How was your gig last night?

[cetera]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Curious what gear you use in a pub band @cetera ? I'm guessing a GK rig but what bass ?

Dave 

GK Legacy800 Head, LFSys Monaco cab & my Spector Pulse II bass. My best/most valuable Spectors don't come out on pub gigs... I save them for theatres, big clubs etc.

With another band I play with (doing more 70's punkier stuff and Bowie etc) I use a P bass....
With a wedding band I dep for I tend to play my Betsy as there's a bit more disco/pop.

Edited Tuesday at 14:31 by cetera

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, cetera said:

GK Legacy800 Head, LFSys Monaco cab & my Spector Pulse II bass. My best/most valuable Spectors don't come out on pub gigs... I save them for theatres, big clubs etc.

With another band I play with (doing more 70's punkier stuff and Bowie etc) I use a P bass....
With a wedding band I dep for I tend to play my Betsy as there's a bit more disco/pop.

Its always interesting to hear what gear you pick from such a large collection but i have noticed you do seem to prefer your Spectors.

I tried one in Bass Direct but just couldn't take to the neck and went for a Dingwall 5 stringer. Not sure what version it was. Neck felt very plankish and hard to the touch if that makes sense. Just didn't fit my hand shape. Would have been circa £1k - £1.5k price range back in 2016 ish.

Dave

[Woodinblack]

Sunday day gig, thought it was going to be hot so took a fan, so did the drummer. We eventually made a fan table behind us and it was a good thing!

The gig in general went well, normal set list, we didnt' get any new songs ready like we were hoping too, people were too busy. I used the Ric in the first half and it was as good as normal, but the guitarist broke his single guitar strap (he has 3 guitars and 1 strap), so as my ric has a strap with no strap lock I switched to my Maruszczyk in the second half so he could use the ric strap. In the second half he was getting electric shocks from his pedal board and threatened to stop so I let him use my wireless so he could continue. 

Aside from that and a few messed up songs that noone noticed, it went just fine!

[peteb]

41 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Its always interesting to hear what gear you pick from such a large collection but i have noticed you do seem to prefer your Spectors.

I tried one in Bass Direct but just couldn't take to the neck and went for a Dingwall 5 stringer. Not sure what version it was. Neck felt very plankish and hard to the touch if that makes sense. Just didn't fit my hand shape. Would have been circa £1k - £1.5k price range back in 2016 ish.

Dave

 

For some reason, I've never really taken to Spectors. I has a Czech 5 string for a while, but was happy to sell it on as soon as I didn't have a need for it. 

 

This is despite lusting after one for years in the 80s / 90s and then gigging a couple of Streamers for years that looked just like them...! 

 

Edited Tuesday at 16:28 by peteb

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Sunday day gig, thought it was going to be hot so took a fan, so did the drummer. We eventually made a fan table behind us and it was a good thing!

The gig in general went well, normal set list, we didnt' get any new songs ready like we were hoping too, people were too busy. I used the Ric in the first half and it was as good as normal, but the guitarist broke his single guitar strap (he has 3 guitars and 1 strap), so as my ric has a strap with no strap lock I switched to my Maruszczyk in the second half so he could use the ric strap. In the second half he was getting electric shocks from his pedal board and threatened to stop so I let him use my wireless so he could continue. 

Aside from that and a few messed up songs that noone noticed, it went just fine!

I think he needs to invest in a back up strap and some time in sorting out his pedal board. No-one should be getting shocks from a pedal board. Its generally all low voltage in pedals and suspect its more a static thing than actual voltage shock but definitely needs investigating.

I prefer my fans in front of the band 😂😜😂

I take a large 18" gym fan for our female singer and a smaller 16" gym fan for myself. Drummer also uses a 16" gym fan. Wearing Glam costumes and wigs it does get very hot on stage and those fans and 2 litres of water each gig are my saving grace. 🤩

Dave

[dmccombe7]

3 hours ago, peteb said:

 

For some reason, I've never really taken to Spectors. I has a Czech 5 string for a while, but was happy to sell it on as soon as I didn't have a need for it. 

