Leaderboard

So, we've just returned from five excellent days in Porto. We got a decent deal and flew business class both ways. On the return flight, the chief steward was a chap called Kevin Mooney, probably early '50s, balding, stout. Lovely bloke! I joked that I loved his bass work on the first two Adam and the Ants albums (clearly he wasn't that Kevin Mooney, but he shot back that he likes to keep his work with Mr Goddard quiet and hated that he got replaced by Gary Tibbs). I tell him I'm a bass player and he calls me Mr Rockstar for the remainder of the flight. We laugh. But no, we haven't even entered the rabbit hole yet... A few minutes later, he walks past me and says he plays keyboards in a death metal band and while work gets in the way, he gets a shout occasionally and will go and assist when he's not flying. He says he was at school with the singer. He gets his phone out and shows me a few photos, a black and white video ("of something we did during lockdown") and finally a brief clip of him live at Hellfest. Turns out he's Vampus, erstwhile keyboard player for Cradle of Filth, Bathory and he also did something with Slipknot. It's all there. #jawdrop Leaving the plane, we do the double shake hands and actually give each other the devil horns. What a hoot. Brilliant! [EDIT] VAMPUS: KEVIN:

Found this 2001 Musicman Stingray bass in Blue Pearl 3EQ and I’m very pleased with the condition for a 23yr old bass ! Neck, frets, rosewood fingerboard all in a near new condition ! Fresh 45-100 strings fitted and truss rod tweeked and intonation checked and she’s good to go as my main gigging bass Plays and sounds amazing and it was a sensible price too No EB Musicman case but such is life but it came with a serviceable gig bag

NBD ! A 1970 Precision in very nice original condition. I mentioned earlier in this thread that I was sniffing around for another early 70's P bass, and someone on here got in touch. A very very smooth deal, lots of honesty and trust involved. It's more or less all original apart from a single pickguard screw and the pots are changed, but you wouldn't know unless you were told, as they are CTS pots from 1970. I spent some time yesterday with it, tweaking it to my liking. Now sporting La Bella Low Tension Flats with a very nice low action. It has more definition and a bit more top end than my '73 (which is the most mellow P I've ever heard), and they complement each other perfectly. The rosewood board on this one is particularly dark, smooth and tight grained compared with the '73 too. I'm a happy chappie. The upshot of this, is that I'll be selling my super lightweight '78 P bass soon if anyone is interested. Cheers, Rob

