Leaderboard

Not till this Sunday when I pick it up but just got the pics from Alan of my newly built RSK 5/35 and the weekend now can't come quick enough!!

There's no way I'm being in a band with someone who's any or all of racist, fascist, homophobic or misogynist. Not "reconsider." It's "never consider."

Someone in my band has a Nissan Juke and I’m perfectly ok playing with him

I'll just say 'yes' without further explanation.

The world, as we know, is a volatile place right now with everyone (myself included) taking sides.... I'm interested to know, if you found out that an existing bandmate, or potential bandmate, was e.g. racist, homophobic, fascist etc.... would it make you reconsider working with them? Lets not turn this thread overtly political or into a slanging match if we can help it (this isn't Talk Bass) but I'm genuinely interested in people's thoughts. I'm not talking Labour voter/Conservative voter stuff here...... but, personally, I'm not sure that I could share a car/splitter/dressing room/stage with someone with far right or homo/transphobic views. I would need to call it out and that kind of drama would kill the band. I have been in musical situations where another musician is a full-on 'conspiracy-theorist' and I have simply turned off from listening to them or changed the subject rapidly, but I couldn't do that in the above situation.

Assuming that everything else about the band is okay, I would join without a qualm. we live today in a series of echo chambers that reflect (and amplify) our own views. I’m not sure that society has improved as a consequence and I firmly believe that we only tackle extreme views on either side by talking to each other. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and even if they’re views that I find distasteful, so long as they’re not illegal, who am I to force everyone to think as I do? Bigotry exists on both the hard right and the hard left and it can only be challenged if we spend time in the same room. The world is polarised enough without me adding to it so, yes, I’d join the band. Unless it was jazz. There are limits….

Look Morrissey you’ve asked once and the answer is still no 😝

Hi there, Thanks for your messages and 🔊 advice! There is a slower part of the song where I can take a deep breaths. The stage isn't too large so won't feel lost. Just off for my final bass lesson with my bass teacher James Formosa who is a 🌟 and will be there on Sunday. I am opening the day at noon so at least I can enjoy the other bands after my "performance" Will try to get someone to record it so I can do my first BC upload! Nick would be glad you're supporting his little sister, thank you all 🤟

It depends how vocal they are. The problem is being guilty by association and being tarred with the same brush. I have a couple of 'responsible postions' in the local community. I've cancelled a contract with one provider who had a director who organised a protest at an asylum hotel.

Rehearsal... really a catch-up as we (Bendricks Rock) haven't gigged for about 6 weeks. most of us met at the pub for a chat beforehand to agree new songs. Drummer was late so went straight there... no booking. Turns out my "That's great, 8-11." email wasn't interpreted as a 'yes'... but they had a room free and it was the best one (nearly twice the size with a high ceiling, no extra cost). Session went ok, we just focused on about ten songs where we felt things can get scrappy. Did some bvs for the first time since covid hit three weeks ago. Still got a bit of a cough but coped ok. My new earplugs are great with the 12dB inserts. I've used them three times now. Quieter but still loud enough to feel engaged, full range with clarity but cymbal crashes and snare hits have the edge taken right off.

A bit of an oddity this. There's a couple of open mic nights local to me, and I've accompanied [1] a teenage female vocalist and a teenage female guitarist, and they recruited a (teenage female) drummer and formed a band. They had got a (teenage female) bassist too but that didn't work out. They still wanted to rehearse so got in touch with me and I said yes. Went over the songs they wanted to do, enough to be able to play them (not learnt them, can play them using my notes). Got there and the drummer was there, vocalist came soon afterwards, then the guitarist some time later. Drummer's mum was there, guitarist's dad and gran (I think her mum would have been there but she's got a broken foot), and both the vocalist's parents. Cue faffing around with PA and guitar amp and pedalboard by parents, pedalboard playing up, deciding it was the daisy chain off the power supply causing it, and then rehearsing some songs. After this, the parents rather took over and started working out a set list for 45 minutes, on the premise that they would play festivals - I'm not really a festival goer but I've always assumed that bands playing festivals, other than the tribute band festivals, would be playing originals in the main. I think this may be because various members of Jayler play at the open mic nights and Jayler are on the festival circuit, but they do original songs. Guitarist's dad was talking about charging for entry somewhere, but this would be for a 45 minute set of covers which I don't think would be a sufficient attraction, even with four attractive female teenagers (assuming it wouldn't be three attractive female teenagers and one handsome male pensioner). They are all very talented - the bassist that they had in was very good but for some reason (that I almost found out) it didn't work out. I've said I'm OK to help them with future rehearsals until they're sorted with a bassist. [1] My solicitors have advised against me saying "played with"

Picton Music and John Hamm’s Music in Swansea were the places that got me started with Satelitte, Westone, Washburn, Charvel and the other hallowed 80s brands. I’ve still got my Arion tuner from Christmas 1986 that came from Picton Music. Legend has it there were bigger music shops in Cardiff, a whole 40 miles away, but we never made it that far (too young to drive and too far to cycle).

