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The last year has been ... difficult! Fire destroying my flat, a back injury meaning that I am no longer able to work as an ICU bedside nurse and 'artistic differences' with a band I'd played in for 7 years. The support here on BC has been, well, I've no words! Thank you! xx My flat is scheduled to be restored by 11-Sep, 13 months after the fire! The builders have said that they are going to be able to cover the cost of a carpet which is amazing. The insurance are going to pay for me moving back (which is surprisingly expensive even tho it is just about 100m oer the road!) as well as the professional exit clean from my temporary rental. And this morning, I interview for a clinical Research Nurse (Cardiology) role and heard this afternoon that I have been offered the position, a big change ... but the "office hours" and lack of need to do a lot of moving of patients are just the ticket for my physical capabilities; but there are loads of things to learn and a lot of patient contact so my mind and my heart will still be fed! And the new band is slowly but surely moving forwards! S'manth x

Hi everyone, I just wanted to say a huge thank you to all of you who have supported the site this year—whether by becoming a Supporting Member or purchasing tokens for the marketplace. Your contributions enable us to keep improving the site, reduce our reliance on advertising, and dedicate time to supporting our community. I mention this now because December typically sees a noticeable drop in revenue, and with the challenges many individuals and businesses are facing right now, I’m especially grateful to those of you who continue to renew your subscriptions. Of course, I also deeply appreciate everyone who visits the site, shares their knowledge, and offers support to others. A site like BC is only as valuable as the knowledge contained within the membership. So, thank you once again. I’ll be taking a bit of a BC break over Christmas and New Year, so I want to wish you all a relaxing, joyful time with your friends, family, and instruments 🎸. Cheers, Ped

I’ve not written a new bass day post before but if I don’t do it for this bass I’ll never do it. I sold my flat at the end of 2022 and my partner and I are now renting somewhere together (i.e. a home that could house two people and bass gear) while we save for a new place together. I figured that this is probably the only time I’m likely to have the cash balance to justify acquiring my dream bass (even if only for a while) so I went for it. Shortly before Christmas, I was lucky enough to have my prayers/wanted ad answered by a kind member of this forum and acquired my holy grail bass: Please meet the newest member of the family, a beautiful Wal Mk III 5-string with shedua facings. It’s absolutely thunderous and everything I hoped it would be: the preamp is a dream, the B string has the smoothness of my Warwick Streamer’s mixed with the raw aggression of a Stingray, and the gorgeous tiger-esque facings seem to move in the light. I’m sure like many folks on here, I’m a big fan of Justin Chancellor’s playing with Tool (I tried quite hard to avoid saying I am a big Tool fan/fan of Tool there) and the preamp gets me in the tonal ballpark (my playing is miles away from his though, sadly). While not really on topic for the NBD post, I was lucky enough to bump into Justin Chancellor when Tool were in London last year. I was entirely starstruck and stunned into incapacitation for a short while before recovering my senses enough to ask him if he wouldn’t mind signing a wedding card I was carrying for my brother and his now wife as they met owing to a mutual Iove of the band. He was very gracious and my partner and I seem to take it in turns to wear my/her hoodie that he gave to me at the show. Anyway, back to the post… If you happen to see me posting basses and pedals in the classifieds over the next few months, this is the reason why. A big thanks to those that helped make this happen, particularly @dyerseve and @TrevorR. May you all get your holy grails in 2023!

So, for a while I have been eyeing up the new ocean turquoise Gretsch junior jet ii bass, not having a lot of disposable income my wife had offered a couple of times to go halves with me on the cost of one but I had always declined. Anyway the other day my wife told me that she had a delivery and asked if I would sign for it when the courier turned up. Anyway the courier turned up I signed for the delivery and then my wife told me to open the box, I thought maybe it was a new computer chair or something, I opened the box and my eyes lit up when I saw a Gretsch box inside the box, I was over the moon. Anyway it is a great bass, the photo doesn't do it justice, in person it is much prettier and the colour is much nicer, it sounds great too and if someone told me this bass sold for twice what this sells for i wouldn't question it at all

Hey everyone, Just wanted to share that we've had a couple of incidents recently involving 'middle man' scams. This is where someone has joined the site and registered a username that is almost identical to the name of an existing member, apart from changing characters in the name for ones that look similar but are different. For example, they might replace small L with a capital i, they might replace O with 0 or they might add a full stop at the end of the name. Changes insignificant enough to allow the scammer to take a punt on a buyer not noticing when they make contact via PM and eventually get them to send money. In our situation we believe that the scams are from one individual who has registered two accounts that emulate the names of existing members. We have already taken steps to ensure their accounts are frozen and we have accrued enough information to help us identify if that individual if they try to register more accounts in the future...they won't be able to hide behind a VPN either. We are also going to raise how to prevent spoofed usernames with our forum software provider as a future development suggestion. So...if you are PM'd separately by someone about an item they claim is for sale in the marketplace, check their user name carefully and if you have any doubts based on I or 0 or . in their username, maybe reply to them initially from their post in your thread rather than direct to their PM. That way you can check if your message adds to their message or starts a new one. Also if members spot anyone masquerading as someone else, feel free to use the report function to flag it with the mod team and we will take a closer look. It's probably also worth reminding everyone to avoid using bank transfer or Paypal F&F to a seller. These payment methods don't offer refund options in the event of there being an error. (Although if you are quick enough, sometimes your bank might be able to reverse the transaction but it depends on your bank and whether you can prove deception as opposed to a lack of vigilance.) Thanks in advance for your help in making life difficult for these scumbag parasites.