Not a build but a heavy mod so I hope I'm posting in the right forum, apologies if not and a call to the mods to move it to it's correct home if necessary. I'm new so apologies. So, I'd been a bit curious about fanned fret basses for some time now but there is no way I could afford a Dingwall or such and most fanned frets were commanding prices of £600+ even at secondhand values. Then I read about the Red Sub Coliseum which were being knocked out by G4M for around £270. When I went on the G4M they'd dropped Red Sub but carried an almost identical bass called the 972 https://g4m.com/product/g4m-972-fanned-fret-5-string-blue-burl-burst/ Which I thought I'd take a punt on. TBH when it arrived I loved it, OK the hardware and electronics were a bit flakey but the neck was sublime and a lovely player. However, I do really think that it's more of a 'metal' or 'prog' guitar than a good all rounder due to the pickups positioning. I rather like dub and reggae and was wondering how it would sound with a third pickup added close to the neck. I did some research but concluded that trying to wire a third pickup and find a switch which would allow me to adjust all 3 pickups individually or permutations of the three was well above my level of experience. Plan 'B' was called for which was moving the 'neck' pickup closer to the neck. I build a little pickup mule to find the sweetspot that worked for me; Having spent ages trying to decide I finally stumbled across this configuration which had the pickup at a different angle to the angle it was originally set at; Visually, I was not over enamoured with all the bumpy and pointy bits on the body so I decided to 'phone a friend' namely one of my old band mates from 40 years ago who was building guitars in his retirement. Armed with a set of French Curves we went to work... We subtly rounded the upper horn, and took the pointy bit off the lower horn then took quite a bit of material from the bottom end of the body. Now you will notice that this picture shows an undercoat. The original blue burl is actually a very thin real wood veneer, unfortunately because we were going to relocate the pickup then there was no way of either getting some veneer or even applying it to the original pickup position, so the plan was to respray. With the old pickup cavity blocked with a bit of wood and the new cavity cut out it was time to prep for the respray. Now in case you're confused the photo above was taken before he finished rounding off the bottom of the body he'd forgot about that, so he actually cut those bits off when he'd prepped the undercoat. Colour. What are we going to have? Well I wanted something a bit different to all of the natural or black guitars I already have. So was thinking back to my youth when in the early 70's everything was orange, Space Hoppers, Chopper bikes, Habitat wall paper and also a groundbreaking film 'A Clockwork Orange' was doing the rounds. Picked out RAL2011 and since it matched my little Orange Crush Bass 50 thought 'that'll do' and was at one stage going to call the bass 'The Clockwork Orange' even printed out the decals along with Alex Delarge's stylised eye. Nitro painting; Shielding Headstock - dropped the lettering and just went with the eye flakey machine heads replaced with Wawicks and a Glockenklang 3 eq pre added; Final assembly Neck pickup sounds lovely dialled fully on and the Glockenklang just adds a lot more richness so really happy now with the guitar which didn't start life as a bad instrument to be fair, but it's where I want it now, has no resale value at all but I love it. Cheers.

Played the Foodies Festival at Winchester at the weekend with Bodacious. Very short turnaround time on stage as it was starting to run a little behind schedule, and Sister Sledge was the top billing. So, my trusty JV PJ directly into the supplied backline, which was the big Blackstar bass combo. I used this at a Foodies do last year and it really does have some grunt to it - I was rather impressed. Here's a pic taken at the end of the show.

It may well come to that. Whether the finger heals or not I'm not taking this lying down; I will play my bass again.

I have temporary custody of a pal's '63. As far as he's aware, it's never been taken apart It plays beautifully.

Here is my 62 Fender, originally P but now PJ, bass modded by others and me over the years. I have owned it since around 1983. I had no idea of it's potential value back then and sent it to my favourite Luthier, Alasdair Watt in Aberdeen (now sadly no longer with us) to make it into the all round bass that I needed for the work I was doing then. He shaved the C neck down to Jazz like proportions. He added a bridge pup (I think Kent Armstrong) and put an out of phase switch in for added tonal range. It had a beat up natural finish when I got it. Alasdair painted it sunburst. It had Schaller machines added. I had the original rusty Fender bridge re nickel plated and that's what is on it to this day. The pots have been replaced but I still have the originals (see pic). I took it to bits in lockdown (see photos) and had the wiring for the original split pup repaired/redone. I replaced the perished rubber pup beds which had no spring left in them. I shimmed the neck and removed the out of phase switch which was rarely if ever used. I discovered an earlier mod where a pup had been added right beside the neck. This had gone by the time I bought it in '83. I sometimes dream that when I shrug off this mortal coil it will be buried with me. Me with the PJ in '88

I will just drop this here for your viewing pleasure, decided to build a 5 string 35” scale neck-thru Flea M inspired bass, with 19mm spacing. Walnut, Bubinga, Wenge, Maple, Ash Harry Haeussel M5 Stingray 76 preamp clone Gotoh GB350 Hipshot Vintage bridge Zero fret Oil finish

