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Just got one of the new FSR Squier Mustangs as I miss having a short scale. Forgot how small the necks were prefer chunkier Vintera. But at this price point set up is great out of the box. Very low action, intonation 90% there already. It’s fun and colours look great. Now waiting on the postie with GHS flats to get some thumpy tones

Warning - this is a bit of a gush! If anyone's still trying to sift decent bits out of Glastonbury, please just fast forward to Skunk Anansie. Not simply a cracking British hard rocks band, but a highly talented set of folks with some real style IMO. I saw them last Sunday (for probably 3rd or 4th time) at the Engine Rooms in Southampton. It's a shed but really excellent to see a big band in such a modest venue. Cass Lewis is a very cool dude. All the Skunk material is peppered with compelling bass work and some outstanding grooves. But when you see him live it's even more impressive because he pulls off serious techniques with aplomb. It was a brilliant gig! Add to this the fact that he's clearly a smashing and humble bloke who I got to meet after the show. OK, this is hero-worship but imagine if all our favourite bass players were this cool with the fans?

Anything that has fallen out of the mouth of Kanye West.

Several older UK musicians voting for Brexit then moaning about all the hassle it causes them...

...only if there are NO STAIRS !!!! 😅

Nearly done now...

Given it's nearly 4pm on the last day of June and it's highly unlikely I'm going to be buying another bass in the next few hours, I think I can safely say I've managed 6 months in this challenge 🥳. The last bass I bought was way back in November last year, so I'm doing far better than I thought I would. That said, I'm almost certainly not going to make it to the end of the year as I've put my name down for two new builds. No money has changed hands of course, or that would see me out of the door straight away, but I do have two incoming. The first will almost certainly be in the next few months. The second one will easily be well into next year, so that's the 2023 challenge stuffed as well. Good luck to anyone who is still in.

1. MacDaddy - Custom Shukers / Rob Allen Mouse / Peavey Vypyr VIP III 2. Binky Bass - Binky 10 string, USA Conklin 8 string, ACG 9 string, 3 x ACG 6 strings, Reiver 7 string (geeeetar), GR Bass Dual 1400 & GR Bass AT410+, Helix LT, Pinegrove straps, Richter straps etc. 3. Cetera - Spector (USA NS2 & NS2X, Euro Classic, Euro LX (w/Haz),Euro 'Rachel Bolan', Pulse II ) Wal Mk1 'Geddy Lee', Fender FSR PJ with East pre, Hamer Impact, Pedulla Buzz 4 fretless and maybe Jackson TBird, GK400RB, GK Legacy 800 & Tech21 VT500 Heads, Genz Benz Neox212 cab. 4. Frank Blank - Jabba short scale fretted, ACG SS Recurve, Ibanez SRC6, QSC K12.2, HX Stomp. 5. Merton - various ACGs, Zoots, Conway Instruments basses, Glockenklang Blue Rock, Barefaced Two10/One10 6. Eude - ACG Finn SC Classic 6 string, ACG RetroB 5, ACG TKO Modern 4, ACG ChubstRR Mikro 6 string, 2 X ACG Mule 4 strings (on loan from ACG), GK Legacy 500, 1 or 2 Barefaced One10 Cabs, Dod 250(r) modded with @Sibob 7. Stingray5 - MusicMan Stingray5, Tune TWB6, Tune SWV4-BB, Boss GT-6B, Eden EC15 combo OR Trace Elliot GP12SMX combo. 8. NancyJohnson - NS Design NXT5a EUB, Lull JAXT4, Darkglass A/O900, Darkglass 112 cab, Tech 21 dUg. 9. prowla: Obligatory Rickenbackers, a Warwick or two, maybe a Kramer aluminium necked bass, some pedals, Ampeg & Tech 21 preamps (subject to change), maybe the Minitaur & MIDI bass pedals. 10. Lozz196: US Precision, Ashdown ABM600 & Ashdown ABM PRO NEO 210s x2 Ampeg SCR-DI, Sansamp BDDI v2 11. Silverfoxnik: G&L SB1, BC Rich Eagle, Godin Shifter Classic 5, Sprackenbacker Ricky copy, Mesa Walkabout 15 combo, or Handbox R400 + Vanderkley 1156 MT. 12. Happy Jack: an assortment of weird 5h1t that I can guarantee nobody else will bring 13. 14. 15.

Also Ted Nugent and most of the stuff he says.

'Adolf Hitler was left wing.' From a charming man......

