casapete

This has been a massive thing for a long time now. People buy trainers from all over the world just to say they own them - a bit like the current vinyl resurgence. A friend of mine has been buying and selling ‘rare’ trainers for decades , and there are many specialist shops that do this too. It’s a bit Spinal Tap though - ‘don’t touch them, don’t even look at them’ etc. Like vintage bass fanatics, probably mostly a male pursuit as well.

A few years ago I had an Ampeg flip top combo that had a natty tilt back leg, same as in this pic.

In the motor trade in the 70’s it was appropriately known as ‘hearing aid beige’….😆

The Bass Gallery recently had a black reissue by Fender Japan in stock for £1050. Apparently they were only made as a ‘Custom Edition’ for a year, and had a 3 band eq ( similar to the 90’s Precision Lyte Deluxe model ). Don’t know if it mentioned the weight, but every P.Lyte I’ve encountered has been less than 8lbs. 😊

Two set ups have changed my playing scenario significantly and meant I could carry on gigging well into my err….mid 60’s. First one was getting a BF Compact, one of the early models. I ran this with a GK MB800 and it was a game changer! So portable, loud and great tones. Still got the cab. Then more recently I’ve been using Fender Rumble combos. Use a 100 with my duo / small gigs, and the 500 with the blues band / bigger stuff. Both are amazing things - everyone who picks the 100 combo up thinks it hasn’t got a speaker inside! I just love the sound these combos kick out, so easy to dial in ‘my sound’ with no messing around. Bass straight into them, DI out to the PA where needed, job done. Had these lightweight options not been available, then I honestly don’t know if I’d still be gigging.

That sums it up for me too. Along with this, I also like to know that there is a constant part of what I’m doing that I’m in control of! Done so many gigs where the engineer / house monitors haven’t been up to scratch, and every time wish I’d insisted on using my own stuff. I don’t play stupid loud, but just like the authority and familiarity that using my own gear brings. I don’t have any problem with others using IEM’s / no amp, it’s purely a personal choice. Having played in bands for over 50 years and still having pretty good hearing, I’m unlikely to ditch my amps now though, especially as good kit has become so much lighter and easier to use than ever!

I’ve had exactly the same experience as you with the Kingman basses - loved my V1 long scale but just too big for my needs. Now got a V2 short scale and find it much better! Use it into a Fender Rumble 100 combo which suits it well. Incidentally the V2 necks are made of nato with walnut fingerboards. Mine is a bit dry too, so will be giving it a light oiling to sort things. 😊

Absolutely, probably my favourite lyricist. I’ve been singing ‘You never can tell’ for so long ( even before Pulp Fiction was released!) and it always goes down well - a great song. Wow, that’s a Chuck deep cut! Don’t think I’ve ever heard it played, well done. 😀

Another early evening gig yesterday at The Lookout on the Pier in Scarborough with the acoustic duo. We arrived there slightly later than usual due to a traffic accident, meaning we had to divert through Bridlington but still got set up in time to start at 6pm. A full house of diners, some who had come with requests already written so we had a pile of them to get through. Best ones for me were ‘Wichita Lineman’, ‘Just a gigolo / ‘I ain’t got nobody’ ( David Lee Roth style), ‘No particular place to go’ ( which I sang for the first time in my life, forgetting how hard the phrasing was!) and then ended with ‘Enjoy yourself’. Used my Fender Kingman bass into the Rumble 100, with no PA support needed. Still exploring some settings with the preamp on the bass, including the subtle effect the phase switch has on things. We are back at this wonderful venue on 30th March, and it’s always a pleasure.

Sand? ‘Harvest Gold’ purleez………..😁

Not sure if this is relevant, but following the first two lines of headliners listed on each day, the rest of the acts are in alphabetical order. 😊

Afraid not Neil. We do three regular monthly gigs, and only the gig in Scarborough ( The Lookout on the Pier) has a PA we can use. Storage wouldn’t be an option for us anyway, as we need the gear for other stuff - my guitarist mate in the duo works an average of 5 nights a week I reckon, and I do some stuff in a blues three piece. It’s a pain dragging PA around, but at least my Rumble combos are fairly lightweight.

