Ben Jamin

In the wise words of Dr. Ian Malcolm:

Yeah it's terrifyingly powerful with music! IMO we should cast it into the fires of Mount Doom 😅 A producer I work with is really into this stuff, and has used AI software to learn the voice patterns of singers he regularly works with and has a lot of content from, to the effect that he can now 'sing' into an SM57 in the mix room, and an uncannily familiar female pop vocalist generates back through the monitors. He hasn't used it on any published work but it's scarily good, and a lot easier and cheaper than hiring said vocalist. She is amazing, but the AI model does everything quicker, with plenty of variation. So far he will only use it for group backing vocals and choir parts in the mix. In much the same way that generative AI has taken over a lot of voiceover work (Artlist etc), I wonder if we'll see generative models of vocalists and session players becoming common. We could have suite of virtual session players to prompt - you could try a track with models based on Marcus Miller, Leland Sklar, Chris Wolstenholme? Not even touching generating whole pieces of 'music', or re-orchestrating songs you feed it. Cool that we could, really not sure if we should!

Good points on portability - I still really like it as a venue amp - something installed in a church/pit situation. The I/O works great there IMO, and it looks kinda funky. Appreciate that I seem to be alone on this though, maybe I have rose-tinted Aguilar goggles! Maybe it's a deeply subconscious call to tackle the pile of washing that's been building up for a couple of weeks now.

RE: just marketing and such, I don't know about the Daves etc, but they mention that this is designed for small clubs, churches and pit bands etc, where there's not much space. In churches/pit bands at least the amp never really gets moved, it's more of an install. I reckon this fits the bill. It's small enough to sneak on some stage noise, the rear connections open up a bunch of options for in-ear monitoring, and having some simple impulse responses available on the DI outputs is actually pretty handy. As an aside their new Octamizer / TLC pedals have some genuinely nifty features too. The new Ashdown series looks ace but it just has one plain DI out - it's a different thing. It's a shame you can't connect another cab to the Aguilar, but that'd kind of defeat the point anyway. Maybe it's a bit pricey but my experience with my Tone Hammer head is that it's a 'buy well, buy once' thing. Re: Eco-mode, maybe it's similar to some modern active PA speakers. We use a big HK Audio system with an eco-mode. If it doesn't receive any audio signal for a while, it powers itself down, and automatically turns itself back on as soon as it gets a signal again. This could be pretty handy for the target venues.

That's a nifty comp. I guess a few compressors have a tone control for bringing some top-end back in, but having bass and treble boosts is a bit more flexible, along with the blend for parallel compression. Neat! Also always good to see metering! I wonder if they thought folk might place them on the shelf on that new combo? They kind of fit. I guess if you're stuck for space...

I think it's a longer cycle but it uses less water at 30°C! Genuinely really like this design, I can see the shelf being handy for bits and pieces. One could even perch perhaps. The Tone Hammer's a great sounding amp and the connectivity on the back is pretty handy. Wish they'd added some wheels to the back, so you can pull it along from that top handle. I guess you could add some?

This looks and sounds great! Love the whole design! Really cool to have a few impulse response options built into the DI, modern digital antics but no faff. Also dual DI and aux/headphone outputs are a neat touch, plenty of monitoring options! I've been gigging a Tone Hammer 350 and a Barefaced Compact for YEARS, and I am very happy. But this just gave me GAS 😅

Yep there's so much admin! 😅 Okay that's a good point, thanks! I guess it's all in the communication - if it's not clear where money is going and why, totally understand the frustration. In my view the responsibility is on organisers to be clear with this stuff, otherwise the void gets filled with assumed intentions and it can get messy pretty quick for everyone, even if everything is actually fine. But we can always ask for clarification, and if everything's above-board and communicated well, no scheming going on, we can just say yes or no? Shame on these venues/events that use 'charity' to their own end though, that sucks.

Sorry it hit a nerve! If organisers are using 'for charity' as a guise to get free bands for their own benefit, then that's a distinctly different situation to playing to support a genuine fundraiser. Definitely agree that if an event is being listed as 'for charity', then it should be really clear who and why etc, and the event should centre on that. If there's uncertainty about where money is going, then it's understandable that folk would want their fair cut. Maybe I've got a blindspot to this, as I work mostly in the charity sector, we're always really explicit about what we're doing and why. And so I'd expect it to be a clear, non-pressured decision on donating time or not. I can see how bad actors might exploit this though.

Ah okay, thanks that helps me see what's going on, that is unscrupulous! Using the term 'charity' in bad faith is pretty low, and that should be 100% called out!

Right. I work with our local Foodbank and Community Grocery (pay a few quid for a week's worth of food and toiletries etc). First of all, if folk are wandering past free fruit, it's about dignity, not a preference for haribo. A lot of people feel ashamed to take free help, especially publicly. This is why the Community Grocery model has worked really well, alongside Foodbanks, as people have the dignity of paying a small amount. Almost all of the food and supplies for the Community Grocery is donated by supermarkets. Supermarkets also sponsor and make regular large donations of food to Foodbanks, which also saves a lot of food going to waste. They leave baskets out at their stores to make it easier for you to donate food too, if you'd like to. I don't understand why anyone would be angry about that. Frankly this is a problem that shouldn't exist. More people need and use these services then you would think, or stereotype. On the wider issue of charity events, it's not a gig for you, it's a fundraiser. That's the whole point. Don't expect to be paid, but donate your time if you support their cause. Or don't. It's pretty simple.

Poor thing! Looks like it's been dragged more than it's been carried. Bet it still sounds good though?

