Happy Jack

https://fb.watch/fFBWUMNgtM/

Red House.

https://www.thomann.de/gb/allparts_dice_poti_knobs_red.htm?glp=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw4JWZBhApEiwAtJUN0Gg12Q1U0gpeJp0OhAuzyiK4hOuqK3Vu0CKDbxX9aEKj0IdQRMbJ1hoC94oQAvD_BwE

Listened to some of the tracks a few days ago - the remix, not the original. I've loved that album since I was nine years old and I know it backwards and inside out. The remix sounded like ... well ... Revolver. Yes, it's now in stereo. Yes, the bass is slightly more prominent. But it still sounds better on vinyl and played in mono, because that's what it's supposed to sound like. 🙄

Many ways to skin that particular cat. A competent, well-equipped keyboard player will always be able to substitute for the bassist (in sime ways, at least), and it's been that way since the 50s. Ever heard of Jerry Lee Lewis? On the other hand, having a keys player in the band adds a whole new level of complexity and gear cartage. I've recently gone back to keys (after a 40-year gap) with a couple of bands, including one where I'd been the bass player for two years. Load-in for me as a bassist: gigbag in one hand, combo in the other, setlist + lead + power cable in the pocket of the gigbag. Set-up for me as a bassist: plug in combo, plug in lead, pick up bass. Load-in for me as a keyboardist: (1) keyboards stand, stool and cables bag (2) two keyboards (3) combo/monitor + stand etc. Set-up for me as a keyboardist: erect keys stand, place keyboards, erect monitor stand, plug in 6-way gang, plug in power supplies, plug keyboards into stereo DI box, take thru feed into monitor, take main feed to PA, power up & test everything, erect stool and place settings book/tablet, punch in settings for first song. And, of course, on stage I take up as much space as the drumkit and I'm as exciting to watch as paint drying. Plus, as @Downunderwonder hints at, whatever sound I'm making will be met with, "Well can't you do brass on that bit?". Guys, I'm already flitting between Hammond and piano with my right hand while playing bass with my left. "Yes, but that bit really needs brass." I think I'll stick to playing in bands where there's a full-time bassist, thanks.

Happy to be told I'm wrong but, based on previous experience, one DB is enough at a BassBash. It's a bit like taking a functions band to a punk gig. 😉

And when has that ever mattered? Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!

Any plans I had to sell my less-used basses are currently on hold ... I feel like 'freezing' things for a year or two, see how things develop.

I could have been there ... but I wasn't. ☹️ Astonished to see that @MacDaddy once had hair ...

Greene King have cancelled ALL entertainment tbis weekend, so that's tomorrow night's gig gone. On the other hand, tomorrow afternoon and Sunday afternoon are both still on, which I'm very happy about. I'm a lifelong Royalist and I'm terribly sorry that she's gone, but I don't see that it's disrespectful for life to carry on, and quite frankly I doubt she would give a toss that I'm gigging tomorrow afternoon.

All together now ... low end WASTE-land, just a low end WASTE-land

By "action similar to a real piano" I'm guessing you mean a weighted keyboard? IME these tend to be heavier and more expensive and, while excellent for piano, are much less so if you're nearer the Hammond end of the scale. I know NOTHING about MIDI and I plan to keep it that way, so bear that in mind when reading my comments below. 🙈🙉🙊 In my sitting room I have an Alesis Recital Pro and a Casio WK-7600, both for home use only. The Alesis was an excellent buy, just over £300 (new) for an 88-key stage piano with proper weighted keyboard and a (limited) range of other sounds. The Casio is surprisingly competent for an entry-level 76-key synth. Nearly £400 new if you can still find one, plenty of pre-owned on the market. I'm not keen to gig either of these. The Alesis is large and heavy and, while the piano sounds are excellent, no pub or festival audience is ever going to notice the difference between those sounds and the ones that I actually use on stage. The Casio is, frankly, a bit on the flimsy side ... knock it off its stand or have a drummer tread on it by accident while setting up and it's not likely to survive. Also, the brass sounds on the Casio are really quite poor. For live use I have a Hammond SK1-61 and a Korg Kross, both bought pre-owned for less than half the new price. Which is just as well, since those two bought new today would cost £2700. 😱 I bought the Korg specifically because I like the brass sounds so much. It does everything else really well too, including drawbar organ, but it's the brass that sold it to me. Keyboard is fairly standard synth-type, not as lightweight as the Casio but not really 'weighted' either. The Hammond ... well what can you say? It's a Hammond, plays like a tiny, lightweight B3, sounds like a B3 (if you want it to), has a 'waterfall' keyboard that is excellent for Stevie Winwood swoops and whooshes, and it instantly, utterly NAILS the whole Hammond vibe. No matter how well the Korg does drawbar organ, the second I switch to the Hammond I can see smiles breaking out all around me.

