Silvia Bluejay

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1350643673' post='1841594'] Start playing [i][b]Mustang Sally [/b][/i]and then count the number of punters who wince or groan or walk off the dancefloor. It won't take long to spot that no one does. At 11pm in a crowded pub, doesn't matter what your opinion is, you can't go wrong by playing [i][b]Mustang Sally[/b][/i]. Again. [/quote] You guys manage to fill the dancefloor without having to add Mustang Sally to your setlist, though!

Bump for tonight's gig at the Dolphin in Uxbridge

When I bought my tickets I wasn't offered any option apart from paying £13 in advance or £15 on the day, so I imagine there's no provision for only going to see one band (Nigel might know more than I do, though?). Also, all tickets need to be exchanged for wristbands (valid for access to all venues) on Saturday at the Hogarth health club, and only there, any time after 11am.

Fascinating. I hope you'll get a lot of response to this. I'm waiting to see if Rotosound tweet about it. If they do, I'll retweet, if not, I'll tweet the link to this thread.

[quote name='Mr Bassman' timestamp='1350562291' post='1840500'] That's slim for a 5 [/quote] Absolutely. The nut width at the low C is exactly the same as that of my 5-string Rockbasses, although obviously I've had to get used to width and string spacing substantially increasing towards the bridge. The NXT5 is so easy to play it almost feels like a bass guitar stood on end, at least until you start moving away from the first positions and going up the neck (which I still do only rarely). I'm still gassing for a real DB, though, but that's out of the question for the moment.

Er, I'm using a tailor's measure but having trouble with imperial... At the low C, the neck of my NXT5 measures 5 inches and 2 whatever-they-ares (apologies, I'm serioulsy useless!), which in "real" measurements (LOOOL) is a circumference of 13.5cm

Not sure what you mean... is that photo we see taken from someone else's account? Or just a wrong photo of unclear provenance? Also, try re-posting this in the Site Issues subforum.

Meetup tweeted as a reminder. I'll tweet it again closer to the date.

Excellent work, Audiokostas, thank you! Very useful - and, AFAIK, pretty exhaustive - list. I'm tweeting it as BC as we speak.

Exactly what I meant, re. adjustable bridge and nut (I'm used to tweaking that too, on my Warwicks). As for tuning a B string, I see what you mean, but sometimes it's the tuner itself that isn't good enough to avoid getting confused at the lowest frequencies and, in such cases, that has very little to do with the bass or the string.

Looks like a Corvette to me, but I'm afraid that's all I can offer... Edit: PM Warwick_Official (Garey) on here, he might be able to help.

I think I'd go for the 5-stringer, because it would probably be more comfy to play, using the low B as a thumbrest as opposed to having to place your thumb on the body of the bass. I play a cheap HB 4-stringer and I'm all right with it, but I could probably do with a 5er. Another important thing to keep in mind is that acoustics tend to have a pretty high action and they're not easy to set up differently, so it would probably be best for you to actually try playing each instrument before committing.

[quote name='Chest Rockwell' timestamp='1350387292' post='1838046'] Maiden are without question THE Metal band, so whatever they use settles the argument right there. [/quote] Whilst I tend to agree with most of what is being said by all posters here, I would strongly disagree with the above. I love Maiden, but they're not metal - even less THE metal band - they're hard rock, with what I'd call an added, intentional pub rock vibe.

I've just published my view of the book in the thread quoted by Jack above. The book is with me at the moment - let me know if you'd like me to pass it on to you!

Apologies for taking so long to come back to this - I read the whole book while travelling to Italy and back last week, but didn't find time to sit down and comment on it here. So - here goes. Unlike Jack, I approached this book with the lowest possible expectations (as a result of his review), and as a consequence I was ready for most of the book's flaws. I completely agree with Jack's critique of the book's failings. Despite declaring that the book is going to be his [b]musical[/b] autobiography, the author - one of the biggest session bass players in the world of rock music! - only gives us occasional, brief insights into his creative process or his method for matching his ideas to the songs written by or for the stars he was backing. Throughout the book, and his life, there is more than a passing hint at drug taking, of course, but usually while performing on stage or recording already completed songs, as opposed to composing. It's as though the book had been written for an audience of non-musicians who aren't interested in such nerdy details - thus negating the author's own premise. Many on-stage or dressing-room antics and pranks are recounted with gusto and plenty of details, and we are given long descriptions of the band's lodgings or Scheff's own homes, his cars, etc. - but not a word about his basses, aside from, as Jack mentioned, telling us that two of them were Fenders and one of them a crap Japanese bass. No details at all about his double bass(es), and very few about his rig (apart from one glorious cab he got in lieu of money as payment). You'd be damned if you were wondering, for instance, what type of strings he used, or liked best, or whether he favoured P basses for their sound, or simply got hold of them because they were what was available there and then, and any similar questions. All that would make sense in the context of a non-technical - but still music-centred - autobiography, [b]if[/b] in the very same book he hadn't written so many pages - about different stages in his life - describing his tubas, trombones, bugles etc. We are told whether they are new and shiny or old and dented, we are given explanations on how to play each of them, on their size and shape, and the most comfortable way to carry them while playing and marching or walking. Yawn... I found the timeline a bit confusing at the start, but not because he begins the book with Elvis's death and then goes backwards in time - that's a common literary device and I'm fine with it. The problem, in my view, is that he (or his editor/publisher) seems to want to get the Elvis era over and done with as soon as possible, after which he can figuratively draw a sigh of relief and get down to the real business of telling us about his life, and begin from the beginning. Also, there are quite a few wives and girlfriends (and a couple of sprogs!) popping up here and there in the narrative, the ladies sometimes seemingly overlapping with each other, which may have added to my confusion. Regarding what Scheff says about the stars he worked with, my impression is that he had to consult quite a few lawyers before publication, and that much of what he thinks or knows - or even just remembers! - about Elvis, Dylan, the Doors etc. had to stay in his mind or hit the cutting room floor. He probably simply was closer to John Denver, and liked him, and so we get to know more about him than those musical giants, despite his being a minor figure compared to them. Having said all that, the book is very well written (and/or edited), and it's rather entertaining if you look at it as "the coast-to-coast adventures of Jerry Scheff with the military and some rather well known bands and rock stars". Just leave your bass player's brain at the door

As requested, I've had another look at the pics I took on the day, and found a few nice ones from the raffle:

I'd be up for that. Would it be in the same (rather awesome!) place? We should, however, make sure that having more than one bash in any one year wouldn't reduce the number of attendees.

You guys were pretty damn good too! And I had no idea how hard it is to take acceptabe photos of a dog zipping around a pub in relatively low light

I've just retweeted this as BC - because it's good Incidentally, that was possibly the quickest retweeting time in history Thank you Shep.

One more gig, more photos! And... The Junkyard Dogs without dog The Junkyard Dogs with dog!

[quote name='Hamster' timestamp='1349653223' post='1828829'] Jack fries another 1000watt Orange Terror head!! Rock 'n Roll Baby! \m/(>.<)\m/ [/quote] Then he'll need a new one for tonight's gig! \m/

Add to that able-bodied people against cats! That would be even better

I for one fully trust you, Colin, and I'm sure everybody else here does Counting down to the next bash!

I've voted. Thank you Colin and Nik for your hard work. I loved the bash and can't wait for the next one!