Leaderboard

Hello! Couldn't resist this one. Never seen another in the UK. Any others out there? A pretty unique spec - ovals, matching headstock, blocks & binding. Board is a lovely bit of rosewood, body is basswood. Pickguard was switched to black at some point, but I've got a correct replacement on there now. It plays and sounds great 🙂

Played at Kent festival of scouting last night for the 14-17 year olds. The whole event was set up just like a proper music festival, and we were in a huge tent with stage, crowd barrier and pro sound team. The kids there were loving it. Earlier in the week the band had played at the opening ceremony on the main stage( I was on holiday and they had a dep) but apparantly the stage was last used at the Ozzy tribute at Villa Park. Couple of pics below of the venue before they were let in

After last night's gig in a pub in Paisley a random stranger tried to sell me a Vox AC50 that 'used to belong to the bass player in The Animals. He sold it to my dad. It's huge as f**k and better than yours' I don't need it I said. it's better that yours he said again. I still don't want it. I couldn't lift it. Was it Chas Chandler's I asked. Aye, he's English. This went on for several minutes before I walked away. Back on stage I asked my fellow bandmaster why all the idiots always speak to me. His answer was brilliant. "I used to think I attracted them but you're different league" 😄

Well it was more like this afternoon, Cider festival. This right here absolutely sang today 😎🏁

This project was a real struggle. It’s been here a couple of months, in bits mostly, and it put up a fight all the way through. I got it for peanuts, probably because the guy knew it was goosed. So, I ripped out all the knackered active electronics and binned them. I spent WAY too long trying to get them to work. Today, I turned it passive…. CTS pots, orange drop cap etc…. and now those EMGs absolutely sing. Piano like tone when played with a pick, lovely neck, very nice to play and well balanced on a strap. Maybe it’ll make an appearance at the next gig? A bit 80s like, but f*** it! 😉

I can still remember getting a train down to ‘that’ London when I was around 14, with a mate who wanted to buy a guitar. £5 return on the train! We walked from Kings Cross down Tottenham Court Road, and went in every music shop we saw, including the Fender Soundhouse where we gaped at all the latest models. Then on to Macaris etc, and down Denmark Street, and eventually Shaftesbury Ave where we got my mate a brand new Avon SG for £39, cardboard box included. Carried it all the way back to the station, and sat with it on our knees playing cards on it all the way home. Happy days.

I just answered here the 3 bass question (first, most practical, most "you") thread and it got me thinking about where I saw and bought my first bass. It was Macaris on Charing Cross Road in London in about 1980. I lived in a flat but was starving, no job, no money and had to sell my beautiful tenor sax* I'd previously spent half a year saving for, effectively making it difficult to fulfil my dreams of becoming a full-time musician. The owner of Macaris apologised that he could only offer me £300 for it, as he could see I was upset, so he said he'd let me have a bass, amp and lead for £100, at cost he said. A Westone Thunder 1A black and a Traynor Bloc80b (which miraculously has followed me over 20 home moves later). Although an unhappy time, it did start me on the road to being a bass player, which I think, by sheer luck, suits my character better. I went back later (in the early 80s still) to get my first and only pedal, a new Boss Chorus. On a recent trip to London I looked out for Macaris and was sad to see the shop gone, replaced with a horrendous building devoid of character. Denmark Street has held out, but the old rehearsal rooms seem to have gone. But a quick browse online today and it turns out Macaris improbably moved to Haywards Heath, which means I'll give them a visit one if these days. * Conn Connqueror 30M "Naked Lady" What shop do you have fond memories of?

A few from me, as already mentioned The Bass Centre where I got my Ashdown gear in 1999 ably advised by Steve Lawson and a few years later watching Steve and Michael Manring perform in the shop. Tiger Music in Sydney Street in Brighton, a real old fashioned guitar shop with great staff. I bought a Fender P Lyte there in 1991 and they wouldn’t take my 1980s Ibanez Roadster in p/x as nobody wanted them back then. Also a Peavey TKO combo that is still going strong at a local church. And then there is Largs of High Holborn, I only ever went as a small child in the 1960’s but it was where my parents met in the 1950s. Mum worked upstairs in the musical instrument dept, Dad was downstairs where they built hi fi systems which you chose from a a range of different components before they were built into cabinets to match your decor. A bygone age!

