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I had a friend who was Tech Director for the Allman Brothers Band in the late 70s and early 80s. I decided to drop in unannounced for a tour date in the next state (I had an open invitation), and walked into the venue mid-afternoon with my bass in hand, as I was on my way to visit with my brother another state away after the show. There were no security people or roadies in sight so I just walked right in and up onto the stage, which was already fully set up. Not a soul in sight anywhere in this whole arena, which seemed quite odd actually. I figured someone would come along soon enough, and after a while I was confronted by someone with a heavy Brit accent who asked: "Hey mate, what's in the case? Mind if I have a look?" I look up and it's Jack Bruce. Turned out that he and Billy Cobham were in the opening act, which wasn't even advertised ahead of the show anywhere I looked. We had a very nice chat and Jack tried my Travis Bean fretless and was very encouraging to this rookie bassist who had only played a handful of gigs to that point. Eventually my friend showed up and he arranged to have me sit at the monitor board onstage during Jack's set, which was pretty sweet. Not so unexpected to see a bass player pop up, but that bass player was certainly unexpected! 😎

It's all completed now and I'm just waiting on it being delivered. New colour scheme and headstock facing. Not all will like the colour scheme, but I do. 🙂

I was hunting for a back up bass and after being denied finance found a 3.7kg Sire P7 v2 on eBay. Don’t usually buy on eBay but a Sire at this weight I couldn’t resist! I’ve played it for about 35 mins and it’s unreal, so playable thanks to that 38mm nut, rolled fretboard edges and super smooth finish. Already owning a V7 which I’ve been incredibly happy with (apart from its 4.8kg weight), I’m familiar with the preamp and this one definitely feels similar. It’s strung with the factory strings which I believe are D’Addarios 100-40 NYXL super zingy to my ears (I’ve been playing flat wounds or semi flats for 3/4 years almost exclusively) lots of snap when you pop 😁! Very refreshing to a flats lover. I was gonna swap in some Dunlop flats but I’m torn, I might just keep these on! So looks wise it’s pretty cool in a vintage-modern way, 3 tone sunburst body (with some grain a poppin!), white pearloid scratchplate and maple fretboard. The maple neck also has some graining going on at the back which is cool.

XTC’s psychedelic incarnation, the Dukes of Stratosphear

Today I did the bit I'd been dreading, the door frame and fitting a massive double glazing unit. I have a pair of glazed doors and another window for the end wall.

Mine (soon for sale) meets the two worlds as it's a 1997 Fodera NYC Empire 5 with a same period Sadowsky preamp. And a fantastic cocobolo fretboard.

Oh no, someone threw a meme grenade into the Day Room.

Bartokian Pizzicato. http://extendedtechniques.blogspot.com/2012/05/bartok-pizzicato.html?m=1

Can we all just agree that I invented slap in 1362? I went back in time in my hot dog powered time machine and funked so hard that all the hobbits grew into normal sized people, this is actually why there are no hobbits left today. There, problem solved.

These are my two main axes. Which one would you choose?

The bass is great and I haven't wanted to pickup any of my fretted basses since getting it. In terms of being lined you kind of have the best of both worlds with the Portamento since the top of the finger board is lined you still get the positioning guide but the main fingerboard remains clean for those classy looks . It's very easy to play, I've not bothered doing any sort of set up as out of the box it was pretty good though I reckon the action could come down a bit, the E string currently sitting at about 2.8mm at the 12th fret. There's a ton of flexibility in the tone as you have the 3 pickups. For general day to day playing I have the piezo muted and neck and bridge at 100%, I've been trying some walking over jazz standards recently and for that I've been using the bridge and piezo (with tone rolled back quite a lot) pickups and neck muted for a more DB'esque sound. Obviously you have the 2 band EQ aswell for on the fly adjustments. Quality seems good overall, I was a little nervous when I first got it as when I lifted it from the box a loose screw fell out. It was from the bridge pickup but I was able to screw it back in and it's not come loose again so doesn't appear to be a threading issue though still seems a strange thing to have been missed in whatever QC checks were done at the factory. In terms of Bax, I didn't get stung for any import duties. Initially I didn't realise they were based in the EU as it's a UK addressed website and the all the contact details (mailing address and phone) are UK based too. Perhaps this is how they get around the Brexit thing. Delivery was delayed as a result however, the initial delivery slot I chose was missed by quite a number of days as a result of the Covid and Brexit issues but I stress that this was days not weeks. I initially tried the place the order via my phone and this messed things up for me a little. For whatever reason the order did not process properly and it half went through but they didn't take payment. Since they only had one bass in stock I couldn't reorder because it had been allocated to my previous order so I had to e-mail customer service. Responses were fairly quick but it wasn't the easiest experience getting them to understand the issue and resolve it. It did all get sorted by the next day but this was an extra day lost.

