Happy Jack

Yup - this one is 22.75" scale, despite what Andertons say.

I use mainly Rolson toolbags for carrying my gear around. https://cpc.farnell.com/rolson-tools/68283/bag-tool-13pkt-18-long/dp/SG32779?mckv=sEFmCMEfE_dc|pcrid|224699680447|kword||match||plid||slid||product|SG32779|pgrid|49812616027|ptaid|pla-399482536964|&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-SHOPPING&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2b7uBRDsARIsAEE9XpFpNoIHHPdK7qb1hXwO0PqGIunb2WwfoPYHaBqXJy7oV65y2_Y_lqgaAtryEALw_wcB Their bright yellow colour makes them (1) easy to spot in a dark corner of a pub, and (2) easy to spot when someone tries to walk off with one. Plus of course they're incredibly hard-wearing.

The FDeck (Francis Deck) High Pass Filter pedal, or one of the available clones thereof. Extremely simple way to reduce or eradicate feedback from a DB by rolling off the sub-audible frequencies.

Key Features: 27.5”-scale electric tenor guitar Custom 4-string single-coil Telecaster pickups “U”-shaped neck profile 9.5”-radius fingerboard with 21 vintage-tall frets Includes deluxe gig bag Here's what Fender say: A modern take on the 4-string tenor guitar, the Fender Tenor Tele has a huge sound that belies its small size. Tuned to the same pitches as the top 4 strings of a 6-string or any of a number of popular alternate tunings, guitar players will feel right at home on this fun-to-play tiny Telecaster. Custom-designed 4-string alnico pickups give this Tele variation its sound—twangy and powerful, it has the authentic sound that’s made the Tele popular since its inception. The usual 3-way pickup switch is there, along with master volume and tone controls to further shape your sound. Comfortable for any playing style, the 22.75”-scale maple neck has a “U”-shaped profile and hosts a modern 9.5”-radius fingerboard with 21 vintage-tall frets. Someone at Andertons needs to learn how to proof-read ...

And deep beneath the rolling waves In labyrinths of coral caves An echo of a distant time Comes willowing across the sand And everything is green and submarine

A whole new type of GAS. Not basses and amps and pedals - there's a whole forum of that stuff outside this thread. This is for all the other bits and pieces that make a musician's life easier or more enjoyable. I'll kick it off with this. I'm gigging a fair bit just now, and having the gear that I need distributed amongst a bunch of randomly-accumulated, anonymous bags and cases (all of them black) is making set-up and break-down more stressful than it should be. Solution? Revert to one of my favourite websites ... https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/ Ignore the rods, reels and bait sections, head straight for the bags and luggage. For every bass player in the UK there are a dozen guitarists; for every guitarist in the UK there are a dozen anglers. Their kit is produced in huge quantities (so it's cheap), it has to withstand weeks of being kicked about on muddy riverbanks (so it's waterproof and rugged), and anglers are every bit as vocal and obsessed as musicians (so it's reliable). Today I am happy to recommend the Guru Fusion 400 as an excellent way to carry (for example) two vocal mics, a voice processor pedal with power supply, and a headset mic. And be able to see the contents even when it's closed. https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/guru-fusion-400-bait-pro-case?_sgm_campaign=scn_849ee64608000&_sgm_source=KD16041407&_sgm_action=click [Ignore the Fusion 300 in this example.] Similarly, the Drennan Vis Case is ideal for holding (for example) everything one might need to connect a DB to a PA ... 10M instrument cable, HPF300 with power supply, patch leads, etc. Again, the ability to see at a glance what's inside is a huge bonus when setting up in a crowded pub. https://www.anglingdirect.co.uk/drennan-vis-case No, I have no connection with Angling Direct, and no, I am not an angler. But before you buy your next piece of branded, over-priced musical baggery you could do worse than to check out what's available from a coarse fisherman ...

Probably not what you want to read, Rabbie, but a couple of weeks ago at a rehearsal I unplugged my ply DB from my bass rig (AI Clarus II into a Crazy Eight) and plugged instead into the Hi-Z input on my cheap-as-chips Behringer XR18 wireless mixer, going into a pair of cheap-as-chips 1x10 PA wedges. Just out of curiosity. That channel on the PA had no special processing set up, no compression or low cut, no FX or anything. I was surprised to hear that the damned thing sounded very nearly as good through the cheap PA as it had through well over a grand's worth of specialist kit. Just a bit boomy. So I dug out my HPF and put that in the signal chain: DB -> HPF -> XR18 -> Powersoft Digam power amp -> cheap 1x10 wedges. Now it sounded just as good and - apart from the HPF - everything I was using was stuff that would be taken to a gig anyway for use by the band. It's worth experimenting with the kit you already have lying around before going the specialist mic route ...

Busy, successful 3-piece needs a new drummer. We're based in NW London but we gig the M25 from Surrey round to Essex borders. We play mainly classic rockabilly from the 50s and the early 80s, plus a handful of (rather good) originals. As of today we have 37 gigs in the diary, over 30 of which are spread through 2020. Most gigs are at £300, the rest (broadly) are at £240; we hardly ever play for nowt. We get a lot of repeat gigs - we're a decent band and we're nice people to do business with. Age, gender, colour and shoe-size are all equally irrelevant ... we want someone who really knows how to play rockabilly properly, and really wants to do exactly that. Just in case it matters to you, though, we're both middle-aged white guys. What does matter to us is good equipment, reliable transport, and the right attitude. BVs would be a bonus but are not a requirement. If you're interested, or you know someone who might be, please PM me here on Basschat.

