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Had a great afternoon at Summer Soul Vibe Festival in Ipswich. We played a 40 min set mid-afternoon. Exellent stage, crew and pa playing my first gig with my new Sadowsky ME. The back line the same SVT I played with a year ago at another festival, same hire company! Proper green room in Venue 16, with lasagne, soft drinks tea and coffee and staff looking after you. Really nicely done. Good to get great comments from the sound guys and I could see the foldback engineers having a good time stage left of us. Which is always nice.and reassuring. IMG_0666.mov

Second dep gig with 'The Gowertones' last night - a birthday bash for the pub landlord at the Plough and Harrow in Murton, Swansea. The weather made the potential for sweaty, melting horror a distinct possibility and when I turned up, I saw we were outside which added the risk of sunburn. But on closer inspection, we were under a pair of gazebos and sheltered by a wall. By some miracle, the only breeze in the area was funneled through a gap between wall and gazebos down onto the drummer and me. I had a small USB powered fan which directed some of that breeze onto my back overall it was a very pleasant environment. We were due to play 2hrs between 5pm and 8pm and the crowd, a respectable 50-60 or so, stayed all evening. Inevitably, we played on and the second hour slot lasted well over 90 minutes, fueled by chips and coke (from a bottle, not a mirror) gratis. A great set which included 'Paranoid' (I've never played it before but what a great 'live' song) and 'YMCA' (please don't judge). My second outing for the Sterling 34HH/Ampeg SCRDI/Peavey Minimax/twin TE1x10" line up and it's really giving me a sound that I'm pleased with. For years I've heard that sound in my head but never really managed to get it and while going DI into the sound desk with my main band is good (for that line up, it makes sense), having the bass banging out behind me is great. As mentioned, the kit list was my Sterling 34HH (mainly the bridge pick-up but for a couple of numbers both pick-ups selected) through an MS60B (for tuner/mute, noise gate and compressor) and the Ampeg SCRDI (with a shallow mix of distortion for the punk/rock numbers) and both bass and treble boosts selected. This went into the FX loop return of the Minimax and through two TE 1x10" speakers. The Minimax retains volume control when using the FX return so I used this to control the volume rather than the control on the SCRDI. There was plenty of volume without pushing either stage. Footwear was the now inevitable Skechers which proved both comfortable and cool (in the temperature sense) for the night. Although they only have one setting, I find that Skechers have nailed that setting and they work for me for all styles of music. Photos and video are slow to appear this morning but I will edit to add any that appear. This is one I took of the ground level kit. Edit: One came through this morning: Some images from video I shot on a GoPro.

Played my usual Everlys & Friends Live Tribute Show last night at Warners' Alvaston Hall near Crewe. First show for the full lineup in two months and was a belter, despite the ridiculous 30 deg heat. Luckily the powers that be at Warners actually had the air conditioning switched on, so playing was bearable! Two hour set straight through with no interval is always a challenge, but was very rewarding. Full six-piece setup, including fake Grand Piano housing for Pete's Digital Piano!

We closed the Home Grown Music Festival in Regner Park tonight. We started at 8:30 and played an hour set. If any vids appear I'll post them. Daryl

A very hot sweaty gig playing at the new Rodeos Birmingham. Bizarre stage with the back end of a pickup truck slap bang in the middle, a solitary monitor, no sound man, a drummist we’d never met before, several drunk hen parties… had the makings of a nightmare alongside the heat. On the whole though, it was great fun. We threw in a few covers alongside Katy’s originals, had a delightful interaction with someone in the break asking us to play all the artists we’d covered in the first set 🙄, and made a few new friends along the way I think. The dep drummist was fantastic, so he can come again 🤓 Bass as ever my sexy ACG RetroB, through Handbox WB100 and Barefaced Two10. Shoes were my Soul Cals again. No decent photos of us playing (yet) so have a photo of my side of the stage 😆

