Happy Jack

Really hard to work out what genre you were playing, despite studying that photo really carefully. 😉

Wow! I'm seeing no change already! It's amazing! 😂

I've had tinnitus for years (blame the V+H pipes on my old Buell, rather than loud music) and it's true that (1) there is no cure, and (2) it gets steadily worse over time. If you want to keep playing whilst retaining what's left of your hearing, check out https://www.acscustom.com/uk/ for proper moulded plugs (i.e. custom fitted to your ears) and their range of reduction filters. I have a pair of 15dB and a pair of 25dB. Once they're in, the effect is that you hear exactly what everyone else hears, but with the volume turned down. They're not cheap. You're looking at North of £150 for a pair and they can only be supplied by specialist outlets (including some large branches of Boots). Remind me ... what value do you place on your hearing?

More cowbell!

You guys need to get out more ...

Trans: It's not you, it's me. But really it's you.

Can we get a badge for this?

I've had both the original KK Baby Bass, and the Ampeg that it was essentially a copy of. When I was new to playing DB these things were an absolute Godsend, plus Kris Kedzior is a lovely guy to do business with. I used my Baby Basses at a raft of cool gigs (Proud Camden, The Water Rats, etc.) and they performed admirably, but eventually I reached the point where I just preferred the 'natural' sound of the DB. By that point, the practical advantages of the KK design (mag pickup, no feedback, easy to transport, built like a tank) were no longer so important to me.

And here's what it sounded like at its first outing, a dep gig at zero notice with a more-or-less scratch band. This band may turn out to be a decent side-project for me ... festivals and midweek gigs to fill the yawning gaps between weekend gigs. 😂

Just use worn-out strings as an excuse the p/x the bass against a new one.

One other thing ... the sales blurb for this bass claims that the rail pickups are to maintain output level when bending the strings. I can't honestly say that I've had problems with this in the past, but just so you can hear whether this makes a difference: FLATS Semitone bends at 5th fret.mp3 FLATS Semitone bends at 12th fret.mp3

I've now installed a set of LaBellas, as threatened, and the bass is complete. Whereas before it merely sounded great, now it sounds righteous. Here's a blow-for-blow repeat of the soundclips: FLATS Reverse P Open Tone.mp3 FLATS Normal P Open Tone.mp3 FLATS Mudbucker Open Tone.mp3 FLATS Reverse P Closed Tone.mp3 FLATS Normal P Closed Tone.mp3 FLATS Humbucker Closed Tone.mp3 And again the consolidated file: FLATS All Six Recordings.mp3

You've gotta love the fake fag-burn on the headstock under the E-string. What is that? A felt-tip pen he's used?

Glancing at a Topic I haven't visited for a while, and noticed this: I just love the box with "Four months later" in it. Is that a new thing?

In truth, my life is one continuous SouthEast BassBash. But I'll still be there when the event returns ...

In fairness, Sir Isaac Newton was never a Reverend endorsee. As to where to try one, next time you're up London way ... 👍🙂

If that offends you, Si, best be grateful that @Silvia Bluejay forgot to photograph the side dots ... 😂

No - even though the bass is ridiculously light, the positioning of the strap button behind the set-neck join (very old school!) seems to offset any neckdive. Incidentally, that button positioning means that any strap which is comfortable for you on a Precision or a Jazz will feel about 4" too short/high on the Wattplover. I had to fit a much longer strap than I expected to get the Watt to hang right for me.

I'm with Fretmeister on this. If your village doesn't put on music regularly, you won't be on anyone's radar and nobody will care. The amount of money that will fail to reach the big music conglomerates that own most of the copyrights will be measured in tiny, tiny fractions of a penny.

The beast is not extinct, Gary, merely dormant. Watch that magma chamber go ...

Looking at the waveforms, what is really striking is how smooth and quiet the Mudbucker is as opposed to either of the two split-P selections. The Normal P is slightly louder than the Reverse P, which isn't really a surprise. What IS a big surprise (to me, anyway) is the impact on the volume level of rolling off the tone control. It doesn't actually sound any louder in the room, and of course it cuts through rather less, but the amount of energy goes way up.

Seeing as I will shortly be fitting flats, this is the only opportunity I'll get to record some samples with the original strings. I've cobbled together a simple backing track from some raw, unprocessed recordings I made last Xmas, just to provide some context. I've selected this particular guitar break because the bassline takes me across all four strings. Here are the six recordings in sequence: Reverse P Open Tone.mp3 Normal P Open Tone.mp3 Mudbucker Open Tone.mp3 Reverse P Closed Tone.mp3 Normal P Closed Tone.mp3 Mudbucker Closed Tone.mp3 And here are the same six on a single file: All Six Recordings.mp3

Yup ... I'm perfectly happy to resort to cliche and use words like 'punchy' and 'thuddy'. Once fitted with LaBella flats, I expect that only to become more pronounced.

Well despite what I said about launching into a 'review' five minutes after taking delivery, one thing that is immediately very in-yer-face with the OE roundwound strings is the amazing sensitivity to both pickup selection and plucking location. The Mudbucker is less distinctive than either of the split-P selections, but you can certainly hear the differences between the three switch positions. Bring in the Tone knob (which is not just an on/off switch, as is so often the case) and you have a very good range of tones available before you get near the amp's EQ section.

It starts and ends with the punters ... if they don't like what you're playing then you lose the gig. One of my two main bands (https://www.facebook.com/DamoAndTheDynamites/) started as a purist Rockabilly outfit hoping to get onto 'The Scene'. They weren't very good. There may be an element of understatement in that last comment. When @Silvia Bluejay and I got involved, we steered them quickly towards playing bog-standard pub gigs and introducing far more crowd-pleasing rock'n'roll at the expense of obscure rockabilly tracks. Success followed. Somewhere along the way, bandleader Damo has written four originals. They're pretty good, a couple are really good, so much so that during Lockdown 3.0 we recorded them and then released a CD/EP to local radio. These originals blend very well indeed with the mainstream material, and we play all four at every gig. They get a positive response from punters who are committed to this sort of music, and a neutral response from those in the pub for other reasons. We like playing them and they certainly haven't prevented us from getting gigs, so there's no problem. However, should Damo write another four originals I wouldn't be at all keen to play all eight at a gig. I'd be thinking in terms of keeping the originals content at a small but noticeable number.