Please note that the MOT gig due to take place on Saturday 1st May at The Middlesex Arms has been CANCELLED ! … Also, please ignore the listing showing an MOT gig on 27th April -This has been listed in error.  Apologies !    See you soon,   BFN,  Rob.    ps. I’m solo at The Barley Mow tonight. Hope to see you there !

Having recently bought a new Multi FX, I thought I’d share my views on this new piece of kit to all you guitarists out there who may be interested in such things. So here’s ‘Rob’s Review’ of the Boss ME-20 Multi FX.

My new Boss ME-20

Aimed primarily at the gigging guitarist, the Boss ME-20 has all the basic sounds you need : Overdrives / Distortions / Chorus / Flanger / Phaser / Reverb / Delay and more. It doesn’t have any amp modelling or the whackier effects you may want to use or experiment with in a studio environment, although tinkering with the four parameter knobs can still dial up some unusual sounds. These four knobs give very sensitive and wide ranging alterations to all the effects and the EQ in particular contributes to the ME-20s overall power output which is pretty punchy – mind your speakers !Because of the way the knobs work, I’d strongly recommend good old pen and paper to note down all the parameters. EZ Edit gives another variation in sound tweaking. The effects sounds themselves are what you’d expect from Boss – top notch !

What else ? Well there’s a Solo button that gives a handy boost to the OD/DS function – ideal for solos – obviously !  The Noise Suppressor is very effective and there’s an independent master volume too, while the foot pedal doubles as a volume or a wah. And there’s the convenience of an onboard tuner ! The memory mode allows easy storage of sound combinations onto 30 patches arranged in 10 banks of three and the patches can be easily tweaked in Edit/ Exit mode. Footswitches can be used to control the solo and bank up & down functions, but these are available as separate purchases as is the PSU. The ME-20 also runs on batteries and they last for a surprisingly long time.

My poor old Boss ME-10

In conclusion : Having recently lost my beloved Boss ME-10 due to old age, I was faced with trying to replace the holy grail of multi FX units with a present day equivalent with similar attributes, ie. an easy to use multi FX ideal for gigging with great staple sounds. Well, with the Boss ME-20, I think I’ve found it !

As I said earlier, the PSU is a separate purchase, and as running your gigging effect pedals on batteries isn’t an ideal situation, I of course bought a Boss PSU-230 to power my new ME-20 multi FX.
The Boss PSA-230 power adaptor is designed to power all the current range of Boss FX. Having bought one to power my latest aquisition, the Boss ME-20 multi FX, it definitely does what it says on the box. It has a very useful green indicator light on it too, so you can see when it’s on ! Call me old fashioned, but my only gripe with this, and indeed all modern PSUs, is that the mains cable looks rather flimsy. But I guess that’s how they make ’em these days !

Oh well, thats the end of my reviews for now. I hope the above is of some interest, especially if you happen to be looking for new multi FX unit. As you can probably tell, I’m very pleased with my new piece of gear and would recommend it to anyone. That’s praise indeed from someone whose old friend, the Boss ME-10, was a faithful friend for many years !

BFN,   Rob.

Hot off the press … gig photos discovered ! !  With the new series of Doctor Who under way on the good old BBC, I too have been going back in time, delving deep into the archives of my sizeable collection of photos and what should I stumble upon but a series of photos which, to date, have never seen the light of day  … until now !

'Masquerade' on Horsenden Hill, 1999

So, when you eagerly click on Photos & Videos in order to experience these wonderfully rejuvenated stills from yesteryear, what will you find ? Well these never-published-before gig photos were taken on 4th July 1999 and feature ‘Masquerade’ playing the Ealing Countryside Day on Horsenden Hill, Greenford. The ( then ) annual event always had a tent featuring a live band and on a very warm Sunday afternoon, the passing crowds were treated to some ‘Masquerade’ classics.

The line up of this fairly short-lived band was : Me ( Guitar & Vocals ), Mark Chudley ( Guitar & Vocals ), Viv Broughton ( Bass ) and Carl Horner ( Drums ).

Hope you enjoy the photos.  I must go through the old snaps again soon.   BFN,  Rob.

ps. Dont forget ( coming bang up-to-date ) : I’ll be appearing at The Barley Mow, Shepperton on the next two Fridays.  Hope to see you there –  Cheers !

