phil.c60

Hothampton Arms, Bognor affectionately known as "The Hoff". I live about 30 mins away and it's just started a few little swirly flakes.

We're playing just along the coast from you - met office says 50% so lets toss that coin (lol) !

We have a gig tomorrow at.......The Snowdrop Inn. I kid you not. Had a text message from the guitarist asking if I can pick him up as his wife is currently stuck in Dorset with their car. I have to drive past him to get there so no biggie.

This, maybe? https://www.jellynote.com/en/sheet-music/deep-purple/stormbringer#tabs:D

Just in from rehearsal. Not silly quiet but definitely not loud. If I said "Hold on, can we just stop there a moment..." everyone did, including the drummer. Just how it should be. We've got a gig in a very small venue coming up, guitarist straight away offered to do it as an acoustic type gig (with acoustic guitar) and drummer immediately offered to do it on Cajon with a cymbal and maybe a snare. It will be a first time for us playing like this. Instant co-operation, that's what I like. Shame I' not doing it and we've got a dep but as I'm having surgery 3 days before my wife put her foot down. Can't think why.

I've almost given up tuning in mid-gig. My '99 Hot Rod Precision seems to stay within a gnats whatsit for the whole gig but it has got a set of 7 year old flat-wounds on it, although so far my G&L L2000 (USA) seems the same despite a recent restring and set-up with flats. According to my Korg Ptichblack neither varies from one end of a gig to the other by very much. I still check at half time just in case a tuner took a knock but between songs? Never.

After year of gigging with my Hot Rod Precision I'm now gigging a G&L L2000 (USA)which sounds different but I do like it. It will run active or passive, but I prefer it passive. I still fiddle about with the precision at home and still like it, I just fancied a change but people who see us regularly say the G&L sounds great. I did try and eq the L2000 to be "Precision-like" but it didn't happen so I spent an hour or two at home finding a sound I liked and stuck with it. Perhaps I should try and eq the P to sound like the g&L..... Only kidding.

I bought a drum throne, so it's seat-shaped and has a backrest. It was quite expensive but it gets used a lot and is completely adjustable. It was the Roc and Soc one as recommended by my drummer and it works for me.

But not awfully attractive.....

With regards to VM - many years ago a friend of mine's band were making an album (like so many they were great but it never got anywhere) and a couple of us used to hang around the studio (Air Studios above the shops in Oxford St.) and try not to get in the way. We were young, and it was fascinating. The engineer was a great guy, and we got on really well. He told me that he had spent some time recording for The Man, who was extremely hard work apparently. One day he turned up pi**ed (again) copped the strop and stormed off, slamming the door behind him. There followed a lot of crashing and banging, swearing and shouting - VM had just locked himself in a store cupboard and was now a tangle of mic stands and other paraphernalia. Oh how they chortled!

My Hot Rod Precision is 41.9. I found that when I started playing I wanted a slim neck so I had a Squier P-Bass special as a starter instrument that had a Jazz neck. As I progressed I found the Jazz neck a bit skinny as I have quite large hands so I bought the Hot Rod about ten years ago and have stuck with it ever since. It's comfortable for me. So much so that I sold a 79 Jazz I acquired as I tried gigging with it and found it too narrow for me (and too darn heavy too!). I recently bought a USA G&L L2000 and that's 44.25 by my measurement - I'm currently gigging it it and I hadn't noticed the difference until I read this thread, although when you stand them side by side you can see it. I find that just as easy to play, and it has a slimmer neck which I did notice and is very comfy. I'll pick up the P later and see how that feels after a few weeks of playing the L2000!

I don't know, I've never had them out of the bag.......

And this: Some young friends of mine!

+1 for this. Plus if you go by tunnel and you're early they'll put you on the soonest one with space, so you can plan your journey to have plenty of time and not end up sitting around for an hour waiting for the correct train if you get there early.

Just had the jack socket replaced, truss rod nut freed off and adjusted and the hole in the headstock opened out slightly for better access to it plus a set up /check over by Graham Wheeler on my G&L L2000. Great bloke, friendly and helpful. great service - less than a week with the weekend in the middle so only a few days really. Everything he did looks great and it plays really well. He's listed as Worthing, but he's actually in Washington, West Sussex which is on the A24 half way between Horsham and Worthing.

