Leaderboard

This actually arrived on Friday, but I thought I'd wait until I'd fitted a Babicz 3-point bridge and set it up with Ernie Ball Cobalt Flats before posting a NBD. I finished setting it up today and now it really feels like it is mine. This was secondhand but in mint condition — the previous owner hadn't even taken the plastic film off the pickguard and truss rod cover. It still had the stock strings. which I guess were nickel rounds and sounded new and zingy. I have replaced the stock bridge which to be honest is only a pain in the rear when you remove strings and the saddle falls out. I decided to go for a babicz after initially favouring a hipshot. This decision was based mostly on how well it fitted in visually and I don't think it has changed the tone much if at all. The faded Pelham Blue finish looks really good and there isn't a single chip, scratch or dent anywhere on the bass. The tone seems brighter than my Epiphone vintage Pros, but that could be due to the strings being new. With the neck pickup soloed it sounds huge. I particularly like the hipshot tuners which are really smooth in use and I think the mini clover shape and the chrome hardware look considerably better than the Y tuners and black hardware on Gibson's current reverse thunderbird model.

I bought this last week, and I just got around to cleaning it and setting it up… ’90s Korean Aria GTB II J. Pretty tatty on collection, but the seller assured me it sounded amazing, and all was well with the neck etc…. he was correct Having just spent an hour working on it, new (old but newish) strings (yes they need trimming down a bit) put on it, cleaned and oiled etc, it’s a belter. Fantastic pickups, very jazz like, but very bright and punchy. I really do love these 90s Aria pickups, they’re very potent and very clear as they are on all my old Aria basses. My Integra 4 string, very similar to this, is also a beast. Not light, but not heavy, just a sold piece(s) of wood. I saw it on Gumtree and knowing what I know, I had to add it to the stable, I beat a lot of folks to it apparently, there was a bit of a queue by all accounts. It was £50. 👍🏻

I acquired an older 300 watt combo and not knowing its history just wanted a quick MOT so I can rely on it. I removed the head from the cab, sent it by courier and Dave Green turned it around within a day changing the control pots and deemed it all okay to fight another day. Charged me £9.20 and £10 shipping plus vat, came out at an amazing £23.04. In this day and age of utter wangers out there, it is so refreshing to have an absolute smiley encounter with an amazing company. Thanks again DG and Ashdown.. 5 stars!!

Not going to be often that my crew get invited to play a wedding at the Shard - so definitely one for us to remember. Logistically it was one of the most tricky we've had to negotiate: moving kit from the loading bay, which we needed to pre-book slots for the two cars, then going off to park in a nearby car park while a member of staff plus one bandmate moved all the kit from lift 1 to lift 2 and then from lift 2 to outside the wedding reception room on the 34th floor. Then doing all that in reverse at the end of the night! The view was worth it though 😊

Excellent fun last night with Nine Lives at the Balaclava in Fraserburgh. Got a message from the guitarist while the drummer and I were on our way there proclaiming it to be the emptiest he'd ever seen it. Nevertheless, we ploughed on anyway. Were running a bit late but still crucially got there just ahead of the singer to maintain the natural order of things. Yes, it was pretty bad when we got there - single figures, but I had hope - there was a table of fairly young folk had put on some pretty classic stuff and singing along to it... So we got cracking and our wee table of folk were into it right away. Somehow that energy must have leaked outside because the place started to fill up. Second half was really busy and it ended up being a brilliant night. The table I spied at the beginning stayed from start to finish - the heroes of the night for sure. Also had a table of guys come in towards the end of the first half and they were also well into it - singing along and liked the harder stuff - they were on their feet and worshipping the Maiden songs we put in. All in all, what looked like being a damp squib ended up being a bloody great night! Also, 10 points for Bassindor for colour coordination - Markbass stuff plus Sire D5...

I had a couple of band things coming up this week but I lost my amazing Mum after a very long illness on Tuesday. I was with her when she died peacefully. I hoped I would be up for a new open mic at the pub down the road that my friend is running but figured I would take things a day at a time. My bandmate came over yesterday to run through our songs. To be honest, I welcomed the distraction. We worked up a version of Boys Don't Cry, which I remember buying the 7" single on holiday with Mum back in '86. Obviously I dedicated this to her from the stage. I think we did about 8 or 9 songs and I mostly played on my 8 string mandocello. It was my time venturing out socially and I am pleased I gently pushed myself. I have another big band project on Tuesday and this was a dummy run for that. I think I passed with flying colours... although I have the worst hangover today! I'm not looking for sympathy, I am forever grateful that I had a truly inspirational mother. Happy to take sympathy for the self inflicted hangover. I think I'll reign it in when I get past the next couple of weeks.

