rushbo

Speaking as someone who lives just outside Stourbridge, there's not a new anything around these parts... There is a Bell End nearby, though: https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/hands-bell-end-historic-road-14512296

I went with a subtle variation: "New Wobbum", which I imagine is a little village somewhere in East Sussex.

A brilliant band from Brum. They made one album - "First Investment" which was reissued on a CD a few years back and a fantastic, three track EP. My copy of that is way cracklier than this version! Try and track down the Friday Rock Show Session they did around this time, too. They were a permanent fixture in the rock clubs of the West Midlands around the time of NWOBHM, but they were a bit too pomp-rocky to fit in with that scene. They were a really good live band, and metalheads of a certain location and vintage may remember them being added to the bill at a Judas Priest gig at the Birmingham Odeon, as JP were going to be late due to them recording a Top of the Pops appearance in the afternoon. Fun fact: John Overton, their guitarist, produced and engineered my first ever demo tape. I was genuinely starstruck.

I think that might have been at the old Bingley Hall in Brum, headlined by Budgie. Also on the bill were a four piece Iron Maiden, Samson and local legends Jameson Raid.

Yup. First time I saw them.

I was a huge fan of the NWOBHM back in the day, and I saw most of the heavy hitters at the Odeon in Brum (generally supporting a more well established band) or at a few dinky club venues that I was just about old enough to frequent. It was a really great time to be a metalhead. A couple of years back, I got to review a pretty decent, three CD NWOBHM retrospective called "Winds of Time" for PopMatters. I liked it: https://www.popmatters.com/new-wave-british-heavy-metal-2580612788.html

Those are really helpful - thanks itu. I think I'm going to go for a bridge with 17mm string spacing which should give me a decent response over all the strings. Many thanks again to all the BassChat TechLords for their help.

Thanks to everyone for their input - the manuals were invaluable and I don't know why I didn't look there first! I'll go away and have a little think...

I played a festival in Penrith in 2019 - if I'd have known it was there, I would have swung by to have a look.

I do indeed - I was nine when Kong was in Brum and during one of our regular shopping trips into town, mom took me to see it. As a kid it looked huge! I remember that it was pretty unpopular with almost everybody over the age of 16, but I, and all my primary school mates loved it. I can't believe that it was only in Manzoni Gardens for a few months as it made such a massive impression on Birmingham.

I loved it, but I am biased, being a Brummie, whose first proper band was led by an ex-‘Gale.

That would be really useful- thank you!

Hi Basschat, I'm trying once again to enter the scary world of the five string bass, and to that end, I've scored a decent five string neck which I'm going to swap out with a four stringer on an existing bitsa. I've sharpened my chisel to widen the neck pocket and the new bridge is on order. It's currently loaded with a gorgeous EMG35CD which sounds great. My question to the TechGods of BC is - would it pick up the B and the G strings, effectively? I know it uses rails as opposed to pole pieces and there's plenty of clearance above and below the top and bottom strings. The casing is large (89mm from top to bottom) and initial highly scientific tests (tapping the pick up with a screwdriver at the extreme ends to see if it makes a noise through an amp...) seems to point out that it might work. But will it? Anyone had any experience of an EMG 35CD with a fiver? Come on chums, help a numpty out!

That looks ace - good work fella! Some of this stuff in this forum is pretty intimidating - highly skilled luthiers crafting incredible instruments out of wood from antediluvian oak trees and hardware made from preserved angel's tears, but there's always a place for the well done upgrade of a neglected instrument. As a part time bass-bodger, I'd love to see more of these projects on here. Maybe we should have a sub-forum for us mere mortals who have to have a stiff drink and a quiet lie down, before we do so much as change a control knob on a bass?

Very true. They're the things that cause me the most problems - although when I say "most problems", I actually mean "one specific problem". I have a customised slice of bath sponge to slip by the bridge for when i want to go "The Full Motown."

I think they're a useful thing to have. I struggle to mute open strings, especially when playing fingerstyle and one of these doohickeys does the job quite nicely. A few years ago, I was in a band that covered "All Right Now" - don't judge me... The nice bass break in the middle relies on a lovely open 'A' note, but if you let it ring out too long. it muddies up the phrase that follows it. I cured that by using a Victor Wooten approved hair tie, which I'd roll from behind the nut when necessary. A "proper" version does the same thing, but is a lot easier to get on and off the neck. I think mine was about £4.00. You can use a bit of sponge down by the bridge, but that's a faff to remove, or you can buy one of those on/off muting devices, but they're a bit expensive. This seems to be an cheap and cheerful way to dampen strings, if that's your thing.

