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When a bit of cash in my wallet from a few recent pub and party gigs meets a very tempting listing on a local Facebook page this is what happens. A Mexican made Mustang, a very subtle sonic blue. Plus an alternative pickguard. Even the cat looks smitten 🤩

I used a lot of Trace gear back in the day, but I don't ever remember seeing a combo in this configuration before. Built like a tank, and weighing like one too, no doubt!

Just got these pre-delivery pics from Luthiers Warehouse... Jazz Body, with a twist!.. (or P Body with a Squash!..) Rear Route, PJ, Slanty Pickups... So a bit Reggie Hamilton, bit Aerodyne, bit Black Top, bit Jazz Special PJ535... Seed was planted when @Duarte posted a pic of a PJ535 in need of a fix in his Vintage P Makeover thread... so it's all his fault! Body to join the Maple 'n Blocks Neck... And Odds 'n Sods from the 'Dark Materials' thread... What do you recon? I was happy with my Rear Route P body so went for a bit more of a 'One-Off'... took a week or so longer than expected, but they are real helpful. So if ya just want a normal-ish body or have 'Special Needs' like me drop Luthiers Warehouse a line! https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/luthiers-warehouse

My main reaction is surprise that moving to full UK production results in such a relatively small price increase.

WOW ... The pumpkin trails are set out and with an increasing number of houses being decorated with spiders webs and skellingtons , it can only mean one thing ... we are approaching the end of October and that in turn brings the obvious conclusion that ....... its the October Composition Challenge voting thread The compositions are based on this picture , chosen by last months winner @Doctor J and they are really worth a listen over the week Choose your favourite 3 tracks The Basschat force was strong with this picture as you will hear in due course .......... 1 @Dad3353 Taking stock, reflection, inspired by the (apparently...) more simple life led by (apparently...) more serene sentient creatures. Are they telling us something..? Can sentiments be transmitted..? Yes, they can (apparently...). 2 @NickD Finally some time! Crap weather and no diesel cut me a little slack this month. 3 @Doctor J This looks like the sub-aquatic future which seemingly awaits us on our unstoppable journey into oblivion. Do electric trains run underwater? 4 @Nail Soup The pic got me thinking about swimming with dolphins and generally drifting around, which gave me the feel for the song. I was recently loaned a beautiful mid-70’s Gibson Thunderbird acoustic guitar by my aunt, which belonged to my late uncle who passed last year. She wants it to be played. So it’s included here and contributed to the feel. 5 @Leonard Smalls I fancied a bit of Dub, so here it is! Sounds best on big speakers with serious bass handling... 6 Lurksalot I saw this a journey which obviously has choices of destination and timing to a degree , you can go when and where you want to. A fairly simple thought on journeys in general. 7 @upside downer Hello, I'm Johnny Trash. The image brought to mind the rising sea levels and the consequences of climate change. However, I'm a glass half full kind of guy and that struck me as far too morose so instead I went with a country tinged toe-tapper about a train trip gone awry and the narrator more worried about his lack of Adam Peatyesque prowess and getting to his journey's end. Where was he hoping to get to, though? 8 @skankdelvar A dab behind the ears with some eau de Canvey. Well that's it , nothing too scary, but the voting will close at midnight on Halloween so choose your favourite 3 tracks good luck to all , and well done , they are a great listen .

Got this email this morning - looks like a great idea. https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/newsletter/preview/649/16535

If you're an unlined fretless sort of person and would like a Sire, then simply ask for one. Having written to Sire asking if they do them I've just got a reply saying they'd never thought of it but will consider making one now I've raised the thought. If you fancy reinforcing the idea in their minds, email [email protected].

I fancy doing a prog version of it. 4h 33m, it'll be called.

A dab behind the ears with some eau de Canvey. (Edit: Better version further down the page). Lyrics ↓

I wanted my first post to be a series one so I will do my best. This is what I have seen to be true about English made basses. If you look down the fingerboard from the bridge to the nut the E and A strings can only down chromatically and the D and G can only go up chromatically. That is why English Basses can only be played from the right side. This is also why they are not imported to the America’s. Flat wound strings are for Apartment use only. The first bass played by James Bond ( Sean Connery) in the Sixties, was a double 0 fret model with 7 strings, made by Q Branch. Last but not least, all the valuables in the Tower of London are provided on loan by the bass players from Def Leppard, The Stones, Moody Blues and Led Zeppelin. thought I would let you know.

Can I just say that's the best casual gig name-drop I've come across in years? I was expecting the Lochboisdale Hotel... 🙂

my wal..

In general I’m happy to pay more for stuff made in the UK. Good on ‘em

As a job, I've had the pleasure of most basses on the market at some point. Shuker's attention to detail is insane for the money. I've flipped a lot of basses over the years, but the Shuker's are still very much here and my go to basses. So much so, I can't wait to spec my next.

Aha so where you might be going wrong is that its played fingerstyle. Its all in the fingers. You cant play this with a pick. Its one of the few songs that can be played left-handed when you are right handed with the bass inverted to have the G string at the top. Does that help ? Dave

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A five string Sadowsky but with a zero fret and a neck constructed with the Vigier 10-90 carbon system in the neck. The pickups will feature a single J in the neck and a humbucker in the bridge that can be coil tapped (like the Sandberg TM line). preamp will be the standard Sadowsky. Bridge will be the big hulk of metal they use in the Excess. Roger Sadowsky and Patrice Vigier can then licence Warwick to manufacture the instrument at a cost of £30,000 and then the design will be amended against my wishes to include the Just a Nut iii and be made of solid bubinga and will weigh 13lbs.

