casapete

Record shops ( and instrument shops too of course ) must have started so many bands. We used to have Roland Gift in every Saturday when he was putting together his formative band pre Fine Young Cannibals. Also so many up and coming acts used to visit record stores to promote their stuff. I remember meeting Chris Rea and John Mellencamp amongst many others when they were trying to get their debut albums noticed. Didn’t do any harm that our shop was a chart return one of course 😄

Just looking at the lineup for this year’s Hootenanny. Here we go - Michael Buble, Jess Glynne, Nile Rodgers / Chic, George Ezra, Marc Almond, Rudimental, Yolanda, The Record Company, Junior Giscombe, Hot 8 Brass Band, Ruby Turner and the Pipes&Drums of the Battalion Scots Guards. Plenty of stuff there for the naysayers......

Again, at the risk of sounding like the old phart I am, this is so true - patience and taking time to find the best outcome are becoming lost practices with the now generation. Having a world of music available both old and new is a wonderful resource, but causes people to click impatiently after a few seconds without exploring properly. I remember when it was all fields etc.....

Record stores have been having a hard time for decades now. I worked in one in the mid to late 70’s and even then they were challenging times for the independently owned shops. The rot started to set in when large high street retailers such as WH Smith and Woolworths decided to develop their music departments, discounting top 30 albums so aggressively that I remember at one point we couldn’t buy them for what they were being sold for in these outlets. This was then followed in the same way by the large supermarket chains too. They saw it as loss leading to get people in their shops, and this stance took out a fair few independent shops. The good ones managed to hang on somehow ( in my town Andy’s Records, Syd Scarborough’s, Virgin and HMV ) but the writing was on the wall. Gradually, the effects of massive rents, the onset of streaming / downloading and the general change in people’s attitudes to music ownership due to the internet have brought about the current situation, which for an old fogey like me who still prefers to own a hard copy of an album is very bad news indeed. I sympathise with the 2000 odd staff of HMV, and hope you manage to move on successfully. Incidentally, does that mean Fopps stores are doomed too now? Always enjoyed the Cambridge store when visiting family there.

The HMV store in Hull is the last major seller of CDs in the city. Once they go then it will be so much harder to source music here, without resorting to blo*dy tax dodging Amazon etc. I’ve bought plenty of stuff from them over the years, and am really sorry for their situation right now. Same with the Debenhams / House of Fraser scenario, although our H of F store Hammonds has just got a last minute reprieve so all not lost just yet. The high street is surely doomed though, just a matter of time I’m afraid. ☹️

Personally never liked SC's playing, but nevertheless appreciated his skill. There's an upcoming programme on BBC4 featuring him on Friday January 11th , details here https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2019/02/on-drums-stewart-copeland It's part of a series of three programmes featuring drums, guitar and bass!

Some limited stocks available too at PMT stores. https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/brands/wharfedale

Looks like they are £799, with the Guild coming in at £429. https://www.southernukulelestore.co.uk/shop-by-size/bass/ The Ibanez small basses are great value too. https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Ibanez-PNB14E-Electro-Acoustic-2018-Open-Pore-Natural/28RM

If it's a piezo/bridge pickup, sometimes they can be balanced by reseating the piezo strip or profiling the bottom of the bridge so it sits evenly in the slot. A guitar tech could do this for not a lot of money I would think ,if you're reluctant to mess with it! Cheers.

I've heard similar comments before about the HB uke basses. Mine is made by Countryman, standard fretted model, and it plays and intonates pretty well. Think it was around £150 new. The strings and short scale do take some getting used to, but the sound has that sort of short sustain / DB sound. I've used it for doing some swing stuff and it fits in really well with that style. When I bought it I also tried the Kala range and couldn't see where the extra £250+ was going to be honest. A pal of mine has the Tanglewood Traveller uke bass and he really rates that one too.

I think by their very nature they are inevitably a compromise, but still believe there are some great ones out there. My Washburn is a delight to play, and in all the years I’ve had it I’ve never had to touch the truss rod once! Action is perfect - high enough to eliminate rattles but low enough to feel really comfortable. Nearly all of the ABs I’ve seen contain a pickup, as they are undoubtedly best when amplified. However, do many people play a DB (unbowed ) in a band without amplifying it somehow? When I first played a DB I was amazed how relatively quiet it was for its size. Same goes for acoustic bass guitars IMHO. If you’re after more of an upright sound, have you checked out the bass ukes? Virtually no acoustic level at all, yet (especially those with silicone strings) when amplified they can fake an uprighty tone quite well. Also the Taylor GS Mini bass does a good job with this too.

