Leaderboard

I was rather bemused when my son told me there was a pedal-sized parcel for me today. I knew I hadn’t ordered anything as I’ve been having to tighten my purse strings due to impending major change of circumstances. I was therefore completely taken by surprise to find this incredibly lovely gesture and gift when I opened the box: Folks, this was totally unexpected and unnecessary, nevertheless I want to express my profound gratitude to the anonymous benefactors who were kind enough to do this. Thank you! My faith in humanity has been given a much needed boost after the kicking it’s been getting lately. ❤️

Late report... you'll see why. Saturday's Bendrix Rock gig at Penarth Ex's was memorable for all the right and wrong reasons. I help organising/publicising gigsat the club and it was where we had our first gig so I put out a press release bigging up our dinosaur connections. It got taken up by a local paper and I heard stories it was being talked about. Expectations were high but we were down to a four piece. Indeed the drummer and lead guitarist handwrote two setlists of what we could do after setting up. We also had our mascot for the first time. Around this time I got really dizzy while setting up some simple lights. Tried rehydrating but was so bad when we soundchecked with War Pigs I expected the rapidly expanding audience to disappear. This was unusual as people normally arrive at quarter to nine. We had lots of new faces arriving from eight. I did recover a bit but wasn't 100% right through and had a nasty wobble and nearly fell backwards playing Saturday Night's all Right. We went down a storm. Right through the first set we got not applause, but cheering. We played War Pigs, Paranoid and Crazy Train (we had to from our list) and this went down well, of course, but so did everything else. We finished saying we literally had no more songs (our current full band list is about 10 longer). But after several minutes of chanting and roaring we gave in and our singer said what do you want us to repeat. They all shouted "Muse". Fortunately it was Uprising not Hysteria! I turned up the sub on my octaver and you could see the audience's glee when I shook the whole building. Don't say people don't notice bass. It took longer to deal with all the handshakes and well wishes than to pack up. Several people said how much better we were than our first gig. I've been to literally hundreds of gigs there as it's my local club and I can honestly say it was as packed as I've ever seen it and the best reception I've ever had for a gig. People spilled over from the 'Music Alley' into the lounge, but were coming in to join the dancing. We all agreed this was why we gig, and we donated a modest bit of our fee to the raffle for the stroke association. I packed my gear, dropped it to my partner's nearby house and walked to the pub, feeling a little wobbly. I joined her and friends but managed no more than a sip of my Inches cider when the bar stated pulsating and swaying. She walked me home (I was crashing into walls and generally swaying like a drunk). I didn't get to the loo before the first 🤮 I ended up on the floor for three hours, my brother came over as we were told four hours for a priority ambulance. They got me downstairs somehow and I was lying in the porch contemplating how to get to his car when the blue lights appeared after less than an hour. Cutting it short, it's probably severe positional vertigo. I puked so much I had to go on a drip but thanks to the wonderful NHS and lots of pills/IV, I am recovering and hoping to go home soon. Waiting on a cat scan to be sure it's not a brain injury. So good and bad! I gave the Performer an outing. It sounded glorious. This really doesn't give an impression of how full it was.

Had an absolutely banging gig today down in Poole at Country In The Park with Katy Hurt. We opened proceedings and had an absolute blast. Interesting moments..: I didn’t read the set list so was almost caught out by the first song My (Dunlop) strap lock popped out during the first song so I ended up having to improvise til I could sort myself out (embarrassing photo below) Cris, playing lap steel/acoustic guitar/mandolin kept stepping on my lead so I couldn’t wander the stage as freely as I’d been trying to do. Ironically I drove home via @franzbassist to pick up his Rockboard Tree 3.0 so I can have a bigger board to fit my wireless receiver… needed more forward planning on my part! But on the whole, an absolute blast of a gig. Very hot, very fun, and I hope we made some new friends. Shoes were the lo top Soul Cals again. Me pretending to play djent when the strap popped out: The whole band just having fun:

A bit of electrical tape on my old CV Squier Jazz and she's ready to rock for tonight's gig with Stray at 'Time to Rock' Festival in Sweden!

