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This is it, the start of the second half of the calendar year , July is coming to an end and we are thus in need of a voting poll to decide on the BC favourite composition of this very month. The compositions have taken the following picture as inspiration which was splendidly chosen by last month’s victor @Leonard Smalls Voting will close at midnight on 31st July Your choices for this month are as follows , please pick your fave 3 1 @Dad3353 Nature has a way of responding to misuse and abuse of her bounty. Now abandoned by those hoping to make a quick (on Nature's timescale...) profit from this area, winds whistle and howl through the broken panes, rattling anything left loose, echoing in and out of the cisterns and tubes, pipes and wires; anything to display some disapproval. Are they voices, or is it our heightened imagination..? Heavenly choirs or shrieking demons..? Let your conscience be your guide... 2 @Rikki1984 For some reason I keep on including vocals despite my innate lack of ability to sing or write lyrics! 3 @Nicko The theme of the song is Urban Decay. The lyrics (such as they are) are about towns disappearing but the music starts with a clean, simple theme and the idea was to add more and more layers to represent the graffiti that builds up over time . Of course, it's urban so I went for a bit of poor rapping. 4 @Waddo Soqable you can call it Orchestral Piece 4 if you like.. 5 @Leonard Smalls We have "Flowers", a song about decay of relationship, plus a general musing on how folks live closely together. 6 @Nail Soup The picture bought to mind the decayed industry we see around us, a thriving workplace has become a void. I called the song "Into The Void" and that in turn led to a downbeat, goth-y feel. 7 @xgsjx This one is a different view on the pic. Looking at it as a great memory. One where you feel warm and happy. Maybe you worked in the factory? Maybe it was a party in this factory? Maybe you found love here? Whatever it may have been, it's a happy place to visit. 8 lurksalot The track starts in sombre reflection of times past , but very soon jumps into the lively present, whilst also giving a nod to the incompleteness of its current state ....really !! 9 @upside downer The image struck me as eerie, erratic, sparse, curious and out of time so my strange effort hopefully reflects that oddness. Voting will close at midnight on 31st July Good luck everyone

Do Not Resuscitate...

We have a name! I considered various one-syllable words starting with a 'bee' sound, before settling on something... Spanish. My previous build was a Champ-inspired circuit in a 1x12 combo from a deceased Line 6 Spider, which I dubbed the Araña Muerta - Spanish for Dead Spider. So this one is the ABEJA 15. 'Abeja' is Spanish for 'bee'. I sorted the troublesome treble pot with a blast of switch cleaner. I might still try cooling the bias down a bit - it really does get rather hot above the 6L6s!

“Anyone seen anything like this?” - yes, but I took some Imodium and it cleared up…

Nothing wrong with a precautionary lateral flow test - takes two minutes and helps everyone to relax more whilst rehearsing.

... and result!

Wallop! Not quite tuffcab paint - Rustin's step paint from Toolstation Rough finish, but it'll do I did the good old rice test this morning and got 52hz. I'm guessing i need to add a few more millimetres to my port length - i'll give it a go Not sure what to do grille wise. I have some cloth, but I quite fancy some perforated aluminium sheet. I've installed the tweeter so that the 90 degree dispersion is in the vertical plane. Feet on 2 sides so I can use it in both planes My little ipod into my BH800 and through this tiny cab is really, really nice. Nicely balanced. Added a little bottom end via the EQ makes it even better Second, tweeterless cab is on the cards now Weight - My scales (which always seem to lie to me when I get on) say 11.5kg I've already lined up some more scrap 15mm ply for the second one 😁 Grille to go! 👍

First gig since Dec 2019. Managed to stand up, move about and sing. Nice to be playing again. Rain stayed off until just before we went on, but sun came out into first song.

That actually sounds better than the real thng 😂

We got together about 2 months ago for a video shoot. The drummer asked everyone to take a lateral flow test. He's got some serious illness in his family and needed the reassurance that he wasn't going to complicate the situation. The rest of us thought that was a sensible precaution, took the tests and emailed him the photos. I was happy to comply.

It lives, it lives! Just need to arrange collection. Don’t want to risk it going teats-up with a courier. Had a custom logo added to the rear of the headstock in memory of late father who passed away last May. His initials were gkb. More pics when I get my hands on it.

Out of TLRT's and the 'TLRT meter' image won't work. I am at my wits' end. Someone pass the smelling salts.

Set up the stand's legs as usual, but then lay the stand horizontally on the floor, and insert the speaker while it's in that orientation. Then raise the speaker up like a drawbridge.

I played my first gig this week. Crossed my fingers and turned up with a big bottle of sanitizer. It was a small venue, with restricted numbers, but after a year and a half isolating and 130,000 deaths I wasn't sure I wanted to be mixing with anyone. We have to start up our lives again and I don't know there will ever be a "best" time. It was a difficult decision to make. I've been desperate to gig for over a year but when the opportunity came I found I really didn't want to take the first step. I'm jabbed up so, while I expect to get Covid19 at some point, I'm hoping/relying on the vaccine to keep the illness to the level of an annoyance. If a new, more virulent, variant turns up, it's back to hiding under the stairs, but until then I'm happy my diary is seeing gigs again.

Played at a busy pub in Ilkeston on Friday. Zero mask-wearing among staff and customers but luckily I got to stand right by the side of an open doorway. The crowd were definitely up for it and we got the welcome group of well-dressed, well-oiled women on a night out to lead the dancing. It looks like @oldslapper and I had the same weapon of choice!

