stewblack

Wow wow wow. That's an incredible share. Thank you.

It's worth speaking directly with him because not everything he has is on the website.

Delighted to share [email protected] is the address I use. He's called Paul.

Long drive yesterday but the expense was offset by there being two gigs. First one in a 'cidery' which was basically a cider farm with a building converted into a kind of cafe bar. Lovely atmosphere, friendly folk, polite rather than enthusiastic, but they enjoyed it. Then a 45 minute drive to the second gig which was a private party somewhere near Stratford on Avon. They used a field on a caravan park and set up a marquee for us. It was in truth a little late in the year to be playing outside but we started early (7pm) so didn't lose feeling in our fingers until nearly at the end of the set. Despite the distances involved I was home before midnight, which for me is a win.

There's a guy who has the UK dealership. He can't import them any more, apparently there's some kind of trade problem with Russia, but he has stock and somehow got an envelope filter.

The SCS system from Russian pedal maker Yerasov is the neatest, best thought out pedal board I've come across. The only things lacking for the perfect set up were an octave and an envelope filter. Well, they've come through with one of them at last. I came across the system when I bought the overdrive from the Basschat marketplace. Since then I've sourced a compressor, fuzz, phaser and a preamp pedal. All have been superb.

Harley Benton. Just so much better than the price point they sell them at. i have a couple of Squier basses and there's no comparison. Not that the Squiers are bad, just not in the same league.

They've always been popular with audiences of all ages. People are so sniffy about them but I clearly remember how refreshing they sounded when they burst onto the scene. Just what music needed at the time.

I forgot to pack an amp on Saturday. Age catching up on this poor old bassist. Out came the Elf, which lives in my gig box with cables and stuff. The venue was enormous, the drummer loud, the guitarist playing through an amp , and through the PA and added to at least two of the monitors. Ok so the Elf looked a little silly atop two Barefaced 15" cabs, but it never broke sweat. As the title of the thread clearly states, it never ceased to amaze.

I enjoy playing around with different gear. My latest idea is to actually utilise the many preamp options I have at my disposal. I too considered a small power amp, but in the end I found there's no real savings to be had and tiny powerful bass amps abound. As long as it has an effects loop I can bypass the preamp and off I go. Bang for buck nothing seems to beat the Harley Benton Block. 800 watts, under 300 quid. I've been waiting for them to return to stock at Thomann, they're now predicted at 1 to 2 weeks.

Ah, we have a different experience. I've never felt the need to touch mine beyond fitting a strap and tuning it. Perfect out of the box I thought.

I was going to share that last night represented a nightmare gig for me. A rugby club full of suited idiots, playing infantile drinking games, abusing the female singer just because she was female and its just a joke innit? I'm a recovered alcoholic so the environment did not suit me. Then I read the above post bringing to my knowledge the existence of something called a bow hunters ball. Replete with the decapitated remains of poor innocent creatures and no doubt populated with people for whom bloodshed is fun. Truly there are deeper circles of hell to which I've never been introduced. Anyway the gig was horrible but well paid and not far from home. Win.

Used exactly this G4M bass myself last night. Isn't it great?

Herbie played on many of my favourite tunes down the years. Oh, this is such sad news.

First gig with a new start up. Ropey as feck. People either have lower standards than I do or I take it all too seriously. However, it's a great set and with work I think it's a saleable product.

How does one define the perfect Basschat Marketplace transaction? Well that's easy - it's any deal which involves Tom. The perfect gent, he's honest, on the ball, guarantees a fast delivery, at a great price, and packaged like a pro. Thanks Tom - you're a star.

First time at a pub in Chippenham last night. Bandeoke band supporting the usual suspects (tone deaf karaoke kings, drunken shouters, nervous silent types and over enthusiastic hen parties). It went well, no one hit me and I got paid. Happy days.

Just finished my third gig with them (each time 2 hours plus, continuous) and the recharge pack has dropped just one bar. Very pleased.