Blockbustarz Glam covers at The Dreadnought in Bathgate. One of my fav gigs to be honest. Sound check went well and everything sounded great. Then for some weird reason i started to struggle to hear the bass out front. I had deliberately kept my on stage volume low and assumed the SE was on top of FOH. Unfortunately i spoke with my wife at the end and she said she struggled to hear the bass at times. I'll have a word with SE next time we play. He was experienced a deep feedback ring that we couldn't identify and maybe he's dropped the bass FOH to help and possibly forgot to turn it back up. My wee fingers are aching tonight as i automatically play harder when i'm struggling to hear myself. In future i'll be setting my stage volume to suit me if FOH are just gonna turn me down. I always set my stage level to balance drum levels. Other than that we had dancers from the get go. Only sold 40 tickets but a lot of walk-ins which the owner said was pretty normal these days. Ended up reasonably busy when we started and the audience remained. We had folks up from Galashiels and some came over from Livingston to see us so we have a fan base out there 😂 2x1hr sets or thereabouts. 2 encores which was nice. Odd thing was we had a crowd of Goths in and they were loving it and dancing virtually every song. At the end while loading car I overheard one of them say he's not danced that much in ages and loved it. So that was nice. It was an 80-20% ticket deal tonight and we did OK with that as we usually do. Back again Sat before Xmas which is always a fun party night and very busy. Usual gear :- Sandberg VM4 Shure GLXD+ wireless Keeley Bassist Comp. Handbox WB100 Barefaced 212 cab Loving this bass cab. Its lightweight and easy to lift but retains so much depth and the wide angle dispersion means i can clearly hear it if standing right next to it. Only downside is i always find 12's lack the mid punch of a 10" speaker but its still a superb cab and i just need to tweak my EQ abit more. I am loving the tone i'm getting with this rig. No more distortion when i play slightly harder now since i dropped the P pick up a touch on the VM4. I can still trigger it if i dig in really hard but i'm trying to play a bit lighter these days to save damaging my wee fingertips on plucking hand. All in all a great wee night and the Pizza from next door was pretty good too. 50min drive home on quiet roads and a nice wee toasted pancake and coffee and now time for bed. Night night guys. Dave

Cool weekend of gigs. Friday night playing bass with Superbad at the Sapcote Social Club in Leicestershire. Really good turnout, lots of dancing and good sound. Saturday night playing bass with my own band (the Andy Wales Band) at Bar Dos Hermanos in Leicester. We were all knackered and it was a bit ragged and “seat of pants” at times but still plenty of good bits, a decent crowd and some righteous noises were made by all. Gear for both gigs was a Yamaha BB604 and little Markbass traveller rig. Then Sunday, helping our local village guitar teacher with his twice yearly gig for his students (including my eldest lad who’s just discovered Nirvana). It’s quite inspiring to see the youngsters grow as musicians over the few years we’ve been involved. The biblical rain from the morning thankfully stayed away all afternoon and it was a lovely outdoor shindig in his back garden, with me providing the PA and bass gear, being a general helper and being roped in on bass for one song. Gig below from Saturday night and Sunday afternoon’s gigs.

Gig last night was a little two hour, two set, Thursday night soiree. Everything went ok and it was free from any technical or equipment issues. The pair of G4M 1x12 powered pa speakers bought used for less than a ton nearly a year ago as a stop gap when our previous singer left with his EV’s continue to provide sterling service, and have more than paid for themselves. They aren’t hugely powerful but 1x12 + horn seems an ideal configuration for pub gigs. It’s only vocal, saxophone, and kick going through them. First time out for my new LFSYS Silverstone II cab, and also first gig with my newly restored Trace Elliot SMX head. Both worked perfectly and the clarity and sound quality were quite astonishing. I used my Sadowsky M/J for this gig. If there was anything to be noted for after gig discussions, it was that the second set started to get a bit jazzy rather than blues and perhaps a bit louder than was necessary. Both the guitarist and drummer were suffering from “The Guiness Effect” by then.🤔 Venue was Baker Street in Stirling, not the most spacious of venues. The band name seems to be sticking now as Blues Delux( for the last three gigs). Must admit I prefer the Sunday afternoon shows at this venue rather than late week nights. It also rained tonight, and the venue was late advertising the show. So it wasn’t a big crowd we played to, but they seemed to enjoy it. Everyone was happy, the band all enjoyed themselves, and we got paid to boot. I’ll take that any day. I believe there was video footage but it's not available yet. That maybe a good thing😊

