Marvin

There are only 2 rehearsal spaces that supply rigs in my area. One, old Peavey combos that have been ragged to bits. The amps seem OK but the drivers have been pushed so hard I'd say the cones are badly torn. The second place has a Markbass rig. A 210 cab with a 250w head. It's OK but struggles a little to cut through in the room, especially against the awful drum kit there.

I've never owned a 15, and the only 15 I played through once was in a Line 6 combo... it sounded awful, which was probably the ridiculous amp in it. Currently, I have a 212, which sounds completely different to a 212 I had several years ago. I also have a 210 which I'd say is more coloured than the 212 in that it sounds to have less top end than the 212. In my limited experience the only constant I've arrived at is you have to try it before you'll know what it sounds like.

A fellow bass player I bump into at open mics and gigs has just bought Squier Sonic Precision. He usually plays a Japanese Fender Precision Lyte and also has a Warwick Corvette $$. He told me the Sonic plays better, sounds better than the Fender and he can't remember why he bought the Warwick.

I've just bought a Genz Benz NX212t. Great cab. It just works, it's loud enough, it sounds really good, I can't fault it. Previously, I've had a Schroeder 212 with the angled driver. On its own its bit more of an acquired taste, it's quite mid heavy, but very loud, small box and sounded great in bands. They are quite rare though. If I hadn't bought the Genz recently I was mulling over the Lsys cabs. I didn't quite have the budget for one though.

Rehearsed Sunday morning and last night as we're trying to bring a new guitarist up to speed. To be honest I think we shouldn't have rehearsed Sunday and allowed the guitarist to learn more of the material. That aside, they were good rehearsals. We got through a good amount of material. And the sound and mix are so much better now, especially for me. With our previous guitarist, there seemed to be nowhere sonically for me to sit, his volume and tone filled everything. I don't know how he managed it. Now, everything seems to sit so much more comfortably with each other. I've got a tone I'm loving at the moment and it makes playing so much more enjoyable.

Our local arts centre was one of the venues he was coming to on his talk/tour he was going to do. I thought 'blimey, that's a big name to come to this little old town'. I'm genuinely shocked.

I polished the frets for the very first time on a bass over the weekend. I masked off the fretboard and pickups, used some 0000 wire wool then metal polish and finally lemon oil for the board. The frets have come up a treat. Especially pleased as I'd never done a fret polish before.

We didn't practice this week, we started auditioning a new guitarist. It's the first time I've been the other side of the fence, and I was actually quite nervous. Lovely guy, lovely playing. We all found it easy to play with him. Good music theory knowledge (way, way better than my basic understanding). Great sound, he knows how to use the effects he has. I was a little apprehensive when I saw a 212 cab, a Marshall tube power and separate preamp, I thought my hearing was in for a bashing. But no, great tone but at sensible volume... apparently he doesn't do loud. Think we found a keeper.

I'd see this as a sideways move. I've got my coat and out the door...

Weeks like this week are a struggle. One member of the band, their circumstances had changed meaning we couldn't practice for the foreseeable future and we couldn't book gigs. However, they didn't see the problem and ultimately it was decided to part ways. So here I am again, trying to find a replacement. It's frustrating to say the least.

I absolutely hate AI. It's theft.

A lot of it is about contact and connecting with people. My band did a charity gig last weekend. It was a great gig, we were buzzing. It was really good to see some people I hadn't seen in a long time, made some new friends and we raised several hundred quid. It was better than a lot of the paid gigs we've done.

BEST. I'd have to say the Genz Benz NX212t I bought on here... and the Bugera Veyron M1001. MOST DISAPPOINTING: A used Ashdown RT500 head from G4M. It was packaged in just a cardboard box, with nothing to protect it. It was supposedly a MK2 but was actually a MK1. And to top it all it didn't work. I did get my money back fairly promptly and an apology. WORST: A brand new tuner pedal from Andertons that worked powered by battery but not from 9v mains power from my pedalboard. Returning it was a pain. If it was picked up from the house the return was free, however I'd have to pay postage if I wanted to return it myself. Anderton apparently don't provide returns labels. Also their returns procedure is naff. If I hadn't asked where the returns labels were a collection wouldn't have been arranged. Luckily one of my sons was home.

We did a ticketed charity gig last night at a local music venue. It was our gig, our singer organised it all (the venue also helped masses). As we're still a newish band, this was our 6th gig, it was a bit squeaky butt timeas to how many would turn up. In the end we were absolutely chuffed to get a decent number there. And a great crowd they were as well. It was a really cracking night and we raised several hundred £s in the end. We had support from a former band mate of mine, who did a great solo set and went down a storm. We're all still buzzing I think.

Someone's got to pay U2's taxes.