Leaderboard

First gig back for 7 months for various reasons….. Good warm up, bit rusty, but a fun one.. Then the following night, a hot one, but I had a great on stage sound, full Ashdown rig on full tilt, a lot of fun…..

Had our first gig with the new lineup last night to a packed venue with close to 150 people in this tiny room. And we absolutely smashed it. I went DI for the bass - Tonex One into cheap generic passive DI box into FOH, and wired IEM packs. Struggled to sleep overnight from the adrenaline, but that's about normal for me after a gig.

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 🙂

Great thread @kwmlondon Really laughed a lot reading everyone's posts...😂😁🤣 What an irrational lot we are. Many of my irrational prejudices have been posted already, but the one that really grinds my gears that hasn't been mentioned so far is this one. It's social media or Basschat posts that we bassists share frequently about our upcoming gigs, with wording to the effect of... 'tonight's office' Or 'today's office' That come with a tasteful picture of some basses and a bass rig. OMG, that winds me up like nothing else because... It's not a f*#king office for f*#k's sake!!! 😡 It's a gig, a venue, a place where people congregate to do nice things (in the main)... I play music to get away from the office, and the last thing I'd ever want to associate playing music with is a f*#king office. 😡 There. Said it. 😬😜 I need to go and lie down in a darkened room for a couple of hours now... 😁🤣

A last minute booking that came in yesterday morning from the Parasite, er I mean the Agent. Just a trio job ten minutes up the road at the Village Club, Spondon. A lovely crowd, but got a very interesting comment from an 'audient' - he said that he was really pleased to be able to hear all the individual bass notes, as usually with bands the bass is an undefined mess and too boomy - Must be the wooden stage and how people EQ. I blame the flat wound or long dead strings, personally. 🫣

Couple of gigs for me this week. Regular Wednesday evening at the rock and roll club - busier than the last few weeks and we played tighter too, we’re really starting to gel now. I’m thinking of trying my Danelectro Longhorn out down there at some point, may fit in nicely. Last night saw our acoustic duo playing at a birthday party for a farmer a couple of villages from where I live. He sells sunflowers from one of his fields, so the marquee was suitably decorated. I took my Fender Kingman bass, and we used his PA - RCF tops with Mackie bass bins, a throwback to his previous life as a DJ. The initial brief was 3 x 40 min sets - first one background stuff as the guests arrived, second one taking requests as they ate ( gourmet burger van, excellent!) and then the last set playing stuff for dancing. However, largely due to the free bar people got up to dance early on in set 2, so we had to keep it going. Really pleased we had the large PA, as it needed to kick a bit and it did! Last set was full on, lots of the audience on the makeshift dance floor. We finished around 11pm, absolutely knackered though. We packed away and left the party which remained in full swing. Still, we were paid handsomely, well fed and watered and also gave out a few business cards so overall a good gig. Just glad I have today to recover. 😆

We played The Major Goolsby stage at Wisconsin State Fair this afternoon. It was a good gig. We were well received. The whole thing went over a lot better than last year despite the 100° weather. We played three 45 minute sets. As usual I couldn't get any decent pics. We

We've just done the first of two gigs today... We had the 1350-1420 slot at Rebellion Festival Arena. We played there two years ago and the sound was awful, boomy, feedback and generally horrible. So now they've put the stage facing across the room, and it's now the best sounding room at the Festival! For the first time in many years I went directly into the PA from my Helix. Our other bass player used the supplied AmpegSvt and Fridge. As a result, he was happy with trousers flapping indistinct mush, and I was very happy with a slightly slappier JJ Burnell-esque tone which suited my far too many notes style. We played ok, a number of mistakes due to nerves from our two new members and also a serious lack of rehearsal, but I shall eventually beat the songs into them good'n'hard. However, audience of 2-300 seemed happy (we were up against 4 other bands in the other Winter Gardens venues, plus the Typhoon and Red arrows flypast at Blackpool airshow. Afterwards we didn't get a kicking, and even sold some merch... Gear- Sandberg Basic, Helix, PA. Shoes - TUK zebra creepers. T-shirt - original UKSubs Another Kind of Blues from about 1978-9.