Our gig Saturday night was expected to be a bit of a muted affair, due to a range of other events happening in the area the same night. While we did lose a few of our usual following to these, it turned out to be a busy night after all, with plenty of new faces (and future followers). These included one bloke who I know from our village who never knew I was in a band, but had us recommended to him by the postman who regularly attends our gigs. Also there was someone I'd not seen since leaving school! Gig wise, the usual two 45 minutes sets of the British 76-82 punk classics - first outing for Stay Free by The Clash was a bit wobbly but well received! Played my shortscale LP Junior DC custom bass through the Orange Terror 500 and twin Isobaric cabs (lurking in the darkness with it's one glowing orange eye!). The Samsamp Geddy Lee YYZ pedal put a touch of damaged/overdriven speaker cone effect into the sound for authenticity, while the usual Dr Martens black safety boots (health and safety at all times!!) kept me the right way up all night! Next one is in a marquee at a scooter rally in a couple of weeks.....

Just back from a sports and social club over in Nuneaton about 12 miles away. There were quite a few in, which made for a good evening, and a bit of dancing in the last set. We've played there before but I think there were a few more in this time. The guitarist had a bit of an off night, making some silly mistakes in songs we've played loads of times. However we were pleasantly surprised at how well Sir Duke came together after just learning our bits at home and then playing it together for the first time in the gig. I love playing with such talented guys. I love the painted back wall. The usual Stingish bass into GT-6B (operated by burgundy suede Converse one-stars) into Fender Rumble v3 500 combo. Passable cheese and onion batch (we ventured from our native cob-eating Leicester into batch-eating Nuneaton) from the bar - only £1.50 - bargain

Saturday Night party gig in New Wellington Newmarket. Rock Covers Trio - apart from drunks knocking the boom of the mic stand into the singer/guitarist mouth and teeth several times, overall a very good night, 50+ people, great crowd couldn't ask for better. I'd decided to go back to a P bass (reverse, no tone pot) after stints using my Dingwall ABZ and G&L Trib M2000, turns out simple is best for me, also went back to the Keeley Bassist compressor after using a UAFX 1176 and struggling with all the extra knobs and choices! Raised the crossover (Sine Effects X24) point for my drive from 680hz to 800hz ish and I was very pleased sound wise, my P has the D'addario EXL160BT 120-50 strings tuned to Eb, still plenty of tension and plenty of "heft" through the Tecamp Puma 900 + BF Super Twin set up. Still getting used to filling out the mix since going down to a trio line up.

Sunday afternoon gig with the covers/original band at the Red Hart in Bodham. We were meant to be playing outside in the beer garden under the newly completed covered area (nice job) but the governor was worried by the forecast of thunderstorms and the likelihood of the rain being driven under the shelter (guess there are insurance implications). It was decided we should play indoors in the dining room but needed to wait until the end of the main service before setting up. I have been to jams and open mics in the dining room and wasn’t too impressed with the acoustics, so I was a bit apprehensive, especially as we had come equipped for playing outside. Fortunately, our drummer plays an electronic kit, so we can turn him down 😀. I had my two LFSys Monzas driven by a Blackstar U700, with a MB LMIII as standby. Basses: Guild Starfire 1 and a custom made P/J shorty. In the end I only connected the top cabinet and the guitarists just used their amps, with only vocals, drums and keys going into the PA. Somehow we managed to get a good sound, according to friends who had come to watch. I had the master on the U700 so low it was almost off but apparently could be heard throughout the pub: testament to the amazing projection of the LFSys cab. Unfortunately, waiting until the main service was over meant that we lost 50% of our audience and instead of a full beer garden, we ended playing to about a dozen people, with some leaving and new arrivals taking their place. The governor said he would normally have a full beer garden but the weather forecast had obviously kept the punters away. We were supposed to do a three hour stint but ended up doing an hour and 10 minutes for the first set and almost an hour for the next two sets. This was largely because the audience was appreciative and we decided to see if we could get through every song on the set list (bit of a paid rehearsal). Despite the temperature dropping it was very humid and with 5 of us crammed into the end of the room, it felt like a sauna. Anyway, we got good feedback from the punters and the governor has invited us back, so not a disaster. No pics: I must remember to take some next gig. Footwear: trainers to cope with being on my feet that long.

