Cliff Edge

I had something similar recently. Middle and index finger seemed to stick together with the middle slightly over the index. This happened in the middle of a song.  I couldn’t get them apart immediately and had to play the next couple of numbers with them stuck until the break. 
I got concerned I was having a stroke or worse. I managed to get them apart during the break and it hasn’t happened since. No pain though. 

On 26/05/2023 at 09:27, fretmeister said:

I'm getting some clicking from when my strings touch the pickup pole pieces.

 

I've put some electrical tape on and it is very much improved but it's still there a little when I dig in. Is there a better option than tape or a couple more layers?

The poles stick out by 0.5mm only (seriously! Pickup makers - make them flush!) and I don't want to buy a different pickup if I don't have to.

 

ta

 

Lower the pickups. 

I’ve never done that. It’d be pointless as I’m hopeless remembering names. 

Over time I’ve had a mix of stuff depending on what I could afford at the time. From memory, in the early 70’s a Vox AC30 treble boost of all things. Rather good it was too. 
A Traynor passed through my hands, I recall it wasn’t very good.

A wonderful Peavey TK something or other combo, I separated the amp and cabinet to make it more portable but it still didn’t fit in the Mini. 
A couple of Hartke 3500’s, the second because the first took up smoking and died. They went into an Eden 1x15 cabinet. Very nice. 
There were others I can’t remember, probably because they weren’t any good. 
All I have now is an Ampeg BA112 and I Di into the PA from a Sansmp BDDI
It’s too bloody heavy for its size though. The Ampeg not the BDDI. 

I can’t remember actually being 50 but I’m pretty sure I’m a better player now. 
If I’m not then I’ve wasted the last 60 odd years being mediocre. 

Gretchen Peters in Bexhill on Sea last night. First class professional performance as expected from this seasoned artist. The final live tour by all accounts. Great band behind her with Colm McClean on upright and Precision. Not a name I'm familiar with. And no drummer.

The support was Kim Richey who finished her set with quite possibly the best ever rendition of Sunday Morning Coming Down getting a standing ovation.

A very enjoyable evening and a packed house.

13 hours ago, nekomatic said:

 

Ladies and gents, I give you Moby Dickless. I’m not sure how they blagged their way on to the bill at a jazz festival, but I like it!

Always good to see the bass player taking lead vocals. 

Washing up liquid or any liquid soap works. 

8 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

No apology necessary.

The overall sound level where we were sitting (Grand Circle) was fine, but JS was too loud in the mix. It was tamed slightly for the second half, but could have still come down a bit.

‘‘Twas the same with Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Fine I suppose for all the guitar nerds in the audience getting their rocks off but way too much widdling for the sake of it. “Is this tune ever going to end”. 

18 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Just arrived home from Joe Satriani at The London Palladium. Wowser, he certainly can play.

Bryan Beller on bass too who is one of my faves. First time I’ve seen him play a fretless.

Saw him Tuesday evening in Bexhill on Sea. I agree he can certainly play a guitar, but honestly after the fifth or sixth number it’s all a bit repetitive. And extremely loud. Bass player was excellent with a fine sound from the Ampeg stack behind him.  The sound and lighting guys were perfectly synced with the music and the films projected behind him were very amusing. 
Sorry to say we left at the interval, along with a good few others. I’m pleased I saw him, we’ve had the tickets 3 years and we’re beginning to wonder if we’d ever see him. But I wouldn’t bother again. Sorry. 

Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band last night at the Del La Warr in Bexhill on Sea. He, KWS, is obviously a very talented rock guitarist and he knows it, playing overly long guitar solos, with Status Quo style posing, to his devoted fans. But blues it ain’t. Well I don’t think it was as the vocals were largely drowned out by the guitar, which is a shame as when you could hear the singer he was very good. The bass was muddy and practically inaudible, badly eq’d in the kick drum. There was a very good keyboardist when you could hear him. 
The sound and mix is usually excellent in the venue and I’ve seen dozens of shows there, but last night was clearly biased towards the guitar player. And it wasn’t nice. I was bored after half an hour of repetitive loud widdling. 

My first amp/speaker rig was a cheapo valve HiFi thing of no more than 20 watts. Tripletone comes to mind but I could be wrong. My father built a separate cabinet for me with a 15” Fane speaker. The whole thing was far too big. 
I didn’t do many gigs with it due to not being able to move the damn thing easily.  Non driving schoolboy I was. 

