Leaderboard

Sharing my project BB434 in Ice Blue. Ditched the black pickguard and got a mint one then changed the stock pickups to EMG GZR set in Ivory/cream. Originally wanted a clear pickguard but this one is growing on me. Very punchy and articulate. I like the mid range punch of this and has a bit of growl compared to the YGD. Also, noiseless which I love.

Best is a Harley Benton mahogany bass uke and a set of the Galli-Kala flats for it. I take it everywhere as it lives in the car. I'm playing and learning 10x more now. Best £150 all in I've ever spent. As a very busy dad of 2 with autism, It's really made a huge difference to my overall mental health. My fam is reaping the benefits too as I'm a much less frustrated and now happier daddio these days 👍

Royal Blues, @ Off the Cuff, Herne Hill, that London. Support band slot to The Road, so not the usual crowd for our brand of blues based Americana. Only 2 backing vocalists this time, and stunning work by the ladies in rejigging the 3 part harmonies. @Al Krow of this parish was in attendance (turns out we share a singer) so I was hyper aware that any bass fluffs would be immediately noticeable to at least one person in the audience 😆. The venue is in the arches of railway bridge, and it was quite noticeable when trains were going over, but fortunately not when we were playing. Fun gig, I think we played well. Ibanez UB804 -> Getaria wireless -> Digitech BP355 -> FOH / Warwick Pro Fet 3, Calsborough 4x10. Some clips of the gig on The Facebook story thing, listen with headphones or decent speakers: https://www.facebook.com/stories/122094436502361314/UzpfSVNDOjY0ODE5OTkwODI4MjQ4Nw==/?view_single=1&mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v Footwear: maroon creepers.

UPDATE.... I've been trying to play those runs in Immigrant Song with a pick for years. Pretty much every day I've done Ionian on A, Ionian on B and Myxalydian on C and today I got soooo close to being able to play them at full speed along with JPJ! Gaaaah! I'm within touching distance! Seriously though, it's been years getting to this point and I know if I keep plugging at it I'll get there.

Some really nice gear listed so far. That blue Sandberg i especially like. 2 purchases for me this year not including stage gear. #1 Barefaced 212 cab that is now my main gigging cab along with the HB WB-100 amp. Could do with a little more mid punch but i've recently increased the mids to 3 o'clock and its made a huge change in tone. Not much happened from 12 to 2 but 3 was a WOW moment. #2 Next off was a set of nut files to let me lower the strings a touch on my Overwater J4 and that now feels a lot better. First time i've ever adjusted the nut height and it could come down a little bit more. No worst purchases this year. Excuse the stage mess. It was a sound check and cleared for the show..............honest.

sorryyyyyyyy

The results are in... Positives: Old skool 'D' shape neck, straight not warped, satin back, great fretwork, frets overall in good nick, nut not butchered (replacement?), tuners are solid, bridge seems solid too, new oversized strap pins, sounds like a P, tone knob does something (!), neck pocket decent also. Negatives: Bit weighty (9lbs ish), vol/tone knobs feel cheap, input jack crackly, pickup a little noisy, action like a ski slope. Overall, I'm very happy with this. Bass is all original from what I can tell, outside the oversized strap pins. The neck feels great, the fretwork as well is awesome. This feels like an old Precision that has been left to gathered dust. It feels like an old bass. But it sounds great and plays nicely. It will need some TLC but I'm going to get her gig ready. TIs on the way. Did I mention this cost me £50?

I have to say I am still getting used to the detailed settings of the Mesa TT. I got a pretty decent sound out of my flat wound Jazz mind.

#1 Morris band practice last night with double bass. We're learning a bunch of Welsh & English rugby songs ahead of a Mari Lywd and Wassail in January. There was much interesting discussion about chord choices e.g. F or Dm/F etc. as we have double bass and piano accordion. We also started on a jazz version of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer which I attempted on violin despite it being a couple of notches above my ability, and this morning my left hand pinky finger is complaining about overuse

Modded my VM5 with a split coil switch for a bit more of a P/J tone. Works pretty nicely, I must say. It switches between full humbucker and front coil.

And now having quit everything and reloaded the application and rebooted the FI, it appears to be working. Not changed anything in the hardware configuration since my last attempt, Very strange. I had checked the MIDI connections were the right way around before I started because I'm marginally dyslexic and the rather confusing (to me) correct way for this cable is connect In to Out and vice-versa. I can understand connecting In to Out for external equipment but when the other end of the cable is a USB plug I would have normally expected In to In and Out to Out. And I did try it the other way around just in case, but earlier neither way worked. Also now that the Editor program is recognising that the Future Impact pedal is connected, the programs loaded from the pedal in a matter of seconds, and I have no problem swapping between the Manager and Editor screens. Next thing is to check I can use the Editor application whilst also running Logic which sending MIDI to the FI, but I won't have time to do that until this evening. Wish me luck!