Finished up at the bluegrass festival this afternoon in very heavy rain. Full 5 piece band and we had a good rehearsal before our set and then found out it was shortened to 30 minutes instead of the normal 45-55 minutes. Not much playing and a two hour drive each way. Yesterday we played at noon and the band was in good form and we were very tight and did a beautiful version of Seven Bridges Road, the acapella part was wonderful four part harmony, a good set and the crowd enjoyed it and our leader and lead vocal was back in good health. Usual festival set up, Czech DB with Nux wireless into Traynor amp and DI to PA, excellent sound guys and we sounded good.

Busy weekend, after a while of not doing anything. Had an hour slot at a local festival, Party by the Parrett, and got the 6pm slot which was nice. We had played a wedding and a party at the venue, and the guy that run the club liked us. Very well organised (stocked fridge back stage and everything) and handily the two main sound guys were the guitarists friend and one of the guitarists in my other band. We had argued a bit trying to get the set list down, we had been asked to do mainly rock (there was a more poppy band and a ska band on after us, so we stuck to the rock mostly) seemed to go down well and we managed to get it down to 1hr and 3 minutes, so went over a bit, which messed stuff up a bit but not too bad. We had quite a few dancers . My guitarist / sound guy did a video from the side WhatsApp Video 2025-07-05 at 18.45.55.mp4 Today we played a pub, outside, on shingle which is a bit of a pain for getting dust everywhere and trying to stand your drink up. Also not good for wasps (or well, good depending on if you are a wasp or not!), back to the normal 2.5 hour set. To be honest I wasn't really feeling it as my hand hurt for some reason but it went well with only a few notable mistakes, like going to do the organ backing section of Brick in the wall, and not realising I didn't change my patch from the backing track of Baker street (which is like a bell), which was quite amusing. We had a request for timber which we hadn't done for a year or so but the singer couldn't remember how to play it! Glad to get back to work tomorrow for a rest!

Did a really lovely gig by the seaside near Swanage and, as well as a large fee, was allowed to order anything form the menu, which included this £70 lobster. Would have been rude not to!

Yesterday I was a Punk Pirate, having been to the Brighton Guitar Show with #2 son during the day and managed to avoid an impulse buy of a 72 P bass. It was very nice as was the 73 and the canary yellow 75 , but I just resisted. Having left there around 3:30 and dropped son off I headed over to Emsworth for a little light pirating at Kingsfest. Almost didn’t bother with IEM’s because it was quick turnarounds, but guitar from my usual main band said the onstage sound was a bit muddled, so in the end I set it up and just took a mono aux with bass, guitar and vox and put one plug in and it worked well. Timings for the day got out of sync due to weather and the Fest starting indoors then moving out. Would have helped if the acoustic duo had used the second stage rather than main, so when the compère said “the Pirates will be on in 15 minutes” there were cries of “I don’t think so!” but we were on pretty quick. Still somewhat curtailed of set time, not helped by my right leg going through the stage just before we started so so quick patching required…”I be capsizin’ cap’n” … “‘‘tis but a scratch ya scurvy scum” 🤣 Pretty solid set generally. Some flubs, but we’re Punk Pirates, nobody died, and it was generally good. Good crowd up for it and a lot of money made for a dementia charity, so all good. 90725182-ba33-4dba-ac6a-e0da656b2980.mp4

All knobs flat. Here’s some Chaka Khan and Bruno Mars groove. Also, the Octaver sounds great! I’d still prefer the Kaamos/Octabvre though as I’m mostly using this pedal for moog stuff. MXR Bass Synth 2025.wav

Thanks to @stevel my quest for a Aerodyne has been fulfilled. A cracking bass in as new condition and good to meet a fellow Basschatter.

