Happy Jack

Why thank'ee, Young Master, thank'ee kindly.

Out of sheer monkey curiosity, what's the Italian for 'Troll'?

Phew! For a second there, I thought someone might actually be even more pedantic than me ...

8th August. That's when we get our first post-Covid gig.

Sad, but not surprised. When I saw him at the Union Chapel about 10 years ago he was then the same age that I am now, i.e. 63. I like to think that I can pass for mid-50s. Peter could have passed even then for mid-70s, barely able to stand up, quite unable to solo. An enormous loss. I'll raise a glass to him this evening.

Rumbled!

It's in Martin's workshop at The Bass Gallery, and he kindly took it out to show me. I know it's "just a Precision" - this was his Custom Shop replica of his original - but it was genuinely a gorgeous example of the breed. Not flashy, no exotic diseased woods, no gold-plated hardware, but an excellent player's bass. I've seen (and owned) lots of Precisions. Some call out "play me", most don't. This one did.

Yes ... I found his fingers in the gigbag and it was all there.

An hour ago, I was actually holding Pino's red Precision. Seriously.

We have an old expression in England about opinions, Gianni, but you are of course welcome to yours, as I said six years ago! Have you ever played an Alleva-Coppolo? I'm guessing not. Have you played a Fodera or an Alembic? I know nothing about you so perhaps you have, but if you had I suspect that you would not be so dismissive of high-end luthier-built basses.

You appear to be a man of taste and discrimination. Could I perchance interest you in a pair of copper-wound gut strings for a double bass? They have an attractive reddish hue ...

And it shows the Ali Kat in the background, too.

Paging @Silvia Bluejay ...

Even by my very low standards, that's appalling.

And then Lockdown hit and everything went quiet for a couple of months. Mid-May and we had our first rehearsal (in a civically-reponsible, socially-distanced sort of way) out in my two acres of woodlands up in the Chilterns, and I was struggling. The Red Diamonds still hadn't settled, and the bass need to have the tuning checked - especially the E and A - after each and every song. In June we had several more outdoor rehearsals, and the bloody strings still wouldn't settle. Yesterday we had our third session in July and I finally lost it. Enough is enough, this is no longer acceptable, and I simply wouldn't be prepared to play a proper gig with these strings on my bass. Luckily enough, I am associated with Double Bass String Resource Support Group (sometimes known as @Clarky) and he was able to talk me down from the ceiling and recommend a fix. I will shortly be ordering the E and A strings from a set of Evah Pirazzi Slaps and seeing how they sit alongside the D and G strings from Red Diamond. Watch this space.

The coffee mug is there for scale. The brown paper is to fill the empty space. And what have I actually bought? Yes ... it's a clip-on tuner.

Damn! Rumbled ...

Don't mention the singer's facelift.

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!! Well that might explain the pricing oddities, I suppose ...

Good article, but very confused by the on-screen pricing. I appreciate that each of us may well be offered different choices, but for example I get 2. D’Addario Xl Ecb81 Chromes Flat Wound Get these if you're after long-lasting brightness Street price: $25 £42.95 VIEW AT AMAZON £44 View at Amazon £44.50 View at Amazon This isn't to do with UK£ / US$ exchange rates, or shipping + taxes, because across the article I get as many options where the strings are way cheaper as when they're way pricier.

Well it wouldn't be rock'n'roll with a sausage dog, now would it?

I grew it under the heading of Things To Do Under Lockdown. Then I got bored and shaved it off. Then I grew it again. Watch this space ...

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