Leaderboard

Update. I'm in. The band were supposed to audition another bassist tomorrow, but he forgot about it......😁 His loss. I'm chuffed. First rehearsal tomorrow night.

Still using live and buying for VBR stock. This one is Ex Led Zeppelin/Jimmy Page, what a rig! For anyone who’s tried a Wallace, they know what I mean 👌👌👌 and off to the US of A

More pics... Shape oversize cut prior to routing...

Hi guys, Just recorded a video in 4k so you can really see the detail of the body with the glassy finish... yep still in good condition after all these years!

Here’s a video demo of some of the forthcoming v4.5 features: 25 Years History of Bass Guitar Synths: From the Past to the Future Impact V4.5 The free software update V4.5 for the V4 and V4 VIP models fulfills the ultimate dreams of all bass players. To complement the FI's Virtual Analog (VA) sounds there are now 99 DX7 compatible FM bass sounds. Importing FM sounds is supported in Yamaha DX7 cartridge SysEx format. Via the new Setlist Mode any of the VA and FM sounds can be rearranged in arbitrary sequence without a computer. It is even possible to specify which instrument mode is used on each program of the list. Copying and swapping internal programs is now also possible on the pedal itself; indispensable for creating a variation of a program and storing it to a new slot. The Factory Default Programs can be restored anytime with a press of a button and are now built into the firmware. Another new and much-requested feature is the ability to apply portamento to the VA sounds when triggering via audio. Back by popular demand is the ability for the pedal to automatically switch between audio and MIDI triggering, depending on which input signal is detected. The V4.5 software comes with a set of completely new sounds and improved tracking, designed to fulfill the wishes of musicians who want to play bass parts of famous songs. Just as before, the software comes with a high-quality tuner, MIDI output capability to drive external synthesizers, CV/Gate output to drive analog synthesizers, and MIDI input to use the VA sounds from any MIDI source. The new 4.5 software will be available early March 2026. These are the sounds that we designed to cover famous songs: VA: Michael Jackson - Thriller Ginuwine - Pony Parliament - Flashlight Herbie Hancock - Chameleon Madonna - Holiday Björk - Army of Me Bruno Mars - 24K Magic Michael Jackson – PYT Weeknd – Blinding Lights Muse - Hysteria Rufus & Chaka Khan - Ain’t Nobody Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole New Order - Blue Monday FM: Kool & The Gang - Fresh Michael Jackson - Smooth Criminal Madonna - Live To Tell Berlin - Take My Breath Away Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up Mr Mister Broken Wings Michael Jackson - Another Part of Me a-ha - Take On Me Madonna - Live To Tell Some of the most famous users of the Future Impact: Mohini Dey Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) Doug Wimbish (Living Colour and The Rolling Stones) Bootsy Collins Etienne M’Bappe

Looks awesome

I don’t think it’s something I’d get unless it glows like this

So you forgo the convenience of solid state amplifiers to get the tone of a valve, and then replace the valve with a really expensive solid state valve emulator, giving you the win win of Solid state sound processing combined with Valve inconvenience

Still from 'When the Levee Breaks, Playing for Change Vid. Stray Wallace Amp and owner found playing in Kew Gardens!

Hi there everyone! Its been a while since I posted on here but here we go. I am about to kick off a custom bass build with Alpher (Mako 5 Elite) and I wanted to get a grasp of people's experiences with their own custom builds. If you have gone through the process I'd love to know how you felt the process went? If you started the build again are there any changes that you would make to your bass? How happy are you with the final product? I am fairly set on the specs for my build (33" scale, English walnut top, ash body, roasted maple neck, wenge or pau ferro fretboard, Maybe thinline (still undecided) and Aguilar Super Double and P pickups), but I would also love to get some feedback on whether you think there are any changes that would get me closer to my goal! This build is mainly for my own work as an artist (as well as a couple of Jazz artists I work with), so will be stung E-C and very inspired by Janek Gwizdala (soloing + Chordal Comping) as well as Rocco Palladino (actual Bass playing) in terms of tone. Really want a bass that feels super responsive and powerful whilst still being a passive instrument, Have I got the Spec right? any changes that you might want to suggest? All the best, Harry

I have this as my WhatsApp profile pic...