I’ve had a whole raft of new ideas this week. One has been confirmed as straightforward to implement and will bring some nice improvements. Wondering if it might even make it into the next update. I’m also hoping it’ll open the door to my fleshed-out ideas for having improved patch management directly on the pedal.

Another fascintating video into the world of an in-demand show bassist at the top level. Ian King covers his gear, preamps, settings, mics for his double bass and a discussion with the show's audio designer. It's not that Overwater bass though, he's got a cool grey one, maybe with a maple neck (?), with black metalwork. The tone he has is fantastic and his playing sublime.

I'm hoping that this community will refrain from judgement and support my bravery for openly admitting that one of my bandmates likes Coldplay

Might as well post my recent build.

Yes. First step is a private conversation to assess their true viewpoints and to see if they can be made to see reason. If not, we're done. I will never not hate the hateful, and I wil not be quiet about it.

I agree! I don't see the point of owning an instrument that is pristine and with all original parts. If the instrument has had parts replaced, refretted etc then that is because its a brilliant instrument that has been enjoyed and used and in some cases have really interesting stories and history linked to them. My p bass has one pre CBS and one post CBS pickup. Obviously, one had died and back then, pickups rewinds weren't a thing so whoever owned it at the time went to a music store and ordered in a replacement fender pickup for it! I think it's easy to lose sight with these vintage instruments that back then they were just merely tools! 😂

A friend of mine posted a picture of his 54 Telecaster today, as he's had it for two years. In that time he's had four fret dresses and a pickup rewind, but he does play about 350 gigs a year. That's how vintage guitars should be treated.

@amir93smith I've taken the liberty of rotating the photo in your post. It looks even nicer now

That would be an ecumenical matter

It should work. I wrapped an EB-0 pickup in matt black vinyl with the help of a hair dryer. It took 5 minutes.

I don't think it's someone's views so much as how well they are able to express those views and explain them. I wouldn't dismiss someone for having opinions and a view of the world radically different to my own if they had a persuasive or coherent explanation of why they were that way. It just depends what they have to say and how convincingly they say it. That's what you'll be stuck in a transit van with. The bigger question is who gets to arbitrate which views are extreme? We live in a world full of extremities, and all too often the most powerful get to define their opponents as extremists as a way of undermining the truth. Besides which, are extreme views necessarily wrong? Your liberal views on certain subjects are considered extreme by a lot of people. It's all about context. Beyond all of that though, the older I get the more reluctant I am to condemn people for what they believe. I've come to realise that we all believe all sorts of crap at one time or another, mainly as a way of getting through life's difficulties. People who believe in the most unpalatable ideas are often the most vulnerable or most damaged in one way or another. If you like and/,or respect someone, you can easily be in a band with them even if you have differing views on things. If you don't like or tespect them, it doesn't really matter if they agree with you on everything

Vintage Fenders that fetch massive cash are no more than bolted together 50-year old and off-the-shelf/run-off-the-mill components, and therein lies the opportunity and the challenge in this thread. I've 'built' (in reality sourced, drilled, screwed together, soldered, and set-up) a lot of Fender-alike bits, at last count around 35 basses, most of which I've sold here. Some combinations were outstanding, they're the ones I sold (I've kept two but I'll sell them one day too), others were average, and some were dire. In most of the latter cases I deconstructed them and held on to the parts until I found combinations that worked (and I still have some bits that never worked.....). I love the process, so none of this was a problem for me. But unless you have a lot of parts - especially the wooden bits - when you take an order you won't know whether a combination works or doesn't ahead of time (which is why some Fender basses are magical and some are very much not). If Lull are using aftermarket parts, but through trial and error finding those that work together to produce outstanding instruments, then good on them it's a good business model because I rarely hear a bad word about them (and let's face it, Warmoth quality is significantly above Fender et al so the start point is solid). I have however had the misfortune of buying a lot of basses including eBay bitsas that despite being promising on paper were dire because people do not always go to that trouble (one particular seller who has a lot of bitsas for sale springs to mind). But to reiterate my earlier point, I've ALWAYS made a loss cobbling together and selling bitsas, I enjoy doing it, so it's a loss I'll take, and that there are over 30 basses out there in BC-land that I cobbled together makes me smile (I think I'm going to go back through my photos and put all of them in a single composite photo when I can find the time). But it takes a clever and very dedicated person to turn that model into a business. Easier to think of it as a form of bass altruism that costs relatively little in real terms. Less rewarding in cash terms but hugely rewarding in other ways

I wouldn’t gig with someone with extreme political views, and more importantly I’d tell them why - you have to call it out so that they know it’s unacceptable, otherwise they’ll just carry on until they find someone who’s prepared to accept it and never question themselves.

