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Yep, just got home after having attended both days. Arrived quite late yesterday and missed all the workshops/seminars but got in a couple of hours worth of gear-drooling. Spent some time with Alan Cringean of ACG who was an absolute gent and had some glorious basses on display. I had the pleasure of playing a lovely red P-Retro 5 string which I fell a little bit in love with. Just before closing time I got chatting to Scott Devine who asked if I was coming to the pub afterwards. The answer, obviously, was yes. So off we all went (many of the show’s exhibitors, SBL faculty as well as ordinary folk like myself) to The Albion. On arrival it transpired that the pub were hosting a LBGS jam night, kicked off by Dave Marks who had to promptly leave for a gig after playing the opening number. Before long one of the guys I’d gotten chatting to earlier in the day started spreading a rumour that I wanted to sing. I soon had a small rabble of folk peer-pressuring me to get on stage! To be fair there was a distinct shortage of vocalists so after putting it off a bit I obliged. Got to close the evening with a bit of Never Too Much followed by a blagged rendition of Superstition. It was great fun and I got to meet some great musicians! When the pub kicked us out many of us trawled to the Hilton for another bevvy. Got chatting to Thomas Eich who was happy to talk shop, clearing up a few questions I had re: the Tecamp/Eich split. I didn’t stay long though as I wanted to get to the show a bit earlier today so as to sit in on a couple of workshops. So today I saw the Scott Devine workshop followed by Rich Brown who was incredible. Wanted to stay for Henrik Linder but got caught up in a wild goose chase looking for John East! In the end I never did find him, much to my dismay. Spent some time at the Aguilar stand, wincing at the prices of their pedals. Also, wincing at their ludicrous signal path: Filter Twin > Chorusaurus > Octamizer > Agro > TLC Compressor > Grape Phaser. I was gagging to tear their board apart and reorder the whole lot . To be honest I was mainly there to try the new Grape Phaser but it was borderline impossible to tell if it was any good or not because there was too much ambient noise and I felt like the TH500/SL112x2 setup wasn’t able to cut through it with any real clarity. It may have been wise for Aguilar to do what many of the other exhibitors were doing and provide a couple of Phil Jones headphone amps. Towards the end of today I had a chat with Nick Smith (haven’t seen him in about 10 years) with whom I lamented the absence of several British companies. The likes of Barefaced and Alpher Instruments, amongst others. Bit of a shame not to see them at LBGS to be honest. All in all though, a great weekend was had. I met some lovely people and saw some great playing. I was a first-timer and it wasn’t the mad slap fest I had anticipated, though of course there were moments of it. I’d happily go again next year.

Mwaaaahahaha....😌

Enjoyed today, although didn't manage to bump into many of you unfortunately! Bobby Vega on the main stage was brilliant. Steve Lawson was okay but didn't really connect with the room at all, lots of people leaving quite quickly which was a shame. Gear wise, I come away GAS free really, nothing tearing me away from Warwick any more, although I was thoroughly impressed with the Tuli basses! Amazing craftsmanship. Eich stand was annoying, far too loud, especially the guy with the ridiculous quad neck bass, noone at the Bass Direct/Darkglass/Earthquaker/Flately stands could hear themselves think when he was playing that thing. Its funny, everyone I spoke to thought the same, Im sure they must have done more damage to their brand than good over the course of the two days.

final (and much simpler) version of the REAN connector retaining block. no screws & no clips this time - just a one-piece printed part attached with 30mm wide velcro

If you want that dull thumpy flats thing just buy normal Roto rounds and play one gig, job done

I’m almost back in Amsterdam, and I enjoyed the show a lot The lay-out was better than two years ago (I wasn’t there last year) and although I hung around at the Eich stand mainly (who tried the Bass Board?). Sorry about the noise now and then. We try to keep it down whenever possible but some people love to crank up the amp when we’re not watching. We sometimes had some problems talking when someone was trying out the Darkglass pedals or a Vanderkley amp, so I hooe we can find a better solution for that next year. Testing amps is always a hard thing at a show like this. Personally, the four-neck bass wasn’t my fsvourite either and I’ve turned down the amp multiple times there. But as I said yesterday, please please ask us about the volume next time. We rarely got comments from the lady with the decibel meter, and especially today the guys from Bass Direct didn’t complain either. It’s hard to hear how loud you are on the other side of the room when you’re standing next to an amp I occasionally walked into the luthier’s room or the hallway to have a chat with Sander de Gier, Andrew (of Anaconda basses) or other great folks. Absolute peak for me was the Dingwall Combustion 5, the trans white one. It fit my hands perfectly and it’s an amazing match with the Eich amps. Might save up some cash to buy one soon. Another plus for me is always the city, I’ve visited London many times already and it just feels like home somehow. I already saw some photos on Facebook, looking forward to seeing more shots!