 

This is despite lusting after one for years in the 80s / 90s and then gigging a couple of Streamers for years that looked just like them...! 

 

I have a Warwick Thumb NT4 i bought in 1989 and love it. Its a keeper and has one of the best necks i've ever played. Its just a bit heavy to gig these days and doesn't suit the Glam band.

Did have a Streamer on loan when my Thumb was sent back to Germany after the electronic module failed. Sealed unit and could not be repaired locally back then. 

Dave

Edited Tuesday at 20:13 by dmccombe7

[peteb]

The Zep tribute played at the Nightrain in Bradford on Friday night, a hometown gig for 60% of the band these days and the only one we're playing anywhere near locally all year. 

 

We hadn't played (or rehearsed) together for a month, so it a bit rusty but a pretty good performance overall. A few people reckoned it was a bit loud at the start of the set, although a muso mate of mine who was near the back reckoned it sounded awesome! First gig since the drummer got his driving ban, so the logistics were a bit of a challenge! I think the reality of the situation has started to affect him and he even managed to forget his bass drum pedal! Fortunately, there was one there we could borrow, so no harm done. 

 

Same rig as normal (Fender Jazz / Handbox amp / Berg cab) and the new Vans pigskin hitops got an outing! Before and after show pics: 

 

 

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 22:16 by peteb

[Woodinblack]

13 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I think he needs to invest in a back up strap and some time in sorting out his pedal board. No-one should be getting shocks from a pedal board. Its generally all low voltage in pedals and suspect its more a static thing than actual voltage shock but definitely needs investigating.

 

 

Yes, I am not sure why the one strap. Every one of my basses has a strap - I would find it irritating if they didn't, they are different sizes so would sit in different positions, and more importantly they are different colours, how could one strap cope!

The elecrical thing, it seems to be that venue that specifically has bad electrics, its outside at an end of cable run and testing it with my power tester, the voltage is 209v with 1-4v N-E, but otherwise is fine, and obviously it goes to say when I gave him my wireless, I connected by cable and had no issues - in fact I gave him my cable knowing I would have no issues, so said he needed to get his power supply checked - whatever bad thing is happening in the power of the venue, should't be getting to you. 

[BCH]

On 18/08/2025 at 15:06, dmccombe7 said:

Nice bass @BCH what is it ?

Dave

Torzal 4 string https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn5isqsuAP0/

[BCH]

On 18/08/2025 at 16:30, Woodinblack said:

Love that torzal twist. What kind of a stand is it on, and is that for health reasons or just to look effortlessly cool?

Its a K&M guitar stand https://www.thomann.co.uk/km_14760.htm 

Shoulder op but didn't work, still have a torn rotator cuff so no strap!

If you hancy a torzal, I have one for sale on BC

 

[Woodinblack]

1 hour ago, BCH said:

Its a K&M guitar stand https://www.thomann.co.uk/km_14760.htm 

Shoulder op but didn't work, still have a torn rotator cuff so no strap!

If you hancy a torzal, I have one for sale on BC

 

Would love a torzal and would get that off you in an instant if only they hadn't forgotten the B string

 

[dmccombe7]

10 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Yes, I am not sure why the one strap. Every one of my basses has a strap - I would find it irritating if they didn't, they are different sizes so would sit in different positions, and more importantly they are different colours, how could one strap cope!

The elecrical thing, it seems to be that venue that specifically has bad electrics, its outside at an end of cable run and testing it with my power tester, the voltage is 209v with 1-4v N-E, but otherwise is fine, and obviously it goes to say when I gave him my wireless, I connected by cable and had no issues - in fact I gave him my cable knowing I would have no issues, so said he needed to get his power supply checked - whatever bad thing is happening in the power of the venue, should't be getting to you. 

I tend to use the same black 4" strap with straplocks on all the basses i gig with. I also keep a spare strap that's good quality but not quite as comfy.

Because of the Glam gear and wigs etc its easier to throw my strap over my shoulder and under the hair so as not to pull on the wigs and then attach my bass. Sometimes i just put my bass on in changing room and put the wig on last.

The things i do for Glam 🤩

Only my Warwick Thumb has its own strap because of where it sits the strap is shorter.

