Leaderboard

Simply Blu Trio, three members of our 5 piece bluegrass band playing at The Block bistro in North Bay Ontario last night. We have played here before and do a mix of standard bluegrass songs and a few others including some Gordon Lightfoot and keep it light and friendly, it's not a show as such just background music for the diners and it went over well with some nice comments afterwards. We had a request for Ian Tyson's Four Strong Winds from a lady celebrating her birthday and although we had never played it together we picked a key and ended up surprising ourselves with a very nice version of it with three part harmony! Smallish crowd but early gig (6-8:30, two sets) and we will be back next week for something new, a lunch time gig. 😊

I'm a lil' late with this but my main squeeze (Felis Leo) had a gig on Saturday afternoon. A bit of background...the only promoter who will offer us a gig in town offered us a gig at a village pub, seven bands starting at 3pm. The gig was offered and Paul deals with it, we all say yes after a day of back n forth. Paul gets back to the promoter with a yes and gets told the gig's been offered elsewhere as we took too long. Paul takes umbrage at this and we get the gig, we're the first band on and we've got 30 mins! Paul is a quiet fella and slight but he don't do flaky. I've promoted the hell out of this one as I always do and we get the occasional comment about how much we promote our gigs, I usually have a day off work during the week and post loads. I get to the venue and the rest of the band and our 1 fan are there saying "we're not sure if we're playing" 🤔 they then show me the poster and our logo and the band after us have been removed and these posters are all over the pub! Jon, our singer, said we're not on the Salisbury Gig Guide either! Brian the SE said our name was on his list so we started to set up under a tiny gazebo (the only shade in 30+° heat 🥵). The 3pm start time also came and went as the guys were still setting up, there was a pile of cardboard next to their van and it was pointed out to me that the PA speakers were brand new (and big!). Quick soundcheck, everything good and away we go! The sound on the tiny stage was just mash potatoes, I was stood next to my cabs so found it hard to hear myself. There seemed to be a humming noise coming from a new speaker and Brian was fiddling with the back of it. I looked at the (sparse) audience and they seemed to be enjoying it, nobody was covering their ears or wincing so it must be ok. About 10 minutes into the set Brian goes to his van and comes back with the instructions for the new speakers! I kid you not, proper Spinal Tap moment... I'm looking at him reading and then looking at the band and...it was just a weird, tense gig, difficult to explain but you don't know if there's a problem or not and you're just trying your best to get through it 😂 Anyway, the gig went great! There were some small teething problems but our 1 fan who filmed some of it said we sounded really powerful (big, new speakers), the bassist of another band said we were really tight (should've bought him a drink but didn't 😄) and other comments were really positive. Maybe the tension and playing by your wits is the way forward 😬 We broke our RnR rule by wearing shorts I'm afraid, Darrell the drummer is allowed shorts but we're not...it was hot though! I used my lakland 55-02 through a TC electronic BH 550 into a pair of Barefaced one10s propped up on one corner due to an uneven stage surface (dead grass 😂).