And this is the real reason Pete Best was fired, as he disagreed with Lennon and favoured a Keynsian approach in which aggregate demand strongly influences economic output and inflation.

Aria acoustic fretless...

I'll tell my Cass Lewis war-story again; hope it measures up to when I told it last time and nothing has been added! Back in (I think) mid '94 a band I was in, who shall remain nameless as I wouldn't want this to end up on a Google search as there's acrimony between ex members and mental health issues etc, supported Skunk Anansie when they'd just broke. If I recall it was at the Water Rat near to Kings Cross, the event was called Splash Club or similar. If I ever Buy or sell anything on Marketplace to any of you I'd probably crack under interrogation and divulge the band name, not that we were known as it was one of the handful of 15 nanoseconds of lame-to-fame I've had. I remember a few of us clocking who he was, we'd remembered him from his TTD stuff, he actually overheard us say 'that's Cass Lewis!!' to which he smiled and said that indeed he was. I'm not really a fan of Skunk Anansie but I can appreciate how good they are at what they do. In the soundcheck I recall some of us saying that Skin's voice had a Candi Staton grit to it. As for Cass Lewis, he sounded fantastic; his rig was a pre EB Cutlass into a TE Quattra Valve into (this is very contrary to the current zeitgeist) 2 x Mesa Boogie 4x12 with the angled baffles but square sides. The cabs had JE / The Who/ Shepperton stencilled on them. Just an incredible soundstage from his gear. A lot could be also attributed to how together his playing was compared to mine at the time, really assured, boldly executed and clearly communicated. Not really trying to do anything radical (not that I can remember compared to some of their later stuff but it's a long time ago) but barely breaking into a sweat. Back then I was all over the place trying to be all things to all people...it was a real lesson listening to his presence in the band. Martin

As long as it's wierd 5h1t with heft, that's OK...

Exhibit A: "My greatest pain in life is that I will never be able to see myself perform live." Barf.

Well of course The Beatles were formed purely with the intention of improving the British economy. Lennon in particular was known for his espousal of then-radical monetarist policies dependent on control of the money supply to eradicate inflation, and would often lecture Harrison and Starr backstage before gigs about the importance of keeping the Bank Of England under the control of central government. Next question, please ...

I adore Skunk Anansie, though I have never had the good fortune of seeing them live. I was particularly gutted to miss them supporting Motörhead in Norwich way back. If they’re “not quite” your thing, then I would highly recommend trying their “An Acoustic Skunk Anansie - Live In London”. A fresh take on some brilliant songs. You can find the gig on YouTube.

Just wanted to recommend a book that’s on Amazon Kindle at £1.99 right now. I run a blues appreciation group in the local u3a and got a couple of local musicians in to do a presentation. One of these was John Holmes, who has mixed with some big names - Andy Fraser invited him to audition as Kossoff’s replacement - without ever ‘making it’. Mind you, seeing the car he drives I bet he’s happy he kept his day job (financial services, since you ask). Anyhow this book was his lockdown project and I found it both fascinating and hilarious. I have no affiliation, nor am I on a cut of the royalties, just wanted to recommend a book that will entertain anyone of my ancient vintage … or anyone who has toiled in the semi-pro world. Written by a down to earth, self-deprecating guy. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wing-Night-Years-Semi-Pro-Guitarist-ebook/dp/B095SLVFMG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1AOMWO4EEGNNM&keywords=john+holmes+book+music&qid=1655899896&s=books&sprefix=john+holmes+book+music%2Cstripbooks%2C59&sr=1-4 Do let me know if you enjoy it… or not!

https://www.loudersound.com/news/kiss-thank-austrian-fans-by-showing-australian-flag

I just skipped through this. OMG.

Pick In The Eye ～ Bauhaus

And so, final sanding done and the essential 'damp cloth test' : Basically, any missed glue lines will show up light and any missed sandpaper lines will show up dark...like these two going cross-grain in the middle of the picture: And then the first couple of coats of the under-stain...a pretty standard amber (in fact thinned Chestnut Spirit Stains Yew): @funkle wants a touch more brown than this and so I will get my test piece of maple to match this and then try a coat of a thinned mix of light mahogany with a teeny drop of dark mahogany. If I can replicate my original sample, then I will add that further coat tomorrow. Then it should be ready for the lightly tinted Osmo finish top coats.

But it's not their job to be as confused as him! 😁

This is my favourite Crass thing...