Bass players of Peterborough and surrounding area! On Sunday the 17th of August between 1.30pm and 3.30pm we are having an open house at Nick Smiths studio in Peterborough so you can come along to see and try his Midas Bass! We’ll be opening the raffle to win this bass at this open house and there’ll be the chance to purchase the remaining items of Nicks vast music gear collection Raffle tickets will be £20 each, with the winner being drawn at the Nick smith Memorial Gig at Charters in Peterborough on the 7th of September. All monies raised will go to the Nick Smith Foundation to help music related projects in the local area Please share this post far and wide to help us raise as much as possible in Nick Smiths Memory The location is in Belgic Square, Fengate, Peterborough….please DM for exact address and access instructions on the day. @Blondy will also be able to help with the details ”remote” entry details will be tied down and announced by the 17th August **should the base be won by someone not at the memorial gig the costs of shipping will be taken from the monies raised from the raffle**

My brand spanking new Barefaced THREE10 arrived just after lunch yesterday and within 6 hours it was on stage for a Nirvana tribute gig. It sounded glorious with the Ashdown ABM600 and the '79 T Bird Bicentennial. Perfect.

Oi you young whipper snapper! Some respect for your olders and betters...

The Bass Centre Wapping, coz that was just haloed ground in the 80/90’s but also my two favourite local music stores that actually catered for bass players .. Monkey Business in both Southend & Romford, also honourable mention to Honkytonk music Southend, where I bought my first two basses..

Musical Exchanges in Birmingham was the first guitar shop I ever went into as a teenager in the 80s Might be rose tinted memories, but no guitar shop I've been in to since has come close to the sheer eclectisism and variety of new and used stock that Musical Exchanges had in those days. For a while me and my mates would go there just to hang out & try stuff we couldn't afford just about every weekend & the staff seemed more than happy for us to do so. It was a genuine Aladdins cave.

Rig of choice for a live studio recording session last night.

In an old glam band I was in we played a venue where the managers had changed and the new guy, whilst honouring all existing bookings, didn’t want music so did no promotion. Not only didn’t we get asked back, he asked us if we’d accept £100 to stop playing and go away. Quite proud of that!

You won't go wrong with an Hercules Auto Grab.

Took delivery of this Sire V5 Fretless today. I am blown away by the quality of this bass for not too much money.

Small step forward today - tuners arrived. Because nothing ever goes smooth, the (pre drilled) holes in the headstock of my neck were way too big - and in my opinion having way too much slop to fix by wrapping tape around the tuner bushing. So, in steps some 0.6mm basswood veneer I have. Did a quick and dirty test fit and it worked pretty damn well. That one was a bit short though, so I cut some new strips of a more correct length: You've got to steam them first - they snap if you try to bend them that much when dry: After steaming, they're pliable enough to curl into shape and drop in the hole. Nice and tight, tuners fitted. Small job done.

Suspect it is! A couple more, the room in use and what I believe is part of the switching system that my Dad built so that any combo of deck, amp, tuner, speakers could be heard.

Years ago I was front man and guitarist in a busy rock covers band and our bass player was "quite the character". Though his drunken antics, during the break after the first set, he was banned by the landlord and escorted off the premises by a bouncer. I had to negotiate with the landlord to get him back so he could finish the gig. Conditions were that he had to ditch his stash and could only have a soft drink for the rest of the night and that unless we replaced him, we'd never play that pub or the other one they owned again. We never again played that venue (or the other one they owned) with that line up, but every cloud... Those were decent venues and we didn't want to lose them, so the other guitarist and I put together a two hour acoustic set of material and ended up getting as many gigs as the full band. The next stage after this when putting together the next full band was me deciding to take on bass duties full time, which led me to finding BassWorld and the rest is history.

My Phase 2 HiFlier , was quite surprised by this one.

Just back from Ipswich, where we played Rock Against Leukaemia - it’s ninth year now and they’re doing amazing work. It’s always a fun show, this one had us getting ‘glitter beards’ at the request of our singer’s little girl. (The things you do to keep kids laughing!) We played a truncated set well, plenty of dancers, and it was an opportunity to play a heavier than normal set, with Metallica, Fall Out Boy, Sabbath, Nirvana, Lit and a few others. Great night and can’t wait for next year’s 10th birthday for RAL! edit, I supposed I’d better show off said glitter beard, eh?

