As previously mentioned I've been mostly playing my acoustic guitar since the band project dried up. I've been keeping an eye on sites like musofinder and Bandmix for possible collaborations. With my general lack of time it would have to be something local and not require too much commitment.

I also subscribe to updates from the Lemonrock gigs listing site to see what's going on locally. I noticed there were 'Jam sessions' at a pub the other side of Hitchin. The listing said it was an Open-Mike, but I thought I'd have a look. I practiced a couple of songs and took my guitar along a just before Xmas. The pub is slightly off the beaten track down some tiny roads. It took me a while to found as I foolishly didn't use the sat-nav. When I got there I found the organiser Rick getting set up. He said it really was a jam session and to bring in my guitar. He plays ukulele, mandolin and violin. Other people turn up each week, mostly with guitars, but we've had banjos, saxophone and didgeridoo(!). The music varies between Irish and other folk tunes, sixties pop song, blues and other genres. I've done a few rock songs I know and people join in. Generally people have chord/lyric sheets that you can use or I just watch others for the changes. I've even been doing some singing. I'm not great, but I'd like to improve. There are other people in the pub, but I don't feel too self-conscious.

Some weeks are rehearsals for the pub 'band', the Ploughmen. I played at one of those where there were more songs I knew. It's all good practice, but I could do with improving my chord repertoire and technique. I'm looking around for a teacher to get some lessons. They are a friendly crowd with some good players, including a member (still) of the band Matchbox who had a hit in my youth and a director of a UK guitar company who plays a mean guitar and banjo.

I need to find some more songs to learn and share with them. I'm trying to find some that stretch me a bit. I did The Eagles' New Kid in Town this week and just about made it through after trying to throw in a few twiddly bits. Song suggestions are welcome. I try to practice a few times a week, but am also helping my son learn. His piece this week is Green Day's Good Riddance that I would like to play myself.

I've just splashed out on a few guitar accessories. I've had the same strings on my guitar for ages, so got some more sets. Although I have multiple devices to tune my guitar (in Zoom H4, Korg Pandora and Roland amp) I lacked something convenient for tuning the acoustic and so bought a Korg AW-2G. It's a very neat gadget and seems to work well. I used to have a Korg tuner years ago, but sold it when I didn't think I'd be playing much acoustic. This is better as you just clip it on and it picks up vibrations through the guitar. I bought from Strings Direct who got it to me today even though I only ordered yesterday afternoon.

Standard rambling introduction: I first heard Muse about 10 years ago when xfm were playing Muscle Museum and Unintended. I wrote them off initially as Radiohead imitators, but they have carved their own niche over the years. They remind me of bands like Queen who would produce mini operas with loud guitars. My other half is also a fan, along with a broad swathe of the general population. They can sell out large stadia in minutes.

This was my second gig at the O2, after Prince. This time our seats were in the upper levels. I'd heard that these were not good for vertigo sufferers and we happened to have one with us. She coped well, helped by having a seat with a barrier in front of it. We were at the far end from the stage. So a long way away, but at least we got the front-on view. The O2 facilities are pretty good. Loads of restaurants and bars. It's a long way from anything else, but the transport links are reasonable.

Support was by The Big Pink who I knew from their single Dominos. They reminded me a bit of Depeche Mode in their industrial phase. It was hard to make out any lyrics. They were a bit annoying in using really bright lights behind them that shone straight at us. Maybe they are just really ugly and don't want to be seen except in profile.

The stage set consisted of 3 huge towers that I thought initially were just backdrop. The muse set started with nothing else visible on the stage and the towers lit up like tower blocks and then video of people marching up stairs. Then the middle parts dropped away to expose the band up on these high platforms. Later they would drop down so they could use the whole stage, but went up again later. The drum kit would rotate at times. The band played a storming show with hits from across their career, including early song Unintended. The light show was amazing with green lasers filling the hall and lots of projection on the towers. I've seen a few bands not using conventional rectangular screens. It's visually interesting, but not so good for clearly seeing them. We had a good sing-along to the hits. Unlike the McFly gig I took my daughter to the sound was not deafening. The level was about right, but not enough to drown out the people who insisted on chatting all the time behind us. Can't they just enjoy the music?

Overall I thought it was a great show for a big venue. I still like to see a good band in a small hall, but my other half likes to see the big names. The next day Muse announced they are playing Wembley Stadium next September. I'm sure they can do that well as they did recently, but do I really want to go?

Due to train problems the rest of our group drove to Cockfosters and got the tube from there. We managed to get back there despite the band finishing at 11. It took a while to get onto the platform due to the huge crowd, but then it was an easy journey. I don't know what we would have done if we had missed the last train. From Cockfosters it was an easy drive on empty motorways to drop off one person at Luton then home to Arlesey by 1:45. Luckily I was able to have a lie in.

