Leaderboard

So I spotted this on Guitar Guitar second hand page. Looked nice and I have always missed a black and maple one I bought in new 2009 and foolishly sold. It arrived today and it`s a Z8 serial so 2008 - 2012. The thing is it`s like a brand new bass, not a mark on it anywhere, it still has the original film on the pickguard that looks kinda yucky to be honest, the case is mint and it has all the goodies inside which is very unusual. There is a tag in there from a different UK instrument shop price marked down from £1343 to £1103. I paid £1099 which is around the going rate but like I say it`s mint. I wonder what happened with it? Did it sit in the back of some store forgotten or did someone buy it and stick it under the bed? At the end of the day it`s just another P bass but I`m well happy with it. Anyway pics or it doesn`t exist!

I checked with moderator Ped if posting this is okay. Thank you Chris for the green light. The Best sounding bass pickup of all time is the Gibson low impedance stacked humbucker that was used in the Les Paul Bass between 1968 and 1979. At least in my opinion. 😉 I really think they're amazing. Extremely silent. Magnificent dynamic response. Tight low end. Chrystal clear top end. And very versatile. For years I roamed Ebay and Reverb to score them to put in various bass guitars. But last few years they've become as rare as hen's teeth. And when you finally do find one the prices are astronomically high. Many times I tried to find a pickup maker who can replicate it. And many of them said they could. But in the end they all had to admit they couldn't. Until recently! I joined forces with Mike Rose from Gemini Pickups in Wales. I sacrificed an original and carefully dissected it. The pickup revealed its very unusual architecture. And step by step we reverse engineered it. The Brooks Gemini was born! I installed the Brooks Gemini into my Epiphone Jack Casady Signature bass. The bass previously sported an original Gibson lo-z humbucker. Here's the video demo of the Brooks Gemini bass pickup: a faithful replica of the low-impedance stacked humbucker that Gibson used in their Les Paul Bass between 1968 - 1979. Bass played by Dutch rock royalty Ivo Severijns. Straight into the desk. No compressor, No amp, No speaker, No speaker simulator. Just an honest registration of the sound of the pickup. What you see is what you get! Enjoy!

Sooooo, spent a fun hour or so the other night taking my 2022 Rickenbacker 4003 apart and checking all the connections, pots etc to figure out why the volume for one of the pickups wasn't working. Put it back together only to find I couldn't get the tone working either. Turned out I was turning the wrong knobs. I've been playing my Gibson EB-2D a fair bit recently, and the volume for the neck pickup is where the tone for the neck pickup is on the Rick. I have now invested in a set of labelled knobs from Rickysounds. This is another reason why I like Precisions.

Just back from playing at the (mostly) annual Let’s Play Bowie tribute gig at Leicester’s International Arts Centre. My first gig of the new year, this time as part of a multi-band afternoon gig, playing bass on a six-song Bowie set (Ziggy Stardust, Starman, Moonage Daydream, Boys Keep Swinging, Andy Warhol and Queen Bitch). The gig was a sell-out and nicely full by the time we played just before 5pm. Lovely to play a gig where someone else is sorting out the sound (very good it was too) and I just turn up with a bass and a cable. Took my red/tort Squier Bitsa P bass project strung with GHS Precision flats. Provided bass rig was a Markbass LM2 into an Ampeg 2x12 (I think). I got to catch up with other local singers and musicians, one who had brought his genuine 1971 P bass for the gig, which was splendid. What a brilliant afternoon out and a lovely thing to be part of.

My p Basses now 58 p original 64 p original 78 p original Moollon crazy Finish

It turned a few heads, especially the head of R&D who is a design sepcialist

Remarkably, quite a few people made their way through the frozen snow to the Cannock Social Club to see us on Saturday (including us). And an hour or so before we went on, Jayler's guitarist[1] rang up our BL and asked if he could come along and play with us. He said yes, so we had a fairly full stage. All went well - James is an excellent guitarist and proved adept at picking up songs he'd never played before. Admittedly this is mainly 12-bar R&B but there are a few more awkward songs and he picked those up OK. We also had our regular interval singer Amelie along. Sei Jazz 5 -> M-Vave wireless -> Zoom MS-60B+ -> Tecamp Puma 900 -> GR Bass AT212. Velcro fastening trainers replacing the usual Caravelles. [1] Young rock band, will be supporting Guns N Roses and Deep Purple this year

