dmccombe7

Last nights gig with BLOCKBUSTARZ Glam covers band in Cambusnethan Miners Club. Was sold out with 200+ tickets sold. Not an empty seat in the hall. It was crammed full. Mostly women in the audience and a mixed age group too. Looked like a few Xmas party groups in. Dancing from the first song all thru the full show. One pair of dancers dressed for the occasion were literally dancing every song of a 2.5hr show. They were on their feet more than us. 🤩 The atmosphere was literally electric and it makes you feel better and put more into the show. The singer was on top form with his audience participation. Not bad considering he drove there straight from work. We had so many people chapping our dressing room door to have a chat and thank us for a fantastic night. Was quite over-whelming but still nice to hear. Sound was incredible from our Sound Engineer And PA guy who is now our new permanent 6th band member. People that saw us there 2 yrs ago said the sound was much more full this time around and you could hear the difference between backline and full PA use. Feed back was sensational with many requests for contact details with the venue wanting to book for next Xmas too. Another woman that asked if we would play the club she manages as she was so impressed by the band and the show. This was a club i played back in early 80's. Similar sized Club too. She's adamant she'll have us booked for 2026 and was so complimentary. And she made a point of telling me she was teetotal and sober so that sounds promising. Will see what else comes out of it all. Tonight at The Dreadnought so hopefully will see the same reaction from the audience tonight. We're already booked in for next Xmas so no worries there. Think this is 4yrs in a row so far we've played the Sat before Xmas. My usual gear Sandberg MarloweDK - Shure GLXD wireless - Bassist Comp - Handbox WB-100 - BF 212 cab. Dave

I'm using elixir nickels on all my basses now. I get 9mths to a year on working basses and my Warwick Thumb 10+ yrs but it rarely gets played and doesn't leave the house these days. (too heavy for a full gig but i just love playing it at home) I guess you could change out the pick up for something else ? Keep us posted on how the string change develops. I'm really curious. Have you tried asking Sandberg to see what they say as it looks like its an issue for others too. Dave

The only suggestions i have is either heavier strings on D & G as you already mentioned or try raising the pick up a touch. Not sure whether its just a volume thing or its purely weak tone you mean. I'm sure Neil Murray once told me that's how he got round volume differences on his older basses was to put a heavier gauge on the weaker pole piece. Raising the pick up is an easy adjustment. Just remember how many turns and if it doesn't resolve it you just put it back to where it was before. Did the rest of the band notice it too. ? I've found with some basses thru certain amps i get differences across the strings. If i have too much bass EQ rather than tweaking up the volume the D &G strings do sound quieter. If i flatten my amp EQ it seems to balance it out again but out front it all sounded balanced, its just what i was hearing on stage. Dave

Looking forward to 2 sold out gigs this weekend. 1st at Cambusnethan Club in Wishaw area with 200+ tickets sold. This was actually where i had my wedding reception back in 95. Wife's Aunt was Bar Manageress so we got a great deal. 2nd at our Fav venue the famous Rock Club, The Dreadnought in Bathgate that have been booking us every year for past 4 yrs and already booked for next years. Always a great night and always a total party night. Both within 45mins from me so that's a bonus. Got our PA guy doing the hard work at Camby Club and PA is supplied at Dreadnought so no heavy lifting this weekend. Life doesn't get much better than this. I tell a lie - i pick up my new car on Sat morning 11am. A lovely Subaru Outback that has more loading space than my Volvo V90. The dealer suggested i take the demonstrator home and load my gear in to make sure 100% that they fit rather than relying on measuring it at the dealers. This is one seriously exciting weekend. Dave

My social life is the gigs. You mean there's more to having a Social Life. ? 🤩 Dave 🎅

What we've found as a similar type of show is that Sunday afternoons are a great time for people of a certain age. Weve now played a few well attended Sun afternoon gigs and it suits everyone from the band to the audience. Dave

When i bought my Thumb bass in 1989 i tried it thru a TE410 combo and it was a perfect match. Absolutely stunning combination. Still stands out in my memories to this day. Unfortunately i've tried TE kit since and over the years never quite captured that tone from 1990 ish. Dave

Oddly enough we were having the exact same discussion in the changing room yesterday. 😂 Dave 🎅

Got one of these from Screwfix and its an amazing bit of kit. I strapped a car mat to the base to stop scratching the bottom of my Mesa cabs. It still folds up ok with the mat on it. Dave

I don't get that at all. Sounds more like your band are too good to open for them and would show them up. Dave

Used to be more but we now have a permanent PA guy to do all the heavy stuff and we split our fee 6 ways now but it means i'm not lifting all the heavy PA cabs in and out my car for every gig. He turns up in his van and does it all. Sounds better out front too. Lot more professional looking too having your own SE. Dave.