I had seen a few of these lovely little tweed reissues come up and started to investigate. Completely wrong, because I'm trying to reduce gear drastically and raise cash for my upcoming house move but I have no self control. I've had the amp for less than a week and it got two gigs this weekend. My usual rig is an Ashdown ABM600 with two fifteen inch cans but I fancied something more portable and with a distinct character. The TV twelve is an ok one hand lift at 20kg though more modern 12" combos will probably be half the weight. The tweed is a bit worn in and has dulled a bit and got some patches of light wear but is in good condition as is the brown speaker cloth. There are two things I love about this amp: the gain dial, I generally crank it most of the way up which gives a gorgeous, round and full woollyness to the sound, proper valve preamp. It's great with my jazz bass and stingray but comes into it's own with the P bass. The other thing is the volume control. At four or less it's comfortable home practice levels. Above that it's gig levels. Last night on an outdoor stage I had the amp at seven (out of twelve) and could hear it beautifully on stage, even with a full drum kit and stage monitoring. I ran the amp at lower levels the night before for a private party in a small room with electronic drums and a sub for the PA, again really good projection. So, this doesn't replace the ABM but I got a bit sick of going to festivals and having to use some really awful provided bass amps, where there isn't switch around time to bring out the ABM rig I can just bring the TV twelve and everything is fine. It's really got its own character, and sounds as good as it looks. They aren't cheap second hand but they really are a great little noise box.

Played at a private party at a friend of our singer/guitarist, who has a house with a garden that runs down to the Thames and it's own private island. Every year, he has a mini festival over a summer weekend, inviting friends and neighbours , of which he has lots ( inviting the neighbours gets around the noise problems, but the pub next door complains if they play after 11pm, ironically ) "Stage" is on a patio, that normally has a sail cover over it, but as it was a beautiful evening, and we were on first, it hadn't been rigged. Amp was basically in the flowerbed to give me room to stand. Played a hour plus set, split in half by some great homemade curry being served. Lots of dancing and good feedback from the small but lively crowd. Mrs B enjoyed being pampered. I think there are about 6 more bands over 3 nights in total. Lovely, generous people.

LAST NIGHT! The Cantina Band's tour of The Vaults in Knowle continued at The Vaults in Knowle. Again. Dep drummer (the chap from my other band) as our usual dep drummer had got his dates wrong and is in the USA (He's from Wisconsin, which he'll mention if you hang around with him for more than about 14 yottoseconds). We had a rehearsal with him (the chap doing the gig, not the chap who's in America) and he'd really done his homework and had nailed 99.9% of the set, so no worries on that front. (In fact, he knew the stuff better than the rest of the band - they/we're not really known for their/our meticulous preperation.) Load in is a good one, parking right behind the stage (I say 'stage'... I mean the corner between the toilets and the fire escape), set up was the usual, bit of good-natured piss-takery, catching up and gossip swapping. Not many in there when we kicked off, the singer and guitarist had brought their partners (both lovely) and a few mates (quality levels: various), so enough to make it worthwhile. I was presented with a (belated) birthday cake, a (belated) birthday badge (which everyone insisted I wear for the whole gig) and a rendition of Happy Birthday (belated) after song 2 (the second song in the set, not Song 2 by Blur, which we don't do (we should, actually)) which was as thoughtful as it was unexpected. First set was good, drummer smashed it. We play more poppy stuff in the other band, so it was nice to hear him giving the heavy rock stuff a good spanking. It was incredibly hot and sweaty, which is sort of what you want at a rock gig in a pub I suppose. Quick vape at half time, back into the second set which was also pretty good - the stuff we play (Ramones, Sex Pistols, Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica, McFly* - all the big names in Rock/Metal) isn't for everyone... those that like it tend to REALLY like it and those that don't tend to sit at the bar and ignore us. A few young people appeared when we finished with Sex on fire and Brightside and filled up the Dancefloor (I say 'Dancefloor'... I mean the bit of sticky carpet next to the the corner between the toilets and the fire escape) so I went and joined them for a wireless boogie, which is always a laugh. They shouted for one more so we punished them with Enter Sandman, a guaranteed Dancefloor-emptier. EBMM Sterling -> Small board (EHX Tuner -> EHX Bass Soul Food -> Hookers Green Bass Machine -> MXR Bass chorus deluxe) -> MB CMD 121 The landlady loves us for some reason, we're back there a few times over the next couple of months. Paid, packed up, loaded out, home about half midnight for cold pizza remnants and a bottle of old father StingRayBoy's whiskey cider (ABV unknown but it certainly packs a decent wallop). * We had to learn a McFly song (Five colours in her hair) for a wedding we did, and we all decided we secretly quite like it, so we kept it in the set.

