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OK, so I'm just a 'home' musician. I have a few basses, but I sort of went off bass playing a number of years ago. I lost the spark, lost the mojo. I figured that I might get it back a year (or two?) ago by designing and building a bass. I had a thread about it somewhere but it died off towards the end (the thread not the bass!). Well, I made the bass, never got it finished totally but it was playable. It lacked a bit of something and ended up back in the case for most of the last year. I have other instruments that I was more into. Anyway, for reasons unknown I dug it out again yesterday, set it up properly and it just clicked! I have had great fun playing it the past 2 days! All good, but ..... I have the urge to stain the body, so it's literally all in pieces again now! Hopefully I can get it all sorted whilst I am still high on interest. That is all.

Another Bandeoke in my end of year gig run. This time we were joined by a sax player who clearly missed the brief and thought it was a jam session. Nice chap though. Took my sexy white bass and paired the Promethean with a Barefaced 1x12. Yum.

A pic of the band last night

Our little Mexican instrumental band , The Spurs played last night in our favourite dive , not a great crowd , it was a dirty old night , but a warm and appreciative one. This time of year the police set up checkpoints to nab drinking drivers. I drank ginger ale all night and had one beer for the tear down and wait for the pay. Sure enough , there was a check point on the way home and I did confess to having one beer so it was the breathalyzer for me. Blew into the tube and the officer said “ You did have just one beer”. Don’t have any gig pics yet , but here’s the stage after drum check.

Good gig….. first one using the TC BQ500 head via a house Hartke 4x10 cab. Happy with amp, although I didn’t really need the cab at all, because the DI sounded great without it. Great crowd, a lot of fun.

I’ve fallen back in love with mine. It’s a 2013 MIJ one with a jazz-width neck. I wasn’t using it much this year, as I’ve done lots of function gigs for which my active Yamahas were more versatile and better at covering a lot of different styles and sounds. However I took it to a gig on Friday and it fitted in perfectly. I took the Yamaha too and swapped to it halfway thru but it didn’t suit the music anything like as well as the Mustang. I’d had a bit of a downer on it and was going to sell it but my eyes have been opened once again to its charms. And of course, they look very cool.

Tonight is BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band last gig of the year at Westlands Country Activity Club in Annan. Its only an hours drive for me but 3 hrs for guitarist from Perth. At least we don't have snow today. Not sure how this gig will pan out as the staff had no idea what we did when the drummer dropped in to see what size PA we need etc. No stage and having to play in what looks like a Hotel Reception foyer. Getting paid well and we need to finish for 11:45 to allow the piper to bring in the bells in a traditional Scottish fashion which i always like to see. Dave

My band. The Rebbels played a tiny bar just up the road from me (almost exactly 1 mile away) on Dec 3rd. It was so small we left half the PA in the cars. It was not that full, but there were enough there for a good time. Staff and customers told the absent boss that we were good, and we got a rebook for last Friday 29tn Dec. I thought was an odd night to play, this close to NYE, but we were pleased to get it having no NYE gig this year (BL decided to increase our fee buy £150 so no takers). It was pretty full and got fuller as the night went on, It was a great night, but next time we play there I will take some pictures. Next time I will take a headless bass as I was constantly hitting the Hi Hat with the headstock of my Fender.

Last gig of what has been another extremely busy year for us a wedding in Garstang up in Lancs. Nice change as for the last 5 years covid permitting we have played a dinner dance at a hotel in Ashton Under Lyne which year by year has had less people attending, so was really looking forward to tonight. However, like many others it seems I've been afflicted by a sore throat and chest infection for most of December so just going to dose myself up and struggle through. Good luck to everyone who is gigging tonight hope you all have a good one and happy new year to you all.

Rock n Roll Dalmation — AC/DC

Tulips From Hamster Dam - Max Bygraves

Yep, all original members. Although I was just the singer when I joined as a teenager. Our bass player left maybe 20yrs ago….. so I took on bass/vocals around that time. We’ve had long periods of doing nothing over that time, while we all did different things, but always came back to it.