I am playing with the Orchestra of Everything and the Courage Choir at Kingswood Theatre Bath this Saturday evening: Those who brave it will see some very dodgy orchestral double-bass bowing, some equally-dodgy jazz playing, and marginally-better electric playing across a wide variety of tunes. As well as Christmas classics, the set list includes Ennio Morricone, a big band version of Gilbert and Sullivan, Raye, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Backstreet Boys, Bonnie Tyler and a frankly awesome rendition of Knights of Cydonia by Muse. Ticket link here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/booking/category/gvvwxzpxdeaa

This popped up on my YouTube

The best purchase was my Darkglass Anagram. I've only had it a few months, and it's getting rapidly getting better and better with DG's speedy updates. They're so quick, I'm struggling to keep up! Worst was some IMA Helix presets. There's nothing wrong with them - they sound great. But redundant now I've moved over to the Anagram. Honourable mention goes to my GR Bass 1x12 active cab. It's fantastic and logic-defyingly light. But it only gets used for rehearsals. That said, this and the Anagram have made loading in/out of rehearsal and gigs much more enjoyable.

It was a fun one despite the guitarist/singer not being able to make it. He has something weird going on with his shoulder so he didn't come in order to not make it worse. So, the other guitarist finally had his new Jaydee OIdboy after 3 years of waiting and missed deadlines (despite being quoted 18 months when he ordered it)*. It seemed to be worth the wait. It's a very well put together guitar. He's got the three pickup version and that middle pickup adds a lot of beef to the sound in a really good way. And then I had my new Spector NS Icon 5 which shared duties with my Dingwall Combustion. Dare I say the Spector cut through more... It's a fun bass. Took me a minute to work out why it sounded awful when I first plugged it in though. The treble control had been rolled all the way off! Really considering selling my Mustang at the moment. I don't really use it. I don't like the tone as much as my other basses when played back to back. Never thought I'd sell it but I guess opinions change... We got demo versions of two new-ish songs recorded and one unperformed song too which we were working on. Hopefully now we won't forget it all over Christmas 😂 *According to the guys at Jaydee, the order books are closed and they won't be building to order any more. They've got a backlog of 160 guitars/basses 🤯. As of 2027, they'll just make the standard models and then sell them when they're built.

I can't believe it has taken my this long to get to a bit of 'arris! The complete Steve Harris bass part for 'Hallowed Be Thy Name' from the 1982 Maiden classic 'The Number Of The Beast'. Monster! https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/hollowed-be-thy-name-iron-maiden/

One of my greatest regrets was selling my MP-201 some ten years back. Finally, I got my hands on another. Mint condition. Christmas came early.

No, your thinking is sound. It'll go plenty loud, just not the way it's currently hooked up. Main concern last Friday was practical stuff, had I cut the pickup slots in the right place/ did they fit the cavities/ would the bloody thing make a sound etc 😆 Took the coward's route for wiring, 4 pickups in parallel. Going 2 pairs in parallel or 4 in series will up the output.

Well, after weeks of deliberation I finally caved and have absolutely no regrets. MusicMan Pino fretted signature (I have enough fretless basses). This sounds immense with the flats, probably pop some rounds at some point. It is an expensive piece of kit but I can justify it. Cracking bass 👍.

I found all this stuff below ... It looks like the Bass parts were played by English (Sheffield) Bassist Gary Unwin. (I believe Gary Unwin was also involved in quite a few Disco projects out in Germany during the 1970's). 1. Take the Heat Off Me (1976) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing vocals Marcia Barrett – backing vocals Frank Farian – male lead vocals in studio Instrumentalists: Gary Unwin – bass guitar Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Thor Baldursson – keyboards, arrangements Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Johann Daansen – arrangements Notes: This was Boney M’s debut; the official band members (Bobby Farrell, Maizie Williams) rarely played in the studio. 2. Love for Sale (1977) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists / Arrangers: Gary Unwin – bass Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Thor Baldursson – keyboards Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Notes: More orchestral elements were introduced; tracks like “Belfast” show layered studio instrumentation. 3. Nightflight to Venus (1978) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists: Gary Unwin – bass Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Thor Baldursson – keyboards Michael Cretu – keyboards (session on some tracks) Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Additional session brass & strings – European session musicians Notes: Major hits include “Rivers of Babylon,” “Rasputin,” “Painter Man.” Studio arrangements were heavily layered. 4. Oceans of Fantasy (1979) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists: Gary Unwin – bass Keith Forsey – drums Nick Woodland – guitar Mats Björklund – guitar Michael Cretu – keyboards Thor Baldursson – keyboards Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Johann Daansen – arrangements Additional session brass & woodwinds (American/European session players) Notes: “Hooray! Hooray! It’s a Holi-Holiday,” “Gotta Go Home” — highly produced, mix of European and international session players. 5. Boonoonoonoos (1981) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists / Arrangers: Similar lineup as previous albums, but expanded session musicians for percussion, horns, and synthesizers. Michael Cretu – keyboards Thor Baldursson – keyboards, arrangements Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Notes: More experimental disco and Caribbean influences. 6. Ten Thousand Lightyears (1984) Vocalists: Liz Mitchell – lead & backing Marcia Barrett – backing Frank Farian – male vocals Instrumentalists / Arrangers: Keyboard-heavy arrangements: Michael Cretu, Thor Baldursson Bass / drums: mostly session musicians (some overlap with earlier albums) Stefan Klinkhammer – arrangements Christian Kolonovits – arrangements Notes: Released after Boney M’s peak; heavily synthesized disco style. Summary Notes: Frank Farian: Producer and male voice on almost all studio recordings. Liz Mitchell & Marcia Barrett: Core female studio vocalists. Bobby Farrell & Maizie Williams: Mostly live performers, limited studio participation. Core British session musicians: Gary Unwin (bass), Keith Forsey (drums), Nick Woodland (guitar). Keyboard/arrangements: Thor Baldursson, Michael Cretu, Stefan Klinkhammer, Christian Kolonovits, Johann Daansen. Brass/strings/orchestral: A mix of European and some visiting American session players.

