Happy Jack

Way way back in April 2011 I bought a DB from @Clarky. This was an Andreas Zeller 3/4 fitted with Silver Slaps which were perhaps two years old at the time. I loved those strings, loved them so much that I kept them on until they'd become as supple as rubber bands and were developing little nicks which were inevitably going to break eventually. Knowing that I would be at NAMM in January, and noticing that Gollihur were doing a special on some very nice strings, I ordered a set to be delivered to my sister in Pasadena for collection by me as I passed through. Walking through NAMM with Silvie, we happened to come across the Gamut Music stall and a DB fitted with these wrapped gut strings. Now my view of gut strings is similar to that I used to have of fretless bass before I tried playing one ... I really, really ought to give this a try but I'm worried that it won't end well. I now play fretless basses as freely and casually as fretted, and I have long since lost any nervousness about it, so I couldn't resist these guts. They looked, felt, and sounded very cool indeed. They went on every bit as easily as any other DB strings, in other words they were a right PITA to install, but that's something that only needs to happen (IME) once a decade. Wrapped or not, they're still gut and they take a long time to stabilise. They've now been on for 48 hours and still need to be tuned back up a semi three times a day! Not to worry. I anticipated this and waited to install them until I had a 2-week gap between gigs on DB. Way too early to consider writing a review of them, but once I have a few gigs with them under my belt and maybe some video worth sharing, I'll return to this.

Don't worry 'bout a thing ...

Has anyone considered creating a new country out of the Celtic/Gaelic fringe, and just expelling England? Being half-Scottish myself, I'd apply for one of your new Passports.

https://www.staggmusic.com/en/products/accessories/cases-and-gig-bags

I enjoyed that video. Having always considered myself one of the poorer fretless players on the planet, I am hugely encouraged to see how low the bar has been set.

Well, I recognise the f-holes, so that's something. With the handles removed, the portability of this unit is ... erm ... restricted, neh? Am I right in thinking that this will be a 3-stringer? Unusual choice, that. Most converted wheelbarrows trhat I've seen have had four strings.

I just tried to work out the combined age of all those bands, but my calculator just flashed the word 'Tilt' at me.

Truly excessive amount of Ampeg kit on stage for a TV studio gig ...

Well obviously those awful foreigners keep coming over here and taking all the well-paid gigs away from talented-but-starving hard-working BRITISH people who have paid for the social services and stuff that they want to nick and take back to foreign-land with them when they steal all our best tunes and leave talented-but-starving musical geniuses to rot in garrets while they take all the cash which should have been ours but it's OK cos we're going to kick out Johnny Foreigner and tow Britain out into mid-Atlantic where we can become the first-choice trading partner with North Korea and Peru.

Come and try mine. You could be in for a surprise.

I know musicians rarely have much money, but couldn't they afford new ones?

Roughly speaking, about half a dozen thicknesses. The trouble with these is that there has to be enough thickness in the coil to put stress on the elastic so that it grips the hook, so not good on either short cables or longer cables with big coils. At the other extreme, if you try to use them on thick coils you have to stretch them so far that the hard plastic bit can ping out of your fingers and give your knuckles a naty wallop. They're a good, simple design but I found them too fiddly at the breakdown after a 3-hour gig, plus my bandmates found them really easy to lose. I use mainly these, some in black and some in white to cater for all colours of cable: https://www.toolstation.com/hook-loop-cable-tie/p79844?store=R1&utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&gclid=Cj0KCQiAs67yBRC7ARIsAF49CdV1eXdLzI38v6DNgmi5ZiWBB-2MzHhnZpWzzTIdgL_NtikjUTzcN1EaAj7-EALw_wcB They cost 20p each and last for years. Even the most ham-fisted guitarist will find them difficult to destroy. At gigs, simply velcro them to any handy piece of carpet (like ... erm ... the floor) and they can't blow away or be accidentally kicked under the fag machine. If there's no carpet, velcro them to each other so that you end up with a biggish, highly visible ball of velcro ties. For tiny cables (like wall-warts and some computer cable) I use these instead: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multiware-50-Piece-Fastening-Reusable-Adjustable/dp/B077FKJD4C/ref=asc_df_B077FKJD4C/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=231965104222&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4828190177750154515&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9045963&hvtargid=pla-683052776353&psc=1 They cost 7p each and actually live on the cable, so they're not likely to get lost. The colour coding can come in handy too. I use these extensively inside racked equipment.

Shame ... Bob speaks very highly of you.

Oh dear. Oh dear, oh dear. Oh dearie, dearie me.

Tell me, Clarky, if you were to buy a Ferrari, would you be one of those people who insists on buying a banana-yellow one? I ask in a spirit of pure enquiry ...

OK, that's seriously impressive.

Traditionally speaking, the 'good bits' are Peg, Josie, and Deacon Blues. Whether or not you like any of those is, of course, another matter. It's worth bearing in mind that Aja is NOT the best album by Steely Dan, not by a long chalk. The easy winner is a late-period double album called (IIRC) The Best Of Steely Dan.

I'm sorry mate, but this has to happen:

Before you get into all that messy foam-carving stuff, it's worth just taking out the entire block of foam and putting in the original softcase for the Nano+ board. Not only is it a perfect fit, but it also leaves you with an unused block of foam which is perfect for sculpting your favourite Star Wars character. Just saying ...

Bloody Hell! I may have to raise the asking price for the Mk.III I have listed on Basschat!

They make your legs look fat.

It took me nearly three years to persuade guitarist & drummer that we should play Hot Love. It instantly became one of our biggest crowd-pleasers. Cheese is good. The runnier, the better.