Leaderboard

Last night was a gig with a difference, I knew almost everyone in the audience, it being one of the local walking football clubs I used to play at. The event was their annual summer dinner dance, but there's usually double the number of folks and tables. Because of the personal connection, I especially wanted the band to do a good job and for me to play well. Whether it was because of the extra banter and focus on me by the band and crowd, I was distracted and definitely didn't play as well as usual. Had a good laugh though! The venue is good, acoustics not bad and looking out into its golf course. Bit of a walk to get our gear round to the back door. The band wanted more folks there too obviously but the atmosphere was friendly and fun. All the gents had a lady with them. Small gear error. Left home in a rush and forgot the fly lead for my bass so, the wireless dongle went direct in the jack socket. We got to the venue at 7, played for nearly 3 sets with short breaks over 3 hours and away by half past midnight.

Depping gig at Ashby Road Sports Club in Hinckley last night. Was particularly pleased to try out the bitsa P bass I’ve been working on for the last few weeks - from what I can tell it’s at least partly an oldish Squier Affinity. It sounded great. Not “vintage P bass” great but much in the same ball park and very usable indeed. I was planning to upgrade the pickups but tbh it sounds fine as it is. Weirdly my IEM sound was terrible - everything was just distortion which was so distracting I took them out after a couple of songs. Half time I swapped the lead, the batteries and the headphone amp itself, and reduced the volume of the mix coming into my monitor channel. But it still sounded awful - I suspect I may have blown something in my IEMs! So ended up playing without any monitors and just using the onstage sound, just like the old days. Good gig tho.

Wet. Up early to drive to Lancashire from Surrey to play the Wafsville Country Music Festival. Traffic meant we arrived with 25 minutes to spare before going onstage, which was great in terms of not hanging around in a soggy field to be fair but we were slightly on edge… The rain set in as our set progressed so the crowd noticeably thinned as they sought the cover of the bar area at the back of the field. Onstage sound was very boomy, as it was out front apparently, so we came away feeling like we hadn’t quite played our best. But on the whole it was fun, the first full-band Katy Hurt gig since mid-July and we have another (much closer to home thankfully) in 2 weeks. Bass was of course the ACG, amp was the provided Ampeg SVT3 into a knackered 4x10 cab. Shoes were my brown suede Chelsea boots which now need a good drying 🤓

Friday was a local trio gig outdoors, which was an opportunity to stretch the legs of the Status Stealth 2 for a change. It's a little bit darker sounding than my main S2-Classic ['the wife'], but definitely has the required punch and snarl. Lovely crowd of mainly friends, but we did a lot of off the cuff audience requests, including a lot of songs we'd never played before. It all adds more material to the 35 year old evolving set, I guess. Saturday, just home from the Lark Hill Retirement Village (very posh place) in Clifton, near East Midlands Airport with the Everlys and Friends Live Tribute Show, so back to the staple Jazz Basses. Nice job, with the dance floor full all evening, so good result. Just home and heading for bed now. After two nice local jobs this weekend, next weekend is going to be full on globe trotting mode again. Starting in Birmingham on Friday, Gt.Yarmouth on Saturday, Yeadon in Leeds on Sunday afternoon, and Peterborough on Sunday evening. Phew! 🤪

Feeling a bit out of sorts tonight. Tail end of Covid and stuff. But the gig went ok, not packed but reasonable, the audience liked it. The band were new to the place but I've done several gigs there before. I put my cab upside-down* on the bench rather than on the flags to reduce boom, and I still had to brighten the eq. Got caught out by a couple of arrangements that don't follow the originals, not that anyone else noticed. Tuned to drop d for the wrong song, so had to go back up to E for the next, then down to D and back up again... all by ear as without my tuner, which had fallen on the floor. Also managed to pull my lead out of my head while spinning round looking for the tuner. Was to boomy to use the Squier Jazz with mutes on it, but it does look pretty. Amazing tort scratchplate for an ebay cheapy! *updide down ment the ports weren't blocked and it sat on the flat top, not wobbling on three legs.

Little late to report, but never mind. Thursday we played a double headed with another local band (SX5) at the Cricketers in Leigh as part of a fundraiser for the RNLI. SX5 led on the event and provided the temporary stage, PA, drums and lighting, so we more than happy to go on first. They have their own mixer dialled in (XR16) and use IEMs, so we weren’t quite sure what to do with limited time to set up. So it was decided to bring our mixer for our vocals, guitars and bass, run an output of their mixer into our for the drum mix to retain our own IEM mixer, and then straight out to the spare inputs on their PA speakers. I thought it was gong cause more problems than it would solve, but it ended up working really well. A 90min set without a break to a very appreciative audience (and a busy one for a weeknight) went by like a flash, a quick tear down and SX5 started merely 30mins later. Received a lot of complements from people who’d never seen as before, as well as a number of people who turned up to support us (and the cause) who usually see us playing elsewhere. Whilst I would have like to stayed to support the other band, I was exhausted and knew I had a full on day at work on Friday (in what turn out to be a marathon 5 hour session with an important customer going through amends in a 400 page InDesign document). So reluctantly, we left at 10.30ish and in bed by 11. Looking forward to doing it again, if they plan on it.