Here’s the new Jet , and me shortly after buying that big orange one. I guess I’m becoming a Gretsch guy , didn’t see that coming. I was originally a Pbass guy and for years that was all I had. Then I got into Rics , and somehow into Danos after that. Then it was Gibson short scales , now Gretsches.

New to me, but a 2011 model. A ‘Ball Family Reserve’ instrument, limited production run. I’ve asked about the actual production numbers, but they are not known. Most Stingrays are 4H, so I’d imagine this is a pretty rare beast in this specification. There is a very subtle copper sparkle in the paint. Invisible in daylight, & just about visible under lights, but that’s where the ‘Black Sugar’ name comes from. Rare for me to want a painted body over exotic wood, but the gorgeous roasted maple neck ticks that box. It was the sound that made me want it anyway - as soon as I played it plugged in, I knew it was coming home with me!!

Just finished putting this together for my next tour: It's a bit convoluted for something that looks pretty simple! On the next tour I will be doubling on electric and upright, so the sound man wants a separate feed for each. I, on the other hand, only want one volume pedal, and one tuner for both instruments, which means they will both have to share a section of the signal path. The Lehle Acouswitch popped up for sale here and I worked out that between that and an LS-2, I can do what I need. The Lehle has two inputs, so the upright will go into Input A (as this input goes through the preamp/EQ section) and my Sadowsky P will go into Input B (as this doesn't go through the preamp). The only actual effect I need on this tour is an Octave pedal, so the Octamizer can sit at the back of the board in the Lehle's loop and be brought in and out of the chain with the footswitch on the Lehle. The last thing in the chain is the second effects loop on the Lehle which is always active (no switch). In there I put the Peterson tuner (in monitor mode so the readout is always active, but the pedal isn't muting the signal) and then the signal is routed out of a TRS Mini Mod to the volume pedal that is off the board using a Y splitter. The signal comes back into the board then hits the LS-2 set to A<->B Mode. Send A goes back to the Return of the Lehle, and Send B goes to the Khan DI. Whenever you switch instruments with the Lehle, you switch outputs with the Boss accordingly. I modded my LS-2 to have blue and white LEDs to match the blue/white channel select LED on the Lehle. So although you have to hit 2 switches to change instruments, all you have to do is make sure the LEDs on both units are the same, which will ensure each instrument goes to the correct DI Out. I put the LS-2 as close to the Lehle A/B switch as possible to make it as convenient as possible. Signal chain is: Upright --> Lehle Channel A Electric --> Lehle Channel B Lehle Loop 1 Send --> Octamizer --> Lehle Loop 1 Return Lehle Loop 2 Send --> Peterson Strobostomp Mini --> Dunlop DVP4 --> Boss LS-2 In Boss LS-2 Send A --> Lehle Loop 2 Return --> XLR Out to Desk (Upright) Boss LS-2 Send B --> Khan VTDI --> XLR Out to Desk (Electric) I like being able to roll my volume pedal off to tune, and this setup will allow me to do that for both basses, with one volume pedal and one tuner. The Lehle also has a mute switch that sends the signal to the Tuner Out, but I wouldn't be able to roll off the volume pedal to tune in that configuration, so I doubt that switch will get used much. I've used a Rockboard MOD to keep all my ins and outs neat and tidy. I also drilled out one of the side holes of the Rockboard to accept a PowerCON connector, which I've soldered two IEC's on to. One goes to the GigRig Generator under the board for the pedals, the other right angled IEC comes through the top of the board to power the Khan VTDI. All 1/4" cables are made up of Squareplug SP400 jacks and Mogami 2319 cable, all XLR cables are Van Damme and Switchcraft low profile right angle XLRs. The Y Split for the volume pedal is a Squareplug SP550S (TRS) to 2 Squareplug SPS4 TS jacks. I like the Squareplugs as not only are they super low profile and well made, they sell different colour screws that you can use to ID your cables. I have orange on the jack that plugs into the Output of the volume pedal, so I (and any potential deps) will know which jack goes where. If you got this far without falling asleep, congratulations - you're as much of a nerd as I am! 🤣

