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IMO you are going about this all wrong. Start by getting some support slots at local gigs. Find similar sounding bands on social media, get in touch and ask for a support. For this you only need 25 minute's worth of original songs - no-one will want to listen to a band they have never heard of for longer than that. You'll need a demo to convince the bands you are contacting that you are worth bothering with so find a decent cheap local studio, book a day and get a good version of your best song recorded and mixed. It sounds like you have plenty of songs already written, so pick the best 25 minutes worth (plus one cover) and get practicing.

My band has been struggling to break into local venues and we played two gigs last year. By chance we got ourselves an agent (our guitard met her when seeing a band she represented at a local pub). We played a gig last week (arranged by her) where she saw us for the first time, and we now have eight gigs lined up so far this year. Although she is taking a small cut, she is arranging a fee that incudes her payment so there is no downside for us at all. Result!

I like this. I'm always looking for ways to lighten/carry less gear. Could be a good substitute for a couple of stands.

I know this sounds pretentious but I maintain the standard musical notation system is one of the pinnacles of human invention. Off to cook some quinoa now....

This is without a doubt the single most useful thing I have ever read upon this thing called 'the internet'. Have yourself a biscuit, sir. A choccy one. In foil.

Yeah, go on. GAS-filled minds need to know!

This evening I tapped out Beethoven's 'Fur Elise' on my scrotum with a teaspoon.

I once stood and watched a fantastic saxophonist stand under a bridge, here in Edinburgh, and play his heart out. He was so good that I went up to him and gave him a tenner. He looked at me and said 'I'm not busking, it's just that the reverb is really great under this bridge'. He didn't give me my tenner back though.

So... skimming through today's threads we learn that you're probably best off with an old Peavey TNT combo and a used Fender bass. Hooray! Ten years of membership to find the best gear was totally worth It!

Purely a personal observation, but it seems that the enthusiasm for 'boutique' basses expressed on this forum doesn't translate into mass sales. I would think that the number of players who equate 'bass guitar' with Fender must be in excess of 75% of all players of the instrument. In the real world, rather than the rarified atmosphere of a specialist forum, I have never heard any negative comments when I have turned up with a US Fender. They are an industry standard, and are likely to remain so for many years to come. Say what you like about more modern designs, technology, etc, the truth is most bass players regard a Fender bass as an essential tool if you expect to be taken seriously by anyone considering hiring you. A Fender bass will keep it's value far better than any beautifully crafted, hand made special, simply because they have such a wide appeal. Go ahead and tell me I'm talking out of my backside, but you won't change my opinion.

To be fair the revolutionary innovation happened years ago. I agree with you about the rut, but on the other hand when Fender do try something new everyone practically has a heart attack and demands they get back to their 'core values', i.e. more of the same.

I found some yellow LEDs lying around in my toolbox and was a bit bored this afternoon so.....

Well, last year I reached a bit of a milestone in work - 30 years! So to mark the occasion, in a moment of madness, I decided "to hell with it" and ordered myself a Limelight bass One of my fave colour combos (if not, my fave) is Fiesta Red, with rosewood board and tort plate (of course) Since having my old Squier P bass converted into a P/J, I've become a real fan of this pickup configuration A few years back, fellow South Walian pal FuNkShUi was selling a Limelight P, in Fiesta Red, and it had a Jazz style neck I tend to prefer Jazz width necks, or at least I don't mind P width necks.... but don't like them to be too deep.... So that was my order - a P/J Precision, fiesta red, with Jazz width nut. I missed out on FuNkShUi's bass back then, as I had to sell a bass before I could buy another A week later, the MM I was selling had sold (to another BC member) - but the Limelight had gone, and I had been kicking myself ever since Mark at Limelight has done a superb job. I asked him for a medium-light level of "distressing". I know not everyone is a fan of Relicing - I don't care.... it's MY bass I think it looks lovely. A quick noodle, and it feels amazing! Sounds lovely through my small practice amp too. Can't wait to plug it into a larger amp and crank the volume up Since the new CITES rules , Mark had a bit more trouble than usual sourcing the Rosewood fretboard neck - however, I wasn't in a huge rush, so I told Mark not to worry .... my new bass has been worth the wait. I'm a happy boy - but am currently in work, and can't wait to get home, to try my new bass (Pics courtesy of Mark at Limelight)

