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Fantastic night last night at Edinburgh's Wee Red Bar with the 80s covers band. We were doing a two-hander with a 90s band and the place was packed - we came within 27 tickets of selling out! No, the venue, not the band 😉 People were dancing from the first song, which is always good to see and loudly singing along to the last few numbers. We hadn't gigged since June, because reasons, so it was great to blow away the cobwebs. Bass was my Sterling Stingray V into the venue's Peavey amp - I still don't know the model number. Maybe I'll look when I'm back there next week, if I remember. In the meantime, here's me grinning like a gargoyle while belting out Love Shack:

We took our southern rock covers band to Trillians, a small independent venue in the centre of Newcastle. This venue has in-house PA and engineer. We took our Behringer XR18 to run our IEMs using a passive split. Gearwise, I used my Overwater 5 string jazz, Shure GLXD16+, Empress compressor, Jad Freer Capo, and SushiboxFx Finally DI. I did have my Ashdown ABM 500W 1x15 combo on stage but that was more for show due to the aforementioned in-house PA and our IEMs. Despite being down a fiddle player, we still had a great night and the punters seemed to enjoy themselves with the venue full from the get go. One of those gigs you wish you could play every week 😎

We had a crowd, however it was awkward.Nice room, nice stage and sound. We bought our own lighting. Like I said this place is more for the Saturday night party bands. There were a few "screw ups" musically . Good paying gig and some nice tips. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BTJQAGVN2/ https://www.facebook.com/share/v/17qH8nAp5f/ Daryl

Just back from a 70th birthday gig at a local rugby club with the Andy Wales Band. We’d played for the same chap’s birthday last year so knew the venue etc (seemed to be dark, wet and windy last time we were loading in too come to think of it). I was feeling pretty ropey from my flu jab two days ago, and have also managed to do something to my lower back which made lifting and turning impossible but luckily the other two fellas helped me unload and set up the PA etc. I wasn’t able to move much during the gig due to the back problem but musically it went pretty well. Swapped out some of the slower stuff for more upbeat tunes to keep the dance floor busy. Drove home v slowly in very thick freezing fog which was nice. But I came home to the jackpot - leftover Chinese food from my missus’ meal which I’d missed earlier in the night, and Dire Straits Live Alchemy on Sky Arts. All is well once again. Gear: the usual. Yamaha BB604, Little Mark head and two traveller cabs, pedal board and my Mackie / Allen and Heath PA. PS I’m in no hurry to go to bed as I suspect my back is not going to be happy once it’s cooled down and had eight hours of inactivity to stiffen up.

Return to gigging for me last night after a medical "holiday". The Rebbels played a new venue, Bluebird Social Club, Longham (just north of Poole and Bournemouth). My partner said it was "a dump" last time she went there, although that was decades ago. There was a vintage carpet on the floor, but it was tidy and the tables and chairs were new and pristine. At 7pm it was empty. I took both my Fender Aerodyne and my Kala U Bass Solid Body as I am recovering slowly from a rotator cuff/shoulder injury and could not even pick the Fender until last Wednesday. However, a good practice session at home was encouraging, and I started playing the Fender. After about 5 songs, it was clear that I would have to switch to the Kala. By this time, the audience had swelled to around 40, although the place still looked empty they were enthusiastic, clapping more than was just polite applause and some line dancers were on the huge dance floor from the start. The audience reaction seemed to energise the singer, who was not only on the top of his game vocally but great in between songs. Despite the audience size, we were paid £25 extra and immediately booked again for the new year. I returned home happy 🤩, but knackered.