I think I've seen the light and have been converted.... I've been very happy with the sound, playability and feel of my Musicman SR5. It has been my main bass for sometime now being used every weekend at church and while rehearsing for a new band. Now that I'm gigging again with 20 shows until the end of year I wanted to lighten the load on my back and maybe at the same time try a generally smaller bass. Sam a fellow Basschatter who lives near me has an Acinonyx bass strung with Labella low tension flats. He very kindly hosted me one afternoon while I had a go on his bass to see if I liked it. Well to say I was impressed was an understatement. The smile on my face was ear to ear. It is small, very light weight, packs a punch and the 17mm string spacing made it so easy to play. The next day I put an order in with the most excellent guys at Bass Direct and the next day arrived a fantastic Acinonyx bass in Lake Placid Blue. I've also ordered a set of Newtone Shorties strings to see if they suit the Acinonyx. Has anyone tried them? Two gigs, church and 2 rehearsals later I'm a convert. So much so the SR5 has gone to Bass Bros and I'm looking around for more shorties. 🤠

It felt like a contractual obligation but the other half of my goth duo wanted us to play his street party. All the questions that one might have from that sentence ran around my head, and the bar was set low in my mind. I made the online promo very self mocking and tongue-in-cheek BUT as is often the way with these things, it was actually much better than anyone could have anticipated. I played bass, mandolin, mandocello, sang and played guitar. Having taken a back step from live work to write / record, it was nice just to be out in public again. And the weather was lovely... not at all phased when we burst into our rendition of The Cult's "Rain" towards the end.

Band: Pop Rock Riot Gear: G&L SB2. Shure Wireless, HX Stomp. Senneheiser EW and Shure SE215. We played a gig in Sunderland on Friday (so I'm a day late, sorry) that was a mixed bag. It transpired that the venue never puts bands on on a Friday, Friday is karaoke night. But the karaoke person had cancelled so they shoved a band on anyway. All the locals showed up expecting the karaoke, and then most of them left again when they realised the bait and switch. This, mixed with the fact that Sunderland had Cubix festival last weekend and Monument Festival this weekend, meant that revelers were in very, very short supply. Oh dear. Anyway, those that were there loved us and we got a chance to try out some new songs live for the first time in a safe space. Video from Jack Elliott.mp4

Played the marvellous festival at Wokingham last night, with the Phil Collins tribute , Second to last band slot which suited us i thought. Fantastic atmosphere and audience, very well organised do. Bit hectic changeovers but aren’t they always at this type of gig. Very enjoyable. We’ve played it before and apparently are already booked for 2026. The weather threatened to get really quite bad by thankfully held off generally. Great stuff indeed! X

After last weekend’s fun with the originals band it was back to the covers band, Top Deck. This time at The Gate Inn, Loscoe In Derbyshire. We were expecting to start at 9pm but the pub was very quiet. So, with the agreement of the landlady we delayed the start time until 9.30. This paid off, as the place eventually filled up.

I'd be all over that, if it was a 2-string. GLWTS.