Well our afternoon gig started off with a 90min drive. On arrival drummer and PA guy were already set up so that was a bonus. Doors open 1pm, nobody there, no queue, no-one in the hallway outside. Oh well we'll still go for it at 2pm. Paid rehearsal. Then 2 people appeared at 1:15pm and then some more and by 1:30pm the organiser asked us to push it back but PA guy had a hire on at night so we said only by 30mins as we had a gig later that night. Wee white lie but at 2pm it started to get busier. By the time we went on at 2:30pm we had around 50-60 folks but its a big venue so it didn't look overly busy but they were all up for a great party afternoon. People just kept coming in even during the 2nd set folks were still arriving. I think we must have managed about 80 people for 2nd set. Dancers on most songs and full floor for the last 4-5 songs so that was good. Turned out quite an enjoyable afternoon and few quid in my pocket so that was nice. Stopped for an Indian takeaway on way home too. Now i'm sitting watching Mr Mercedes on Netflix with a full satisfied tummy. Diet finishes tomorrow. Target reached last week at 12st. but i'm gagging for a wee dram after tomorrow. Usual gear for me. Sandberg MarloweDK - Shure GLXD - Keeley Bassist comp - HB WB-100 - BF212 cab. Dave

Sad and Happy thoughts but go with the drams being the happy one. Enjoy. Dave

Nope it appears but when i click to play it goes into a fault that Faceache are currently working on. Had this with quite a few things now including our own band links. Dave

Weird one for me today. First ever loading the car in the dark this morning to head up to Methil in Fife for 11am load in. Doors open 1pm and we start 2pm. The good news we finish around 5pm and hopefully away by 6pm, home via the Indian takeaway for approx 8pm. Easy peasy. Not sure how this will go today. There was a mix up with the bookings when the organiser went off sick and someone else took a booking for another band. We originally were booked 4-7 but they asked if we could move it to 2-5 to allow them to keep the booking for the 2nd band too. As long as we're getting paid same fee we said yes and all was agreed. Will it be busy ? mmmmmmmmm personally i don't think it will but a paid rehearsal for our main weekend next week when we are out Fri and Sat nights. Wish me luck. Heading out now. Rock & Roll lifestyle, couldnae beat it wie a big stick. 😂 Dave 🤶🎅

wont open for me Mart. I normally remove the "s" from the https to copy and paste to BC. Dave

Nice deep bass tone. Loving that tone. Dave

Some really nice gear listed so far. That blue Sandberg i especially like. 2 purchases for me this year not including stage gear. #1 Barefaced 212 cab that is now my main gigging cab along with the HB WB-100 amp. Could do with a little more mid punch but i've recently increased the mids to 3 o'clock and its made a huge change in tone. Not much happened from 12 to 2 but 3 was a WOW moment. #2 Next off was a set of nut files to let me lower the strings a touch on my Overwater J4 and that now feels a lot better. First time i've ever adjusted the nut height and it could come down a little bit more. No worst purchases this year. Excuse the stage mess. It was a sound check and cleared for the show..............honest.

Was @Dad3353 that put the links up Daryl. Not sure what the difference is between the two but i think mine is the basic one. Dave

You get them on Amazon Daryl or any major guitar / bass store should have them. Fairly common manufacturer. Well worth the extra money. They fit on the narrow part of your bass strap. The Shure transmitter is a nice tight fit and no way will slide out even if strap turned upside down so its perfect for me. I also bought a bass strap from a fellow BC'er and he gave me another one with the strap. Dave

I bought the Levy transmitter pouch that fits on your strap. Great thing. Dave

I've now converted our guitarist to the same Shure GLXD floor pedal version as myself and he's loving the freedom and not falling over cables with his platform shoes. Wouldn't be without mine now. Dave

We have a whisky thread on BC ? I used to follow the TB one but they get very defensive when your a Scot. I always got the feeling they thought they new more than everyone else and left it. Did get some decent guys tho that were happy to share their thoughts on Malts. Dave