Saturday, at the annual Folk in the Woods. It’s the inaugural event of the week-long Ripley Music Festival. It takes place at the Waingroves Community Woodland, a lovely area reclaimed from a coal mining site and managed by local volunteers. My covers band, Top Deck, finished off the day playing 7pm - 8pm. Back line supplied, so I was able to travel by bus with just my Mustang and a few bits. Any money raised goes to the upkeep of the woodlands, so no fees for anyone. However, it was free drinks and food for performers. I got a little bit confused by the paths walking back through the woods to the main road and bus stop. 🤪🍺

We played the fabulous Richard Jefferies Museum in Swindon. A beautiful setting with what I thought was a respectable crowd. I flew back from Spain yesterday so we hadn’t really rehearsed. I think we have it in the bank though. A varied crowd from 3-87yrs old and the under 10s all helped us pack up. Luckily, the other half of my duo is a teacher so he was able to coordinate them so we had no breakages! Everyone was super friendly and it was certainly one of the more memorable gigs.

2 outdoor gigs in North London for me yesterday. First gigs on bass for quite a while. First was at the Heath street festival in Hampstead. Nice stage and good sound. I had my new preamp with me but didnt use it at either gigs. First gig was with an Ampeg combo. Really nice sound. Quite tempted to get one at some point. It did rain a bit but that didnt seem to deter the crowd and we were covered. Second was in a private estate in Highgate. We were supposed to have a proper stage but it turned out to be a Gazebo with a small raised playing area. No side protection at all. Of course, the heavens opened up as we were approaching to set up. Again, backline was supplied so this time i used MB 3x10 combo. I had planned on using a preamp with this, but looking at the extension socket, filled with rain, I decided I wasn't going anywhere near it. Again, decent sound, which did surprise me as ive never been a fan of MB cabs. Highlight was when the sound guy turned the supplied Tube driven guitar combo on and a firework display emerged out the back of it. Apparently due to the tube being hot, a tiny drop of cold rain had shattered the glass. Guitarist ended up going DI from hisHelix Stomp. We had a really good sound though. Thoroughly enjoyed both gigs. What also struck me was how easy it was setting up. Never needed any effects, didnt even miss not using a preamp etc.

The money donated is now with the recipient. Thank you all so so much x

Did our monthly duo gig yesterday at The Sun Inn in Beverley, usual request format. Plenty of people in, including one table of folk from Ilkley and another from Sheffield. Probably the most requests we’ve ever had, with some nice stuff we haven’t played much, or ever! These included ‘Can’t take my eyes off you’, ‘Change the world’ ( which I love), ‘Let it be me’ , ‘ Dakota’ ( which I’m starting to dislike a lot now…) and then for an encore Albert Lee’s ‘Country Boy’. My guitarist partner was on fire in this, despite us losing the delay repeats at one point, and with no drummer to blame too! A very jolly gig in a great venue, with a lovely audience and some dancers as well. Used my Sire U5 into the Rumble 500, which has more authority than the 100 combo I’ve used before. Next one there is in late August, so looking forward to that already.