Yes they really are. I had one, sold it, regret it. The story of my life. Well, my life since joining Basschat that is...

In May I'll be meeting in Leeds, with a colleague from Scotland. After the meeting I'll be driving home and on to see my customers in the south counties. So, I could drop it into Wal. So as you may not be a tearing hurry, maybe my colleague and I can help?

Thanks everyone for the brilliant replies, much appreciated. I bought a Fusion Urban direct from Fusion. I’m really happy with it. I like the external padded thing that you can move around. I bought the guitar version which is excellent. So nice that I can carry my bass around and not need to worry about bumping it when I walk through doorways or along trains.

My first interest in Fretless bass guitar was Boz Burrell with Bad Company, followed by Jaco and then Pino. I would say that between Bernard Edwards, Louis Johnson and then Pino, my interest in playing Stingrays was born and when an immaculate 1993 example cropped up on You Tube about ten years ago I couldn't resist - actually playing all those bass parts recorded on a Fretless on a Fretless rather than a fretted bass (as I did previously) is great fun - a good, and probably not obvious example is Feel Like Making Love by Bad Company - sounds better on a Fretless 😏 However this should dispel any idea a Fretless can't be aggressive sounding as well - excellent slap sound as well as Fretless sound - along with Pino's ever impeccable groove. Musicman Stingray and Trace Elliot I think.

EBay, by comparison would charge 10% They won't be standing about in the shop, supervising people "testing" out your bass. They won't hang around after hours waiting for another punter to try it on the way home from work. EBay don't get sellers calling 3-4 times a week for a report on who tried it and why they didn't buy. EBay won't offer your buyer a 6month after sales warranty. And for the added 5% you won't have your buyer calling PayPal to say it never arrived/not as advertised... can I have a refund please?

I've put my Suhr J Bass with the Gallery to sell for me and I'm very happy to accept their commission. They get the right sort of customers for this bass through their door and browsing their web site etc, plus they will ship...meaning I don't have to. I could have put it on eBay and suffer the charges from both eBay and potentially PayPal and in all likelyhood have to ship it too (not to mention all the tyre kickers with stupid low ball offers and so on) So all in all I beleive that for a high value bass, like mine, a commission sale at places like the Gallery do represent fair value.

I have attended every show since it began. I visited yesterday and noted the differences. The large hall has been partitioned into zones. The upside of this is the feeling of greater intimacy and less noise spill. Several repeat exhibitors have downsized their stands. To my mind, this did not reduce things from a visitors point of view. As an ex-exhibitor, I know that this reduces the amount of effort involved to load in and out. Consequently, we all gain because it makes the exhibitors more likely to rebook for the next show. I thought the luthier demonstration area near the cafe was a great idea. It gives people a place to sit to eat and drink whilst watching something relevant. Another improvement, albeit a small thing, is the lanyards have been replaced by wristbands and e-ticketing. This is not only more efficient it is also more environmentally friendly. I didn't attend any clinics or shows but I know these have become a real draw for visitors. All in all, in my opinion it is an improved show and that we should be grateful for Future to be putting on and allowing a focal point for the bass community.