Found a nice 3D stand in etsy for the Anagram. Not affiliated but thought of sharing here if you have no access to 3D printer. https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/4407825070/?ref=share_ios_native_control

I've ordered the sunburst NEXT HNB5 (wife helped choose the colour) from Andertons in their January sale, should be with me tomorrow. Fingers crossed it'll tick the boxes my EHB doesn't. The sale offer includes a set of Positive Grid Neo Core headphones. Might prove useful, or might end up on eBay if they're not as good as my Katana Go / ATH-M50x combo.

What? My local "The Welly" passes a full blown wellington boot about for the cash and have a card tap attached to it, AND the beer goes up by 10% at 8pm whenever musicians play as a "help the starving musician levey" which is clearly advertised and no one balks at it cos free entry for ever.

It might just be knocking around a depot somewhere. Years ago I had a bass that went missing for a couple of days (my Zoot in a massive Warwick flight case) which was shipped via PF24 or whatever it was called then. The only reason it made its way to me within the same week was our Parcel Force guy (I worked for a mail order company that used PF almost exclusively at the time) spotted it leaning up against a wall, recognised he'd delivered waaaaaay too many similarly shaped boxes to me and checked the label. So really the moral of the story is the more basses you buy the safer you are.

I sold eight basses to finance this one, now in the making. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime build for me by my luthier of choice: Christian Olsson at Unicorn Bass. Here is a close-up of the headstock just to show the incredibly grained 3000 years old redwood face. The body of the bass will have the same top and backside, so it will be just gorgeous. It will be an unlined fretless five string with one pickup in wooden housing. No controls , pots or switches, just plain wood. Except for the bridge and tuning machines. Long wait, but within reach... ❤️ https://www.unicornbass.se/

Ordered someLaBella double ball black tape wounds on Sunday , arrived early Tuesday morning . They look and sound fantastic, rekindled my love for the Steiny .

NOOOOOOOOO!!! I’m reclaiming orange back for decent folk.

Friends/colleagues in my experience are a waste of time, mostly broken promises and shaky maybes. I've pretty much stopped bothering, because I take the let down to heart probably more than I should.

That shows the difference between ABRSM and Rock School exams. You are doing acoustic guitar grade 1, but turned up with a different instrument, and had a nice chat about that choice. ABRSM? You can't even choose which note to play. Play it, as written - note, value, dynamics. With regards to the instrument, ABRSM make no allowances for the fact that the student may have learned on a keyboard with no dynamics, but when they are doing the exam on a piano they are expected to play the written dynamics.

I've been listening to some Jaydee basses on YouTube and I'd almost forgotten what a gutsy sound they've got. It's quite rare for the characteristic sound of a boutique bass to be so aggressive. They're strident, but in a good way. I remember there was a review of a JayDee bass in Guitar Player Magazine back in the mid -to-late 1980's, when they first had a distribution deal in the States. What was interesting about it was that the reviewer was Rick Turner, chief designer of the Alembic bass. He was extremely complimentary of the JayDee, despite it being reminiscent in it's design to his Alembics, and what struck him the most was how the Supernatural had a distinct "ping" of overtones and harmonics in the sound like hardly any basses other than an Alembic can produce. I'm thinking about basses like Jaydees ect at the moment because I'm looking to buy a modern-sounding bass, and when I say modern I mean what was modern between about 1980 and 1990. I've got plenty of Leo Fender-derived basses, I want something more hi-tech and hifi. And I don't mean something with fanned frets that people play math rock on. Problem is Status are gone, Wal might as well not be trading the waiting list is so long, and it sounds like the same can be said for JayDee. That great triumvirate of British bass builders are effectively out of contention. I don't really want to fork out for an Alembic, but that's the only other bass that's the kind of thing I'm after. Even basses like Fodera are a bit too woody and organic sounding for the stereotypical kind of tones I'm after.

