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Some magic seems to have occurred... The observant amongst you will notice the 8" plans. This is the home made router jig and it set up for a 68mm hole. This was some tests I did"just-in-case" This is the baffle board with what appears to be the right sized hole and a 68mm with my printed port set in. The router jig works really well and cost an hour or two of printing and two M5 bolts. As I'm intending to make three boxes, there's an awful lot of batterns....

We will let the Judge be the judge of that.... More seriously, that is why I shared the list of charges, and the Case Reference. It stops speculation about what is happening, and allows us to easily find out the outcome. I am hopeful that justice will be done. A further update. Those who have evidence relating to the current crimes, or who have a Crime Number when you previously reported Micheal Mason to the police, might want to share it with Leicester Court. To do this, send an email to [email protected] The header of the email should include the reference, the defendant's full name, the hearing date and the court name. So 《 33JJ0821825, Michael Mason, 26.11.2025, Leicester Crown Court 》 The body of the email should contain details of the case which relates to yourself - evidence of the purchases of items, screen shots, 'evidence' of failed deliveries, whatever you have. Although the trial won't be considering those earlier misdemeanours, it may help the sentencing judge to form a view of the defendant.

We doing our three peice acoustic offering back at the Ziegler Winery tomorrow. Always a pleasure to play there. They have a large "built in" engaged high-end clientle, I don't have to worry about the crowd. We're playing from 3:00-6:00. Our role is to provide background music however a lot of the folks are paying more attention to us than their wine. Daryl

I’d go for “yes you need a P bass”. I play a P bass with flats and two identical active Yamahas with rounds on. The Yamahas are more dynamic, powerful, easier to play etc. But I keep eventually coming back to the simplicity of the P bass. For me the sound just fits in perfectly with a band. Can sound basic and dare i say “a bit cr@p” on its own, but in a mix it shines. And also, given such a rudimentary design, I think that cheap and cheerful P basses can often nail the sound and vibe pretty well without spending a fortune. So yeah - the limitations and simplicity of a P bass are also its strengths I reckon.

They sound like a bunch of arseholes and you are better off out of it !!, good luck with the new band John 😎

I managed to get some workshop time in today, and scrubbed the Tolex clean (well, cleaner, at any rate). Then I was able to connect the speakers, screw them in and replace the grille, which I'd cleaned with a carefully-applied pressure washer. I hooked it all up to two different amps and tried it out; oh my goodness it's loud! I also noticed that it made the differences between each amp very apparent, so I'm happy about that; it also gave a lot of definition in terms of the tone and volume controls on the (cheap plywood) bass. So far I'm very happy with it. Thanks once again to everyone who chipped in with advice etc; I'm looking forward to getting it into the practise room on Tuesday and giving it a workout. Cheers, JRK

Overdone the spend there, Chris……

Best, and only, purchase this year. A Squier short-scale Jaguar bought on BassChat.

I bought some batteries, but that's it.

The 4-piece covers band I'm playing in is finishing up in December and we have 3 gigs left to play. I've never really been a proper member. I'm excluded from any discussions, am part of a band WhatsApp group that is called "Here we go again..." referring to the large number of bassists they've had but there's little other than logistics in that group. When we turn up to gigs, I'm allocated a spot, rather than defaulting to high hat side of the drummer. It's essentially wherever the guitarist doesn't want to go. This week I received a message from the guitarist, through whom I get all the important comms, saying that I was required to stand down for the next gig as they were using a previous bassist because he needed a gig to cheer him up after having a hard time (bereavement). No discussion, straight out of the blue. I've not been happy for a while, so I responded saying, OK but get him to play the other remaining gigs, and I'm out. He's probably not available for the next ones because he's got commitments with his own band! This isn't normal behaviour within any bands I’ve ever been in before. It was never made clear that I was a "permadep" and it was never agreed that recently the stage "bants" was targeting me with some pretty vile comments, thinly masked as "jokes". I also can't do anything right when it comes to packing up and helping. There's tons of other things I've not been happy with, mostly related to comms (conversations, feedback, ignoring my messages) and being kept out of the loop. The gigs have been good and it's been a learning experience but I'm bailing and with good reason. I would never treat anyone the way I've been treated. Anyway, I'm starting with a new (to me) band and it's all a very different vibe.

