Steve Browning

Missed posting pre-gig but AWB at Guildford G-Live were just brilliant. Wonderfully tight and they appear to found the ghost of Luther Vandross. Their vocalist is just incredible.

My chum Brendan (did a good few years with Rory Gallagher) has come back from a short tour to find his hardware case missing. From his FB page:- Stolen from E12 East London !! The last gig I did with my own kit was with Band of Friends at Nells Jazz and Blues club. Since then we’ve done two short tours in Ireland and Holland. So you can imagine my surprise when I opened the boot of my car yesterday to find an empty space where my traps case should’ve been, a couple of other small things were missing from the car but the hardware is a massive loss. A mixture of DW, Pearl and Sonor stands and accessories. Just putting this out there in case someone might be offered it to buy. I’d appreciate if you could share this post. Many thanks A long shot, but please be aware of any cheap hardware.

Smaller cheeks, I'm thinking.

I am exactly the same, in reverse. I have got a maple board bass (and have had others) but never end up keeping them. Maple just seems 'hard' to the touch. A bit like a piano with a poor action. All very odd but perfectly natural. Vive la difference.

Exactly. I am with you 100%.

I use the gear I do because it does the job I want it to do, and it does it perfectly (for me). I have tried other basses (and own a Jazz type and a couple of Stingray types) but a good Precision is the perfect bass for what I want to play and how I want to sound. Similarly with Mesa Boogie. I have had flirtations with other things over the years but have always owned and come back to the brand. In years of touring it's never let me down, and the sound of it makes me smile, even after more than 30 years of using it. The actual equipment may have changed but the core sound hasn't (to my ears). The same with strings. I have broken just one string in 50 years. That broke as I fitted it. Again, it's a vital component of the sound I really like. There are plenty of makes that I haven't tried but there's no point. My gut feeling is that the (not insignificant) investment in those rigs has saved me a fortune in chopping and changing over the years. Of course, you'll see that I endorse some of these things but I was using the gear way before I became an endorsee. That is very much the icing on a very expensive cake! 🙂

I have no problem with passages where the bass takes a lead role - intros etc. If that's a solo then I am comfortable with that. Similarly, Rhythm Stick is a song that is evidently very bass driven. Again, no issue. I refuse to play the 'twice round a 12 bar' type solos. As someone intimated earlier, I see my role as supportive and nothing more than that. Equally, if people want to do that to their heart's content then go for it. There's no right or wrong answer.

I had a pair of Aerodyne Precisions. I would guess the pickups are the same. They were the Achilles heel and seemed a bit weak to me. I changed them out and really loved the bass.

Agreed. Fun. If you're not comfortable doing it (and this is known) then trying to make someone do something is hardly fun. Is that precious? If so, then so be it. This came up in the 'complaining' thread and the very first rule (to me) is never show a band mate up on stage.

As I have said elsewhere. I don't do solos and people onstage know that. If I am asked to do one I will simply stop playing. Trying to make someone uncomfortable is not fun.

Exactly the model I always looked for (but r/w board). That's the lovely B profile neck, as it's called (the Jazz width is the A neck and the standard Pbass is C).

Food has always been where the profit is in pubs.

Of course. Communication by word alone (even with emojis) is always going to be open to misinterpretation.

Discussion is good. It is when the method used gives the impression someone considers themselves superior to others that hackles start to rise.

That happened to me once and I simply stood there and played nothing. Passionate believer in not showing someone up on stage.

I plug into the tuner which gets distributed to the amps.

Never been a pedals type. Recently bought a chorus for my Pino impersonation, but only for my own amazement.

I guess that beats "I haven't got my diary with me, I'll call you". Credit for being honest, blind but honest.

If I still had access to my copy of S8-17 (the old HMC&E industry notes on various businesses, including pubs) I could give you chapter and verse on calculating weighted mark-ups on pubs. It's a long time ago now. Pretty much all I can remember with certainty is that a hairdressing salon should derive income at 9 times the cost of the various shampoos etc.

When you're looking at cost per pint you have to factor in an amount for ullages (the bit left at the bottom of the barrel) and that lost when cleaning out the pipes (bore of the pipe x length of the pipe). As I said earlier, it's complicated to do correctly.

Generally about 30 measures in a 75cl bottle (30 x 25ml). Again, if memory serves. Newfoundland - I was keeping numbers simple. At 80% markup the full cost = 180%. A £4.50 pint = £2 gross profit.

An involved process but not impossible. As a VAT man I used to do it all the time in pubs.

Dredging the darker recesses of my memory. I seem to recall the average mark up of a pint at about 80%. So £2.40 on a £5.40 pint (to keep the numbers easy). From that there are the various overheads etc. As Jack has stated, there are different models, and the profit will differ for each. A tied house will give the worst result.

There does seem to be something of a phenomenon around it. Luckily for me, I never had the imagination for d1cking about on all the available frets and so a Precision did me from day one.

It sounds like an itch you need to scratch, if nothing else. Generally, I would say find the one that you are most comfortable with and then do any electrical mods you feel you need (pickups/wiring). I guess the neck profile is the most critical element of that so do you have any thoughts on that? What width nut would you want? That might point you in a certain direction.