Dave

[dmccombe7]

8 hours ago, BCH said:

Torzal 4 string https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn5isqsuAP0/

That's gorgeous. Would love to try one. 

Does it help and make playing a bit easier at the nut end.

Dave

[peteb]

3 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

I tend to use the same black 4" strap with straplocks on all the basses i gig with. I also keep a spare strap that's good quality but not quite as comfy.

 

 

Same here - all of my basses these days are FSOs, so the same strap works for all of them. I always make sure that I carry a decent spare, as well as a cheaper nylon one without straplocks for emergencies, loans, etc. 

 

[mcnach]

15 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Yes, I am not sure why the one strap.

 

I used to be a one strap kind of guy. The temperature was a comfortable 24 degrees, very slight breeze. I had more hair on my head than the rest of my body combined. Life was sweet.

 

Then a strap broke about a third into a gig, and no replacement on sight. I ended up playing sitting on a stool  And the very next day I made sure I always had an extra strap in every gigbag and every tools case I'm likely to bring to any gig. But maybe it's just me... I just realised I do the same with extra batteries, strings, cables. When any hardware/cabling needs something, I'm the first one they ask, as I often have something useful in my magic box

 

[MichaelDean]

Good midweek gig at The Gryphon last night. After a late night two nights in a row (and the usual 5:45 alarm 😭) I'm knackered today! Too much headbanging as well, my neck is giving me some jip this morning. 

 

There were a few issues, the first band took a while getting off stage, which meant we were rushed and our guitarist couldn't work out why his amp was quiet. Turns out it had been switched to half power mode. Still, it went very well and there were lots of positive comments and we even sold a t-shirt. Very hot up in the small gig room there though. I think capacity is about 50 and we were almost at that, plus no air condidioning. 

 

My new digital only fuzz was working a treat tonight too. On my GX-100, I'm running a transparent overdrive into a bass fuzz and then a parallel signal with bass overdrive into the fuzz face model, both fuzzes with a bit of clean blend, boosting the lows on the fuzz face, reducing them on the bass fuzz. It has that high end chaotic movement to the sound that most digital fuzzes don't quite get.

 

My rig was Dingwall Combustion -> GX-100 -> Laney Digbeth 500 -> Fender 610. 
 

 

 

[dmccombe7]

10 hours ago, mcnach said:

 

I used to be a one strap kind of guy. The temperature was a comfortable 24 degrees, very slight breeze. I had more hair on my head than the rest of my body combined. Life was sweet.

 

Then a strap broke about a third into a gig, and no replacement on sight. I ended up playing sitting on a stool  And the very next day I made sure I always had an extra strap in every gigbag and every tools case I'm likely to bring to any gig. But maybe it's just me... I just realised I do the same with extra batteries, strings, cables. When any hardware/cabling needs something, I'm the first one they ask, as I often have something useful in my magic box

 

Yep always be prepared. I take spare everything except strings. I take 2 basses, 2 amps, batteries, straps, tools, 2 sets of Glam gear and even 2 boots. 😂

Dave

[Steve Browning]

On 13/08/2025 at 10:13, Steve Browning said:

My gig last night was horrible.

 

I play is a Stax-orientated soul band. The singer (a good fried of ours) has Huntingtons, and the band has existed to keep him gigging. There are gigs when things go ok (never more than that) but last night may have been gig that we all knew was on the horizon. I won't go into detail, but it was horribly below par.

 

Desperately sad though it is, I think we've reached the stage where he is unable to deliver a gig that can be classed as acceptable. In truth, we're probably past that point already, but we've kept going through the bond of friendship. The guitarist is a particularly long-standing mate of his.

 

To complicate matters, the rest of us are a band in our own right that is, dare I say it myself, awesome. We are well known locally (where this band gigs) and we cannot allow the one to affect the other. Tough decision (in some ways) but it is simply a case of the negatives have now exceeded the positives - and there was only one positive really.

 

Just a bit of an update, and a huge thank you to everyone who commented or reacted.