I’ve just come across this thread and so am happy to add my 2013 Graft. It’s a marvellous bass and has prompted me to get another bass from Alan. I’m expecting a new Graft 4 J type to be delivered this coming week. I’ll post pics when it’s here.

Wow, that's lovely. Just when I genuinely thought I had no gas left for anything... sigh.

Having shared the top step in October with @Al Nico , I wanted to get November started with a weekend ahead of us , so I took the liberty of choosing a quick holiday snap from last week. Its a 'fishing' village called Olhos de Agua on the Algarve , I say fishing, but its pretty much tourists, as the boats don't seem to move very often! Some lovely cliffs and beaches, oranges and lemons, and a billion hotels and apartment blocks. ✅ Entries must be <5 minutes and recorded between now and the deadline. ❌ No illegal samples, copyright infringements or other snide goings-on ❌ No Bagpipes, Please, I think they would suffer from the salty sea air and sound a bit off. ❌ No voting for your own entry. We'll know. And we'll shame you.. Deadline-wise, we will go for Midnight on the 24th November ... Which really means tea time on the 25th I suppose A line or two of blurb as usual for the vote thread will be super duper smashing lovely. Good luck, Have fun

Worst was a brand new Gibson NR Thunderbird. Stunning to look at, and probably the best sounding 'bird I've ever played, but that neck shape... nope. Felt totally wrong. Back to the shop it went. Best is this, because it's absolutely amazing.

Should really go into "acrimonious band break-ups".

I received the CD yesterday and it's so good that I listened to it 3 times in a row. I can only recommend it.

@Sean I think you’ve done right by yourself; f*ck them.

Great post , I had a few off-cuts of ply from a 1x15 build . Other bits are lower grade builders plywood, and raiding the spare parts bin produced corners and a handle and a port ( hope it’s not too big ) Speaker is an 8 inch 18Sound 250 watt driver from Lean business.( they were on sale ) I work outside ( no workshop ) ,so rain is a constant pain in the rear .

This is both the best and the worst. Found for a song on fleabay but the full refurbishment cost was not so much a song as a double album. But I'd wanted one of these for ages and it sounds fantastic! I'm pondering getting an Electro-Harmonix Freeze and a decent expression pedal before the end of the year so I can try the 2026 abstinence thread.

Usual "in's" and "out's" at the "Acebass Musical Equipment Temporary Storage & Refuge Facility" 🤣 Like others, I've not had any "bad" purchases but have 3 that really stand out and work for me: my Elrick Evolution Gold V, Anagram multi-fx and MVave Chocolate Plus midi foot switch. I'm a happy bunny that doesnt see me wanting to change any of my gear until at least a week on Tuesday! 😮🤣🤣

No, I'm not. There are only 3 left before the band folds. 1 is the one where I was told to stand down, then there's the other one and then there's the big final bash with the ex-bassists. It is being billed as "a night with some of the bassists we sacked and some of our favourites." The final gig has been arranged where all previous bassists have been invited to play and 5 or 6 of them have agreed. I was recently told on arrival at a venue that my tone is too "trebley". I said that I can dial in whatever's needed at sound check only to be met with being told that we don't have time for things like that. I also get "told off" if I turn up early. I then get made to feel like I'm in the way. I'm always at least 10 minutes early with everything, I plan ahead, build in contingency and am very rarely late to anything. I was second car to arrive at the SW Bash as an example. I'd rather sit outside on BassChat for 15 minutes than be stressed and rushing to be on time. All of this stuff is like mental abuse and puts you in the wrong state of mind, and it isn't conducive to playing your best. You spend the whole gig wondering/worrying about things you shouldn't be instead of focusing on entertaining punters and enjoying your passion. I'm off. Edit: for context and those that don't know me, I've been in all sorts of bands for 40 years.