Hey everyone! I’m thinking about playing the bass again. Last time I’ve picked up a bass guitar was 10 years ago or so. I’ve played during high-school and most of my college years, but after graduation, first jobs, first kid... my bass guitar days were over. Over the last few years I haven’t heard anyone in the bass world that would really lift my spirits, until I’ve heard Thundercat (Stephen Bruner). Holy canoly, man! This guy - with my freakin’ age! - is the coolest bassist I’ve heard in a long, long time. Even his work as a sideman with Kendrick Lamar or Kamasi Washington is fantastic. So, here I am. Again. I don’t want to go into the GAS bandwagon all over again. I’ve had my fair share of bass guitars during my “heyday”, from Fender Jazz Basses (a MIM and an original 1976 USA), to a couple of Warwick Streamer Stage 1s and a couple of MusicMan Stingrays. Right now I don’t have any bass guitars or amps. I will need to buy everything from zero. Thing is, I want something different and unfortunately all music stores in my town are absolute crap. I will need some feedback regarding some stuff. I used to play 4 string basses but now I’m thinking about a 5 string. I’m not sure what type of music I want to play since all my chops are gone, yet I know I want a bass with a clean sound. I won’t be playing metal or heavy stuff for sure. But I’d say a bit of jazz to alternative to r&b. I also want a comfortable neck: the experience I had with a 5-string Warwick Streamer Stage 1 is that is was quite uncomfortable; also, my last bass - a Fender ’51 Precision Bass (reissue) - was the most uncomfortable neck ever. It just killed my hands and took away the joy I had to play the bass. I have absolutely zero knowledge about the following basses, so any feedback would be great. Oh, it is completely impossible for me to try any of them - terrible shops here. I will likely buy them through Thomann. What do you think of these 5-stringers? How would you compare them? Which would offer a better clean sound but at the same time most sonic possibilites? - Lakland 55-02 - Lakland 55-01 - Sandberg Classic - Sandberg Panther - Yamaha TRB1005 - Ibanez SR (one of the higher end models?) - Ibanez Bass Workshop Series!? - Warwick Corvette (ash) I know there are a few brands like Sandberg or Sadowsky that create “better than original” Jazz and Precision basses, but I must say I’m not a big fan of that. I’d just prefer to go the Fender route. Besides those basses the Fender Precision Bass (USA) is still - and always - an option. Also, whats the deal with Warwick these days? The German ones are crazy expensive (almost reaching Fodera prices!) and now they got GPS and RB!? Their lineup is quite weird… Any other alternatives will be great! Unfortunately, I cannot buy a Fodera Monarch or Emperor, haha! I really dig basses with crazy wood textures on the surface. _ Regarding amps, this will only be played in my home studio. So, no gigging ideas for now and I’ll just probably use some kind of hardware DAW to create all my music (thinking about the MPC Live). In here I prefer smaller combos, but I’m afraid to over simplify. So what about these two options: Option 1 - Markbass Micromark Option 2 - Aguilar Tone Hammer 350 + SL112 cabinet (or something even smaller!) Sorry for the long, long text and some confusion. Thank you for your help! See you!

I’d say yes, not Thomastik lowness, but certainly lower than most rw sets I’ve used.

I hear you, brother:

It was a few years ago but I remember them being lighter tension than Chromes, more like a roundwound tension.

I bought one of these after it was flagged up on here a while back. Lots of little partitions inside keeps it all neat. Not the best build quality but it seems ok so far and it is silly cheap! https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B012AVEOZI/ref=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_3p_dp_1

Me too & this looks great. Does it/could it cater for stacked rigs though or something like my setup here i.e. taller?

Well, I have room for eight, so it's more likely to go down than up. Can't see that happening anytime too soon though!