Had the third of 5 Saturdays in a row for us. Another British Legion ( put your preconceived ideas away). Long narrow room next to a lounge bar that was pumping out Sabbath and Ozzy tracks in a belated tribute. As usual setup was tight and so I had no time to take photos and the better half will not put down her drink to take photos in case it is spiked Again the reduction to a four piece means.we are are much tighter and really enjoying ourselves It is holiday time so the crowd was a little sparse but they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Friday evening was my first gig as an official member of the Bonnevilles, rather than a dep, as efforts to communicate with the previous bassist have proved fruitless. A few days on from playing inside at the Anker Inn, this was an outdoor multi-band charity fundraiser. This was for a local charity, a Nuneaton hospice. Arrived a little after it started, the band on when I arrived featured a couple of the guys who were providing the PA. The bassist was playing a 5-string Ibanez BTB, which was nice to see and hear (I've grown bored of 4-string Fenders and Squiers, almost all one sees on open mic nights with bands). Next up was a country singer and guitarist with backing tracks. He revealed partway through his set that his father had died on Tuesday, and had been cared for in the hospice. Then it was us. We were using supplied backline which was OK but the guitarist's sound was a bit indistinct. I'll use that as an excuse for missing my cue back into the "Light my fire" intro after his solo. Then we got a pissed-up woman who told us it was her birthday and wanted us to play f*cking "Wonderwall" and said she could sing it. We ignored her and continued to the end. After doing an encore, the guitarist and I had got our gear off stage when our singer picked up his acoustic and started playing f*cking "Wonderwall", and the drunken woman sang, in a variety of keys, none of which were correct. As a bit of a postscript to that, the next act on were a duo - male lead vocals and lead guitar on an SG, female rhythm guitar on a slimline semi-acoustic Tele. They were very good and managed to survive the drunken birthday woman thinking that she could make a positive contribution to "Go your own way" (before someone removed her from the mic and the stage). Gear - Antoniotsai 5-string fretted dragon bass -> Lekato WS-50 -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> Ashdown combo as on-stage monitor, Caravelle memory foam trainers. Then it was Saturday afternoon. For several years, an open mic player called Rick has hosted an event known as Rickstock in his back garden. This stopped a little while back but he decided to revive it as a charity fundraiser for the charity "I'm homeless get me out of here". Rather than his back garden, it was held at the Shirley British Legion. I had a slot mid afternoon, which I did with my usual crap vocals (Mrs Zero having gone to Bloodstock), and as I finished, Rick said to me "the next act's bassist hasn't turned up, can you do it?". I foolishly said yes (I had played with the guitarist who was on next once before and it was freeform jazz, so I expected to have my boundaries further expanded). Then David the guitarist launched into "Sunshine of your love" and I felt safer. Three more songs - "La grange" which I don't know but bluffed through, and "All right now" and "Black magic woman" which I had no problem with. The personnel were guitarist David (pronounced in a German fashion as he's German), keyboard/vox David (pronounced in an English fashion as he's English), and Phil on drums. Plus me, of course. Gear - Hohner B2AV -> Lekato WS-50 -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> Red Sub combo, unbranded velcro-fastening trainers. So then I headed off to the Dirty Roses gig in Sutton Coldfield. We were at the Sutton Park Hotel (which I think is probably no longer a hotel). Car park was rather full and I got a space about as far away from the doors as was possible. After doing my cardio for the next couple of months I got loaded in. The usual chaos of setup ensued and we started up at 9. The applause was a bit more enthusiastic than "polite" but fell a bit short of "rapturous". Things did seem to shift up a gear for the second half though - one of the songs is Time Warp and that's a bit of a barometer. There were several dancers, and the guitarist and I went walkabout to check them. Another few crowd pleasers and the usual encores. Afterwards, the manageress said she was really pleased with us, wanted us back, and then as we were about to go, one of the bar staff (who had been videoing us all evening) told us she didn't like bands but we had been really entertaining. And some bloke in the toilet asked me if we were playing anywhere else locally. Which was all very nice. Ringing the changes, gear was Sei Flamboyant 5 -> Lekato WS-90 -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> Tecamp Puma 900 -> GR Bass AT212, and footwear the same unbranded velcro-fastening trainers.

Two gigs on Saturday. Started with a dep at 12 just down the road from home … just as well as I pulled in and remembered I hadn’t loaded my IEM transmitter, so a quick return home to collect then set up. Early start for a festival gig and next to no one there but fun all the same. Took a little while to get the IEM mix right but the sound guy was new to the desk 24 hours previous but we got there by the end and no stress. I’d spent a while getting the dots sorted and down for Footloose then it got dropped for time and two of us depping - me and drums. Annoying but a good workout for me and I’m sure I’ll get a chance to run it at another dep so no problems 🙂 Home for a shower and a nap then out to gig two with my usual band. Small (tiny) venue and we used an electric kit for the first time. Worked great for me on full IEM’s and seemed ok in the room. Good tight night though not a lot in with the heat. Happy with the BV’s and getting properly sorted on those with some of the newer ones that are now working in nicely. Bit of a moment towards the end when guitarists were telling me I was in the wrong key - I wasn’t, sounded fine in ear - and whatever it was apparently sorted itself in the chorus, so no idea what happened there.

