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First gig of a double header for me this weekend was the annual Crown Court Christmas Party with the Hulla band. Our singer is a barrister and so we get the Court gig every year - they actually ask for us! You could say we are called to the bar. But you probably wouldn't. It was a new venue for us at the Bay View hotel on the Swansea seafront. With the wind and rain last night, the view of the bay was mostly large waves and spray. We're a 13 piece so the set up was quite tight but we're used to it. After the soundcheck there was time for a swift ice cream at the nearby Joe's Ice cream parlour (given the weather, the staff were surprised out our late evening arrival). The venue was an odd shape - the building has been a pub and hotel since the mid 1800s and occupies the end of a street that joins the main road at an angle. At the junction end it is very narrow but it expands in a wedge back away from the main road. Inside there are pillars and several areas divided by bits of wall and single or double steps. From a sound perspective, it seemed as if it would be a nightmare with the pillars getting in the way of the throw of the PA tops and the 'dance area' in front of the band was about the size of a couple of commemorative postage stamps. In actual fact, the sound was very good and there wasn't the nightmare sound reflections that we anticipated. Instead, the nightmare reflections came from a big mirror behind the bar in which I was able to watch myself in all my performing glory during the soundcheck. I stepped to one side for the actual gig as it was very off-putting. The place was closed for the private party so our audience was around 60-70 people. Most started off in the little area in which the food was being served but as we started to play the dance floor filled up (3 people) and the dancing spilled over into every available space, included that reserved for the neck and headstock of the bassist (I was on the far left of the band line up). What looked like a lively and dancing bassist was actually me trying not to batter members of the legal profession as they laid their moves down. 30 songs and 2.5 hours later we finished with Hey Jude. I think the singer would have gone on and on but his voice was decidedly croaky and much to the relief of the rest of us (and perhaps the remaining audience) we came to a halt. It was a very local venue for me so I was home 10 minutes after I left. Kit for the night was my Sterling 34HH through a board - MS60b for tuner and noisegate > NUX Sculpture compressor > NUX Voodoo Vibe (only for the end of Hey Jude) > Ampeg SCRDI and into the desk. Monitoring for me was via a Behringer P16m fed from the X32 desk and into a Gear4Music wireless system with KS Z10 earphones. Footwear were slightly damp (from our visit to the ice cream parlour) black Skechers.

We had a really good night last night, with lots of friends there, at a venue not far from me where we have celebrated various milestones with my bands over the years. Just what we needed really. This year's been really difficult for the band with a change of guitarist and all the things that led up to it, plus our drummer's serious illness and us running with a replacement. The band as it is now is really enjoying itself.

Ooh, tricky, I play in several bands - but the main one I suppose is the one I'm most invested in which is our Renaissance-Folk band 'Minstrels Guild'. We play a mix of authentic renaissance ballads and dance music, as well as Blackmore's Night covers, and ballads written ourselves in the style of renaissance music. Sadly, we have our last UK gig on the 19th December and quite what the future holds musically is unknown as we're moving to the Republic of Ireland next year. It might be that we keep going via a YouTube channel and Bandcamp. Or we might hook up with local musicians and go in a new direction.

Just come off stage with Stray at Strings on The Isle of Wight. We’re supporting British Lion. It’s the fourth night of the tour - we had a rest day yesterday. Last week we played Bradford, Manchester and Nuneaton. To aid quick changeovers I’d decided to di straight from my Stomp XL and Junction DI into the desk, use in ears and rely on monitors for the rest of the guys. The rest of the band hated it, I wasn’t keen either, despite decent monitors (BL travel with their own monitors.) So on Thursday I asked Harry if I could use a couple of his cabs. He was fine with that so today we were in our bloody element. I only used one side - two Orange 4x12s - what a glorious sound. And to top it off The Man let me have a noodle on his new signature bass! Anyway we had a fabulous gig - waiting for them to finish now so we can load out!

