casapete

Definitely the room. When you think of all the variables concerned - size, shape, reflective & non reflective surfaces, size of the crowd, room on stage to position your rig etc etc - it’s no surprise really. Am sure we’ve all done gigs where it’s always sounded great, and likewise some that no matter what you’ve tried still sound sh*t.

The first bass (or guitar for that matter) I remember seeing with moving pickups were the Dan Armstrong 'London' series. Always wanted one when they were quite common, but now of course they're like hens teeth it would seem. More info here http://www.danarmstrong.org/londonbass.html

I had a similar problem with my spare bass, a vintage style Precision. After tightening everything I could, it turned out one of the metal tuner buttons was rattling in the split shaft. Bit of superglue sorted it. 😊

Absolutely this. For most of my time in bands, the drummer has been the level that others play to. The problem is that people perceive very different levels they need to achieve this ‘balance’, the main culprits for some reason in my experience being guitarists and singers who want to hear themselves way above everybody else. In reality, there shouldn’t really be the need to wear earplugs on gigs with modern PA systems doing all the heavy lifting for the room. Having said that, I had to resort to wearing plugs with two drummers in particular over the last few years, both who had some skewed idea of what was needed and beat the sh*t out of their kits on every gig. Left one band and managed to tolerate the other band with the help of plugs but it took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. One of my current bands are all on IEM’s ( including electric drums ) except me and it’s fine - I can control the level of everyone through my monitor and to have anything in my ears. Haven’t had any volume problems for years and it makes my gigs so much easier. Not sure if I’ll jump down the IEM route eventually, but for now no need.

I love stacked configurations of 10’s too. My valve Ampeg SVT rig is still my favourite rig ever, followed closely by an Ampeg 6x10. I’ve also had a Fender 6x10 which was great, and my SWR 8x8 was actually the same size as a 6x10 and sounded wonderful. Quieter stages have meant I don’t need so much speaker real estate, so currently using a GK Neo410 along with my BF Compact for smaller gigs. ( The Compact is the only cab I’ve owned in maybe 30 years that doesn’t have 10 inch speakers. ) Would love a BF410 if funds allowed.

I think the only ‘upgrade’ I’ve ever done to any of my basses was to swap the stock jazz pickup out on my Precision Lyte for a noiseless version. This followed a couple of gigs where interference was an issue. Otherwise I’ve always left things as they are. Same goes with amps - bought them because I like the sound they make without adding any other tone shaping stuff. Think I’ve seen too many guitarists chasing something they’ll never be happy with while spending a fortune. 😆

Bassdoc on here did me one for my Stingray. Great job.

Don't set your alarm clocks, it's on at 22.00, BBC2, Saturday December 4th. Maybe Dorset time is different Mick....😆 Hope you're well mate, Pete.

Me too, at a club in Newcastle, The Mayfair? They got back together recently to do a couple of great albums, 'Soulfire and 'Summer of Sorcery',. They toured the UK to promote of them, and released live albums from both. I had the good fortune to see them a couple of times each tour, in 2017 and 2019. Steve has a new book out too which is great, 'Unrequited Infatuations', and we went to one of the official book launches where Steve was on great form. As you've probably guessed, I'm a massive fan.....😆

What is this rhythm guitar' thing anyway? What interested me about Chuck Berry was the way he could step out of the rhythm part with such ease, throwing in a nice, simple riff, and then drop straight into the feel of it again. We used to play a lot more rhythm stuff. We'd do away with the differences between lead and rhythm guitar. You can't go into a shop and ask for a "lead guitar". You're a guitar player, and you play a guitar. Keith Richards

Still live and kicking! Survived many line up changes , released many albums and still touring, mainly in the US. They did / do have a strong Springsteen connection, coming from the Asbury Park area of New Jersey. Bruce wrote a lot of stuff for SSJ, as did E Street guitarist Steve Van Zandt who formed The Jukes in the mid 70's. https://www.southsidejohnny.com/

Billy was such a great player to have on board - the band all seemed to raise their game when he arrived. He didn’t say much, preferring to just sit and watch stuff unfold, whilst adding his genius where necessary.

Agreed - main reason I went was to see Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes!

Another +1 for the Fender Rumble V3 range of combos. I have the 100 watt 1x12 and it’s fantastic - weighs next to nothing, great tone and loud as hell. Ideal for rehearsals and small gigs. The 200 and the 500 models really are gig worthy combos too, and can be picked up s/h for fair prices. All the above have DI outputs, and the latter two have extension speaker sockets to add another cab for maximum spread, but honestly don’t think you’d need to use one.

It looked like Mal switched John and George’s Fender amps to standby, and John and George swiftly turned them back on! Can’t believe the sarge bought the ‘weight limit’ line too, fantastic stuff. Think the cops had to be seen to be looking like something was being done after 30 complaints.....😆

Sounds like it’s not just the one guitarist who is the problem then?!!

Finished watching episode 3 last night. Loved the rooftop shenanigans, and the way the two coppers were continually being stalled by the Apple staff and Mal Evans. The ‘interviews’ with the people listening in the street were a great bit of social history too, absolutely brilliant.

A lot to do with the cameras rolling constantly I think, with lots of nervous glances at them. Sellers had been a friend of the Beatles for some time before this, especially Ringo, and Lennon was a massive Goons fan.

It appeared in the film that all of Magic Alex’s work wasn’t taken that seriously by the band at all. Nobody seemed to mind when the recording stuff he’d built for Apple didn’t do the job and they had to bring in other stuff from the EMI studios, despite him being paid very well. George Martin obviously didn’t like him but knew the Beatles did for some strange reason, which must have made things very awkward to say the least.

Just watched the documentary, and despite not being a massive Lindisfarne fan I really enjoyed it. Thought Sam Fender came across well, and all the contributions from ex-band members too. It did a great job of ensuring that Alan’s fantastic songs will reach a new audience as well as reminding people such as me who remember them from when they were released. Love the pics above too! Excellent stuff, thank you.

I’ve always been saddened by all jokes over the years sparked by the ‘not even the best drummer in the Beatles’ lines etc. Without Ringo it just wouldn’t have been right, and I think his contribution to the band’s success is hard to overstate. In the ‘Get Back’ episodes I’ve seen (1&2 so far) I’ve seen nothing to make me change my view.

Just heard it was 20 years ago today that we lost George Harrison, aged 58. 🙁

Damn, not far from me! Would have come if it had been a public event too, looks like an interesting setting. Hope you’re well buddy.

Looks great Mart, where was this please?

I’ve never seen images of George playing the PC bass - always seem to remember him using a sunburst Precision. (I also didn’t know that George was the brother of singer Emile , of ‘Emile Ford and the Checkmates’ fame.)