My First Ever Five! I’ve been wanting a 5 string for about 15 years but have never got around to it. Well, as I’m fairly set with my main gigging bass now and recently sold my Mustang, I decided that rather than putting the cash back into the mix to get spent on everyday stuff or ‘bits and bobs’ I was going to put it towards finally getting a 5. I was shopping around and nearly pulled the trigger on a Ray35 when this popped up… If money was no object, I’d buy an Overwater Jazz and in honesty, i think Cort Jazz’s have that kind of aesthetic (IMO) so I think this is why I’ve always been drawn to them. The finish on them is gorgeous to my eyes and I’ve seen so many good reviews, i thought it would be as good as any to make my first. I bought it Monday and it arrived Tuesday. I’ve not had loads of time with it yet but so far, I’ve got to say, I’m well impressed! OVERALL The fit and finish on the bass really is superb. Especially given the price point. The birdseye maple neck is stunning (my first ever maple neck too). THE B The B string seems pretty solid, and not floppy, or clangy. But, I’ll caveat that with saying I’ve not got a huge amount to compare it to other than friends 5er’s I’ve played in the past. TONE Again, not really got stuck in too much. But, well it sounds like a jazz bass. It’s a very clean/transparent sound I would say, and it’s only really when I boost the mids and roll off the neck pickup a bit that I’m getting a little growl. But, it’s a very nice sounding instrument without much colouring to the sound, which I sort of expected. Albeit not the loudest/hottest bass I’ve ever played (could just need pickup height adjustment) But to my ears it seems nice and balanced across the strings and I’ve no complaints as i wanted something versatile, which it is. One little annoyance is that it doesn’t appear to have any eq control when switched to passive. It just seems to make it flat. Kind of defeats the object other than as a battery failsafe. WEIGHT Compared to a lot of 5’s I’ve picked up and played on in the past, it’s pretty darn lightweight. I’m not sure on the exact weight. But, I was concerned when the box arrived that it was even in there! WAFFLE I’ll likely change the knobs out to black metal ones, as the stock Fender style, feel a bit cheap and look unappealing. I’ll also probably remove the clear pick guard for now. Might potentially look at getting a custom black pearloid one cut but for now I might just leave it off. It’s also another first for me. It’s a bass I’ve bought myself, purely because I wanted it. I didn’t buy it to fill an imaginary gap in my live set up or because I’ve got a few gigs I’ll need ‘X’ for. In fact, I’ve no immediate plans to gig it at all. I’ve just bought it to play, learn on and enjoy. Which feels like a very nice/fortunate thing to be able to get to do. ROSE MORRIS AND…. Big shout out to Rose Morris in London who were superb to deal with and got it boxed, shipped and delivered in just over 24 hours for free. I’d seen it online and had a few questions and David was really responsive and friendly. I ended up getting it for a really good price and even after I’d paid, he kept me updated with getting it shipped (Which was about 1.5 hours after buying it 🙏) CONCLUSION Overall, a very happy bass player so far. My ‘daily runner’ is a 30” passive 4 string, so it’s a bit of a jump up. Almost feels like learning to play all over again. But, a few hours in the den and I’ll be fine i think. If you’ve made it this far. Thanks for reading my waffle. Here’s what you’ve clicked on to see (Not the best pictures but i was in a rush to play it!) …

I think they got up indeed. Looking at pictures of fretless Ps some nasty people posted here, I finally bought a Tony Franklin one.

Nano board, main bass and micro board. This is my 2025 core setup for live, recording and tone exploration. Also sharing some of the tracks I’ve recorded: Cheers, Chad

Here is my '94 Fender P :

100%, I’m on the wait list, I have 3 or 4 tracks I regularly play that I know I can use those presets on. I fake it now with fuzzy/chorus/octave/envelope…but I’m all for an easy life haha. I also genuinely think that IMA knows what’s up. He’s not just marketing hype, he genuinely is an excellent product/tone developer, who just so happens to have a very large audience too. MXR made a smart move on that front. Si

It's interesting that in some light the bass looks jet black - and in some dark brown ... and even black with dark brown highlights. I'm a huge fan of gunstock oil .... lol to be honest I'm already looking around for another 'buggered big-un' to restore. It's addictive, and there do seem to be quite a few basses languishing as 'conversation pieces' which should be in the hands of players. If anybody wants help and encouragement with their own bass projects feel free to message me. I'm always happy to pass on skills ... and if you are in the London area - pop in to my Oil City Pickups workshop for coffee and talk basses 😁

I jammed with Ritchie Hayward of Little Feat once, with Pre-Feeder Grant Nicholas.