Hey gang I'm doing a couple of sold-out shows at Newcastle City Hall this weekend in the house band for the Auf Wiedersehen Pet 40th anniversary celebrations. 21 tunes, most of which I've never played before, all of which are bangers. We've been in rehearsals all week, with everything laid out as close as it will be in the night (albeit in a different venue). We're getting monitor mixes and FOH mix as close as it can be, so there shouldn't be a whole lot of work to do when we have production rehearsals in the hall tomorrow. Usually with gigs like this keys and arrangements can be rather fluid, right up to the show itself, and this one is no exception. It keeps me on my toes, especially as a non-reader. A few scribbled notes, a decent memory and a following wind will see me through. Gear-wise, I'm using what I use down the Dog and Duck... Handbox R-400 head, TKS S212 cab, and '71P with flats, and a Maruszczyk Jake with rounds (haven't decided which will get the nod yet), and an LR Baggs Venue DI (used only for silent tuning). FOH is getting the cab mic'd with a Beyer M88 and a DI from the R-400. I'm told a 50/50 mix is being used. The band are a bunch of great lads, and it's been a pleasure so far. Tomorrow, we're moving into the City Hall. I'll post updates when I can. This is Jamie. Jamie's a mixing GOD. Monitors...

A couple of months ago, my eldest son was just starting his BTEC music course at high school, but didn't at that point play an instrument, so he needed to choose something..... Being a super cool kid, he obviously chose bass! 😅👌🥳❤️ He's just turned 15, what a great age to start! (I was 14) I was going to sell this cool little Ibanez GAXB150, but I gifted it to him instead. 😉 Some of his best pals are on the course too, and they've got a band going already, and have been super committed, and working hard to get where they want to be. They've even got their first performance at school next week! He's loving old school thrash metal, so we're off to see Anthrax this week too! 🤘😎 Happy times!

A few years back I importedt an old '64 P bass in bits and in quite a sorry state. The previous owner had been able to afford a neck refinish from John Kallas (owner of JohnK Vintage Guitars who's built or restored some crazy amount of instruments over the years!). However, he ran out of money and offered it as a parts bass to get it finished. When he first bought it, the entire neck & body had been stripped back & finished some sort of horrible, slightly sticky to the touch, lacquer: Here's how it arrived to me in it's original, but totally knackered, case: I contacted a few people about refinishing the body but quotes were either really high or they didn't want to take it on given how nasty the existing finish was. Then, one day, I was chatting to my good friend, and local luthier, Julian Mullen. I mentioned that I wasn't sure what to do with this albatross and he took a look at it. He had actually closed the refinishing part of his business because it was too time consuming and a pain in the donkey to try and run a paint shop. He had a good look and confirmed that everything definitely appeared to be original and that the first colour would have been Olympic White as you can see the overspray in the pickup and wiring cutouts. He then said he had just one pack of genuine US nitro paint kicking around in his workshop and it just happened to be Olympic White - it then became a bit of a challenge for him and he decided to take it on. One of the first things he discovered, having stripped away the lacquer, was that the body was a little thinner than it should be for a '64 but that he could rebuild it up using a few more layers of paint than usual. This was no easy job as it required several coats of primer and nitro with full sanding down between each one. ules is something of a perfectionist and carried this out over a long period, making sure it was completely dry and ready between every coat. He then fitted all the parts that came with it, pickguard & pickups not show in the pic above. After all this work, this is how it looks now, I couldn't be happier: All pics taken on my phone so apologies for the quality. I've tried to show the true colour of the paint and this has darkened the board and guard a little. The guard is a lovely deep red tort and the board has some really nice dark grain running through it that almost looks like ebony (it will be brazilian rosewood). Hopefully you can see that the nitro is already checking nicely and the neck has begun to do this as well (the neck was refinned back in 2011 so it's had a good 10 years to 'catch up' with the body finish). It should now continue to age gracefully

What a great place Basschat is. A goldmine of information, support, conversation and of course GAS. I’ve been on here a long time, like many of you have. Some of you may be new, if you are, you’re welcome. I’ve had a lot of help here, parts, advice, insights, opinions and all given with a real sense of a community, even if we don’t always agree with each other, which is often part of the fun, as long as it’s healthy disagreement and not nasty, which it rarely is here. There is no better resource on the internet for all things bass. Ask for help, you will get it, ask for advice, you will get it. No questions are stupid, all answers are welcomed. No opinions are ignored, all views are observed. Thanks to everyone who run the site, long may it continue.