The Barley Mow, Shepperton

Looks like I’ll be spending my Friday nights at The Barley Mow in the coming month.

I’ll be playing three gigs in April :  2nd (Good Friday) / 16th / 23rd (St.George’s Day)

See the ‘Gigs’ page for more details.

… plus … Ed Hamilton will be playing there on 9th and 30th and in all probability,  I’ll be there to see him play too !

So it looks like The Barley Mow in Shepperton will be the place to be  – Every Friday night in April.   I look forward to seeing you there.     BFN,  Rob.

Rob at ELTC

Thanks to everyone who came along to Ealing Lawn Tennis Club on Friday night. ELTC isn’t a place I’d played before and I found the surroundings very pleasant. There was a small but appreciative audience and I hope everyone there was suitably entertained. Thanks also to Richard for keeping Rosie company, to Simon who got me the gig in the first place and to Linda who made us feel welcome, and not forgetting Mark who did the Roadie bit at the end, helping us out with my gear !

Hopefully I will make a return appearance in the not too distant future.

BFN,   Rob.

Rob - February gigs

Here we are in February already and I’ve got three gigs lined up !  Two of these are Rob ‘Live’ solo gigs and the other one is a duo with John Heywood.

Make a note in your diaries !

Friday 12th February – Rob ‘Live’ – The Barley Mow, Shepperton

Saturday 20th February – Duo – The Crown, Farnham Royal

Friday 26th February – Rob ‘Live’ – Ealing Lawn Tennis Club

See the ‘Gigs’ page for more details !

Everyone’s welcome to all of these gigs, so hope to see you at one of them soon.

BFN,  Rob.

Forthcoming Rob ‘Live’ Gig … A date for your diaries … get the indelible pens out !

Rob - Repeat gig at The Barley Mow

I will be doing a solo gig on :

Friday 29th January 2010

at The Barley Mow, Watersplash Lane, Shepperton …

… * plus … Don’t miss Ed Hamilton performing at The Barley Mow this coming Friday 22nd January 2010*

With the Christmas / New Year break, followed by downfalls of snow and baltic temperatures, I have recently resorted to a sort of pipe and slippers by the fireside kind of existance. But, all that is no more … banished to ancient history … a thing of the past … gone !   Now that the snow and ice have subsided, for the time being at least, I’ve taken it upon myself to venture out over the past few days, visiting various locations of musical notoriety.

Thursday night I was at The Middlesex Arms for Jam Night. I missed the first one of the year on the 7th January due to the weather conditions referred to above !  It was good to get back into it again !

Then on Friday night, I popped into the Barley Mow, Shepperton to see Ed Hamilton entertaining the locals – Another most enjoyable set from Ed, as you would expect !  Ed is a regular Friday night performer at The Barley Mow, so go and see him !

'MOT' at The Eastcote - Jan 2010

Last night ( Saturday ) ‘MOT’ took to the stage once again in front of a rauchus but appreciative audience at The Eastcote in South Harrow. This particular line up comprised Me, Lenny, and Marco on guitars, Dave on bass, and Rudi on drums. As usual, Me and Marco handled the vocals with Dave adding some welcome backing to the proceedings. It all seemed to go down well with the enthusiastic pop pickers. You can see the gig photos by clicking on Photos & Videos above. Hope you like them !

And now, a new gig for you all to scrawl indelibly into your diaries – I’m looking forward to Friday 29th January when I will be doing another solo gig, at The Barley Mow in Shepperton, no less, making another return visit.  It would be great to see as many of you there as possible.

See you soon,  BFN,   Rob.

Rob 'Live'

With Christmas and the New Year fast disappearing into the distant past, it’s time to look at what’s happening in January.

Dates for your diary :

Thursday 7th – Jam Night – The first one of the New Year at The Middlesex Arms

Friday 8th – Rob ‘Live’ – A solo gig at The Barley Mow, Shepperton

Saturday 16th – ‘MOT’ – A gig at The Eastcote, South Harrow

Happy New Year  and hope to see you soon !   BFN, Rob.

"It's Christmas !"

In the words of Noddy Holder …

… ” It’s Christmas ! “

Have a very Merry Christmas

and a Happy New Year.