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We've had reports in about an individual using multiple accounts approaching buyers in the market place after they've made an enquiry on a thread. The scammer's method is to reach out via PM with some information about the seller (who it's likely he has no actual connection with) then invite further conversations with that friend via email off site. Then, while impersonating the seller via fake email, offer to take a deposit which is never seen again. He seems friendly and has certainly posted on here to give off a friendly and laid back vibe but he is exploiting the trust and goodwill on here. We can't emphasise strongly enough that you don't reply to anyone claiming to know a seller, don't email any email address they provide and for anyone who is thinking about putting deposit down on any item in the market place, please use a form of payment that can be easily reversed. A reminder is below to advice already offered by members 15 years ago to avoid being ripped off. Also, if you are contacted by anyone else in the future with an invitation to continue the conversation via email, please flag it immediately with either myself or woodinblack. Thanks in advance for your help.

This one is primarily, but not exclusively, aimed at those of us who are in the mellow autumn of our years. The partner of our vocalist and band leader had a stroke last week. She’s likely to be in hospital for another few weeks and is likely to need lots of support when she gets home. Consequently, and rightly, we’ve cancelled everything band-wise for the rest of the year. Onwards, we’ll have to see how things go. So, while you are able, do that gig, join that band, buy that bass, climb that mountain. Whatever you want to do, while you can. And, prompted by a recent thread, don’t stick around in that dysfunctional band hoping things will improve.

Eagles tribute gigs for the last couple of nights. First, Queen's Hall, Edinburgh. It's a gorgeous hall with a lot of history. House PA, extremely good engineer, great lights Best of all, though: 800 people in... on a Thursday night! Hats off to the promoter. Last night was a lovely theatre outside of Whitehaven. A little more cramped, but another very enjoyable night. I used my new (but not new) 1996 MIA Jazz RI, and it's a Bobby Dazzler. Love it. The only downside was the van breaking down as we left Whitehaven. I finally got home just before 5am 😅 💤

This afternoons gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band was a charity event in Boness that was sold out. We've played this venue many times for charity events, retirements, birthdays and are back again Feb 2026 for a 60th. The guy was at the gig today. Start time was 2pm and we literally had dancers on the floor for the first song and that lasted all the way thru the afternoon. Couldn't have asked for a better audience. When you get a lot of women out for a Saturday afternoon Xmas party they just wanna have fun and they did. The few males that were present also up dancing with everyone on the floor for the last few songs. The new Xmas songs went down a treat and we played well. Had a few hiccups with the PA where it cut out on occasion. Looked like he was running the powered cabs too hard. He decided to leave the subs in the van and just go with his JBL full range cabs. In future we'll always use the subs with them. He notched down the bass and kick drum volumes and i boosted my amp volume to compensate. Still sounded great tho but that solved the issue for the 2nd set. Decided to use my Sandberg MarloweDK for this one as the event was billed as a Xmas event so we went with the tinsel and a more Xmas look. Marlowe sounded excellent thru the Handbox WB-100 and BF212 cab. First time i've used this combination in the Glam band and i was very pleased. Sound guy also commented that it sounded superb out front. Some older ladies wanted to book us for 2027 for a triple birthday party but its a bit too far away to be taking bookings so we asked that they get in touch middle 2026. All in all a good day and home for 7:30pm via the Indian takeaway. Few pics of the stage etc appeared so that's all i have for time being. Dave