I'm pretty familiar with Steve's work, having seen him live a couple of times and having a few of his albums, but I knew less about Mr Manring (no, we wasn't in Dad's Army). I had heard that he was an iconic figure in the bass community (yes, there is such a thing). This blog post indicated he was something special, so when I heard they were playing together in London I reserved a ticket at Round Midnight.

The venue is a conveniently short walk from Kings Cross. I was surprised at how small it is and, unusually for a music venue, it is not in a basement and has windows to the street on two sides with late shoppers looking in. I settled with a beer and a burger on a cast-iron bar stool and waited for the music to start.

Steve was up first playing some of his tunes that I know and a Bruce Cockburn cover I didn't. It's amazing the textures that a single player can build up with skilful use of effects and loops. Then Michael joined him and they jammed for a while. It's mesmerising to see two top musicians playing like that. There didn't seem to be much eye contact, they just do it by ear.

After a break Michael returned to play his own music and it was amazing. There are some musicians who just seem to have complete mastery of their instrument to make it do whatever they like and he is one of them. The use of harmonics and his Hyperbass's levers to change tuning made for a unique sound. I know he played Selene and Helios. The latter was one of the most amazing performances I have witnessed.

The show ended with another duet and ended with the audience wanting more. Steve promised they would be back next year, but I think they might need a bigger venue.

Someone was videoing the show, and using some arty angles, so that may appear on-line at some point. Meanwhile, Benjamin Ellis has uploaded some great pictures and Steve posted some recordings of a previous gig that may give you a flavour of it.

I was thinking back to how I caught on to the whole solo bass scene. It started when someone lent me a crappy bass to see how I got on with it. I decided I want to stick with guitar, but whilst trying to learn some tunes I found various sites, such as TalkBass.com, and then found some podcasts by solo bass player Jeff Schmidt. I think it was via one of those that I found Steve Lawson and got to know him a bit through discussions on Twitter. He really like to engage with his audience and it obviously worked with me. I'm sure I'll be going to more of his shows.

It looks like my band may be on hold for a while as some people either have work commitments or want a break. That's a shame as I was looking forward to playing some gigs. I need to meet up with the others some time to discuss the options.

Meanwhile, I've been working on my little acoustic project by learning some more Pink Floyd songs. This has been done on my Dean Performer electro-acoustic. I've been looking up tab for the songs I want to play. The web is a great resource for this, even if the music companies are not so keen on it.

Other members of my family are also getting into guitar. My son is getting on well and my dad has just upgraded from a budget (Lidl) guitar to a better quality Yamaha classical. I'll have to check that one out. I wouldn't mind another classical as it would better suit that type of music. I've been digging out my old music books to play some of that.

I'm keeping an eye out for any possible musical collaborations. I just can't get into travelling too far to play given my limited spare time. So if anyone around Arlesey, Stotfold, Henlow or nearby wants to play some guitar for fun then I could be interested.

One of the things I love about the internet is how you can engage with people all over the world, including artists you admire. Some, such as bassist Steve Lawson, spend a lot of time talking to their fans on-line in order to build a more intimate relationship and mutual respect. It may not sell as many records as an expensive marketing campaign, but leads to a more loyal following and enhances the enjoyment of the music.

This week a post appeared on the Six String Bliss guitar forum linking to the latest creation by Jeffrey Jones. I commented that these instruments, whilst beautiful, seem beyond the reach of most musicians and that my own tastes are more for utilitarian musical tools. Today Jeffrey himself has responded to my comments with a lengthy post. I've responded to let him know that I appreciate his work even if it's not what I would necessarily buy myself even if I had the money. It's great to hear his side.

I aspire to having a guitar built to my own specification one day, once I figure out what that might be. You can pay an awful lot for an off the shelf guitar, e.g. the Gibson replica of Billy Gibbons' Les Paul. That seems destined for a collector's wall. For a fraction of that price there are plenty of luthiers who will build you a custom guitar. Gordon Smith, who built my main guitar, offer limited customisation options, but others can build almost anything you can imagine. Maybe in a few years I'll be a good enough player to justify splashing out.

I've not got together with the rest of The Barking Spiders since our open rehearsal performance due to holidays and other events. People have other commitments at the moment, so I don't know when we will next play together. Meanwhile I'm doing a fair bit of playing. I'm alternating between the band songs and some acoustic pieces for my own enjoyment. I've been working on a few of the classical pieces I played in my teens. I fancy the idea of collaborating with someone on some acoustic guitar work. This could incorporate any combination of classical, jazz, folk and perhaps some ideas I have for acoustic versions of classic prog tracks such as songs by King Crimson. This depends on finding someone and the time to work on it, but it's a possible path. Since joining the band I feel that more options are open to me. I intend to find a local teacher who can help me build the skills to develop those options.