3 hours ago, NancyJohnson said:

Can you imagine the backlash if Ford were still making these:

 

They are. They just don’t look the same. 

I saw a local Beatles tribute act a couple of years ago in the Canary Islands. Music was good but the on stage banter in Spanglish with  Liverpool accents was hilarious. 

Lemonrock is light on specifics about the venues. Nothing about parking and access  etc. Appears to be reasonably up to date in my area although some venues I would expect to see are not featured but that’s the venues responsibility. 

Spirit in The Sky is a great record. I must have played it hundreds of times when I ran a mobile disco* back then. Never failed to get people dancing.  
* Don’t judge me, the girlfriend and I were saving up to buy our first house and it was money for old rope. Probably still is. 

54 minutes ago, MothMan said:

Norman Greenbaum - Spirit in the Sky

 

Great record 

1 hour ago, mowf said:

We watched the Sam Ryder thing and thought it was great. He somehow managed to get from Queen to Stevie Wonder via Taylor Swift and the Darkness, the whole thing was a joy to watch from start to finish. Superb band, (nice to see the bass player’s go-to 4-string was a Ricky). Turned over to Jools afterward with the inevitable Ruby Turner and the rest and got very bored very quickly. This despite enjoying the odd Hootenanny in the past. Sam’s show was unashamedly full of mainstream hits but then isn’t that kind of the point for a NYE gig?

Agreed, this was a great show. An amazing voice and obviously a talented musician with an interesting collection of Fenders. Assuming they were all his. The band and backing singers were great too, especially the guitarist. And it’s not often you see a bass player use a Ricky in a backing band. 

Watching this with interest. I often play outside in summer through a battery powered pa system with speakers not designed for bass.

3 hours ago, mikel said:

Sorry, I read that as "Importing a bass from Neanderthals". I thought it was a rant about stupid sellers. Carry on. 

That’s a whole other thread. 

VAT is charged on everything in a totting up process, so cost plus freight plus duty, then VAT on the total. So cutting out the freight element reduces the overall cost.

Employing a freight carrier, courier or post usually means they include a fee for the customs clearance processes including paying any duties on your behalf, before delivery.

You can of course employ your own customs agent for this, but they are not free either. Unless you are knowledgeable enough to DIY.

Very recently I saw a 1980 EBMM 2 EQ Stingray on Facebook Marketplace for roughly half the price of an identical model on Reverb. Now I can’t confirm if the FB offering was a scam or just a post by an idiot, but it was a long way from me and frankly if I bought another bass right now I’d be looking at a divorce. 

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

 

As long as it's declared to Customs on return, that's fine. Non-declaration is smuggling, which carries risks. Whether these risks are worthwhile is a matter for each to decide. 

Disclaimer : On a recent, rare, visit to Blighty, I brought back in the car a bass, a cab and a hifi amp, bought s/h, mostly before B****t, and French Customs waved us through, so nothing was declared. Just sayin'. 

I’m not condoning illegality just putting forward an option. I’ve never been stopped and asked or had the car even get a sideways glance as I drove off the train at either end. I’ve never had anything to declare anyway. Apart from a few boxes of wine. 

If it’s pre owned option 1 is Eurostar to Amsterdam and from there collect the guitar and bring it back yourself as your own property. Option 2, probably the best, is drive to Folkestone put the car on Eurotunnel to Calais and drive up to wherever in the Netherlands it is. Stick it the boot and come home. 
Either one will probably be cheaper and safer in the long run with off peak travel and it’s a nice reasonably quick drive up to Amsterdam. 

 Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives in Bexhill on Sea last night. A perfect example of performance professionalism. Could not fault any part of the show, the sound or the members of the band. Chris Scruggs, Earle Scruggs grandson, did some amazing stuff on upright, including a frantic rendition of Wipeout. Surf music at a country music show? You bet.

Much use of b benders by Stuart on Clarence Whites old Telecaster and Kenny Vaughan on his. Harry Stinson on drums is a pleasure to watch, the man can really sing too. Last time I saw him was many moons ago at London’s Boarderline with The Dead Reckoners Kieran Kane and Kevin Welch. 
A fabulous evening’s entertainment, preceded by a fine dinner at a local Italian joint.