I agree they need to be amplified, but a piezo powered acoustic bodied bass with phosphor bronze strings does sound different enough from my P bass to warrant using on the gig. Not forgetting the aesthetics that add to the acoustic vibe from the other players too of course 😄

Okay, looks like I’m the only person on BC who actually likes and uses phosphor bronze strings then! I have a Washburn AB20, bought it in the mid 90’s. It’s one of my favourite instruments, and having tried various designs of string I still think it sounds best with a set of Fender bronzes on it. Mine doesn’t sound like a DB, but it does sound different enough from an electric bass to justify having it, and has certainly earned it’s keep over the last 20+ years. It mainly gets used in my acoustic duo, where we play all sorts of stuff from old standards to recentish chart material, and I love it. Great neck, balances well on the strap ( neck button...!) and doesn’t have a problem with feedback unless I’m being really stupid with it. The body isn’t really deep so maybe that helps. Only thing I would change is the colour - it’s an okay sunburst but would prefer a natural one. Still a keeper though. 🙂

Thieves have ram raided a warehouse in Leeds and made off with all of Roy Wood's equipment, forcing him to cancel tonight's gig in Hull. Some details of incident and items stolen here - eyes peeled you northern BC people. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-46550652 IMPORTANT NOTICE. We are sorry to inform you tonights gig at Hull City Hall has been cancelled. The warehouse has been broken into and all the band equipment and truck has been stolen. If anyone has any information regarding the whereabouts of any of this equipment (possibly around the Leeds area) including the Fender Strat guitars and red Marshall amps Roy uses please message us, we would be extremely grateful! Update: The truck stolen was an Iveco Eurocargo YK14 TSV, blue cab, white box and was seen driving through a pair of locked gates near Dewsberry Rd, Leeds this morning at 3.50am meaning the truck will be dented.

Went to Hull Minster on Sunday to a carol concert hosted by The EYMS Brass Band. Not a big fan of brass bands in general, however these guys were just amazing! Trombonist in particular was outstanding, and the leader / conductor was brilliant too, hosting proceedings with enthusiasm and humour. Very enjoyable evening, and with the added attraction of mince pies and mulled wine what's not to like?

👍

Slightly OT, I saw Jimmie Vaughan supporting Eric Clapton at the RAH a few years back. No bassist, just the Hammond player using pedals. Sound wasn’t great for me , and really missed something. Also saw Stevie Winwood in Sheffield with his superb Brazilian band, and the same thing again. Maybe you just get used to the sound of a bass guitar underpinning everything?

I've dipped my toe into lightweight stuff ( Markbass and GK MB range ) but for years have settled on what I consider to be a middleweight rig for my main gigs in theatres - GK 1001RB (22lbs) and GK Neo 410 (64lbs) as kind of a compromise from what I would ideally love (Ampeg SVT). I also have a Gen 1 BF Compact which I use for my other gigs where I use my car, which has been a gamechanger for me. It's really the speaker cabs that have always been my bugbear, and the BF stuff has come just in time for me to feel the benefit after years of schlepping heavy stuff around the country. I don't consider my 1001RB to be overly heavy compared to most of the class D stuff, and do like the sound it makes so no probs there.

Absolutely. And that's why even now the go-to bass rig you see on stages everywhere is the Ampeg SVT / 810 or derivatives of it. Still miss mine after nearly 20 years 😢

Thanks Mart, may take you up on that after the silly season. Cheers, Pete.

Wow, 8lbs is in my ballpark Mart! As you know, am itching to get another MM so this has given me hope to seek one out. Maybe get some help from Santa with this..... 😊

Nice basses Mart. Any idea how light the Caprice actually is ( and also the Starry Night come to think of it)? Cheers, Pete.

Ha, remember them well. Pie and peas, often served with mint sauce instead of gravy. Also hot pork pies, where the jelly oozed out when you cut or bit into them. Also in Hull there was a bloke nicknamed 'Supercockle' who used to do his rounds of the pubs and clubs on Saturday nights selling all manner of seafood in small polystyrene tubs, which you ate with a cocktail stick and had a bit of vinegar sprinkled on. If he came in while you were playing, you ended up performing to a queue at the side of the concert room. ( Also the same thing happened when an old guy came round selling 'Green Sports Mail', which was a special late edition of the local paper containing the football and racing results from that afternoon.)

Stevie Wonder's 'Song in the Key of Life', after watching great programme earlier tonight on BBC4. Classic album.

Yeah, I worked alongside them a couple of times, and they were always busy and in demand. Put on a good show, and the guitarist was mega! Nice set of blokes too. Also did a gig at a club called Jimmy Dean's ( somewhere in Leicestershire I think? ) which was part owned by one of the drummers.