 10.5lbs…but it’s a resonant chunk.

Oh, I'm out, it's getting far too nitpicky in here. All playing is equally valid, regardless of who's doing it, where it's happening, whether or not it's for monetary gain, what time of day it's happening or any other stupid variable you'd like to throw at it. I don't care any more. Some of you have made this thread unbearable. Go play a bass or something

I'll be wearing some sort of shoes and pants on the train... As for making space on the train, if the trews don't do it the after effects of my baked beans, eggs and vinegar diet will. However, I'm in Blackpool for the entire 4 days of Rebellion, and as everybody knows, punk is just one bit fashion show which means new outfits at least every day. So that's the Sparklebutt silver spangly kecks with the biker boots, the zebra kecks and matching creepers, the snakeskin kecks with leopard print creepers, the Indian Project zips'n'pockets comfy strides (3 pairs in different colours) with co-ordinated 5-10 approach boots and offensive t-shirts to match. I feel I may have to bring a servant/dresser as well.

I have only two basses and both go out with me. They are tools and I want to sound the very best I can be.

In February I ordered a Fender Kingman 2 SS bass from Bax Music. Paid through PayPal,bass arrived safely and very pleased with the bass and the purchase & delivery process. However, the website showed an extra season discount which had not been applied to the final price. After an email exchange Bax promised to issue the refund once the 30 day returns period had ended. No sight of the refund until today when I received an email offering a credit note to the value of the refund. There was a long explanation about the bankruptcy and how the new company could not refund cash but could honour their obligation with a credit note. So all good really.

I do bring my best (a Status Graphite S2 Classic - which is no longer in production and difficult to replace, especially as it is a rare lefty). It is a solid and dependable workhorse and out of all my basses it does best what I need it to do in the band I'm currently with (doom metal in the very low tuning of A). I didn't purchase it new and didn't pay a huge sum for it (traded a Stingray 5 + 100 GBP). I might have been more hesitant if I had paid the 4000GBP+ new price for it. It's still not nearly Fodera or Alembic money, but I couldn't see myself A: spend that much on a bass and B: feel comfortable taking it out of the house.

I’d be down for this.

I fly back from Spain the day before so back with a bang!

Now relocated in the Strand Arcade, off Sadler Gate, as Foulds Guitars. There is also Hippo Guitars on Osmaston Road who buy and sell pre-owned guitars and basses exclusively. Worth a trip @Geek99.

I would ideally like one-band people, dedicated to the blues and backing us 100 per cent - no distractions. I only have room in my life for one band. We had plenty of gigs, but personnel instability had caused a slowdown. We aim to do more gigs and be more lucrative. People are willing to play for us, but they are already in bands. So while they rehearse, they don’t come prepared. This slows down progress, hence my frustration. Shuffling the pack constantly does so too, hence my wish to motivate.

It really is a bit of a brain-melt moment when you’re browsing through Amazon Prime for something to watch and you happen across a Jeff Beck live video with the guy you who hosts your jam night playing in the band - the amazing Nicolas Meier on guitar! Mind blowing stuff!

I took part in my first gig in 18 months yesterday. It was a battle of the bands in a secondary school and our band was one of the 'parent's bands'. Anyway, we have our first gig under the belt. It was outdoors so I got to use my full rig and this ended up being the kids' bass rig too. Consequently, I ended up with bass tech duties too. This is my first gig playing with a drummer with an electronic kit. There were no monitors and as well as not hearing the vocals, I could barely hear the drums. We got through our short set ok though. My rig:

First and foremost I hope this doesn’t discourage you from moving forward with building basses. I’ve been admiring your daphne blue jazz (but I already have two jazzes 😆). It’s bad luck to have a difficult customer experience out the gate. What I get from your post is that you want the customer to have a nice buying experience but then not have buyers remorse! Maybe you offer one free service, to be redeemed within a year, with each instrument (adjusting selling price accordingly)? Or match whatever statutory obligation for returns/refunds is common? There’s a bit of a reassurance there rather than, for the buyer, this sense of slight anxiety that they’re buying something from a builder who, as yet, is “unproven” - despite what they may feel about the instrument in person on the day. Personally I need a bit of time to warm up to an instrument and decide whether it’s for me. I think this echoes the point about selling a service, which may be far removed from your aim to enjoy building basses and cover your costs. If it were me I’d accept the instrument back irrespective of who’s right and wrong in the situation, offer a full refund, chalk it up to experience, and live to fight another day. Path of least resistance and all that, which may well be better for your heart, if not your wallet.