MiniMert and I quite enjoyed the Little Stubby. The overdriven tones are sublime and it goes quite loud, I’d say louder than the CTM30 but I’m basing this on fuzzy memory only. The feedback control is very cool, it literally feeds the signal back through the preamp valve (pre EQ) to thicken up the tone and add more “girth”. It also adds more volume too. The drive control seemed quite sensitive, below around 10 o’clock there seemed very little if any signal passing through, then it suddenly burst into life with warm thick valvey goodness. After about 12 o’clock you start dialling in more and more grit and overdrive - this thing is a monster for a hellish dirty tone. It’s not something I use a lot of but I can see myself trying it more, hehehe. Anyhoo, the pic is of MiniMert, sensibly defending his ears from the slapathon, giving my the all clear to buy it 🤓

i just joined the club!!! ive been looking for a tasty P 5er then i came across this.... well happy

Oh, nice!!! When my F1 dies, I'm getting the Urban

Most of my problems come from manual work so adjustments in my job were also required in this journey. I have to admit that I carried on playing the short scale bass for several years after my symptoms subsided which took about 6 months from memory. Even now I can only play certain fullscale basses without having issues, strap height and how the bass hangs seem critical to me. Whilst this may seem weird, throughout the day and when going to sleep I try to always keep my fingers straight as much as I can instead of having them curled, not sure if this helps but it seems that as you get older you can have problems straightened your fingers so in my mind this should help?

These are really good: http://www.csp.org.uk/publications/carpal-tunnel-syndrome-exercises

Yep, that amp sounded dreadful. I think it was shot, as no matter how much I fiddled with it, I couldn't get a decent sound. Some other folk were trying other basses and they sounded awful, too. It was a bit better on passive, but it was so noisy that I couldn't hear myself properly anyway. Should have brought cans with me. The Bertolini felt lovely to play, though. I liked the thin neck as I've got quite small hands. I'll definitely give it a proper try-out when I get a new bass.

If it is indeed carpal tunnel syndrome, "muscle strengthening exercises" are not a recognized treatment. CTS should be straightforward enough to diagnose from your symptoms plus some simple tests +/- formal nerve condition studies if there is any doubt. I'd go back to your GP to discuss the Physio's opinion and would be wary of anyone who tells you that you have CTS and then sends you off to figure out some hand exercises...

Not being funny but why hasn`t the physio recommended the relevant exercises, surely that`s part of the treatment.

iReal Pro works for me.

Played a new venue in Corby last night - St Jame/Breakers bar. Huge venue on an industrial estate - two large pool rooms, snug and bar area with a stage/dancefloor one end. Good crowd though the format means they are seated stage left and in front of you you have 8 pool tables with players playing all evening. Large screen sky sports going as well. We're a loud funky soul band so that's not an issue and from the get go we had them up and dancing in the dance floor in front of us. What was significant was the green room/dressing room!! - The owners clearly haven't read the manual about band facilities i.e if they really insist - stick em in the meter cupboard and they can change in the gents - standing on one leg trying to keep your stage gear out of the fosters on the floor. No this was deeelooouxe - easy chairs, practice amps, sky tv, fridge full of softs and beer - optics on the wall with Vodka, Jaegermeister and Jack Daniels. Had we not been driving we would have given that lot a bit of damage!! Anyway - we had a good night despite the snow - happy crowd, happy bar manager, happy band.

My latest acquisition is a Vintage fretless, great for the money.. For me it was first Pino, then Les Claypool that made me want to play fretless as well.

When I first picked up the bass in the 80s I swapped my Yammy BB300 for a Thunder lll. I didn't have it long when I ripped out the frets. Shortly after that I one t back to guitar exclusively, but since returning to the bass at the turn of the century, I've pretty much always had a fretless (or 2) and wouldn't be without one now. If I was only allowed one bass, it would be a fretless. I blame Pino.

A precision pun on the fretless sound whether intended or not. Tickled me at least.

I got my Yamaha BB424x for silly low money and I can happily confirm that the label "precision killer" is completely justified. Sounds absolutely lovely with flats or rounds, then you've got the added benefit of having a J pup and a PJ scooped sound.

It is a looker for sure and they get great reviews. I already have an Ibby fretless which sort of made my mind up but I may well search one out at some point. I have just received a big selection of plectrums courtesy of eBay and found a nice thick one that feels right, not sure I will use it that much, but I don’t see any practice as wasted so am happy to give it a go. I have also started a build on a DIY pedal so any spare mojomojo you have would,be most useful as I will need a case for it at some point

I'm getting a bit of fretless gas now, you buggers!