Hello! Picked this Japanese beaut up on a whim the other day, because you can't have too many Sunburst Precisions.... right? Spec... Jazz neck, oval tuners, light weight (8½lbs, thanks to the basswood body, which is surprisingly pretty). So far, the usual cliches apply. It's very resonant, balances well, feels great, it's rich and punchy... I'm gigging it on Boxing Day, and as ever the proof will be in the (Christmas) pudding. I'll report back..

Hey gang! Short version: Got a '71 P. It's in amazing condition*. B neck, 8.8lbs, balanced, resonant. It's a stunner. Long version: It's had one owner before me - an ex-pat Glaswegian, and professional bass player, who bought it new from a shop in Hamilton, Bermuda(!) in 1971. He was the resident bassist in the house band at the Princess Hotel on the island, and gigged it for decades. I suspect he may have used it to back some massive stars over the years, as it was a big venue on the circuit (no provenance of this, unfortunately). He returned to Argyll in his twilight years where it remained in its case, until he sadly passed away last year at a ripe old age after living a remarkable life. His family decided to sell it on, and I'm the lucky recipient. As you can see, it's incredibly clean. From talking to his family, it sounds like it never really left the hotel. Also in the case was a manual (with the purchase date, store name and price - $315 - handwritten on it), some REALLY old guitar cables, his strap and a back of old tortoiseshell picks. There's a mark on the back of the neck from a guitar stand, which I think will come off. There's also a sticker on the back with the hotel details on it.. I think I might leave this on, but I'm not sure. One of the tuner screws has been replaced. In addition to that, it looks like it may have had a refret at some point but I won't know for sure until I've taken it to be looked over by the legend that is Dave Wilson. Dave will also be looking at the mystery of why the bridge appears to have been moved to the 'E' side very slightly - I really can't see a reason why. If there isn't one, I'll ask him to shift it back. He's also going to pop the pickguard off to check the wiring, pots and pickups are original. It's been used so much, maybe something has been replaced, but hopefully nothing major. All-in-all, I'm VERY happy with it. It's getting gigged tomorrow night before it goes to Dave's. 🙂

In late 2011, Prince Rogers Nelson walked into Capitol Guitars, a modest music store in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dressed in dark shades and an overcoat, he browsed quietly, barely speaking. The staff recognized him instantly but chose to respect his silence. He pointed at a few guitars, asked about the tonal difference between maple and mahogany, and then paused when the owner mentioned a recent conversation with a local teacher. The teacher had said that students at Anwatin Middle School in Minneapolis were losing access to their music program due to severe budget cuts. Prince nodded slightly and left without purchasing anything. Three days later, a delivery truck arrived at Capitol Guitars. Prince had returned but not to shop. Instead, he gave the owner a handwritten list and a simple instruction: “Everything on this list, pack it and deliver it to Anwatin.” The list included guitars, drum sets, violins, keyboards, amps, microphones, and recording equipment. When the owner asked if the instruments should be marked with a donor name or message, Prince replied, “No names. No credit. Just send love.” The delivery created confusion at the school. Teachers and administrators at Anwatin Middle School had no advance notice, and the delivery slip listed only a phone number that led to a private voicemail. Music teacher Kenneth Simms opened the shipment, stunned by the quality and quantity of the instruments. He assumed it was a mistake. It took several days of asking around and comparing handwriting on the note that came with the shipment before a staff member connected it to Prince, who had visited the store days earlier. When a friend later asked him about it, Prince said, “That’s between me and the kids. Not for headlines.” He declined to make any public statement or appear at the school. According to Minneapolis-based journalist Jon Bream from "Star Tribune", even the school district wasn’t formally notified. They only learned about the donor’s identity after teachers pieced the story together. Those close to Prince knew his silent generosity wasn’t a one-time impulse. During his early years growing up on the north side of Minneapolis, he often spoke about the importance of music education. His mother, Mattie Shaw, was a jazz singer and heavily involved in the local music scene. Prince once said in a 1999 interview with "Ebony", “If I hadn’t had access to a piano when I was seven, I don’t know who I would’ve become. Music wasn’t a hobby, it was a lifeline.” Former bandmate Sheila E. recalled in her 2014 memoir "The Beat of My Own Drum" how Prince frequently funded youth centers and music camps without telling anyone. “He believed in giving kids a chance to create,” she wrote. “He didn’t want applause. He wanted them to play.” At Anwatin, the new instruments transformed the energy of the school. Simms recalled how students began coming to class early just to practice. A hallway that once echoed with silence after the final bell now hummed with guitar riffs, drumbeats, and laughter. “We didn’t just get instruments,” Simms told "MinnPost" in 2012, “we got hope.” Store owner Alan Geller, who kept the receipt from Prince’s bulk order tucked in his office drawer, shared later that the musician didn’t even ask for a discount. “He said, ‘Charge full price. They deserve the best.’” For Prince, who had often used his wealth to quietly support causes tied to youth empowerment, the act wasn’t about visibility. His friend Van Jones later commented during an interview with "CNN", “He believed that if you help a kid find their rhythm, they might avoid chaos. He never needed a stage for that.” The donation never became a national headline. There were no photo ops or ceremonies. But in a city where music had once saved a young boy from the streets, it was returned, quietly, to the next generation. Prince gave them music when theirs had been taken away and never asked for anything in return.