Electrik Soup, at The Beehive, Brentford that London Saturday's gig. When we were offered it, we said about possible low attendance due to it being early January but they were up for it, and fortunately there was an audience. We brought a few people and the pub was full, without being packed. We were set up in a corner, but the pub extends around the bar, so we could hear applause from people not in front of us, who we couldn't see. Our 90s and 00s indie classics went down well, even though one of our guitarists was peely-wally. Fortunately adrenaline kicked in and he was glad he made it. The bar staff and Guvnors were all lovely, and we've been offered follow up gigs. Gear: Shuker 3 is at the menders having some DR Neons fitted (Xmas gift) so I used Camille (Shuker 1) -> Getaria wireless -> TC Electronics BH800 (DI out to PA) -> Orange isobaric 2x12. My opinion has changed about the BH800. I previously thought it only sounded good if using the tone prints, but it sounded great FOH on the recording even when I wasn't using FX. Footwear: Blues ASICS trainers.

My gig on Thursday at a local social club saw Otis Jay Blues Band play to an audience of just 15! Storm Goretti didn’t really disrupt Bournemouth, but the combination of strong publicity and gusty wind kept people at home. Never mind, we have been rebooked for April. And we got some good practice… some photo ops too. So an ill wind didn’t spoil everything.

On Friday our Blues band opened for an excellent Eagles trib at The Ferry in Glasgow. Ultra busy so what could go wrong? I've been with them since 2015 and it's a really tight well rehearsed band. Anyway, I stepped up to sing the 2nd last song which I've sung dozens of times. Carnage! 1234 drums and instruments totally out of time as in different song out of time. Stop smile and start again. Same result. Eek. Third time I kept singing through the cacophany until we reached verse one and it finally gelled. No doubt we'll reset the song at our next rehearsal. Such disasters seldom happen but wow. If C@rlsb3rg did onstage disasters.

We packed the Conny at Thurmaston - standing room only, so happy with that. Plenty of dancing going on too. We even got complaints from staff who were on a night off, but had to help out because it was so busy 😂 I have pretty much settled on the Stingish bass as it's now just so comfortable to play, and I think I prefer a 2-band pre tbh. The Rumble v3 500 combo certainly isn't going anywhere. Even the black DMs are getting to be standard gig equipment. Just the one gig this weekend. I quite like a slower start to the year after all the December/Christmas/NYE rush just gone.

We played Bootleg Social Club in Blackpool on Saturday. It's a very cool venue. No other drummers so I could leave everything set up, which is always a big bonus for me. The two acoustic acts were ace! I was a bit worried 'cos I've not been playing at all. I am not gig fit! I warmed up for hours before but still ended up with cramp towards the end of the 20 song set! It was great to be back out gigging anyway. I'll do my best to take photos and keep up to date on here

First Gig of the year for our six piece, centre of Hull. we have a residency there- once a month ( residencies have changed over the years ! ) Our Dep drummer did great and was a great change having a drummer that actually speaks. My thoughts were that it was going to be a quiet night but seems most of the punters in the Town centre noticed we were on and a full house was experienced by the band. We all played great and after a good soundcheck sounded spot on. Some good comments on my Bass tone- first gig with my Origin Bassrig 15. Sounded epic with my fender Jazz Ultra 5 string. Should be a good gig this one, easy to load in and park, which after doing this for 40 plus years is a real positive!

Simple but with a lot of thought going into it. Peterson Strobostomp HD - Mojohand Cream Pie - Beta MK1 - Subdecay Noise Theory - Bright Onion Patchbay - Darkglass Element. This was basically my gigging rig until I got the Anagram, it’s just so blissfully simple, sounds great, easy to dial in, everything stacks. I have an effects loop where I can drop a filter or modulation after the noise theory and any other gain or octave pedals just slot in before the board. Gigrig Generator into a Cioks 4 gives me the ability to power the board with IEC or Usb C, also I can use the power out of the Peterson to power anything I add in the patchbay. Board is also tall enough that if I ever wanted to add something, the Element fits underneath. Very pleased with how this has turned out.