Second time we've played at the Crown in Rugeley. Parking is a bit dodgy, and our singer had to get from Worcester up the M6 on a Friday evening so he was a bit late. It's rather cramped there but we squeezed in a bit better than last time. That's just before we started, when the singer broke his first string of the night (final score: three). Audience reaction was the same as the first time we played here - we'd be playing a song, there would be quite a few people reacting to it or singing along, then at the end of the song absolutely no applause (apart from drummer's wife and guitarist's girlfriend). And no calls for more at the end, and we're not one of those bands who insist on playing the encores, so we didn't. Everyone was very friendly though, and one of the bouncers was very complimentary. A little incident did occur - towards the end of the second set, nearing the end of a song, I noticed a woman at the back of the room (which wasn't very far away) in some sort of physical distress, and the man she was with got an inhaler out for her. Our guitarist's girlfriend is a nurse and I was going to point her at the woman, but she noticed her just as we reached the end of the song and went over to check on her. Apparently she reeked of fags and had had a fair bit to drink, so she rather brought it on herself (I think it's reasonably clear which "she" is which). Edit to add: Sei Flamboyant 5 -> M-Vave wireless -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> Tecamp Puma 900 -> GR Bass AT212, Caravelle memory foam trainers (and thermal non-slip socks).

In the past I've found it useful to play along to drum rudiments. I also trg to vary my rhythm when playing certain songs. Perhaps most of us don't think about naming rhythms or consciously learning them, perhaps shuffles and bo diddley... or just play along to different drum machine rhythms without actually breakingthem down. I was listening to 'Add to Playlist' earlier and they mentioned Samba rhythm. It made me think 'how is a samba constructed?' I found this short video interesting: Spoiler: it does not mention samba...

The only cable I use is ultra low capacitance, oxygen free, double wrapped with Kevlar, a gluten free hemp covering and the copper was mined on a Tuesday. It’s the only stuff I use.

Well, it's finally finished. In the end I went in a completely different direction with the colour - a subtle pearl white (my first bass hero was Duff from Guns 'n' Roses). The guy who painted it did the neck as well - it now looks less like an original '70s Precision and more like one that was refinished by a hair metaller in the '80s. It sounds amazing too - it's a heavy beast but the ash/maple really gives it some snap, which is exactly what I wanted. The normal deadspot you get on 34" basses is barely there either, which is a bonus. Nice low action too.

^ @SurroundedByManatees Epic Find!

You clout someone with headstock at that gig and you might get barred. 😂 Dave 🎅

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

The bass just came in and its a total Time Capsule! It has the original Eveready battery in it from the early 80s...like the Bunny...still going! Union Carbide, Cleveland Ohio. They sold the brand in 1986. The battery compartment and screws appeared to be untouched. The original foam was covering the battery. The battery measured at 5.4 volts. Not bad for 43 years old! The action on the bass is very high. It has round wounds. All of the screws appear to be untouched. The active output was very weak and the tone controls did not work. They do work on the passive side and it sounds good. I am going to continue to look in to that and gently examine the electronics. Here are photos of the unboxing. This bass has not been played much and probably was in someones closet for many years. It could use maybe a bit of polishing. Frets are close to perfect. No marks or gashes on it anywhere.

I've had it since Tuesday. Unbelievably, I've only just had the chance to give it a brief go this afternoon. Haven't tried any Bass patches yet (I'll try them tomorrow when I have a bit more time), but the guitar patches are superb. Patch 1B "Double Double" (2 Fender Twins in stereo, with really nice reverb) is brilliant. I've had a Helix Floor, Stomp, and HX Rack but I definitely think the Agoura amps are an improvement. For some reason some FX sound more "sparkly" if you get what I mean, even though Line6 said there have been no improvements to them (yet !)

Well, I never thought it would happen... I got rid of my Spark amp and replaced it with playing electric guitar through my Fender Bassman amp and using a Headrush MX5 multi I picked up second hand. I started to experiment with the Headrush and it's pretty good for bass too so my Boss ME-90B is put to the side for a while. Well, a nice small multi effects pedal is great, but I wanted to add wireless. I've got a vocal effect pedal too, and I plan to get one of those MXR Synth pedals too... So I needed a board. This is what it looks like today, with space to spare for the synth. I could even mount the wireless transmitter for my IEMS on here but I think that's overkill potentially. I'll practice and gig this board next week and see how it compares to the trusty Boss ME-90B.

Luca does a video play though of all his basses he’s built. I was looking to change out the pickup for a Emg Gzr or a quarter pounder but honestly the stock pickup is decent! Measures 10.8k with alnico 5 magnets.