Two gigs for Hurtsfall this week. First on Thursday at Rough Trade in Nottingham Supporting the brilliant Miranda Sex Garden. Lovely air-conditioned venue which was a relief from the heat and also meant I could wear my normal stage gear rather than something that wasn't going to make me pass out due to heat stroke. Played to an audience who were largely unfamiliar with our music but it looks like we won them over, and consequently sold loads of CDs afterwards. As always here's some photos from the gig: Then on Saturday we were near Ellesmere on the Welsh border for Goths On A Field. The bands play inside a barn which could have meant it was like an oven, but luckily it turned out to be marginally cooler in barn than outside in the field. My sister (who last saw me play live in 1985) and her husband who live nearby came along and seemed to enjoy it almost as much as our usual Goth audience. Plenty of people up and dancing from the first song, and the new song we were playing for the very first time got a great response. Despite the fact that most of the audience must have seen us play before we still sold a decent amount of merch and we had a number of people saying that we were their favourite band of the weekend which given who else was playing was high praise indeed! No photos as yet, but I'm sure there will be some posted when everyone is back home later today or tomorrow. For both gigs I was using my Eastwood Hooky 6-strong bass going direct into the PA via a Line6 Helix. Footwear was a pair of black and silver Converse-style boots bought years ago from TK Maxx Next gig is back at Rough Trade on 26th July as part of the Nottingham Pride festival.

Great private party gig last night celebrating a 40th and an 80th so wide age range watching. Outdoors in the garden of one of the local farmhouses and all up for a good time. Only the 5th gig of the new band but they liked us so much that they paid us more than the agreed going rate. Same happened last at last gig so we must be doing something right. First outing of my s-s Sandberg Cali since new Aguilar pickup set fitted. Much more heft that OE pups. Didn't realise just how much in fact. No need to engage the 'deep' button on my Mesa D800+ from now on methinks. So nice to see all the old folks having such a good time. That includes me btw 🙂

For the first time in over two years, and the third time since 1990, I reunited with 60% of my original band from Sixth Form. Everyone has massively mellowed with age and it was worth the trek from North Wiltshire to Southampton. I confidently took lead vocals on a couple and it stands out as a highlight of my year.

When @fretmeister unleashes his new god-like bass tones, the congregation will bow down ready to give up their souls. In anticipation, waiting for the bass to drop, the words echo across the room.... "Let us PRay!" And it was good.

Just played to 400 or so Swedish Bluegrass fanatics at a festival by a lake. I’m taking the photo, not in it!

Hi all, I’ve been rehearsing with a drummer and guitarist to which it’s been forecasted that we will begin gigging in October. I’m absolutely buzzing for it. I picked up the bass for the first time in April and joined a 4 piece but they did not do well (drummer’s gear kept packing in and the guitarist was not very good so some time was lost between rehearsals looking for another guitarist so eventually I backed out as I was looking to develop and not spend time waiting for them to sort their stuff out) and I’ve currently got a good grasp of about 15-16 songs. A fairly small amount but 45-50 minutes worth of a setlist which we plan to do for pubs! Anyway, enough of me rambling. What is everyone’s advice when preparing for gigs? The drummer has a PA system and all the relevant equipment needed, but any tips and advice would be of much appreciation.

We’ll post details of the raffle on bass chat, Facebook and numerous Facebook groups, instagram, LinkedIn so hopefully all who want to get involved will be able to

Sounds…. Just like a Stingray. For a lot lot lot lot lot less money. Aguilar pickup, OBP-2, 18volts. nice.

The next gig for Hurtsfall is: Pride Day Celebration on Saturday 26th July at Rough Trade in Nottingham. Free entry. We're on at 3.00pm.

Before you leave home check all of your gear to make sure it works. Pack all of your gear up so you know exactly where everything is - a bag with separate compartments is a good purchase for this. However long the journey time is to the venue allow half again (it’s no problem being early and having a coffee whilst waiting for setup time). Make sure that whoever does the set lists takes into account the person in the band with the worst eyesight - they need to be seen when in the floor in semi darkness. And probably no need to mention this, be nice, to staff/sound-person/audience.

Probably just another guitarist 😄

Just goes to show how much I know, I said to the wife, that's a Fender Jazz Marcus Miller bass, really nice bass but didn't really realise they were out in 1985. She said, it looked really new so maybe they'd just come out. Didn't realise it was actually Marcus Miller playing 😆

Built this last night and slept late just playing it. Sounds glorious! MXR bass synth in the fx loop. Using a Mono Lite Pedal board

In Chipping Norton there's a "community piano" provided by the town council for the use of the general public. They even tune it from time to time and most of the keys work! This afternoon we used it to do a bit of busking as a means to promote the local jam session. A recording of Blue Bossa (a well-known jazz standard often used at jams) can be heard here. The public passing by seemed to like it; a few compliments were received and around £19 and four cans of beer were dropped into one of the drummer's cases. A nearby bakery offered free pies/cakes which the pianist was pleased to accept. The only passer-by who appeared less than fully pleased was one who commented that we needed a guitar in the band (we don't agree).

