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'Ooh shiney....'' 'I'm sure that will make me a better player....' 'WANT ONE WANT ONE WANT ONE.......'

Boom! Sofa shot just in.

Now you see I like that a lot. So much energy and real talent too. Trying too hard?? Maybe / maybe not but if you're on Letterman then you could do a lot worse than milk it for all its worth and be memorable.

Just got this. Huge Kings X fan...

Let's share our weird and wonderful ideas for making life that little bit easier in the world of bass. Even if they appear long winded and silly and actually use more effort than they save. I'll start: One of those over the door clothes hanger thingies available from all B&M, Poundland type outlets makes a great cable tidy.

A bit of a pain to take a door to every gig just to use it though!

Because it's easier than sitting practising for hours on end.

If we're on about Chickens ...

Bought this from eBay & it turned up on Tuesday. I was after a rehearsal / crap venue bass to protect my Maruszczyk’s from some wear & tear. This fitted the bill nicely as I like old Jap instruments, & the active electronics & 19mm string spacing matched nicely to the M’s. Pleased to report that it lives up to the SGC reputation - great quality, easy to play & sounds excellent.

The same percentage who know what it means.

Will post some fancier pics later but here´s proof it´s now actually strung up!

I have ended up buying kit after I reviewed it. I AM completely skint!

Like the Circle of 5ths, there is also a Circle of GAS. The progression goes I'm happy with what I have. Something different catches the attention. Reasons to acquire said article begin chattering in the brain. Justifications for acquire said article begin to form. Said article is elevated from 'Desirable' to 'Must Have' status Previously satisfactory equipment becomes unsatisfactory. Rabid obsession with said article developes. New article is acquired. I'm happy with what I have. Rinse and repeat.

Honestly? Before coming on here I was blissfully unaware of the variety of basses available & was quite happy with my cheap squier jazz bass & old cheap bass stack. No one in any band ever commented on said bass/amp, only on my playing. "that's great, or that's not great"...end of. I then entered the black hole of bass forums which reached into my very insecure being, and I began to say to myself. "other bass players will look upon your lowly bass/amp, point and laugh!" Oh how I imagined being mocked by the multitude of low enders. So, I started a ridiculous 10 year journey of buying and selling equipment in order to feel better about myself, so that in my imagination, I could look another bassist in the eye and without hesitation spout forth the list of high end gear that I owned (but couldn't really afford). However, no one in any of the bands I played commented on said bass/amp, only on my playing. Hold in I thought, this has made no difference to anything other than my insecure ego & bank balance. I now own one cheap bass, and don't even own an amp. Still get asked to play/gig/record with some great players. So why the GAS? For me coz I forget what matters, & have to admit I can suffer from chronic comparing syndrome. I'm probably the only one, but I'm glad that's off my chest. My name's oldslapper & I'm a plonker.😁

I think we just get caught up in it - if you're gigging and getting some spare cash coming in, its just too tempting to treat yourself to some more nice kit. There's no obvious cut off point once you get beyond the basic necessities, and into the realms of fantasy kit. The bubble burst with me about a year ago, mainly cos i cut right back on gigs for family reasons, and then realised how much kit i actually had. The apparently amazing, life-changing aspirational gear I'd bought didn't make me play any better, or feel any better. It just tied up thousands of pounds, so I flogged the stuff i didn't really need. I still look on Basschat most days and see stuff I like - but then a reality check reveals i don't actually need it. It's nice feeling that you don't have to buy anything. Sort of the opposite of GAS. I'll probably get lynched on here for saying it tho. It's lovely to have shiny new exciting treats, but constantly longing for different things and working out how to get them makes me really stressed out I've realised.

Great idea...there's something similar in the Pirate Studios we use, but it's hung on the wall. My man cave / practice / music room is usually a sh*t tip, so I'll be borrowing this one!

"What if...?"

I'm disappointed. I was expecting a topic about new sources for band transport hire... (... and that young lad will hurt his voice if he carries on doing that for long ...)

I actually used excess string cut-offs to pick the lock, seemed approriate!

There's definitely a Linux version. No need to run it under Wine. I use it all the time. Linux is now quite a reasonable proposition for musicy stuff.

I can't see clearly but it might be that she's pointing to her euphonium to alert the sound crew that she's about to go solo on it.

If you find you can't do a weird routing thing you want interally then you can always use a patch cable in the FX loops and use separate send and return blocks to put stuff anywhere. You can jump the paths at will then.

I disagree. It would have been a waste of time doing it and not sharing your experience with the others here... perhaps. I mean; in addition to learning something new and finding that it works, you have inspired others, @stewblack for one, to have a go where otherwise they'd have been overawed by the prospect. That lickle cab might find a new home in a home cinema system. All you need is a mono amplifier module of suitable spec to make it an active sub. At those levels you might never get to fart inducing cone velocities and you'd have a really solid bottom end as a result. Not a waste of time. Well done!

