Kebabkid

Superb, genius band, fantastic music and I'd throw in Fagen's solo albums, too. Becker's were ok, a little more poppy and angular, but put those styles together and you have Steely Dan. I've seen them a couple of times, including shortly after Becker passed away and that was a good bill with the excellent Doobie Brothers, but these days, I tend to go and watch the SD tribute bands, like Nearly Dan and the fabulous Stanley Dee. Enjoy the gig for whoever's going and it's a nostalgia trip. Looks like it might still be 'Ready' Freddie Washington (of Forget me Nots fame) on bass.

Hey Folks, If you can get to one of these gigs and you love your rock, you'll love this. Recommended and a fabulous show

Cloudbusting are great and we caught them last week at The Half Moon, Putney where they were in fine form. We also spoke to you after the gig, Dave and lovely to meet you @sprocketflup. C'mon, how many people in a tribute band can say that their dep is the Real McCoy, in this case, Del Palmer!!

Thanks Mickeyboro :)

I came to my Madness Tribute gig as guitarist depping on bass for my good mate, Gary (Cetera on here) as musically, he was a busy lad and in demand Five years on, it's my main gig and luckily for me, the band have been mates for over 25 years and it's a lovely fit. However, whilst more a rock, pop and funk player, and as I've said, a guitarist, I've enjoyed this immensely. The songs are clever and fun and those Madness bass lines are a joy to play, as are ones by The Specials, The Beat, Selector etc The punters like us and it might just be a genre of music that brings together people of different musical tastes. We've also played a festival, down Denmark St, The Jazz Cafe, The 100 Club and The Dublin Castle with a member of Madness present (Lee Thompson, the sax player) and got the thumbs up rather than the finger! http://cairoeast.co.uk/TrimmedCairoGig.mp4 I've also played in a Squeeze and Crowded House/Jellyfish tribute and that, too, was great fun and presented musical challenges. I think the tribute scene is a healthy one and personally, that's where I think it's at, at the moment. Given some of the bands we're paying homage to are either disbanded or 'past their best', they work well. I've enjoyed a KISS tribute, Thin Lizzy ones and more recently, Cetera's rock anthems band, Leather and Lace, the fabulous Kate Bush tribute, Cloudbusting featuring one of our own (what a gig that was last week) and great Steely Dan tribute band called Stanley Dee. Particularly with the latter, I've seen Steely Dan the last few times and sadly, whilst a bit of a nostalgia trip, they didn't deliver for me. Stanley Dee and the long-running Nearly Dan, do. I note there's some new boys on the block, a Police and Crowded House one doing the rounds and I look forward to seeing them. Good luck with your outfits (in every sense)

Hi Folks, We're playing in Sutton, Surrey this Friday if you fancy it. Free admission and we include stuff from other bands, too, like The Specials, The Beat, Selector, Bad Manners. Thanks

Yep, Pete Thorn is an LA session GUITARIST but what he says applies to any musician and the man talks sense and is well-respected Worth a listen and I was lucky to meet him last year at a Guitar Guitar evening and apart from being a great player, he's sound on so many levels. http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/150097/being-a-pro-musician-pete-thorn

Mine was a Greek wedding function gig where we used a couple of deps who reassured us they were au fait with the repertoire. One of the deps was a keyboard player - this guy was asking me for an E note and sticking a screwdriver in the back of his ancient keyboard and turning it to tune the bloody thing. I was using a guitar synth as part of my rig and had better sounds than him. That keyboard of his just made an awful sound. Anyway, it wasn't our finest hour but it didn't help that the crowd were pretty hostile, rude and there were problems between the Bride and Groom's respective families, which became evident throughout the evening when a couple of squabbles took place outside. Of course, we did our usual thing of placing business cards on the tables as that normally gets us a couple of enquiries or bookings. Big mistake as it had a couple of our mobile numbers on there. Well, from more or less the minute we finished, and for a good few days later, we were getting prank calls with a common one being 'Do you do funerals'? It was a Greek Tragedy! Name of the band, Jason (the singer's name) & The Argonauts.

I'd imagine upgrades such as better tuners and a bridge would finish this off nicely but would there be an issue with the latter and a retrofit based on the positioning?

