bassbiscuits

I wanted to hate Axl/DC but it sounded great to me. If anything I struggle to listen to long periods of Brian’s voice, however much I love the band. Steven Tyler’s voice has always been ace though. There probably are other singers who could replace him live but it wouldn’t be the same - he’s such a visual part of the band (then again who’d have imagined Adam Lambert covering for Freddie would work?).

Can we add Walk of Life to that hall of shame? Ghastly song on an otherwise sublime album.

A pair of 2003 Yamaha BB604 basses. If I’ve understood the serial numbers correctly they were made within the same month of each other at the same factory in Taiwan, but found themselves 20 years later together in my ownership. They are identical, apart from one having strap locks and a lot more wear and tear, while the newer one to me has had the machine heads swapped to Gotoh’s by a previous owner. They sound identical, play identically and weigh exactly the same amount. I’m putting them to good use don’t worry.

In my view, definitely. I thought Crue were quite cool when they signed those contracts a few years ago to prevent them from working together again - they could have gone out on a high and in quite a quirky way if they’d stuck to that. I’ve never seen Crue live, but the recent stuff I’ve seen online doesn’t show them at their best. I appreciate it’s their livelihood, people will still pay to see them and it’s probably hard to just stop anyway, but I think it’s time for them to call it a day. I totally appreciate that other people might think differently though and that’s ok. I’m not in charge of anything!

Agree 100% @Cato Permanent Vacation and Pump were a quality 1-2 pair of albums, right up there with Get Your Wings, Toys in the Attic and Rocks from their 1970s heyday. They were newly clean and still young enough to be fiery and energetic. More ballads started creeping in after that, along with more outside writers and much longer between albums. But yeah under the current circumstances it’s the right choice I think.

So Aerosmith have officially announced they are retiring from touring as Steven Tyler’s throat problems are more serious than thought and he’s unlikely to fully recover. Such a bummer. An absolutely awesome band, one of my favourite lead singers ever alongside Freddie and Bon, but entirely understandable. I’d hate to see a band limping on despite being below par (as sadly so many older performers persist in doing). I don’t imagine for a second young Steven Tyler imagined he’d still be performing in his 70s anyway, so he’s had a hell of a run. The only time I got to see them was at Download in 2010 when they blew me away. Absolute legends.

Headlined the Friday night of the Summer Sounds festival in Guisborough with the Elton tribute. Quite a hike from Leicestershire (not helped by closure of section of the M1 due to an accident plus general Friday afternoon traffic). Good gig tho, and a proper summer’s evening there. Decent sized crowd, friendly chilled atmosphere and a good blast to play. Dug out my P bass with flats which I haven’t used for a while and really enjoyed playing.

Along the way I’ve played Alexandra Palace Great Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Edinburgh Queens Hall, Hall for Cornwall in Truro, a couple of big summer festivals in the UK and Europe. The Princess Charlotte in Leicester several times along with Leicester De Montfort Hall with various different bands. I love venues which look great from the stage, so on that alone I’d love to play the Albert Hall and Glastonbury.

My cheap and cheerful Yamaha FG512J acoustic guitar. It lives in the stand next to my bass and is the one I wander around the house playing.

I use them all the time - one each side of my cabs. They are meant to go around horizontal handles on cabs, but will just as easily Velcro onto to the side of any furry cab. I do a lot of dep work and never sure how much space onstage I’ll get so they’re handy to create a self contained little corner for me and my basses. As mentioned above, basses don’t get chipped as they naturally sit on the strap pin so unless the stage is made from particularly craggy rock you’ll be ok.

A few I’d like to have back if I could, but no massive regrets. Fortunately I’ve sold only the basses/guitars that I don’t strictly need - cool things which were ultimately not very versatile or weren’t getting used for whatever reason. If I had more money I’d have kept my Epi Jack Casady, my MIJ Mustang bass, a cream Sandberg TT4 that I’ve seen back in Basschat since, along with guitars including a peachy SG Junior and an Epi Casino, plus some old bombproof Peavey amps I had. But yeah I can live without them.

I wasn’t thinking so much of places being unsafe - I was thinking more like festivals and multi-band gigs where half the time my kit is chucked in some compound while waiting for our slot etc.

I’ve got one vintage bass - a 1970 precision bass. It’s a gigging instrument not a case queen - it’s on its third set of frets and has had various repairs to wiring, jack socket etc. It’s an 54 year old bass at the end of the day. But yeah there are gigs and which aren’t suitable for it, and for those I have a cheap and cheerful pair of Yamaha basses instead. I don’t see the point of owning anything I don’t use, but at the same time I decide whether it’s best left at home for some gigs.

Only one of my current instruments was bought without seeing it first (via Basschat). And that’s only because it’s identical to one I already own, and I had a very detailed description beforehand, so I felt sure it was ok (and it is). I’ve bought other stuff blindly off here before without any trouble - amps, pedals, cabs etc. But basses - I’ve bought enough of them blindly only to be instantly disappointed as soon as they’ve arrived and I’ve played them. If they were in a shop I’d have had the chance to try and put back. So now I only buy basses I’ve played and seen.

I’ve not done well with boutique and / or pricey instruments. I like them, they are interesting etc, but I tend to fallback to using mid-priced stuff you can play to death without worrying. I remember trying out a Fender Custom Shop 1955 P bass (the old fashioned style) which looked incredible but it wasn’t right for me at all. Fender P and J basses, Musicmans etc are popular for a good reason - good examples are versatile dependable gigging instruments.

I’ve played with people I wouldn’t consider friends and I’ve also got musical friends I wouldn’t consider playing with. Whatever your reason for leaving, as long as you do it professionally and give people time to arrange alternative plans then it’s fair enough I think.

That was 2008 - the same year I played there with my band at the time (alas I was horribly hungover and must admit I can’t remember much else about it.) Happy memories eh!

Summer Sundae? As in Leicester Summer Sundae?

I really enjoyed watching/listening to a band called Justice - a French electropop/techno duo who headlined on the Sunday evening at West Holts stage. Immediately got online and bought some. Our house has been ringing with the sounds of it ever since. Excellent work.

Er….. Song: Don’t Stop Me Now, by Queen Band: Superbad Venue: The Piv, Nuneaton Bass: Yamaha BB604

Went to Music Barn festival in Kettering this weekend. Band there called Dub Catalyst whose bassist had a righteous deep fat sound. He had a five string jazz and a Barefaced Big Twin I think but I couldn’t get a good look at his amp. I did wonder if he was someone off Basschat. Good band - 10 piece, with horn section, DJ scratching etc in addition to the usual instruments. Nice vibe for a summer afternoon in a big tent.

Thought Dua Lipa was excellent. Sugababes surprisingly good too. Most of their singing was really good but a couple of songs seemed too low for them to sing.

As said elsewhere you can get a whole lot more for £350. Well into the realms of secondhand Yamaha, Squier, Sire, Ibanez, even nudging secondhand Mexican standard Fenders. Good luck on your mission!