"Golden era" is generally a load of s***e used in ads to make the seller's instrument appear better than the countless other versions of the same instrument available, but it is entirely made up. There hasn't been a bad era of Japanese instruments, they have been consistently excellent since the late 70's. If you can, try both instruments and see which you prefer. If you can't, pick one and don't approach owning it with the notion that something needs to be replaced before you even get your hands on it. Play it, get to know it. If something isn't working out then, by all means, consider replacing parts but at least play it first and understand what needs to be replaced and why.

Here's a few pictures of my Fender Player ii Modified Active Precision in Metallic Forest Green. Despite it not really being the sort of bass I would gravitate towards, its actually a really fun bass to play and I'm super happy with it ...... for now (More on that later). I'm typically a fretless player, a Japanese Fender fanboy and a passive only snob. However, I was asked to play bass with a new artist and this included doing four shows at Glastonbury this year. I already had my gorgeous Fender Japan 60's Classic Precision which sounds and plays beautifully but because of the big occasion, I thought I better pick up a backup bass. I went back and forth from buying a Japanese Fender 62RI or 75RI Jazz, an American Vintage ii 54 Precision, a Japanese Stingray SR4 EX, a Fender Vintera ii Telecaster bass, a Squire 40th Anniversary Precision to sticking a fretted neck on one of my fretless basses. I had a week to go before heading to Glastonbury and the Fender Vintera ii Modified Active Precision in Metallic Forest Green was on my radar, not because I liked the look of the bass, I didn't because it wasn't a Japanese Fender but simply because I like the idea of a PJ configuration but more so that green is my favourite colour and a green bass would be my dream bass. I decided to head to Andertons to try a few basses out, probably with the intention of coming home with a Fender Vintera ii Telecaster bass as I liked the one I played when they first came out, I adore the look of them and it would make a fun and interesting back up. So I first tried one and mmm, yeah, I liked it again, but I didn't remember the neck to be this chunky or the bass to be this heavy so I had a slight doubt now. I then tried the American Vintage ii 54 Precision and what a bass. The tone, the playability, the build quality, it was simply on another level. I couldn't afford it but needed to make a decision so it was on the list and man maths was in full flow. I then tried the Fender Vintera ii Modified Active Precision, expecting it to be a bit nasty and I was massively surprised at how good it was. The neck was wonderful and the tone out of the box was really strong and punchy. I had no idea what half of the controls did and if I was in active or passive (I was in active) but it just sounded and played so good. My head was still doing man maths on convincing myself to buy the American Vintage ii 54 Precision and telling myself it's not a Japanese Fender but it was such a great bass that I couldn't fault it. As a reference, I tried a Fender Standard Jazz and it lasted less than a minute, it was horrible. Thankfully my wife was with me and she has amazing logic and reasoning and basically decided for me. If the artist I'm playing with at Glastonbury goes on and does a lot more afterwards then that's justification to trade up or buy the American Vintage ii 54 Precision but for now, it's not the time. Not the answer I wanted but I knew it was the smart decision. Don't buy a Stingray, you always sell them and never happy with them. Harsh but fair. The Telecaster bass is ugly (her opinion, not mine) but is heavy, chunky, I'll probably never play it when I have my Japanese Fender Precision which is fabulous and I'll get fed up lugging it about and never playing it. She's right .... again. That left the Fender Vintera ii Modified Active Precision which she said sounded really good but it would make a great bass for what I need right now, could be good enough as a fun alternative but could also easily be sold if things go no further or traded in for the American Vintage ii 54 Precision if they do. So that was that, a decision was made. So here it is and isn't she a beauty. The funny thing is, after all of this, it was decided not to take two basses to Glastonbury as space was premium and I just took my Japanese Fender Precision in the end which performed magnificently. Either way, I have no doubts and I'm super happy I still bought it. I did struggle a little to get a tone I was happy with but changing to a set of light gauge LaBella Deep Talkin flats pretty much fixed that. However, it looks like the artist I played Glastonbury with is going to go further so the American Vintage ii 54 Precision is still on the cards. However, I have plans for the Fender Vintera ii Modified Active Precision but we will save that for another post when the time comes. For now, here's some pictures along with my Japanese Fender 60's Classic Precision.

