Happy Jack

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1506368277' post='3378308'] I was indeed at Kalabash's gig in Ealing Broadway, and both Happy Jack and I can confirm that Mike's bass - through the ELF and a 2x12 cab - sounded crisp and with no shortage of volume, and wasn't drowned by any of the other instruments. This was in a large pub, with a dancing crowd on the floor within minutes of the band getting on stage. [/quote] Yup, very clear sound, plenty of volume, no need for an enormous cab - though Mike tells me that the EBS is very sensitive. I reckon I could plug that Elf through my Barefaced Compact + Midget rig (both Gen #1) and be perfectly happy at any pub gig. I prefer the TH350, and I really love my new (pre-owned) Shuttle 9.2, but I can't fit either of them in the back pocket of my jeans, as Mike demonstrated to us. How often any of us would find it useful to carry a 300W Class D head in the back pocket of our jeans is, obviously, a moot point. What the tininess means is that this is a superb Plan B, an excellent back-up head in case one's TH350 or Shuttle decides to crash and burn. Mike's bass sound (playing a rather nice Status) was very punchy and cut through beautifully. It probably helps that he so obviously knows what he's doing with his bass and his rig .... I saw very little knobbery going on, he just started and finished with a great tone. The only thing I felt was lacking was that quality variously described as heft, girth, or oomph. There was no shortage of volume and we could hear every note, but there seemed little weight behind those notes. As Zappa (or someone) said, this is "dancing about architecture" and probably ranks as mere quibbling.

It seems to me that claims being made for this star are a bit nebulous. I never really liked fusion anyway.

If we're going to go to that level of detail (which would actually be rather a good idea), then don't forget that double doors or oversized single doors will be far more DB-friendly. Low ceilings should probably be avoided. Exquisite, highly-polished dance floors don't take kindly to a bunch of DB spikes being drilled into them. Empty DB cases take up a surprising amount of room.

Get it in the diary now, and we won't get 50 Basschatters in the South East saying [i]"if only I wasn't gigging that night ..."[/i]

I bet you go out eating with that Les ...

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1506313214' post='3377771'] John Brewster, of The Angels [/quote] Hang on, he was in The Bombers with Alan Lancaster of Quo, right?

You could always just ask Steve Chown ...

https://bngguitars.com/big-sister

Just pray he doesn't use one of these: https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/B-A0614-0001/second-hand/b-stock-zildjian-oriental-14-china-trash Mind you, it might be a fair description ...

That wood is like the SFX from a horror movie.

When my wireless system goes cheep, it means the batteries are running low. Oh no ... wait ...

From my very limited experience of DB bashes, volume levels tend to be pretty sensible which means that it is possible to do it all in one big room. Furthermore, attendance numbers are likely to be far smaller than, say, the SouthEast BassBash. Having people disappearing off into side rooms will make the event itself feel deserted and "a failure" even if it's not. If I was organising this, I'd go for one big room.

Unbelievably, I thought I'd sent that as a PM!

https://www.yell.com/s/function+rooms+and+banqueting-bicester.html

As to appetite, yup, I'd be up for another one. Probably a bit tricky to get one up and running during 2017 mind ...

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1506134411' post='3376685'] I think I'll take the word of a successful million selling guitarist who played on a whole tour with Chuck over someone on a forum who never played with him, no offence [/quote] Who was the successful million selling guitarist you are quoting?

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1506071700' post='3376213'] What do you sprinkle on your cereals Jack? [/quote] Minims, plus a handful of crotchets.

Yank, I get that, but if you play a generic Chuck lick at the start of every song and then repeat it all the way through, then every supposedly Chuck song sounds just the same. Don't ask me how I know. A good example is Around And Around. The intro is really very simple and short, no need for the full-on Johnny B Goode thang. The structure is Chorus / Verse / Chorus / etc. and that second chorus is where Chuck plays an amazingly simple lick with a terrific bell-like tone. Most guitarists don't play that - hell, they don't even try. They just try to chug their way through the chorus. Even those who play the lick play it low down on the neck with a muddy Les Paul sound, almost as if they're using distortion. It's a great song, it will survive that treatment, but that's not what we're looking for. We WANT that terrific bell-like tone.

I've tried so hard to get into his music. Failed every time. He's a closed book to me, I'm afraid, but basically I don't really dig that whole jazz/funk/fusion thang and that's hardly his fault!

So I'm reading the manual for my new (pre-loved) Genz Benz Shuttle 9.2 over breakfast - as you do - when I discover that there's more to life than Heft. There is also Girth. Allow me to quote: [i]"When driving the power amp hard the player can feel increased heft and girth of the individual notes, while maintaining dynamics and articulation."[/i] Why were we not told? In fairness, being something of a history buff, I initially assumed that this was in fact a historical reference. Many people know that Harold Godwinson's brother Tostig died at the Battle of Stamford Bridge. (No, this was not a case of rioting football hooligans.) What many do not realise is that he had two other brothers, Heft and Girth, who died alongside King Harold at the Battle of Hastings.

Your mate does a pretty impressive job.

That would account for the waltz being played under the third verse then ...

What, you mean turn up late without a band, have a quick run through with some local guys in the Gents toilet, play a 30-minute set and then walk off, no encores? Sounds like a winner to me ...

We're trying to re-form Mick's Lawmen as a strictly old-school rock & roll band. All we need is a guitarist. OK, slightly more accurately, all we need is a guitarist who can play the classic rock & roll guitar licks. You know - Mick Green, Buddy Holly, Scotty Moore. And, of course, Chuck Berry. Now I grew up listening to Chuck, sometimes filtered through The Beatles and The Stones, more frequently in the raw original. I recognise that they're harder than they sound, but I had no idea how hard. We must have had half a dozen guitarists pass through so far, and not one of them was able to[list] [*]Match the right intro lick to the right song, [*]Play all the famous Chuck licks, [*]Play the licks in the right position on the neck, [*]Actually, y'know, [i][b]sound [/b][/i]a bit like Chuck. [/list] We've had the ludicrous situation of a bassist (me) having to show multiple guitarists how the lick goes - on bass, of course - while the drummer (Mick) tells them how to adjust the EQ on their guitar & amp to get closer to the right sound. These are guys who can match perfectly to Mick Green, Buddy Holly, Scotty Moore, Eddie Cochran, Duane Eddy, you name it. They're competent guitar players. But Chuck Berry? They all [i][b]think [/b][/i]they can play Chuck, some of them play a bit like Keith Richard, most of them get nowhere near. When we started looking, it never occurred to Mick and me that the ability to play Sweet Little Sixteen would be a deal-breaker. Did we miss something?