Had a fantastic gig last night. Small social club but it was packed. First set went well but no one dancing. Plenty of clapping though. 3 songs in to the second set, we played Valerie. Suddenly about 30 people started dancing, and they were up for the rest of the night. A good vibe on and off stage. Now the issue i had. We use an XR18 with an external 5Ghz router. It’s been fine up until the last two gigs. Mixing station on the iPad keeps freezing up, or rather lagging, and it’s hit or miss if we can trust it. The iPad isn’t losing connection, and there wasn’t many WiFi connections showing up at this venue to be causing an obvious issue. My Drummer couldn’t even connect to the XR18 from his phone. The plan is now to use Ethernet from the iPad to the router. We will keep the WiFi going but i feel safer with a wired connection. The XR18 itself was fine, no drop outs etc. I’m tempted to also get a new router but I’ll try the cable first.

Last night was an odd gig at Cockenzie & Port Seton British Legion. Turned up to hear they never sold too many tickets. They reckoned 30-40 which was about the size of the audience. Once again they didn't advertise the event and even tho we sent 8 posters there were none up in the venue. Nothing on their FB page either until a few days ago. Decent sized venue with a good stage too. At one point after sound check we were getting worried that we might no be getting paid for this one as it holds approx 100-150. BL spoke with the organiser and she confirmed we would be getting paid the full amount and she apologised for the poor turnout. Our guitarist being ex-Royal Marine and a member of the Legion told us they get a grant from the Legion to put bands on that would cover our fee so bar profits all go to the club itself. We decided to just go for it and enjoy the night for what it was and at the end of the day its a well paid rehearsal. Turns out they loved it and were up dancing most of the night with literally everyone on the floor a couple of times in the 2nd set. With such a small audience in a big hall i could count them. 😂 Sound was great and the feedback was excellent. Organiser paid us as soon as we finished and said she had asked around the hall and everyone loved it. She wants to rebook us for next year again. We did get asked to bring the volume down at half time tho altho my wife said it wasn't that loud to start with. She has ACS custom ear plugs too but didn't need them. Anyways we turned it down a touch for the 2nd set. I think with the hall being empty our volume was a bit loud first set. No major issues and the band was sounding good on stage. We had a lot of fun but we always do on stage. I think this was the smallest audience we've played to. 🤩 Usual gear. Sandberg VM4, Shure wireless, Keeley comp, Handbox WB-100, BF 212 cab with MarloweDK as back up bass. We're now using our PA company almost every gig so that's a huge bonus and saves me humphing heavy PA cabs about. Coupe of short FB reel clips appeared last night so here goes. Hopefully the links work. Dave http://www.facebook.com/reel/1757089728447509 http://www.facebook.com/reel/1505177564099939