Well, there's an update: I went back to the hospital today and the clinic staff removed the dressing (eventually; it was caked in dried blood inside!) and cleaned it up so that a good look could be taken. One side of it is reattaching nicely; the other side less so. However, the consultant had a look and said that hopefully the good side will encourage the less-good side to behave and that I should come back in a week's time for another look. He hasn't ruled out me losing a big chunk of it but it does sound as if things are reasonably positive at the moment. I was advised to move the fingertip within the confines of the dressing (which was changed for a much smaller and less bulky version). I tried to take a picture of the wound but somehow just got the floor of the clinic, so you lot have escaped the gorefest this time. Cheers, JRK

A very warm July evening on Sat and no air con! But had a really enjoyable wedding gig with our 'dep crew' - first time with our new drummer and he did a great job! Al Krow (@al_krow) • Instagram photos and videos

Last night Nine Lives played for the first time at The Tolbooth in Ellon. It was an interesting setup in the conservatory needing some creative ways of getting electricity to the left hand side of the "stage" (ie. area of floor we occupy). Nevertheless, we got set up and got going and after a bit of level tweaking had a great night. Decent crowd, had some dancers up for a fair few songs - held them there for three with Shut Up And Dance -> Bad Moon Rising -> then an impromptu set list change to Waterloo. Was pleased with the band doing that on the fly, especially as it wasn't me making the suggestion. We heard afterwards from the staff that even the shy folk up at the bar were singing along and enjoying it too - couldn't really see them as we were downstairs a bit. Got some great feedback, most importantly from the lady who paid us, so hopefully this will lead to repeat bookings at this venue. Very happy with how it went. Gear used - my G4M rat bass followed by the Sire D5 into the usual Markbass modular shenanigans.

Hi all, we have our drawings, many thanks to @Bassybert for drawing them up and @SamIAm for checking them, any mistakes are mine (hoping there aren't any of course) I've swapped out the origianl hand sketch at the top of this thread and there is a link to download the drawings in PDF

I’ve watched this a couple of times now and have really enjoyed it so thought I’d share with the BC community! I think Ian Allison really gets the best out of the guests on the channel, and this is no exception. As for Tim Lefebvre, I think he’s all-round fabulous. This interview covers, amongst other things, Knower, Bowie (again), Tedeschi Trucks, and some sound advice (and examples) of what happens, and what to do, when you mess up in the studio/on stage - it happens to the best of them! Well worth a watch…

50th birthday party last night, 80s theme, so everyone in good spirits despite being outside and the weather being on the cusp of disaster most of the evening. First obstacle however was getting to the place- in the middle of a woods up a very long and bumpy track. A few band members who hadn’t heard of what3words struggled… Next up was setting up on some decking outside the house with only a sail for shelter from the elements, a few gusts of wind almost drenched the drummer setting up but during the gig there were no issues. But apart from that, dep guitar and trumpet were acceptable if not spectacular but the audience were up for a party. Got everyone trained up for a super quick pack down, one more gig tonight with a complete band of first call players.

Wee punk gig with Emergency Exit in one of our fav venues in The Riverside in Dumfries. We were asked to play in the large conservatory area instead of in the bar area. There were noise complaints about bands in the venue and it went to court so its a delicate situation. Ann that runs it has unfortunately decided to retire and said by the time the court case comes round she'll be gone and doesn't care anymore about noise complaints. Fairly busy, not packed out but a good party feel and altho a lot of rather intoxicated people they were all generally well behaved. We have one more gig in this venue before the current owner leaves so reckon that will be the end of the bands because of the noise complaints. Shame as bands have been playing there for a lot of years and way before the complainers arrived. Embarrassing moment when bringing the car along the private road near the river to load up and as i pulled up at the bar there was a rather drunk couple "having fun". I reckon she played the trumpet in a band but hey ho that's life when young and drunk. An hrs drive home so that is always good plus my bag of M&M's for the drive to keep me focused Used the MarloweDK for the first half but decided to use the Godin the 2nd half and what a difference that Godin makes. Its such a deep warm tone with a nice edge when you need it. I do love playing the Marlowe TBH honest but like most Jazz basses i find they can get a bit lost in the mix. The Godin has the Precision depth with the J pick up at the bridge just giving it that little bit more clarity. Have to say when you flick it onto P pick up on its own it does sound like any decent P bass. I prefer the switch to the pan or twin volume set up. I never use the pan on a bass its always dead centre. Handbox WB-100 amp into my Mesa SW210/115 cabs with my Shure Wireless. The Handbox and Godin bass are a perfect match IMO. Dave

