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I've been very quiet on here recently, for various reasons, but the main one is that I've been building, and learning to run a music venue! I run a recording studio, and my mate runs rehearsal rooms, all from one building in Stoke. We've built up a decent reputation over the years. There was one bit of the building we didn't have, and that was a garage, but last year the mechanic upped and left, and the landlord offered it to us. We spent countless hours turning a dirty old garage into a spanking new venue and I'm super proud of it. Please check it out if you're looking for live music in Stoke or The Midlands, and obviously get in touch if you'd like to play! www.rifffactory.co.uk https://www.instagram.com/rifffactoryuk/ The bar: Opening week: The garage:

Well, after weeks of deliberation I finally caved and have absolutely no regrets. MusicMan Pino fretted signature (I have enough fretless basses). This sounds immense with the flats, probably pop some rounds at some point. It is an expensive piece of kit but I can justify it. Cracking bass 👍.

I brought out the Meteora last night for our last one of the year, via my regular gigging amp head now, a highly portable TCBQ500 into a house cab. Great sound on stage on off, great job by the sound man. Super loud and nice and clear too. Good crowd and a great little venue, awesome parking and access, backstage area and kitchen, definitely looking forward to coming back. The Meteora is such a fantastic bass, I need to use it more.

Sharing my project BB434 in Ice Blue. Ditched the black pickguard and got a mint one then changed the stock pickups to EMG GZR set in Ivory/cream. Originally wanted a clear pickguard but this one is growing on me. Very punchy and articulate. I like the mid range punch of this and has a bit of growl compared to the YGD. Also, noiseless which I love.

Just back home from the annual Christmas guitar club concert in my local village hall. Two concerts - one for the younger learners and one for the older more proficient kids. Amazing to see them progress over the years in confidence and musical skills. I bring the PA, the lights and an extra pair of hands to help with setting up and sorting/tuning etc between performers, as well as donating my bass rig for the evening, being their soundman and guesting on the odd song. Proper Christmas thing. Excuse the dull pic but it’s all I managed.

Our annual Christmas gig for the Mencap gateway charity last night. Always a fun loving and appreciative crowd. This is where Christmas starts for us.

Royal Blues, @ Off the Cuff, Herne Hill, that London. Support band slot to The Road, so not the usual crowd for our brand of blues based Americana. Only 2 backing vocalists this time, and stunning work by the ladies in rejigging the 3 part harmonies. @Al Krow of this parish was in attendance (turns out we share a singer) so I was hyper aware that any bass fluffs would be immediately noticeable to at least one person in the audience 😆. The venue is in the arches of railway bridge, and it was quite noticeable when trains were going over, but fortunately not when we were playing. Fun gig, I think we played well. Ibanez UB804 -> Getaria wireless -> Digitech BP355 -> FOH / Warwick Pro Fet 3, Calsborough 4x10. Some clips of the gig on The Facebook story thing, listen with headphones or decent speakers: https://www.facebook.com/stories/122094436502361314/UzpfSVNDOjY0ODE5OTkwODI4MjQ4Nw==/?view_single=1&mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v Footwear: maroon creepers.

Well our afternoon gig started off with a 90min drive. On arrival drummer and PA guy were already set up so that was a bonus. Doors open 1pm, nobody there, no queue, no-one in the hallway outside. Oh well we'll still go for it at 2pm. Paid rehearsal. Then 2 people appeared at 1:15pm and then some more and by 1:30pm the organiser asked us to push it back but PA guy had a hire on at night so we said only by 30mins as we had a gig later that night. Wee white lie but at 2pm it started to get busier. By the time we went on at 2:30pm we had around 50-60 folks but its a big venue so it didn't look overly busy but they were all up for a great party afternoon. People just kept coming in even during the 2nd set folks were still arriving. I think we must have managed about 80 people for 2nd set. Dancers on most songs and full floor for the last 4-5 songs so that was good. Turned out quite an enjoyable afternoon and few quid in my pocket so that was nice. Stopped for an Indian takeaway on way home too. Now i'm sitting watching Mr Mercedes on Netflix with a full satisfied tummy. Diet finishes tomorrow. Target reached last week at 12st. but i'm gagging for a wee dram after tomorrow. Usual gear for me. Sandberg MarloweDK - Shure GLXD - Keeley Bassist comp - HB WB-100 - BF212 cab. Dave