Your concern is justified @al krow, the Meatball is the single best filter I've used in over 30 years of playing.

Peter's advice, and courteous patience, is worth a lot more than the price anyone here is paying for it. The only completely foolproof, stable, reliable MIDI I've used that involved a computer was in the days when Atari ST ruled the roost. Sadly I don't think it's feasible to expect ANY MIDI gear to work out of the box across multiple OS, interfaces, device hardware and updates thereof. Especially when you consider how important MIDI is to the OS manufacturer, ie not in the least. Meanwhile I'm having the devil of a time getting an Allen & Heath digital mixer to just talk to it's dedicated (and entirely mandatory) control app, and they are industry leaders with a relatively huge development team. The FI4 manual layout could be done several different ways, but FWIW seems fine to me. It can't be ordered in a way that anticipates every use-case scenario and it seems fair enough that it prioritises basic function for less technically ambitious users, with other info present but less prominent.

Very exiting.

Last gig of the year, with Nine Lives at the North Bar in Peterhead on Saturday 13th December.

😉

That's certainly an acquired taste! Somewhat reminds me of the Jackson Anti Gravity too, which was designed by the late Harry Fleishman. This was the original prototype, which borrows heavily from Kubicki. The production instrument by the Jackson Custom Shop kept the overall shape, but without the fanned frets, with regular magnetic pickups and with a pointy headstock:

I've got almost the same bass (mine is unlined) - I ended up swapping the pickups (as the default hum buckers were lacking in clarity) and stripping out the (dodgy) electronics to convert to passive, along with giving the fingerboard a wee sand down as it had some dings and flat spots on it. Great option for a lightweight and portable fretless.

You are right - a good reminder. I think that I wanted to have the complete story, not just for me, but for others who find this thread in the future. However, in gathering the details together, I had forgotten that my goal was to get a piano which worked for me, both now and in the future.

Why don't you go for the Roland FP-30X as it will tick all your boxes without the need for an external audio interface and as you'll also need the 3 pedals option for the next grades, it will be the perfect companion. Sometimes looking only at the price is the worst thing to do.

I am Hard. I am Brave. I shall defeat the Final Boss and absolutely not give into the temptation of the five-string Sandberg and EBMM Stingray that they display so seductively on their website. But if I do... hell, I was out in April! And I've bought the outstanding bits of electric string I need today, lest I fall in a heap in the new year. I. Can. Do. This. Err, I think...

The pursuit for lightweight basses I presume. It could just be here - but you'll notice one of the first questions asked on a sale advert is "What's the weight?". Headless basses by nature, tend to be lighter. Even websites like Sweetwater show the weight of nearly every bass they have in stock so the buyer can choose the option that suits them. It's also provides a more modern look IMO. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea. Nice to have options though!

I’m very interested in the Thorpyfx version. I suspect it’s going to cost a touch more than the Behringer though!

WTAF ? When you aliens take over the minds of our members it would really help you pass unnoticed if you don’t make stupid uncharacteristic statements like that. no genuine basschat member would ever come out with such rubbish 🤦‍♂️ Do your freaking homework !

And this classic:

The ACG Moth is by a mile the most ergonomic bass I have ever played. Check this out for something a little different... ACG Moth bass

Best? Without a shadow of doubt, it's the LFSys Monaco. It's not just a cab that I like, it's changed how I think about backline and what the function of backline is. The Monaco changed the narrative completely for me. So many people have commented on my sound since having the Monaco and it's not the character of the cab that’s doing it, because it's FRFR, it's how it disperses the sound and enables you to be heard. Yes, it's light, it's compact, it goes incredibly loud and drowns out a vigorously played drum set, of course it does and these are features that we’ve come to expect over the past 15 years or so from high-end boutique cabs. It nails all the modern expectations but what’s different about this, and what puts it apart from anything, is how it does what it does and that is the feature that makes this such a good product. The construction of it is also top notch and beyond that of comparable UK boutique builders. I absolutely love these cabs and they've changed the whole gigging experience for me; I can now hear the detail of what I’m playing all the time and don’t have any of that mid wash out that sometimes makes playing notes guesswork. I've got 2, and together, one horizontal and one vertical it's like another dimension as @stevie demonstrated at the SE Bash recently. Worst? Nothing, really. If there was, it would have been returned.

If venues provided high quality stuff, it would either be trashed or nicked. Sad but true.