Our first gig of the new year. We played with a dep drummer on New Year's Eve, as our own drummer had a long standing arrangement for a family party in Wales. I turned up a bit frazzled after having forgotten a couple of things and having to go back home for them. The parking was difficult. We had people shutting the rear door of the venue as we were loading in which didn't help and a couple of people were getting in our way. We were a bit loose in the first half. The second half was a lot better.

Great first gig of the year for me last night. New venue for us, The lion at Cas Vegas (Castleford), a well known music venue in these parts. Known as a bit of a rockers venue so booking a glam band was a bit of a punt, however it was banging with a full house and happy smiling punters. Booked back in October and already looking forward to it.

I haven’t posted on this thread for a while now, mainly because my gigs are often residences and subsequently fairly similar, rinse and repeat jobs etc. Usually in a duo these days too, with the occasional dep here and there with other bands. I did just short of 100 gigs in 2025, ( so much for semi retiring etc.) so still doing a fair few. 2026 is looking around the same so far which is good. Anyway, couple of recent ones worth a mention. Scarborough Yacht Club was an interesting venue, located on a pier in the harbour and part of the lighthouse building. Needless to say a challenging get-in, where we nearly drove the van over an old bridge which wouldn’t have held the weight! (See pic 1 below) So we had to carry all our kit on foot, with heavy rainfall not helping. The gig went well, although a very boozy do with plenty of audience ‘interaction’. Been promised a return gig in the spring so think they liked it. Played a nice gig at a lovely hotel just outside York in December. It was a trio, headed by wonderful saxophonist / flautist and singer Jon Taylor. Jon has played in many bands over the years, and is a great character. First time I’ve played with him, and a thoroughly enjoyable gig, at a great venue. (Pic 2). We did our annual Christmas gig at Beverley’s ‘The Sun Inn’, where we get invited guests up to sing with us. As last year, we had some mega volunteers, including landlord Paul and also Dave Hemingway from ‘The Beautiful South’. Dave did a version of Bowie’s ‘Starman’ which was really good, and the pub was rammed with a ‘one in / one out’ policy to avoid overcrowding. (pic 3 shows the group shot). My go to rig for most of the gigs has been either a Fender Kingman electro acoustic, or a Squier Jaguar SS when I know it may get a bit loud and lairy. Then one of two Rumble V3 combos, either the 100 or 500. Shoes have varied but often black Chelsea boots.

Here’s my new, much simplified board. The Origin Effects pedals are amazing, and with some more tweaking the HX One will give me all I need effects-wise. My trusty Rockboard power bank means no need for a mains PSU, but I have a connection tucked away if it’s ever needed. Patch leads were made up by me using high quality Van Damme cable and good quality jacks. Tuner>Cali 76>DCX>HX One>Amp The DCX is set to EQ mode, and really does just make things sound better. The footswitch bottom left is to move up or down through the HX One presets; I’m working on just using drive, octaver, chorus and an envelope filter.

First gig of the year last night. Bluesfire at the Bush. Couple of mates of the guitarist and the drummerxs brother in, plus several familiar faces. Free pint of Guinness. Had a 'bucket' of sweet potato fries 🤗 one day I'll get there early enough to sample their pizza. Experimented with a bit of mid boost, and I got positive comments on the tone. AVII, Orange Terror and AT212 slim. A good gig but I had the wrong inserts in my earplugs for the first set, so took them out after two songs. Used the right ones for set two. Made a few fluffs but nothing too bad. My technique has improved a little recently, made a few changes to what I play. Got a couple of compliments 😁 Back at 1pm 😴

Played the Bungalow in my home town of Paisley last night. Weather was a bit miserable and we weren`t sure how many tickets we had sold prior to the gig. With pre sales and on the door we sold it out so the venue and us were well happy. It`s a great small venue, drink isn`t too expensive and Kev the soundman is a cool guy who used to work in the Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow, one song and the soundcheck was done. I used my Greco P bass prob for the last time live as I have a US P coming next week. The only downside to the gig is I had done my ligament in my knee and the rhythm guitarist had one of his many knee op`s on Xmas eve so I had to sit down at one point whilst he stayed standing for the whole gig, both our knees are bloomin sore today but we got the gig done.

Playing at a local Wassail this evening. I'm right in front of the camera.

Not mine, but if it's still unsold when I get my income tax check... This is a custom model based on the Jaguar bass. The body is made of ash, the fingerboard of rosewood, and the neck of maple. It features both a PB-type pickup and a Music Man-style. Controls include a master volume, pickup balancer, and tone knob, allowing seamless blending between the PB pickup and the Music Man pickup.