Bittersweet night last night with Nine Lives at Grays Inn in Mastrick, Aberdeen. It wasn't super busy, but the folk who were there were up for a boogie so we had a good time anyway. Bittersweet because it was the last gig with our outgoing singer. He's had to quit the band due to increasing family and professional commitments and while we're gutted to lose him (because he's a bloody good singer with a great attitude) we're grateful for the 5 years (3 effectively - thanks COVID) we've been playing together. Anyhoo, it was a decent sendoff (although I wish the gigs had been swapped, Friday's gig was way busier), we played pretty well, and didn't make it too mushy at the end - no public announcement, a handshake all round, a bit of reminiscence after we packed up and that's it. Nine Lives v2.0 is no more. We're working on crafting Nine Lives v3.0. I finally figured out that I can have double the fun at a gig - what's the point in taking two basses and only using one? Swapped 'em at half time. So you get a double dose of festive gear: And, as an added bonus - the bar staff took a wee video. Oh man, that Markbass stuff is clear sounding, innit? Mistake amplifer more like! That was the JC, bass nerds. Grays Inn Nine Lives 20231125.mp4 Oh christ, you can actually hear the bass. I'd better get better at playing the damn thing then!

My band 'Shreds.' played in Boston, UK at The Carpenter's Arms ("The Carps") on Saturday. It was a great show with a number of excellent bands and one solo act, but had one unfortunate incident. An audience member was crowd-surfing and fell, landing on his hip (not during our set). He was screaming in pain and yelling for someone to take him to the hospital. The bar staff called for an ambulance straight away, but it was taking too long to arrive and ultimately one of the other musicians drove him to the hospital. Fractured hip apparently, with a few days in hospital. Otherwise it really was a great show. We played well, although the sound guy was all but absent. While this seems really bad, the lack of his attention actually made our show easier since we always record our set live using our mics, preamps and a laptop. He was visibly drunk by the time we arrived, and at some point handed me a broken SM-58 to use but when I turned it over to plug in the XLR cable I found a vacant cavity missing any pins! Our show recording turned out great. Perhaps the best yet. I gigged the Rickenbacker, and used Ric-o-Sound... I sent the bridge pick-up through some distortion and into my bass amp during the show, and sent the neck pick-up directly to our recording gear (it was a small venue, so only vocals were going through the PA). Once back at home, I re-amped the clean neck pick-up and mixed it in with the recording of the amplified bridge. This turned out really well! At the end of the year, we're going to take our 2023 gig recordings and make a live album.

Really cool gig as part of the Andy Wales Blues Band at the Donkey in Leicester, playing a mix of originals and well-chosen covers. We’ve only done about half a dozen gigs so far and most have been support slots etc. This was I think our second or third full-length gig, but it was nicely busy in there. We went down a storm! We’ve been making a point of rehearsing every week which combined with our familiarity of each others playing styles means we are really on it in terms of being tight and interacting with each other. It also means we bring at least one or two new songs to each gig to keep it fresh. I’ve previously gone straight for Precision Bass with flatwounds for this sort of gig, but last night opted for Yamaha BB604 with lots of active growl and punch which worked a treat and added a new dimension to it. Some very nice things said to us afterwards from the audience, so really buzzing. Feels great!

Played a party for the local Harley bikers last night. It was in a pubs function room that wasn't great for acoustic, but it was packed so ok. They enjoyed it and the singing along was quite loud in places. We've played better TBH. I hsve been having some problems with my amp that appeared at our last rehearsal that I think is due to my DI out that I'll investigate further today. I took my spare amp and that worked fine. It was the first gig eith our new backdrop that we are all pleased with.

Not last night, but yesterday lunchtime, we played our third gig at St Peter’s church in central Bournemouth. I woke up with no voice thanks to a vicious germ, so the Otis Jay Blues Band did some extended numbers with extra solos to make up for my three songs. The venue’s promoter (dark shirt) got up to sing a couple too, which always helps. And we broke the ‘last Friday session’ attendance record with 100-plus. Rig was Barefaced One10 with Elf, guitar Sandberg VM4.