I thought I'd add some comments about this bass, as people might be interested. Received it the other day, after it being on order for months... My history with Bongos: I've owned a 5-string HS 2008 model, a 6-string HH 2009-ish, and I currently own a 5-string 2019. I prefer the 2019, mostly for the lightweight tuners and other subtle improvements. I actually started playing Bongos because of the ergonomics: Several things about their design have significantly reduced wrist and shoulder pain when playing. To some extent, it combined some elements of the tonal power of my old G&L basses, with the lighter weight and 24-frets of my Ibanez SR Premiums. Two things I really don't like about Bongos (5's, especially): The close proximity of the G-string to the edge of the fretboard (I made my own nut to slightly improve this). Yes, technique obviously can mitigate this, too. The lower 'horn' digs into my thigh, and is quite painful to play seated. I tend to put a leather strap between bass and leg when I practice, to mitigate this. Everything below assumes you already appreciate the Bongo, both in terms of sound and aesthetics... Why did I consider this Sterling Bongo? Mostly just curiosity. Plus, I do want a lightweight and ergonomic 34-inch, 5-string bass that I could just leave set up with a high action, as a different option to my main Bongo. Initial impressions: It certainly looks like a Bongo. It weighs around the same. The paint quality is ok, but feels a bit cheap to touch The same is true of the neck, although I've never been a big fan of the feel of roasted maple. The frets are poorly finished at the ends, with sharp bits that have already sliced my hand. However, the frets also aren't rolled quite as much as my 2018 US model, which makes the G-string feel further away from the edge of the fret (there's more actual fret under the string, as it were). Talking of things that are actually better than the USA Bongo, the lower horn doesn't dig into my thigh as much, because it's not rounded to a point, which spreads the weight out just a little more: Note, the same is also true of the headstock, where they've not really bothered rounding-off the edges of the 'point'. This means that not only is is still highly susceptible to damage, it's now usable as a weapon. Moving on... The neck dives like Tom Daley with an anvil tied to his ankles. I've had the machine heads off, and they weigh around 90g each. For me, it would be essential to reduce the overall headstock weight by around 140g, which I could easily achieve using lighter hardware. This would improve the balance and significantly reduce dive. The sound is quite disappointing (as expected). The lack of Bongo pickups, and the 4-band EQ, both result in this being a very different sounding instrument. Unfortunately, not only does it sound different, it also sounds quite cheap, and reminds me of a pretty nasty Traben bass I had once. I've not played any other Sterling models, but I understand the pickups and preamp are standard on some Sterling Ray models, so YMMV. The overall feel of the bass is just a little feeble. It might just be the tonal issues playing with my head, but I'll swear that it doesn't feel as nice under my hands. The frets and fretboard both feel a bit cheap under my fingers. This all around reminds me a lot of the impressions I got from the Strandberg Boden Prog that I tried a few years ago... a somewhat feeble and gutless instrument, of questionable build quality and playing feel. At least this Bongo is only £999, although I reckon any Ibanez or Yamaha of similar price would be a better overall package. In all, I think it's the kind of thing you should only buy if you really love the Bongo shape, but don't care about how it sounds or feels to play (this seems slightly counterintuitive to me, as many people hate the look but like the sound). I'm left wondering if I should return it, or if investing around £700 in improved hardware and electronics would make enough of a difference. £1700 is around what I paid for my USA model on Reverb, but they don't come up very often! I hope this was all helpful to someone. The headstock point:

Played a private members club last night, didn’t know what to expect as they normally have old school R&B and classic rock type acts. Still they seemed to enjoy it and got another booking for next year so all’s good. Had a major faux pas just before soundcheck when I discovered I’d packed the wrong strap, the one without strap locks, had to do a quick dash home (fortunately only 5 miles on this occasion)…..I found out how nippy the go kart mode was on the Mini Cooper S. Starry night shorty stingray and the normal silver converse. Banana between the 2 sets and a post gig Glen Morangie.

Nice reminder of why it's good to sound check tonight. Started playing Uprising, lead came in and it just sounded off and I had to pull the plug. Let's try Crossroads instead. I'm convinced I'm out of key. Stumbles to a halt, I say to guitarist "I was sure we play that in A". "Oh shït" he replies "I'm still tuned down to D from last night". Pub gig, not crowded. We played a bit quieter than usual, they loved it, especially the landlord. Our recent rehearsal meant few mistakes and better discipline all round. A good night.

Finally got some time to work on this today! So a small finish update - my daughter and I tried to do the paint idea but she kept trying to eat the paint so we've abandoned that one.. I did however find some decals I'd kept from a previous project a few years back so stuck them on and I'll see how I feel about it after a few days. The string holder nut thingy is now fitted but the wood needs more shaping for a better flow

And so to bed.

Nice to see a few have landed 'over there' and folks getting to play them. I got my serial# 14 here in the US the week they were announced. Here is a gig pic, also with my 2025 Wal Mk1 for an 80s gig.

Bringing the tone down: I did a charity fundraiser with Bandwidth (covers and originals) for the Felbeck Trust at Cley Village Hall last night. It was a ticketed affair with a meal between sets (veggie and gluten free), with a few over 70 there despite the filthy weather. The meal was delicious in fact and we were provided with free drinks. The stage could have been excellent, if it wasn’t for the hundred or so chairs stacked at the back, which meant we were very cramped. It also looked a mess with the curtain tucked into the chairs. Anyway we played 2 x 1:15 sets and got plenty of dancers in the second set. I was really struggling, as I was diagnosed with a chest infection an hour before set up and had just started on antibiotics. I’m not sure how I managed to drive home. Gear was Guild Starfire 1 and custom P/J shorty into Blackstar U700 (via Peterson Strobostomp) and 2 LFSys Monza. DI to the desk. U700 master literally on just over 1, so two Monzas was complete overkill. I should just have connected the top one, as I don’t think the amp was working hard enough. We got loads of good feedback and possibly some follow on gigs🤞. Not a great pic and yes,mChris has to sit through gigs these days. We’re a poor old bunch🫤