Yep, I was almost caught in one of those scam sales (there was more than one). Actually let me correct myself, I _was_ indeed suckered into one of those sales, but luckily the payment did not go through (as was the case for a few other people, who all dodged a bullet...others were not as fortunate). For a quick summary of what to look out for, see: https://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/259362/recent-scams#latest For some paypal scams, check: https://thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/259029/paypal-payment-scams#latest I don't mind speaking up and possibly looking like an idiot, if other people can learn and don't repeat my mistakes. It has me reassessing my practices that I've done for years on sales forums I trust. But its not the forum I need to trust or not, its users on them. You may not be dealing with who you think you are. Incase you think I was dealing with some newbie account, the username selling had been registered for years, had various sales threads and some were marked 'sold'. That normally instills some confidence in me. None of that matters if their account is compromised. And I have done all the wrong things in the book in my purchases over the years...took the messaging off the forum to email, paid by Paypal F&F (with some due diligence, or so I thought).I have had a great transaction every single time. So when things like: -asked me to pay to a different paypal email account -then sent his wife's paypal etc. -not answering my concerns directly -it felt like he was pressuring me to buy -throwing in incentives to coerce me to buy -realising it was a foreign paypal account and not a UK based one Some of these things I'm sure I've done at least once in the more than a decade on forums, all with no bad consequence. And ppl have indeed been nice to me and thrown in incentives for a sale. But everything at once!? My spidey sense started to go off, but I refused for a while to believe that someone was scamming me! Nothing ever goes wrong - until it does. I got too enthusiastic and dare I say it, greedy. But it just showed me, that someone like me (and others) who has been buying gear for years, let our emotions impair our judgement. We keep convincing ourselves 'that I've done this in the past, it will be fine now'. Possibly the OP can rename the title of this thread to show its about scamming. We all need to be aware. We can become complacent and let our guards down. It really can happen to anyone.

Tonight’s main and spare 👍

I just realised how much time I was wasting buying stuff I didn’t want, need, or use. In the end, I found what I was chasing… This year I did 40 it more gigs plus about the same number of sessions with my old people’s group. It showed me I loved the playing, and massively helped me to focus on what I need and use and the stuff I don’t. The Bryant was something I loved but having it here was a constant reminder of my failings. So selling it to someone who now uses it every day has freed me of that. I’ve now sold everything I don’t use, given away guitars and instruments to friends, and now feel so much happier. Still got one last freebie listing to do at some point tomorrow and then it’s all gone. I’ve probably lost a fair few quid, but feel a million times better. I guess it’s the opposite of scamming people!

We vole-nly just begun - The Carpenters

The Spinning Top in Stockport, never played there before, but it’s a great little venue, great house PA and monitors and the guy who runs the place knows what he’s doing with it all. The band’s called Crisis, original 80s heavy rock….. 2023 was our 40th anniversary.

Same thing happened to me in 80's where the venue DJ had a smoke machine and i had one but neither of us knew the other had one. As we stepped on stage i immediately fired up ours at same time DJ decided to do same. Audience told us they couldn't see the band for the first 3 songs until the smoke cleared. In those days it was oil based smoke machines and the smoke tended to hang about longer than with the modern water based units. Some folks said it was a bonus not seeing the band We were a rock / prog covers band back then. Not many local bands used a smoke machine so it was quite a novelty for most venues. No smoke alarms back then either The ones i have use either a wireless remote or footswitch so you can fire it up with the wireless switch pre-getting on stage to create a bit of atmosphere and once plugged in use the manual footswitch as the wireless switch interfered with my old Mesa head. Dave

When the remote button on the smoke machine gets gummed up with old beer and sticks on, and you only notice when your bandmates are yelling you from inside the bank of fog... 🤣😂🤣

Back in the wedding band days this was my set up… Always carried two basses and since I love ‘em both always played both over the course of the night. Always both on stage at all times. If I’d ever had a bass fail they would have been swapped seamlessly within a couple of bars. For me there was no point having one in a case or in the boot of the car - the show must go on… or rather must never stop while I faff about finding another bass. Did the same with other combos of my basses - whether the backup was my Aria SB or my Frankenjazz. Of course, having the redundancy I never needed it! But that’s not the point. Insurance is something you hope never having to use… you still need it, though!

Same here. I use checklists to tick off all the bass, PA and lighting gear I take to gigs. It has STEINBERGER at the top and bottom, so I hopefully won't forget it. I've never needed it yet. But I'm certain that the one time I do forget it is the one time I will need it.

My bandmates only mention my playing when I play a song without any wrong notes. As far as I'm concerned any right:wrong note ratio of over 0.5 is a win. Life's too short to be in a band with an a-hole. In my previous band it was the drummer and in the one before that it was the second guitarist. In my current band there doesn't seem to be one, so I'm a little worried that it might be me.