Our seven piece swing band played in a store in downtown North Bay last night as part of the city's annual downtown Christmas walk that included music, Christmas tree lighting and special events on the street and fireworks at 9:00 to signal the end of the evening. It was around -11C with a very strong north wind but there was a very good crowd and we had a lot of people drop into the store to hear a song or two and I was on my way home by 9:30. As usual in venues with limited space I used my Yamaha SLB 200 instead of my DB and it sounded great. We have done this gig before and it's always a relaxed fun time although some of the Christmas tunes we played were a bit rough in places since we don't play them often but the audience didn't seem to mind. 👍

For my birthday my brother got me a set of six excellent enamel badges in the shape of basses. All executed accurately: Ricken*****r Precision Jazz Yamaha BB Musicman Thunderbird The individual boxes are little flight cases! "Geepins"

Last night... first gig for a month and a bit. Somehow I managed to take a lump off my right thumb on friday and scratch my left palm (opening a paint can with an old chisel - tŵat). But I was ok if a bit sore. Then weird lead issues when setting up, possibly caused by a dent in a jack plug. Amp went very quiet just like @Woodinblack' issue! Reversingbthe lead solved it. But in the break I blew most of my cut and ordered two neutrik/sommer cables. Venue was a 400 year old pub, regulars love their music but odd layout. Band and dance area is a step lower than the bar. Very few people in the low section, but packed like sardines in the bar section. So notmuch applause as all holding drinks, instead shouts, whistles and appreciative comments. Feels odd. Did about 45/50 minutes first set, about 65 second set with an encore. Finished a few minutes before the curfew and a couple of punters came in and expressed their disappointment. So a weird atmosphere but a good gig. Our ott PA and lighting... used the AVII P and the Flea Jazz. Very different feel and sounds, jazz is more comfy and varied but the P has that oomph so gets the second set.

We (Milestone acoustic duo) played another gig last night at The Lookout on the Pier in Scarborough. Capacity audience in this small venue meant I had to sit alongside my Rumble 100 combo instead of having it behind me. It surprisingly worked out fine, another myth debunked! Some great requests from the audience, including ‘Mack the Knife’ and some Buddy Holly right through to ‘Wichita Lineman’ and Chasing cars’. Best audience response yet, wouldn’t let us finish before doing a couple more tunes. Probably my favourite ever regular gig, despite a slow 50 mile drive home last night due to icy conditions. We are there in a couple of weeks for their Christmas party which should be brilliant, and then a couple of Sundays every month starting January 2024.

Last night's gig was 'work'! I turned up, I entertained, I got paid, I went home. We were booked to play mixed covers (2x45) at a working man's club in an ex mining village, to an audience of regulars + the local football team's presentation award. Well, the football attendees didn't turn up, the heating in the club was broken and as a result the few punters who turned up didn't stick around, mainly due to the fact that it was a massive flat topped concert room that could easily hold 500, hence it was 'cold'. In fact I had to play the 2nd set with my coat on (it was a nice coat btw). To top it off some young woman thought it was OK to ascend the stairs to the stage to take over on the vocals! We immediately stopped playing, which is just as well because it meant I was on hand to grab her arm when she drunkenly brayed her head off one of the club's speaker cabs mounted on the wall. As the woman was lead away by friends, the band started up again (back in on the same bar we stopped on without even a count in )... only to have to stop 16 bars later as the drunken lady's friends shouted abuse at us for not letting her sing! Hey Ho, they were escorted from the building by club staff. However, 2 songs later we stopped yet again mid song, as 3 club employees remonstrated with a drunken bloke who was staggering around an empty dance floor with a full pint in his hand ('NO glasses on the dance floor' signs displayed all the way around the room). We got through the rest of the night, stripped down (photo of my rig so it didn't take long... thankfully), got paid, with apologies from the staff and promises to get us back as we were great and 'SO professional'. It sounds like a whinge but it isn't really! I've been doing this for 40+ years so I know that I will get nights like this (and possibly worse) but who knows, the next gig might be a screamer and balance is restored!