Currently sitting and relaxing in the break. It’s going well, lots of dancing from the get go. However, the nature of the set up means I can’t hear myself particularly well . I’m going to move for the second half and see if that helps. Gear is my usual Phil Jones rig but with my custom fretless Maruszczyk Elwood L. Footwear is the usual Adidas Samba types (it’s a mod gig after all).

I bought my 64 p bass last year for a significant birthday present to myself and it's by far the most incredible instrument I've ever owned. It's player grade and was played to death by a famous UK session player from 1969 if I remember correctly, ans I can see why! Every note across the entire fretboard is clear as a bell and completely in tune. Definitely completely bonded with it more than any bass I've ever owned!

Two very different gigs this weekend! Friday was the Dysfunctionals 3 piece at the Spread Eagle in Polesworth (Imagine if Tamworth had a frumpy, less glamorous sister). It was one of the smallest places I've ever played - we were wedged inbetween the pool table and the door to the toilets... ROCK 'N' ROLL! It was so small, we couldn't bring all our stuff in (We have too much stuff, especially for gigs of this size, but I digress) so we had to unload the cables and stuff we needed outside and bring them in by the armful. Yay! Little Nige on drums again, always a pleasure but sadly not a long term replacement for the previos custodian of the sticks. Setup was a nightmare as the stage bit between the pool table and the door to the toilets was about the size of an Altoids tin (Altoids Smalls, not the proper ones) so every time you turned round or stood up you'd clout into something. All set up (we had to grease Henry (BL) up to get him out from behind the keyboard) waited around for a bit, went on to about six utterly indifferent punters... the best we got was a very vauge smattering of applause between songs. At half time, a bloke collared me and said how nice it was to see a Bass player smiling... I can't imagine why anyone would think all Bass players are miserable sods (unless they've been on Basschat for more than seven picoseconds). I didn't have the heart to tell him it was more of a rictus grin. Second set was slightly better, a few people came in from the room next door, danced for a verse and a chorus then buggered off again, by the end the 'dancefloor' (the bit in front of the bit between the pool table and the door to the toilets) was packed (it only needed about nine people to be packed) and they enjoyed the last three or four songs, so... that was fun. I joined the dancefloor (TBIFOTBBTPTATDTTT) for the encore, which went down a treat. Pack up and load out was even less fun than load in and set up as the stage bit between the pool table and the door to the toilets had somehow shrunk *and* there were drunken arseholes valued audience members in the way... I would have thought that after the fifteenth "'scuse us... sorry... can we just squeeze through there...?" from chaps with enormous flightcases they would have got the message and gone and stood somewhere else, but alas, no. Mrs StingRayBoy came, she very much enjoyed it. Played the Jazz for a change (inspired by a thread on here about Jazz Basses) -> there wasn't enough room for my little board so I didn't bother -> secret weapons board (wedged onto a shelf) -> MB 802 -> PA. Wore the peach pink sparkle converse. Satuday was depping with the Manchester Ska Foundation at a wedding (Debbie and Andrew) in a marquee outside a pub somewhere near Macclesfield. Arrive at 430, setup was slightly (but not much) more fun than Friday as we had to drag everything through the audience who were sheltering from the rain... there's eight of us and they're all used to it, so it's usually a pretty easy setup. Soundcheck went down well (!), first set at 6 o'clock, we went down a storm. Marquee was packed (It was raining out), everyone loving it, dancing and singing along... fab! The happy couple had their first dance to 'It must be love', which was lovely, the bride's married name is Brown, so 'Sally Brown' (Bad Manners) became 'Debbie Brown' - cue much hilarity and everyone joining in. They fed us (Meat & Potato pie and chips) at half time which was most welcome. Second set was great, a packed marquee (still raining out), all loving it. One of the wedding guests (A very drunken young lady who looked like an AI-designed sex worker (denim thomg, boob tube, knee-high leather boots, cowboy hat)) spent the entire second set haranguing the trombone player, wanting a go on her trombone... so obvioulsy there were lots of blowing/shiny horn/get your lips on that type jokes... hilarious. (The trumpet player let her have a go on his trumpet at the end, but her lips were too big to get a sound out of it.) Played the P -> secret weapons board -> MB 802 -> PA. Wore the cow print converse. Two sets of relentless uptempo ska on the LaBella DTFs took it out of my fingers which I've never really noticed before... I must be getting old. Finished for just after 8, packed up by 9, back in Brum by 10:37 for a cider and a conversation about Lindy Hop with my Stepmum.