I alternate between these two basses most of the time. The fretless however, just feels like "home" when I'm playing it - there's something special about playing unlined fretless.

I learned on a fretted, but quickly switched to fretless. Fretted didn't get used so sold it. 15 years on, still only play fretless. So much more expressive.

That would have been 22+ Rolls of film in the old days!

Really enjoyed the show yesterday, highlights for me were seeing Bobby Vega skipping around and being funky with the SBL crew, Steve Lawson was beautifully ambient and I actually thought the coffee was quite good! It actually seemed quieter to me than last year, thunderous thumbs were more timid. At least that's how it seemed. Back again today - really want to have a noodle on some basses. And learn some more from the masters! See y'all there!

bit of demo and chat about the pedal, but wise words in general from the big man

Yeah! I made the guy a low offer and to my supprise he accepted! I always wanted a Pass, i always wanted a white bass, maple board with matching headstock, like always wanted a bridge humbucker.... I have everything I ever wanted. Gas cured

I bought a copy of the Pedaltrain (Spider Cases) and was dismayed when I realised my Fuel Tank was too deep... so I improvised. Went to a local hardware shop and got some longer screws and nuts to raise the height of the board just enough to allow space for the PSU. Works a treat! Much cheaper than buying a new PSU too.

Sellers don't need to "justify" their rates. If you don't like the percentage they charge, don't sell through them. It's a free country and they are in business to make a living, surprisingly enough... The advantage, when you sell an instrument through someone with a retail outlet, mailing list or whatever, is that they can put your instrument in front of many more people than you can. "Leaving it on the shop floor" is often beneficial, provided it's a desirable instrument, because so many will see it, so I don't know why some are disparaging that. How many people are going to come to your home and look at it through the window?

All pedals come down to taste and individual needs and playing styles so it will always be subjective. But the mojomojo was a massive disappointment. I have also had a TC dark matter and that was streets ahead of the mojomojo AND had the benefit of the TonePrint option (a massive omission on the mojomojo). I even sent mine back as I was unsure if there was an issue with it, there wasn’t. Even though it’s cheap I still think it represents a risk and would advise anyone to try one before parting with their money (or buying one second hand perhaps so they could sell on with little loss if needed). I am a great lover of Tc products (three of their pedals are on my board as we speak) so it’s certainly not an issue with TC, except possible profound disappointment. As any review is down to personal opinion, my comments must be seen as my opinion and nothing more, but my opinion is that the mojomojo is awful. And at the risk of going slightly off topic I have found that the valve preamp on my newly acquired Orange Terror 1000 gives the exact sound I have been looking for for ages. The BSF has now been cranked up to provide a more distorted sound to fit in with a couple of songs and made the big bass muff redundant saving space in the bargain.

It's a more expressive instrument, played well.

They seriously need to give everyone trying out gear headphones. Some extremely noisy people with questionable talent. The show advertised quiet times for 45 minutes per hour - no chance! I was a touch surprised at how few stands there were, and had a brief stab at trying a bass (a nice ACG, not tried his filter preamp before), but could hardly hear it through headphones because of the racket. Oh and the noisy idiot right on the Eich stand hammering the hell out of a Fender all the way through the Gary Willis clinic in the room next door could do with learning when to shut the hell up!

UPS for me have been excellent every time. They even stopped me in the street once to tell me they were on their way to deliver a parcel so I could get home in time

Federico Malaman does slap bass courses. They are in Italian but with English subtitles, the workbooks are also in English .. https://malamanbasslessons.com/product/mala-slap-vol-1/?lang=en

I have the Green Russian reissue and it is so good. You are right about the tone control being more of a mid cut. Once you get your head around that then it just crushes.

Home of Sei bass you say..... Oh god that's not helping me keep my money in my pocket at all!!

Oops! That's right. I have a couple of these and it's hard to think they are ceramic when I pick them up!

Never quite understood it myself Shawn I just play about with things until happy and hope nobody asks me questions !

Great idea, I'll give it a go if nobody else has. Hopefully most of the tracks are on Spotify too but it's unlikely to have them all. Now that the originals rock band I joined last summer has folded, this is a genre I want to sink myself into for my next bass playing project, so subscribed!

1966 Gibson EB-2