It's just arrived... Of all the places something like this could have come from, it came from Cash Converters. Yup. Good old Cash Converters. I took a huge punt on it when I noticed Alice Cooper's autograph. Certainly wasn't anywhere near convinced it was legitimate when I bought it. But... having spent most of last night trying to find any information, I managed to find the 4 photos of Alice, Steven, Francis, Rick and Ian. All holding this guitar, and all with signature markings on the guitar they are holding that match exactly the position of the signatures on this one I now have in hand. I reached out to Warwick Stone (anyone that watches Pawn Stars would know him as the British chap that values all of their Rock memorabilia). He responsed by email yesterday evening after having seen the guitar and the photos I posted here and confirmed it was legitimate. I've also reached out directly to Ian Hunter and Jeff Wayne (as I found their email addresses) as well as Gibson's current CEO, Cesar. Hopefully one of those will respond and be able to give me some more clues as to some of the other signatures! Identified signatures so far: Alice Cooper (Alice Cooper) Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) Duff McKagan (Guns n Roses) Francis Rossi (Status Quo) Rick Parfitt (Status Quo) Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) Kerry King (Slayer) Meat Loaf (Meat Loaf) Pearl Aday (Meat Loaf's Daughter) Mick Ralph (Mott The Hoople/Bad Company) Ian Hunter (Mott The Hoople) Jeff Wayne (War Of The Worlds etc.) Ian Paice (Deep Purple) Jacky Paice (Ian's Wife) Joe Elliot (Def Leopard) Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) Vinnie Appice (Dio/Black Sabbath) Richard Barbieri (Japan/Porcupine Tree) Chris Robertson (Black Stone Cherry) Ben Wells (Black Stone Cherry) John Fred Young (Black Stone Cherry) Steve Jewell (Black Stone Cherry) Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree) Scott Ian (Anthrax) Scott Rowley (Classic Rock Editor & Chief) Suzi Ronson (Mick Ronson's Wife) The below were also at the event this guitar was signed (2007 3rd Annual Classic Rock Roll Of Honour) but I can't match signatures... Jeff Beck Nick Mason Lemmy Joan Jett Jimmy Page A hell of a find...

Haha, you and me both! I guess having owned and tried really hard to love the FI multiple times (I've had five attempts from v1 onwards!) over the years and never quite managing it, there's definitely an element of "if they could just do that" e.g. decent tracking, form factor, make it accessible by loading with popular 'known' patches, replace the numerical display with something that displays words (Boss 200 series, many midi pedals do this). But András and crew, to their credit, are definitely getting there and there's been more progress with the FI than a lot of the competition - remember the Markbass Super Synth anyone?! Getting us back on topic: the trouble for FI/C4/Boss et al. / good news for us bass players is that MXR Synth has arrived on the scene and is already providing a great deal of what we want in a synth pedal and is rightly causing a stir.

And so 'Frankie' is done all bar the set up ... but I'm letting her settle in and get used to being a bass again before going mad with the action. I brought her up to concert pitch with the nervousness of a bomb disposal officer sat astride a ticking World War aerial mine! Fresh in my mind the first imploding Chinese biscuit material bridge. I needn't have worried. Plenty of graphite in the bridge slots and she was a good'n. So from this to this And how does she sound? Well I'm gobsmacked by how loud she is, I mean the Superior Bassworks Dirty Gut Deluxe strings are not known for huge volume, but the power and projection the old girl has is quite remarkable. I'm getting rather fond of the way she appears jet black in some light and dark brown in others 🙂 Yep I need to cut the nut slots a smidge deeper, and the action could come down a good 4mm at the bridge and still be 'slap worthy'. The oil varnish needs to harden a while longer before it can have a good polish ... and I need to buy a rubber chicken to put inside the bass ... so that when folks ask 'what's the little hatch for?' ... I can reach in and produce it! So after a set up I'm going to look at pickups - ideally something that I can use an adaptor to plug into my Shadow Rockabilly Pro preamp - thus saving on buying two preamps to have both basses gig ready.

Well, there’s definitely bass stuff in the works…

I've had one most of the time since I was a teenager in the 90s, it comes out relatively seldom these days but I enjoy it when it does. It's on two tracks of the album my band is working on, but live it's easier to just play one bass, and sometimes it gets brought out for free improv stuff if I fancy electric bass that day - the extra expressiveness and variation over my fretted bass makes it fun to work with for that. My current fretless is an odd beast, it's the bass I built in my parent's utility room when I was 18 and defretted much later. It's shaped like a pointier Jazz with a funny angular paddle headstock, and a walnut body a full 2" thick that weighs an absurd amount. The pickups are a ceramic single coil under a mudbucker cover that I wound myself in something close to Rickenbacker bridge position and a Kent Armstrong toaster added later right up by the neck. The bridge is currently a brass Hipshot ric replacement. But with those pickup positions and the hefty body, it's surprisingly good as a fretless.