A double report, because I was lazy last weekend. Last Saturday, played with Nine Lives at the Grampian Bar in Torry, Aberdeen. First time playing there. It wasn't very busy - maybe 15 folk in at any one time. Thankfully there was a table of folk who stayed for most of the gig and were well into it, plus my best mate came down for the first half and Mrs. Neepheid joined us later on after an earlier social engagement. Still, it was one of those when you wonder if the pub made any money at all. Gear for that one was Yamaha night - the SB500S (even in its unfinished state having only a bridge pickup) followed by the BB1200 (which I forgot to photograph, oops). Amplification by Mark Bass as per usual. Fast forward to last night, Nine Lives again and back to a favourite haunt, the Balaclava in Fraserburgh. Gig didn't get off to the best of starts - while the drummer and I were loading our gear into the pub he suddenly realised that he'd left the mixing desk at home - he had changed cars in order to service the brakes on his usual motor and left it in there by mistake. Thankfully he only lives half an hour away from the venue, and we were mercifully early, so he bombed it home while we set up everything around the missing mixing desk so it would just be plug in and go, debagged his drums to save a bit of time there etc. Despite all that hoohah, we still somehow managed to be ready 10 mins before kick off. And it was a cracking night! Maybe because it was a pay weekend, the pub was busy and we had plenty of dancers and singers enjoying the tunes. Much better night than last weekend, that's for sure. Played well, some bloops but easily recovered and acknowledged with winks, smiles and funny faces. I played my Epiphone Mike Dirnt signature G-3 the whole night - sorry, backup bass, but I was just having too much fun with my new toy. It's a bloody terrific bass, a joy to play and sounded immense - cut through the mix like a knife in all pickup settings. Had a whale of a time playing it. Usual amplification.

Hey gang For a while now I've been on the hunt for a J to use on my Eagles tribute gig. I picked this up a few days ago, and - ever-wary that you don't quite know what a bass really sounds like until you've gigged it - after a couple of shows I've happily torn the plastic film off the pickguard. It's absolutely lovely. Light, resonant, even across the neck, and sits perfectly in the mix. A nice smooth top, with a lovely growl when you slide and dig in. Happy days.

Just got myself this little beauty today. Had been looking for a 7-pounder (or under) and this came up at exactly 7lbs. Although it’s heavier than my Superlight TT I’m finding that playing full scale basses standing up is becoming a bit of a stretch hence my search. Got it from Guitar Village, my first time of dealing with them which I have to say was excellent. Sounds and plays beautifully, as I’d expect. I’m not really into fake relicing or blocks but somehow these just seem to really suit this bass.

Friday lunchtime in a central Bournemouth church. We do it twice a year and share the retiring collection with the venue. Church has a regular audience for the music and we add to it - have had 100 folk before but 65 was just fine given the season. The promoter got up to sing on Mojo Workin’ and we played two encores. One of which debuted Time Is Tight. Love a bit of Booker T… Gear: Flea Jazz (currently in ‘for sale’ section), GK MB200 through Barefaced Two10.

Just got in from my last Spacewasters gig as a full band member (I will be depping for them next year for one gig). Was at The Milton Arms, Southsea, Portsmouth, supporting The Witchdoktors (great band btw). The Witchdoktors provided the backline which was very decent of them, we only had to provide cymbal stands, so made for an easy gig, our drummer drove so all good there. We played well and went down well, though it wasn’t as large an audience as when we’d previously played there, even on pay day, maybe people holding onto cash for Xmas. I played my JMJ Mustang through an Orange Crush (I think) combo, which sounded very nice. Footwear was DM Chelsea/Dealer boots. And now back indoors, well I hurt all over, really reinforcing that my leaving is the right decision, a real shame but I’ve had 4 great years with the band, am so glad I joined them for those years.

Hometown gig in a converted church that I've played before, nicer onstage sound than previous times. A few mistakes but a well received generally enjoyable gig. I've used a Peavey vb2 810 fridge for my last 3 gigs, this one and the 2 previous tour supports we did. The fridge was purchased for the usual blue book £100 for a non Ampeg 810: it's the 3rd 8x10 I've owned and I maintain that despite science going in the opposite direction they can be a good, cheap viable solution for certain situations. Obviously it wouldn't have worked when I was doing pub / club covers and probably not ideal for everyone. When I found out the bookings we had this year I either had to get an additional 2x12 neo GK cab or go on a different tangent. I flogged the GK and bought the fridge for half of what I got for it...I can rethink things in the future if needed. Fair to say that the 810 with the GK head is like a 3.5 litre v8 ticking over and never gets shouty; the volume is at the volume of the drumkit ( I'm enjoying playing with a more energetic drummer after playing with a sedate one for a few years) and one guitarist plays big chords while the other plays a bass 6. So I need to really ground the music, giving an illusion of being an octave below the bass 6. The tilt and roll drill with the fridge is pretty workable too, I struggle more with 4x10s tbh. My first gig with LaBella flats. Not wild about them on their own but great in the band mix, really full and consistent. The higher tension seems to work well too, nice to play.