Send it back I reckon. It sounds like you've invested £1000 into something that you don't love and aren't going to pick up and play much. You'll instantly lose at least £400 if you flip it in a few months and investing a further £700 in it makes no sense at all to me as it will still not be a real Bongo.

Out of the blue 8am yesterday i got a call from an old band i was in approx 10 yrs ago but we have kept in touch to see if i was busy that night. Unfortunately i was gigging. Another Glam covers band too. Dave

Well, I didn't sleep last night and felt terrible today, so that was fine as I had a gig in the afternoon at 2. I felt dizzy and sick. Easy setup but felt very cold and hot and generally unwell. Couldn't get warm in the first half which I think was me as the guitarist was complaining about being hot, but also hands were working like they were cold. We thought at the start it was goimg to be be poorly attended but it wasnt, it was pretty crowded. Second half I had put a fleece on so I was warmer and things were flowing better, but singing was an issue due to feeling sick. It all went well in the end and luckily it was an affternoon gig so we could leave at 4:30. Had a request at the end for surfing USA, but couldn't do that, I would have been sick. Luckily it wasn't very far and it was an easy breakdown and drive home. Came in, had some rice, laid down for 5 minutes, woke up at 10! Glad I got through it!

Holiday the guy was out of luck fishing , sold up and spent his days trying to romance the holiday makers , or something like that EZ drummer , Gordon Smith on the Low end , Ibby 6string doing some riffing and the dulcet tones of myself with a bit of pitch modification , and a splash of Ozone through Reaper

Thanks very much for recommending this one, enjoyed giving it a go yesterday, it’s a great Bassline and I used my 71 P with foam under the bridge which sounded right , the intro took me a while and this video helped me with the changes , great cover

I got it for £169 used as new off Ebay and they are generally £299 new in Stores in the UK.

Decided to join in with the pedal riser idea and build a little essentials board. With a bit of judicious wiggling I've managed to get it all flush on three sides, but the DC plugs overhang just slightly at the top. Could be worse. The feet have been harvested from my old Markbass F1 which sadly expired recently. It can be powered from both a standard adapter and also a USB powerbank thanks to an ENGL PowerTap Portable which is the little block under the back edge. As long as the polarity is correct it'll take anything from 5-18v input and send 9v output. For the full wireless whatsit I was considering getting a pair of cheap UHF bugs from the Black Friday sales to go between board and amp. They claim less than 3ms latency, which added to my Fender Telepath on the input claiming 4ms, should still be perfectly acceptable. The yellow sticker is just 'if lost please call' info, but I'm old-school about putting my mobile number all over the Internet so blanked it, in case you were wondering what/why.

Sellotape a piece of paper to the back of the chair with the word 'Soiled' written on it and at the end of the day move it to a corner, away from a desk. People wont risk using it.

Gig with the Bonnevilles R&B band at the Foley Arms in Sutton Coldfield. Reasonable stage area and an unused area to the side where we could dump bags and cases. A fair few followers came as well. I'd managed to rip a flap of skin up on my right middle fingertip on Thursday which wasn't ideal. Put paid to any alternating finger work, and to the occasional bit of index finger relief. Had to resort to plectrum for quite a few songs, which reminds me that I left my plectrum holder on the mic stand (the singer supplies his and my mic stands). Had several plasters on standby in case the one I was using fell off (it didn't). Obligatory atmospheric shot by Mrs Zero Sei Flamboyant 5 -> Lekato wireless -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> home made jack-jack lead -> Tecamp Puma 900 -> GR Bass AT212, normal Caravelle memory foam trainers

A week ago now but I played my first overseas gig in Germany at a small doom festival in Leonberg, with Gévaudan. Really really cool vibe, promoters really looked after all the bands and the crowd were ace both whilst on stage and hanging out during the before and after. we played pretty well and the sound was clear and mainly on point on stage. Good times and lots learned. Felt like a very different approach to live music on the continent.