The moral of the story is don't believe the store guys or You Tubers. There is nothing magic about these line source/column speakers They've been in existence since at least the 1930's and knowledge of them since pretty much the invention of the loudspeaker. It's part of the physics of sound that any sound producing object starts to beam the sound as the radiating diameter approaches the wavelength of the sound. Basically low sounds are omnidirectional and high sounds are beamed. That's one of the reasons why tweeters are little and why some purists don't like conventional 4x10's. Putting lots of tiny speakers in a long line means that they are collectively small in the horizontal direction and the mid's/ highs will disperse evenly around the room, and because there are lots of speakers they can be loud. In the vertical plane they cancel off axis and behave like a big speaker. The net effect is that they radiate a predictable flat but wide beam into the room. For most venues that's pretty ideal. Horns work differently but basically they can be shaped to funnel the sound in a predictable way and you have a lot of control of direction. there are long throw horns with a narrow beam and short throw horns and every shade in between. A typical PA speaker will have a 90x60 horn, fairly short throw and fairly wide angle horizontally but more restricted vertically, you don't want to waste sound bouncing off the ceiling. Beaming is a thing, but it isn't good or bad, just appropriate. If it's too narrow you will only hear a decent mix in line with the speaker, too wide and the sound disperses quickly and you get multiple pathways to your ears and muddled sound. If your mic is picking up the sound from the speakers it will always eventually feedback, the question is when. The early Bose systems just weren't very loud but their ads made a feature of being able to put the PA at the back. Like the 'drink 2l of water a day' some daft advertising campaigns just take off. Drink when you are thirsty guys! A wide flat dispersion and a smooth frequency response helps avoid feedback but keeping the speakers away from the mic helps more.

Eric Clapton - racism/anti-semitism (though apparently he apologised in more recent years, blaming it on drink and drugs). Van Morrison - anti-lockdown diatribes and calling the health minister "dangerous" Morrissey - where do you start?

" " - Milli Vanilli

I don't listen to much bass guitar for inspiration but generally prefer to transpose 'synthetic' bass lines I find on House, drum n' bass and trance tunes onto the b/g. While psy /Goa trance bass composed on Abelton, Serum whatever sounds simple it's deceptively tricky and knackering to play precisely on the b/g over 6+ minutes. Anyway, I was doing a search on YT when i came across this guy playing his own trance composition on bass. Very tasty IMO. Just the right amount of delay and a lovely tone

Fixed

Yandles in Martock was a great album ... folk/prog at its finest. 😉

A slight detour but on the theme of Glast, I've been reading about and seeing recent photos of all the stuff left behind, the usual tents, sleeping bangs, plastic packaging (!!) etc. Not quite in keeping with the supposed spirit of this particular festival, which has been sponsored by Greenpeace for ages and makes a bit of a mockery of the cheers and applause when Greta Thunberg did her thing.

I have medium scale TI Jazz flats on my Vintera. Lovely they are too. Couldn't find the Labellas for love nor money at the time. Glad now coz the TI's sound lush.

Get the impression he thinks he’s Steve Jobs announcing the first iPhone. It’s a bass cab….

Cass is an absolutely lovely bloke. Had a few good chats with him whenever I'd run into him at The Gallery over the years. Regarding his time with Terence Trent D'Arby, he's got some stories... most of them not very flattering.

I recognise both the distinctive shade of blue, and the strangely 'rounded' edges. Do you recall that I mentioned dreadful tat ... 😂

This feels like the equivalent of taking one's dog to the vet for major surgery, only to be told that it's just indigestion, and that some Syrup of Figs will sort it out... I have learnt that: Not all 5mm Allen keys are equal. So I will get a proper one, to keep in my kit case, rather than the one from my Poundland set. Not all luthiers are equal. In retrospect, it seems obvious that the first luthier should have tried an engineering solution (loosen the nut), before the luthier solution (replace the neck or truss rod). Ironically, @Bunionwas closest to the target when he quipped about truss rod gel being the answer.

I feel I'd have got more votes if my name didn't have that extra "r"! 😁

I’d go for ELO ABBA

I saw him in 2003 when he was playing with Gary Moore, and he was really good. Anyone who can keep their part of a classic rock three-piece absolutely solid and never let the bottom drop out of the sound gets my vote. He's on the Gary Moore - Live at the Monsters of Rock video, which was filmed in Sheffield at the show I saw. Will have a look at the Skunk Anansie set while it's on iPlayer - I don't really know much of their material but always thought Skin had a cool voice.