Cici here! Well, sadly I can’t help being a girl, and I have long hair because I like it. It has nothing to do with my playing, and I’ve never rested on my looks to gain followers, nor am I interested in anyone who does. I take great pride in being the best musician I possibly can be, and it’s about the music for me. I also dedicate a lot of my time to trying my best to help other people pick up the instrument, sharing any info I have, and seeing where I can push the instrument in my solo bass jams. I’m not interested in being an ‘instagram girl’ so please don’t diminish me to that, and take the time to truly look at what I do (whether you like it or not is fine). Thank you.

Hi everybody, my name is Brad Lang and I'm a bass player. Thank you for welcoming me to Bassaholics anonymous. My attention has been drawn to a few contributors unaware of any work I've done apart from ABC's 'Lexicon of Love' album. Some suggesting that I only played the fretless parts on said album, and the fretted parts were either Mark Lickley or Trevor Horn. Let me set the record straight. I played both fretless and fretted parts on ALL of the album apart from 'Tears are not enough' 'Poison Arrow' and 'Look of Love'(synth bass) I must thank you for all the nice comments regarding my bass playing on that and further ABC albums. It definitely was a game changer for my career, I was aged 22 at the time. I had played on Philip Jap's single 'Save Us' (and other album tracks) which led me to work with Trevor Horn (with ABC, Dollar and Buggles notably) Natasha's 'Iko Iko' is another track I remember from around that time and of course Wham!'s 'Young Guns'. I also remember from the 80's recording with Jody Watley (Shalamar), Haddaway, Samantha Fox , Adrian Gurvitz, Alvin Stardust, Jermaine Jackson, Elkie Brooks, Gilbert O'Sullivan to name a few, some I can't recall... it was 40 years ago! Chris Tsangarides, Martin Rushent, Gus Dudgeon and Nigel Gray were producers I often worked with. Nigel Gray at 'Surrey Sound Studios' in Leatherhead I remember particularly fondly. Later I recorded albums with Black, Toyah, John Parr, Judy Tzuke , Ray Charles, Wishbone Ash, Gilbert Montagne, Ute Lemper, Barbara Dickson, and tracks with Brian May, Bonnie Tyler, Kylie Minogue and Robbie Williams (my first double bass session) I also worked regularly with Simon Brint who wrote the music for many TV shows in the UK. In case anybody is remotely interested... Thanks for listening to my story.

Have been on the lookout for a while for a Fender US Standard 2013-16 Precision in Olympic White with maple neck, weighing less than 4kg. I’ve found recently that on brightly lit stages I can’t see where I am on a rosewood fretboard. Having a bad back basses under 4kg are my limit and for some reason even though I’ve arthritis in my left thumb playing a big fat neck doesn’t cause me pain. I’d decided to seek one out as Precisions are my fave basses so I’m going to play them until I physically can’t anymore. This one, a 2014 turned up so I bought it. Has a set of 45-100 Chromes on it and they sound & play really nice.

So in the mid 90’s my older brother used to put a VHS on called “Nirvana: Live Tonight Sold Out”. There was this Human shaped Spider guy on bass, about 19ft tall with 15ft long arms… He played these bloody handsome basses - and I obsessed about them, just staring at Adverts for used Gibson Basses. His sounds were really warm plummy and “boingy” - even with Fuzz/Overdrive sounds. Anyhow, the years came and went…I got into the dreaded Slapping and Tickling of basses, so the Gibson’s didn’t really seem to fit that ideal. Having recently joined an indie band, the time has come. With a huge helping hand from our very own @walshyand some selling and some inheritance… Here’s my new toy… 1970’s Gibson Ripper. And “that” sound is present. But also, shockingly…some funkier and Jazzier sounds are to be had. Going to experiment with the original 70’s bridge too. Its a decent weight - a shade over 9lbs. And while it’s evidently “old” - it’s by no means battered. It’s in lovely condition. I’m pretty smitten to be fair. ”never meet your heroes” - The old adage says… I say meet them! Natural next 😆

What a surreal moment. 19 years ago I remember watching a DVD of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones where I first saw Victor Wooten play his version of Amazing Grace. He was my first bass hero and he played this unique shaped bass that I fell in love with. Never in my wildest dreams did I think of holding one, and now I finally got the chance to own this brilliant Fodera Monarch 4 Standard ❤️ What a marvelous piece of art and a beautiful sounding instrument.

