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I've played charity gigs for nowt and thoroughly enjoyed being part of them. I find that having some connection to the charity or knowing the organiser helps. In my last band we had a formula - everyone in the band gets to call one freebie per year, and this was usually a charity gig.

I'm neither jealous nor envious of other folk getting paid more than me whether it's a paid gig or a free one. I give my time and money when and where I want, and if I'm having a good time playing, and giving a good time to others, that's fine by me. For charity or not, I (and the band I have been playing in for the last decade or so...) neither want nor expect to be paid, whatever the event. It's just our way of thinking, that's all. Others do things differently, and that's fine too. Peace.

My first experience of playing live was at a blues jam, and it damn near put me off for life.

Pouring drinks is not the bar staff’s hobby, for 90% of bands playing music is. Working a bar is a PITA, playing a gig is a pleasure and sometimes a privilege. These are the criteria I use to decide 👍

I’ve done a couple of charity gigs recently for the Teenager Cancer Trust. The organisers, a mod/scooter club have asked in advance what our expenses will be and have also made sure we are well watered (beer or soft drinks), plus they provide PA & backline, which makes it much less of a faff. This is ok with me and we don’t have to do it of course. I think expecting folk to play for free, without some sort of expenses is taking the pee.

Mark

That seems to imply that we should feel guilty that we are not paid minimum wage and feel obliged to play for nothing. I am reasonably comfortably off and I don't object to playing the occasional charity gig, but, as I point out, I will not actually lose money. I could afford to throw in the cost of a few gallons of petrol, but I won't, because I am already giving my time and effort for nothing. I fell it's disrespectful to expect me to actually pay for the privilege of playing for free. That's just me, of course and YMMV.

I did have an acoustic double bass a while back but didn't gel with it sound wise or to play even after a setup and new strings and it sounded quite dull when amplified. So went for and eub which sounds and plays great. My tutor said it sounds like an amplified acoustic DB. It could probably do with a setup. The fingerboard is flatter than my old acoustic so not easy to use a bow.

The EE nerd in me wants to know, what does low impedance actually mean in this case? Congrats on finding success with the cloning. I have really enjoyed the builds you do that I've seen over the years.

Nah, wouldn't use one of me basses - it'd be a waste of a bass 🎸 The thought of headlining in the Sun would be too shameful to bear I'd rather join Trump's fan club (or would that be even worse 🤔) Perhaps I'll just try and moderate my GAS obsession. It'll be tough but promise I'll try

I started downsizing....on guitar amp. Would like to release a solo album, have lots of material to use.

Replacing regular ones with straplocks would be... Just use Grolschlocks, one free with every beer!

New strap button do sound a lot better.

Trash - Suede

The two are complimentary. Honest.

Will it be an upgrade?

I think we all have to make our own decisions on whether we do a charity gig. In response to the question about ‘are the bar staff doing it for free?’ I’d say that the majority of posters on this forum are in a much more secure financial position than the average bar worker.