IMO if a band member asks for everyone to take a lateral flow test at short notice before a rehearsal, that's fine. It'll take a couple of minutes. We're in strange times. It's OK to be inconvenienced a little more to reduce the risk as much as possible. Sometimes you don't know how you'll feel until it comes to the crunch... like most of us, I'm desperate to gig again, and I've been sitting like a coiled spring waiting for the opportunity to come up. A few days ago I was offered a gig for this weekend, but when I thought about it - and the fact that it was indoors - I actually declined. I surprised myself, but it didn't feel right to say yes.

I really don't understand the point of people being criticised for noting what is clearly an inputting slip in a thread entitled "bug hunt". Like I said before, if the people requesting observations think mine is worth ignoring, they're perfectly capable of ignoring it, and they don't need you slapping my wrist for them.

I'm starting the day with some Nails. Catchy stuff.

We agreed unanimously that a lateral flow test before the rehearsal would be a good idea. Especially when you consider there's 12 of us, horns and stuff.

Oh dear, I do seem to have touched a nerve, don't I. 😂 Not my intention, I assure you. You, of course, know the personalities and situation, and I do not. Nor is it any of my business. I was merely pointing out that the facts as stated in your original post did not square with the "making rules for others to follow" remark in your subsequent post. I'm not sure where you get the idea that I'm "offended", vicariously or otherwise. If asserting your right not to take a free and harmless test is more important to you than having a band rehearsal, that is, of course, a matter for you and your bandmates. And you got to come on basschat and crow about your successful assertion of such rights, so, well done you!

I'm not a massive fan of The Who (especially the 'Rock' years 😕), but really enjoying this instrumental from the High Numbers (i.e. before they were called the Who). Came up on facebook. Disclaimer: A couple of folk on youtube are disputing who it is . But great track whoever IMO.

Oh dont go thinking your special or anything, we are all heros around here!

Yes, it's only you!...

I think it was Fenders medieval bass, the Precision-Lute

If it can’t be both (providing image essential as you say) then sound. If I’m going to see, let’s say an AC/DC tribute I don’t really care what they look like, I just want to hear those songs being played well. So what if the lead guitarist is in jeans instead of a schoolboy outfit, as long as he nails those solos all is well in the world.

It’s certainly ‘different’ isn’t it? That’s the politest thing I can think to say about it. It’s a creative bit of recycling though, could it be something knocked up on that ‘money for nothing’ programme, using a canoe paddle and a bit of wardrobe?

I do - HB Spaceship 50M plus a couple of their IsoBrick Pro PSUs (the 5 and the 12). Although my main board is a larger PT Metro 24 with the IsoPro 12 underneath, made viable by this really neat height raising hack: What are you using the TC S'n'U for? If just for octave up to give you a POG effect then the oct up on the Stomp is pretty good. IMO the Stomp is marginally beaten for sound quality by the Digitech Mosaic (which I have) for oct up and there's quite a lot of love for the Digitech Ricochet (which I've not got my hands on yet).

Just learned abot his blue BB ...BBG5s, Also the white one. With Bastec and Delano pu's. He says---bass is 250 Euros but perfect for him..

Here's my Alpher Cobia v2 in its most stealth form; I also have white pearl and black pearl pickguards which were bought in an effort to keep the GAS at bay!

Put this together Friday, went straight out and played a party in big open room. Last night did a wedding in a marquee at one of the Queen’s holiday gaffs, then this afternoon have a pub gig. I don’t use an amp, so the Stomp is taking care of that side of things too. So far, it’s ticked every box at 2 very different locations. The BSW took a bit of attention in soundcheck to dial in, but sounds amazing. The Sub’n’Up is set for a POG style thing, but I’ll replace it with something else I think as it’s not really needed. I actually prefer the Bass Octave in the Stomp. The two button switch adds in an Ampeg SVT sim on the top end to add a bit of an amp feel, which is pretty much always on - and the 2nd button is to access the tuner. The board is a Harley Benton Spaceship and powering the wireless, BSW & TC is a Harley Benton ISO.

Fairly sure I haven’t posted this great track from Patrick Andy, i remember it from around 1983, but not sure of the exact release date, I think you’re gonna like this

I think "Fame" was a house brand of another German store, MusikStore maybe? Basses were indeed made by Mayones, but there were also amps etc. A few years before that, Mayones had another side brand, Flame (pretty much same logo as Fame), which was making Fender and MusicMan inspired instruments. Then, all their regular lines were marketed as both Mayones and Zak for years and years, for whatever reason. I've tried hundreds and also never clicked with most. My favourite was the early, more round-shaped be-5. Very Warwick inspired, but not a copy of any particular model. Until recently, you could pick up a second hand one in Poland for £300.

Absolutely stunning, congratulations! Eude

I don't mind the aging voices, you lose some things but gain others. Bruce still has it in my book, check out the youtube vid of him singing Jerusalem with Ian Anderson in Canterbury Cathedral, magic. Think of Johnny Cash's last album, his faltering old voice makes that something really special. I'm also reminded of Terry Jones singing on Pagan Altar's final album, haunting and memorable stuff. If you want to listen to younger Bruce singing The Writing on the Wall, check out this cover by Bruce's Brazilian vocal doppelganger:

Generally speaking, most rock singers are always spending their capital, not just the interest. Bruce Dickinson was mostly not like that, which is why he can still sing these songs. But he's past 60, and voices never stay the same decade after decade. Even Pavarotti was no longer singing the music that made his name once he was that age, despite having the most blessed vocal apparatus and an immaculate technique. Lemmy had the right idea: start out knackered, and stay knackered.

There isn’t a global pandemic of second hand smoke though Jack, give your head a wobble - I think asking for proof of a negative lateral flow test isn’t unreasonable; they’re free and take a couple of minutes.

It's a test that takes two minutes to do... what's wrong with trying to be safer?