Last night was a dep gig for a local band with a big reputation and following - I was chuffed to be asked back after the last dep with them in September. It was a new venue for them that they were hoping to add to the list of regulars so there was a little bit of self imposed pressure for me to get it right, but they're a decent bunch and I didn't feel any pressure from them. It was a local venue to me, too - less than 2 miles away. Since Tuesday's rehearsal with them, they had added 'My Sharona' to the list and all I could do was try to learn the original arrangement and trust their assertion that they played it identically (which they did). Set up was into a very small space in a raised area surrounded by a waist high glass wall on my left and a wooden railing in front. It was tight, and that meant I had to get my kit in and arranged first before the drums could go in (there being only a narrow gap between the front of the kick drum and the railing). I'd brought my headless Ibanez shorty for just such an eventuality but the glass wall was just low enough that the full sized Sterling had room. I had visions of bending down to adjust an effect and smashing the glass with the headstock but, spoiler alert, it didn't happen. Fortunately, the guitarist was able to squeeze into the space by the back door and although we weren't allowed to block it to prevent people coming in as it was a fire exit, they put a sign out side to direct people to the front door. This gave the singer a little more room. Eventually, the jigsaw puzzle was complete and after a decent soundcheck, we were ready to go. It was a small pub but the place was packed and it was very hot despite windows being open behind us. We had dancers from the start - all credit to them as they had so little space to strut their stuff. There was quiet a bit of singing along too. There was a great sound on stage and apart from a few minor mistakes on my part, I think I did well as a dep. In fact, the only major problem was the guitarist starting a song in the wrong key - which we all managed to adjust to (even the drummer 😂) . At half time the band was offered several bookings in the pub (I've told them that as a dep, I expect a commission 🙂). By the end of the night the place was bouncing and we had a couple of encores. I was pleased to have a number of compliments about my playing and my sound from punters and the rest of the band. I have to say that I was really happy with my sound - punchy without being overpowering. Some of the comments back from staff and audience were that the band had a great overall mix without being too loud. The band are very thorough with sound and soundchecks, which clearly pays dividends. Kit was my Sterling 34HH through the board (MS60b for tuner and noisegate and a synth patch for 'Just Can't Get Enough' >Nux Sculpture compressor >Nux Voodoo Vibe (for Dakota) >Ampeg SCRDI> Sine HPF (set to 40hz)) and into my Peavey Minimax 600 via the FX return. Cabs were 2 1x10" Trace Elliotts. I think I've finally found a bass/board/amp/speaker combination that gets me the sound I've been chasing for years with this line-up. Footwear was, of course, by Skechers. This was my last scheduled gig for 2025. Next planned excursion is mid January.

Best is a Harley Benton mahogany bass uke and a set of the Galli-Kala flats for it. I take it everywhere as it lives in the car. I'm playing and learning 10x more now. Best £150 all in I've ever spent. As a very busy dad of 2 with autism, It's really made a huge difference to my overall mental health. My fam is reaping the benefits too as I'm a much less frustrated and now happier daddio these days 👍

We played a club near Bolton for the fourth time. The Concert Sec there lives in the 1960's and puts some real clunge on. He's been ignoring my whatsapp messages about next year. He came up to me before went on and tauntingly reminded me that I had gone up to him and shown him a fake Rickenbacker the last time we played. I had two with me that night, plus a P Bass. He wouldn't have it that the Ric I brought last time was real. It was a 2002 4003FG and it was on my stand. He very grudgingly admitted it was real. We always get told what a breath of fresh air we are when we play there. We went on played our two spots, went down like heroes with a 1.05 second spot with dancers throughout. When he came to pay us at the end, I reminded him that he hadn't responded to my Whatsapp messages and laughingly said that I thought he'd died. He told us that though he really likes us we aren't right for the club. Some people left. Like they do when it's cold and dark out and not far off Christmas, etc.. I remined polite and cheerful, as we aren't short of work. Instead of losing my sheet, I just said, we will go down far better than some of the acts you've booked up to June next year. You should've seen his face. Permanent worry-lines forming. He was beyond horrified and demanded to know which ones would frighten their punters and clear the place. I was too much of a gentleman to tell him.

Great: we had a fabulous time at the White Hart in Melton, rocked the place out, hot & sweaty. Sad: it's our last gig at the venue because the landlord and landlady are leaving. They can't make the place pay for itself. Sunday evenings always draw a crowd for the entertainment, but they have struggled to get people in on other nights of the week. Anyway we gave them a good send off. I took the smoke machine for a change, which made all the lights look even better. We didn't even keep track of how long we played. The only thing I forgot to do was to take a photo.

My moonlight blue P34. Did have a 735a and was after a P35 but as is the way of things, I ended up with the 4 string. No complaints. Great bass! 8

One of my greatest regrets was selling my MP-201 some ten years back. Finally, I got my hands on another. Mint condition. Christmas came early.

