ambient

I used to walk miles with my bass in one. I commuted by train to and from uni in London three days a week for three years. Differing instruments but always the same Mono M80.

Are they your instruments? The one in the centre of the group looks fabulous.

I’m glad I’ve seen this, I just ordered one from GAK. It was £70 posted.

I’ve never seen a Pangborn in real life. I did a Google search before I posted my reply; there doesn’t seem to be many examples of his work about. To be honest, it would be asking a lot to have gone from this example - which I actually quite like - to the one featured in the very old magazine I have, with the dragon inlays and LED eyes, in just four years or so.

Anthony Jackson Tony Levin Pino Leland Sklar I’m checking out Nate Navarro at the moment too. He’s a very technical player, currently on tour with Porcupine Tree.

He’s getting some media attention now, though for his entertainment scams rather than his thievery. https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/news/booking-firm-owes-us-tens-of-thousands-claim-tribute-acts?utm_source=facebook-instagram&utm_medium=fb-insta-stories&utm_campaign=stories

I’ve worked on a cruise ship. The main skills required are being able to sight extremely well read and busk/improvise well. On the gig I did there were three books of songs, one red, one yellow and the other was blue. The singer was calling out page numbers and the book colour. So blue book page 60, pick up the book, turn to the page and play. There was no rehearsing, mainly because the concert room was in constant use throughout the day. The band played three 40 minute sets for five nights. It wasn’t for me, it was far too regimental, I didn’t enjoy it. I was asked again a couple of years ago and said no. I took two basses with me, but only used one.

Ashley Pangbourne? He built Alembic style instruments in the 1980s.

The serial number suggests there’s at least 132 similar instruments on the planet.

The best thing is to sit in front of a mirror and watch yourself play. Pay particular attention to the left hand. Look to see which left hand fingers are free when you hear notes sounding that you don’t want. Use those free fingers as mutes. Unless you’re playing chords then the chances are that you have three fingers to spare. Start slowly, very slowly and gradually increase the tempo as you get more proficient at muting and slapping. To start with it has to be a conscious thing, after a while it just happens.

Use the left hand fingers that aren’t playing notes. I can slap on a six string. It’s just practice really, maybe sit in front of a mirror and watch what you’re doing?

That’s me too. I’ve had some nice days out to places I wouldn’t otherwise have gone to.

I don’t think Parcelforce cover instruments. Though they’ll probably take your money for the insurance.

I don’t know if everyone’s aware, but solo bassist, educator and all round nice guy Steve Lawson is currently undergoing treatment for cancer. There’s a benefit concert for him taking place in California later today, featuring some absolutely stunning musicians, including Michael Manring. It’s going to be streamed live via this link here: https://bluejeans.com/558774000 Here’s a link to Steve’s Facebook page with more details on who’s playing and when etc: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0GuPo5GuFQtSEiMrq7sPtDuRLTNhRnGBs5Gv3ATAzXVjPhQNn9bj5Ssa2TvtUUF3Sl&id=633571454

It looks good for its age.

The pedals scam seems to have been something he dreamt up during lockdown. His real money making con appears to be be in entertainment. He takes bookings for venues, they pay him a deposit, then he either cancels at the last minute, or just the singer turns up. He’s often booking the same band to multiple venues on the same night. He’s also taking money from bands for shows that are never booked. According to a friend, he has a reputation for booking musicians but not paying them.

I once, in what I thought was a very ‘rock and roll’ pose, put my foot on a monitor which started sliding across the stage. I didn’t fall over but it was nevertheless a very embarrassing moment.

This is impressive. Maybe not something to try at your local pub gig though.

I'm truly shocked at the scale of this. I found out a couple of days ago that he conned a band a friend of mine plays in. I think what we're seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg. I have a few mutual muso friends on Facebook, I've just alerted them to this thread, I’d hate for them to be scammed too.

He’s been away for quite some time now.

I know Mark is away. I don’t know who’s running it for him.

I can yes. That side of playing has always interested me. I started off as a kid playing violin, then classical guitar. When I switched to playing bass about 13 or 14, I just assumed that you had to read. My MMus was a mixed composition/performance course. I started using extended performance notation that even the greatest sight reader would struggle to read and play at the same time. I’m currently using TAB to notate some of my solo bass stuff. Standard notation doesn’t easily work with it, I’m using different tunings and harmonics. I bought a 6 line TAB book.

I tend to use my fingers.