Might it be a little naive to expect a major artist to always play the instruments he/she endorses? Sires are excellent for the price (I reckon you'll struggle to do better) and, as far as I'm aware, are presented as such by Marcus Miller and the company. They don't claim it's the finest instrument you can buy. It's marketed as a professional quality instrument (which it is) for a good value price (which again it is). A pal has a Sire P7, which I think is the equal of my MIM P/J that cost rather more than the Sire.

What about this more modern technique dating back to 1965...

Like a beast. 👍

Looks like a £70 - £100 bass at best. Ply body, Sapele/mahogany neck (probably), cheap hardware; the ply and sapele don't make it a bad bass but they do smack of a cheap bass.

Taking things a bit too far!

Yes you can. 😁

CAN YOU ANSWER YOUR OWN ONE?

I have an old computer with AV Linux in it which I use for some recording and mixing. I even use a good amount of Windows plugins and have no issues. If you need any help message me and I can help you. if you use Reaper, it works great in native mode. there are other options (Ardour, Mixbus, Waveform, etc..) that work very well too. BTW Reaper for Linux now supports LV2 plugins which means you can use AVL Drumkits (2 kits with multi-output) and you can use SFZ libraries too. MT-Powerdrumkit works very well too and SSD5.5 works too.

From age 48 to 54 was the most intensive gigging period of my life, in an originals band, including my first experience of overseas tours and festivals. Fairly lucky in that the punk/Oi scene is largely made up of people of a similar age. So don’t let age be a barrier.

Bwahahahahahaaaaaaa!!! I picked up a bass guitar for the first time in my life on my 49th birthday. I started gigging at 51 and that was 13 years ago. I have no plans to stop any time soon. I play any style of music that will have me (always excluding any form of metal, and anything that ain't really music, like rap and sampled R&B). I've played country to people suffering from cerebral palsy and Dad-rock to teenagers, singer/songwriter stuff to hipsters and rockabilly to afficianadoes. Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me. To me.

Most of the basses have hi-Z (passive) volume control, and turning it down cuts some highs. Turning down the volume also lowers the signal level and increases noise. I do not see many benefits of volume control overall except the scenario OP described. I could manage with an ON-OFF switch or even without it. @KiOgon has built a rotary switch with four positions: OFF - tone 1 - tone 2 - ON. That is something I could suggest to any bass.

Meanwhile there's a tie to be broken on the Challenge voting, so any new votes would be welcome. Here's the current crop; give 'em a listen and express your opinions..? (Question open to all...) March 2021 BC Composition Challenge, Voting ...

Darn it..! Another tie in preparation..! More voters, please..!

But the Composition Challenge is far, far better.

to give an alternative tone cap value, as just two options would be enough for me 😌 @Nodd, @Greggo, Hi guys, Yes I do a simplified - but adequate and very affordable version 😎 4 position rotary switch, fits in a 3/8" 'pothole' and gives you; 1 Kill, 2 By-pass, 3 33nF, 4 100nF Other cap values can be used, but those give a good differential and I think cover most needs. Solderless installation, screw terminals, can replace a tone pot, standard P-bass knob fits or Chicken Head. PM me if interested please. Cheerz, John

You want a double-entendre? I'll give you one.

To celebrate the release of “Skyfall”, the new single from the Hamburg pumpkins that marks the official return of the legendary Kiske and Hansen in the band, I decided to make the bass cover of the “I Want Out: one of the most important and iconic song of the power metal played with my Tribe SF4 Custom. Long live Pumpkins! 🎃🎃🎃

Less now, but I passed 70 last year, and we're planning an open-air (free...) gig for end of May. Demographic of our 'fan base'..? Anyone that wants a decent night out listening to our repertoire, which is quite varied..! All ages, mixed gender, mostly French (but we don't ask for identity anyway, so could be anyone...). We have a couple of mini-festivals and bars that invite us to play occasionally, so it's whoever happens to be there that evening. We play for our pleasure, and don't 'target' anything, really. We just want everyone, including ourselves, to have a good evening, s'all. Age..? I can't see it mattering much, and 50-odd is no age at all.

Works for me.

Don't worry, I'll post it for you 😁 More a ham-fisted blues guitar than pioneering slap technique. I'm still puzzled by the Michael Jackson connection.