Here's mine, pretty happy and settled with it.. 🙂

"Join a band" they said. "It will get you closer to the ladies" they said....

Your ad gets pride of place!

I worked this out this morning, after years of unhappy “drive” searching… My suggestion is to also try a compressor with extreme settings (high ratio, 100% wet, above unity output) - as an effect rather than tool… The extreme compressor gives the type of “saturation” I like… lots of clarity & raw balls without being weak/oversaturated/weird midrange/low end roll-off/biamping/etc I’m going… Bass - Compressor - Sansamp - Power Amp So really I’m using the extreme compressor to drive my preamp - which gives another great suggestion, the Sansamp BDDI, great for Ampeg SVT style “always on” grit The big muff deluxe bass was the closest to happy “heavier drive” I did have… but now it’s either not needed or the compressor pushes & enhances that even more. Hope this madness helps others, good luck!

I used to go to school in Bingley / live in the next town and I can safely say that JSG (later Spectre) was a big part of me starting up playing in bands. We used to go walk across town to go there at lunchtime (or get the bus on Thursday late night opening) to hang out, look at guitars that we wouldn't be able to afford for several years and try out ones that might be our next instrument. On weekends and Thursday nights, there were always local musos hanging out who would give impromptu lessons and advice about gear or playing or whatever. A few years later, I was the one of the guys giving advice or showing kids how to play Smoke On The Water or Wishing Well properly. Quite a few of my mates / bandmates worked there and as I walked in they would put the kettle on, or if they were busy, ask me to put the kettle on, or answer the phone, etc. Then we would go to the pub after they locked up. As I said, a big part of my early musical journey. The demise of these sort of places (and Electro in Doncaster was another one) was a symptom of the decline of local music scenes. It's where musos would hang out, put bands together and share knowledge. All gone now unfortunately...

I went to school in West Ealing, only a short walk from Marshall's shop in Hanwell. I spent many lunchtimes looking at the basses and getting in the way of the staff. 33-37 Wardour Street, W1, the Flamingo Club was in the basement, the Whiskey-a-Go-Go was on the first and (maybe) second floors floors, and Pan Music was on the third floor. They always had a fantastic selection of basses hanging on the wall. That's where I saw my first Fender Precision bass in the flesh. I bought my Vox Foundation from Pan.

+1 from me. Exchanges was THE music shop of my youth. I bought/PX'd more gear than I care to remember. I even did my school work experience here which consisted of messing around with bass gear and vacuuming. A guy called Woz ran the bass department. Amazing player. Wonder where he is now? Incredible to think we also had the Birmingham Bass Centre just around the corner from Exchanges as well. Great times. We're lucky to have Fairdeal in Brum which has improved its bass great offering in a big way over the last few years and deserves to be supported lest it goes the same way as PMT...

There was 2 I vaguely remember in Leytonstone high road, Freedman’s and Holiday Music, would’ve been around 78/80, I was having bass lessons as a teen and it was probably the first place I saw a fender jazz for sale but couldn’t afford anything like that then, I’ve made up for it since 😁, I found one pic but nothing for freedman’s

Sometimes it’s nice to get them together

So I found a nicer piece of pine to practice on than that scabby old thing I found. It went... OK. A few wobbles (including setting the depth of my cutter a tad low at the beginning. But lessons learned, and praise be, the pickup fits (using the 1/4" cutter in the corners). I thought about having another test run, but I thought "F it" and decided to proceed directly to the real thing... First off, remove the bulk of the hole with the drill and forstner bit. Then deep breath and get out my most hated power tool, the router. Took my time this time, double checked everything. Did the main shape with the 1/2" cutter, then swapped to the 1/4" cutter for the corners. Howzat? The wee deeper holes in the corner are because I had to poke the 1/4" cutter down sufficiently so that enough plain shaft was below the baseplate so it would not cut the template. IT FITS, YAS! I am very pleased with my afternoon's work. This is the first pickup route I've ever routed in my life. Glad it went well, but won't be sorry if I don't ever do it again, lol. It most certainly has not "given me the bug" - it was stressful and horrible work, but I am very pleased with the results. Next job - figuring out how to make a dirty long hole from the control cavity to the pickup route without ballsing the entire operation up. I might need a bit of professional help with that so I might pay the Engineering Workshop at work a visit on Monday and see if I can cadge a disgustingly long drill bit at the very least. Or they might take pity on me and do a "give it here" - I won't complain!

