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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:

NBD was actually Sunday, but I won't tell if you don't. I've been a dyed-in-the-wool Precision devotee for quite a few years, having found that they just work for me. But slowly the worm has turned... My Dingwall journey led me along the path Super P > D-Roc > NG-2, which obviously opened up non-P possibilities. I tried a friend's Jazz (American Standard?) and thought, 'I like this!' Then I found a 2001 MIM J at an auction, loved it, but was outbid. I was pretty disappointed. Finally I came across this Flea Jazz being sold by our own @Mickeyboro, tried it, loved it, brought it home, loved it even more. If I'd been a good boy I'd have shifted my D-Roc first, but clearly I'm not - no presents for me, but that's fine, I'll just sit and play this. It does what I hoped a Jazz would do - a different and spankier voice but still with authority behind the notes, a comfortable playing experience, and a sound that makes you think, 'Ooh, that's like a record I've heard'. Going between this and my original '73 Precision, the Flea Jazz feels old like the '73, not least because it has nicely rolled fingerboard edges. I've spent some time tweaking it to my preferences - neck relief, action, Monty's Instrument Food, and a replaced intonation screw (disclosed prior to purchase) and have been having altogether too much fun going through my Steely Dan transcriptions. I'm not sure when I'll get the chance to gig it, but there may well be a 70s covers rehearsal in January, for which this would work a treat!

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.

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.

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.

May your days be merry and bright.

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

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.

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.

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

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.

Well due to injury, and therefore necessity, I have succumbed and bought a shorty. I have no idea how much movement I will get back in my shoulder but for now I can reach the 3rd fret pf a 34” bass. Back of a cornflake packer calculation says 30” scale length is ideal so off I went a-hunting. I did no want to spend an awful lot, I am already £250 down on a U Bass so It was an Affinity, HB, or Hartwood. I did not get on with the Affinity ‘Tang, the HB has been showing 1-2 weeks for about a month and now showed a bit longer so a Hartwood Delta finally showed up. So far I am delighted. Feet work is some of the best that I have ever seen and there are lots of little touches that please. Machine Heads -Smooth and precise Control Knobs- Not the push on, splined type but held on with grub screws. Body-Flawless, at least on first look. Action- Higher than I like but playable out of the box. Frets- I do my own fretwork and these are wonderful, the best fret ends on a bass or guitar I have had in 60 years. Screws-Pick-guard and control cavity screws sit well down. They are domed but sit well into the countersink. Nut-Could go lower but I will not be touching it for now. Criticisms? The neck has what look like ran drops in the finish. However you cannot feel it under your hand, The pick-up selector switch is not straight up and dos but angled. Oddly when playing it seems more natural then if it were more like a Les Paul. The switch may be the first thing I change thought as cheap ones fail quickly IMHO. Bridge- BBOT. However That does not matter to me, It is a well proven design and it works. Strings - Shiny and bright but may have more finger noise than I like.

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.

Hohner should buy it... save me typing in the wrong name all of the time!

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

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.

Ahhh, Dobbies...one of those dinosaur venues with a power-mad Conc.Sec. and everything*...you can get a reaction out of the crowd, but with pliers and gritted teeth. For the majority who don't know the place but will know many similar (still), there's total silence** for the bingo but they talk through your first set unless (metaphorically) grabbed by the collar, and the general vibe from the management is 'Why can't you be Matt Munroe? I liked him.' Last time we were there I gave Herr Conc. Sec. the hairdryer because as soon as we'd finished some fool on their side hit the smoke machine onstage about eight or ten times as we were packing down, it was four feet deep and you literally couldn't see the floor, I nearly walked off the edge. I lost 75% of my sheet, went to his table and gave him a bollocking, he tried to laugh it off till I pointed out if someone did fall on (or worse, off) the stage he'd be hearing from lawyers (and I'd taken pictures) about breaching H&S, and he shut up. We haven't heard back from them, but to be honest it's no loss. * Where you're referred to as 'The Turn'... ** The sort of silence only encountered in the bleak chill of deep space or Northern Club Bingo sessions, it's uncanny, unnerving and something I think CERN should have a look at...

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 🤶🎅

Looking forward to 2 sold out gigs this weekend. 1st at Cambusnethan Club in Wishaw area with 200+ tickets sold. This was actually where i had my wedding reception back in 95. Wife's Aunt was Bar Manageress so we got a great deal. 2nd at our Fav venue the famous Rock Club, The Dreadnought in Bathgate that have been booking us every year for past 4 yrs and already booked for next years. Always a great night and always a total party night. Both within 45mins from me so that's a bonus. Got our PA guy doing the hard work at Camby Club and PA is supplied at Dreadnought so no heavy lifting this weekend. Life doesn't get much better than this. I tell a lie - i pick up my new car on Sat morning 11am. A lovely Subaru Outback that has more loading space than my Volvo V90. The dealer suggested i take the demonstrator home and load my gear in to make sure 100% that they fit rather than relying on measuring it at the dealers. This is one seriously exciting weekend. Dave

And there you have it folks! She lives! The bridge is actually really easy to operate and set up. Even fitting was a breeze as the furthest mounting hole lines up perfectly with a standard 5 screw bridge. Used some old witch hats I had in my box o junk and I think I will leave them on inkeeping with the occult theme Just got to wait 7 weeks to actually play it after dislocating 2 fingers in my right hand. Peace out!