To be fair there are lots of different types of charities, and I think being asked to perform and donate expenses etc is a different story depending on who's asking! I've done a lot of freelance work for big NGOs with huge support, regular funding and large budgets in the millions. Their events are usually sponsored by various businesses and organisations, and well-budgeted for, so I'd expect to be paid something as part of their budgeting for services for the event. I can donate too obviously, but separately. I currently work for a small charity that is really dependant on individual giving and securing small bits of funding. We've built some reserves but we operate almost paycheck to paycheck on modest salaries just above the living wage. There are plenty of other charities that exist in the health services and community sector that have to constantly bid for grants/funding to keep running. Performing for a fundraiser for my charity and others like it, I wouldn't expect to be paid - the situation here is that I'm fully giving to support the cause. Anyway there are bigger charities, smaller charities etc, it's just a type of organisation. For me, whether I'm paid for playing at a fundraiser depends on other factors, like their financial context. As others have said, you don't have to do anything.

Agreed, G&L all the way. The pre-amp and pick-ups sound ace and are really flexible and genuinely useful live. The bridge is indeed fabulous. Sires are great but it's just an active Jazz init. G&Ls will never be made again.

Joe Dart's career is built off cheap frankenstein basses and his Mexican Fender, before the Musicman collaboration. To be fair even the Musicman collab is all about creating the simplest instrument possible - he currently gigs the cheaper Sterling version. Here's a crowd singing along to his bassline on his MIM Jazz.

Just be to a bit nerdy, it sounds like we could think about how expensive something is as the ratio between: How much someone can afford : how valuable the object is. Affordability : Value So maybe 1:1 is great, 2:1 is a decent deal, 10:1 is super expensive. Both sides are relative, as we all have different incomes/lifestyles etc, and we all perceive value differently. I think the value factor is equally important, in the sense that you might think a £500 bass is expensive, but we all would probably think a £500 car is cheap. For example, my disposable income wouldn't let me spend more anywhere near £500 on a bass right now, but I don't think a £1500-2000 USA Fender is expensive. However, I do think a £1500-2000 luthier custom is expensive. For me, the value of a Fender isn't as much in the component parts or particular build quality; it's in the value of it being a known entity. Sound engineers, other musicians, even some punters - we all know what a Precision bass is about. Engineers like it as it's a familiar/iconic sound. It won't go wrong and no-one worries about it. It'll retain its value pretty well too. The luthier custom would probably be a much better instrument objectively and hopefully fit the specific need, but there's no familiarity factor, it's a risk for a sound engineer, and it probably wouldn't retain its value as well. However if I was in the position to splash out, I'd be more excited about the luthier job than a USA Fender Precision. We're weird creatures.

You folk are using money?? I bought a Mexican Fender Jazz back in 2008 and have straight swapped my main bass on here ever since 😇 Thank you Basschat ❤️

This is an ace thread! I'm in an originals band called Fred The Fool - it's folk(ish) pop/rock. The name's from a silly old Lincolnshire folk story - our frontman's an archaeologist and a lot of the songs draw from local history around Lincoln. The line-up is: lead vocals/acoustic guitar, piano/accordian, mandolin/acoustic guitar, drums/percussion, bass/upright (me!) We've spent the last year and half forming and recording about 12 songs, which are in various stages of production now. Some of them feature cool musicians - Graham Rorie from Gnoss plays some really nice fiddle on a few of our tracks - amazing how many folk are just an Instagram DM away! Currently working on our live set for an album launch gig in February 2026. The plan's to record/film that too, circulate it with some promoters we know and see what happens? We did our first little gig the other week and it went pretty well - we've really just been focused on recording and producing the songs, so it was a fun challenge to try them out live! Snazzy website: https://www.fredthefool.com

Picked up a lovely double bass in a trade with Lawrie. Pleasure to deal with and very grateful for the tips and pointers to get going with upright! Cheers!

G&L is pretty '80s! https://richtonemusic.co.uk/g-l-tribute-series-l-2000-left-handed-bass-3-tone-sunburst-2nd-hand/

Looks like a lot of the stock from the factory - bridges, tuning machines, pick-ups and misc. parts/electronics - as well as a bunch of BBE Sonic Maximisers and other outboard pre-amps.

Why? So much disrespect. They could've listed them in the Recycling section here at least?

The L-series basses are so good, if you can get your hands on one. In particular the MFD pick-ups, really flexible pre-amp and the saddle-lock bridge are uniquely G&L. I haven't tried them but the Fallout (beefy short scale) and Kiloton (Stingray/Pbass mix?) are meant to be ace. 'Vintage' models like the El Toro are ace, and on the guitar side there are some really great designs like the Espada or Comanche. Such a massive shame to see G&L go. I'll be holding onto my L2500!

Hope Fender can integrate staff and keep producing some of the models. The L-series could replace their Dimension bass, and guitar models like the Comanche or Espada could do really well under Fender.

I'm saying this to hopefully be helpful and constructive, but I think this is an overreaction. You're asking the question, so I imagine you might think so too. It sounds like your singer reached out to say that he's in a seriously bad place, and it seems that your initial response to him is framed around how this might inconvenience your holiday. There are likely a number of reasons why he's struggled to communicate or find a prompt time to talk, but he's probably not trying to mess with your time off. We often assume bad intention towards us that just isn't there. Hanlon's Razor helps me out a lot. If you want to resolve the band situation, don't take it personally (because it almost certainly isn't), give him space and help him to feel that he isn't being a burden. Being frustrated with him and leaving the chat is only going to push him away.