I have a V7 4 string (Alder) and nabbed one soon after they came out from Thomann as Andertons had yet to have a distribution deal - love it and it's been serving me well for the last couple of years. Fantastic player, tones and preamp. I recently noticed that their Version 1 V3 4 strings had come down in price at Andertons to £199. I liked the look of the all black one (something of the Phil Lynott about it) and went to the shop last weekend and tried 2 of the same for contrast. I settled on one of them as to me, it sounded and played better than the other and it was also significantly lighter. In fact, being mahogany, I thought this was going to be heavy beast but it's even much lighter than my V7 (apparently, Sire body weights aren't that consistent and if weight is an issue, I suggest you try a selection of them). Someone has listed the differences between the V7 and V3 earlier on and I have to say, the Mahogany body sounds really nice, warm, punchy and focused. The bass plays really well, just like my V7 did out of the box, and once again, that preamp really delivers. I mean, how much would that alone cost and how they do it for this price is beyond me???? I know the brand has been a success story for the store and they've sold hundreds of them but quite frankly, I'm not surprised. Recommended

Yeia Sou George From The Other Greek - Costa Greece is producing some fine music and pedals at the moment

@Cetera - Didn't I say this to you at the time?

Thanks to everyone involved in the organisation and staging of the event and you good people who attended for what was another great, interesting, informative and friendly day. It was thoroughly enjoyable and I got to try just about everything I set out to, and some new stuff as well, apart from the Helix in the room furthest away. Richard Searle was great and the chats, stories and questions continued after the event as I gave him a lift back to Surbiton Station - nice guy and I'm saddened I can't attend the upcoming Corduroy gig in Guildford due to a prior engagement. I come away loving the Rob Allen Mouse, and let's face it, who didn't? Thanks Frank for bringing that gem along. The Snap Dragon was a revelation Finally, I think I found an Octaver that works for me (Aguilar Octamiser) - Thanks Prowla (Paul) for bringing that along and anyone selling one? Thanks everyone and when's the next one???? :)

I, too, saw them last year at The O2 with The Doobies and they were good and Freddie Washington was on bass and I think it may have been Carlock, too. Jon Herrington did a good job on guitar but Fagen had seen better days and he's main vocal was iffy and being reinforced by the backing singers, but it was a nostalgia trip and I preferred this performance to the one I saw of their's in the 90s. I have to agree with Gary (Cetera) though that The Doobies stole the show that night and really packed a punch.

If you can't get to see them but fancy seeing a fantastic SD tribute act, I recommend Stanley Dee and they usually play around the M25 (Berks, Herts) and at The Half Moon, Putney

Sorry Al Krow, yes. It's the older B3.

Love mine and the DI out is useful plus it's essentially a spare rig. IMHO, the Octave effects are weak and the filter effects just take time to dial in but everything else is good. I also have the B1Xon and rate that.

Cheers and that's one that's another I had on my list (tried OC-2, OC-3, Zoom B3 ones are pants, MXR isn't for me nor the Cogs). The Pearl OC-7 works for me and my mate has one but won't sell :( My EBS is pretty good

I'll be coming along. Gear-wise, it'll be a little more than just a tad beyond entry level but all good, giggable stuff:- Sire Marcus Miller V7 (4 string) Roland Bass Cube 120XL Zoom B3 & EBS Octabass I'm looking forward to meeting and chatting with you good folk and would love to try an Aguilar rig and find an octave pedal that really suits me. To date, it's the Pearl OC-7. Anyone selling one and the Octabass might be up for sale on the day. Cheers and I'll put the word out on the day. Is it open to non-Basschat folk? Cos

Count me in and 'I lost my Bass Bash Cherry' last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Great day and great peeps and talks Recommended :)

I have a thread up about the HX and was looking to see who'd dipped their toe in the water with this one and it's good to read this and to see you're impressed. I play both bass and guitar and it this just makes sense. Whilst I try to sell some items, which also includes a Zoom B3, to get one of these, I've decided to keep my B1xon exactly for the purpose of home use as that has an aux and headphone inputs and they're as cheap as chips. Incidentally, I'm over on another UK forum and the first used HX just came up for sale - £350. Keep 'em peeled! Glad you're enjoying it :)