I’ve acquired one of these too this year, mine is in black though. Nice little basses.

Agreed 100%. Let them sweat over finding your replacement, and meanwhile good luck with your new band.

May as well strike while the iron is hot ....

The sellers are having unexpected problems getting hold of these and sorting out who gets them. I ordered one on the 12th Oct with Thomann (exp 3-4 weeks), then two weeks later I checked and it said (exp 1-2 wks) which was on track. Last week it jumped to (exp 8-9 wks). I called them up and was told they have a longer list of people who've ordered them, than what they are getting in. Some will get there's sooner, maybe me too. It seems they've not got their automation sorted, given that they have all the data - and a friendly phone call might be just the thing to ensure that you don't get bumped down the queue, by any carelessness. Still I'm looking forward immensely to getting to grips with the pedal and using it on dep gigs especially. Like others, have considered a bass synth keyboard but my regular bands don't think we need one yet.

Congrats to @Al Nico on his joint win and thanks for the votes as it’s been a while since I was on the top step in any fashion 😁 I’ll give @Al Nico till lunchtime to send me a picture , after that I’ll do the honours

When I first started doing the 3 piece acoustic it was. I've been doing the acoustic gigs for atleast 5 years now. I'm use to it Dave. Overall the acoustic gigs are a blessing. Easy hours, fast set and tear down. I'll be home by 8:30. I'll get the full Maple Road band experience next weekend. Daryl Daryl

Hi all, I have a BBP35 that I absolutely love. There was just one thing that kinda bothered me with the bass and it was the tone knob (pot). It is not bad at all but, for me it always felt like almost as an On/Off thing. From all the way off, If I turned it more than 15% it was just high frequency with little difference to my ears. I thought I had a bad one but, I’ve heard the same from other owners too. After many emails exchange with the guys from StellarTone I decided to change it and I think I did one of the best mods you can make to these PJ style basses. The Vol, vol, tone was swapped for a Vol with push/pull for series parallel, a blend and a ToneStyler bass 10 tone pot. The bass completely changed and has a vast array of tonal possibilities, best thing it is all passive! I’ve recorded a quick video demo. If you are interested please let me know and I’ll share more detail.

Last night was the Victoria pub jam in Wokingham, which I think has been running on Thursdays for more than a decade. An enthusiastic group of core musicians - which is expanding - maintains house band duties and rotates, which means it feels fresh, and it's starting to attract - gasp - Gen Z (!!) - I know, I can't believe it either, until fairly recently all the jam nights I went to were pretty much my age (I can still pogo at 55!), but there's teens and twenty somethings taking the stage, and I'll tell you - some of them are excellent. Reading has a pretty active prog rock thing going on, and they're all young as anything! Anyway - I got pulled into 3 bands for the night, which is damn good, some great tracks. Highlight as ever was Let's Dance by Bowie - I LOVE the bass on that track. Bass was the Maruszczyk 5-string, and it absolutely nailed it, sounding amazing after the truss rod replacement earlier this year - this thing is now perfect! Effects was a cheap little AnnBlackBox from M-VAVE with the chocolate 4-button wireless controller - and you know what? It worked pretty well, especially as a quick setup system. Total cost of that system? A stripped down version of the Stomp HX for £75 all in including the 4-button switch, all running on batteries so no need to hunt for a PSU or use a full sized board. I'm warming to it for jam nights! Weirdest track I played was "the stealer" by free - check this bassline out, it's bonkers: The landlord has invested properly in live music - the pub's had a new PA this year, new bigger desk and speakers mounted on the walls which saves a lot of space. The venue also owns good kit for bass, guitar and drums. I think that makes a huge difference to the musicians running the event.