Warmoth custom neck baseball bat rpofile, ebony board and bound, Allparts bound body curiously relic'd by previous owner.... Dimarzio PAFs, Gotoh Lollipops, Kiogon circuit, LaBella DTs. It sings, first rehearsal in anger tomorrow evening 👍

Our first time playing at the Gate in Hugglescote. It looks like they have entertainment fairly regularly, but not with bands with a drum kit. It was a bit tight, so much so that the drummer sat on the bench instead of his stool and had no room for a floor tom. That made for a few chuckles on the occasions he forgot and hit on thin air 😂 I never find it fun having to move every piece of kit six times while setting up, like a sliding tile puzzle. A bit unusually for a Saturday night pub gig they wanted us to start at 7pm. As we expected it was a little thin on the ground when we started but soon got busier. The Rumble had to go on the bench. I don't normally have it up high like that, so it made for a different experience and I tried not to be too self-conscious being able to hear every little thing. A good night was had. Some dancing. A lot of compliments, and it turns out there were quite a few musos there too. Most importantly my black DMs looked great, having polished them this morning 😂

Just got back in from depping on a gig as part of a big fundraising evening for a blood cancer charity in Leicester’s Winstanley House. Lovely venue, huge room. Pretty late gig, starting at 10pm, but people were still up for a dance and it was pretty lively. Got completely lost in the dark trying to get out (I’ve only lived in Leicester for 20 years….) and was gonna find a McDonald’s on way home but it was super late and I couldn’t be bothered. Gear was my old vintage P bass with its new Labella DTB flats, thru the usual Markbass traveller rig and pedal board. Flatwounds have been the sound in my head for a while for this sort of material and tho I took a BB bass with me I only used it for the final song. Footwear was by Clarks. Black jeans by M&S.

We were back at the Queens Arms in Brixham last night, which is one our favourite pubs to play and we are the landlords favourite band. We set up quick and it sounded good, but later we were told the guitar was too quiet when it was fine at first. A combination of up on his amp and bit more in the PA along with a subtle equaliser tweak sorted it. We were playing quiet well and having a good gig, but there were some moments. A few caused by our singer with one particular strange one. At the end of the second chorus in Go Your Own Way he carried on and then me and the guitarist both went into the ending so we completely missed the middle section. Lots of looking at each other wondering what went on, but we laughed about it as we alesys seem to play our way our of problems. A good size appreciative crowd, and some people I haven't seen for a while. Next gig is NYE at a different pub. Usual rig, which I've photographed close up. Got some good feedback on my sound from a fellow bass player and their friend.