Just watching the Ray Cooper tambourine masterclass (otherwise known as Don't Let the Sun go Down on Me). What a pro!

I say this with some trepidation (and yes I can hear all of the sniggering, calm down at the back please) I think this may be a keeper................ I put it together from parts left unsold after a recent bitsa sell-off. Late 70's Daion body, Warmoth full-fat Precision neck, with maple cap/slab. A big surprise is the Squier CV PUP and circuit, which frankly sounds as decent as any I've owned (I am going to test some alternatives at some stage just in case they sound even better). Currently rehearsing a Pixies show, this is doing the job rather nicely 👍

Wanted to update everyone on our results moving the whole band to IEMs. Been a gamechanger for us and wish we'd have done this a decade ago when we were playing festivals and large venues with our own sound guy 🫣 We use a soundcraft ui16 (would have preferred the 21ir but managed to get a steal on the above). We've only got 16 inputs and 4 of us so it's enough ins and auxes luckily (utilising headphone amp as aux 5/6) and main outs. I'll upload our tech spec but we're sending 4 mics + 2 x Guitar, Bass & a mono backing track channel from our split to our mixer and FOH and then we use an EAD10 drum module for the drum sound in our ears (this thing is an amazing investment). The backing and click tracks are a single stereo file, tracks left, click right. The click signal only goes straight into our mixer so it's not being sent to FOH. Our split is a passive Behringer MS8000 we send the link out for those 8 channels to FOH and transformer out to our mixer. Then have a 6m 8 channel snake from the link out to feed the FOH stagebox. For IEMs me, the lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist/vocalist use the KZ As16 Pro. They seemed to be the best of their range for our uses. Drummer used the shure dual driver ones (can't remember name). We then use wired Behringer P2 headphone amps but have recently got the Donner ones which are lighter and rechargeable (stereo is via a stereo TRS cable so will be getting long lengths of those soon). For the behringer we have an xlr combiner cable made to turn the 2 mono xlr aux outs into an unbalanced stereo one. Link here... Splitter Cable you could just use 1 xlr if you want a mono feed. In terms of mixes, I've got everything in my mix except the backing tracks. Click is just there enough in quieter sections to hear it but then inaudible when we're going hammer and tongs and a slight boost to my vocal and bass. Perfect for me and sounds very similar to when I listen to our album. This was a cheap starter setup and my intention is to get proper customs moulds maybe LUGs? I've got the comply tips on the AS16s which seal perfectly and no issues for me. First gig is a week tomorrow for our album release at our home town Theatre 😮 Have now got proper bags for the tails haha and in the process of changing the tails from the split to our mixer to right angle xlr so that they can be permanently plugged in. Ignore the carpet I'm in the process of renovating this place top to bottom. Rack drawer is filled with foam and contains our vocal and cab mics as well as our headphone amps, iems and splitter cables. Will get a photo at next practice of it all plugged in so you can see it in action. I'm totally ampless now which again has been a gamechanger. Here's my pedalboard. The Element also allows me to practice with the same tone as live/band practice so another revelation. Thanks to everyone for their help answering my braindead questions along the way 🤣

Assuming it was a loaner pedal, time to get that pedal back and have it sent to someone who will actually make a video! If it was payment for content, then, I love Gaz, but that’s bad form not to have fulfilled his part of the deal after a year. For me, form factor and workflow is key here. The FI sounds great, but for my brain, the form factor and general workflow of the MXR wins out, for others, those things won’t matter so much, so for the price-point, the FI probably wins out. Shrink the FI down by what is probably nearly half, and I could perhaps overlook/relearn workflow…but I’m guessing that’s a significant undertaking, if not impossible. Luckily, both are available to us all….what a time to be alive 🙂 Si

Here's my baby

Same amp & cab as forever. New bass, tho!