Couple of gigs.. Last Saturday was an all day festival with 7 bands playing various different styles of metal - mostly the more tuneful variety. I've been depping for the last year with the band that organises the day but wasn't expecting to play this one, so it was a surprise when they informed me that they'd eventually parted company with their bassist and asked me to cover. It was a long day from turning up at 10am to get everything ready for doors at 2pm, then generally meandering round smiling at people and drinking a lot of alcohol-free Guinness until our 8pm co-headline slot. An hour on stage went pretty fast, and the four new songs (two originals and two covers) were well enough planted in my head. No screw-ups, a pleased band, and home before midnight... though predictably knackered. Warwick RB Streamer LX 5 -> L6 G30 wireless -> [SFX m-Thumpinator -> Boss XS-1 -> Boss BC1-X -> T21 VT Bass v2 -> T21 Sansamp BDDI v2] -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Blackstar house cab (?) Last night was back to the same venue but a different room for a tribute to Ozzy that another local band had put on as a charity event. We'd tentatively agreed to be support, but the tentative bit didn't quite make it across so the posters were printed before we knew our singer would be out of the country at a conference. We're all for keeping our implied/inferred word, though, so we borrowed the two singers (and the keyboardist for one song) from the depping band, and they took a couple of songs each solo then a couple of songs together. The rule was that there were no repeats throughout the evening, which is totally reasonable, but once the headline and main support had taken their pick, we had to be a bit creative to come up with a set that wouldn't leave people scratching their heads. In the end, though, I think we got it right and played a half hour set which seemed genuinely well received as far as I could tell. No screw-ups, and because I was able to get my gear disco-loaded-out and driven away, I got to stay and enjoy the headline set with a few beers as well. Warwick RB Streamer LX 5 -> Fender Telepath wireless -> T21 Bass Fly Rig v2 -> Markbass Nano 2 -> Blackstar house cab (?) Sadly no photos have emerged of either gig just yet, but there were enough cameras out and about at both so I'm sure there'll be some eventually to prove it all happened. No time to let that spark an existential crisis, though, as it's off to a first open-mic with a side project tomorrow, and then last gig of the year with the dep band mid-December. I realise it's nothing compared to the schedules of some round these parts, but I've not played out so much since the enforced break of covid, and I'm enjoying it; my gear is all condensed down to the smallest, lightest and most efficient versions I can manage, the DI sound keeps getting general thumbs-ups from sound techs, and my main gigging pair of Streamer LX 5s are feeling comfortable.

Had a very busy weekend and a break from the norm with some great dep gigs. Fri night & Sat morning depped in a production of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, a very professional show and a chance to flex my reading chops, I then went straight from that gig on Saturday 120 miles down to a Holiday Park near Scarborough to dep for a band playing at an end of season party to finish off a very busy Saturday. Quite a contrast but some fun tunes to play. The theatre show was in a really nice old Theatre in Newcastle city centre, I took a few photos from the pit where I was sitting, it really gives the place a proper old timey feel rather than some of the sterile newer places.