Back at the Queens Arms in Brixham last night. Its a cosy corner for bands, and our drummer had recently bought a smaller kit consisting of 18" bass drum (down from 24"), rack & floor tom. It really helped fir us in and sounded good to. We did a tribute to Ozzy by playing War Pigs, Crazy Train & Paranoid together in the 2nd set. There was a large group seated in a corner who were really enjoying it and were in fine voice singing along. My usual rig of StingRay 2eq, RM500 & BF210. My Skechers are starting to show some signs of wear, but are comfy and I don't wear by best pairt to gigs. We played well and had a good night.

2nd set follow up. I moved forwards and down, in front of the drums (there was a smallish stage), with keys and guitar, left and right. It sounded better for about 5 minutes, the drums were just drowning out my rig and I won’t turn up because that’d destroy to out front mix, which seemed fine at sound check. There is little or no enjoyment for me if I can’t hear myself and this morning has contemplating jacking it all in, although I’m sure I won’t. Crowd loved it all, so job done. Had a complete blank in one song (Itchycoo Park) and couldn’t remember how to play it, most embarrassing. We shared the night with a mod/punk disco who were louder than us by some measure and one of the monitors blew during our set, which I’m sure was down to them. I didn’t hang around because of the volume and was packed up and home by 1.

We canceled a pub we use to play on a regular basis for something similar. We'll never play there again. Daryl

Absolutely horrid experience for the first half of ours tonight. Was set up in a tiny corner of a pub, using our own PA and having to lug it around tables of people sat eating dinner. Tiny stage where I could either bump my right elbow on the crash cymbal or the headstock of my bass into the singers back. Venue was completely unequipped to have bands on, even down to them not having a single plug socket anywhere near the "stage" area. Still we plowed through - even with people still sat eating half way through our first set and not a single member of the "audience" (who I suspect were there for their dinner and had no idea a band was on tonight) seeming like they cared. One blast of In Bloom later and suddenly the 60+ year olds weren't so keen on eating their meat and mash. I don't even know if people loved it or hated it - I think general ambivalence was the mood. The bar manager was happy though - he reckoned they'd put about £2500 more behind the bar than the average Saturday, so that's something. It was very much a case of having to be professional and make the best of the situation. I'm not in any rush to play at that venue again though truth be told. I think when they said they wanted bands on, they really meant they wanted an acoustic act to play background music while people tucked into their carvery or whatever.

Fender Marketing dept. pitch meeting, Corona: "So, any revolutionary new bass ideas guys? We are being called lazy online due to a lack of anything other than re-hashing our two core models for the last 65 odd years." "Have we done an active PJ this year?' "We have?!" "Oh, ok." "How about something, something Vintage?" "Oh ok." "Hmm, too early for another Ultra..." "How about some signature Jazzes BUT they are for indie female players?!" "Oh, we've done that too... ok...' "Ok no wrong answers here, anything goes, let's go!!!" Crickets One guy: "How about a bass that can only be used for scoring a Tarantino soundtrack and not much else?" "Go on..." "Right, a Jazz, probably. But it's a... "Stick a P pickup in there" "Ok, a Jazz with a P pickup, but also let's make it godless, heinous and semi-fretless" "Ok guys we're on fire here, what else?" "Give it a weird paint job, a semi-expensive neck 'bucker and wonky effects, slap a Custom Shop logo on it and charge $15k for it..." ... ... * Single senior executive clapping slowly, before entire board room joins in one by one leading to a standing ovation! * "We'll bring out a MIM or Jap version, followed by a Squier Paranormal line in 6 months and charge $2k" (then discontinue it in 18 months) "We've sorted the company's earning for the next two years guys, well done!"

Don't shoot yourselves in foot on the basis of "apparently". Misunderstandings, quoting out of context etc do occur. Make sure you're sure. If you are and you cancel the gig, much respect! 👍🏻

Just home from a paid rehearsal, a quite well paid rehearsal, as it happens. Played to our wives and the bar staff, essentially. However, we have a few regular folk who come and see us every time we play, and they were absent tonight. When I asked the guitarist where they were - apparently last time we played this pub, the landlady made a comment about one of the chaps ethnicity. This floored me, and since we have a rebooking in December (already arranged) we’re in a quandary I think we’ll cancel the gig, and if we have to explain why then I’ll happily tell the landlady to her face.