A nice local club for the Glam lads. Was looking forward to a nice packed house but apparently the home crowd was partied out after their club Christmas do last Thursday. Still it ended up filling up to about 75% and we had a decent night in the end. Meeting quite a few people coming down with flu and crossing fingers that we make it through NYE without casualties 😂

Good one in the end last night. Started off looking like it might be a quiet night, presumably for Christmas works do’s but it filled up before we started and they were well up for it and singing all night. I had a minor op on my ankle last Tuesday to remove the screws put into my heel last year that showed as having come out the other side of the heel bone and thought to be the cause of some pain in the ankle with the hope that this would fix things and won’t require further surgery to fuse the ankle (with another 6 weeks non weight bearing). Walked out of hospital Tuesday after and am fully mobile, but I hope a couple of sets stood up won’t have a negative effect. A few new songs in the set and a big re jig of order that seemed to work well for the most part. I did have a major brain fart three songs in and got completely lost in a song we’ve done for yonks 🤦‍♂️ IEM’s generally worked ok and the bass sounded lovely in there. It would be good if I could work out running in stereo to split out the guitars. When they’re playing harmony lines the separation is good, but if both are doing chords it can become muddled. Should be feasible as there are spare aux channels on the desk. Gear: FrankenJazz -> Darkglass Anagram -> Darkglass Microtubes 500 -> Barefaced BigBaby2. Shoes: Barefoot (rh) / Post surgery boot (lh) No gig tonight, it’s the band Christmas meal 🎅🏻

Last night was a curate's egg of a gig for Dirty Roses. The venue was the Old Court, King's Heath, Birmingham. It's on a busy road, with a residential street of tightly packed terraced houses by the side of it, so parking was a nightmare. I managed to squeeze in by the pub, making use of Mrs Zero's blue badge (Mrs Zero was with me, I wouldn't use it illegally). Went in and was "greeted" by the most miserable looking and unwelcoming barmaid I've seen in my life, who led me to the doors through which I was to load in. I've just had a flare up of gout in my right foot, so it was rather painful bringing everything in - this is the band I do the PA for so there were numerous trips to the car. While I was doing that, Mrs Zero asked about moving the furniture out of the way, to which the miserable harridan replied that it was busy (there were five people in the pub plus us) and there were only two of them on, so we'd have to move the furniture. The singer arrived and he and Mrs Zero moved the furniture while I was loading in, then the guitarist arrived. We'd got pretty much set up by the time the drummer arrived - I was still rigging the PA so the others helped bringing in the kit. Anyroadup, we had a fair bit of space, and a whole one mains socket each side of the appointed area. There was a bit of response from one somewhat enthusiastic woman and what I presume was her equally enthusiastic daughter, but as the evening went on we got more and more of them moving and singing along. At one point in the second set we have a choice of two songs depending on reading the room, and we went for Time Warp - a good choice. The WAGs did their duty and led the calls for more. Oh, and the big TV behind us? They left the bastard thing on all night. There was another (younger and friendlier) barmaid who told us afterwards that we'd gone down really well, and then asked us to put the furniture back. We loaded up and then buggered off - we shouldn't have had to move the furniture in the first place, and we CBA to move it back too. So it's somewhere we never want to go back to, though the gig itself was good.

I suppose it's that time of year again for the classics:

After selling all my gear last year, all my gear has been bought this year. The worst is easy, a Fender Mexican standard Precision. I think it was just a bad one, I've had a few before but this one just sucked. I couldn't get a decent setup on it and it always sounded weak so its gone now. Best purchase is either my Spector Euro 4 LX which sounds incredible and is really nice to play and was a great price or my Yamaha BB1100S which I picked up for £450 and is the nicest playing bass I've owned and sounds great.

yeah - sanding finished and just got it first coat of oil (of about ten apparently) so ... in next 3 5 month I guess. no idea. (its gonna have a Darkglass pre amp with dual coil in wooden covers)

Not really last night as I'm still here. 40th birthday party booked before the band disintegrated, so we had to honour the commitment. Digital desk flat out refused to play ball. Could not connect to it. So the hour I was going to spend blowing cobwebs off the songs I've not played for 6 months I spent messing with that. In the end we ripped out the little 3 input mixer from behind the bar and ran with it. The show must and therefore did go on.

latest micro board setup. usually powerbank powered. then this added to whichever board I am bringing with me. (I have two other setup depending on the situation/need)

Weird one for me today. First ever loading the car in the dark this morning to head up to Methil in Fife for 11am load in. Doors open 1pm and we start 2pm. The good news we finish around 5pm and hopefully away by 6pm, home via the Indian takeaway for approx 8pm. Easy peasy. Not sure how this will go today. There was a mix up with the bookings when the organiser went off sick and someone else took a booking for another band. We originally were booked 4-7 but they asked if we could move it to 2-5 to allow them to keep the booking for the 2nd band too. As long as we're getting paid same fee we said yes and all was agreed. Will it be busy ? mmmmmmmmm personally i don't think it will but a paid rehearsal for our main weekend next week when we are out Fri and Sat nights. Wish me luck. Heading out now. Rock & Roll lifestyle, couldnae beat it wie a big stick. 😂 Dave 🤶🎅