But you need to emphasise to the venues that you keep your 'Free' tab on Lemonrock accurate and up to date. So few bands actually use this facility that most bookers won't bother to check it unless you point them at it.

HazBeen, if you're only 45 and you have no significant medical issue (slipped disk, etc.) then looking for mechanical solutions is probably not the best option. If your current woes are caused by poor posture (as in my case, aggravated by having flat feet) then finding complicated structures that will allow you to continue to have poor posture is just going to lead to bigger problems downstream. And yes, I did that too, so I'm talking from experience. If you search Basschat hard enough, you'll probably find my posts about experimenting with 'clever' straps and back-support systems back in 2007/08. Given my own history, obviously I'm going to recommend starting with an assessment by a good Pilates practitioner - do some research first and choose someone with loads of experience and (preferably) an osteopath qualification too. That said, there are other health professionals, such as physiotherapists, who could do the same thing. You'll make your own decision. The important thing is to nail down right at the start what the actual problem is. In my case it was all about posture and poor core strength and the answer turned out to be a regular Pilates class and an exercise regime. All of this hit me like a landslide around the time I hit 50 and was playing fewer than a dozen gigs a year. I'm now pushing 63, playing over 70 gigs a year - half of them high energy rockabilly - and in better shape than I was 12 years ago. My early years of back problems also left me with a very expensive predilection for uber-lightweight gear and that hasn't gone away, but the weight of the bass is no longer the sole deciding factor. PM me if you'd like to go into any of this in more detail.

After 2.5 years? Maybe not ...

On the other hand, some of these bozos are sources of great band stories for the years to come. Last night is a case in point. I'm playing DB in a rockabilly trio (at The Oddfellows in Apsley, in case you know it), just about to start the third set, when a mid-40s lady walks up to me. Here we go, I think, do we play any Abba. She points at my DB and says, "Is that a harp?". OK, this is a wind-up, right? But she looks perfectly serious. No, I say, it's a double bass. "A double bass?" says she, "I didn't know about them." Yes, I reply, it's a double bass, and usually when people ask about it, that's because they think it's a cello. "No", she says, "I thought it was a harp. What does a harp look like, then?". I ask her if she's familiar with Guinness. She looks startled but says that she is. I tell her to picture the Guinness logo. "That's a harp", I say. She frowns, looks around for support, there's none forthcoming and my guitarist is now wetting himslef laughing, so off she totters to the toilet.

I have the cheap gigbag that I used to keep my Harley-Benton uke-basses in when gigging them. It's NOT purpose made for uke-basses, and it's certainly too big to be used with a Kala, but as a cheap, rain-proof gigbag it'll do a job for you. In the front pocket, I discovered the original fitment Thundergut strings that came on the HB, cut to length (obviously) but virtually unused. Drop me a PM if you want it. It can be collected from Harrow or (by prior arrangement) from the West End. Alternatively, check my signature to see where I'm gigging and collect it at a gig.

I do realise that these front-mounted amps are designed to work that way, but I get nervous about the leverage too. Buy a length of this (or similar): https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Pine-Crown-Moulding---34mm-x-12mm-x-2-4m/p/121310 Instant wedgery to support the back.

By the time he's cut holes in the side for the pickup, the idea no longer holds water.

My ex-wife said that PMS could not be altered at all.

I've always been a big fan of the small stuff that passes people by in these home videos. Why didn't he take the coats off the wall and put them on the sofa or the bed, rather than brushing into them in a distracting way every few seconds? Could he really not be bothered to close that cupboard door before switching on the recorder? What's with the rolled-up chequer-floor mat? Above all, why is he filming himself playing indoors dressed for a jog across the park in mid-winter? I think we should be told ...

Although, and famously, none of The Beatles had any formal musical training worth mentioning.

Ah right, this isn't a plastic wrap for your bass then?

I played piano (badly) and guitar (very badly) as a teenager. I sang bass in various choirs (although I've always been a baritone) and would routinely sing along with the bassline of the big hits of the day - especially All Right Now by Free. Gave it all up when I was about 22 ... no great loss. Picked up a bass guitar for the first time on my 49th birthday (it had been bought for my teenaged daughter but she never played it) and I've never looked back. I grew up on Guernsey. Bass guitars were a rarity and I never even touched one until I moved to London in the mid-70s. Maybe things could have been different, then? Well, maybe. I remember sharing a flat with a bass player and it took both of us to get his bass rig up and down the stairs. I always was a lazy s.o.b.

I tried taking a double bass by tube just once, to an open-air festival gig with no parking anywhere near. My DB gigbag has wheels and is therefore towable, but the bass really didn't enjoy being towed along uneven pavements and up & down curbs. My journey was very simple, eight stops on a single line with no changes, but neither station has lifts so the DB had to be carried up/downstairs at both ends. All I can say is, I'm bloody glad that @Silvia Bluejay was there to help! For any public transport gig, leave the DB at home and take a Precision ...

Or you could just take up playing the harmonica, of course. Just saying ...