I have had an Alpher build done a few years ago. I'll dig some stuff out when I get home later tonight.

Unfortunately, I think you might be right. At least that's what it feels like to me as someone who has spent 30 years making electronic music. There is software that suggests chords progressions, song structure and drum patterns, Reason has just been bought by an AI company. Or can fully go with something like Suno. On quitting digital music, Daft Punk said 'the last thing they'd want to be now (with AI music) is Robots'. One of them went on to hand write an orchestra score for a ballet. A bit like being a digital visual artist but now AI can do it it'll kills off the need for humans doing that stuff and the market/rarity/value of digital art decreases, but AI won't replace hand painted oil portraits. Along with Daft Punk, one of my favourite electronic producers is Jamie xx, I think he does innovative stuff that's still accessible and more than most he has a signature sound, but a comment on one of his latest releases was 'sounds like AI'. If people think his stuff sounds like AI there's no hope for someone like me to not! I'm thinking there will be push-back in listening trends, AI will be great at personalising music (e.g. linked to mood/time of day, where you are in a marathon and heartbeat etc) but people will want to see real people perform live music with instruments.

+1 with @Kev Chris is one of the best. I took delivery of my first Alpha in Feb last year and a few months later commished another one! Can't add much more than what Kev has put, but you'll discuss and be informed every step of the way! I've asked for some "different" stuff on this new build, and he went out and got samples and showed me how it looked, it's that attention to detail and service you will get. Enjoy, the waiting is the hard part!

Unfortunately this is the answer and only you can really decide yourself. I've been regularly using a single 8" cab with a 130W amp at rehearsal and it's been fine, a 2x8 should be better. I've gigged small venues with a 1x10 too, so it can be done. To an extent it depends upon the drummer, some are more controlled than others and the difference in volume can easily be 10db playing the same songs. It also depends upon your 'sound'. I tend to roll off the bass below 80Hz and use HPF at 50Hz to keepthe bass clean. I try to leave space for the kick drum in the lower frequencies. This alll makes it easy for the speakers. I love the space ship @Dan Dare Dan Dare should always have a ship

Good tip. Also get the iron properly hot when soldering to pot cases, 420 degrees is good but be quick, don't leave the iron touching the metal for too long.

I was very nearly tempted by a Stiletto Session fretless 5 being advertised months ago (of all places up for sale with Cash Converters) What made me decide against it was the narrow string spacing, plus a Diamond fretless I'd bought a couple of years ago. That one was heavy and I just couldn't get on with it. Nice Cherry red colour though. I like Schecter. They're fine basses. Well made with a good reputation. They always seem to me to be a bit of an 'also ran' a bit of an outsider.

And back to my cab (maybe I should start a different thread). A little bit of action as I glued in the back and tried to round the edges, forgetting which side the workpiece should have been on, so they're a bit messy. I shall try and tidy up a bit tomorrow. Also put a brace in, far enough down so it won't foul the speaker. My quest to get my 110 back into service after the poxy Made in USA Eminence driver blew up has been a little less fruitful, I didn't do a great job of cutting out the speaker hole in the baffle in the first place, and had to bodge the fixings, and the replacement speaker hasn't got holes in quite the same places so I either have to drill new holes and redo my bodges or graft in a new section of baffle (removing the old baffle is impractical).

I've completed the basic cabinet and since the picture was taken have fitted the driver. I've posted elsewhere that I'm considering a box/slot port rather than a tube, I have enough ply left to make the box and as I don't have a hole cutter or pipe the correct size for a tubular port thought this might work. I've checked a number of online port calculators, many of which give different answers, however the one that looks most correct, if that is such a phrase, gives dimensions as 4cm x 4cm and a depth of 5cm. Could I ask if this sounds correct. If I get it wrong I can just cut another baffle. Thanks for any help David

yes, all of the earths need to be connected together. Top Tip - soldering to the back of pots can be tricky, as they have some plating on the back of them that makes it difficult. Use some wire wool or fine grit glass/sand paper to take to coating off so that the solder adheres better to the bare metal.

