rushbo

You are clearly insane. Fantastic work sir.

Here's my current gigging rig for Roxy Magic - the Roxy Music tribute I've been playing in for a while. I love a PJ configuration, I do. The red one is a bitsa and the natural one is a heavily modified/butchered "Cowpoke." The combo and cab are from the short lived Genz Benz "Contour" range. They're ace.

I've got one of these. Stupidly cheap, but rather good. Aesthetically, they're erm, somewhat lacking but they do exactly what they're supposed to do.

Brilliant album. Brilliant cover:

"Dewey Defeats Truman" version... nice.

I can't believe I'm the first person to post this:

I seem to remember that around the time of "Wild Boys," Andy Taylor was interviewed in Kerrang. ...thats pretty Metal.

Born and bred in Brum, but I now live in Halesowen, which is just about in the Black Country. After 20 years of living here, I think I've almost been accepted by most of the locals... Birmingham is ace and the accent is lovely and very hard to lose- just ask Jeff Lynne! I'm not sure if Brum is good for Metal in 2021, but it certainly was in the 70s and 80s. (Side note... any Brum based Basschaters remember a band called Money?)

Anybody fancy a bit of Post-Punk whimsy?

I'm sorry you've had a catalogue of bad experiences at the hands of people who repair/maintain guitars and basses. Although I've had no experience of the Bass Gallery, I've used 4-5 luthiers across the Midlands and only once had less than great service. The only time I could find a fault with any work I had done, it was rectified quickly and well, following a good natured and polite phone call. Did you send the instrument back to the Bass Gallery? Were your issues eventually addressed? I think what has prompted the tone of some of the replies to your initial post was that it seemed to be very combative - especially as it wasn't immediately clear that you've had consistently unsatisfactory service from many luthiers. It's hard to feel sympathy or empathy for someone, when they're being called "psychopaths". Not every person who tweaks a truss rod for money is a charlatan or a cowboy. Many do great work. Some, however, probably don't. Who would have thought the topic would become so emotive!? Can we all play nicely please? All this shouting will give everyone a headache.

I'm genuinely curious - was this your first and only interaction with a luthier (at the Bass Gallery?), or is this just another in a long sequence of less-than-satisfactory experiences? I'm not trying to be provocative, I'm just interested to know what could cause you to feel so negative towards the profession.

What a brilliant era for Bill... The Red Noise album "Sound on Sound" blew my mind in '79 and it still does today. He still makes great music now, but "Sound on Sound" is a desert island disc for me.

I auditioned for the Primitives, sometime in the nineties. I didnt get the gig, but i had some fun. The guitarist was lovely. Oh, and i got to play "Crash."

Here's a guilty pleasure of mine... And here's a cover of it, from the brilliant and sadly missed Scott Miller:

Hellzero wins the internet. There's one too many strings and way too many knobs 'n' switches for my tiny brain to cope with, but dang, that's pretty! The body shape is gorgeous. That's lovely work AceBass.

Smart - that's way lighter than mine was. I hope it works out for you.

I had a MIJ "Crafted In Japan" P bass a few years ago. It was a lovely sounding instrument and played beautifully, but it was very heavy. It may be me just being a big wuss, but it was the only bass I've ever sold because of the weight. This particular one might be as light as a daisy, but I think it would be a good idea to pop around to the seller and have a quick twang on it first. It does look gorgeous tho...

The Mighty Mike Watt and fIREHOSE:

The rules of the game are, as long as your "practice" rig is different to your "gigging" setup, all is good. Saying that, I have two observations: 1. If that is your practice rig, your gigging gear must be big enough to have its own postcode! 2. Does your local Noise Abatement Team invite you to their Christmas party?

Why do you think the dog looks so nervous..?

I was in a Free/Bad Company tribute band a few years back and my admiration for Andy Fraser shot through the roof when I had to work out his parts. His basslines are brilliant - often simple but always funky and with such great feel and tone.

I don't use many FX, but one song in my band's set has multiple changes and numerous button presses - I've spent more time perfecting my tap dancing on that tune than working on the rest of the repertoire!

Practice is that part of the day when you rehearse your mistakes, so when you make them in public, they're really appalling.

A post in the effects section started me thinking about what Basschatters use at home for practice. I'll set the bar nice and low with my Ion Tailgater... This is, quite possibly, the finest 14 watt, rechargeable battery powered, pocket sized mini PA and iPod dock that you could buy from Maplins for £70. What it lacks in fidelity it makes up for in portability. Joking aside, it sounds pretty decent and it's lasted about ten years of regular use with no issues. My wife is a peripatetic primary school music teacher and she uses the BlueTooth version of this as it's light enough to carry from school to school but loud enough to fill a classroom. And it's great for busking, too. What's your home rig look like? Mesa stack? Vox Amplug? Let's have a look!