fretmeister

Ugh. I've just realised that as I've volunteered there for over 10 years that means they'll want to do a gift and thank you routine at the last gig. I hate that crap. I might need to tell them straight after the gig instead of now. It won't affect them looking for a replacement at all - they wouldn't do that until the following term anyway when they knew who had turned up.

Definitely. I've had breaks in the past ranging from 6 months to 2 years. Sometimes I've played a bit at home, sometimes not at all. I play sax and guitar as well so it might be that I'll end up playing them at home for a change.

I suspect the tweeter will be optional as with all the other cabs. When I asked him, I did specifically ask if a tweeter version would be available. I would expect the weight to be between the two10 and the 410. The Super Twin is about 17-18kg depending on metal or cloth grill so it's not heavy, but it's still more than I'd want to carry when wheels are an option. Alex puts wheels on all the taller cabs - ST/BT3/610 etc etc as they are just easier to move. It will be same width as the Super Twin but have a smaller depth as per the Two10. The dimensions for those are on the website. I've had a Super Twin and 10CR cabs and I much prefer the tone of the 10CR cabs compared to the 12 inch cones. I currently have a One10T and a One10. I'd prefer a single unit on wheels.

I've been pondering this a lot. The "is it time to leave" question is in my head on most days and I think that says it all. While the new guy I mentioned is really excellent, I've been there for 10 years and I am just not feeling it anymore. Even if I had total control over the set list it wouldn't make any difference. I just need a good break. Playing bass is my escape from work / people etc and I will not let it become a millstone that I end up hating as much as the crap stuff. So, I'll do the next 2 rehearsals and then the Christmas concert and then call it a day. Maybe I'll look for another, different band next year or the year after.

Yup, I asked Alex and this is the reply email: "Yes, vertical with tiltback wheels and a tweeter. We've had some alternate impedance drivers made to solve the annoying impedance problem! It's not going to be three 10"s in a vertical line, it'll be two above each other and one in the middle off to the side - makes for a much more sensibly shaped cab and still has great dispersion because the middles of the drivers (where the mids/highs come from) aren't side by side. Same height and width as a Super Twin, same depth as a Two10S/Four10/Six10. Same wheels and handles as a Six10. Should be v cool!"

EBS for me as well. They've been reliable and they are tiny.

Hugh Laurie said one of the reasons he picked piano over guitar was that he is lazy and wanted to sit down all the time!

I used to get really nervous but then I stopped caring what the audience thought.

Chowny used to make a good version.

1989. About 3 months before our first gig. We did 3 AC/DC tunes. I was on guitar then. I had been playing for about a year.

Long time ago I had a pair of Club 121 cabs. They could be stacked or used as wedges. They were very good.

As much as I moan about Xmas specific set lists Mickey Bubbles tunes have some excellent bass parts. Loads of walking lines, weaving in and out of the other low instruments. It's a bit of a battle to get the mix right for the bass to be heard properly among the trombones and bari saxes, but I've been doing it for a lot of years so I'm pretty happy about it. A big old boost at about 500hz sounds horrible alone but works well with that wall of noise. Tiny bit of drive to increase harmonic content too.

The punters love those. And Mustang Sally. Do you want to get booked again or not? Mind you - it's that time of year again so I've got a shitload of Mariah Carey and Mickey Bubbles tunes to learn...

Only 1 option then. Slap solo!

I quite like that song, but I've never played it. What's the rest of the set? Does it suit the rest of the material?

If there is no veto arrangement with the band and you are getting paid then do what any other pro should - suck it up and play it. Just think of all the guys earning in wedding bands - repertoire of 200+ songs to adapt on the night depending on what the crowd react to best. Every band member will hate at least 25% of the songs in that list - but the punters want them. It's not just a covers band thing either - originals bands have this with tunes that were hits but now they are sick of playing. Even Metallica do a short medley of the stuff they know the punters want to hear but they don't want to play anymore!

Dunlops or EB Group flats for me.

New firmware Helix/HX 3.70 Release Notes - HELIX/HX - Line 6 Community 2 new bass amps, and the Noble preamp! https://line6.com/support/page/kb/effects-controllers/helix/helixhx-370-release-notes-r1052/

I ended up buying the guitar version of the Wazas. I wanted guitar sounds as well, and TBH the full range setting or the clean and crunch guitar sounds are fine for bass when set. It's a shame the guitar version doesn't have a drum machine but it's easy enough to fire up youtube as well. Loads of drum patterns on there for practice. I love them. I am playing more than I have for years.

The head L6 Helix guy is a member of thefretboard forum. I did put a thread up tagging him and their main UK product demo guy to ask if they had anything coming - particularly in light of the new Yamaha headphones... and there was nothing. Not a reply. Just silence. Fingers crossed then!

As I have become slightly obsessive about this topic... I have discovered that different string brands react to the E45 cream in different ways! Dr Hi-Beams steel rounds are not as affected as D'addario Pro Steels. I do not know why yet but I have a hypothesis... the Hi-Beams are round core and the Prosteels are hex. I suspect the roundcore means there is less room / fewer cavities for the cream to get in. The outer layer can wrap on a roundcore and make contact with it in more places than it can with a hex where the contact would only be on the pointy bits of the hexagonal shape. Maybe the wrap wire is of a slightly different size too. I can't tell that because I don't have a lab quality tool to measure anything that small. The length of time the cream is left on seems to have an effect up to a point, as does flexing the string a little to open up the gaps and get the cream in. Using plenty of cream, rubbing it in, then flexing the string a little (not actually bending anything) seems to make the biggest effect. I did this because I wanted something that was a little grindier than my Dunlop flats but without any zing / overtones. I can't use nickel as I have an allergy. I wanted really old rounds immediately but without the usual old strings tuning and intonation problems. Now my Sandberg J type has well moisturised D'addario Prosteels on it and it is exactly what I was looking for. It will be interesting to see how they age further. E45 is based on Lanolin - a natural water repellent found in sheep's wool. So with that seeing into all the gaps and cavities it might even prevent some corrosion over time. I really hope this doesn't turn into a new special interest for me!

Glad to see Fender being quick off the mark and giving the punters what they have wanted for 40 years.

I go last on my pedal board. I tried it at the beginning as well but I thought that didn't work with pedals so well. I felt like the pedals were designed to get a full signal from the bass and I wanted to preserve that, and then deal with flub after. There's no harm taking a DI after it with a dedicated box, or from the amp head if it has one. Although the amp EQ controls are after it, the amp cannot boost what isn't there. So if I boost at 65Hz centre freq the Thumpinator effectively narrows the Q because it has cut off everything under about 30Hz. If I remove the Thumpinator the bass control on the amp does lead to more lows, and more flub.

Not having lessons, studying theory, proper notation etc. I didn’t start looking at that until well into my 40s and of course now I understand how damn useful it is. I would have been able to take far more gigs if I had studied properly.