I was away from this thread for a while trying to keep up with, and occasionally contribute to, the UK General Election thread - I've now recovered sufficiently to start re-engaging with the Bass Chat bit of Basschat😀 . Also I found the first night at the new Jam Night venue a little underwhelming, so wasn't inspired to write anything about it. It didn't have the same "good live music" feel as the previous venue and several of the better bands didn't turn up. This month's was better - the atmosphere wasn't back to the previous venue's but the bands turned up. Except mine, so I talked a couple of members of the host band into playing with me and a new bloke on the guitar joined us. People sang along to our set, so I guess we made a good call on the songs and I felt we played them pretty well. Here is our version of "Keep Your Hands to Yourself" by the Georgia Satellites - a bit of a one hit wonder and I suspect not that well known in the UK - do any of your bands play it?

Played an end of year party for the teachers from a Bristol school at the Grain Bardge last night. Great gig. They were definitely up for a party! I'd recommend doing end of year parties.

Opened a three-act punk set last night at the Banshee Labyrinth in Edinburgh. Lovely wee venue with a lot of atmos. My new Stingray had its first outing and I was very pleased with how well it cut through. We're playing there again in September.

About 20yrs ago I was regularly gigging with a USA Musicman Stingray bass and Ampeg rig Sold it all off when the band folded and I had a ten year break from playing bass ( everything sold ) I returned and started playing Fender PBass and I thought this was my perfect bass however I’ve discovered that I’m really still a Stingray guy and I’ve found a secondhand USA Stingray in Blue Pearl virtually the same as my original bass !! I’m converted back to playing a Ray Im already selling my Vintera II on here and my American Performer will soon be listed too Picture of incoming bass and 20yrs ago gigging my Ray with Ampeg 610 and SVT CL head !

After a three week layoff, last Saturday my band reconvened to play at a 3-band mini-festival in yet another Dorset village. This was a strange venue insofar as the teas, games and kiddies stuff were in one field, whilst the tractors, vintage cars and music were in the next field up the hill; yes, there was pedestrian access between the two, but only a crazy treasure-hunt navigational challenge round the back lanes for vehicles. I parked on a 1-in-5 slope near the pole barn set aside for bands, but was very grateful later for the Jeep’s ultra-low 4WD to get out after the rain that pelted down - many others needed tractor assistance! So what about the music? We followed a competent rock band with a barely-competent set dictated by the absence of our kb player (on holiday), our still-learning dep guitarist (young guy doing his best) and a rather superfluous fiddle/harmonica playing lady who was there to make up the contracted line-up numbers. Frankly, I wasn’t happy with that line-up nor with the unforced errors littering the sets, nor with the need to play only stuff that I’d describe as cheese and cr*p, because that was all the scratch line-up could manage without falling apart completely but that still happened, of course – crikey, we’ve always played ‘Jolene’ in Fm, but due to wrongly placed capos, panic and fluster-clucking that resulted in three restarts in Db, Eb then Bb, which is what we ended up busking it in! Now here’s the paradox – the punters (local worthies mixed with working farming types) loved us, wanted more (although we didn’t have any more to give) and were very happy to pay us. Moral of the story? I just don’t think there is one... perhaps it's if you get out of the venue alive, the gig was a success!