I’ve been progressing steadily in my playing since taking it seriously early last year. I landed a gig with a local jazz band, after meeting folks at the jazz jam in Lancaster and getting to know them, and we do the odd gig. We played yesterday at the Ribble Valley Jazz & Blues Festival and went down well. However, I’ve kept looking for other opportunities, JMB and Facebook being the main searches. Anyway, a few weeks ago, someone posted on JMB and Facebook looking for musicians for a soul/ska weddings/functions band. I answered the add, and after a bit of to and fro was sent 10 numbers to look at. This guy is a trumpet player and has sax and trombone already lined up. Basically it’s a horn section forming a band around themselves, and they’ve been playing together for about 20 years. A WhatsApp group was created, and over the course of the last few weeks, new people have been added to the group and introduced along the lines of “welcome Joe, our keyboard player”, “welcome Suzie our vocalist” etc. In the end it’s ended up with nine people in this “band” on WhatsApp who don’t know each other from Adam, and have never met, played together, or have any clue what standard anyone is at. Male and female vocals, keys, drums, guitar, bass (me), and three piece horn section. A rehearsal room was duly booked, and everyone showed up, to meet each other for the first time and play these 10 tunes. It was a nice room, plenty of room, with good PA, back line and drums provided. I had a Hartke head through 2 4x10 Ashdown cabs. Now, based on past experience, this could go in any direction, however, from the first count in of the first number, there were grins all round. Everyone had done their homework, the keys player and drummer are great, the guitar player knows what he’s doing, the horns are in tune and locked in with each other, and the singers can bleeding sing. We rattled through the 10 numbers twice, only pausing to fine tune starts and endings, agreeing where the pushes should be etc. I couldn’t really believe it, it was like a good band from the very first note. Some tunes we did again after wondering whether that perfect run through the first time was a fluke, but it wasn’t, it could be replicated. Get home later, the WhatsApp group is happy, another 10 tunes are distributed, rehearsals are booked and there’s talk of booking gigs already. I’m still not sure how this actually happened, I need to pinch myself. Is this a unique occurrence, or does this happen often? Anyway, I’ve got 10 more tunes to learn in the next week and a bit, and some of them are a bit tricky, so I’ll be practicing every night I can between now and then, as I know now that the whole band will have them nailed before they arrive. Rob

