scrumpymike

I'm a massive fan of Aguilar pickups, especially the '70s JJs that were OE on my Vox Starstream Artist.

Not quite yet but close enough for me to confirm that this year's Bash is definitely a goer 🙂 If more pre-payments don't come through as we get closer to the 'cancel with full refund' deadline for paying the hall on August 11, I'll give another shout.

The bass part is made more difficult by the switch from QOTSA's down-tuned version to standard tuning. This one's not for the faint-hearted mate.

First gig at the Merriott Social Venue near Yeovil last night. We were pretty rusty not having gigged since before Xmas and having been forced to cancel our last 3 weekly rehearsals due to illness and floods. Singer Kat still hadn't fully recovered from whatever bug had colonised her throat but we all agreed to just turn up and give it our best shot - including several ungigged new numbers. Thankfully Kat smashed it, the crowd loved us, the venue booked us for another gig in May plus their New Year's Eve bash - and a couple booked us for their wedding! One of the new numbers was No One Knows by Queens Of The Stone Age and our percussion was enhanced by the sound of my knees knocking together as the fear of what I was about to attempt took a hold of me. Fcuk the gig money! Nailing that song was what made my night 🙂

So my theory that you were faking it was wrong. I always thought you borrowed somebody else's bass gear just so you could come to The Big Fat South-West Bass Bash!!

Ouch!! Glad that didn't happen to me when we played Summer Of '69 last night.

And very nice it looks too!

Great stuff!! That's energised me for our gig tonight 🙂

Thanks mazdah and Lozz196. I tried two ABM600s and a RM800 at different times and each time I quit because I couldn't quickly and easily find the tone I was looking for. I just took the easy way and switched back to my Eden, Ampeg and Mesa amps that seemed to have tone-shaping centred around the tones in my head. This time I'm determined to find the right sounds that I'm sure are in the ABM600 somewhere. I'm doing this because a) I believe Ashdown have earned my money and b) with them I won't have the complicated and expensive experience I had recently getting a faulty American-branded head repaired.

That's exactly how I feel about Ashdown. I'd always played Trace Elliot then went to Ashdown as soon as the company started. I've bought a few pre-owned heads over the years but that complexity you refer to has always driven me away. Now I'm tempted to buy a new UK ABM600 and find the time and patience to make it work for me.

Always LaBella 760FS-S for me. They're 045-105 stainless-steel flats. Not what I'd call bright but bright enough for me through my LFSys Monaco FRFR cab. Never had to change a set but then again I tend to change basses instead of strings 🙂

How did you guess that a Mazzer would be my choice if I won the Lottery? No common-as-muck Ferraris here thank you!

Don't worry folks, we're not going to do a runner with the money 🙂

I fitted the AG 4M/J-HC set and retained the Sandberg pre-amp. The change has added warmth giving a more classic vibe. The only downside is that the humbucker can't be split so the two-way toggle switch doesn't do anything. I didn't use that anyway. Fyi here's an e-mail exchange I had last March with their UK Distributor Barnes & Mullins. At that time they didn't have the pickup set in stock or any shipment date from Aguilar so I ended up doing a personal import. QUESTION I have a Vox Starstream bass fitted with AG 4J-70 pickups and OBP-2 pre-amp as OE. I love the sound and am considering modifying my Sandberg M/J to get the same Aguilar tonal vibe. The mod will be done by Taunton Audio Visual, who have an account with you. They have suggested I contact you direct as they were unable to answer the following questions: It appears the AG 4J-70 can only be bought as a pair and the only M/J 4 set listed by Aguilar is the AG 4M/J-HC (i.e. not specified as the '70s design). How close are the tonal characteristics of the J-HC to the '70s pickup I know and love? Also, if I retain the original Sandberg 2-band boost/cut pre as a cost-saving measure, is that likely to have a significant effect on the sound of the Aguilar pickups? I don’t want to spend money on this until I have a better understanding of what I’ll be getting. Thanks, Mike ANSWER Hi Mike, Thank you for your interest in Aguilar pickups. Regarding the tonal comparison of the J-HC and the J70 pickups, the HC series is very closely voiced to the J60’s pickups. The J70’s are a bit brighter than the HC. It is hard for me to say how the tone of Aguilar pickups will be influenced by the Sandberg preamp, as I have no experience with that preamp, but If the Sandberg preamp is transparent it should have minimal effect on the Aguilar pickups' inherent tone. I hope this helps a little in making your decision. Many thanks and best regards. Pete Peter Hoggett Barnes and Mullins Ltd.

That's half a dozen pre-payments received so far. Keep 'em comin'!!

PM sent

OK folks, looks like we're back up and running on the following basis: The hall is booked for 11 October at a cost of £232; I will need to have received pre-payment of £15 from AT LEAST 16 Bass-Bashers to cover our costs; As payment for the hall is now due, immediate payment by anyone willing and able is encouraged so we don't have to cover the full £232 ourselves; If we don't have the attendance numbers we need by the end of July, we can still cancel the hall booking and get a full refund; I will do the pre-event organisation as usual; Mrs S and Scrumpette Janey are more than happy to do teas & coffees; Everyone will bring their own food and preferably cup/mug so that the only washing-up at the end will be a limited number of hall cups/mugs; Everyone will take their own rubbish home with them; We will need at least 4 'early bird' attendees to set the hall up (tables, chairs, power grid) for the day; There will be a raffle as usual; Any cash surplus will either be refunded to attendees or donated to charity - TBC. Provided the above is acceptable to at least 16 of you guys, then the South-West Bass Bash is back in business 🙂

It's Sunday the 11th of October.

OK, so let's see if we can make this work on the basis that everyone pays more and brings their own food. Just checked that the hall is still available on Sunday 11 October and put a provisional hold on it. However, we will need at least 20 Basschatters to commit by paying £15 a head well in advance. This will also more than cover the continuous provision of hot drinks. If the attendance is higher on the day then we can just divide the cash surplus and give everyone a cash refund before close of play. Alternatively, the balance could be donated to a pre-agreed charity. Over to you 🙂

A third of the full price but the increase isn't the only reason, just the one that has pushed things past the tipping point. It's always been a big ask of Mrs S and the Scrumpettes and it felt an awful lot easier when we started in 2017.

Dear Bass-Bash buddies, I'm sorry to start your New Year with unwelcome news, but I'm sad to announce that the 2025 Bash was the last one that we'll be doing. As you know, our Bashes have always been massive value-for-money, largely because Mrs. Scrumpy and I were able to hire our wonderful hall at a much-reduced rate. For various reasons, we have both recently retired as Trustees, meaning that the cost of hiring the hall this year would be the full commercial rate of £232! Thank you all for making this such a joyous event over the years. If anyone else decides to continue with a S-W Bash, you can be sure I'll be there 🙂 Here's wishing you all the very best for 2026 and beyond! Mike, Gabrielle & The Scrumpettes.