Likewise. 🤣

This lady was pretty impressed. In a bar in Amsterdam. It was a mirror until you got closer and this image appeared.

I'm too old for it. 😂 Dave

Here's a cool pic of Tom Petersson on stage with the bass Pic by Alive Coverage

What an amazing room! I want to live in it. And is that the world's most stylish ashtray in the foreground?

I lived in Aberdeen for a while and the only thing that got me through my dull as dishwater job was walking up to Bruce Millers, looking at guitars and seeing if the new bass magazine was in.

I took off the battery cover and screwed the four screws int the body recess until flush. Then I glued four neodymium magnets into the sfrew holes in the cover. Simples!

Iconic store in the Teesside area. and also an early workplace of the legendary Jim Cairnes.

Sadly for some of us the 'sound' isn't even a factor! I've tried the 10s and 16s and the physical size and shape don't work for me/my ear; they are uncomfortable and/or no good for getting a good seal (regardless of buds used). This isn't just an isolated issue, I know of at least 2 other local musicians who have sacked off the KZs in favour of units that are smaller which give a better seal. I get that if the 10s fit you then the 16's may well sound better... but they need to be a good fit for the user.

Same for me really... Although, back in the 80's, for me, it was mainly the Bass Centre in Wapping. Apart from buying nearly all my gear from there (lots of it - especially strings), I found it to be a good socialising place. Well, that and the pub around the corner that we all used to visit. I lived just the other side of the river near Tower Bridge, so it was an easy walk for me.

Another shout for the Bass Centre in Wapping. I bought a number of Entwistle basses from there, and my 66 slab bass. Locally I recall the original Telecomms in Portsmouth, a small shop that moved location a couple of times. It eventually became a branch of PMT, lost its soul and finally closed.

So many really. Probably the one I miss the most was Electro Music in Doncaster. A wonderful shop, crammed with so many instruments. They had separate departments for guitars, basses, drums and studio stuff, as well as a brilliant second shop over the road for PA related gear. The owners and staff were all lovely people, knowledgeable and friendly, it really was a pleasure to visit there. Me and the various bands I was in bought a lot of things there over the years, including a PA - the Electro guys brought 3 different set ups to a club where we rehearsed near Hull so we could try them out side by side to make sure we were happy. Brilliant service and shop, very sadly missed Music Workshop / later Antones in Hull was the first call for all bands in my area. Again, well stocked and staffed by musicians, it was always a friendly and interesting place to buy from. Owned by a good friend of mine, it closed when he retired. JSG / Spectre Sound in Bingley near Bradford was another superb shop. You entered down a long tunnel like corridor into a shop rammed with guitars and amps. Plenty of new and s/h kit, I bought many items there over the years, and well worth the 100 mile round trip for me. Last but not least, the shops run and owned by the late Lynn Blakeston in Hull, a well known and respected man who sadly recently passed away. Lynn started out with Gardner Music which is where 14 year old me used to hang out and get to meet all the great local musos. Lynn lent me some brand new Marshall amps for my band’s first ever gig, and then went on to make flightcases under the ‘Greyhound’ name as well as establish a popular PA sales and hire business ‘ The Gig Shop’. His influence and help with the local music scene could not be over estimated, and without his shops I would probably never have chosen the route I took. I genuinely feel sorry for young musicians who will never know what it was like to have great shops to receive advice, try / buy stuff, and meet other players.

Hah, you old farts! See you in 10 years and 4 months

Plastic added to protect the light

Because they're dangerous, unpredictable, difficult to control, at the mercy of the tides, expensive, slow, fun to helm and it's difficult to get them to change course.

Couple of pics from Sat nights gig with Blockbustarz just appeared from Auld Gambling Hoose in Alloa. Excuse the wig, it was a new one i was trying out for a friend. 😂 It needs a bit of trimming for the next gig. Couldn't see thru the darn thing. Dave