MacDaddy

Will it be an upgrade?

... then I shall cancel my strongly worded letter to The Times 😉

I refer the honourable gentleman to his post of 02/01/26 15:01 "It goes by date of order". "Order". No mention of payment.

In my Happy New Year message to my luthier, sent 31/12/2025 I said I'll be in touch about a new commission and gave some details. I would argue that the initial contact counts as the first stage of the ordering process. And as it happened last year I'm still in!

I'd say "instrument upkeep". Like dubbing your boots. So fine, still in.

Unchain My Heart - Ray Charles Love me some Ray, but this is a bit of a workout 😖

Shuker 3 😁

Electrik Soup, at The Beehive, Brentford that London Saturday's gig. When we were offered it, we said about possible low attendance due to it being early January but they were up for it, and fortunately there was an audience. We brought a few people and the pub was full, without being packed. We were set up in a corner, but the pub extends around the bar, so we could hear applause from people not in front of us, who we couldn't see. Our 90s and 00s indie classics went down well, even though one of our guitarists was peely-wally. Fortunately adrenaline kicked in and he was glad he made it. The bar staff and Guvnors were all lovely, and we've been offered follow up gigs. Gear: Shuker 3 is at the menders having some DR Neons fitted (Xmas gift) so I used Camille (Shuker 1) -> Getaria wireless -> TC Electronics BH800 (DI out to PA) -> Orange isobaric 2x12. My opinion has changed about the BH800. I previously thought it only sounded good if using the tone prints, but it sounded great FOH on the recording even when I wasn't using FX. Footwear: Blues ASICS trainers.

I’ve been following this thread since New Year’s Eve, mainly looking for reassurance. January gigs can feel like a leap of faith at the best of times, pubs are usually quieter, the first week (and first full week) can be especially thin, and then there’s Dry January doing its best impression of a killjoy. So it’s been genuinely heartening to see reports of decent audiences turning out. That gave me a bit of optimism going into my own gig last night, of which I will post about later 😁

If all that is not good enough for John Paul Jones, it's not good enough for me! 😉

Electrik Soup 90s and 00s indie classics. The Beehive, Brentford, that London. Saturday 10th January. Beehive Poster.pdf

Thread revival! I've got a TC Electronics BH800. I have the app on my android phone, and can load the tone prints available for amps, but can't edit them. Is there a difference with the phone app and the computer app?

But I've been thinking about ordering it since last year...

I'm thinking of a new EUB build. It will be a custom job and will probably take longer than a year. If I order it and don't receive it until next year, am I still in?

Ok, New Year’s Eve gig with Electrik Soup last night. We’re a 90s/00s indie classics band, and we were at The Hare & Hounds in Claygate, nice to get out of that London for a change. Kick-off was 9pm, but we had an early load-in because the venue was doing a three-course dinner. I gave the vocalist a lift and we got there around 5pm; rest of the band were already in with kit and PA set up. I got my bass rig up but couldn’t soundcheck until later. Fortunately, we had a band tab, so some complimentary food was very welcome. No booze for me though as I was driving. I was using my TC Electronic BH800 bass amp with a SpectraComp in one of the Tone Print slots, honestly, how good are they‽ Great definition across all notes and it really cut through nicely, even with 2 guitars. Punters drifted in and out earlier on, but it started filling up properly around 9. First set got polite applause more than anything. It was the acoustic set that really warmed them up, and then we absolutely stormed the second electric set. The Guvnor had asked us to give the usual “get your drinks in” announcement at 11:30pm as the bar shut at midnight. We finished the last song with about 20 seconds to spare before the countdown, then went straight into our own take on Auld Lang Syne. Started off mellow and ended in a raucous thrash 😁 Audience loved it. Loads of nice comments afterwards. We played really well overall, no major mistakes. A couple of intros got extended, but the band just rolled with it and no one would’ve known it wasn’t intentional. Load-out was brass monkeys. First time this winter I’ve had to scrape ice off the car windows. All in all, cracking NYE gig and a great way to see the year out. Gear: Shuker 3 → Getaria wireless → TC Electronic BH800 → TecAmp 2x12 (upgraded speakers). DI to PA from the amp. Footwear report: blue ASICS trainers.

Just back from my NYE gig. Awesome 😎 Will write more later today. Happy New Year y'all 😁

Last nights rehearsal for NYE gig. Epic. We played really well and sounded great 😁. Then we went and had a curry, and after that ended up in the pub. Marvelous 🙃🙃🙃

It's all in the fingers 😉

Nah, Blue Stratos, or Denim. For Men. 😜

Lovely story about him on New Model Army's Joolz Denby's Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/share/1G7qSysD2w/

Did you ever get that brass nut?

Diary clashes. I'm in 3 gigging bands. 2 of them are with the same guitarist and drummer. It's taken over 2 years but for next year I'm starting to get diary clashes. I go by the gig that's in the diary first is the one that I honour. Even if like the NYE gig, the one I'm missing is paying more. A lot more. Lucky dep!