I've now been playing with The Barking Spiders (previously Unforgiven) for about 8 months. We've built up a set list of about 20 covers, some more polished than others. We feel we're almost ready to play a gig now, so we need to start talking to some local venues. We decided it was about time that we invited in some friends to our rehearsal venue to hear us play and did so on Tuesday.

It was a small audience, though bigger than at some pub gigs I've been to, but was still a fun evening. We borrowed a PA system to make the vocals audible and proceeded to play through all our songs. There were a few mistakes, but the response was pretty good. This was the first time that my family had seen me with the band and they were impressed. They've been putting up with me going out most weeks to practice.

We won't get many sessions with the whole band over the next couple of months due to holidays, but we plan to learn some more songs anyway. So keep an eye out for gigs in the autumn.

I recorded most of the session, but need to sort out what is suitable for sharing with the world. Tracks may appear on our site or possibly elsewhere. We have a Facebook page, but I don't like the fact that only those registered with the site can see it properly. I'm looking at other options for getting us known. Suggestions welcome.

RotW used to be a free music festival based around Hitchin town centre using the church and various open spaces. As of last year it was moved to a private park and started charging as it was losing money. It's run by volunteers. I've been a few times and seem some cool acts. You don't get many big names, but then you are not paying much either. This year it cost £20 for a family of four per day, which is less than a single ticket at many festivals.

We were there yesterday, Saturday.Acts we saw included:

• Panda Police - Local teenage rock/pop band
• Oka Vanga - British guitar duo in a similar vein to Rodrigo y Gabriella. Bought their CD
• Rebel Control - Reggae
• Askew Sisters - Traditional folk duo
• Hjaltalin - Large Icelandic group that reminded me a little of Arcade Fire. Nice use of bassoon
• Toque Tambor - Local amateur samba group supplemented by singers, guitarists, dancers and a guy who did a nice line in tambourine juggling. Got everyone dancing
• Lol Coxhill - Very free jazz stylings
• Máire Ní Chathasaigh & Chris Newman - Stunning harp and guitar duo. Some of the best acoustic playing I've heard

There was lots more going on with six stages and the arena for sport and arts demonstrations. Lots of 'alternative' stalls. We had dinner (pancakes) near the Bubble Inc stall and were treated to some great bubble making. I'l like to have stayed to see John Otway, but we had to get the kids home.

The move to a non-free festival has the changed the nature of the event, but it's still a wonderful, family-friendly event.

The internet has become a great place for like-minded people to discuss whatever they are into, no matter how obscure the topic. I've used various forums to discuss A/V equipment, Linux and other subjects. Depending on how into that topic or if I need advice I may visit the forums infrequently or several times a day. My current obsession is improving my guitar playing.

I've been using Music Radar as a source of music news and they have a good forum with lots of guitar discussion. I managed to swap an old effects unit for a compressor pedal via their classifieds. I may use that again when I want to buy or sell again. To pass the time when driving to work I've been seeking out interesting podcasts. There are not too many about guitar playing. The most regular one I have found is Six String Bliss by a couple of guitarists in the US. They cover various news, talk about what they are doing and get some good interviews. They have a small, but dedicated following on their forums. Between them they have managed to put out several collections of music, generally covers. I've joined the forums and been made welcome. It's very low traffic compared to some of the big sites, but could be more fun.

There's an occaisional podcast at Boss. They have some good interviews that are not just about their products.

I seem to find several more guitar-related sites each week. There are many more forums, but I just can't take the time to look at more than a couple. There are also lots of on-line lessons in text, audio and video form. I like to run through some of these now and again to pick up some new ideas. I used to get that from the magazines, but rarely feel the need to buy them these days. I've got loads of sites bookmarked, but here are a few I visit regularly:

• I Heart Guitar - Lots of news, interviews and the odd silly video
• Ultimate Guitar - Some good articles, but a lot of content to sort through. Very busy forums
• Justin Guitar - Some good lessons
• Alltop - Guitar - One page with latest items from loads of sites
• Premier Guitar - A US print magazine that you can also read on-line

I'm interested in hearing about any other cool sites.

Talking of podcasts, I got a namecheck on the BBC World Service show that I've been listening to for years. They read out a comment I made on their Facebook group about early computer experiences. Not my first mention on the wireless, but it's fun to hear you name. Not quite as cool as my friend Simon who appears on Ray Davies' new album as part of the choir.

On Friday I got a message from my dad to ask if I was interested in seeing Eric Clapton at the Albert Hall the following night. His neighbour has a box and there was a seat going spare. I've been listening to Eric's music for many years and admire him as a guitarist, but was not really in the 'Clapton is God' camp. Still, I couldn't pass up this opportunity to see one of the greats in this iconic venue that I had not visited before.

