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Those Acinonyx are gorgeous things. I’ve been on the verge of buying one since they first appeared. And I’m quite happy to see they’re still cranking them out. So one of these days the inevitable will be inevitable.

I can’t justify the price of vintage Fender , and I ‘m an old Fender guy. However these days I seem to play anything but Fenders. Completely turned around.

I’m in the house band for the Sunday jam in the local blues dive , been doing that gig for well over 25 years. It’s that time of year , snow tonight , and one greasy old drive home. Great night despite the drive.

Welcome to the board.

There’s a long tradition of posters in that bar. They do them , unless you already have one ready.

Just enough down to be greasy , I hope you have winter tires. Drive safe.

A couple of kids with a couple of geezers in the rhythm section , 2Young2old played in my favourite dive downtown last night. Crowd was a bit smaller than expected , but a pretty good turnout. The kids were a bit loud , and like to jump up on tables and stuff. It was a fun night , more exuberant than polished. Mixed crowd , bunch of other musicians. Good dancers. They say the blues only appeals to 2% of the population , but that’s 2% of everything. Young old , rich poor , good looking ugly. And anyone can feel at home in a good blues dive. We were all happy at end of the night.

Home practice rig , Aguilar 350 and SL112. Gig rig , Monique pre , Forte , Berg 210 here but I mostly use a 112. For rehearsals I just picked up a Barefaced 0ne 10 that works very well. And another practice rig with a Darkglass e500 , Phil Jones BigHead headphone amp and a C2 cab. I have some other amps and cabs , some that I should sell , but I’m not under any panic to so. Might wait until tax refund time to list them. I thought I was done buying basses , but Herself talked me into picking up a big orange Gretsch the other day. Scheduled delivery Tuesday. There’s nothing quite like a big orange Gretsch.

I practice at a pretty quiet volume , and most amps sound thin when you turn them right down. This little preamp/parametric eq does the trick and can fatten things up nicely. No longer made , but it’s a marvellous little box. The Yamaha Nathan East box , the NE-1. I have two practice rigs , and two of these little boxes.

Using a Monique preamp changed me. I’m generally after a warm thick old school tubey thump. And I have that , with some serious slam. I’m a believer.

I thought I was done for a while , and then was talking with Herself about big orange Gretsch basses. She was saying they are works of art. Next thing I knew I found three on Reverb , and wound up hitting the buy it now button. I hadn’t planned on buying that one , but I have been drooling over them for some years.

“ I generally play with cover bands doing popular rock, pop and soul classics.“ How in the heck have I managed to avoid that for this many years? It suddenly all made sense. Welcome.

Sounds like you’re well under way. It seems regardless of how much stuff you acquire there’s always something you can upgrade.

Glad you got that sorted. Funny how one funny little button can totally put things off. And if it happens again you’ll know where to look.

Welcome Kevin ! There’s a lot of stuff that’s popular in Europe and the UK that we simply never see in North America. I have a retired friend from NC that comes up this way every summer. Won’t hang around here in the winter for some bizarre reason.

This is now the rehearsal rig , and got to drive it around last night. Monique preamp , into the effect return of the Forte , and with the One 10. Light , small , and I gotta say sounded great. I could easily do a small gig with it , but I’ll probably continue to use my Bergs for gigs. The One 10 delivered. It sounded thick and rich with Monique. I love it!

Just picked up a little Barefaced cab for rehearsals , I have some Bergs for gigs , but the little One 10 is tiny and light , and could easily handle a small gig. With a Monique preamp , and using the back end of a Forte for power it’s a fine little rig with a wonderful thick sound. Took this out to rehearsal last night and it worked like a dream. Easy to carry in , light , sounded gorgeous.

I was off topic , but being born in 52 doesn’t leave much choice. I do have a MIJ 51 reissue.

My main gig bass is the HiFlier. Between the two I’ve got the Japanese Surf bass thing covered.

I found a yellow reissue, a friend described it as like a Jazz bass on steroids. Great basses.

It arrived. Now I’ve been using it in my little rehearsal nook at the in-laws. (We look after my mother-in-law) That’s where I keep the e500. I usually run a tiny Phil Jones C2 cab with it. The C2 sounds great at low volume , but doesn’t do loud well. So it’s the perfect solitary practice cab , but doesn’t handle band rehearsal. That’s what plan to use the One Ten for. I have a rehearsal Monday night so I’ll hear how the Barefaced cab sounds at volume. So far , at quiet levels , it’s sounding really good. Tomorrow I’ll try it with my little Aguilar head at home. And so far , I really love this little cab.

I’ve got about forty songs to have down for next Thursday. This time we will actually have one rehearsal. So I chart anything complex or unusual. And then when I look at it again I don’t have to learn it again. After I’ve run over something enough times a quick glance at the chart will remind me what’s happening , and I don’t need the chart to play it. But that quick look can save my bacon.

Chart ‘em so you can see the structure. It makes the form much easier to memorize.

The cymbal case?

Stack knobbed headphone amp.