Hey all, I just managed to get hold of a bargain Vanderkley 410LNT (4ohms) to pair with my 210LNT (8 ohms), powered by my Glock Heart Rock II (putting out the full 1000 watts @ 2.67 ohms). Although it also sounded great when I had a 4 ohm 210LNT (now for sale here!) paired with the 8 ohm 210LNT, something bothered me about having unequal power going to the same cab types. This is has scratched that itch. Good Lord. It sounds huge. (Sorry, neighbours)

Hey Barabas (and all) thank you for being patient! For a few reasons we've experienced a lil delay in getting reviews out, but I can confirm that I have submitted my full review and my edited (and produced) video to the magazine! The review includes both the Monaco and Silverstone II so you can compare the two! I can see them both having their place in a wide range of situations and they easily deliver the sort of sound that I demand behind me.

Ok, Alex is building me another "quickly" and they are collecting this one. Alex has amended the website today to prevent this from happening again. So now when ordering the "old style logo" to match your existing cabs, there is now an option for "Cab Mirroring" which has the following description - "If you want this for a One10 to match an old One10, where the handle and side feet are on opposite sides to the current One10, this requires a custom cab build - please select this customisation if you want us to build a reversed One10 to match your old one." https://barefacedaudio.com/products/old-badge-block-style-not-script-style If this had been an option when I ordered, all of this could have been avoided. Still, I think their response is the right one now, and I'm going to get the cab I thought I'd ordered. Rob

I don't want to sound like a sychophant, but here, Basschat, is 'the place to shop'. Sometimes you may have to be a bit patient. I've bought some cracking gear, and recently bought a cab I've always wanted on here. I don't think there's anywhere more trustworthy and fairly priced.

Just wanted to introduce my bass in case there’s any interest! I bought it 14 years ago after searching for a USA made Lakland in the UK - unsuccessfully! I was on the verge of importing a new 4 94 from the USA when this popped up on eBay from a collector in Chicago. It’s a one off 4 94 made by Ed Reynolds from parts supplied by Dan Lakin. Ed was luthier consultant to the fledgling Lakland operation. It has a chambered body, pre-CBS Jazz pickup in neck position, Seymour Duncan MM in bridge position, nitro paint finish (lots of dings!) and fabulous neck. It’s been my go-to bass since I bought it and I love it, though very few bass players I meet in the UK seem to know much about USA Laklands, let alone a one-off like this!

Given that’s the case and with you being in metal bands I’d be tempted to go BEAD. Loved my time playing in that tuning for a few years.

I have one, and love it deeply. It is thumpy, particularly with my TI flats, but I use a high pass filter/splitter to get acceptable brightness... I also added a 'bridge' pickup to get tighter tones, and now it's a monster.

So, I may have just wondered over to Bass Direct online. Been wanting another 4 string super light for a while different to my current TT SL for a bit of variety…got the royal approval then this just happened below (under 6lbs)…Monday hopefully! Probably sell my 5 string SL TT - don't want to but I really don't use it…and someone out there will need that beauty.

Oh my! It's here, and it's VERY VERY nice! More to follow...

Caught putting it in my basket to check shipping cost and offered 10% off. Nice email chat with 'Wes' about weights and timescales. No council tax or water rates for the next two months. Birthday next month. Forgive me for I am weak.

Of course, the staff will think you’re likely to bump into something so will instantly give you their attention.

board I’ve made for a gig this weekend. octave and moog sounds from the MXR, 2 levels of dirtiness from the 66, EQ from the AMT and mild chorus plus tuning from the GP5.