Thanks everyone! The opening week was wild. We're limited to 70 capacity but the first night was probably slightly over that. We had Static Dress play as their drummer is our best mate. There was only one unforeseen problem. The condensation and spilled beer made a mockery of our consumer grade garage floor paint. People were slip-sliding all over the place. The first job the next day was to mix balsam in with a new tin of paint, and get that down in time for the gig the following night. It did the trick! We had 5 gigs on the opening week, staffed by mates, played by mates, and attended by all and sundry. Loads of people travelled in to Stoke for these gigs and it really felt like the centre of a scene for a moment. And we made money! Then we realised we'd not booked any more gigs, and we have overheads to pay, and big bills to pay, and loads of debt... So now we start the long slog of learning how to make money out of a venue. At 70 capacity it's difficult to appeal to bigger touring bands. The other side of that is an other-worldly PA system that out-classes any venue of this size (that I've seen). Proper lighting, green room, potential for live recording etc. so we hope to tempt some names in for "secret" or "super intimate" shows. Otherwise we're perfectly suited to local multi-band line-ups, and the "toilet circuit" in general. Any advice on promoting gigs would be gratefully received, and if any of you are promoters that would like to put on a gig at Riff Factory, please get in touch

oh dear, poor old Basschat, the future isn’t looking bright …😂

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

Hi folks I've always loved the Stingray fretless sound, but they are quite a few quid especially his sig bass, so I set myself a task to see what could be done for not too many £s to get the look and as much of the tone as possible. Here's what happened next... I picked up a preloved DiMavery MM501 fretless as a starting point. Actually a lot nicer that I thought it might be, well put together (even with quite a weird passive set up). Nice Rosewood board, lovely satin finish to the D profile neck and acceptable hardware. Brucie bonus, it weighs less than 8lbs. I acquired a Retrovibe Stinger '77 with the Retrovide AlNiCo MM pickup (wired in parallel for this project) and put it all together. Finally I decided just to spray the midly unpleasant tort pickguard black to save a few quid. I also swapped the original fit rounds for some LaBella LT flats. Here's how it came out. To my ears, and despite my huge talent deficit, I think it sounds pretty good and I am really pleased with the results. If were to do any further upgrades, I think I'd go for a proper new pickguard, some better knobs to cover the nuts on the pots and maybe a nice metal or bone nut. As ever my timing is appalling as my arthritis means I'm not playing much now, but if anyone is interested please PM me.

Here's an example of a club that does it right. One thing they do is allow promoters to puit on gigs in 'the Hall'. In the last few months we've had Focus and Curved Air (not tributes). I've got five gigs there across three bands next year. It's a brilliant place to play.

Ahhhh...the complexities and beauty of club land in the North. I'd say we do about 70% of our gigs in WMCs now though the differential in 'pay' between them and pubs is not what it was. Unfortunately there are still a number of the 'bingo comes first' outfits, and I still scratch my head at why they pay out for a band....though a sizable number are now opting to cheaper solo/duo backing track jobs to cut down costs. While these can be a disappointing gig they have their moments, though Gladis and Wilf rushing off a quarter into the last spot to catch the last bus can be unnerving - I've never understood the rigid set times that put us on too late when this is a factor. These sort of places seem to be dying on their arses with closures every week and implosions of the committees due to finances/reducing footfall. Conversely some WMCs are still thriving, do less or no bingo type activity and concentrate on good entertainment. We love these places and try and support as best we can.

Regarding Mohini Dey being one of the best bass players on the planet, it's more accurate to say she is one of the most bass players on the planet; she plays an awful lot of notes, but it never seems to add up to much. Yet another bass prodigy who never found a way to make meaningful music. Myself, I'd put Danny Sapko way in front of her in terms of being useful on the bass guitar. The vast majority of these bass "influencers" are all fairly similar in that they have formidable skills but lack enough self-awareness to realise that their playing isn't very interesting in itself. They don't seem to have the creative intelligence to make something more worthwhile. And yet they are offering advice. I like Danny Sapko because he has no such pretentious or delusions. To me, he's not part of that world and long may that remain so. I certainly don't begrudge him if he gets some free bass stuff, though. Better than that even, someone should to send him some proper clothes to wear. He is undoubtedly Britain's Worst Dressed Man, and that is quite an achievement considering both Dominic Cummings and John Barnes still live in the U.K. Never mind YT videos about visiting Andy Baxters ect, he could do with a trip to Primark at the very least.

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.

Loads reviewed here. Obviously, one guy’s opinion, but some insights into the differences.