Paul S

All of the above strikes a chord. In 2022 my lot were invited to play a monthly residency at a city centre pub in Ipswich 'because we were the best band they had play there'. We asked for £250, they actually paid us £300. In the next 12 months we got a following and started to pack the place out - had a stock of our live CDs, recorded there one night, behind the bar and a signed picture on the wall. Staff were friendly, free drinks, space cleared by the time we got there. Everything was rosy. Towards the end of the second year our regulars stopped coming. Bar staff changed. No more free drinks. We had to prompt the tables being shifted. The atmosphere in the pub changed - from being a family, music orientated place to the usual revolving door city centre pub with huge screens showing sports. One time we were asked to start at 9.45pm, rather than 9pm, because of some match or other people were watching. Beginning of this year, after playing to an empty pub a couple of times, we mutually agreed with the owner to pull the regular gigs in summer, leaving just 2 more - September and November. Ipswich for me is 1hr 15mins on a good run. The night of the September gig (a Friday) took me 3hrs 30mins because of unscheduled roadworks on the A12. I was late - we started at 10pm but still played for 2hrs without a break. There was a fight in the main bar, people left. Our last tune we do a segue of the start of 'Money For Nothing' into 'La Grange' and some idiot wanted to start a row over us 'not liking Dire Straits' because we only played a few bars. Stood in front of us staring while we packed up. Once we were clear the guvnor paid us £200 because we started late and he wouldn't listen to reason. So that was that, 3 years of goodwill down the Swanee. We found out that the reason our 'gang' stopped coming was because of the intimidating atmosphere of fights and drugs that was going on in the room behind and, especially, the toilets. To name and shame, it was the Shamrock, in case anyone is interested.

I would be easily replaced. They wouldn't play like me, so the band would sound a bit different, but bass players of average ability are two a penny. Drummer has a certain unorthodox style so a replacement would, again, sound different. But he is replaceable. Guitarist is the thing. I can play guitar in a fumbly kind of way but very much understand and appreciate good playing. He is the best amateur blues guitarist I have seen, let alone had the privilege of playing with. He is better than a lot of pro blues guitarists. No Alan, no band.

Schaller/Hipshot/whatever 🥴 yes. That'll teach me to post from memory without looking it up to check. 😅 And I publically put my hands up, Jon - it is currently doing sterling work in my Eros EB-3.

The bridge is a rare early Hipshot 2 point replacement model. Forget the number but probably worth the asking price on its own.

I weakened at the end but may have a plan to shed some weight 😁

Hi! Yes, price is a thing isn't it - what they are worth and what they sell for seem to be very far apart. I bought my last one for £220! I hope you sell it for near it's worth. if not, my offer stands

Popped up yesterday on eBay, £300 start. Listing says SG-35 but it is an SB-35 and a pretty unmolested, all original one by the looks of things. 32" scale Yamaha SG style bass. They only made these for a year or two in the early 70s. I had one, sold it 6 years ago when I 'moved permanenlty to 5 string basses'🙄, biggest seller's remorse ever. Since then this is only the second one to turn up (I check daily), both have been around 1.5lbs heavier than my old one, this is 4.1kg. Sigh. Not a problem for most people but a deal breaker for me. These are totally top notch - the bass equivalent of the Yamaha SG guitar series and similar quality but there is so little info about them that they usually pass under the radar. There is a something about the voicing of the pickup that just sings - a lovely, lovely bass. A Fender or Gibson of the same vintage would sell for huge amounts but I'll bet this goes for well under £1K. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/116388632178

It's gone now - 'best offer accepted' - was that you?

If only this were a shorty I'd have bought it not posted about it! Solid body with DiMarzio pickup, 2 octave neck, proper bridge, brass nut all sorts of other nice things. Bit scruffy but I bet it is a monster. £290! https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/135312739262

Another Danelectro Longhorn aficionado here, my go to bass these days. If you fancy the idea of one of these hollow bodied/chambered basses but the Longhorn styling isn't to your liking Danelectro do a variety of hollow body retro-styled basses - a single cutaway short scale, double cutaway short scale, double cutaway long scale. All as light as a feather. Having owned a selection of these over the years plus a Hofner Ignition Club single cutaway, the Danos are better built, easier to play and sound better when directly compared with the Hofner. IMO etc.

Looks absolutely fab. How much does one of these weigh in at, Clarky?

Thing is with a back up bass is that you never, ever need one right up until the time that you do. Which could be never or your next gig - it is impossible to predict.

Squier Silver Series Jazz had a 40mm neck. Not that they pop up that frequently.

I effectively did, once. A 'blues and brews' night at the John Peel Centre in Stowmarket. We were capping off the eveing, 3 blues bands, with local small brewery beers available. The deal, agred by guitarist, was that we got £50 (for the band, not each) plus a share of the door money. As we were on last we were asked if the other bands could use our drum kit. I got there early and they were just packing away the venue's drum kit to a side room. WTF? £10 on the door, some 60 souls turned up on a frozen February night. Takings at the bar were also very good. 2 months later, when emails were eventually answered, we were told that, sady, they had only just managed to take enough to cover costs. Cheating, lying b@stards. My share of the £50 (we are a trio) didn't quite cover my fuel and food costs so, yes, I paid to play. That's the JOHN PEEL CENTRE, STOWMARKET, folks. Avoid.

I've only just started using soap 🤪

For £35 I'd take it as a cheap life lesson and move on. There is a danger it will poison your mind for months otherwise. Life is too short.

Can't fool me. You are ped but signed off as Chris, ergo your account has been hacked! 🥴

Last night. Mash up of La Grange/Steppin' Out (Cream, not Joe Jackson) Beer Festival at The Swan Inn, Chappel Danelectro Longhorn into pa via Trace Elliot Transit B

They are even using AI for tea blending. Chat PGTips.

My lot on last Saturday at the Swan Inn Beer Festival, Chappel, nr Colchester.

Benfleet boy here. Hi.

For a first short scale I would go for a Harley Benton PB Shorty all day long. I believe they were £65 when I got mine, currently £85. When they first came out I bought one as a modding platform but, when it arrived, found I didn't need to and gigged it straight out of the box. Stock pickup was a great vintage P bass tone. I have since put a Tonerider pickup in it because I wanted a bit more oomph and bite; I also changed the pickguard to a black one 'cos I don't like black basses with white pickguards. These were both a matter of personal choice rather than any fault. If I were being uber-picky I'd say the tuners are a little scratchy but they work just fine - replacing them would cost more than the bass! The fret ends could do with a file but I have had worse on basses costing 6x as much. The biggest disadvantage about these I would say is the credibility issues around how cheap they are - it is almost impossible to believe you get a decent bass for such a small amount of cash.

Indeed, yes.

All my shorties - Mustang, Dano Longhorn, SG, EB3 - fit into Thomann E Guitar Deluxe gig bags, which cost the princely sum of £26. A bargain if you happen to be buying other things. More protection than the Fender gig bag, which I was less than impressed with. https://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_gigbag_deluxe_egitarre.htm