Is three years too late to be saying, not at all? I'm now daydreaming of adding a push/pull switch to a tone knob, to give an alternative tone cap value, as just two options would be enough for me 😌

I have a similar sized PA to yours and occasionally hire my self out (or did, until all the lockdown/covid nonsense started). Like you, I always end up doing sound in the bands I play with and having the rig gets me more gigs. More people want me to play for them because it comes with me (for a small consideration, of course). As for viability/demand, it depends on your local scene. I generally find that the size of rig we own is not quite large enough for bigger, better paid shows. I get a few jobs, but it isn't likely to pay off the mortgage. That's fine with me - I already have the rig, I enjoy doing sound and it's a paid night out. You may find you need some extra monitoring. I have 4 monitors, which I'd consider a minimum - people expect individual monitors these days (and often individual mixes). I can give them 3 mixes, so I run stage right and left and rear of stage, which covers most modestly sized situations. How many channels on your mixer? 16 really is the minimum you'll need for all but very simple bands/jobs. As far as advertising goes, how would you go about hiring a PA if you needed one? Advertising wherever you would look would be a good place to start. Have some cards and maybe small, inexpensive flyers printed and put the word out among the people you play with, at rehearsal rooms, local music shops, etc. I get most jobs via word of mouth, but I've been doing it for a while and know a lot of local musicians. Some may ask you if they can hire your rig minus you and provide their own engineer. That's a definite no no, unless you go with it and keep an eye proceedings imho. If you're providing PA and monitors plus full backline, you'll likely struggle to transport, rig and operate that (especially breaking it down and transporting it home after a long day/night), so I'd factor in the cost of taking/paying an assistant. Mics get hammered. I don't use my best ones when hiring myself out. I take out mainly old 57s and 58s and let people chew, dribble over and tread on them and leave my decent ones at home. Take a very long extension cable, plenty of plugboards and a good quality trolley. Edit: Forgot to mention. You'll often need a PAT test certificate and I'd get insurance. If one of your cabs falls on someone's head, you could be sued for a lot of money.

Don’t agree with that. Always though MIM Fenders were middle price wise and they are now £6-700. Sire V7s are available under £500. I think they’ve nailed it.

Ok, now for the slap thing, Larry Graham who is considered to have invented the slap technique as we know it has developed it in ... 1960 and used it on the first record of Sly and the Family Stone in 1967, so before this pseudo 1968 footage. The band started touring in 1966 with Larry Graham already slapping on electric bass. Here's Larry Graham himself explaining the genesis of the modern slap technique and especially why: He used the slap intensively on the next album called Dance to the Music and released in 1968.

This track was recorded in my garage/studio using Reaper, and the video created using Reaper, all by a complete newbie. https://fb.watch/4yKK8Ooz72/ Obviously not helped by the fact that we weren't allowed to be in the same place at the same time, hence all the green-screening!

Thanks as always guys!! @Simon., ill have to see if theres a "Bowyerchat" somewhere in the bowells of the internet so this week ive started attacking it with a router... scary times. first off i routed the recess for the bridge. the neck is very flat and very straight, and the graphite saddles are fairly tall, so this should give me the adjustability needed to get a nice low action on day 1: and then i started routing the pickup cavities. this is a tough job, the pickups are pretty tall compared to most normal pickups, but thankfully because of the internal height adjustment per string, i dont need to leave a whole lot of room underneath them for springs or foam. here you can see how high the pickup sits at its lowest point, with the "window" that shows the current mode just sitting proud of the body: with both pickups in it gives you an idea of how this is going to end up looking, and just how much space these pickups take up: and, with a little bit of gold enamel paint and a steady hand: nice gold logos! i like these a lot more with the gold logos, it'll really help them stand out. and the gold mounting screws round the edge give just the look i was going for. just enough gold to not be over the top! time for a gratuitous mockup with artsy lighting: this is a pretty good representation of the control layout. the knobs are some aluminium shadowsky style knobs, 4 smaller ones for the filter controls, and 2 larger ones for the volume and blend. there will also be 2 switches for the premap modes on there as well. quite busy, but hopefully not too "mission control" the next step is routing out the control cavitites: the main control cavity is pretty huge, but it will have to be to accomodate the preamps. thankfully the batteries will be on the other side of the body so i dont need to worry about them. the volume control meanwhile will be up on the lower horn, so i simply drilled a hole for that with a large forstner bit and then drilled an acces hole between them the hole for the battery board on the other side is a whopper as well. this is going to be a snug fit. thankfully it all lines up with the lower pickup cavity, which will let me run the power wires through with no problems. last job at this stage is the two holes for the jack sockets. these are slightly recessed, and will accomodate a single mono 1/4" jack, just like a normal bass, that will operate the two preamps blended normally and running on 12v battery power, and the other will accomodate the 4 pin Mini XLR socket that will carry power, ground and the two pickup signals seperately. the plan then is to have an outboard pedal that provides the power, but also has a switchable mono/stereo jack so that i can run to either a stereo preamp / power amp setup, or to a normal bass amp if needed. the body shaping is getting close to being finsihed at this point, and so is the back of the neck. it feels super comfy to hold, and the weight with the pickups, batteries and all of the hardware is sitting aroundabout 9Lbs 10oz. not exactly a featherweight, but not too bad for an artsy fartsy bass like this