gjones

The head of Fender, Andy Mooney, said in an interview recently that even pickup wire is hard to source these days and that availability and prices of electronic components vary wildly. He said the demand is there but the ability to satisfy that demand is very limited due to the state of global trade today.

When the music is good, I don't have a problem. My neighbour across the street occasionally plays her music loud but she's got great taste in music. I had a neighbour who played sax and he was excellent, so I didn't have a problem with it. My neighbours came up to me, a few months ago, and asked if it was me playing the electric guitar the other night? I said 'Was it any good?' and she said it was great. I replied, 'It couldn't have been me then....'. 😊

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That's great to hear. Gail appears to be enjoy playing with Matthieu Chedid. I got the feeling that she wasn't too comfortable touring with Lenny Kravitz.

You are right of course. But some idiots still lust after them. Like me 🤪

Ha, ha, Fenders business model is unfortunate. Its products don't have built in obsolescence, like other manufacturer's products do. With care their guitars and basses will last forever. If Ford had this problem we'd still be driving around in Ford Zodiacs our grandfathers bought in 1965.

I bought a Fender TV 15 Bassman from GAK about 12 years ago. It was reduced but didn't state on the website that it was B stock or a demonstrator. When it arrived it had signs of use and the tweed covering was pretty badly marked. I kept it because they were only minor surface defects and the amp worked as it should. Some music shops have a record of not being totally honest as to why a product on their web site has been reduced, in the hope that people won't return items they're not 100% happy with, due to the hassle factor.

Natural fibre eh? They'll be making them out of wood next........ 🤔

Last minute gig last night at a local music bar. My band would have liked a couple more rehearsals before we gigged but the drummer got a call from the booker asking if we'd do the gig and we 'seized the day'. The songs we knew well, sounded great and the crowd loved them, most of the ones we weren't 100% up to speed on were pretty good. Only a couple of total disasters but we'll work on them at our next rehearsal. That was my first gig for over 2 years.......here's to many more.

The way it works is...... Start a new band with the members of the band you think are good and you are able to work with. You can keep the old one 'on the go' until the new one is up an running. .Then leave the old band (or just ignore the lazy guitarist's calls).

I now own a Markbass CMD 121 but I played through an Ashdown MiBass 550 for some time and I really liked the sound. I've played through Ashdown Rootmasters in rehearsal rooms and I also like the warm, punchy sound they have. I was very impressed the first time I heard one, so I would reckon it's definitely one to consider if you like the Ashdown MiBass sound.

I've been playing bass and gigging for over 40 years, and I've probably got to the stage now that I've mastered what to leave out and when not to play. That's definitely a start.

I lust over sonic blue Jazzes. They're few and far between. Most of the ones that claim to be sonic blue are actually daphne blue. It's weird, in some lights they look white. You have to change the scratchplate to a cream pearl one though. That's the law.

I was having a typo moment and typed gain when I should have typed master. As far as I am aware, there is no noise to amplify on a class D head, so you can turn the master to full and then use the gain to adjust your volume. When the amp starts to clip, as you adjust the gain, you know that's as loud as you can go (assuming your cab is good enough to take that level of input).

I was under the impression that the master on a class D amp can be turned to max and you can then use the gain to adjust your volume. Which means that your gain shouldn't clip, unless your band is seriously loud.

Another vote for a G&L L2000 or L2500. Ridiculously versatile with all sorts of sounds including a good Stingray impression.

Interestingly, the last time I used my CMD121P the sound engineer didn't bother to DI it, he just put a mic in front of it and listening back to the recording that was made that night, he got a very good sound.

Great interview, by Colin Murray of Radio 5 Live, with legendary bassist David Hood from Muscle Shoals https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001947y

John East does a 2 band Stingray Pre at a reasonable price. I had a 2 band EQ in my USA Stingray SUBs and the 2 band EQ does have a darker tone, like a P bass on steroids.

Tears For Fears in the grounds of a big old castle in the Scottish borders. Great gig and a great sound. They looked like they enjoyed it as much as I did too.

It's a cross bass players have to bear. It's one of the reasons I like active basses, as I can go out front and adjust the sound from a distance.

I like the aggressiveness of my 3 EQ Stingray. I have Precisions and Jazzes and got the Ray specifically for that Stingray sound. I have a tendency to try and make all my basses sound like James Jamerson's precision. If you do want a deeper, thumpier sound, I recommend buying a USA built SUB. I owned a couple a few years ago and the 2 band EQ gave a great thump. I used to describe the sound as a Precision with the sound of a kick drum behind it.

I saw TFF playing live last night. Roland was reminiscing about his and Curt's unfortunate ska band period.

I've got a couple of GK MB D class heads and they're pretty bulletproof and extremely loud.

I'd recommend buying bigger strap buttons and then you can fit your normal rubber thingies to them. I've got those big cumbersome strap locks on my Fenders (they came fitted) and they're a real pain, as you have to remove them when you put the bass back in the case.