 

With just one gig in the diary and with a regular venue switching to an agent, we have called time on the band. The singer started off a little defensive (as you would expect) but did see that it was right in the end. He admitted that some gigs completely wipe him out and he has good and bad days more generally.

 

We all wish that it was not so, but to carry on (in front of 'strange' crowds) would expose him to criticism (and possibly even ridicule) and that would be far worse. We will bow out on 7th October. More importantly, we are parting as chums.

 

Thanks again for the support people have given. This is a remarkable place - and this is demonstrated so often here.

[dmccombe7]

1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:

 

Just a bit of an update, and a huge thank you to everyone who commented or reacted.

 

With just one gig in the diary and with a regular venue switching to an agent, we have called time on the band. The singer started off a little defensive (as you would expect) but did see that it was right in the end. He admitted that some gigs completely wipe him out and he has good and bad days more generally.

 

We all wish that it was not so, but to carry on (in front of 'strange' crowds) would expose him to criticism (and possibly even ridicule) and that would be far worse. We will bow out on 7th October. More importantly, we are parting as chums.

 

Thanks again for the support people have given. This is a remarkable place - and this is demonstrated so often here.

That's sad and happy at the same time Steve. Glad you've all remained the great friends you've always been. 

Makes sense.

All the very best on 7th Oct. Should be a fantastic night with so much emotion.

Dave

 

[SimonK]

1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:

 

We all wish that it was not so, but to carry on (in front of 'strange' crowds) would expose him to criticism (and possibly even ridicule) and that would be far worse. We will bow out on 7th October. More importantly, we are parting as chums.

 

 

An amicable band split - gave me an idea for a new thread: 

 

[Stub Mandrel]

2 hours ago, Steve Browning said:

Thanks again for the support people have given. This is a remarkable place - and this is demonstrated so often here.

 

G;ad a mutually OK route was found. I hope you are able to find a positive way to keep gigging.

[Steve Browning]

26 minutes ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

G;ad a mutually OK route was found. I hope you are able to find a positive way to keep gigging.

I fear he won't. It wouldn't be a good thing for him in any case. 

 

He has a degenerative condition and has already lasted almost 10 years beyond his initial prognosis. 

 

He has a new lady friend and they are enjoying getting out and about. His future is ultimately going to be horrible, so better he enjoys time with her. 

[Jackroadkill]

@Steve Browning That sounds like a good solution that will have the most positive effect on everyone concerned.  It's tricky breaking up a band but it sounds like you found the right way to go about it.

 

[Simon C]

Ours was a bit different for me in that I played guitar - 1st time ever in a band.  I was finding it a hassle to get guitar players when ours couldn’t do jam night, and thought bass players would be easier to sort out.  So I decided to learn to play properly.  So for the last year or so I’ve been doing on line guitar lessons.  This month’s jam night became the “well if you are going to play live, it’s now or give up” time.  It was much easier to get one of the bass players to fill in with us.

 

 It went pretty well.  A few bum notes, but probably of the “audience won’t have noticed” variety.  We screwed up “Don’t look back in anger” - the singer going to a 2nd chorus when it should have been the instrumental and me not sorting out how to fix it quickly enough.  I think if I were MD on bass it would have been unnoticeable to the audience, but on guitar I took me too long to get back to the chorus chords to think about where to go next and tell the rest of the band.  We managed to sort it and finish it ok. A learning / experience point.

 

We got good feedback from the audience.  So overall pretty happy with it.

[tauzero]

First time at the Crown in Rugeley last night. Car parking was rather random, there's a sort of car park at the back but it doesn't have any markings (or, indeed, tarmac) so cars just get dumped there in a haphazard way. The space was distinctly petite and bijou, so when the second guitarist arrived fashionably late there was nowhere for his cab so he went through the PA. TBH I'd prefer it if both guitars went through the PA but the singer/guitarist wants to use his cab. While we were setting up, before guitar 2 got there, one lad started chatting to the singer/guitarist - he'd got various guitars so they were comparing notes. A bit later, after I'd rigged the PA, a rather more elderly bassist came over to chat to me. Which was nice. Took until about halfway through the first set for more than very faint ripples of polite applause but once things started going, we got a much more positive reaction.