Stub Mandrel

It's becoming more common in Wales.

Musically excellent, but that sort of stuff typifies Jools and bores my socks off.

This, especially his work with a young Jeff Beck.

Yep. Plus knowing several million people got rickrolled in the opening hour of 2024 😁

Add me. I haven't bought anything yet, and after last year I don't NEED anything new and hope not to buy any basses in 2024...

I had about 22 years off. Bloody glad I came back. It helped save my sanity. I couldn't believe how much I had missed playing with others.

I was in Spoons from about 12:15 and caught the end of Rick Astley. I'm relieved to see others agree it was a great performance! Brave to do You Shook Me after the SeaLion's version...

So glad it's not just me 🤣

I'm interested too... currently put up with removed armrests so I can play instead of work...

Why have the rest of the band all got 'interesting' objects attached to their heads?

My go to basses for most gigs are an American Vintage II precision and Mexican Flea Jazz. While the P is more period correct, I can't claim one is better quality than the other in respect of timber, components or build.

I don't judge any instrument on where it's made. I have American, Mexican, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian and Chinese basses. All of good or better build quality. Worst bass I have tried recently was a Japanese Fender Aerodyne, which should have been the cream of the crop, but if felt awful. My Mexican Flea Jazz is easily the most comfortable bass I have. Used it recently for a 'seat of the pants' dep as it would not get in my way for anything I needed to do. You have to judge every bass on its own merits and also try to see beyond any bad setup (good shops will tweak a bass you are trying out) and even eadily corrected faults. I'm not saying that bass wasn't poor, but it's not my experience that Fender Mexican basses are anything other than the equivalent of the American ones in practical terms.

Is the issue a backing vocalist who is willing to step up when needed, but isn't a natural front person? Or is it having an unreliable or unavailable lead singer? It really depends on what proportion of gigs the lead isn't available for, and whether you really need a more available lead. Or is this really about personalities?

Saturday Night was one of the first songs I had to learn when getting back into this lark. Great to play, I always use it when trying out a bass.

If I were you, I'd get a spare a/b box, just in case.

Chancers hoping the gullible walk by.

+1 GOK why they have those swirly mud generators!

I already shared my best purchase. How about a couple of 'honorable mentions': Harley Benton Marquess-5 Blue Stain (B-Stock but immaculate) - for the price it's an insane thing to have, yes I've gigged it. Shame it doesn't fit the blues band image but looking forward to playing Gasoline on it with the other bunch :-) Two 5m leads, Sommer cable, Neutrik connectors (90 degree switched at one end). Worth it for peace of mind. Lekato (or similar) rechargeable clip tuners, just so good - bright, fast and huge display. And not really a purchase but a Christmas prezzy: https://blackstaramps.com/amplug-2-fly/ It's really good, and now I can practice after 10pm.

Facebook grumblings about someone selling the Jazz for $700 (and others at $600 on Reverb!)

I was given a little Blackstar amplug thingy for Christmas. Sounds great, spent some time playing one of my Fenders through it. Then an hour ago I played my Thunder 1 through it. Incredible, that bass is IMMENSE, it sounds more like a precesion than any precision 🤣

Exactly this! Whats the point of having several basses without the fun of playing them?

I read that and wondered what you were doing with a manatee.

Shame when one idiot takes the shine off a great evening.

Is he getting the tats? Or just five minutes with a Sharpie? 😁

My partner was feeling a bit rough this afternoon so we decided not to go out. An hour or so later, a band I'm going to dep for in late January got in touch - could I help them out tonight. With the warning that I'd be busking a lot I decided to go for it. Got to the basement club. First hour super loud dj playing rock music with awful disco beats over the top. Later he just played very loud rock. We went on at 9:30 and finished at 11:30 with a brief break. Straight in with Psycho Killer - a nice gentle start fortunately I know it well! Audience was mostly young, enthusiastic and enjoyed a mix of standard covers plus paranoid, queen, jeff beck. Go Ypur Own Way went down particularly well, I've always wanted to play it and enjoyed blasting away at that great chorus. Had a request for metallica so 'learned' Enter Sandman in the break. Mostly went well, lot of rough edges and a few pink torpedo ups. They were grateful as it saved the gig. Downside- an hour's drive each way... that's me wound down. Goodnight owls!