I guess they didn’t get the memo about proper spinal-tap behaviour being changing drummers like they change underwear and went for bass players instead 🤷‍♂️

GG is a monster in Glasgow - nice monsters but they attract everyone in yet going to Kenny's or Merchant City can often get you a deal. My last major purchases have been Fender Mustang Amp - Merchant City Music Fender Cabronita Thinline - Merchant City Music Sterling Sub MM bass - GG Spector Legend - KM Blackstar 120W Bass amp - KM Fender MIM P Bass - GG Gibson G45 - GG Martin D10E - GG Spreading the love...

Nope i wouldn't put up with that in any band. Even if i was a paid hired hand i still wouldn't accept that behaviour. I like a bit of joking around with bands but that's pushing it too far. You've done the right thing. All the very best with the new band. Keep us posted on the new band and would be curious to hear how this final bass bash goes. Dave

Rather radically for me. I'd have been tempted to simply not turn up and let them figure out I'd left.

Best purchases were the Fender Precision to Jazz conversion neck, EB cobalt flatwounds, Hipshot lollipop tuners, ultra heavy knurled callaghan knobs, and EMG GZR P Pickup I used to transform my long-neglected unlined fretless bitza Precision into my favourite long scale bass to play. Worst buy was probably the HX FX pedal I bought several months ago, which I'm sure is an excellent piece of kit, but I've realised I don't really need it and haven't got around to actually trying to use it.

What a year it has been. Tried to go abstinent, failed in March, and then went a bit mad, oops. So much good gear, but I have to rank as #1 the bass which put me out of this year's Gear Abstinence Challenge, a bass which had been living rent-free in my head for the past dozen years or so - the Greco LGB-700 in purpleburst... I know they say "don't meet your heroes" but this bass is absolutely fabulous, everything I dreamed it would be. Of course, I made it mine by altering the control system a touch (instead of the stock VVV it's now 6 way Freeway switch then VT), but the pickups are great, and it looks utterly fantastic. Honourable mention go to the Boss XS-1 Poly Shifter - hands down the best pitch shifting pedal I have ever heard in terms of preservation of tone and tracking. Worst? I haven't bought anything truly awful this year, it's more a case of "least good" really. I suppose it's the SGC Nanyo Bass Collection SB310 I picked up. Was really curious about these basses and wanted to try one. It's a fantastic bass, but it's not for me, mostly because it's too damn light! It's for sale now. A shame, if it had a bit more heft about it I'd probably have kept it.

Well In my current pursuit of going in a more acoustic based direction, this Aria acoustic is easily the best new purchase so far this year. After tightening the rather loose truss rod and filing the nut slots down a bit, it now plays as well as my Washburn electric which I use as a benchmark for doing setups on other instruments. It's a beautiful looking and playing bass for the money. The 32" scale length is a dream to play. I do need to get used to no dot markers on the fretboard even though I mostly only ever look at the side dot markers. It also has a nice, well featured preamp, with an ok built in tuner. The machine heads are functional but will be upgraded in due course. Comes with a very basic gigbag which I wasn't expecting but better than nothing I guess. Overall I'm more than happy with the latest bass purchase.

Dundee was my nearest store and I bought and traded gear there. My nearest instrument store is now GG Edinburgh AFAIK, which isn’t a lot further than Dundee for me. However, for those whose local store was Aberdeen, this is real kick in the nuts, not to mention the staff at all the branches. Hopefully, there will be some sort of buy out and reopening 🤞.

Yup I reckon so, he also pretended to be in a police station when he phoned me, well the 'policeman' phoned me. He even sent a pic of the policeman behind the desk. Obviously I knew it was bollocks and asked for the police station number so I could call him back to confirm it was real. Apparently that station didn't have a direct dial number 🤣 Hope he gets the book thrown at him

I had a very uncomfortable moment when it started to fire rockets in my mouth

Never change, BC.