I played out at a local pub called the primrose in Leeds last night. It's a night where they put on five bands and so we got a 35 minute set and feels like a Leeds rite of passage . There was an old Peavey bass amp provided but I took along my rumble 500 and I was glad because the sound from the peavey was pretty mushy and muffled. I took my sire V7 because I find that it gives me a nice crisp tone without being quite as in your face as a stingray. The music in our band is funk rock so I need something that this going to sound nice when slapped. I also just got a boss me 90 b on Thursday and so I had set up a load of patches because on one of the songs I switch between a clean sound and an octave pedal and then distortion and then octave and distortion. I had foolishly added a bit of envelope filter to the clean octave sound and when I played it at gig volume it was definitely a bit too much top end. Oops, I'll join the me90b discussion later on the appropriate thread... The first band on were a very tight rock band with a female singer, bassist playing a p with flats very nicely. Our set went pretty well with the usual issues with speeding up when we get excited and the guitarist struggled a bit with his guitar dropping out of tune all the time I think next time we need to get the guitar out of the case in advance so it can get used to the temperature in the room. The PA was a bit muffled though which doesn't really work for the hip hoppy lyrical delivery and my partner said that when I spoke through the microphone she couldn't make out what I was saying so definitely the PA was just not quite right. Shame because we have been practicing three part harmonies for a while and I think they probably got lost in the mush. I also tried a Bluetooth wireless set up my dad lent me and it worked great. The band after us were a four-piece metal act called 6 foot under with a fantastic front man and really talented musicians, in particular the guitarist who had that trait of sounding amazing but looking like he was barely moving his hands. I'm not really into metal at all anymore but I appreciated their musicianship and the show. They even gave out Yorkshire tea bags with their qr code on it! All in all a fun night out, just a shame there weren't that many people out to listen.. I wore my altra lone peak trainers as always.

Wouldn’t let me type before - no idea why. Good gig last night helping some mates out. they’d agreed to the gig then their bass player moved to a different country so I stepped in. Learned 10 songs, played 7. wasn’t my best performance; first time going ampless and I was a bit thrown by that. sold out Gorilla in Manchester, the main band were half our age - it was like looking at a sea of my daughters mates 😆 Felt very old.

Around 15 years ago, I did a stupid thing. I sold my 1978 Gibson G-3. In the intervening years, the prices of second hand Gibson G-3s have gone through the roof, beyond where I was willing to go. So, thank you, Epiphone, for issuing this and helping me right a wrong in a more financially palatable way! You can imagine the smile on my face. It is, quite simply, amazing. It is a tastefully modernised G-3 - it frankly speaking feels better put together than my old Gibson G-3. The same oddly twangy but thick at the same time tone is still there, I reckon these pickups are on the level as far as recreations go. I do low level wish they had done clear covers like the 1975-78 G-3s, but these sound as good as I remember the originals sounding. The pickguard? Don't care, mate - the silverburst disguises it as far as I'm concerned. Because Andertons did individual photographs for most of their stock of these, I deliberately picked one where the burst lined up with the bottom edge of the pickguard, giving it context instead of just floating in mid air. I can't wait to take this to band rehearsals this week. Tonight I have mostly been playing songs I played 15 years ago with my first originals band - well, the ones I remember anyway!

Just in case anybody is interested, I've designed and printed a complete port and flange for my 8" speaker. Its the correct length, 87mm, and is 64mm internal diameter and fits a 68mm hole. It has three M3 screw holes and the actual flange is sized so you can put M3 T-Nuts behind it and so they don't overlap the hole. It has a gasket groove on the back , so you can put 2mm x 10mm foam around the back of the flange, and when you tighten the screws up, it sits flush to the baffle board, but you now have a better seal. Especially useful if you port hole is a bit rough. It has simple text on the front, but I change that easily. I can print them in a variety of colours, but red is very popular at the moment as I still have 27 reels to go through I'll print them for free, I'll include some foam for the gasket, just pay for postage and a appropriate donation to the North West Air Ambulance of whatever you want to pay. I'd prefer it to be more than 1p but I won't check. I can adjust most things quite quickly and easily so if you wanted your name on them, or a different size or whatever just ask. Different colours can be done but only if I have those colours sitting on the shelf. Thanks Rob

Agreed. I've made a not-altogether-good reputation for myself by walking out of a number of bands over the last 10 years, either because our 'vision' didn't align or because they proved to be just not good enough (IMHO, of course). Some of my current bandmates are surprised at the way I do this, perhaps even think I'm a bit of a loose cannon. Me? I've never lost a moment's sleep about it. I walked away from a very well-paid job four years early, not because I don't like money but because I was well aware that those four years were (at that moment) the best remaining years of my life. The same equation still applies. I'll be 69 next month (no, I can't believe it either) and I have no interest in allowing anyone or anything to waste the best remaining years of my life right now. Use them or lose them.