LONG POST ALERT! Full video at bottom of post! So I had a pretty big thing last week that I thought I would share with you all, as it’s probably not something that happens every day for most of us! I always love reading these sorts of posts/gig blogs myself for the insight into other people's musical lives so hopefully it will be interesting to someone My band made it’s first live TV appearance on St Patrick’s Day on one of Ireland’s biggest shows – The Late Late Show. Not to be confused with the US equivalent – this is a talk show which has been running since 1962 and is broadcast on Friday nights on Ireland’s largest TV channel – RTE. On a usual week, the audience viewing figures would be around half a million, but this week, the host of 14 years had announced he will be leaving, and so the figures were expected to be in excess of one million. Cripes! We got the call a few months back following quite a successful few years and pretty exponential growth on the usual social media channels. The band plays Irish folk rock, and so St Patrick’s day seemed like a fitting opportunity to showcase our music, which by the way consists mostly of covers of traditional Irish songs arranged in a rockier context. I don’t usually get nervous before gigs – in fact, the last time I recall was before a show in 2003 – but from the day before the show I began to feel the anxiety. What if a string breaks mid song (as happened a few weeks ago at a live gig)? What if my pedalboard gives up the ghost at soundcheck? What if I play a bum note that gets broadcast online for time immemorial? The list of artists who have performed on the show over the years reads as a bit of a ‘who’s who’ of Irish and international artists – most notably U2, Westlife, Sinead O’Connor and The Boomtown Rats all made their debut TV performances on the show. Naturally, the great pedigree that the show has hosted over the years only served to heighten the apprehension even further! I arrived at RTE Studios in Dublin on Friday at 1pm and was taken to a largely unimpressive dressing room by the floor manager, who was lovely and really helpful. Our soundcheck was called for 2.30pm so had loads of time to take in the surroundings, learn the layout of the backstage (which was like a maze) and watch the fantastic house band soundcheck with an amazing version of ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered’. These guys are all pro session heads and the discipline and chops were clearly evident, all guided by a great MD. I managed to grab a chat with a couple of the guys who were only too happy to oblige, which was nice. The bassist was using an active US Jazz into HX Stomp and GK backline with in ears – not so far from my usual setup, and his tone was HUGE! Our soundcheck happened at exactly 2.30pm which was great. What really struck me throughout the day was just how ‘on time’ everything was. The production itself was super slick, and I got the impression that a delay of even a few minutes would have majorly impacted the schedule, with the show due to go out live at 9.30pm. For someone with borderline OCD – I appreciated this immensely! Rig-wise, I brought my new (to me) Gibson SG Bass which I just took delivery of last week. It’s my first ever short scale, at 30.25”, in nitro Olympic White which was a limited edition finish for 2012. The first thing I did when I received it was put on a Hipshot Supertone bridge. I use one on my Jack Casady bass and it’s a huge improvement over the stock Gibson bridge. String wise, I went for my usual La Bella 760FS flats, medium scale. A bit of a setup later and she was singing like a bird! It is truly a lovely instrument. From there, I ran it into my flyrig board which consists of a HX Stomp and Peterson Strobostomp tuner, all powered by a Cioks DC7 power supply. On the HX Stomp I use a custom patch which consists of: - Low and High Cut (set at 50hz and 7khz respectively) - Rochester Compressor (set at 4:1 ratio) - Zeroamp (Sansamp clone) set pretty flat with a slight drive boost - Bass Octaver (for octave down doubling) - Pitch Shift (drop tunes 2 semitones for Drop D songs) - Ampeg Chorus (self explanatory) I didn’t need to use any of the effects at all and relied simply on the first three blocks for my basic tone. From the Stomp I ran straight into the house DI and had the signal sent back to me via Sennheiser wireless to my JH Audio Roxanne earphones. I have to say that I was a little worried about how the short scale/mudbucker would sound in the mix, but when I heard my monitor mix, I was simply blown away! What a tone! So round and plummy. It has such a different character to my other basses – I’m mainly a Fender guy but love the aforementioned JC bass too. I play mostly fingerstyle but the plectrum tone is simply sublime also. I was also a little worried about muscle memory on the shorter scale bass, but I had absolutely zero issues on the gig and found it super easy to get around the neck. We were aided by a great house monitor engineer for our mixes, although it did take 2 or 3 runs of a tune to get the auxes spot on. Once soundcheck was complete, we had a few hours to kill before being back on location for 8pm. There was a wonderful canteen where we ate, as well as a great green room with plenty of food and drink for all the guests. All of the above was complimentary and we were encouraged to help ourselves. Some of the other guests on the show included Liam Neeson, James Martin and Ross White (from Oscar winning short ‘An Irish Goodbye’), Patrick Duffy from Dallas, Vera Pauw (Irish Ladies Soccer Manager) and Irish Rugby Grand Slam winners Jamie Heaslip, Fiona Coghlan and Dan Leavy. It was great to meet all of the guests in the green room and what really struck me is just how nice everyone was. These guys/girls all rose to the very top of their individual professions, and yet were so warm and humble. I don’t think this is a coincidence at all and reaffirms my belief in people! It was great just to sit and chat with ‘celebrities’ to assuage the nerves a bit before our performance. The performance itself went smashingly. Before the show itself, the music supervisor had asked for a copy of our setlist so that he could decide which tune(s) we would play. This was strange as the tunes that he picked were possibly not what the band would have picked, if given the choice, however it did take the debate out of our preparation. We were expressly told at soundcheck that as soon as we were cued, we had to begin without any delay. We were ushered on set during a commercial break and introduced by the show host, then immediately started into the song – the ubiquitous ‘Whiskey In The Jar’. The show music supervisor had advised us that the track was to last no more than 3.5 minutes, and so we had to play it a bit faster than usual to fit it all in! But it worked perfectly in the end. When it was over, we were quickly ushered off again and the performance area was repurposed for the next segment by the stage hands. One of our band members in particular gets nervous before every gig, but I think we all delivered when the red light was on (see video at the bottom of the post) We also had one more tune to play to close out the show at around 11.30pm. It had been a long day at this point, but we were all keen for a taste of the live performance again after the success of the first tune. The second tune had to last no more than two minutes however! We ended up played a sharply truncated version of another one of our tunes – ‘McAlpine’s Fusiliers’, which consisted of only two verses, an instrumental and a chorus. It seemed to work well however and we got to the end without any fluffs! I was really happy with my tone on the final performance and it sounded especially good in the car when I played the Youtube video! It was an experience I will never forget. I was hugely grateful for the opportunity and humbled to be asked to be part of such an occasion. I was absolutely overwhelmed with all the messages with well wishes before the gig, and afterwards was exactly the same with everyone enjoying the show. A major tick off my bucket list and I’m excited to see if any more doors are opened for us following the appearance. It has been a busy few years and it’s really nice to get recognition for our graft. It took a few days to really appreciate the gravity of the performance, but now that I’m back down to earth I am feeling very grateful for every opportunity music has presented to me over my lifetime. It’s been great and I can’t wait to see what the future holds! Feeling inspired. I walked into my day job today to a round of applause which was embarrassing, but again everyone was so full of kind words and praise. I think in 10 to 20 years there may no longer be such a thing as 'live' TV, so it's really nice to have this as a memory and something to look back on. Sorry for the long post but I hope it gives a bit of insight into the workings of live TV performances that might some day be useful to someone else 😊 Danny