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?

Last night, played at Wilsons in Aberdeen with Nine Lives. Gig went well, pretty busy, decent crowd interaction. Nice to see a few of my mates came down to support - much appreciated, lads! Including two guys I met for the first time at a mate's house the night before. For once, the casual dropping into conversation about me playing a gig the following night paid off! Playingwise, I played pretty well, no major oopsies, and new song in the set went without a hitch (apart from me forgetting to engage my OD like I said I would, oops). Really emptied out about five songs before the end though - I guess people had other places to go! Ahh well, from the start until then it was decently busy. Good night, really enjoyed it. Gear was the Greco LGB-700 followed by the Epiphone Em-bassy into the ISO standard modular bass rig.

We had a gig in a tiny tiny pub. I'd gigged there before. It's a pain unloading as the pub is in a really narrow street, not much wider than a car itself and the set up area is compact 🙂. Despite me warning the rest of the pub's quirky location and size, or lack of, they were still a little gobsmacked when they saw the reality 🤣🤣 We had a fun gig, lovely pub, lovely crowd (I say crowd in its loosest term considering aforementioned size), we played well and will get asked back. Result.

I have had this for over a month but the crown mother-of-pearl fret stickers only arrived this week from US. I think they look the part and also tone down the Judas Priest 50 logo at 12th fret. Nice slim neck profile and a comfy 8 lb 2.5 oz in weight (this is the one I got from the Gumtree chap who has a gazillion basses for sale who was the subject of another thread).

We wouldn't be where we are without you...

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" 😄

Tiny inch forward today (well, I was gigging last night) - but I did a wee bit of pickup route finessing with the Dremel, then screwed down the pickup ring.

And also, which I'd REALLY love:

There's an ocean of difference.

The Bass Centre, Birmingham circa 1997. The story: Been learning a few months on a cheap Ibanez, still pretty crap & no amp - practicing through my cheap midi hifi. Amazing talented bass player in my best mates band takes too many psychedelics at the time and takes a trip to jam with Buddah and disappears for many years to come. I have his bass for a few months and get asked to join my best mates band. Little did I know at the time was that this heavy bitch of a bass I borrowed off the first bassist was a Jaydee. Meanwhile Buddha bass get his bass returned to his parents and then loses the Jaydee, or gave it away I believe, on a pilgrimage in India. Anyhow, the bass centre - plans to buy a Squire and used Peavy TNT amp (super heavyweight), saved the money - on budget. Travel from Shropshire to Birmingham with the vocalist in his 76 bay window VW Camper and it sort of turns into a bit of a Cheech & Chong journey…smoke everywhere and not just from the VW. Anyway, arriving somewhat spiraled eyed I end up stoned beyond all comprehension and sign my first ever loan…Stingray & Trace Elliot combo…bloody skint, great times, great shop - long live listening to Funkadelic at the Birmingham Bass Centre 🤩

I had a great day in the sun putting this together today. It will be my turner of slabs into body blanks and for some thinning for blanks prior to drop tops. The action is really smooth and I’m very impressed for £150. I nearly had my eye out taking the plunge spring out of my Triton though. I didn’t realise the size of it lol

I'm the tall one (head !) its prolly 73,don't remember the band,the marquee was a second home for me in those days 🤑

Loved tiger music, brought my Ibanez MC924 from there which I still have to this day. It was up for £450 , it had( has) a slight blemish in the wood/ varnish on the back . I genuinely only had £400 on me and left the shop with my mate feeling really dejected having played and fallen in love with it there and then. We got about 50 yds down Sydney st and the bloke came out and shouted at me to come back as he’d decided to let me have it. I was about 18 and I think he must have felt sorry for me, he obviously saw how I was smitten by it. Lovely guy he was and i think that big beaming smile on that spotty little oiks face must have made his day as much as it made mine! Happy days x

Plenty of mojo going on with this ‘63 Precision.

You look remarkably good for 71, Daryl. My old man has that thing going on too. he's 88 going 68. Anyway, to answer the question. I've always done it. It's a part of what I am. Not bass per se but playing live music in a band with other people. Bass is #1, though. Basschat is a source of inspiration, trying new gear, buying and selling, listening to new music, it all feeds the monster and gets me back out there. This year has been a series of steep learning curves with so many areas of bass, it's what makes me get out of bed.

My pet piamh is the pronunciation of Irish names.