These are the bass related NAM captures I’ve found on Tone3000. I haven’t downloaded them all yet, and this is copied straight from my ‘Notes’ app in my phone because that’s what I do in my spare time 🤦 haha. The Avalon VT737 sounds really nice on a clean tone, just adds a bit of sheen and depth - really nice, but I thought it might be easier just to list them all here with the links as I had them saved anyway: @tayste_2000 Tone Pack (Punchline, Beta, Cranbourne et al): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/steven-taylor-tone-pack-41791 Ampeg B15-66: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-b15-66-31103 Sushi Box Finally v3: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/sushi-box-finally-v3-41381 Ampeg B15-64: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-b15-64-33702 Sadowskyw Preamp: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/sadowsky-sbp-2-bass-preamp-32439 DCX Bass 1: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-28027 DCX Bass 2: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/origin-effects-dcx-bass-43362 GR Bass One 800: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/grbass-one-800-48257 GR Bass One 1400: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/gr-bass-1400-5840 Genz Benz Streamliner 900: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/genz-benz-streamliner-900-47263 Audio Kitchen Fake Plastic Trees: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/audio-kitchen-fake-plastic-trees-2715 Full Rig - SVT/Pultec EQ/Cab: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/bass-full-rig-pultec-svt-4x12-cab-re20-mic-55 SVT/Pultec EQ/NO CAB: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/clean-pultec-svt-no-cab-30 SVT/Pultec EQ/Sansamp Drive/NO CAB: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/bass-chain-pultec-sanamp-ampeg-svt-no-cab-drive-59 GK RB800: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/gallien-krueger-rb800-070-2694 Ampeg SVT-PRO4: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/aaf-ampeg-svt-4-pro-6629 SVT Hard Rock: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-hard-rock-28715 Various Power Amps: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/slammin-poweramp-mega-pack-5688 Ampeg B-18N: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-b-18n-portaflex-fliptop-43868 Benson Preamp:https://www.tone3000.com/tones/benson-preamp-pedal-2078 Way Huge Pork & Pickle: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/way-huge-pork-pickle-bass-overdrive-fuzz-36541 JHS Colourbox: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jhs-colour-box-v2-anniversary-edition-37335 Jule Monique:https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jule-amps-monique-31287 Trace Elliot GP7SM: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/trace-elliot-gp7sm-26545 Eden Glowplug: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/eden-glowplug-2025-47312 Ashdown CTM-100 DI: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ashdown-ctm-100-pre-eq-di-47287 Ashdown Triple Shot: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ashdown-triple-shot-30523 JPTR FX Jive: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jptrfx-jive-30514 Earthquaker Plumes:https://www.tone3000.com/tones/earthquaker-devices-plumes-40366 Earthquaker Plumes (Switch 3): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/earthquaker-devices-plumes-switch-3-pack-1853 Jam Pedals Rattler: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/jampedals-rattler-base-mk2-49462 Ampeg SVT-CL (Cln/Lo/Med/Hi): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-cl-bass-head-45809 SVT Fuzz (Blend with clean): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/svt-fuzzedup-5509 Ampeg SVT-Pro6 (Cln w/mids): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-6-pro-di-clean-sound-with-tasty-mids-42667 SVT (Hard Rock/Pick Rock): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-hard-rock-28715 Ampeg SVT + 410 (Cln & Pushed): https://www.tone3000.com/tones/ampeg-svt-ampeg-4x10-47165 Tech21 VT Bass v.1: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/tech-21-vt-character-series-37097 GK MB Fusion 500: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/gk-mb-fusion-500-di-mark-settings-42577 Kasleder Albatross Fuzz: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/kasleder-albatross-30490 Avalon VT737: https://www.tone3000.com/tones/avalon-vt737-for-bass-guitar-052-2056 Hope that saves a few of you some time, or gives you some ideas for downloads 👍

Just been offered yet another charity (i.e. everyone bar the musicians gets paid) gig. Support a good cause, "exposure", etc, etc. As we're not completely heartless bar stewards and the good cause in question was a reasonable one, we suggested we might be paid expenses, so that, whilst we give our time and effort for free, we don't actually make a loss on the evening. Petrol still needs to be paid for, we'll need a drink or two plus something to eat and so on. Cue pearl clutching on the part of the organiser, "but it's for charity, etc". "We realise that", we replied. "We don't expect to profit. We just don't want to lose money". They were not happy, so we said we'd pass, thanks. What is wrong with these people? Are they wealthy dilettantes who don't have to worry about where the next penny comes from? Do the think everyone else is in the same privileged position as them?

This was a fabulous day out and one of the many highlights was @Mike Brooks doing this interview with Chris Childs. It’s a very insightful chat and even if you’re not that familiar with Chris’ work and extensive resume, it’s fascinating and very funny in places. Very enjoyable watching.

Last night was one of those final rehearsals that was so bad, you just know it’s going to be great on the night!

Tonight's rehearsal stufio had a special Kay holder.