Or at least tune up before you start playing 😂

I bought a US jazz off a guy in clacton on sea one Saturday about 7 years ago, and he gave me an old HH VS bassamp and an Ashdown 15 cab he no longer wanted, I think he was moving out of his flat, I’ve still got the amp, a few of the knob’s have a slight crackle but it’s still going and sounds quite good . a few years later an elderly gentleman came round to see my Ashdown mag amp I had advertised, he hadn’t played for years and wanted to get back into it, he bought the amp and I gave him the cab for free

I think it depends on the amount of solder you use. My understanding is that silder will ooze under pressure, so your screw-tight pressure will reduce over time, and eventually become a faulty connection. David

The bargain got even better. I wanted to change strings so looked on Amazon hoping for a black Friday deal. I was looking for D'addario Chromes flats and they had a short scale set listed as used like new for £22. I was cynical thinking what I'd end up with was a cut down, unbranded long scale set but they arrived and were genuine chromes and uncut. Looks like somebody took them out of the pack and didn't like the look of them. They work absolutely brilliantly on the bass. Having played on it all morning I concur with the review above that the bass can hold it's own with much more expensive instruments. In a blind test if I was told this cost £600- £700 I'd have thought it was good value for that . Why oh why Cort hadn't designed out the neck dive issue I'll never know, as it would have been a 10/10 bass without it.

I'd be happy with a primary school class TBH.

You should definitely go, they're amazing. Full of energy, tight as a gnat's chuff and the bass player, Luca Pisanu, is amazing. Apologies for the sound, here's a snippet from last night's gig https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1738ocgr2a/

Can’t imagine many better shorties than this 5 er in the UK atm. 30.5”. looks a very good deal. https://reverb.com/uk/item/92416141-acg-0257-salace-e-type-headless-bass-5-string-eucalyptus-wenge

In about 2005 I needed a new "office seat" for home use and after using a KAB Controller office chair at work for a few years I decided to take the plunge. Most other office chairs I've had or used ended up being uncomfortable or just dropping to bits. The KAB isn't cheap at about £1,000 but is VERY adjustable with height, tilt, weight, headrest adjust, lumbar air support etc. After 20+ years of daily general use it is still in great fully functional condition and you can get spares. Note: from 2020 I worked from home as well so thats 12hrs per day, 7 days per week. The arms also pivot up so I can use it to play bass on as well 👍

I had the Flightcase and the powered cab and used the Flightcase on the floor next to me and alongside the 300 (as opposed to the more visually impressive in top of the 300), best of both worlds

The FBA is good, very detailed and well presented like most of the SBL material. Good workbooks and play-along tracks and the course is huge. Like a lot of the Accelerator courses it's like an expanded and more detailed version of some of Phil Mann's (and others') courses that are already in SBL. I like Phil Mann's approach to teaching and get a lot of what he's done. His theory courses are very engaging. There's nothing that I've seen in FBA Accelerator that's not available elsewhere, and we can say that about most courses, but it is well presented, has loads of material etc and that's what makes it what it is. Like all this, you need to put in what I call "boot camp time", you need to sit and pump out the exercises and not skip bits. Trust the process. I was watching one of Phil M's videos and he was talking about studying with Jeff Berlin and learning all the patterns all over the neck and it seems that's the concept the FBA is based on.

That’s an epic pic

Thanks Daryl. I’ve put a set of DiMarzio Split P (DP127) in it and a 6 position Varitone switch. It has lots of grunt and bottom end now.

... or Air on a G string, by Bach. And Pachelbel's Canon. Sampled dozens of times by modern musicians, and he practically invented looping! But will he get a mention? Not a chance. Sķy Arts, pull your socks up, and make a programme for basschatters. "My 10 favourite pickup windings". "The Story of the Plectrum".

Home straight… Bottom block fixed, bass bar reinforced, top going on. Slowly one step at a time. Leave it like this for 24hrs. Finish off tomorrow.

This is my whole current collection: Modulus BassStar 1989 Squier Precision 1983 ESP/ Vox Humana 1987 Modulus Funk Unlimited 2008 Fender Jazz Bass 1965 Fender Mustang Bass 1970 Fender Vintera Bass VI The BassStar and the Squier (equipped with La Bella flats) get the most use at the moment at home. When my band will restart (hopefully next month) the Funk Unlimited will be the first choice. I'm still downsizing, but would also love to add a 34" Modulus Quantum 😁

For anyone who likes Jamerson you might enjoy this video, some nice playing and good info