Also no. Here’s how it works for me… Everyone practises their stuff at home until they absolutely nail it. Then we get together rehearse until the band nails it. Then we gig. Does that always happen? No… but you can always hope. I joined a band just before covid and spent 18 months “nailing it”. Now the band seems to have morphed into some sort of social club.

Yeah, that's some garage... 😕🙂

Wow! Have you ever played instruments from either luthier? And, I should add, I can't imagine you have with a statement like that.

I've had both ACG and Shuker basses. My Shukers were excellent basses, but they didn't have the personality of my ACGs, they're just a much better fit for me. As much as there's a fixed menu of options with ACG, they're not really any more fixed than most luthiers, the only difference is that Alan will stick to his tried and tested designs rather than gamble on a self penned idea, or a straight up copy of something else. Alan will only use his propriety pickups, but there's a degree of customisation available as they are hand wound to spec. And, to second what @Bigwan stated above, not once have any of my ACGs come with any mistakes, or late, every time they have been early, a rarity in this game. Finally, the build quality of all of my ACGs is spectacular, and knocks the stuffing out of a lot of high end basses I've tried, absolutely incredible workmanship. I don't think you can go wrong with either, but I would certainly tip towards ACG though Cheers, Eude

voting is up Apologies to anyone hanging till to this evening , but I've just realised that I am taking Mrs Lurks away for a couple of days. This means i wont have my computer access and I cant do this on my phone.

If it's anything like NZ's it has real teeth that are easily brought to bear. You only have to mention you know your rights under sale of goods act and they will cave. They have a schedule for expected lifespan on durable goods. TV's and fridges are something like 5 years trouble free operation regardless of the 2 year warranty. 9/10 they will give you a new one to get you out of their hair.

Not one to do this usually but I purchased a Bacchus last week from Bass Bros and the service I received was top notch. The process from start to finish was first class and Will even got in touch with me to ask what strings I would like when restringing and doing a set-up. I will definitely be using these guys again in the future. https://bassbros.co.uk

No, it won’t

A 6-string, fretted version of the Jaco Pastorius tribute Jazz Bass, still with his name on it instead of mine, just to p*ss off everyone that ever said "Jaco only needed four". Seriously though: I'd love Rob Green to build me a lefty, headless 5-string version of the classic Status Series 2000 model, with the pickups in the Chris Wolstenholme positions but with the controls simplified with the mid boost/cut pot between the bass and treble controls rather than placed by itself, and with the mid frequency knob moved to the inside of the control cavity as a set-and-forget option, with a slightly more subtle and useful filter sweep.

Rehearsal is absolutely essential. I get it when people have varying levels of commitment and different expectations but that's why you almost have to "interview" everyone before agreeing the line up. That's not to say it won't change over time but if everyone is honest that's step 1 done, getting everyone on the same page. Then for step 2 see who is just talking it up Vs who is doing the work, learning the songs, can play their instrument, etc. Sadly I've met so many people who talk the talk but really they just want to do a show and tell of their expensive gear instead of learning songs properly, then criticise others for not being able to rehearse because they're on holiday in two weeks' time. I've just joined a very good covers band. The "interview" on the phone lasted an hour, they got sent video and recordings then I did an audition, then a few weeks later an extended practice including learning a new song and some in different keys, waited another week for them to see others, then got the gig four or five weeks after the first phone call. I've got a set list for a gig on 10th December, each song with notes on whether it's in original key or of its a different version of the song, and I'm going to track my progress against these so we can plan what to practice. There's no way I'm turning up to busk through songs or try to figure it out in the room. Pressure is on, but I like the organisation of this outfit.

And maybe when you grow up to be a big boy Danny, you will!

I received my custom J5 Contemporary this year. Build quality superb and certainly a firey beast in the mix but love it! Different strokes I guess 🙂

I'm a total Shuker fanboi, I've got two and a half (long story, but a new neck/rebuild kinda thing is the half) and have had three more, plus I've another on the way, and I've also met Alan and played some ACGs at an event a while ago, and I've owned one. The really good news is you can't go wrong with either, really; it just depends, as other people have said, what you want, and a lot of it (for me, anyway, but then I'm as shallow as a puddle) is down to looks. I don't really get on with the ACG designs, whereas Jon will make anything you want, or work around anything you want, in every detail. Plus I love the Horn (steady) design, too... There's a Shuker Jazz on here at the mo for a song (not my ad, I hasten to add), but Jon will work around any spec you might have for him, and it'll be a great bass. The more 'Jazz' you want it to look, I think the more you're moving away form what Alan does... On that (and there's been plenty of discussion of this elsewhere on here), the best way to avoid CLBBR*, is to be absolutely sure what you want, and why you want it. It's happened before that people have specc'd their dream bass (and been delivered it) only to find that what they thought they wanted didn't actually suit them. Lots of communication before the build starts is the best plan... * Custom Luthier Build Buyer's Remorse...it'll never catch on like GAS, I know...

Tally Ho, here's my 3 minutes worth for this month. Hello, I'm Johnny Trash. The image brought to mind the rising sea levels and the consequences of climate change. However, I'm a glass half full kind of guy and that struck me as far too morose so instead I went with a country tinged toe-tapper about a train trip gone awry and the narrator more worried about his lack of Adam Peatyesque prowess and getting to his journey's end. Where was he hoping to get to, though? Epiphone guitar, Westfield bass, Hohner harmonica and drums programmed with Hydrogen. Vox Apogee Mic+. Recorded with Audacity and Wavepad for that wax cylinder clarity that I'm accustomed to. No auto-tuning has been harmed in the making of this ditty. Lyrics hidden below. And now to listen to all your splendid efforts, you clever Trevors.