You could hover the bridge pickup ABOVE the strings. Some small offcuts of wood and a load of Blu-tak should do the trick. This will give you an idea of how loud it will appear, and the compliance of the blu-tak will afford some adjustment.

You've inspired me! I have a lovely lightweight combo which just,and I mean just, about coped at band practice. It has an output for an extension speaker which could make the difference I need. However the entire point of the small combo is ease of getting the thing in and out of the car so I want something small. Now I also have a very nice 2 X 10 in a scruffy and above all heavy cab with damaged grill that I don't mind taking apart. I reckon I could make a little 1 x 10 like yours employing one of the speakers from this unused overweight cab. So thank you for showing me it can be done. To be frank I'm a little intimidated by the high tech talk around here, although I love reading the threads.

There, Marc, fixed it for you

There is an Ibanez ATK 400 for sale on the forum here (not mine) But great basses for the money. I rate them.

When I was still with My sons Mother I got the guitar shop owner to write a receipt for £35 for a combo that actually cost £750 , & she said £35 was too much

I like them, and want to try as many as possible so I try to buy low in order to not lose too much money. I have recently picked up some real bargains that have sat unused and unloved for years, cleaned them, set them up with new strings and then sold on for a very modest profit. The hope is that I can gradually trade up to some more exotic models. They are all different, and I find that I play differently as a consequence.

I didn't realise it wasn't on the top post !! Its only a tenner that pays for a large room ,a tray of butties and tea and coffee to order . It doesn't cover beer or meals ordered in the club bar next door. If Skol does a presentation it would be the entry fee on its own for contact you can PM either me or Funkgod and we will help out , I'll put the address and unloading parking thoughts when I get home

Same goes for Amsterdam. If you chose the Netherlands then I'd advise Rotterdam. It is currently a more modern city with a more progressive population, and the cost of living there is much more affordable. Also access to Antwerp, Brussels, the Hague etc is a bit easier from Rotterdam. Good luck!

Because we can?

That's be good for all the headphones and trailing cables in my little quiet practice corner. Everyday genius there Stewblack. Take a bow sir.

currently $39 which works out about £28, i need all my spare pennies at the moment to pay for a shiny new interface though!

Fair enough!

It's in the PDFs.

Stilletos. Less likely to hit the lower switch if you're wearing them. Thanks... I'll duck back out of this thread

For me, the last 7 years have been the first time in many years of gigging to have a front parson that's a natural. First of all she's a young female with not only a beautiful voice she plays soulful blistering leads reminiscent of the early 70 hard rock and blues genre. Were very fortunate to have a 60 plus following. Webring back a lot of memories for these folks. We have had instances where people will come up close to the band and sit on the floor to listen and watch, like the "old days". Our BL comes off sincere, she has a great sense of humor, and she can take control of the audience. They love her. While we have our short comings her stage prencence more than over compensates for them. Blue

It needs testing to make sure it doesn't react with the decal (although I doubt that it will) but I would strongly recommend Osmo Polyx in Satin - you can get a small 125ml tin (in fact the 5ml sample size would probably do fine if it's just the headstock) from Wood Finishes Direct here Just wipe it on with a soft lint-free cloth or soft brush, let it dry and then give it a second coat. That's all that it will need

Super glue it is then! I’m not looking for perfection, the rest of the bass has picked up plenty of battle scars. I just want to stop that particular area deteriorating much further if I can. Thanks again everyone, I’ve learnt a lot.

I'm really excited about this. As someone who likes his dirt/grit/filth, this is going to be quality. Now of course, all of us have to do reviews when we get the beast. As many different basses as possible. Videos as well will be fun. 😀

Hmmmm... I think you are taking a small and pretty unrepresentative selection of popular music history. In fact, other than the over-earnest late sixties protoprog noodlers (think the early Floyd or Dead head type happenings) or the shoe-gazing miserablists of the late 80s/90s and so on I can’t think many other eras/genres where your thesis holds true. OK, maybe some pretentious chin-stroking bits of jazz... Most people in most audiences in all genres have gone out to be entertained. Show business is, after all, the business of show - and whether you like it or not, bands are part of the entertainment industry. And anyway, I think you’ve also set up a false dichotomy. It’s never been an either/or. It should always be both. And even those bands like the Genesis, Yes and Floyd type (at stadium or local venue level) who needed to concentrate on stage on their complex musicality tried to add visual interest through lights and other stuff... So a good band can have the chops, a good band can put on a show. A great band who really entertain their audience will tend to have a good balance of both. For me, if I go see a local circuit band I want them to have at least better than average musical ability. However, I also want them to connect with the audience in some sort of meaningful, genre-sympathetic, venue-appropriate manner. BOTH! A rubbish band is still a rubbish band no matter the show. A dull band is still a dull band no matter the chops.

Which gut-a-like strings are you talking about? And just how gutty are they? I've been very happy with Silver Slaps.

will have to see i can get the night shift first its a stunning amp