StingRayBoy42

Two very different gigs this weekend! Friday was the Dysfunctionals 3 piece at the Spread Eagle in Polesworth (Imagine if Tamworth had a frumpy, less glamorous sister). It was one of the smallest places I've ever played - we were wedged inbetween the pool table and the door to the toilets... ROCK 'N' ROLL! It was so small, we couldn't bring all our stuff in (We have too much stuff, especially for gigs of this size, but I digress) so we had to unload the cables and stuff we needed outside and bring them in by the armful. Yay! Little Nige on drums again, always a pleasure but sadly not a long term replacement for the previos custodian of the sticks. Setup was a nightmare as the stage bit between the pool table and the door to the toilets was about the size of an Altoids tin (Altoids Smalls, not the proper ones) so every time you turned round or stood up you'd clout into something. All set up (we had to grease Henry (BL) up to get him out from behind the keyboard) waited around for a bit, went on to about six utterly indifferent punters... the best we got was a very vauge smattering of applause between songs. At half time, a bloke collared me and said how nice it was to see a Bass player smiling... I can't imagine why anyone would think all Bass players are miserable sods (unless they've been on Basschat for more than seven picoseconds). I didn't have the heart to tell him it was more of a rictus grin. Second set was slightly better, a few people came in from the room next door, danced for a verse and a chorus then buggered off again, by the end the 'dancefloor' (the bit in front of the bit between the pool table and the door to the toilets) was packed (it only needed about nine people to be packed) and they enjoyed the last three or four songs, so... that was fun. I joined the dancefloor (TBIFOTBBTPTATDTTT) for the encore, which went down a treat. Pack up and load out was even less fun than load in and set up as the stage bit between the pool table and the door to the toilets had somehow shrunk *and* there were drunken arseholes valued audience members in the way... I would have thought that after the fifteenth "'scuse us... sorry... can we just squeeze through there...?" from chaps with enormous flightcases they would have got the message and gone and stood somewhere else, but alas, no. Mrs StingRayBoy came, she very much enjoyed it. Played the Jazz for a change (inspired by a thread on here about Jazz Basses) -> there wasn't enough room for my little board so I didn't bother -> secret weapons board (wedged onto a shelf) -> MB 802 -> PA. Wore the peach pink sparkle converse. Satuday was depping with the Manchester Ska Foundation at a wedding (Debbie and Andrew) in a marquee outside a pub somewhere near Macclesfield. Arrive at 430, setup was slightly (but not much) more fun than Friday as we had to drag everything through the audience who were sheltering from the rain... there's eight of us and they're all used to it, so it's usually a pretty easy setup. Soundcheck went down well (!), first set at 6 o'clock, we went down a storm. Marquee was packed (It was raining out), everyone loving it, dancing and singing along... fab! The happy couple had their first dance to 'It must be love', which was lovely, the bride's married name is Brown, so 'Sally Brown' (Bad Manners) became 'Debbie Brown' - cue much hilarity and everyone joining in. They fed us (Meat & Potato pie and chips) at half time which was most welcome. Second set was great, a packed marquee (still raining out), all loving it. One of the wedding guests (A very drunken young lady who looked like an AI-designed sex worker (denim thomg, boob tube, knee-high leather boots, cowboy hat)) spent the entire second set haranguing the trombone player, wanting a go on her trombone... so obvioulsy there were lots of blowing/shiny horn/get your lips on that type jokes... hilarious. (The trumpet player let her have a go on his trumpet at the end, but her lips were too big to get a sound out of it.) Played the P -> secret weapons board -> MB 802 -> PA. Wore the cow print converse. Two sets of relentless uptempo ska on the LaBella DTFs took it out of my fingers which I've never really noticed before... I must be getting old. Finished for just after 8, packed up by 9, back in Brum by 10:37 for a cider and a conversation about Lindy Hop with my Stepmum.

I sold Stefan a pedalboard - great comms, quick payment and a great transaction all round. Cheers!