Played a set at a bluegrass festival last night as a trio of guitar, mandolin and DB and we all sing. We have done this before and it went well but the leader and main vocalist was not feeling well and it showed with sloppy intros and endings and some other slip ups that are not normal for us. On Saturday and Sunday we play two more sets but with the full 5 piece band and by that time we are hoping the leader has recovered. Not our finest set but that's just the way it goes sometimes.🙄

I took delivery of this one this morning. Richard Henry made the trip up to the seaside and brought it to my house personally. He had it advertised as a '72, and whilst the pot codes are 39th week of '72, the serial number is early '73, so I'm going to call it a '73. All original except for the saddles, intonation screws and springs. It was probably one of the grubbiest basses I've ever bought, but after two or three hours of cleaning and polishing, including the frets and the board, it has come up a treat. It's now sporting a set of Labella LTFs, the action is low, and it plays superbly well. It sounds fabulous too. The weight is an astonishing 8lbs 6oz, or 3.8kg. Richard has had this for a while, and I have resisted it all this time, and I even thought Brian on here was going to buy it for a while, but it remained for sale, and when Richard dropped the price for the second time in a week I just couldn't not buy it. I'm very pleased with this one. EDIT: Group shot added, the P bass collection. I really should stop now. Rob

I must be really boring using the same kit every gig 😂 Sunday afternoon/evening at the White Hart in Melton Mowbray. It was a little bit quiet, possibly due to the Grand Prix, possibly due to being very close to Leicestershire schools breaking up for the summer. Still, we had a decent crowd, plenty of dancing and pointing phone cameras - although not by me because I forgot. Sir Duke was much better for its 2nd (and 3rd!) outing. We also had some great feedback - "How on earth do you make that sound with just 3 of you?" made me smile. Then this morning from a chap that comes to see us a lot, talking about our Mackie SRM450s which only have the vocals going through them, the rest just backline... "Morning Danny, great gig yesterday. Just again realised how perfect your PA setup is. When you first started, I thought it could do with being a bit louder, Ian said what a perfect sound. Later on I went to the toilet, I listened right from the back of the room for one song. I could hear every note and vocals were absolutely crystal clear. And it was still loud enough. Have to say it now, but even in the barn at Barkby, with all Micks expensive gear it wasn't such a nice sound. The harmonies just somehow didn't seem as good. A fantastic job of entertaining us last night as always, let the boys know! Take care." Always nice to hear that kind of thing, especially as we only ever do a line check. The landlord was telling us about a recent band that took 4 hours to do a sound check - sod that!!! 😄

Straight out of the box, you get useable synth/moog sounds! It’s not hard to dial in and I think this responds better than most of the presets I liked in my C4. Anyway, here’s my small board project.

Dont cry 😀 Hiscox not dead! Polish guitar maker RUF Technologies has acquired the British brand Hiscox and is moving its entire case production—along with tools, technology, and brand identity—to a factory near Warsaw. The original name and high-quality standards will be preserved with the support of the former owner and key Hiscox experts, who remain involved as advisors. RUF produces high-end guitars using aerospace-grade composites and sells them in 14 countries. The company is actively expanding, especially in the U.S. market, and promotes its instruments at major global trade shows.

So we have black stain and a first coat of Tru-Oil on the neck More coats and lots of flatting required ... but it's really starting to look the part - old but well looked after - rather than utterly borked. 😁

Continuing my post-midlife crisis 'straying from Precisions' period, I couldn't resist this absolute stunner over the weekend. Just... look at it. It's a 1998 model, and was actually the L-2000 they used in the catalogue that year. A couple of honest dings here an there, but otherwise spot-on. I'll be gigging it on Friday.

On the mend. thanks for good wishes.

Been curious about these since they were released a few years ago, as I much prefer the RG style to the Soundgear range, and a fretted 5 was a hole in my collection. When I spotted this I had to take a punt. It's black, it's got a pointy headstock and sharkfin inlays, and it cost less than a Squier. What more do you need. It plays nicely, although we'll see how low the action can go, and sounds fine (although first impression is that the preamp does SFA). Neck's not as flat as I'd expected/hoped for based on the reputation of their guitar necks. The headstock also survived me immediately twatting it into the attic roof as I was unpacking it unscathed🙄 Good for metal innit. Although the skull volume knob might be a step too far.

