Russ

I seem to recall the girl who played bass in Babylon Zoo was a member on Bassworld back in the day. No idea if she moved over to Basschat or if she's still here. Closest I can think of.

Been finding myself getting drawn into a lot of old (and not-so-old) goth stuff again recently. Recently rediscovered VNV Nation, Assemblage 23 and Wolfsheim, caught up with The Eden House, and have been listening to some of the old Peter Murphy stuff too (call me a bad goth, but I found most of the Bauhaus stuff almost unlistenable - his solo stuff is much better!). My wife used to be a major goth in her youth, and was a member of a "vampire court", where they all wore fangs and specially designed ankhs, arranged themselves into feudal houses, and got together in dark clubs to listen to goth music. One of her old vampire friends died recently, and we went along to the memorial, which was basically a goth club, but in the daytime. BigRedX and Cat Burrito - I'll be listening to more of your stuff later!

Lord Of The Lost actually covered Voyager's Promise. That seems to be a thing this year, the artists doing covers of the other artists!

I went to school with a kid who would pay other kids 50p for a scab so he could eat it. 😮

There's no autotune at work there. Certainly not on the lead vocals. Danny and Alex can sing. Here's a live performance of the tune from a couple of weeks back:

They tried to get selected last year too, with the song "Dreamer". They won the audience vote, but not the jury vote. This year, there was no public vote, and they got "appointed", probably because they got passed over last year!

I'm Team Aussie this year - one of my favourite bands are representing Australia - Voyager. They do a kind of synthpoppy take on prog-metal, I've been listening to them for quite a few years now, and they're bloody great. Their bass player Alex is also a monster player. This was their third try ad being nominated for Eurovision, and they got the nod! Here's the tune - it's a banger. And Alex's bass playthrough:

That's pretty much why I sold my bass. I lost my job, had rent to pay, and was on the hook for a £2k (would be closer to £3.5k today) custom bass that was in the process of being built for me. Couldn't justify keeping it at the time.

This was the bass that I mentioned above. It's a "pseudo-Sei" - back before I had the first of the four "proper" Seis that I've owned, this was made from a body/neck that I bought from Brandoni. It was extensively restyled by the Sei guys (mostly Chris McIntyre, back when he worked there), gained a new ebony fingerboard, a Bartolini MME pickup and a Kahler tremolo. I sold it back in 2002 to that musical instrument exchange place that used to be in Notting Hill, and haven't seen it since. I'd love to get it back, if it's still out there somewhere. It has significant sentimental value to me.

If all else fails, I’m sure the Alpher guys would make you another Mako that would be nigh-on identical. I’ve been in a similar situation - back in 2002 I sold a bass in order to get a better one, but it was never quite the same. The bass that I sold got me through some trying times, and I’ve not seen hide nor hair of that bass for over 20 years. I’m sure it’s still out there somewhere, but I can only hope that its subsequent owners got as much out of it as I did.

Nice find! Welcome to the Music Man Bogseat club. Here's three of my four Bongos.

Klos are getting into the replacement graphite neck game, since Status are no longer making them. Reasonably priced too. https://klosguitars.com/products/carbon-fiber-bass-neck-and-pickguard-upgrade-50-deposit

Yep, the Corvette's top horn is... priapic. Gone a bit heavy on the blue pills there. But yes, Bongos look like toilet seats. But I bought four of them, so I guess I can't fault Warwick Corvette fans too much...

The other guys in Lostprophets started another band with a different singer called No Devotion, playing a very different style of music, but they pretty much sank without trace. I get that it's tough if you're tainted by the reputation of a bad bandmate - this is not a particularly forgiving industry, especially when the crimes were as heinous and well-publicised as those Watkins was involved with. If, indeed, they were unaware of the depths of Watkins' depravity, I wish them well in their future musical endeavours and they shouldn't have to carry the burden of their association with him for the rest of their lives.

Oh Cliff, Sometimes it must be difficult, Not to feel as if, You really are a cliff. And fascists keep trying to push you over it. Are we the lemmings? Or are you Cliff. Or are you Cliff.