Double bass on it's stand in the living room. Acoustic bass on it's stand in the sitting room along with my Ampeg B200r combo (and the Hi-Fi and our vinyl collection). Gigging cab (BF Compact) and amp plus basses (3) and cases and all other paraphernalia in my study upstairs. or in the hall after a gig and it's midnight! PA in the garage (which is accessible from the house). Fortunately my wife likes music and supports the band. I'm very lucky and I know it.

Gigged with the G&L last night having fitted the Thomastiks in the afternoon - despite not having quite enough relief in the neck at the moment so a bit of fret buzz if I dig in it played well and lots of people said it sounded great. Some of them have heard us/me multiple times and reckon my bass sounded better than usual . I, however, was not totally happy with the sound, and have just spent a rewarding hour with my gig rig set up at home (my wife and daughter went out for the morning so I can make as much noise as I like!). We have a big- ish sitting room - about 25 feet - so I can sit a long way from my cab and listen. A bit of a pain to wander back and forth to adjust the eq but it was worth it. It eq's completely differently to my Precision with Monels (surprise surprise) to get a sound I like but it now sounds fantastic (to me). I think these strings are great and not too "floppy" for me - in fact I don't think they are "floppy" at all. They are not as stiff as the Monels on my precision and that's a Good Thing as far as I'm concerned. Also I have found (along with some other people) that whilst I like the sound of the Monels overall, there is a definite difference in tone between the E and the other strings - the A,D and G have more zing and sound a bit brighter even after a lot of playing. And yes, they are fitted correctly ie not twisted so the centre cord can fracture. The Thomastiks seem to be even in tone and volume across all the strings and have a very pleasant sound (to my ear). As far as cost goes...£54.99 from Strings Direct, ordered Friday came through the door Saturday morning, free delivery. Can't ask for better service. Thoman would have been cheaper for the strings, but with the 10 euro delivery charge only about £1 in it and three to four day wait. Chatting with a guitarist friend (yes you can be friends with them) he reckon he changes his strings on one or other of his guitars about every 6 -8 weeks if he plays a lot, at about £6 a set. I don't know if that's too often or about average or less than average but it's still £36 a year, whereas the Monels have been on he Precision for at least 8 years and I expect the same from the Thomastiks so it's not bad value really. Once I've sorted out the neck relief and tweaked the intonation I'll gig with it for a while, and then maybe change the Monels on one of the Precisions for these as they are that bit softer and see what that's like. Overall: A winner as far as I'm concerned (for what it's worth), YMMV.

I've just fitted the Thomastik Jazz flats to my L2000 and first impressions are that I think they'll be fine - they don't feel too floppy to me. There is a slight bit of fret buzz as the truss rod needs a tweak but I don't have the correct allen key to hand (plus the bullet nut looks decidedly second hand, and its down the hole a fair way, and a bit off-centre.......) but it sounds great - one tone in particular has really caught my ear so I'm going to gig with it tonight and see how it goes. I'll take a Precision too though just in case!

Well, I fancied something lower tension as an experiment (albeit an expensive experiment) and people seem to rave about the Thomastiks but like all such things unless you try you won't know! If they're too floppy for me I'll try and pass them on and try something else. And probably end up with Rotos......that's the madness of it for you!

I paid by Paypal - seller was fine with that. I suppose it does give me as the buyer some comfort, but the seller did send it insured for the purchase price so I suppose that covered him too.

The bass arrived yesterday and it's great - I've only had a brief fiddle around with the switches etc. but it all works and they do make an amazing range of tones. I don't like the rounds, and although I like the Monels on my Precisions they are a bit stiff for my poor old fingers so I've swallowed hard and ordered a set of Thomastik Infeld Flats. I'll be really keen to find out what they are like, and if they arrive tomorrow morning I'll fit them and maybe gig it tomorrow night.

I'd prefer to pick up an instrument in person, but....I've just bought a G&L L2000 (USA). i've fancied one for a while , but being left handed you know the score. The one I've just bought came from Southern Ireland so meeting or collection was not practical. The seller packed it nicely in it's original custom hard case with the strings detuned, packed the hard case nicely in bubble wrap and cardboard with a slot so you could use the handle (neat trick, huh?). Arrived in perfect condition in four days. Perhaps I'm just lucky.

How many notes does it take to make a chord? - more than I play!

Come on then, everyone: I've got two USA Precisions, both with Rotosound Monel flats. Arriving today (I hope) is a G&L L2000, also USA made. From the pictures in the ad it has roundwounds fitted, which I don't like and look a bit knackered at the bridge anyway so: Which flats for this? The Roto's which I like on the P's or something else as this is a different animal entirely?