As others have said, put whatever strings you want on whatever Bass you want. Different strings (sort of) suit different types of music but as someone above said, rules are there to be broken - if it sounds good, it is good. I have TI flats on my Jazz and they sound great. I think I'll play it tonight, actually!

Just take it to your tech and let them figure it out!

Is having it wired up with a blend pot not an option?

I went for the Hercules Travelite, also for fitting-in-gigbag reasons. It's great, thanks for the recommendation!

Roofrack to the future

I don't think you'd get a Double Bass in the boot... actually, I doubt you'd get a single Bass in there!

Three (!) gigs this weekend Friday was the Cantina Band at the Vaults in Knowle for guitarist Steve's 50th. A good laugh, a decent turnout, Steve insisted nobody drive so we could all have a few drinks and who am I to argue? One of his daughters (14? or 15?) joined us on drums for 5 or 6 songs, she's really good! She made the mistake of knowing the songs and playing them properly, which really threw the rest of us. His other daugter (11? or 12?) joined us to sing A-P-T, which was great, she gave it loads! We also had a friend of the band on additional guitar so Steve could go and have a few (more) drinks. Mrs StingRayBoy came, she loved it which is always nice... I joined her on the "dancefloor" for the last song, first time I've ever smooched someone while playing. Played the Sterling -> small board -> Amp board -> Mark CMD 121p, Silver/Gold glittery Converse. Saturday was Azura (3 piece) at O'Neill's Leicester. Dep drummer (Little Nige) who's been gigging since I was a glint in the Milkman's eye, lovely bloke, great drummer. Good gig, bit seat of the pants, usual drunken rabble... one bloke thought we were Grandad, Father and Son (The ages are about right, to be fair), we played Happy Birthday to three people (all at the same time (Alison and two others whose names escape me)), we did 'I'm a hog for you baby' which Little Nige sang - great song and a ton of fun to play. First outing for my (Basschat purchased) LD IEMs which worked flawlessly - happily, the band use the same system so I didn't even have to set up the transmitter. Went for a wireless wander for the encore (Don't look back in anger (Don't judge me, it's a Saturday night pub gig)) which was an absolute hoot. Same setup (and footwear) as Friday. A good night, except I didn't get home until gone 3 o'clock. Sunday Afternoon was the Sax Pistols at the King's Arms in Cleeve Prior. How the BL finds these gigs, I'll never know... tiny little village with about four houses (and the King's Arms) It was a 'reopening under new ownership' type affair, a good few people there, we went down well, we played OK, we sounded pretty good. The whole band (apart from the drummer) use wireless mics, so there was plenty of strolling about, especially for 'Tequila' and 'Minnie the Moocher' which is always fun and goes down well. There was a Delorean there! (Weirdly, Mrs StingRayBoy had seen a different Delorean on the M5 about two weeks ago) Oh, and two blokes dressed as Spiderman (He's a web designer... he sorts out the bugs) and Superman for some reason. I went off charts for the first time, not entirely unsuccessfully. Played the Sousaphone, wore the same Converse. A good weekend!

Oldest: No Fat On A Turkey 6th August 1991 - the day I first picked up a Bass. (My brother's Hohner Jack... I had to lie and tell him someone else was playing Bass - he'd lend it to a stranger but not to me. Cheers, mate.) We thought we were the next Stone Roses... we were not. Newest: Depping with Manchester Ska Foundation last month - joined the audience for "One Step Beyond" Playing the Sterling - not my first choice for ska, just fancied a change!

My legal team have advised me not to contribute to this thread.

I'm after a decent stand that folds up to be as (small and) flat as possible. Must be sturdy AF and fold up to be as flat as a very flat thing. I like the folding Hercules ones but they're bulky when folded up - Any recommendations? Ta!

Does Sousaphone count as an unusual Bass instrument?

David bought my Markbass 801 amp and as usual, he was an absolute Gentleman to deal with. Insisted on paying upfront, great comms, flexible on meeting up and a thoroughly lovely bloke. Enjoy the amp!