This story I’ve repeated elsewhere but I think it’s worth putting on here as well. 2001 Ltd Edition Thumb BO. Sometimes, only sometimes, “the one that got away” swims straight back into your net. I bought this bass in 2003, brand new (despite its year). Gigged with it loads in London, recorded an album.., and then traded it in 2011/12 (not sure) for a Stingray. It quickly went to the top of the list in my head of basses I’d wished I’d never got rid of. And then… it appeared up for sale , on Facebook, this week. Mind blown, messages sent and received, confirmation made, bass purchased. I am so happy. And it’s the beautiful beast of a bass that I remember and with 12 years or so having passed, an instrument I can now appreciate more and make sound even better.

Three months ago, I set about "re-doing" our lounge. We've lived here for four and a half years, and it's the last room to tackle. Ok, I haven't rushed it, but I've been steadily working on it when I can. Rewiring, re-plastering, new floor etc, quite a big job. When I started drawing up the plans for the room, and details of shelving etc, I went into detail what my wife wanted, where things would go etc, and she suggested that I should include guitar wall hangers. Now, it may not seem like a big deal, but when your wife wants you to hang guitars in the lounge, then I think you have to admit that you have chosen wisely in the relationship game. Today I finally finished the shelving and the guitar hangers, and it really has started to come together. Just a TV and sound system to go now. She is admittedly my biggest musical fan, and she does often want to come to my gigs. Sitting here, with it all approaching the finish line, I still have to pinch myself when I think about the absolute gem of a woman who has chosen to share her life with me. Just sayin. Rob

A few years back, I interviewed Paul Belgrado, a Belgian luthier who makes amazing basses. A bit retro looking and amazing craftsmanship. His basses have always been at the back of my mind somehow. Until last week, when I met him at the Dutch Double Bass Festival. I played one of his basses and was immediately sold. So, somewhere this week, this baby is going to enter my house. Specs: Thermo alder body, maple neck, madagascar rosewood fretboard, TV Jones Thunderblade pickups, Hipshot hardware, pearloid inlay and Luminlay sidedots. It's so light, so easy to play and it sounds so killer. Like a Jazz Bass but just a little bit fatter.

Righty ho, time I kept all you lovely people up to date. First op was 20th Jan. This was anterior lumbar interbody fusion and basically bangs a titanium cage between L5 and S1 vertebrae, spine and pelvis partial fusion. Done from the front. Can be dangerous but went well. Next up, spine reshaping and fusion from S1 to T10. That's a long way. During this op, I managed to effectively bleed out, most being recycled and put back in. Nine hours straight, in one position, so I have a collection of pressure injuries too, although fairly trivial. Couple of days in ICU, then to normal ward. Progressing well, then oopsie, leg turned into a blimp. DVT at top of leg/groin area. Further investigations show there are also one in each lung. Much imbibing of anticoagulants! This is sometimes addressed with surgery also, but they've decided against that. I'm pleased, I look like a badly patched rag doll as it is. What counts though, is that my spine has been restored to something like a normal shape - I can stand upright again! Weak as a kitten, and will be for months. Will effectively have to learn to walk again also, as those muscles are very weak after 3 years not doing a lot. Home on Friday, loaded down with dressings, anticoagulants, and pain killers. Even this is a trial, as home is 125 miles from the hospital. The tunnel end is approaching!

After a few beers at Christmas I ordered a knock off Dingwall from Ali express.. I woke up the next morning to an email from the seller asking what “customisations” I wanted.. what a treat.. a custom bass!!… so I went to town, orange finish, 3 x pickups, maple neck… and a custom headstock logo! It arrived this morning - it’s awesome!! Obviously it’s not actually a finely crafted, custom instrument - but the finish is pretty clean and it sounds good, all the electrics work and it’s very playable!! The hardware is a bit lightweight… but for £279… it’s a lot of bass!

I wasn’t really in the market for a new bass, but when I saw this up for sale, I felt I had to seize the opportunity. It’s a masterbuilt Warwick streamer stage II in a beautiful red finish. Interested to know if anyone owns or has previously owned a stage II. This is costing me a little over £3000, which is a lot but considering ordering one of these from Warwick is the pointy end of £8000, I figured it was a decent deal. This bass has never actually been played, so I’m getting a brand new instrument.