Gig in a city centre pub in Wakefield last night with the glam lads. Lovely staff and well looked after but sadly it was a pretty poor turnout. It was the pubs first birthday and they wanted a party atmosphere but this is tough when you don’t have the numbers. It was a pub grub come sports bar type place and as often seen once the grub and sports finish the punters move on. That aside, those that stayed were very enthusiastic and we had a ball anyway, as we always say it doesn’t matter if you’re playing to 20 or 200 always give it beans!

We had a corporate gig last night right at the end of the Grand Pier in Weston-Super-Mare. Fun gig although a lot of hanging around as we had to load in at 4:30 with a first set start at 8:45. Our dressing room was next to the dressing room of another 'act' - 'The UK Pleasure Boys'. All I can say is that judging by the way they choose to position their Santa hats I'm we didn't have to share with them. First try out of my new (to me) 5 string and it performed superbly. It's sometimes not until you look at the photos that you realise what a nice rig you have.

Last week, I played my first ever show on bass guitar with my new band Wooed. Background: I’ve been ‘playing’ bass for a few years (just mucking around playing my favourite bass riffs when I get the odd minute) but only started to take it seriously when Covid kicked off. In 2022, a couple of long-term friends expressed an interest in forming a band, and we all love the same music (rock/punk-‘adjacent’) so booked the local rehearsal room and muddled our way through some of our favourite covers. It’s only in the last 6/7 months that we’ve managed to write some originals. I like to think we’re a mix of Brutus and The War on Drugs – that’s the sound we’re aiming for, anyway. We were the first band on a lineup of some great up-and-coming punk/hardcore bands (Out of Love, Tripsun, Buds) at a venue called The Vaults in Portsmouth. They’ve all either toured with bands I love (Scowl, Angel Dust, Static Dress) or are playing some pretty big festivals in the coming year (Buds are playing 2000 Trees for example, and they were on straight after us). So felt pretty chuffed that our little band, with only a 4-track demo to our name, was able to open the show. The show was also free entry, so we knew there would be a decent crowd. Definitely feel very privileged in that respect, as a lot of bands’ first shows are played to a crowd of 5 people, so the whole band and I were bang up for it. That being said, it was still my very first time playing bass in front of a crowd (same with the drummer), so I was nervous as anything. We had rehearsed the set quite a few times over so wasn’t too worried about the playing itself, but more about how we sounded in front of others and whether we’d sound as tight as we do in the rehearsal room. We’re also not quite as fast-paced or as frenetic as the other three bands on the bill, so the chances of us going down well were mixed. None of the other bands wanted to soundcheck so we arrived at the venue and had to set up the drums/amps etc for our soundcheck. The backline was provided but there was an issue with the bass head, so had to DI straight to the PA. Not a great start as I’d have liked to have felt the air from the bass amp, but these things happen. Soundcheck sounded good, so we basically launched straight into the set. I was standing right next to the drums – the stage was very small so couldn’t move – so popped in the ear protectors and away we went. Straight away, I could barely hear anything through the monitors. I just assumed it was the ear protectors dampening the sound a bit, and our first song is our heaviest, so maybe I was lost in the mix a bit. Second song starts…nope it’s definitely the monitor. This carries on for the rest of the set, but didn’t hear any complaints from the crowd and no-one told me if I was quiet, so it must have sounded good out front. I should have asked for more bass in the monitor, regardless of how uncool it sounds on the mic - definite learning opportunity for me, there. We also only had 20 minutes, so we had to rocket through our 4 tracks. I think we came in about 22-23 minutes, as we have some tuning time between the 2nd and 3rd songs. The tuning was a good minute or two, and unfortunately this made some slightly uncomfortable dead time, so I wish I had a) spoke on the mic for a bit just to engage the crowd, or b) at least smashed on the reverb + delay and created some ambience for that moment. Another big learning opportunity that only presents itself when you actually play the show, so I’m kind of grateful that it happened, as I know what to do for next time. Another small thing is that I was insanely sweaty from the word go 😰 so I’m definitely packing a towel for those moments in between tracks. That being said, I enjoyed the show and we had a lot of compliments afterwards, so we’ve already reached out to a few more promoters. Really buzzing to have been on such an awesome show, and more importantly to have ripped off the first show ‘bandaid’.