These are colloquially known as "claw" bridges, try using that as a search term. I don't know a great deal about them but from what I understand they're quite rare and sought after. I don't think they were produced for very long.

my latest status update...

Mo' pics. SN CD115xx

My experience is that when it comes to basses, at whatever price point, Yamaha don't make rubbish. They're always well-designed and as good or better than anything else for that money, be it a budget bass or a high-end one. I remember those RBX basses as fairly decent budget PJ basses. What I also remember is that they were nice and light, which is never a bad thing.

I can't ever see me having anything to replace the Monacos. They are one of the best products (of any kind) I've ever used. It exceeds my expectations and most importantly of all, it can be heard all the time from wherever I am, or wherever the drummer is in relation to it. That is what made me an evangelist for LFSys. I'm very interested in the baby 8" LFSys cabs of the future for home use and rehearsals. I think these will be something that I'll use in parallel.

I won't keep you in suspense Richard 🙂 Scratch plate got pickups marked on then cut out yesterday afternoon. Did a wee bit tweaking this afternoon then when I was happy everything sat nice I switched on the soldering iron. 4 lipsticks in parallel, 250k pots and a 104 cap. Just the pickup heights to balance and the cling film to remove; might swap stings for something looser than Fender flats 👍

I prefer the first one - more flexibility for positioning your forearm. I would worry that the second one is much more prescribed and you have to keep your forearm where the carve is - either side of it and you're actually going to be resting on a perceived hump/point.

I think I may have missed an update... Well, almost two weeks ago we got a singer! It's been a palaver to find one, we had some promising leads and some that wouldn't be up to scratch. I'm so glad we kept on putting a set together. The drummer and I got our heads together and each contacted singers we had been in bands with before. The drummer's contact had been wanting to do less and less many years ago and couldn't be persuaded back to it, a female singer I knew from trying to set up an 80s band in the past. I didn't hold out much hope but wanted to give her a go... Well, she has kept her hand in and sounded really good doing almost the whole 'set' with us. The band unanimously agreed to bring her onboard. Risky Business is in business! A proper rehearsal booked for Tuesday night where we can get our keys sorted for the songs and work on arrangements and get used to playing together. Hoping to get some low-key pub gigs booked for early next year, give us something to aim for.

I always think rhythm first, note second 👍

Just thought I would add to the thread with this Ken Taylor 5 that I bought last year. I got it new from BAX for an absolute steal, prior to them going bump. It's not fashionably light (9.5lbs), but I'm not too bothered - (it's much lighter than my 6 & 7 strings!!) The main thing is it sounds absolutely immense, love the growl of the humbuckers, the EQ and blend can get a great variety of tones, and almost plays itself. Build quality is as good as anything else I've played.

Apologies for being almost a year late on this thread. I googled Lawrence Canty today and found out he'd passed away. Very sad news and I'd like to add with my condolences to his family and friends. I first met Lawrence in the early 90s at Goldsmiths college. I did his weekly course there and turned up thinking I knew a fair bit about playing. Lawrence soon dispelled that myth for me when he presented me with the notes for the course. He was talking about chords, their structure, their relevance in a progression, what would work and what wouldn't work ... Why would I need to know about chords I thought ? I don't play chords on bass! I stuck the course out right to the end (I think it lasted 6months or so) and I turned up religiously every Saturday. I left with so much more knowledge of the fretboard, harmony, chord structures, progressions and just a huge understanding of music in general. Lawrence was a superb teacher and for someone with my limited learning capacity he made it easy for even me to understand. I will always be in debt to him for teaching me what no amount of reading or self teaching ever could. I was also supremely impressed with his playing and even to this day, his tone from his finger style playing has never been equalled. It was just perfect. At that time I recall he had a residency gig at a hotel in London and he would always give me a lift over the water to a tube station near his gig. We'd always talk bass and music and also about life in general. He put me onto Joe Meek, James Jameson and many other players who I'd never heard of. I can honestly say he was a huge influence on my playing and I'd always quote his name if anybody asked me who I respected as a player. R. I. P. Lawrence. 😢

Have you considered the possibility that it is not, in fact, your van, but that of a neighbour (same colour, by coincidence...)..? He/she is having the same issues trying to open your van..! ...