I put this massive board together out of all of the bits I actually use during an average rehearsal. Covers everything I need. I've got it set up so in A/B mode it swaps between a slightly driven SVT and a very distorted SVT. Then for stomp box mode I've got it loaded with a Darkglass Microtubes capture and a Sansamp Bass Driver capture, and I'll test those two captures out and go with whatever I prefer on the day. My setup doesn't need to be any more complex than that.

He has limited movement in his right hand because of the needles and pins (ah).

Had a great day. 12 hour drive each way so it was quite a trek. Tickets were still available on Ticketmaster on the morning of the event and these were not showing as re-sales. I did notice a surprising number of empty seats. My weekend away was a retirement gift from my children so I did not have to delve into the budgetary aspects of the trip (other than parking and some fast food). I have read some reviews bemoaning various aspects of it but I liked the variety of bands, the quick turnaround times and the general vibe. Live music doesn’t need to be perfect, it just needs to be fun. An unforgettable gig.

Oh no it isn't.

I'm just chuffed for my friend Christian Madden who's playing keys. I've known him for nearly 30 years and we've done countless gigs together in numerous guises, from when he was just a lad. He's the most down to earth and honest Lancashire bloke you would ever wish to meet. I'm very proud of him tonight. Rob

Harley Benton Shorty does. I bought one when they came out and it blew me away - I don't know how it is possible to make a bass that is so good for the price of a night out. The tone, through my set-up, was very similar to the gorgeous woody tone of P bass in Santana's Europa. Out of preference for a bit more bite I changed the stock pickup to a Tonerider and it is now awesome. I have sold off most of my basses, including an MIJ Mustang, but keeping the HB Shorty for my Precision flavoured moments.

Not flashed off my pair of Lionels together. The blue one I added a clear scratchplate so you can see more of that gorgeous finish and an EMG Geezer Butler, I found the stock a bit sterile and was lacking something, the GZR is spot on, so much so that I took the 2 band active out of the cream Larry and put an Ivory GRZ It just wasn’t sitting the mix and felt a bit lost but the EMG punches thru nicely. The third knob is just a dummy … I’ve got an EBMM Stingray Short Scale in Starry Night, it looks the nutz but just doesn’t beat the Lionel Bergs!!

I always find it incomprehensible that folk form a loving bond with a wholly inanimate, impersonal object like, say, a car or a house, and yet here I am genuinely bereft at the passing of a loudspeaker. Strange chaps us humans. I just plugged into my hefty old 15" Trace Elliot cab and annoyed the neighbours one last time. Dreamed of owning this when I was a callow bass player with a Woolworths guitar and a head full of dreams. Now I'm at the far end of that road, grizzled, cynical, ancient beyond counting, and I can neither afford a vehicle that can carry it nor lift the damn thing. I put a solid old fashioned amp into it and cranked it beyond any level of neighborhood decency. Still sounds as amazing today as I dreamed it would way back when. It's going to a new home, for a new lease of life. I hope it will still bring joy long after I'm returned to dust. Adieu old friend, you were such a heavy ba$tard.

Is the correct Basschat response 👍

Without sounding like an immediate acolyte for many gigging bass players who need a couple of familiar sounds to nail the wedding gig/pub gig it’s gonna do a lot of the heavy lifting. It’s not gonna have the flexibility of a dedicated synth but has the accessibility of a pedal with some nice added flexibility to fine tune for folks who want to or need to deep dive. I think what MXR have offered is a pedal most of us can add to a board and have useable practical sounds that cover a lot of what we need. Calling it BassSynth will garner scrutiny from those who want a full synth in a pedal but realistically it’s a mass appeal unit serving 80%+ of the gigging player. It’s nice to see a synth pedal which isn’t just showcasing the tech wizardry and offering go to tones out of the box.

I wouldn't worry about it until you are getting gigs. That gives you plenty of opportunity to see if the 200w is enough. 20W is twice as loud as 2W 200W is twice as loud as 20W 2000W blows up your cab way trying to be half as loud again. 500W is just a bump up.