Making sure you’re fully up with the material is the main thing imo.

Played to a packed out crowd at Didmarton Bluegrass festival. Lovely gig and people.

Second gig in two nights, this time a solo acoustic guitar/vocal job at the Organ Grinder in Loughborough. First outing for my 1999 Simon and Patrick SP6 into which I’ve taped a Seymour Duncan Woody pickup. Over the last few months I’ve eradicated various gremlins from my rig (noisy power supplies, dirty pots, annoying buzzes etc) and I have to say tonight felt like the best guitar sound I’ve had on stage. Full and loud without being harsh, and lots of dynamics. It was cooking. It’s a really loud resonant acoustic guitar even unplugged, so being hunched over it inches away from chiming, ringing notes and broingy, bitey chords was a delightful experience. Flask of earl grey carried my voice through the gig (just about). Which also gave me the chance to tone down the volume, swap pick for finger style and explore some softer singing (essentially to keep my voice intact for longer). Some good results from doing that actually - will try to remember for next time. For now, bed.

Finally finished the design on the headstock today - kept seeing bits which displeased me, and of course the masking tape took the occasional wee chunk out of the edge so spent a lot of time with a tiny brush sorting that out, then seeing other wrong bits, resetting the clock to an hour again every time I put new paint down. Finally think I got it all and got to work on lacquering. Done 6 or 8 coats this evening - want a nice, thick layer before I start flattening it because I would hate to sand through to my paint underneath. Gonna let it harden for 24 hours or so before trying to flatten it back. 86_2007 project headstock lacquer preflattened.mp4

We spoke to the guy this AM, he’s tight with the guitarist (they work together). We’ll be letting the venue know (politely) that we won’t be back.

IEMs are great for that too - we have a normal guitar amp and a normal drum kit, I have in ears which does both the protection and the monitoring. I hear them (they are in the mix too), but I hear me louder. It is so good to be able to hear the nuances of what you are playing one the bass (although scary when you first start) loud and clearly.

Hello Bass Chatters, Could anyone offer advice on how to stop nerves when going on stage for the 1st time please? I have only ever played in front of 3 humans and a cat... 😂 Only playing one track at my brother's memorial gig (Nick Smith - doctor_bass) 💚 But don't want anxiety to ruin my tribute to my beloved bro. Answers appreciated by 6th September. Gig is the 7th, at noon. Cheers Blondy 🎸

These days, it seems quite a popular deed, so here is mine. Music Man Stingray EX, ebony fingerboard, originally 3EQ preamp. The latter is now replaced with a 2EQ M05400 (once again, thank you very much @Hellzero). The treble pot is C500k. Strung with Ernie Ball Extra Slinky 40-95.

Thanks for your interest. I will let you know when I make a decision but I’m not in a hurry. It’s a good question, why don’t I play 4 strings any more? I just feel like an extended range suits me. I like being able to play a D below E without having to bend my brain around drop tuning. I like being able to play in F without pivoting so much. When I play a 4 string it’s like getting into a car that has 4 gears or watching a film on an old 4:3 screen. It’s very personal but it just feels more me.

So you exclusively playing fretless nowadays, after you erase all your frets?

I'd agree with all the comments about practice, but be kind to yourself too. If you make a mistake then you make a mistake. I make loads every gig, and that's without an emotionally loaded situation like it sounds like you'll be in. I'm really sorry to hear about your brother, but I'm sure he'd be unbelievably proud of you. Everyone there (and here on BC) will be rooting for you too, break a leg.

Have you tried hearing more of your bass via IEMs @ezbass? It can be a very simple and inexpensive setup to be effective. Take the Behringer MA400 headphone amp with passthrough which is about £15. Get your bass into it, connect your IEMs (£5-£20). On stage vary your bass to taste, whilst still hearing the band ambiently.

We went with some friends to see their daughter perform in a talent show in a venue on Cromer pier. I don’t really know how to describe what her troupe were supposed to be doing but it was truly awful, an absolute shambling mess! My mate was relieved that only the best three acts from each category went through to perform again in the afternoon. He was just glad that we wouldn’t have to stay for that. Except that there were only two acts in her category, so they got through by default. I buggered off outside and spent the afternoon crab fishing.

Fixed for you 😉😜 Hope something works out for you 👍

The desk is pretty tidy but the rest of the space is a litte compact and bijou.