I tried a Casio PX-S7000 recently. The sounds were great. Action is very playable deep into the keybed given how compact it is, but it is unavoidably light so not for everyone. Good for gigging in terms of weight but you'd definitely have to baby it. I'd have one at home for sure, the industrial design is excellent. Going back to @Hellzero's comment earlier on VSTs, I don't think any stage pianos or probably even high-end home hybrids are going to match the depth and realism of the best software ones. Of course you pay a price in terms of convenience - that's what puts me off Korgs, which are essentially a Linux PC in a keyboard frame. They have huge multilayer samples but you have to wait ages for them to boot up.

In fact, it all depends on what ergonomics you're after which will be highly different if you play sitting or standing, offering the best for both positions is the challenge. Having owned and played close 1000 different basses, I can tell you that this challenge is still up to date. For the sitting position, the Human Base ClassX is close to perfection as the body is carved for this purpose, putting the bass at the right position instantly. That said, as @Kiwi mentioned, the Strandberg design is quite effective too, if you put the bass on your right thigh using the closest to the bridge position. Also remember that headless basses are often more ergonomics as the tuners and the headstock are anti-ergonomics... For the standing position, I think the Leduc and Le Fay basses are certainly amongst the most ergonomics basses and quite right for the sitting position.

Another one I am really proud of (see the health warning on the website). This is the complete Reginald Veal performance of the Gershwin tune 'Embraceable You' taken from a live video of Wynton Marsalis recorded 27th December, 2013. A wonderfully profound performance of incredible depth and musicality. Took me most of a week to get through it but worth every second. https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/embraceable-you-wynton-marsalis/

It really is, he comes across brilliantly.

Kahler-made add-on to increase sustain and possibly reduce neck-dive. Never fitted by fender from what I read https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1584071 that’s why you’re not seeing it in marketing from the time. Quite rare apparently

I've found generally that there is a set of trade offs between aesthetics and ergonomics which kind of shows there is a limit to the classic Modernist design mantra of 'form follows function'. I tend to think of it as a prioritisation exercise...priotise ergonomics up to about 70% of the body shape and compromise a little for aesthetics. If you go beyond that threshold, it's possible to end up with some fairly unattractive body shapes that are exceedingly comfortable. I'd offer up Vigier as an example and maybe the Klein steinberger/Strandberg Boden bass. I'm sure it must be possible to cobble together a 2 axis graph somewhere showing attractiveness vs comfort given access to enough survey data. Strandberg Boden bass Klein/Steinberger bass Vigier Passion SIII 5

Sure! Bright Giants was another post-Covid project, has ebbed and flowed with arrival of kids etc but great people to work with and IMO strong songwriting with the playing focus on supporting that. Based around Bristol and Somerset, currently a 4 piece (vox, guitar, bass, drums) but exploring the possibility of expanding to allow our guitarist, who is also an excellent classically-trained pianist, a little more freedom. Also working on adding more 3-part harmony live where it'll support the melody. Aim for this year is being a bit more regular and ideally building on that to take what we think is a solid set of originals to festivals. Be nice to connect with other bands who might crossover potential audience-wise, sometimes feel we're probably a bit poppy for the punk/metalheads and a bit guitar-y for the pop kids! Cheers!

Excellent, I'd like to try one of those. Here's my board...

In case it's useful for somebody, I found La Bella low tension flats (LTF) to be slightly less compliant than TI Jazz flats, have less mids, but get much closer to that classic vintage tone. They were more compliant than D'Addario Chromes and Fender flats (I've never had the guts to try the classic La Bella's). I like both LTFs and TI Jazz flats. LTFs on the Precision. TI Jazz on most other things (including fretless) apart from a couple of fretted that still have round wounds. Phil

A 15 ½ hour used tobe a leap of faith, but the K1 Max is, so far, very reliable. The slicer is basically a version of Cura. These days a 'mesh' is printed to support undersurfaces. The tree supports came loose with a gentle press and the finish on the supported surfaces needs no finishing.

He can play slap but chooses not to and for that reason alone, he's alright.

Im touring in a band currently supporting British Lion - not long come off stage in Manchester. I asked Steve tonight why his new signature bass was black. He explained it was actually white when he got it and immediately had it sprayed Matt Black. I’m guessing it never had the BA bridge on to start with but I’ll ask him if I get the opportunity. He’s got one with him on the tour but it’s unlikely he’ll use it as it’s strung with rounds but I might get the chance to have a go!