I had a Loud Inc 4x10, then added a 1x15 from the same maker to get the full advantage of two 8 ohm cabs. Then I sold the 1x15 for another identical 4x10 and it was a great rig. Still own one of the 4x10s, and there’s another for sale at the moment on here which I neither need or can afford, but of course still want. 😁

Our regular monthly gig at the Sun Inn in Beverley with the acoustic duo. Well I say ‘acoustic’, it was really ‘half acoustic’ as I used my Sire U5 short scale electric, into my Fender Rumble 500 combo, and it was glorious! Quite a few complements on my bass sound from people in the audience (which doesn’t often happen) so it confirmed my thoughts on using an electric bass on this gig. It can get quite loud and lairy and an electro acoustic can be hard to tame, so it was fun having more freedom to play without constraint. Our usual request format included ‘How sweet it is’, ‘Dance with me’ ( an instrumental of the Orleans tune ), ‘Rehab’ ( for the lovely lady behind the bar who is a massive Amy fan, and we got fed up of playing ‘Valerie’ for her! ), as well as ‘Whole lotta Rosie’, ‘Shang a lang’ ( for a group of ladies this time! ) and ‘Stairway to heaven’ which got the biggest round of applause of the afternoon. Really enjoyed the gig, one of the best we’ve played for ages - a perfect storm of venue / audience / landlords and staff etc. Already looking forward to the next one!

Having had sound limiter wars myself, I feel your pain. Like with your band, the ridiculous level set on the limiter was close to going off before the band started, and anything like a cymbal splash or guitar frequencies made it trigger. Compressed pre recorded music played by the DJ didn’t seem to be so problematic so we ended up shortening our sets accordingly and letting the DJ do more. The bride and groom whose wedding we were playing at were rightly annoyed with the venue for not pointing out the limiter problems when they booked it, and were very understanding of our dilemma. I get the need for limiters but when they have to be set unfeasibly low it is just ridiculous for almost any form of live music ( with peaks/dynamics etc ) to function. All in all a right pain. 🙁

Yeh, but the rattling……..😆

I found that on some theatre stages the sound improved when I left my GK 410 Neo cab in the ’tray’ of it’s flight case - the bit with the castors on. Got rid of excessive booming and odd frequencies being accentuated etc. I did generally prefer the sound of the cab flat on the stage though, but it’s good to have the option of either method.

Yes, if you like the sound of your cabinet when it’s more coupled to the stage. From my experience, using the cabinet on castors does affect the sound, and can reduce some ‘booming’ on more hollow stages. Removable castors do give you the choice of course. 😀

The Wiki page on Badfinger makes for interesting ( and very sad ) reading. Plenty of Beatles connections with them being signed to Apple etc.

Agreed Dave, they did some great stuff. It was quite funny last night - a punter requested ‘No matter what’ which I thought was the Badfinger classic so we played it. As we finished it the guy shouted out that he enjoyed it but had actually wanted to hear ‘No matter what’ by Boyzone ( which I’d forgotten existed) so we did that straight after! Made us think of doing nights where we only play songs which exist in this way, although unsure about whether it’s feasible - maybe just do a featured song title each gig or something till we run out of ideas!

Just back from our monthly outing at The Anlaby Park Hotel ( just outside Hull ), with the acoustic duo. Usual full lounge of punters, with stacks of requests. Tunes played included ‘Highway to Hell’, ’Enjoy yourself’, ‘No matter what’ x2 ( Badfinger tune and the Boyzone one after some confusion) ’Harvest Moon’ and ‘Everlasting love’ which was a bit fast for playing fingerstyle! A good night and a small increase in our fee so happy days. Home before midnight too. 😁

‘Wrong’ side of the river for us last night - a gig in Barton upon Humber with the blues trio. Venue was an old pub, occasion being a 70th birthday for a guy who has seen us a few times. Set up in the main bar area, audience comprised birthday party guests and some locals too. We played 2x50 minute sets, to polite applause from the guests, who you could feel were thinking ‘why did you book a blues band?’ but didn’t want to offend the birthday boy. We had a couple of dancers, one of whom walked over to grab my mic - gave her my best look of disapproval and she retreated. Wasn’t sure if she was a party guest so didn’t want to upset things but nobody touches my stuff, ever! (Used my Sire U5 shortie into the usual Fender Rumble 500 combo.) Finished around 11.15pm, got paid and a quick pack away meant I was home by midnight. Not the most enjoyable gig, but not the worst either. No pics I’m afraid, must try harder. 😊

I’ve been watching Fender Rumble stuff on sale for a few weeks. Seen a couple of 210 cabs being advertised around the £300 mark, yet you can get a brand new one delivered for £339. For the ‘saving’ of £39 I’d rather have a new unused cab, and more importantly one with a manufacturer’s warranty, valid for at least a year ( or possibly more ).