Used my new rig with my PBass at a jam session with a loud drummer and guitarist playing rock It sounded very punchy and loud using just one cab and I’m very pleased with it. Those cabs are amazing weighing 11kg !! Incredible So thus far I’m very pleased I’m back playing again

It depends on the church doesn’t it? I think the grindy bethel style bass makes little sense unless you’re in a setting where there’s a big stage and band. Personally it’s my opinion that some of the vibe led, minimal melody songs we have been using in the last few years just arent amazing for communal sing worship unless you go big and loud and very front led - which I’m not sure would work for the majority of U.K. churches and I would question why we would want to as part of our worship (other than the PA team want a big new PA and the guitarists have all gone bought that new big sky mx and want to use it) So short answer - if you can do synth stuff and it adds to the music - go for it!

The first music shop I encountered was George Potter in Aldershot in 1963. They were mainly involved in providing instruments for military bands but hada few guitars and basses. It was there that I bought my first real bass, a Framus Star bass. The following year a brand new shop opened just 10 miles away in Guildford called Andertons, and the rest is history. I also remember visiting Monkey Business in Romford when I happened to passing on business. Not strictly a music shop but I bought my first real amp, a Linear 30, from Radio Component Specialists (RCS) in Croydon. That was followed by 4 Bakers Group 25 speakers which were fitted into a cabinet the same size as a Marshall 4 x12. When I briefly worked in London in 1965 I used to break my journey from Waterloo to Islington at Leicester Square and walk up Tottenham Court Road gazing into Macaris and all the other music shops, especially the shop under Centre Point. Alas I had no spare money for any more gear then.

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

I’m going to tag you every time I do this from now on 🤣

FTFY

Paid the princely sum of £260 for my 66 Precision at Tiger Music. Headless basses were all the rage at the time. It had been in the shop for ages.

People who say "pacifically" rather than "specifically".

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

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**

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

I wouldn't presume to suggest what you should like. I have 19 basses, active and passive, 4 & 5 string, long and short scale, fretted and fretless, modern and traditional, d from every decade from the 60s to the 2020s. So I think I'm very open to different instruments. I've tried basses like the modern players. They look pretty, but I don't bond with them. My friends who have had early 60s fenders since the 60s/70s still gig them and I do prefer them. The two basses I find myself gigging most are the 1960 P reissue and the 1963 J reissue. Having played real ones, I'm pretty sure I would use them if I could.

Express Music in Solihull. Rather more geared to keyboards (I bought my Roland D10 there) but they did have guitars (I bought my Eko Ranger 6 from there, the instrument I've owned the longest). I remember dropping in one day when there had just been a delivery and Pete the guitar specialist was doing the unboxings. One of the instruments was a Tokai bass, IIRC a Jazz (FSO anyway) which had an amazing finish, a lacquer with glitter in it, very sparse but it seemed to be really deep. Pete went on to run his own shop in Shirley which has subsequently moved on to new hands a new name, the Bop Shop.

I've probably done this before but it's good therapy for me, please indulge me...you mentioned 5 or 6 shops in Birmingham, I'll list the music shops in Brum circa '82 to '85 when I was in my mid teens. Musical Exchanges, broad St initially then Snow Hill from '83 I think. George Clay on Broad St. Used to stock Polytone amps, wish I'd tried one. Jones and Crossland on Smallbrook Queensway. Part of the Black Sabbath saga. City music on Suffolk St Queensway. Woodroofes in Dale End, a second defunct shop on John Bright St. Birmingham Bass place, became the Bass centre. Originally by the Alexander theatre then Livery St. Yardleys on Colmore Row, mainly drums and brass. James Pass, smallbrook Queensway. Sheet music, pianos etc. Kay Westworth, Cherry St by Rackhams. Double Eagle necks and bodies, Schaller bridges and tuners. Cranes (?) Birmingham Centre at top of New Street station escalators. A few Sunn amps, new stock Betas etc. Fairdeal music, Digbeth high St. Green Lane music. Muzos on Hurst St. Great shop, got a v4b ( worked in a garden centre to fund it) aged 16 from there. Ex Woodroofes staff if I recall. Chase Music near to Lewis's Old square. Where I first saw Tokai fender copies I bet I've forgotten something. Great time to loaf around aimlessly with your mates. Modern life is rubbish.

Indeed. Happy days when we did loads of gigs and played two sets, 99% originals 🙂

Tidey comment KMW.

I would love this bass for the sound alone.

Sunburst Finishes, especially cherry sunburst & shitburst (I think the correct term is tobacco sunburst) Oil finishes Open Pore finishes Relic'd finishes Pearl scratchplates Basses that don't have a passive tone control Looper pedals, especially when used by acoustic guitarists at open mic evenings Keyboard players - never worked with one that wasn't a complete & utter c**t

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!

Oasis. What a pair of unspeakable twàts.