Happy Jack

While I'm asleep, I dream about the gig. I was looking around as I played and noticed that - as with many Clubs I have played - it's very obvious that much of the decor has been cobbled together on the cheap, presumably by Members volunteering to help. In my dream I was fixated on this poor-quality work. Wake up, get out of bed, down to the studio and plug the whole f***ing PA together but I know what's going to happen. Sure enough, everything works just fine. I'll lay you odds of 100-1 that if you plugged a tester into the socket we used for the Stage Right sub it would have shown a fault ... seriously defective wiring at that point. It was the one thing we didn't isolate (well you don't, do you?) and - even more irritating - two of the four of us there actually had testers in our bags. 🙄

The Junkyard Dogs set up at a big Social Club on Saturday night, large hall and a very nice stage but audience a bit thin on the ground - it was the third week of January, the temperature had barely risen above zero for three days, and it was the band's first gig at that venue. No matter, treat it as a combined audition for future gigs and well-paid rehearsal. Which we bloody needed, I can tell you. Powered subs on each side of the stage driving passive tops, 13A sockets under metal flaps across the front of the stage so no messy cabling, everything is set up so it's time to switch it all on. Stage Left sub is fine, exactly as usual; Stage Right sub produces an enormous hum. Play music through the system and Left is just fine, Right is very, very faint ... lots of hum, very little music. Hmmmmmm. Literally. It sounds a lot like a ground loop so flick the Phase switch on Stage Right. Nada. Not a sausage. Bugger all. The hum is still there. Replace the XLR cable from PA to Stage Right. No change, the hum is still there. Switch the Main Out L/R cables at the PA. The hum stays with the Stage Right unit and doesn't shift to the Left. Switch off Stage Right and unplug everything. Count slowly to five. Plug it all back together and switch on. The hum is still there and the clock is ticking. Out Of Time. Game Over. Insert New Coin. Switch off Stage Right and unplug everything, then run a long Speakon cable from the Stage Left passive top to the Stage Right passive top. It works perfectly; we now have the entire PA being driven by the Stage Left powered sub. Play gig, load out, go home, go to sleep.

Looks good to me, no jarring changes in quality between cameras, well-chosen angles, neat cross-cutting. I like your drummer too - very tight.

This ^ is bang on the money. Very impressive bass for the money but when I had mine I had yet to realise that I am fundamentally a P-bass sort of guy so I just didn't get on with the Barts.

I was at NAMM with @Silvia Bluejay when they launched these (in orange, not purple, natch) and I was dead keen to try one. They were $329 IIRC. When I played one, frankly it was a bit 'meh'. It was a perfectly acceptable cheap Chinese bass, but it had no Wow factor at all. If they're now $629 (just five years later) then I'd be inclined to wait for a pre-owned model to be listed for sale by a disappointed owner.

"The Mazeti neck has the standard long 34 inch scale, and the geometry of the Fernandez body required me to move the bridge back an inch, and the neck I also moved slightly, so the bridge saddles intonate nicely at around half their adjustment range." The Master at the peak of his form. I was particularly impressed by the nut. 🤨

Is there any chance you could give me that guitarist's number?

Does Suzi Quattro count as "Americana"? 😉😂

Ahem ahem ...

In truth? Probably the 3/4 Zeller I sold to make way for the 4/4 Zeller. 😂

I play a 4/4 at larger indoor gigs ... that's "larger" as in more room for me and my gear, so a nice big stage or something. Trouble is, that's only a dozen or so gigs a year. For outdoor sunshine gigs I play my 3/4 AliKat because obviously it really sparkles in the sun. For all indoor gigs where space is at a premium I play the Kolstein Busetto that I bought a few years back from @bassacewhich originated on Basschat with @Clarky I believe. Now I've bought a KK Baby Bass which I'll use at jam sessions where not only is space limited but also I will be at the mercy of whoever claims to be "doing the sound" and the bass will be at the mercy of passing punters. It's horses for courses, innit? Not entirely sure I've actually answered any questions here ...

17 Watts You Never Give Me Your Money 1971 Cider With Roadies Revolution In The Head

Staying with the Repair Shop concept, YouTube is awash with scarily clever people doing astonishing restoration work, resto-mods, and complete rebuilds as a way of getting people to watch a 20- or 30- or 60-minute YouTube video. Maybe trawl through a few dozen of those, find some suitable craftspeople (phew! just for a moment there I thought I'd typed "craftsmen"), and offer your case up as a content source?

If you're just 1cm short on the nut, I'd be astonished if that left you light on the windings. Don't see how sustain on a fingered note could be affected by what's happening above the finger.

And a weight, don't forget the weight. 🤣

All the time & effort you went to, getting that thing. If you sell now, you just know you'll be looking for another next year. 🤣

Mad as a box of frogs.

Only when someone fits a Jazz neck to a P.

Look like a pair of decent basses for the right person. Luckily enough, that isn't me.