Don't knock it on the head because of one bad stage sound experience. From my own experience, the worst time to contemplate your future with a band is 'the morning after'. 🙂

Small alterations to accommodate the new Crazy Tube Circuits Venus, so far really loving it. Honestly the HX One, Dagger and OC-5 are there as filler for the current project and my pedalboard needs. I tried making a more compact board but the massive 0xEAE Bass Driver just takes up a ridiculous amount of space. This attempt will upset a lot of folks here I suspect 🤣 Even I couldn't stomach the sideways pedals 🤣

The latest iteration of my gigging board. Now with integrated wireless. It really is too nice for playing local pubs. The stagebug tucks in at the rear of the board for emergencies if my amp dies.

Mine's more a corner with a Cajon to sit on and a laptop perched on a cab!

Looks like Fender CS are doing a limited run of an Adrian Younge signature bass, which has got to be one of the quirkiest designs I've seen for a while! Seems like it would be a bunch of fun to play, and clearly works for Adrian! But definitely a niche instrument! Jazz body with 50% fretted, 50% fretless jazz neck Precision middle pick-up Curtis Novak bisonic neck pick-up Built-in fuzz and tremolo effects https://www.fendercustomshop.com/basses/jazz-bass/limited-edition-masterbuilt-adrian-younge-jazz-bass/

@Blondy I knew your Brother well. First and foremost, he'd be very proud of you and so very encouraging. That should be your first thought If you're feeling nervous, block the audience out of your mind. Play for you, and play for Nick. I'm sorry I won't be able to attend the afternoon's events, but after my Sunday afternoon theatre gig in Leeds, I'll be racing down to Peterborough and joining my friends Mike Brooks and Jaymi [the PinkBassMan] for a curry evening in celebration of Nick. Oddly enough, curry was the last meal Nick & I shared. I hope the afternoon event goes down smoothly.

I think I saw them supporting Ministry once. They were good, but of course their first album was the best and they never regained their initial fury. Shame.

Generally at a gig, and especially in your situation, the people watching want you to do well, they're on your side. Remember this. Don't worry about little mistakes, just keep the music flowing. If you really get lost, drop out for a bar, regroup your thoughts and come back in where appropriate. As long as the band keep flowing nobody will really notice. Try to enjoy it (as much as possible given the circumstances) and I'm sure you'll make everyone, especially your brother, proud.

Me too. I’ve realised over the years that I’m a ‘live’ musician, not a ‘studio’ one. I seem to lack the concentration needed to function well in studios, and hate the hanging around and tech involved as well as being inside in such a sterile environment for hours on end. Much rather a boozer with an enthusiastic audience anyday.

I attended a fantastic wedding a few years ago and the band was all in ear. They set up quickly and got the sound sorted with an iPad and they were amazing. Slick, fun, funky, dancy. I changed my opinion on the whole iem thing that day.

Maybe consider some basic IEM solution? Even if you don't have your own mix, you can typically get AT LEAST a feed from one fo the wedge monitors or the PA speakers themselves. Most are active these days and will have a 'thru' output. You can use a cheap Behringer P1 personal headphone amp, and plug into it whatever mix you can get in one XLR, and your bass on the other. With good sealing earphones (no need to spend hundreds, a KZ with the right tips would be fine) you can get a very reasonable balance. The main thing is that the earphones have a good seal. No need to go wireless, but that would be an improvement if the solution works for you.

Oh, they know, I have made it abundantly clear. I have not, but I don't want more gear TBH. Also, I think IEMs are a great idea for a quiet stage, but when you have a tub thumper and a normal guitar amp (not loud by any means) on stage, I think it kind of negates them and I'd rather go for protection over monitoring. I have considered this option in the past, however.

Serious suggestion 'I couldn't turn up because the foh sound was good'. Start with your onstage level noticeably higher tonight before foh levels are set. And make sure your bandmates know that you struggled lasg night and that was because you couldn't hear yourself properly.

I think we’ve got the same mates. 😂 Jokes aside, I’ve done long stints in originals bands and I understand the importance of recording material, so I’ve committed to it and done my best. Although, I often think of something one of our fellows @FinnDave said. A recording studio is often somewhere music goes to die.

I feel for you, that's cramped! And people eating at table not usually going to want loud music. Am surprised they took an extra £2.5k, that's massive.

I look at the pics every month in the hope of inspiration, but... My creative process (if you can call it that) is incredibly unspontaneous, slow & laborious, ideas can take months to develop & just as long to record satisfactorily. It's very rare that any composition is 5 minutes or less, and although I dislike them, can't play them & obviously have never used them - unfortunately I can't guarantee no bagpipes. So maybe next month...

There are those of us who are advocates of 5-strings, and those of us who are advocates of buying basses. You should really be more surprised that nobody has told you to buy a P.