Take 5 minutes for a story about a very fine chap. Before the start of the pandemic I ordered a Moollon PV having been in Seoul to visit YJ and Andi Roselund at the Moollon workshop a few months before. I was really taken with the PV's tone. So the Pandemic hit and after working in a factory building respirators for the NHS through most of it I then lost my job. Not good karma. Sadly having paid my deposit I wrote to YJ and Andi saying that I could not afford to continue with the purchase and I heard no more. A few weeks later I saw a red PV up for sale and thought no more of it knowing I could not afford another one. 2 1/2 years later I got a message from Andi saying that YJ had not sold the bass it was still there available for me... Jaw dropping moment. They never got the email and YJ hadn't sold it - he kept it for me. What other maker would do something like that? I had in the meantime managed to get myself back on my feet and could complete the sale. Last week I took delivery of the bass I ordered three years ago. Delivered in pristine condition and sounding like a complete beast. I'm overjoyed to have this bass. I thought I had lost it and out of the kindness of YJ I do. What a bloody awesome bloke - unreal. The bass BTW is staggering, the low end is so deep but articulate and the higher register is thick like a short scale. Its ridiculously good, and oh the colour.. Red............ Red...... Red........

I just took delivery of my Masterbuilt Alusonic J-Supreme. These are outstanding basses and definitely worth checking out! It has a great modern hifi sound and doesn’t need lots of tweaking with the 3 band eq. You guys have the luxury of going to Bass Direct to check them out, but I took a chance and totally relied on many discussions with Polly the owner of Alusonic to get the custom spec I needed. I’m going to sell my Sadowskys to finance another!

I've wanted a Yamaha BB1200 ever since I learned what Yamaha BBs were. Well now I have one. A 1978 model in natural, it has honest wear and bumps on it being 45 years old but it's sound as a pound and an absolute joy to play - thin frets on an ebony board, wide but not too chunky neck, it feels lovely. Sounds great too, reverse P be reversin'. This makes me feel fancy, in a similar way that my Wunkay does. I truly feel like I own one of the cornerstone basses of history. It weighs 9 and a half pounds, not too shabby for a late 70s bass. Enough chat, I'm off to play it some more!

After being made aware of some special pricing, on a thread here on BC, from those lovely folk at Thomann, I pulled the trigger on 40th Anniversary Squier Precision in trans(ish) blond, at £285 (28.5% off list), it was rude not to. It arrived today and straight out of the box, it screamed keeper. Everything as you’d expect from a well put together P, but at a price that seems impossible for the quality. It weighed in at 3.8kg, but I had a spare set of Hipshot, lightweight tuners, so fitted them straight away and that weight is reduced to a very acceptable 3.67kg (lighter than my Mustang). The 40mm nut width was also most welcome (the same as my Mustang). Matt body, satin neck make it pleasant to handle. The sound: a proper, full on P, with a very usable tone control. The nut was a little rough in places, but a nail file soon put that right. A bit of fret buzz on the G string around the 12th fret area also needed a little polish to the frets to remove that. I’m pleased, very pleased. I’ll update with more pics when I’ve fitted the tort guard I’ve ordered along with more thoughts after a few days of ownership.

I switched on eBay on Sunday night to check my saved searches...... and I couldn't believe my luck..... A mint condition, 2024 Epiphone Grabber, with it's soft case, had just been listed at £499 Buy It Now with free shipping! An 'excellent feedback' seller too! I really wanted one of these when they were released, but there was no way I was gonna spend £900+ on an Epiphone so, when I saw this, it was a no-brainer! It arrived today, exactly as described..... and I'm thrilled 😎

Around October last year our friend Nick Smith came to see us about having another bass made but to his design of shape which he called the “Midas” We lost Nick in January in a tragic accident before we got past the design stage of his new bass. However he had selected all of the woods and we’d gone through the detail on the spec that he wanted. Following Nicks funeral at the end of February Gav and I felt it was only right that we finish Nicks bass, and after seeking approval from Nicks family we decided that it would be fitting that once complete we would hold a raffle or auction with all proceeds going to a charity close to Nick and his families hearts. Over the last few weeks we’ve been progressing through the manufacture of Midas number 1. And over the next week or so we’ll share the photos and videos of its progress so far. This video shows the design of the bass, technical specs follow “Greenie” the Kratos he had from us a few years back which had become Nicks main gigging bass for Genesis Connected. It features a one piece ribbon sapele body with a beautiful book matched flame maple top, flamed maple one piece neck with ebony fret board, Aguilar HJ pickup and 18v preamp, led fret board side dots, Grainger bridge, hipshot tuners and Evo Gold frets! Once the details of the charity raffle are tied down we’ll post on how it’ll all work, but we should have Nicks Midas done within the next 6 weeks! Stay tuned for more updates! SOLIDWORKS Premium 2023 SP1.0 - Midas Full Assembly 2025-03-29 09-46-28.mp4

I’ve been drunk many times in my life, but never Ali Express Dingwall with a Tesco logo drunk

Snagged one! It's a Thunderbird, it does Thunderbird-y things (except neck dive, which is apparently a Thunderbird-y thing). Only had a quick razz in the headphones but it sounds good to me! It's a hard so-and-so to photograph for the camera in my mobile, it only shows the true sparkle when it's pulling focus and I catch it in the act thus: Sod it, have a video. 07_thunderbird 64 purple moving.mp4