I choose to vote with my wallet. I will not further enrich people whose words or actions I find disagreeable by listening to, paying for or in any way “boosting” their output. This includes racists (Clapton, etc), paedos and perverts (Gary Glitter, Ian Watkins from Lostprophets, Townsend, Marilyn Manson, etc), far-right-wing nutjobs, conspiracy theorists, religious weirdos and fascist sympathisers (Morrissey, Waters, Ted Nugent, Dave Mustaine, Kid Rock and pretty much all American country music stars), Brexiteers (Daltrey/Townsend, Bruce Dickinson, Morrissey and so on) and those who promote violence and division. For some of the older bands and musicians, I’m prepared to acknowledge that their views and actions were of their time, not that this gives them a pass, but rather a context. Same as old Tom & Jerry cartoons, or the likes of Bernard Manning and Jim Davidson. Not sure I’d include Michael Jackson in that though. I’m sure that his activities were less-than-appropriate to everyone who didn’t live inside his weird little bubble, but he was hardly Ian Watkins.

Yep, Shuker singlecut. Rather nice it is too. Looks very much like something I’ve seen before though… wondering if someone saw my Sei and decided they wanted their own version.

It's been a while since I ordered a Sei, but I've done it twice before and will be doing it again soon. I guess the trick is to take advantage of Martin and John's experience - particularly Martin's, as he's been doing this for a long, long time. You do want to go in there with some idea about how you want the bass to look (which body shape - original, Flamboyant, single cut, Jazz/P, etc), what woods you like the look of, some idea of what sort of neck dimensions you find most comfortable, and so on. If you have a bass with a neck you really like, bring it with you so they can measure it, or just find something at The Gallery you like the feel of (as you know, they've got, like, 150 basses hanging on the walls there). If you have strong opinions on the sort of sound, pickups, etc you want, tell them, and they'll make it happen. Otherwise, just describe the sort of sound you're after, or play them a track with a bass tone you like, and they'll advise you the best way to go. Word for the wise though - don't go in there with too many ideas set in stone. Let them do their thing and take their advice. Let them have fun with it, and you'll end up with a better instrument. It'll be a long 12-18 months while you wait for it to come to life (don't expect anything at all for the first six months!) but the anticipation is one of the best parts! And there's nothing like that day you go in and collect it, when Martin opens the case in front of you and hands you your bass. It's a journey - enjoy it.

The GWB35 plays brilliantly, but the electronics aren't great. The Bartolini Mk1 pickup is quite low output and the electronics only have bass and treble controls - IMHO, you really need a midrange control for fretless. Stick a replacement pickup and circuit in there and you're in good shape though. Or just get the SR375EF. The Sires are great value, especially with their electronics package. Just depends on whether you want to go down that more traditional J-bass route.

No way to rewire the bass and treble controls onto a stacked pot? Or use a circuit that isn't the standard Zon/Bartolini one? Something like an East Uni-Pre wouldn't irritate any future buyers as long as it was cleanly installed as it's clearly an upgrade from the stock setup.

I've got a Fusion S 1200, running into a Barefaced Big Twin II. It's a great head, very loud, with loads of different sounds available if you're willing to do a deep dive into the controls. That's the only downside really, the controls are complicated and not very intuitive. Basically, every knob on the front of the amp serves two purposes and you switch between them by pushing the knob in. I think I'd rather have had a fussier front panel with more knobs if it meant you didn't have to muck about with the dual-function thing.

Hi Chris! In which case, I stand corrected about nobody else making multicoils with separate outputs. Thanks for clearing that up. Bassculture in Germany also make multicoil pickups (I've seen them used in various Maruszczyk basses), but I have no idea if they offer a version with separate outputs for each string.

Doug Wimbish. He's got over 40 years' worth of brilliant session and gig stories (ask him about how he got the Mick Jagger gig), he's hilarious, he's a complete gear nerd and a lovely bloke to boot. He's also in the UK quite regularly, so hopefully it shouldn't be too hard to pin him down.

They'll still make a Calibas to order, but they no longer offer the push-button pickup selector - you'll have to settle for the regular 5-position knob.

Jaydee are supposed to be bringing back the Celeste range, and, in the meantime, will make one to order, so he can't be charging too much! I'd say he'd be looking at maybe £400 for that.