Just in from a very hot and sweaty early evening gig with our southern rock band. Played to 120 people packed into Hartlepool’s south Durham social club or as its known locally “Hartlepool Steelies”. Decided to take the Ashdown Head of Doom coupled with my Vanderkley 2 x 12 cab in tribute to one of my hero’s Geezer Butler who as I think we all know, played his last ever Black Sabbath gig just over a week ago. Got everything set up, plugged my pedal board into the HoD and nothing, not even a flicker of an input Vu meter. Checked everything including plugging directly into the amp but the same result, nothing nil nada. Running out of time before show time, I had no option but to raise my level in the FoH, and rely on my in-ears for personal monitoring. The result, no one noticed, and we had a great gig. Looks like I’ll be calling on Ashdown’s legendary customer service tomorrow.

Wildfires at The George, Chiswick. Third gig. First time using the Digitech BP355 in this band. Sounds great, and the pitch shifter is amazing, no lag even when I'm wireless. Wasn't as hot as we were expecting, and plenty of people were in the pub, many were still there for the final set when it was packed. Shuker 3 -> Swiff Audio wireless -> Digitech BP355 -> TecAmp Puma 500 -> customised Tech Sound System 2x12.

Thanks for arranging @neepheid, great to meet everyone in person.

Talking of wibbling randomly, here's mine... I thought a breakdancing Gandalf deserved something with bass chords and an Ian Dury-style random vocal. Oi oi! Bass and rhythm guitar = Sandberg basic through Helix. Wah guitar = Squier Strat through Helix. End guitar solo by my m8 K, Strat thru Helix. Drums EZ and AG Techno kit. Mixed in Doblies with Ozone 9, mixroom and bassroom.

Setlist is always a very good idea. I tend to put the key next to the song title too.

I was at PukkelPop (one of the biggest music festivals in Belgium) in 1993. I don't remember who was on the main stage, but I found it extremely boring. So, I went to the other stages and I heard this band that was so completely different than what I had heard until then. I immediately went to that stage and heard the last 3 songs of their set The energy! I immediately bought both albums. Saw them again in '94.

They've probably just got it back from being repaired after the last time you used it...! 🙂

@Mykesbass Yes I agree. I have no intention of bashing the instruments or playing hard, apart from the odd bit. I've been conscious of longevity while practicing. I've played in bands doing two 1.5 hour sets with a guitar. That's physically easy, but with the 12kg HB-70 with big strings, I last four songs standing before back cramp sets in. It's partly why I got the Spector, to see if I can stand an play it without back cramp, and I can. @Reggaebass Thank you for that. Assuming your username reflects a style you aim at, you would likely have considered, and tested how much bass you get from any sort of string, so I'm putting that advice directly into my scrap book. @HeadlessBassist Funkmeister sounds familiar. The've got packed away for now, so can't check. What I find is the lighter strings with their increased dynamics or articulation, need a bit more even playing to stay even sounding, where the bigger ones are a bit easier to keep even. I've already started to prefer a particular bass for particular songs I'm practicing. In the end, I want a bass guitar that does it all. Which one shall I get for that, and which strings?

Looking forward to seeing you in a few hours at the Union Square Brewdog. A thought occurred that not everyone knows each other, so some kind of identifier/marker for the table might be an idea. Therefore, this extremely quickly cobbled together homemade thing will be on our table - look for the clef! See you soon!

I’d like to come if it coincides with me being in that neck of the woods. Don’t add me yet but I’ll follow and see when dates are announced. Well done for organising @prowla and @NancyJohnson 🤩

We closed the Home Grown Music Festival tonight. We started our house set at 8:30. Our crowd dwindled too. Daryl

It's actually a fairly complicated bit of physics. The thicker the string, the more metal mass vibrating in a magnetic field -> higher output -> louder. But the thicker the string, the more tension required to achieve a given pitch for the scale length. Some people prefer a lighter, hence lower tension string, which has a bit more "compliance". They may be slightly lower output but you can adjust your pickup height, and after all amplifiers have volume controls. It's actually more down to personal preference. I usually play with a medium/heavy set of strings. However it's good fun playing my son's Hofner violin bass with short scale and light gauge sometimes - very bendy strings. It's really down to what you like. Try the skinny strings. "Articulate" is more down to your technique.

Jeff's health must come first but I really am absolutely gutted that tomorrow's concert has been cancelled. ELO have basically been my favourite band since Telephone Line came out. This was my last and only chance to see the man performing live. A mixture of personal circumstances, long term family illnesses and other things have always precluded us seeing ELO every other time they have toured since the comeback a decade ago. Doubly upsetting that it also means missing two more of my all time favourite artists, The Doobie Brothers and Steve Winwood - neither of whom I have ever seen before (for much the same reasons as ELO). At least I’ve managed to snag three decent enough tickets for the Doobies at their O2 gig next Saturday. Takes the sting off a bit… but only a bit. Get well soon Jeff and enjoy a well earned retirement. 😥

It's going to be a major disappointment to a lot of folks,but Jeff's health has to come first. Hope he gets well again soon......

