Japhet

+1 for the Chowny. Cracking pedal.

My Mum was a very good piano player and one of her favorite songs was Mac The Knife - Bobby Darin. I was fascinated by the bass line in that song and still am to this day. Another one that pushed my buttons was Mercy Mercy Me - Marvin Gaye.

I don't suppose anybody gives a coitus.

He's never been one to under-estimate his own importance. 1971 is probably about the time that The Who started to run out of steam and others who had undoubtedly been influenced by them kicked them to the curb and disappeared into the distance.

Not all plain sailing though. I remember when he was jilted.

I've been using a TechSoundsystems (pre Tecamp) 2x12 for a few years now and can't envisage needing or wanting anything else. Primarily, the sound dispersion is great and I can hear what I'm playing. It's a 4Ohm cab and is capable of massive volume. I use a 500 watt amp at around 50% and it's not a quiet band. It's also very light and has a small(ish) footprint.

I'd find that a prohibitively slow method of moving my gear around.

For the money I'd have to say a 197? Rickenbacker 4001. You could drive a bus under the strings and everything still clanked and buzzed. Fret ends were like surgical instruments and it sounded dreadful. Probably around £2000 worth in todays money but played like £40 worth.

Pre Basschat I had 1 bass, 1 amp and a minimal selection of effects for years. Now I have 4 basses, 6 amps and God only knows how many effects pedals and sundry other stuff. I'm not looking for an elusive sound or tone or anything else - I just enjoy mucking about with stuff and usually losing money in the process. No harm done except to my bank balance but life's too short.

OK, I'll do it. Mandatory suggestion of Fender Rumble 500 combo.

That's exactly the conversation you should have with them.

Sabotage your PA and lend it to them.

As a very general rule of thumb I always reckon you need 10x the wattage of a guitar amp in your bass rig. A 30 watt guitar valve amp is a loud piece of kit and a 100 watt guitar amp is way too much for pub gigs unless you can get the sound you want with the volume rolled right back. I'd say a minimum 300 watt bass amp is your starting point but more power gives you more clean headroom. The Rumbles are made for the job.

Bought a pedal from Gary. Top bloke, but you already knew that didn't you?

1) All get there on time and do your bit to get set up. 2) Get a good sound mix with no feedback issues. 3) Play well with everybody on song. 4) Audience have a good time. 5) Bar staff have a good time. 6) Skip the songs in the set I don't like. 7) Pack away and load out with no problems. 8) Get paid as agreed. 9) Get asked back.

This is what immediately sprang to mind

I think the Holy Grail for most musicians is to be able to play what you hear in your head. If you have a fertile imagination so much the better. Joe Satriani can probably do that and Blackmore probably can't. Also to put it into context, I've always thought of Ritchie Blackmore as an obnoxious knob.

Yes. Like I said, not a dreadful song but I've played it for years and am utterly sick of it. There are so many other SRV songs that are better as well.

I don't think it would make any difference at all. The people who claim they can hear these types of things must have incredibly sensitive hearing and must have their ears professionally cleaned out on a regular basis.

Nope! 2 x 8 Ohm cabs gives you a 4 Ohm load. 2 x 4 Ohm cabs gives you a 2 Ohm load. 1 x 8 Ohm and 1 x 4 Ohm cabs gives you less than 4 Ohms so it will fry your amp.

They're not the worst songs in the world but 2 I'm absolutely sick to death of are Hard To Handle and Pride and Joy.

Used to play a medley of Mercy, Mercy Me/Heard it through the Grapevine - Marvin Gaye years ago and it was a real floor filler at functions.

You could have a sexual harassment claim against Joan Collins there. Might be worth starting a 'Me too' campaign.

I walked across the zebra crossing outside Abbey Road once.