Two gigs with Public Service Announcement this weekend. Saturday night was at the Trinity Bar, Harrow. Originally, we would be opening the show, followed Damage UK (who organised the event) and headlined by Eddie Roxy and the Adjacent Kings. Unfortunately Eddie Roxy had to cancel, so Red Anger joined the bill as opener and Damage UK headlined. Venue had an Ashdown combo to use and knowing bands play upstairs, I decided to use house rig as frankly, I couldn't be arsed to lug my rig up stairs! Something in me said to have my little Warwick gnome in my bag and my Orange SP212 cab in the boot - just in case. Good job I did, as arrived at venue to find the house rig wasnt working. Back up rig sounded great. Onstage sound was definitely one of the best we've had. All thee bands played well to a very receptive, but small crowd. Not sure the line up change at fault or just a slow night. I find originals gigs really can be hit and miss attendance wise. Drive home was just 30 mins, so home well before midnight Sunday we headed down to a rainy, windy Brighton for the Punk 4 the homeless gig at the Pipeline. We had a 5pm slot. We parked in a multi story and then three of us lugged guitar, bass, pedal boards, cable bags, mic stand, cymbal bag across Brighton in search for venue. Why we didn't pull up outside venue, drop off gear and then park, I don't know... We got to venue in time to rest our achy arms and enjoy a pint while we waited for the drummer, who'd headed down earlier with his wife. We waited, and waited and waited and then we got nervous, and then we got anxious. As the band on before us finished their and started to pack up, in he strolled, looking a drowned rat. He wiped the rain of his glasses so he could see, took his wet coat off and rushed to the stage.... House rig was an Ampeg head through an Ashdown 4x10. Sounded great! Wish I noted what model the head was - not that I have need or money for any more gear. we played really well and went down a storm. Calls for a encore which we had time to fulfill and some great moshing from the younger audience at the front. We then grabbed a beer and enjoyed Watching Rage DC before lugging the gear back through the now dark streets in the wind and the rain, loaded the car and then sat in the traffic jam on the M25 And exhausting weekend. Loved every minute

Yesterday was an afternoon gig for BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band in Airdrie. Quite a decent sized venue and a large stage area to play on so that was great. Wasn't sold out but a decent sized audience for a first gig in this club. Lots of dancing and lots of vids being taken with mobiles. Decent applause for each song. Was an odd crowd tho as they were slow to start but not sure if they were stunned by our appearance. Feedback from the Club committee members that booked us was excellent and they've never seen anything like it in the club before. They asked us to do 2024 Hogmanay gig which has now been confirmed. They also want us to play thru the year as well so all good. Sound on stage was great too. Singer/guitarist managed to coerce me into doing an audience walk around on the last song which has a guitar medoly of songs before going into Bay City Rollers Shang-a-lang. Dance floor was full and i kept getting dragged into photo shoots with several women. All great fun and that's the first time i've ever had the nerve to do that. No pics or vids yet but hopefully some will appear soon. Dave

A place we have played quite often, easy load in, friendly crowd. Seemed a bit emptier than normal when we got there but fair enough. Wired everything up, did a sound check, all good, the place has carpets all through and soft seats on the wall, with backing, so you can turn it as loud as you want without feedback. Very little sound, turns out I have to pull the cable out of the dwarf a little bit to get sound, need to replace that cable or check it. Go to start, turn the bass on - weird distorted sound, not really bass.. drummer says 'oh you have your synth on' - no, its not even on the pedalboard. Bypass the dwarf go straight into the ashdown, same noise, replace wireless with cable, all fine, rewire for that (although cheap, never had trouble with that before). start fine, no sound to iem. In middle of the next song pull the iem cable a bit and turn it (in the mixer), bursts into life - wtf, what is going on. Continue, do first songs ok. But the bass is really quiet after that, on my iems I have to turn the volume right up to hear it, and this is the bongo. Look at the VU meter on the ashdown, it isn't moving, input led on the dwarf is going into the red. output is certainly yellow. Fiddle with the cable, all springs back to life, almost getting deafened. After break swap to my acrylic bass, as I mostly do these days, the first few songs the guitarist is telling me to turn up, which is a first in 7 years, checking the cables, everything is fine, looking at the vu, its moving, then it occurs to me, the acrylic bass is just way quieter than the bongo, so whack the input up and everything is fine. The gig in general was good, a couple of minor mistakes that noone noticed, crowd was big and into it from almost the start and at the end when we left (stopped a bit earlier than maybe we wanted to, due to the guitarist wanting to rush off), they were still shouting for more. So missed enjoying a few songs as I was worried too much, but it was ok in the end. I also found, that there is one song I sing and play bass to (feel it still), that used to cause me issues, but I realised it wasn't singing and playing I had trouble with, it was singing, playing and reading the lyrics as I wasn't sure. Turns out it is better to risk getting some words wrong that noone will notice, than to worry about it, and then the singing is better!

