MacDaddy

The horse has already bolted when it comes to AI in music. Tools like Suno can generate full songs, backing, melody, vocals, from a short text prompt, (and give you the stems) and they’re already in the hands of bedroom producers and ad agencies. Using The Beatles as an example, because why not: Imagine a system trained only on music up to 1966. Feed it the Beatles’ catalogue up to that point and say, “Write the next Beatles song.” What you’d get would sound far closer to something from the Red Album era than anything on the Blue Album. That’s because these models learn patterns from existing material and recombine them in plausible ways. They’re excellent at imitation, pastiche, and interpolation, but they don’t experience the cultural shocks, new instruments, studio breakthroughs, or interpersonal dynamics that pushed the Beatles from early singles into the Sgt. Pepper/Abbey Road period. From a business perspective, that’s not necessarily a problem. Plenty of genres run on “don’t scare the fans,” and production music for TV, film, and ads often just needs to hit a familiar brief. For that world, a machine that can churn out convincing, on‑brand material forever is close to ideal. AI is here to stay, and it will dominate the “we need something that sounds like X” space. The real question is this: AI can remix what it has seen in novel combinations, but that’s not the same as being part of a scene, reacting to new technology, or four humans in a room pushing each other somewhere unexpected. Will these systems ever produce the equivalent of the Blue years, those left‑turns where a band invents a new sound rather than iterating on the old one? Imitation is easy. Evolution is the hard part. TL:DR current AI excels at stylistic imitation rather than genuine artistic evolution.

Thing is, after watching Danny Sapko, I'm not convinced everything Mohini does isn't A.I. 😸

So what should I do with my Future Impact V3? Paper weight? 😉

How did you get on?

Battle of the fans? Many years ago, my then band won a BotB, and because of this the following year we were invited to play a festival at the home town's twin town in Europe, all expenses paid. Plus lots of publicity in the local rags for winning. So all good 😊

Shuker 3 is currently wearing the pink ones...

I'll take the 5th!

I'm sure we have members who are knowledgeable about that era of Fernandes (et al) but until they reply this is what AI has to tell us... --- If you’re trying to figure out what this Fernandes P‑bass actually is, here’s a breakdown based on the features you’ve described. The serial number **5021593** on the neck plate unfortunately won’t tell you much by itself. Fernandes didn’t use a consistent or date‑coded serial system during this era, and neck‑plate numbers in particular are basically production or batch numbers rather than true date markers. The real clues are on the **headstock**. The combination of: - **“Fernandes Limited Edition”** - **“Electric Sound Research Group”** - A classic **P‑Bass layout** with a single split‑coil pickup …points very strongly to a **mid‑1980s Made‑in‑Japan Fernandes**, most likely from around **1984–1987**. This was the period when Fernandes was producing high‑quality Fender‑style instruments through Japanese OEM factories, and the Limited Edition line fits right into that timeframe. Your bass lines up closely with models like the **PJR‑45** and other Limited Edition Precision‑style variants from that era. Typical specs for these include an alder body, maple neck with rosewood board, 34" scale, and standard P‑Bass electronics. Regarding the **snakeskin covering**: Fernandes did *not* offer factory snakeskin finishes on P‑bass models in the mid‑80s. They did experiment with snakeskin‑style finishes on some later guitars (mostly Revolver and Vertigo models), but not on Precision‑style basses from this period. In the 1980s, snakeskin wraps and coverings were a very popular **aftermarket mod**, especially during the glam‑metal era. Many players or retailers applied vinyl snakeskin, faux leather, or patterned wraps to otherwise standard instruments. It was common enough that a lot of Japanese‑market Fernandes basses from this era show up today with custom coverings that were added either by the original shop or a previous owner. If you want to check whether yours is a wrap or a full refinish, look for seams along the body edges, or check inside the neck pocket or pickup cavity—if you see the original paint underneath, it’s definitely an aftermarket wrap. If you want to pin down the exact year, the most reliable method is to **remove the neck**. Fernandes often stamped dates or model codes on the **neck heel** or inside the **neck pocket**, and those markings will give you a much clearer answer than the neck‑plate serial ever will.

Those bl00dy arpeggios though 😖

These:

I've seen that some musicians on tour often have "vitamin" injections. The kind of "vitamins" that need to be given by a fully/legally qualified Doctor...

💕😍💕

I'm not averse to changing bass lines if I can come up with something better than the coked-up indie halfwit who played on the original.

No, I disagree and think you are wrong about that...

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.