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A party/cover band I was in built on 80% personal relations and 20% musicality and capability. Drummer with no sense of time, a bass player who followed the singer instead of the drummer a keyboard player who used much prescence nagging about the unsteady beat and time feel, unstable singers. One band member did printed arrangements of all songs to everyone to make sure we were all "on the same page". There seemed to be a rule that every song should have at least one guitar solo and most songs were transposed constantly to accommodate the tonal range of the singers. Still, after 30+ years, the bass player claims being unable to hear the bassline of the original track. Despite the written arrangements the songs were always sounded different from time to time. On stage most had a sturdy black note stand with the printed arrangement in front of them, which - together with stage monitors, light stands and front speaker stands - sort of made a black wall between us and the audience. Supported a bit by the access to printed arrangements nobody cared to memorise the songs, meaning that most of us were staring at the printed arrangement meaning a loss of contact to the audience. Despite that we did get 2-4 quite successful gigs in the best years. We did change many of the songs by simplifying parts that we could not play.

Well, us oldies feel the cold!

Yeah you're right on all that. I ended up buying a CK 61 and owned it for 18 months, I thought it was great in almost every way. The main drawbacks for me were I've started doing formal piano lessons/grades and 61 keys isn't ideal for that, and I did notice the slightly narrower keys becoming a bit of an issue when practicing on a piano and then the CK 61. ....so I sold it last month and I've now gone for a Viscount Legend One 73 key which is an upgrade in almost every way - but it costs double the CK 61 and is bigger and heavier so perhaps not so good for grotty pub gigs.

The Blackstar Fly 3 is the safest option in the £40 price range.

The JB-2 is an interesting choice because it sits right at the intersection of affordability, ease of modification, decent quality, and attractive design, which is why many long-time bass enthusiasts still appreciate it despite not being as famous as Fender or Squier.

Oops, already done

Just like a good bassist 👍

I think Rean are made for Neutric anyway. Legally you need to give the retailer a chnce to repair faulty goods and if Andertons are offering a courtesy cab/PA then I think they are playing fair. Hope you sort the problem, not one I've come across before.

The CK61 is a very reasonable choice for pub/bar performances: lightweight, compact, quick to start up, good enough piano/EP/organ sounds, intuitive interface, multiple connection ports, easy split/layer, and priced right within your desired £750 range. The biggest drawback is the smaller-than-standard piano keys, which can feel strange when switching between keyboards, but at this price point, there are almost no other keyboards that are both fully featured, lightweight, and have larger keys. Therefore, the CK61 remains the most suitable choice for your performance needs.

The gear was interesting on that video, but the bass faces were hilarious!

I'm the newbie and there's quite a few things above that on the list of things to be having chats about that will refine the set. Things are really positive and moving forward, I need to be selective and focus. I feel your pain, I was going to ask if these are ongoing issues or whether you've joined a band who have been cheerfully getting it wrong for years but I think I know the answer. This is the years of playing together with mistakes accumulating and nobody listening to the originals. Youve probably got a guitarist (usually the guitarist) who thinks learning a song is just knowing the chords to verse and chorus. I reckon a lot of these 'simplifications' are down to a rehearsal 20 years ago where someone turned up under prepared and blagged their way through it and blagged their way through the song covering up their lack of preparation by convincing the rest of the band that 'this is better'. However you are being the grow up. The audience are probably not noticing and having a good time and I'd settle for some nice people and regular gigs over arguing an ending or guitar solo. Well I would nowadays

Hi Chaz, from what you've introduced yourself, you sound like a real multi-talented person. Someone who plays bass with Sterling Ray4s, owns a six-string guitar, co-founded a chili sauce brand, and even made it onto Masterchef – that's a really interesting combination!

The Brady Bunch - Peppermint Trolley Company

Morning everyone, It's 365 days since Nick passed. I wanted to share my favourite photo of him and thank you all for your support in 2025. He gave us 19710 days of LOVE, LAUGHS and RIFFS ... Shine on brother 💫🎸😇💚🤟

It’s polyurethane sprayed on.