Mind you, that recording is appalling quality. 🙄

I quote: Frost also hosted the 1975 TV documentary, A Salute To The Beatles: Once Upon A Time. Though falling far short of anything deemed acceptable by fans nowadays (being largely a clip job produced for late night TV), it IS notable for featuring fresh interviews with a handful of Beatles insiders, including George Martin, Mal Evans, Peter Brown and Derek Taylor. https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftinyurl.com%2Fa5pff25v%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2i-COGG_A7xvmdNomhvoq3OIAPRjVqDXBx_PbDMoZQUktuEfAfoTJLg40&h=AT0VvMneFMpf9jj6AW66vjE8V4cdgF_YGeP-LoFIKgfyvO6XvMkV7zys-aSxX_9RXpLZkGOUYoPfHvOrVWZvvfdiSyCmW1SnN1FV_wyX8qvsvsM25Gk3w0BH5rMoSuBrqhd3&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT3wj8CaW-Y_9y0aIkhMPVztnNNoK0Rj5gASX3BUNuNpuCnAyV_NxbmqUDXwgpgr0fMgdStiV43Xsbu98HNTq9KeHu_MrEjLX0SM2FnKtGnAnIFSsZzJNmfIvSjYmT69Kb_35XbWRWIaSfrpUd4yOEu_ZmcLTL3VcAAX39uur6Fm2uu6vBHuK-14KIbUVo8-cdlfvGwbHZYSrNOsmjG3-fLDCGiIW-lbfg

I see what you did there! Not much gets past me, y'know ...

If you have Netflix, you may like to know that they've just added a bunch of new material including a 70-minute film about a gig at The Rainbow just shy of 50 years ago. The band is a bunch of proggers called Yes and the film is, of course, Yessongs. Apart from the sheer joy of seeing (and hearing) this after all these years, the film is well worth watching because the triple live album (which I wore out at the time) was a 'best of' from three consecutive nights at The Rainbow whereas the film is the recording of a single concert. At least half the songs in the film are therefore versions that I've never heard before - not wildly different, but enough so that it feels like getting into a time machine and going to one of their gigs. Sublime.

I find a bath towel wrapped around the neck does a great job of stopping the open strings ringing. It also gets rid of that horrible 'slapping' noise. 😉

Sorry Jon, but I'm still struggling to get past the ... erm ... well, it's where a headstock would normally be. 😂 For (originally) a £99 bass the rest of it looks seriously fit for purpose, mind.

In fairness, that only happens occasionally in pubs.

Given the name of the band, there's an obvious irony here ...

Re-titled to avoid (further) confusion.

Don't be fooled my by sister's sheet music ... I was banging out honky-tonk blues.

Agreed that the condition is almost worryingly good, but the finish on those very early Precisions does seem to have been less prone to checking. Here's my very early 1957: Now compare that to my 1966:

Mine of course. That's a 6W Clubman. In my studio it sits next to a 12W Westminster and a 17W Dominator.

Mind you, no matter how good those pedals are, they can't save you from