If you're looking for a low-budget but decent page turner, I may have found one... Having looked for a simple and pedal board friendly page turner for ages, just before Christmas, I found this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUVAVE-Cube-Turner-Wireless-Page-Turner-Pedal-Built-in-Battery-Supports-V3O6/363259189122?_trkparms=aid%3D1110009%26algo%3DSPLICE.COMPLISTINGS%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20200818142838%26meid%3De5f19b55577f4afea4dec81439c72b3d%26pid%3D101197%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26mehot%3Dnone%26sd%3D392881605382%26itm%3D363259189122%26pmt%3D1%26noa%3D0%26pg%3D2047675%26algv%3Ddefault&_trksid=p2047675.c101197.m1850 Mine cost about £17.50, as there was some kind of "support independent traders" deal on at the time. It's an easy to use, basic, sturdy (metal construction) Bluetooth device that works with Android and IOS devices. You charge it up via USB and away you go. You can also use it with a looper, if that's your thing. I've used it on my iPad (running forScore) and my Android mobile (running SetList Helper) and it works really well on both. Sometimes it takes a couple of attempts to pair with the device, but as it's just a matter of turning it on and off again, it's not exactly an issue. I charged it for about an hour, and so far, I've had about four hours life out of it, with no signs of it running out yet. I've just about managed to squeeze it on my tiny pedalboard, and so far I'm delighted with it. Worth a look if you're after something basic, cheap, but sturdy.

Great bassline, but man, what a voice Karen Carpenter had. Goosebumps.

What seems like a lifetime ago, I played in a classic rock covers band whose USP was that the singer did the whole set as Vegas-era Elvis. He was great - karate moves, jumpsuits, corny patter - he had the lot. After a well received gig, somewhere in the Black Country, I was "enjoying" a post-performance pee, when a drooling drunk crashed in and attempted to use the urinal next to me. He squinted at me, through bleary eyes and said, "mate, you're the best singer I've ever heard!" Unless he was referring to my handful of backing vocals, thrown hopefully in the direction of a mic during the gig, it seems our friend had mistaken a chap with a soul patch and a tatty, black CBGB's tee-shirt, for The King of Rock and Roll. He offered me a moist and tattooed hand to shake. I politely declined.

I'm jealous! I'm a huge Game Theory/Loud Family/Scott Miller fan and I got into his work through that connection. His "Natural Causes" album is a bit of a desert island disc for me. "Kenny vs Thrust" ain't too bad, neither!

He’s consistently ace. There’s some fantastic stuff on this record.

PopMatters aggregated all the votes into one chart - sadly, none of my picks made the top sixty. Bah humbug. I did get Rush ("Permanent Waves") and The Replacements (Pleased To Meet Me") in the top twenty reissues, tho... If you want to read my grammatically dubious reviews just click these links. They're not all for PM, a couple are for a brilliant blog ("I Don't Hear a Single") that I sometimes write for: Jayhawks: https://hearasingle.blogspot.com/search/label/The Jayhawks Kevin Godley: https://hearasingle.blogspot.com/2020/12/kevin-godley-muscle-memory-review-by.html Spygenius: https://hearasingle.blogspot.com/search/label/Spygenius Anton Barbeau (interview): https://hearasingle.blogspot.com/search/label/Anton Barbeau Erik Hall (interview): https://www.popmatters.com/erik-hall-2020-interview-2645676528.html Captain Wilberforce (interview): https://hearasingle.blogspot.com/2020/06/ian-rushbury-interviews-captain.html Dream Syndicate: https://www.popmatters.com/dream-syndicate-universe-inside-review-2646053104.html Ben Watt: https://www.popmatters.com/ben-watt-storm-damage-2645142789.html Bob Mould: https://www.popmatters.com/bob-mould-blue-hearts-review-2648108963.html Squirrel Flower: https://www.popmatters.com/squirrel-flower-was-born-swimming-2645362480.html

I had to list my top ten albums for PopMatters- an online music magazine I write for. I don't think it was a vintage year for music -no surprise there- but there were some fantastic records released. 1. Jayhawks XOXO 2. Kevin Godley: Muscle Memory 3. Captain Wilberforce: When the Dust Just Won’t Settle 4. Dream Syndicate: The Universe Inside 5. Ben Watt: Storm Damage 6. Anton Barbeau: Manbird 7. Bob Mould: Blue Hearts 8. Erik Hall: Music for 18 Musicians 9. Squirrel Flower: I was Born Swimming 10. Spygenius: Man on the Sea

I’ve used a Gear for Music case for about two years. They’re really robust and do the job for a very sensible price. The only drawback is that they don’t sit very comfortably on the shoulder, but if you use the handle, they work well.