Back home from playing at Pier 5 in Chatham this evening. first time playing here and I don’t think we would return. There were quite a few people in when we were setting up, but they all started to drift away and by the end of the night we were down to 8 audience members! It seemed more of a food pub, rather than a music pub. Other bands that we know who have played recently have said it was quiet when they played as well. It wasn’t that well set up for bands, we were stuck between a shuffle board and a barrier, and there was no dance floor either. on the positive side, the staff were nice, we got paid well and stopped playing at 11pm, so was home at a reasonable time.

My lot had our monthly residency gig at The Shamrock in Ipswich last night. We didn't play particularly well - same passion, same spark but more mistakes than usual - nevertheless we went down very well. Only a few of our regulars were there but this time a handful of folks who had seen us elsewhere came to see us again. Plus some new blow-ins who hung around, too. However, a slow blues in the middle of the second set killed the mood and a lot of people left after that. Usually the light and shade is appreciated but clearly not last night. Also before we got going the pub team confirmed 10, not 12, dates for 2024 saying they liked to have other bands. Which is a bit odd as it was their idea in the first place. No free drinks for the band, either, for the first time in the two years we've been playing there. Looks like the honeymoon period is over but I guess we'll see how it pans out next year. On the plus side traffic there and back was easy and I got parked a couple of hundred years yards away.

I'm sure if you went to the dole office and told them you were down to one bass you would find out you were entitled to some benefit or other. That is, as long as you could prove you were actively looking for another one.

A bit late reporting on Mustang Sally's weekend, due to me being a bit cream-crackered yesterday! Friday was a private party in Beaminster in the Fleet Club, a few miles up the road from me - it's the only upstairs load-in we play at the moment, but with our roadie and some punters we got the gear in and set up, squeezed into a diagonal on the route to the loos and opposite a long table ominously placarded with various curry names! First gig with the 2-Notes bass boost pedal, worked very well with the HB shorty (no room for the Bongo without braining the drummer anyway). No crowd surfing but a very happy crowd, good pay, table-dancing from our singiste and a fairly early finish and a lovely 20 minute drive home instead of the hour-plus from our more usual North Dorset venues. Saturday morning I couldn't find any of the band clothes that I'd left hung-up on the floor - Mrs G pointed to the washing machine: "They stunk of curry, and so do you!" she trilled gaily "so get under that shower or you can go in the next wash too..." Yes, the half-time free food had been a Smorgasbord of nothing but curries, and the jeep and instruments inside it were well-Madrassed too. Saturday's gig was at the Coronation club in Gillingham - it's been recently refurbished quite nicely but there are now 'banquettes' around all the walls, so the amps and speakers had to be sat on top of them in the corner next to the bar through lack of floor-space. Using the same setup as Friday, I soon realised something was very wrong with the bass sound - hardly audible, very woolly. Changed everything I could between numbers, eventually mostly solved it by removing the 2-Notes booster from the signal chain, taking the cab off the padded seat and squeezing it onto the floor, and changing to the Bongo. A forensic investigation today revealed that I'd used the wrong AC adapter in the 2-Notes (9v 0.25amp) instead of the 12v 1.0amp that came with it. Stupid mistake, but in the semi darkness of the corner of the room when setting up and a bagful of cables and adapters to choose from, I'd f**ked up - lesson learned! Not proud of my performance that night, too much self-induced stress, but the punters all loved the band and most importantly everyone but me had a good evening!