Satdy was a Private Do booked via an agency. Company Summer Party, early start (6:30), early finish (2x45s), we got there to catering, bouncy castle, face painting for the plethora of kids still there when we arrived, etc, etc. What the agent had neglected to mention was the 150yd schlep of all the gear from the car park (in some faceless industrial estate Stockport way) at the front of the buildings all the way round and down to the bottom of the grounds. BL didn't bring anything with wheels on it (other than the van), so it was a PITA just getting the gear to the stage. Mostly indifferent crowd, more focused on hitting the free bar (cans and bottles, mostly lukewarm) and getting their kids back home, plus the rain about half time didn't help. Despite the lack of crowd enthusiasm or engagment, the organiser said 'You're the best band we've ever had', so I told the BL to take note and put the price up for next time. Small stage under an awning (didn't leak, a plus), but my inear mix was inexplicably awful and I couldn't get near the desk to adjust it. Two 45s, one encore and we buggered off - home for half nine, but the schlep ruined it. Plus point was I'd had that cheapo Sonic P to a good tech (Matt Ryan) local to me, and the final touch of a fret dress and good setup finished off a promising bass into a go-to one. Stomp and inears is the rest of the rig...

Final gig done in a busy weekend. Tortworth Hall, Gloucestershire. Massive hotel, very nice. The family are repeat clients and have booked us before for other weddings/ birthdays. The function room there is pretty large and has just enough room on stage for an 8 piece band. The event definitely felt like a Sunday gig, and it took a while for everyone to swop modes from lounging around the gardens with nice food into party time- we played their first (Bless The Broken Road) and most people headed for the fresh air immediately after. Had the first choice lineup though and by the time the second half started we had them partying. So glad this is the first day of the holiday for me, knackered this morning but just love playing. Incidentally, a very nice Dino in the car park, as well as us muppets.

We were at our favorite venue last night, The Coach House in Paignton. I used my recently purchased Squire Precision which I bought of Andybassdoyle here. It performed well and sounded great. Thumbs up from our drummer too. As usual it went through my RM 500-Evo II and BF 210, with a DI to the PA. We played well and sounded good. Plenty of dancing by some very appreciative people. One of our regulars only just noticed, after years of watching us, the bass line in War Pigs, particularly behind the guitar solo and was suitably impressed. Bit if a break until the next gig, but that gives us time to work on the set as we need a few new songs and our drummer, our son who rejoined us last gig, to learn some some more recent songs of our too.

We played a private party yesterday evening with The Verity Bromham band. Well organized and looked after. I took my Thunderbird but realised Del hadn’t bought his usual ‘guitar garage’ for me to stand it in. He kindly offered to let me use a double hanging stand he had for his guitars. I set up and wandered offstage only to watch Del grab his Les Paul from the stand, which promptly toppled over along with my Thunderbird. It all happened in slo mo - me having visions of a trip to our local luthier for a headstock refit. But no, a stage light broke its fall and it fell on carpet. Not only was the headstock still intact but there wasn’t a mark on the bass . . . . . Phew! Had a good evening, ext stop Cambridge Rock Festival on Friday and Saturday week.

Have missed a number of gigs because I’ve forgotten to take photos- no issues tonight, the venue owner (Lyde Court, Hereford) suggested we got one by his plane, as one does. Horns on track tonight, punters don’t really care but they’re a bit cheesy for my liking but otherwise a great gig, works do, young-ish crowd and they lapped it up. Two more this weekend as well, best get some sleep!

Spied this '78 with a A neck locally a couple of weeks ago. All the dates add up, cheeky offer of £300 off asking price was accepted. Nice example for well under £2k.

I took delivery of a new bass yesterday , and had the chance to hear it at room levels in my favourite downtown dive last night. I bought a big orange Gretsch hollow body last December and have been mostly using that. Some Gretsch fans mentioned that the ThunderJet would pair nicely with it so I’ve been looking for one. They were from the Pro Series that were made in Japan. Pricey and only made in small batches , no longer in production. I finally managed to find one. And I like it. Fairly quiet night at the gig , still an enjoyable night. I was able to switch basses a fair bit and compare the two. Some of my favourite nights have been quiet ones. Small but appreciative crowd. I’m back there Sunday night for the jam and will hear it again.