I know there's some eager to hear, so here's a quick late night comparison. 4 different clips, recorded through 4 DIs (In no particular order, Mantle, Noble, Luce, Caveman)... First two are P with flats, 3 & 4 are Sandberg TT4 with rounds. I'll put the order below under a spoiler warning for those who wish to let their ears do the work. Interested to hear your pre-spoiled thoughts! Tried to keep things as consistent and simple as possible. Something bigger and more in-depth coming soon! Recorded straight into a UA Apollo, gain level shown. I definitely have thoughts... mainly that i'd be pretty much happy with any of these if it was all I had. I set each one to taste rather than trying to really match them up. The gain on the Mantle has a big effect on the voicing, much to learn there. Important to remember the Luce is NOT a preamp, just a DI, although it certainly has colour.

EarlPilanz on eBay is your guy👌 great value and incredibly easy person to work with

Forgot to present my new one to the Society: Ibanez EHB 1000S. 100% Short-scaler from now.

So you'd rather go and see volcanos, waterfalls, geysers, drink hyper expensive alcohol, lots of black ash rather than spending a day with a bunch of bassists in a village hall in Yorkshire? Just checking....

Epic toanz, really clean.

I was up in Scarborough last night with our acoustic duo, playing at ‘The Lookout on the Pier’. We were a bit concerned with the weather, as the waves had been crashing over the end of the pier where we park to unload, but the tide was out when we arrived so no dramas. A full house of dining punters, with some familiar faces and some newbies which is always good. We run the gig as request based, and had some good ones including ‘Dead flowers’, ‘Walk away Renee’, ‘Budapest’, ‘If you could read my mind’ and ‘Stormy Monday’. ( Also nice to see Chris from ‘Knight’s Music’ shop in the audience - a great place in Scarborough.) I used my Fender Kingman bass into a Rumble 100 combo, perfect for venues like this. We are back there next on February 15th, so looking forward to it already. Just hope the weather has calmed down a bit by then.( Apologies for the boring photo, but Mrs CP was too busy socialising and forgot to take any.j

Cracking gig at The Bungalow in Paisley. Depping with a band I used to play with a few years back! Great fun and very very busy! Got to use my newest bass which is the Deaky bass as seen on this very forum! It rocks!!

When we took the gig it didn't register that it was Burns night. I arrived first to find a very loud piper in full flow on the stage! We therefore had a slight delay getting the kit in. The plate of haggis, tatties and neeps with whisky sauce while we were setting up was very nice though. We are not a Scottish music band at all, but we did play a few songs by Scottish artists or fabricated tenuous Scottish links to the songs we did. I don't think we upset too many of the folk in tartan, although one guy did ask if we could play properly. When we said no he just said "Ah, crack on then" 😂 The place was quite busy and very hot when we started around 4pm. It was a bit of a relief that it thinned out slightly as it went on. We were all starting to flag a little by the time we finished though. The trusty Stingish bass and Rumble were in action again. I also gave my Solovair boots a run out for a change - not quite as comfy as my DMs yet though, so I'm glad to be at home in my slippers now 😜

I played a charity gig with the Hulla band last night at Rhossili village hall (that's right on the windy end of Gower and last night was very windy). It was in aid of Brain Tumour Research (organised by someone whose daughter has recently been diagnosed) and well attended for such a stormy night. The hall has a proper stage but as a thirteen pieces, we manage to fill the space of most stages and tonight was no exception. I was stage left as usual but at least I had a small off stage area that my headstock could fit in. The set was a mix of rocky stuff, a bit of C&W and Stones songs, requested by the organiser. Pizza and drinks were supplied for the band, which was very thoughtful as we had an early setup and little time to eat. Lots of dancing, some tears at the speeches, more dancing and some dodgy (but great) audience singing. We had a 'mare during 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' when, for no obvious reason, the arrangement went jazz on us and I found it hard to get back to some kind of normality. Later, the singer/guitarist jumped off the stage (about 3 feet) and as he landed, the battery pack for his wireless guitar setup fell off the strap and bounced across the floor. He was set to solo and instead I had to fill in the gap with some bass runs while the crowd picked up the pieces and handed them back to him. That seemed to clear the jinx and the rest of the set was fine. The inevitable 'one more song' chant led to an extended encore and a later finish that we were expecting but everyone stayed to the end and I was home by 12.30. Kit last night was my Fender P Bass going through the Behringer TU300 tuner (I can't get on with clip-on tuners) and my Behringer BDI21 which fed the desk from it's DI and my IEM from the jack socket. I was trying to keep things simple as I knew there wouldn't be much space on stage. Footwear was a pair of black no brand boots.