I think I’m going to give the FI v4 a go listening to those - there’s some excellent sounds there, at least I can get hold of one of these 😁 I like the Chaka Khan ones on the playlist especially. Tbf I have heard of multiple people that the tracking on the v4 is outstanding

I couldn't be in a band with anyone with views that were that offensive to me. First of all, because the company that someone keeps is often a good indicator of their character and I would not wish to be presumed to be a right cnut because of someone else's opinion (besides which, there are plenty of other perfectly valid reasons to presume that about me anyway) Secondly, because I find it just about impossible to keep my big mouth shut and the frequency of arguments that would result would impact badly on the productivity of this band Having spent some time working in the trades (following years of work in the liberal arts), this was a frequent problem. Building sites have always featured a higher than average proportion of racists, homophobes etc that seem to feel emboldened to pass frequent comment by that setting

Like anything, if you want to get on with people you seemingly need to allow them to have opinions and they should be able to accept if you agree or disagree too. Having said that, if the music becomes politically portrayed that way then no way!

Community choir rehearsals have resumed... we have a concert at the end of the month.

Yeah as above. No way would I choose to work with someone with such views. A friend of mine (wasn’t in a band with him though) started expressing some very dodgy personal opinions about race, culture etc on Facebook a while ago. The first time it made me wince, the second time I decided to have nothing more to do with him. And I haven’t. I’m not associating myself with stuff like that.

Another one for the pot..

Fender high mass bridge: good choice and pretty good value as high mass bridges go. 👍

One, which was remedied really quickly too

Hi, it's just me and an isolated bass track... It's not a fast song 🤞 sorry I can't reply to everyone!

Main differences between my 60s Am Original P and my 2003 62 AVRI P are probably in the neck to be honest. Obviously pickups etc are slightly different, but the thing that impacts the playability most when comparing them is the difference in neck specs. Am Original; 1963 C neck profile with a 9.5” radius, round-laminated rosewood fingerboard and clay dot inlays/side markers with vintage tall frets and a 1.73” nut width (bone nut). Neck depth feels bigger/more rounded. AVRI; C neck profile with a 7.25” radius, white dot inlays/side markers with vintage frets, a 1.75” nut width and a synthetic bone nut. Neck depth feels very thin/shallow. I would say too, that most of the AVRIs I’ve played over time have all been quite light (probably around 8.6-8.9lbs) but the Am Originals have been heavier.

My band is very different but we spoke to a promoter we know about how we get more specialist music venue gigs. He gave us lots of advice but the main thing was good social media. You need to have a good social media presence with photos, videos from gigs, regular engagement so you keep onto your followers. Our guitarist knows this stuff well and does a good job of it, though I'm sure there are people out there far more proactive. Studio recordings aren't as good as a decent live recording because a live recording shows what the venue actually gets... We paid about £600 to have someone video us live at a big gig, make a pro video for us, and laid over audio from a gig we recorded off the desk. It looks fancy and it shows our singer working a big crowd and the audio is unmistakably not the original. Then there's the slog of contacting all the venues to get absolutely no reply at all. If anyone knows how to break through that wall I'm all ears too!

One other thing worth mentioning is how the band presents itself. I tend to look at 'the competition' and look at how they come across on the various platforms. It's not always easy, but you often find that video posted by audience members is poor quality, might include bum notes etc, as an example. We suffer from that as well, and so we do try and have a good think about what we post and whether it represents us as a serious band. The same goes for the images we post. I don't mean you have to group together at a derelict industrial location and scowl into the camera, but consider the images you post to present yourselves as a professional outfit. I'm not putting us forward as any kind of yardstick (far from it) but it's a thought process that you might consider.

Not tried the Future Impact yet? It does these sounds with ease. Eg: https://m.soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/qm-thriller-8 https://m.soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/qm-nerding-parlour-games-1?in=peter-kenney-750235819%2Fsets%2Ffuture-impact-v3-patch-samples https://m.soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/qm-flashlight-10?in=peter-kenney-750235819%2Fsets%2Ffuture-impact-v3-patch-samples https://m.soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/qm-fi-still-in-the-groove-3?in=peter-kenney-750235819%2Fsets%2Ffuture-impact-v3-patch-samples https://m.soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/bri-derivation-kbd-1?in=peter-kenney-750235819%2Fsets%2Ffuture-impact-v3-patch-samples https://m.soundcloud.com/peter-kenney-750235819/sets/future-impact-v3-patch-samples

Absolutely this. 100%. Also, this being a tribute to your brother, mistakes etc are unimportant - remember him, have fun for him and don't worry about any bum notes.

Yes, and have done. I'm not sure to be honest whether I walked on principle or because I immediately disliked them when I noticed the racism. Both I hope

Was it a Spinal Tap cover set perhaps?😂

Starting to get its shine and chatoyance on now. ***UPDATE*** this body has now been reserved by HeadlessBassiest for an upcoming build he is planning.

Also some new RST Zebra limited ones

Everyone is going to be rooting for you. Just getting up and being there is an achievement everyone will appreciate. The moment you start playing you will be too absorbed in the moment to worry. Nerves and excitement are not negative emotions they prepare you. Afterwards you'll wonder why you worried and be grateful for having such a special opportunity.