Threads like this are rubbish...

Lets hope that as he has pleaded 'not guilty' he will be found 'guilty' and therefore receive an even harsher sentence....

With friends like this who needs enemies mate. Personally I'd call it a day as these situations have a tendency to implode or at a minimum leave a sour taste in the mouth going forward.

A buddy of mine was telling me he didn't like the chunkiness of the beautiful flamed and birdseye maple neck on his Stingray. By chance I have a Stingray with a thinner Status Graphite neck that looks a bit out of place on my honeyburst Stingray, so I offered to switch them. I don't have any photos of the red Stingray before, but I think they both look phenomenal now:

I’ll jump in on this too. I’m 61, and I’m still fronting an original heavy rock band, the same band I joined in 1982. Were recording a new album and it’s sounding absolutely awesome, very pleased with it, and live were better than ever. My voice is still holding up, and young people who come to see us love the stuff, it’s old school, like their dads listen to, and it goes down pretty well. THAT SAID…….. a month ago, my best pal lost his battle with cancer. He was 59 and an amazing metal guitarist. I helped lower him into the ground to the sound of “Where were you?” By Jeff Beck. In January, my mum died. No great surprise, but still, you know. In February our drummers wife had a heart attack and died for 10 minutes. Somehow, they revived her and she survived, but unfortunately with severe brain damage, so he has his hands full looking after her. The band, keeps him sane. My point. If you’re young and you’re reading this, be all you can be. Take nothing for granted, don’t waste time being miserable, do the things that make you happy, with the people that make you happy, play music, love music, all music, and most of all, KICK ASS. If you’re old and reading this, all of the above also applies to you, x2. F*** getting old.

Electric Soup, 90s and 00s indie classics, hence the yellow bucket hat you can see poking out at the back. No car-crashes, good fun gig. Punters were sat at tables due to where we had to set up in the pub, but we had people dancing at times at the back. The BH800 worked well with the tone prints meaning I didn't have to take 2 extra FX pedals. Shuker 3 -> Getaria wireless -> TC Electronics BH800 -> Orange 4x10 isobaric cab (+ DI from amp into PA for FOH volume control). Footwear, maroon creepers.

Well the run of excellent gigs came to an end last night. A club gig that doubled as a members event. The audience was our age demographic but dancers were few and far between. Maybe they were saving themselves for the upcoming festivities. However onwards and upwards to next week when we’re back in pub land for a new venue on the outskirts of Chesterfield.

Why don't you fire the trouble maker instead, so A, as he isn't as good as he thinks he is, which is way too frequent...

SD quarter pounders PJ pickups, multitonal gotoh bridge, Schaller tuning heads, a matte black s/plate … and black volume / tone knobs what do you guys think? Enough mods for grunge/rock/punk covers? 😁

Gonna sort out my gear for tomorrows afternoon gig. Need to leave the house at 10am, Load in 11:15am doors open 1pm and on stage 2pm for 2 x 1hr sets including our Xmas songs. Its been advertised by the venue as their Xmas party event so all good fun. Its a Sold Out one too so that's even better. Early start means early finish. Should be home by 7pm via Indian takeaway. My first in over 4 weeks as on a 6 week weight loss plan from the gym but i'm allowed the occasional lapse the personal trainer said. 2 weeks to go. Lost 3Kg in the first 3 weeks but its levelled out now so need to reduce carbohydrates. I'll be 12st again. Not bad for an old Glam bassist. I burn as many calories at a gig as i do 1 session in the gym classes. The more gigs the healthier i get 😂 Dave

Options: 1: Fire A for the same reasons he has about other people. Replace him. 2: Leave the toxic environment completely, but throw that grenade on the way out - "I am leaving the band. I cannot believe A is secretly plotting to bin B and even set up an audition for C. That's is appalling. A band should be like a marriage - if it's not working you end it. Not try out a side piece first" 3: Seduce A's partner. (Seems to be a rule).