If ever I'm asked "Are you a musician?" my answer is always "Good God, no - I'm a Bass player"

I thought about getting a double bass, but what with the price of Mr Sheen / Pledge these days I’m not sure I can afford the upkeep. ☹️

I swapped a Warwick fretless for a double bass many moons ago , still don’t play it really , but it’s a lovely piece of furniture

Not on a fretless no ……..

Here's some videos I think I'm there or there abouts

That's a common misconception, Mike. It was David Paton, formerly of Pilot and Alan Parsons Project ect. who played bass on Nikita. Apparently he got to the studio early one day, was just playing his Stingray along to the backing track to test out a new piece of equipment, Elton heard it and loved it and the rest is history.

Can confirm it does nothing if the sgt footswitch is off.I also have one for sale if op would like!😎

That looks very nice, Alex. Especially like the clear guard. Looks very sophisticated. Enjoy!

The beauty of a clear guard is that you can try out different looks just by cutting and inserting thin card or paper behind it to check out the effect. I have an all black ‘insert’, one with a paisley pattern made from and old bandana (stuck onto card) and a tort one, where I bought a small sheet of stick on tort (for acoustic guitars) and trimmed it up.

Need to talk to your optician, not your wife.

That’s looks great. I miss my 410l 🙁 I’m never selling anything again that sounds good. Even if I go off it for a bit it’s got to go in the loft for another day.

Back in my 30s, I started having singing lessons - until then I'd never sung a note. From there, I started to sing in choirs of various types and sizes - I've never sung solo. The problem with not doing this stuff as a youngster (and being told you can't sing) is you tend to be horrendously self-conscious (well, I am anyway). I tend to lose the plot if I try to sing solo. The ridiculous thing is that I am fine singing complex stuff like Bach or Bernstein, even with relatively few voices to a part... In a fit of insanity, for the summer school I will be going to in a few weeks time, one of the sessions I have signed up for is solo singing... I haven't had proper singing songs type singing lessons since I moved to Shropshire in 1999. Just before Covid hit, I started having some very technical lessons to do with voice production. A mix of Covid and the teacher moving 50 miles away put a stop to those lessons. I bit the bullet this week and had my first 'proper' singing lesson this week in 26 years.

Review and feedback for the Spector. Morning. Now that I've had a good look around this used Chinese made Spector, I'll share my review. I didn't spend much so it's not bias. First thing is the shape. It has the convex curve on the body and it fits beautifully, and hangs in balance and weighs little. The holes routed for the pickup need to be about 3-4mm deeper so as not to trap the wire and have more adjustment. Nice looking finish. The neck is once piece, thin, twangy, very comfortable and nicely finished, but feels a bit flimsy and delicate. It has taken a lot of fettling with the truss rod and some gentle persuasion across my knee to get it in shape and playable. Now it is, it's not holding me back. The tuners are fine - I reckon tuners often get the blame when the strings are pinched in the nut slots. Nice hefty bridge. The electrics sound clear. At the right pickup height, they have depth and power. I don't think the instrument is good enough to be a serious gigging instrument, but it is a lightweight, easy playing instrument that looks great, especially with the stick-on inlays. I'm planning to start my bass career at a pub jam night. It will be perfect for that. Everyone can have a play, no worries. I think it will be a hit.

Bloody hell. Twenty grand for a bass. Can you imagine the amount of lego I'd need to buy The Wife if I was to get that? Sheesh. Thankfully I don't like it, so I'm safe. Mark

Glad you said it Lawrie, what a horror 🤔

You can always get another wife...

Down a third from a few years back. Bottle crashed as I neared @cetera heights, there can be only 'One' and I couldn't handle the pressure 😀

Simple Perfection and sexy to boot

11

Wasn’t around on Basschat in 2011 so here goes… First Bass Owned: Aria SB700 (still have it) 'Go To' Bass: Currently my new Sandberg VM4 'Your' Bass: My 1985 Mk1 Wal Custom (my main bass since ~1992ish)