Played one of the worst gigs I've ever done last night... horrible grotty little (anti) social club somewhere in the Midlands. The sort of place pregnant women go to smoke. There was a loud ten piece soul band playing a private party in the next room (who sounded pretty good to be fair),there were about 20 people ignoring us, half of whom were kids under ten. Everyone was vaping indoors, including some of the kids I think. There was American football on all seven enormous TVs and a dog wandering round. One guy sarcastically danced, a women asked for Mysterious Girl by Peter Andre, apart from that, total silence. No applause, no engagement, nothing. I'd rather have played to the proverbial brick wall. Longest two 45 minute sets in history. 😐 Played the StingRay and apologised to it four times. We packed up in 22 minutes flat, which beats the previous record by nearly an hour. Got paid cash and let us never speak of it again.

A return to gigging after being laid low for a couple/three weeks (and missing three gigs! Eeeeek!) with a horrible fluey thing that was worse than pretty much all of the 4 lots of Covid I've had*, a new venue 10 minutes down the road from me, which was a nice change...I knew the pub of old as a rough one, but a new landlord's trying to turn the place round, and tho it's early days he seems to be doing well...8:45 start, 10:45 finish - agency gig, so 2 x 45, but we did an hour second set as he was a nice bloke and people were enjoying it, I even stayed till everything was packed up, and home before midnight. We've got three or four dates for the new year off the back of it. That'll do. * Yeah, I know, but I live with a Nurse who worked on Covid wards exclusively, and even now works in a mask (she's on a Geriatric/EOL ward)...ironically, she's only had it twice, I've started calling her Typhoid Mary...

Put together a couple of pedalboards over the last couple of days: A kinda secondary ‘fly-board’ to my main board: This is somewhat in flux as I figure out the spacing and what I can manage to fit. The OC2 will likely change for an MXR Octave Deluxe, love the OC2 for recording, but for live use, the MXR is huge sounding. The Flashback has a Chorus toneprint on it, my OCD would like a Corona Chorus in there (or some other 1590a bass chorus perhaps, basically not a ‘Delay’ pedal), but it would just be chucking money after something to do exactly the same sound haha. The COG 66 will almost certainly be swapped for a Fuzz, and pretty sure I can fit a 1590B pedal there, so plenty of choice. Powered by a Cioks Sol. Second board is one for a metal project I’m trying to learn some tunes for, may as well get the sounds right to practice them to: The MXR compressor is supreme, these Studio Compressors are exactly the same as the Bass Compressor, just a different box. And the Fuzzrocious Cat Tail (with Clean Blend) is just awesome into the v1 Sansamp. Powered by a small Diego thing. I want to get a EBS 4-port power daisy chain….just because the ones here really stick out. Both are Pedaltrain Nanos. Si

Three hour afternoon gig on Sunday at (the pink torpedo (LoL)) the C*ck in Dereham with the Checkmate Kings (blues band). As you can see from the photo, it’s very tight for space and the punters are spread across three rooms but it always turns out to be a good gig (this was our 5th in two years). We got plenty of positive feedback and the landlord was talking about getting repeat gigs every three to four months next year, which is a result. I used my BF Two10 with Mark Bass LM III (overkill for the venue really but I like the tone) and Maruszczyk Elwood 4a medium scale. I’ve got two more gigs to go this year but with two different (non-blues) bands and very little overlap in the set lists. A bit of practice is called for!

Riverside Bar in Dumfries for me last night with Emergency Exit punk covers band. Reasonable sized audience so that was good. Another great night down there but a rapid strip down at the end and off home as i'm back out the house at 10am this morning for an afternoon gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band. Jings i'm gonna sleep tonight. Was a very cold drive home at -6 oC and everything had a heavy frost at 1am this morning yet this morning there's absolutely no frost at all just 6hrs later. Dave

It arrived …. Great bass and very impressed, nicely set up out of the box and plays like it should This will be joining my Dakota Red Vintera as my main working basses Looks lovely in black with the gold pickguard and maple neck

Photos from Hurtsfall's Wednesday night gig:

It's finally wired up and working. A few problems. 1. The action is so high, the strings are in different timezones to the neck. 2. The nut isn't fixed down as I don't know how to fix it. Also not sure which is the front and the back of the nut. I think the front is the flat side and the rounded side goes to the tuners. 3. The hum from the guitar is appalling. Not sure if this is because there is no cavity shielding, poor soldering or bad/no earth. I suspect earthing but not going to look at it tonight. 4. I misread the wiring diagram so the switch is back to front but it does work. 5. The pickguard looks like it was put together by a five year old. It is lighter than my other Telecaster, the neck feels good and if I could reach the strings to press them down, that would be better. No idea about how it really sounds until I get the hum under control. I suspect I need a cable from the bridge to the earth on the control panel but thats tomorrows work. However it plays. Not very well (yet), but it does play

