casapete

Nice rig, although I think I’d have trouble with the (presumably guitarist’s) Vox combo at head height? 🤨

Beat me to it. Sir Tom is an amazing singer, even now at the ripe old age of 82. Saw him a few years ago and was blown away by his voice - not just the power of it but perfectly in tune throughout a two hour set. Amazing. I’d also have to add Whitney Houston to the list. Again, not just a powerful voice but also that rare ability to control it whatever the pitch, from a whisper to a full on roar. Saw her in concert and couldn’t believe how incredible she was.

Played at a nice village coronation event on the Yorkshire Wolds yesterday afternoon. Rather boomy sound in the room - high ceiling and shiny flooring, but we managed okay. Plenty of requests though nothing unusual, so an easy couple of hours. Home by 7pm so happy days. Rock and roll……🤣

I have the same Ibanez bass and love it! However, I believe that the only strings that work well on this model are the D’Addario ones you mention , that were originally designed for the Taylor GS mini bass. Think it’s something to do with string construction / tension for the very short scale length? (bronze wound over a multi filament core. ) It looks like the original set ( EXPPBB190G) are either in short supply or have been superseded by the XTB3790GS set, which are currently in stock at Bax Music for £35. Think Amazon sell them too along with other retailers.

Tonight (Wednesday) at 10.40pm on Sky Arts - The Story of The Jam.

I’ve had Dupuytrens for around 10 years now, and it has only slightly worsened over that time. No known history of it in the family either, and hadn’t heard of it until mine started. A doctor friend told me that the NHS don’t even consider surgery until it has reached a point where the hand has lost it’s ability to function , but that was a while ago so things may have ( hopefully ) changed. The actor Bill Nighy is a famous Dupuytrens sufferer. I believe he chose to not have remedial surgery, and seems to manage fine with his acting roles. Apparently the condition is fairly common with orchestral string players too. I hope your condition stabilises and you can continue to play. I’m in my mid 60’s, and play around 150 gigs a year still, so it may not necessarily mean yours will be unmanageable too. All the best.

Not necessarily - I’ve played with one or two jazz guitarists who know every chord under the sun but can’t/ won’t play straight rock stuff convincingly. Having said that, my buddy in our acoustic duo can do it all, but that’s truly rare my experience.

I’ve stuck with CDs rather than entering the world of streaming. I guess it’s coming from the generation that got used to owning music rather than renting it. I have a large CD collection, and TBH don’t buy that much new stuff anymore anyway. I do use Spotify ( free version ) occasionally though, mainly to check out whether I like something enough to buy it or for rare recordings I can’t source myself. I have no qualms about buying s/h CDs from Ebay or wherever, as it’s usually a CD copy of something I once had on vinyl - I’ve already bought plenty of things twice when I ditched most of my vinyl anyway. Streaming does seem to have altered how bands make money now - for me the sharp rise in concert tickets has been largely down to this i.e. touring used to be about promoting albums, now it appears to be the other way round.

I’ve been a member on here for 16 years and it remains the best forum for me. Bought and sold a few things over the years with not one problem, which speaks volumes about the people who participate. I’ve learned loads of stuff, found places to resolve issues with gear and been introduced to lots of new music / bands I probably would have otherwise missed. Long may it continue. 😊

Seen a fair few rock guitarists in berets - Clapton, Roy Buchanan, Richard Thompson, Captain Sensible etc, but am struggling with jazz guitarists in the other one TBH……🤣

Just sold my DB to Nick. Despite being 200 miles away, he managed to come up with a solution for delivery to facilitate the sale, despite the bass having no case included! Paid swiftly too. Overall an easy pleasant transaction with another top BC member - cheers Nick!

I’d like to try some Reverend stuff. Saw Sheryl Crow’s bassist use one at Glastonbury and it sounded ace, and I love the retro but original look of them. Never seen one in a shop though, think their main outlet is Merchant City Music in Glasgow, so will try and make time to visit when my band are up there in the summer.

I was 15, and played at our school youth club with a band of school mates. PA and backline ( Marshall stacks!) loaned to us free of charge by local legend and music shop owner Lyn Blakeston (Blakey), and we rocked! I later found out that our drummer had arranged to get the gear delivered back to Blakey the next day, and it had been left overnight in a truck with faulty locks on a housing estate in Hull! Fortunately for us it all got returned unscathed. 50 years later I’m still playing music for a living and Blakey remains one of my best mates.

Two great gigs for us this week. First at Billingham Forum which is always a great place to play with the audience well up for having a good time. Then down to Burnley Mechanics, which despite the tricky load in is another one of those venues that is guaranteed to be a good night. Capacity audiences again defying current financial woes. Nice to have both of our cellists back with us, really does make a difference. We're having some time off in May, then back in June and July with a vengeance - our usual dates supplemented by some rescheduled ones due to recent band health issues, so looks like a very busy summer.

Feel your pain Mart, we’ve been stricken with illness for a couple of months and had to cancel some gigs. Nothing you can do, and audiences / venues will hopefully understand.

It is one of the best theatres we do. Holds around 1500 I believe, and last night was the best audience we’ve had since we started doing it. Everything is good - from the load in to the massive stage, the crew are superb, and the backstage facilities are great as well. Considering the height of the domed ceiling, the sound is actually okay too, although our PA guy said he was pushing the levels during our second set. ( My next gig is with the acoustic duo in a local pub on Tuesday, and I love doing that sized gig as much as the bigger venues. )

We played at The Regent Theatre in Stoke on Trent last night. Another big grand old place, and we drew around 1200 punters in - this was a rescheduled gig from earlier in the year when the band was suffering from bouts of Covid and flu. Audience were well up for it and the band played well, despite still being a cellist down. Bit of a long drive home, but in bed by 2am.

We played Halifax Victoria Theatre tonight. Nearly 1000 punters in this fantastic old place, all in good voice too. High domed ceiling made for an unusual sound, which meant using our new favourite gadget…..😆

Played with the acoustic duo at my local boozer last night - 100 yds from my front door! Usual thing we do of putting request forms on the tables and then see if we can blag our way through playing them. Had some unusual ones, including ‘Bat out of hell’ which is getting requested more just lately, and not by the same people! We did an abridged version, and the audience seemed to enjoy watching our attempt. Just had an email from the landlord asking for our availability for the rest of 2023, so may turn into a more regular thing. I took my little Ibanez short scale acoustic electric, and plugged into my Fender Rumble 100 rather than the PA which I do on some gigs. Love this combo, so good for these type of gigs, and I walked to the gig carrying it (to enable me to take advantage of a couple of free beers….).

It’s ‘The ELO Experience’. The band is in it’s 17th year now, and I’ve been with them for 12 years. 😊

We've just done 3 gigs last week after a month's layoff due to health problems with some of the band. We still were a cellist down (damned Covid again) but did the gigs as a 7 piece. Started off in High Wycombe, then down to Weymouth finishing with a nice ferry trip over to Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. The gigs went well, audience figures holding up too despite all the financial woes around at the moment. Good to be back doing it again.

I agree Bill. My tech guy said they would handle the 2 ohm load okay, but long term use would shorten it's life, IIRC as the amp would be running hotter or something? Whatever, a bit of an iconic amp IMHO.

Great amps, I’ve had a few over the years. My amp tech guy did say that they are happiest running at 4 ohms rather than 2 though, although I’m sure some people do this.