The Albert Hall seems smaller in real life than it appears on TV. The box was opposite stage, but still not too far away. The support act was Arc Angels from Austin, Texas. Their blues-rock reminded me somewhat of Derek and the Dominoes with some nice slide playing. One of the guitarists is left-handed and they swapped guitars in the middle of one song just to show off a little. They were pretty good, but the sound was not quite good enough to make out the lyrics.

Eric took to the stage exactly on schedule with his band. I didn't recognise the first song, but it was followed by a series of classics from the Dominoes album, some Cream and solo pieces like I Shot the Sheriff and Cocaine. There was an acoustic set in the middle that included Layla. The encore was Crossroads and they left the stage to great applause, right on schedule.

Eric was a good as I would expect, mostly playing his trademark black Strat. He seemed to be using a tiny Fender amplifier sitting on the drum riser. Andy Fairweather-Low backed him up with some cool soloing himself. I was less impressed by all the keyboard solos from the two players. They got a bit repetitive. There were a series of door-sized screens behind the stage. These were used well on the acoustic set to show close-ups of the guitars, but were otherwise just distracting when just showing random patterns, presumably to set a mood.

The sound was pretty good. Better than for the support. The volume was about right. It doesn't have to be deafening as when I saw McFly with my daughter a couple of weeks back. The mood was pretty relaxed with the audience seated until the last song, but good applause and a fair bit of shouting, some by men professing their love for Eric. It was obviously a very well rehearsed show with little spontaneity. All very well done, but a bit lacking in emotional involvement. Clapton didn't say more than 'Thank you'.

It was only when we were leaving that someone noticed that the Duke of Kent was in the neighbouring royal box. I hope he and his family enjoyed it, but it didn't seem to hold the interest of two girls there who spent half the show taking pictures of themselves. I'll be back at the Albert Hall next month with my family to see The King and I.

I've owned a few guitar amplifiers since I bought my first electric guitar as a student. When I bought that guitar I also bought a small, but sturdily built 10W unit called a 'Black Box'. It looked like someone may have built it from a kit. It made a noise, but I'm not sure it was too impressive. Next I picked up something that I think was called a V Amp in an auction when the company went bust. It was big and loud, but never left the bedroom. I used those with my old Vantage Strat. Whilst living in Germany I bought a Peavey Backstage 110. This had some use at home, but also made appearances at some jam sessions. It came along to the audition for my current band, but was determined to be a bit weedy. It puts 65W through a 10" speaker, but just didn't seem to move enough air to cut through.

For a while I've been using various amps at the rehearsal studio including a Marshall Valvestate and some random transistor combo. The Marshall sounded good, but was a bit flakey, probably due to lots of abuse.

I started looking for a new amp. The choice is vast. In the £200-400 range there dozens to choose from ranging from basic transistor amps through to pure valves with hybrids and modelling amps in between. Some people are valve/tube purists and won't consider anything else. I was keeping my options open. Somewhere I read about the Roland Cube range that seemed to get good reviews as versatile gigging amps with good reliability. The Cube 60 looked like what I needed with a variety of amp models and some effects. I was all ready to buy one when Roland announced the Cube 80x at the NAMM show in January. As well as more power it introduced an extra preset lead channel and a looper. The former sounded useful for gigging and the latter just sounded like fun. From listening to people like Steve Lawson I've been intrigued by looping and have wanted to try it. The 80x was not due out until April, so I resigned myself to hanging on for that as it just seemed ideal for my needs.

Last week it finally arrived and I 'un-boxed' it at a rehearsal. It made a very good first impression with the volume and sound quality. This was mainly using the Marshall model, but I also used the clean channel. It's very intuitive to use as you just choose the model and then twiddle the knobs as you would on an analogue amp.

To use all the features you need up to six footswitches. Those available from Roland's Boss range are pretty expensive, so I thought I would make my own. I bought a metal case and some switches from Maplin. A couple of hours of drilling and soldering, then I had something. It didn't quite work. I think one of the plugs is faulty. I also found that the momentary switch used to start/stop the looper did not work very well. Eventually I realised this was due to it being a normally open rather than the required normally closed type. I'll have to go back to Maplin and pick one up. I still managed to have some fun, but had to hold the switch down and release it when I should have just been pressing it now and again. The looper is great for recording one or more rhythm parts and then soloing over it. I can imagine that it could be used in performance to allow one guitarist to cover multiple parts, with limitations. It's not as capable as some of the stand-alone units, but then the whole amp costs less than a lot of those. Considering you are getting a three channel amp with several effects, the looper and a tuner for around £300 it's a bargain. I'm sure the sounds will not meet everyone's standards, but I think it's going to be good enough for what I need right now.

There are some professional demos on-line by Johnny DeMarco (slightly hyper American) and Alex Hutchings (more laid-back Brit). I'm getting some issues at the moment with Youtube and other Flash-based sites getting stuttering sound. This could be related to my recent Kubuntu upgrade that ran a lot smoother than previous versions.