Having been on BC for a while now (and also being a bit older and wiser) I don't understand when someone says something is rubbish or someone is rubbish when they / it aren't. You just don't like it. Is Morrisey a rubbish singer, just because I don't like him (as a singer and as a person)? He does what he does and I do quite like some smiths songs Are all P basses rubbish just because they don't work for you. I don't really like super ornate single cut basses where the top bit goes right down the fingerboard but I'm sure they're very good The food in Wetherspoons. Actually I think it's ok for the money, very good value but it's not gormet and that's not expected at that price point your thoughts please

I have worked out which band you are a member of.

Sure I don't know what you're talking about...

I really like him, he’s an antidote for the world of social media bassists and musicians in general. He’s carved a niche out for himself, and fair play to him for managing to do it. Musicians have a bit of a habit of taking themselves too seriously and he’s doing a good job of injecting a bit of fun into things without any of the pretence. Like it or not social media as a platform for musicians is going nowhere, so why not someone like him.

The band I had to leave back in March (due to me having a brain-bleed stroke) has been very supportive since then, kept in touch about my recovery and since then have asked me to do 5 or 6 dep jobs with them covering gigs my replacement on bass couldn't do. Latest was last Friday 28th November at a private party in a nice pub in Sherborne. It's gratifying that I still remembered the chords and arrangements for all the numbers I used to do, and could busk the new ones, although I must admit 'Fairytale of New York' unrehearsed was hard going - never played it before and frankly never liked the original! My short sax set (One step beyond, Geno, Tutti Frutti) went down well too; I suppose sdditional saxophony is my unique selling point! Following on from one of the other threads on this forum, the other band members would clearly like to have me back, and were thinking about hiding some gigs from my replacement so I could play them instead. I must say I felt conflicted - I would love to gig regularly again but I've had this sort of thing happen to me in the past but the other way around. Hmm... advice please!

Quick shoutout for Ashley & the peeps at Bass Direct! Had a problem with the lining to a Mono Vertigo I bought 18 mths ago. Not only agreed a replacement after I sent a few photos but sent me a replacement BEFORE expecting the return so I wouldn’t be without it! Great service 👏👏. Much thanks…

Me in Lille recently having a hard-earned espresso - I'd been pushing my mother about in her wheelchair for miles and didn't get a single step for it wot with my hand not moving!

We love playing at the Crew in Nuneaton (downstairs from Queen's Hall if you're familiar). It's a rock bar and they like it loud, so we properly rocked out. It's a great atmosphere with guitars and posters on the walls and ceiling. Hot again too. It took the Stingish bass again, but have a hankering to fetch out my Sire P7-5 next weekend for a bit of P-bass goodness. It's been a while. A couple of malfunctions: my amp overdrive footswitch needs rewiring, and a riff run that I've messed up two gigs in a row needs practice!

A non scientific test. Pink noise from YouTube thru tablet into Origin Effects Bassrig 15 into Midas MR18 mixer with EQ bypassed. 1. Pedal off / bypassed. 2. Pedal on with cab SIM OFF tone controls at 12 o'clock. 3. Pedal on with cab SIM ON tone controls at 12 o'clock (mid position). 4. Pedal on with cab SIM ON tone controls at 6 o'clock (full).

Gosh we can all be very precious about this. Any programme aimed at bass players would have a pretty small audience. This is a programme aimed at a wider public who have more than a superficial interest in music. The songs mentioned are generally not technical, but are ones someone aware of 'bass' (many 'music lovers' aren't - sorry to shatter your illusions) would appreciate as being part of their success. And, to be fair, a 'great bassline' is one that lifts a song beyond the everyday. Of course MY list would look very different, but this programme doesn't target me. I'm just grateful for a programme that will, hopefully, rause awareness and understanding of the role and potential of my chosen instrument and the people who play it.

And the kids' album is released today. Shameless proud dad post!

Indeed. It could be your turn next. I would guess that most of us have experienced both sides of this particular coin. If A isn't that good then the band is unlikely to improve overall. I'd consider your own situation carefully.