I’m out. No point in pretending I won’t buy anything. I’m a knob.

When i started back up again with bands at age 50 i went thru same sort of things. I've been in so many bands in the past 10-12 yrs i've lost track of them but i enjoyed most of them musically but the people is what failed for me until my 2 current bands. Glam band is now 5 yrs old and the punk band i joined 2 yrs ago now. Same drummer and female singer in both bands so that makes life a lot easier. The Glam band was good to start with but our new guitarist joined over a year ago and its transformed the full band experience. He's just a better fit and a happier person that has fitted right in Never give up if you really want to play gigs. At some point you'll meet the right people for you and WOW what a difference it makes. Dave

Have changed the title. I’ve been scammed before. Not on here, but by a few customers to my business. Its all based on trust and sometimes that goes too far. I’m done with online selling of instruments. It’s just too dangerous. It’s pickup all the way.

Blimey mate, best of luck with all that! Make sure the singer drinks plenty of water. Pain killers can dry your mouth out. As far as Covid….. it’s a difficult situation as it’s a big gig night, but personally I’m of the opinion that one shouldn’t take chances passing it on to others. Like you say, the venue need you to do the gig, but the virus is a potentially dangerous infection for many people. All I can suggest is that the drummer stays well away from everyone.

I'd put my cards on the table with the guys and just explain where you are and what your concerns are and just explain what you've explained here. Give them a chance to remedy the situation rather than just walking away from what appears to be a good viable band option for you. Don't make it sound like a threat but more of an explanation and say how you feel and if as a band they can't adapt and make a few changes it might be better for you to leave and let them get someone in that's more suited to their way of working. You may find a couple of things happen. 1. they've just been used to other bassists not pulling their weight and they've had to continually push to get songs done and its now habit. 2. they've struggled to get a competent player and will back off a bit to accommodate your concerns 3. they might decide you aren't suited to what they want. No point carrying on with issues that annoy you so much you need to have a wee "rant" on BC. Just kidding its why we are all here and we all have our wee moments. Hopefully it all works out in a good way and you all agree on the best way forward. All the very best Dave

40 yrs anniversary is impressive for any band. Is it still all the original members or is it a bit of Triggers brush scenario. 😂 Dave

2023 was a year of buying/selling stuff I've already owned. I had already bought an Ibanez EHB 1005 MS and Boss GT 1000 Core (both brand new) and sold them, only to then buy other ones (both brand new again) and sell again....and I've done it before with Zoom B1 four, NUX mighty plug, MXR M82 and probably a few others. Next up will be Boss Waza air bass that I regret selling. I suppose it's good for the flow of goods through basschat marketplace, not so good for my bank balance! There's probably a lesson to be learned for 2024, I won't be learning it though!

Some of you might find this episode of the repair shop interesting, I don’t think they really knew who they had there, it’s Neil Fraser , the mad professor who worked with just about everyone in the reggae and dub industry from the early days , especially lee Perry The Repair Shop 2023 episode 12 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8qxq90

Not only did we have ours going, but the owner of the venue got his out too….. “most bands who play here don’t want smoke, but I bet you do””……. we did.

I was thinking it could be a cool venue for a BC bash. It’s closed on Sundays so maybe we could ask to use it. I work with the people who invested in it in the early days and could probably get through to the owner. Could be pretty cool

Hazy Shade Of Winter. Not difficult to make that rock.

Here’s me from a couple of years ago at a beer festival in Bedfordshire if I remember correctly. I felt sick as a dog the entire gig but it went well enough.

Hi The maximum external diameter I can print in one piece is 220mm. However if it can be broken down into smaller pieces, that allows it to be bigger as it's then glued. All depends on the external diameter

My propeller. - R✔️🐵🙉🙊🙈🐒

Yeah, it’s not something I normally watch , someone told me about it, I haven’t seen the jukebox one but the episode where they did Tony Wilson’s jazz bass of Hot Chocolate made me cringe a bit

This is the same for me. I’ve justified one mega purchase this year with my gig income. With all the gigs already booked it’ll pay itself off. That’s incredibly satisfying to know a £3,000 piece of gear will be earned through music.

Agreed, but keep it casual - nothing short of a gig gets the nerves jangling than the dreaded "band meeting"...

I only have one double bass. If I had two, I couldn't fit them both in the car anyway.