My "do-it-while-you-can" moment arrived the day my younger sister was diagnosed with a terminal glioblastoma aged 44. She was young, relatively fit and healthy, a mother, a partner and to be told that it's extremely unlikely your 44 year old sibling will survive this is a moment that I'll never forget. Our mum believed that a cure would be found and that she would be ok - the trip to tell her that her daughter had passed away in person, not by phone was a harrowing journey knowing what lay at the end of my travels. It changed my outlook on life...changed the way I looked at blame. If something isn't my fault, not a decision I have made or had any input in then just don't stress it. Equally, if I had any involvement did I try my hardest? Did I try my best? Again, if I can honestly answer yes then don't stress. I do things not because my sister wanted to do the same things, but because she was denied the opportunity to do them, even if she didn't want to! Our grip on this life is slender - live your life to the full and in a way that brings joy to you.

And this classic:

Well, it wasn't last night, but on the 30th November. We, Verdant Rupture, did alright on our debut gig. Went rather askew in the last song (the one about the lesbian suicide polycule*) and needs some drum reworking to fix the issues. Playing the song written in Sheffield General Cemetery, that's about the SGC, in the SGC was a thing of beauty. I'd post the link to the livestream, but the sound on that was very not good because no one was monitoring it, unlike in the room and on stage - both of which were decent. *Keira and I choose interesting subject matter.

Hello Basschatters I had been looking for a fretless for a while and there have been several on the forum that I nearly went for but in the end decided to build one for myself. The plan is for a fretless four string, with a single Bartolini MMC pup coupled to an East filter preamp. I used to do a few builds, some of which I posted on a previous incarnation of this site, but I haven't done one for ten years or so now so it will be interesting to see how much I remember. Anyhow the idea is to keep the budget down to the cost of what I was going to spend on buying a fretless so a notional budget of ca. £400. This will mostly go on parts as I have an unused mahogany body blank, maple neck blank and a wenge fretboard left over from when I last built a bass, although I will splash out on a nice walnut top for it. Here is a pic of the last fretted bass I made, the plan is for the fretless to be the same shape and style if i can find the old template and hopefully source a similar grade walnut top.

Rig for my final scheduled gig of 2025 last night. I thought I'd break out the Christmas lights since it's that time of the year. Cab( Silverstone II) and pedals same as usual, AH250 SMX for the first set, and a Series 6 GP12 for the second set. Bass on the night was my 90s USA Standard P-Bass. All sounded rather splendid together. Merry Christmas rig posters and Basschatters

Fixed....😉🤣

No “worst” and no contest for absolute BEST for me - my Sandberg VM4 in Marley Blue bought in January. I just love this bass. In fact, it’s pretty much kept both my Wals securely tucked up in their cases all year. In fact, it’s so good, I’ve got a Superlight on order which will hopefully make it onto next year’s thread!!!

I don't know anything about their basses but I think when I was a Student in the early 80s, I used to eat their boil-in-th-bag curries.

It’s ready! Shipping today apparently, so we’ll see if it arrives before Christmas 🤞 Si

Well this upped the ante!

Have I mentioned how much I love that small, lightweight little beast? It has already served as backline for several gigs with PA and IEM support, and it’s had to work hard to deliver solid stage sound. It also feels like the cab has opened up after some hours at higher volume, and I notice that now even at lower volume. Maybe it’s wishful thinking, but I strongly feel it sounds better after more playing time: more openness and a smoother low end. Whether that’s measurable or not, I can’t say, but as a user I believe I can hear it. The Monza punches far above its weight and size when it comes to sound quality, volume, and headroom. There’s no escaping the laws of physics, yet they keep getting bent here. It proves that the number of woofers and their diameter is just a label, something people often overvalue or judge too quickly. This is simply a loud, clear, and deep-sounding cab of 11 kilos and 56 liters (external dimensions). What’s inside doesn’t define the name, but it does define the result. The tone makes it unique. Don’t let yourself be blinded by the “1x10” prejudice. There’s so much more to it.

I have to say I am still getting used to the detailed settings of the Mesa TT. I got a pretty decent sound out of my flat wound Jazz mind.

Modded my VM5 with a split coil switch for a bit more of a P/J tone. Works pretty nicely, I must say. It switches between full humbucker and front coil.

I have developed a new habit since I retired 18 months ago. I say yes. Someone invites me for a walk? Come to a concert? Visit a friend? Go shopping in Asda with Mrs Dinger? Go to a meal with 30 people that i don't know? Yes. At most, it is 2 hours out of my life, and it makes people happy. And often, it makes me happy too! As Steve Cropper reminded us, Time is Tight.