If you're just starting out on bass it will make precious little difference at this stage which of the two you choose. I would concentrate on learning the rudiments of the instrument first and foremost and less about pickups swaps etc. Asking for opinions on which bass to choose is largely a futile exercise as nobody will experience either choice the exact same way you will. Good luck in your bass endeavours ☺️

I'm out at last. Mri was clear but still unsteady and probably will take a weekor two to recover. Had to bow out of three gigs with three bands this weekend but they have all been great about it. Gutted as was really looking forward to it

Cheers @neepheid for arranging. Great yap!

Nice work, and a very cool bass. Out of curiosity, what did you use to strip the finish? I've had mixed results with chemical strippers, including one that came highly recommended, but then just sat totally inert on the polyurethane finish like I'd poured it onto glass. I have a project on the horizon that will probably involve a fair bit of finish stripping. Bonus picture of my own washing-line-based spray booth solution from a few years ago. The old bedsheet is there to stop myself spraying paint into next door's garden.

Another Vigier convert here. No truss rod, a neck that just stays as it should regardless of season is a wonderful thing, so this would interest me greatly. Starting with a Fender compatible neck makes sound business sense, not just for the amount of big F basses out there but the aftermarket parts realm mostly lives here too. Beyond that it gets into the realm of personal preference. My own preference is for 38mm nut width and Jazzish shape overall, banjo sized frets, no fretboard dots or inlays, just high-contrast side dots. The headstock would have to be somewhat sympathetic to the design of the bodies it goes into so, keeping that Fender pocket in mind, something spiky or oddly misshapen (hi Klos) might not work. I'd go for a tilt-back design too, regardless of overall shape, to alleviate the need for a string tree. Why progress one way but keep a workaround for bad design in another?

Best of luck Steve. Hope it goes well

First of all well done, they look great and I'm waiting for the results you find when you finally get them to a gig. Concentrating on the financial side alone that adds up to £805 including the grilles and that is for two speakers. For that you have two speakers which are 'almost Silverstones' and which have the same care over the crossover design that @stevie always uses. I've had the pleasure of following the development of this with numerous listening and measuring sessions in Stevie's workshop and then listening to the subsequent deveopment of the Silverstone Mk1. I know there were changes to the crossovers which improved the sound in the commercial Silverstones but the most significant to my ears was the use of the Celestion horn which you do have. I too test stuff out at home listening to classical recordings and I'm sure you'd hear a difference but in reality that's a tribute to the sensitivity of the human ear. Your speaker would sound the same as a Silverstone with just bass going through it in a band situation. I know in listening tests the BC112 mk3 would leave the Barefaced offerings way behind in everything other than weight. In terms of cost I think the Silverstones were originally £599 so by building you saved nearly £400. I reckon that's a pretty good return for your labours. However it's a remarkable observation on just what a bargain the LFSys cabs are. You'd expect the materials cost of a commercial speaker to be around 30-35% of the cost at most. Add on labour, production and distribution costs and that initial Silverstone should have been somwhere in the £1,000-1200 price bracket. It's only by selling direct and limiting production that LFSys can keep the prices so far below their competitors. The reality is that your speakers are worth £1,000 in terms of the quality of sound they will deliver and what it would cost to buy the equivalent commercially buying from anyone other than LFSys.

Yesterday was an exciting one: a pedal I've been waiting for for a couple of years arrived. The backstory is a bit convoluted but I ended up with a 3 Leaf Audio Chromatron that was a little battered and losing its graphics. I reached out to Zac Sweeney at Malaise Forever and asked if he would be willing to finish it however he liked because I love his designs. That was in May 2023. A lot has happened with Malaise Forever shutting down and then reopening in a different form; there were times I wasn't sure I would see the pedal again so it made opening the box yesterday very sweet. I've posted some photos of the finished article below (and, as a bonus, I now have a box for the pedal!).

Did a 2-hour set last night with Ministry of Mojo as part of the Dereham Blues Festival. Really nice venue but very small and dwindling audience, which we just about outnumbered by the end. Unfortunately the venue is out of the town centre and blues fans clearly didn't fancy making the trip out to the suburbs. The office: