martthebass

My preferred genre is post punk/new wave but found myself depping in a Glam Rock band as my then band wasn't particularly active.  7 years on I'm still enjoying playing in a Glam rock band.  Never look a gift horse......

In terms of the OP's question though....yes.  I've never been one to do the busman's holiday thing, I'm much happier up on stage than watching.

More than 250 gigs on this little Indonesian Squier. It’s definitely standing the test of time. 

At £400 the old model is a pretty good deal, a little fettle and you’ve got a pretty good bass. 

After last weeks hot and sticky festival gig this week it was a hot and sticky gig in a small pub for a birthday celebration. A small but appreciative crowd and an altogether enjoyable evening. I wasn’t on my best game for some reason - a bit of hand cramp in the second set due to dehydration I suspect (and the drummer being enthusiastically fast…). That’s it for a few weeks while I have some ongoing medical treatment, missing it already 😞

5 hours ago, Paul S said:

My blues rock trio Toredown's regular 4th Friday of the month gig at the Shamrock in Ipswich.  Traffic on A12 on the way there was light, which makes a change.  Unloaded then had to park a fair distance from the pub.  Only a couple of our regulars turned out and the pub was generally quiet.  Kicked off to a handful of largely distinterested punters with maybe only a dozen or so paying attention.  Things improved as the night progressed but we didn't get the usual kind of joy coming back at us which, in turn, meant the evening lacked the usual spark from our direction.  We played well but it seemed to me something was missing.  My back and knees are playing up and I felt rather uncomfortable all evening, especially in the heat, so I was generally out of sorts.  A12 shut homebound, followed 4 articulated lorries along the diversion of small roads for 10 miles, got home about 30 mins later than usual at 01:45.  Maybe I am spoilt as I usually leave gigs feeling fairly euphoric but last night not so much.  Looking forward to our next one is in 3 weeks - a beer, beetroot (?) and blues festival - slightly nearer and slightly earlier.

We all have em mate, sure the next one will be a blast!

Nice one Daryl!

Farmyard rally last Friday.

First time I’d used the JMJ Mustang on one of these bigger jobbies but I was well chuffed with the sound.
 

https://www.facebook.com/molly.moo.1044186/videos/1611224812700875/?

The awesome Farmyard rally in Helmsley yesterday. First on the evening bill as we know how to get a party started. Only 10 in the marquee just before we came on but a good couple hundred as we came on and double that before the end of the set. It was hotter than hell in there - the big hair didn’t help! 
Being on early did have the bonus of being able to catch some of the other bands, Women in Rock were particularly awesome.
Will post some pics as they come in…..in the meantime here’s the Mustang brothers.

Pretty essential to do BVs in the band I'm in, all four of us chip in to give full harmonies where we can.  When I first started doing BVs a few decades back I hated it and it really detracted from my bass playing but now I'm generally ok though some numbers still fox me and I step back where I know it'll throw me out.

I have done the odd song as lead vox but I find I'm only ok on certain songs where it meshes ok with the bass even after years at it.

On 12/06/2023 at 02:12, Bluewine said:

 

 

Was it just the one guy that fell or was everyone there shined up ? 

Lol 😂😂

 

Blue

I think a fair few were wasted Daryl but only one was an uncoordinated Richard. 

4 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Because they don't break their strings. 

I haven’t broken a string ever. Doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t though.

We always go with the singer, that way the mistake is less obvious to the punters.

Analysis comes later to see how not to repeat if it wasn't just a standard brain fart.

13 hours ago, gemdids said:

Sorry if this has been answered earlier (there are 91 pages to this thread 🙃) I’m in the market to buy a mustang and my options price-wise are between the Vintera or the MIM PJ.
 

I like the tone options on the PJ but read reviews that it neck dives pretty badly which would be a deal-breaker for me. I had an MIJ mustang a few years back and liked the sound I got from the split coil pickup so I’m currently leaning towards the Vintera. Just posting here in case anyone wants to tell me I’m making a mistake.

I’d be inclined to try before buying if you can re: neck dive. I’ve had a few, the worst one I had was a MIJ early 2000s. Of my current 2, the Mikey Way sig has no neck dive due to thin neck and heavyish basswood body. My JMJ has a little as it’s a thicker neck but it’s very minor and unnoticeable with a 3” strap.

A hot and sweaty one in a small pub on the outskirts of Huddersfield last night. A bit of an education in logistics after the last few weeks of reasonable stages but we cracked on regardless. Had the obligatory drunken bloke crash through my set up in slow motion in the second spot, no damage to my mouth thankfully, the only casualty being my mic stand which was a bit lop sided for the rest of the gig.

Only pics were from behind the band which appeared to mainly feature my backside.

Onwards and upwards, next week is the Farmyard bikers rally in Helmsley North Yorkshire, always a cracking gig.

We’ve all had gigs where the audience or prominent members of the audience weren’t particularly engaged. How you deal with those gigs is just as important as how you act at a great gig. 

For years (read decades) I used to take just one but when I joined my current band about 7 years ago it was as a dep. To be professional I took 2 basses, the main and a spare just in case. The habit stuck and it’s still 2. I circulate the basses though so it’s not always the same main; if the main is a shorty then so is the spare and if I take a main 34” then so is the spare.

Time for a JMJ now Dave….

12 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

I do like the EBS. It's quite a tasty piece of kit... but I think it'd suit a valve amp much better being 4 ohm and very hifi so you'd get the sound of something like a 100w head cooking. https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/EBS-NeoLine-212-Professional-Neodymium-Bass-Speaker-Cabinet/P37

But yeah, I've actually been preferring the tone from my NY121.

I’d been through various combinations of 10s and 15s before this set up and this combination just clicked. One thing to note is the tweeter, like many I prefer the sound without it and you can disable/turn it down on the stand alone cabs. On the combo you have to disconnect it but not a tough job.

Despite the BBOT I'm finding myself really liking this.  Sadly my funds are somewhat depleted at the moment as I have a significant other who keeps spending my gig money....

I've loved having my MW Mustang, I must have done close to 200 gigs with it in the glam band and I'm sure this would be a worthy successor.

Keep dreaming Mart...

49 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

I think I may ditch the EBS and get a second ny121. The EBS is overkill really. 

You won't regret it matey.

Think I'll have to stick with my Mikey Way Mustang.

13 minutes ago, kwmlondon said:

Do you think it'd have been fine with an extension cab or do you recon you'd need more than 500w?

I find 500W plenty with 2 x NY121 even in fairly large clubs.  I usually don't need to push beyond half way on the master, any more would be uncomfortable on stage.  The DI stage is great on the MB amps and for large gigs (Festivals/Rallies) I just use the rig for monitoring and DI into the house set up.

I've had a 2 x NY121 set up for about 7 years now.  Originally used with an LM3 but more recently with a LM Little Marcus 500.  For practices I find one cab more than adequate.  For gigs I prefer the sound using 2 cabs, not necessarily for the volume but it does seem to add extra depth to the sound.  Great little set up and despite looking for an alternative set up last year I wasn't able to find anything that beat it on sound, weight and size (it has to fit in the boot of a Mini 5dr).

Saw them back in 1980 on a very snowy Sunday night at Sheffield City Hall. Wasn’t expecting much but it was quite possibly the best gig I’ve ever been to.

Can’t go wrong with one of these, cracking basses. GLWTS