Opened and closed the main stage with a couple of tributes at Rock The Gardens at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool. First run out with a Japanese Faker I picked up recently, great gig to kick off 2026!

Strictly not last night, but Thursday night (yes, a school night). Our acoustic trio were invited back to the Speakeasy at the Harbour View in Sunderland, Tyne & Wear. This was our third appearance, and probably our best, even if I say so myself. The Speakeasy is a mixture of an open mic night and a gig. For the first hour, it’s an open mic, although due to its popularity, performers have to book their slots weeks in advance. The second half is a 45 minute set from a featured artist or band. This week, that was us. Bear in mind that the Harbour View pub is perhaps unsurprisingly sited overlooking Sunderland port. As a result its on an exposed hill top, and on Thursday evening a brisk south easterly was whipping the rain into a face stinging frenzy and making the 6c feel a whole lot colder, and yet the pub was still full of enthusiastic music lovers. Gear-wise, I was using my Boosey & Hawkes Excelsior laminate double bass equipped with a Realist copperhead pickup straight into the EBS Stanley Clarke acoustic preamp. From there, straight into the desk (a Behringer X-Air 12), and out to a pair of RCF HD 10’s and a small DB monitor that was almost at my feet, which sounded great on the videos I have seen 😎

I think it's my first time posting in here..if not for a long time. First gig in about 10 years (stopped when my first kid came along and somehow didn't start again...) Studied jazz at Birmingham conservatoire about 20 years ago and a guitarist on my course plays professionally and now lives fairly near. Always say we should do something. He messaged me a week ago saying his regular bassist wasn't available and did I want to do a gig at a pub in Adderbury. 2 country/blues sets. Mix of original's and their own tunes. About 30 to learn in total. Whilst trying to finish one work contract and prepare for another. Mild panic set in as I wondered if I still had the ears to learn that many so quick. Cur Spotify playlist on loop whilst I went about the week. 3 core band members (2 guitar/vocal and drummer) play together but keys were from a jam Jimmy the guitarist plays at and well, I was the random. Setup. Fairly small but nice size side room. Banging pub with loads of spaces all filled with families, solo drinkers, younger ones (people saying they don't drink...) and older groups. Extra bonus was Chris from Fairport Convention was going to sit in...turned up and did every song for both sets. Goes without saying he is an absolutely outstanding musician with big ears and chops. Setup in minutes with those new iPad driven PA systems. No rehearsal or soundcheck just straight into it. I know they are players and heard their recordings but hearing ripping country blues licks from them both was a delight which makes you want to play even better. I remember laughing at one point at the licks being pulled out The new TRB6 from Bass Bros and Aguilar AG700 w/SL212 sounded so nice in the room. Maybe being right in the corner helped. Also had a couple of admirers in the audience as a friend at the back overheard them when they came in ogling it. Bringing a 6 string to this felt a bit like bringing the whole Japanese army to a gun fight, but its what I feel more comfortable on. Left the SL112 in the car as the ful stack would have been overkill. Many a compliment from Chris about the sound and feel, which made my day. He was like 10 inches in front of me and the cab. Audience liked it. The dogs liked it. Bar staff liked it. We liked it. Can't ask for more than that. Look forward to the next one in less than 10 years hopefully. A sample of their regular band to give you an idea of you're into that sort of thing:

I don’t dislike the aesthetics but it does give me 1970s washing machine vibes…

Totally agree. I play 5's now and spend most of my time around the 5th - 8th fret. Makes life so much easier.