Rare mid-week gig for Hurtsfall last night at The Angel in Nottingham. This was actually our first proper "headlining" gig with support from Beck Stacey. Debdepan, Feather Trade all of whom were brilliant. With four bands playing, the evening over-ran slightly and there was no time left for us to do an encore even though there were requests for us to do one more. There were a couple of glitches one where it seemed like the whole PA cut out for a beat during one of the songs and our singer came in too early for the last verse of the last song, but I suspect most people didn't notice either. A decent turn out for a gig on a "school night" although not as packed as our last few. Nice to see plenty of familiar faces in the audience which means that we most definitely have a "following" now and also a lot of new ones, some of whom appeared to know the songs! Hopefully photos will appear later on Facebook that I can repost. That's it for Hurtsfall live for 2023. We'll be finishing off the "Christmas Song" this weekend for release as a single in early December, and working on other new songs for the gigs we already have arranged in 2024. On Saturday I'll be back at The Angel with my other band, In Isolation, supporting B-Movie when I'm expecting the venue to be packed as tickets sold out weeks ago!

I misread your username as @TheGreek and spat out my coffee all over the keyboard

It's back! New frets, new nut, a shim in the neck pocket and the holes for the neck screws redrilled and it's absolutely brilliant now. What an amazing bass. Love it.

On Saturday I was back at The Angel this time with In Isolation supporting B-Movie. The gig was sold out and I have never seen the venue so full. There were people queuing up the stairs waiting to get in just after we had finished our sound check, and during the gig the room was rammed with the promoter turning people away who didn't have tickets. Played really well including the new songs and the audience who more mostly there to see B-Movie were very appreciative. Sold some CDs and T-Shirts. And got more gigs in 2024 from the promoter. I don't think there will be any photos to post as I didn't see anyone taking any while we were playing. New gig on Sunday 3rd at The Black Bull in Gateshead - apparently it's in the afternoon.

It arrived. Now I’ve been using it in my little rehearsal nook at the in-laws. (We look after my mother-in-law) That’s where I keep the e500. I usually run a tiny Phil Jones C2 cab with it. The C2 sounds great at low volume , but doesn’t do loud well. So it’s the perfect solitary practice cab , but doesn’t handle band rehearsal. That’s what plan to use the One Ten for. I have a rehearsal Monday night so I’ll hear how the Barefaced cab sounds at volume. So far , at quiet levels , it’s sounding really good. Tomorrow I’ll try it with my little Aguilar head at home. And so far , I really love this little cab.

Odd one yesterday. Not sure what it was exactly possibly three of us tired from the previous nights travels to see Barock Project & Tiger Moth Tails @ Trading Boundaries (both great but I digress). Early evening gig (16:30-19:00) at a venue that has had some difficulties in recent months with management changes & the regulars falling out with one of the interim managers, but hopefully that is starting to be behind them now. For our part a lot of silly mistakes, cues missed wrong songs started, but it ended up a good early evening gig despite it all. Sound wise (and I suppose don't trust sound quality of punters phone videos!) I was told "don't get any louder after the break as it's right on the verge". Sound from a punter video in front of me was OK. The bass sounded nice but was getting marginal for level against guitars & vox - my excuse being I have IEM's so have to trust the sound guy & others to let me know. Then again from a different punter the other side of the bar everything sounded a bit indistinct, and I am trusting that that was down to a phone's mic shutting everything down. Band Christmas dinner this week then one more before the vocalist disappears to sunnier climes over the holidays.

In Isolation will be playing our version of "I Believe In Father Christmas" at all our December gigs. There will be a CD single available to buy as well.

Can't believe I've never shared this photo. 1966 Jazz - refin (very old), refret, no case 1971 Precision - pretty old refin, refret, original case, no original covers 1970 Jazz - refret, refin, new pots, non-original case Absolutely pretty bleedin' fantastic instruments, all three. The blue Jazz just got a big restoration (new frets, shim, new neck screw holes), the white one has the best neck I've ever played.

The Smiths, Simply Red. Mind you, I couldn't stand them in the first place.