Chuck's long been one of my fave session players especially his work with Donald Byrd, pretty much all Dan albums and Quincy Jones.

Chuck is THE man!! Check out his discography. . . . http://www.chuckrainey.jp/disc/

Try fingering that bugger with a couple of shorts down you. Sounds like my mate back in the student days at The Limelight in Belfast on a Tuesday night

Yes indeed Lewis. But be warned.... you'll be emailing Mark with your specifications before you even get out of my place

Cheers for the comments guys I really am enjoying my new bass. I haven't gigged it yet But I'm really well pleased with the sound & tone from this lovely bass Having played with 3 Limelights previously, I was prepared for it to be an obviously well put-together, quality bass and I expected it to sound good - but it does sound fab... even better than I expected.... I wonder how much of that is down to the pickups, and how much is down to the quality & type of woods used? It's just such a warm, vintage tone - and the added bite of the bridge pickup just takes it to another level I'm really pleased with the pale, faded tint too. I had asked Mark for a more slightly faded Red, and he's delivered Looking again at it closely last night, the detail and cracks / ageing of the paint and neck varnish are just spot on too Well pleased with my new bass

A brick and mortar shop will only stay in business if it is fronting a successful online shop.

Wonderful! Enjoy your new bass Marc - it looks like a real beauty!

Interesting developments on this thread. I don't necessarily keep up-to-date with all the developments in the industry so, while I appreciate any company no matter its size could end up vulnerable, I didn't know Fender was particularly in trouble. It seems, instrument sales have gone up and up to the point of oversupply (when I was a kid, most people had 1 (bass) guitar, nowadays it seems most people have >1 guitar); and that Fender's breadth of range and prices thus far, have kept them reasonably competitive. I guess we in the UK are something of an anomoly partly due to the £ vs Euro/dollar rate influencing prices. Also I'd disassociate myself with any pro-Fender vs anti-Fender sentiments - I fully understand that different things appeal to different people. And I sense I'm not a typical buyer, having only really bought one bass in the past 30 years! My instinct is that there's a place for an original (and an original but updated) bass guitar line (and electric guitars too) because unlike "high tech" stuff (for example, cars, operating systems, etc) there is nothing massively wrong with the design, they "got it right".

I've got a bunch of aftermarket IRs Some are great some are shite. The downloads usually come with dozens of files so it's very easy to get ear fatigue auditioning them. And so far I haven't found a solitary IR (for guitar or bass) that I couldn't match with the onboard cabs. Then there's the OTB eq setting option instead of using any cab sim at all. That's pretty cool too.

UPDATE: Sent the lead back to OBBM. He has inspected it and has found that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. So I'm back to square one, there must be a fault somewhere but I still can't find it! The good news is that OBBM's 100% reputation remains pristine and I apologise profusely to him and all members here for even suggesting that there may have been something wrong with one of his cables!

Kinda summarises it perfectly! I remember the first gig where we had gone from a 30 minute 'beer money' set to a 2 hour 'properly paid' pub set and all of the above applied, a couple of years back. Our singer was such a bundle of nerves before the gig: easy to forget that, in terms of learning material, the words to the songs take a LOT more memory than bass riffs, chords or drum lines which are essentially repetitive; combine that with the fact the vocalists have to front the band and engage with the audience and you can understand her nerves. She was completely fine and never such a pre-gig wreck again! We ended up getting a residency at the venue which has been a mainstay for us ever since.

There’s a couple of Midwesterns on their Reverb store for $1750-$1850. Si Edit: TOO SLOOOWW lol

I'd have thought that the days "when bass players were generally the rumbling and inaudible poor relation of the band, plodding along in the background" were largely down to the amplifiers and speakers used back then, not the basses themselves. I play my Precisions through modern amps and cabs and they are far from rumbling or inaudible!

I think it's an excellent idea!

Just make sure you wash it before putting it back in the drawer (the spoon, that is)

One Control HGBM See if you can try out the One Control HGBM with your T-Bird? The one criticism (not mine btw!) that folk seem to have of the HGBM is a possible loss of low end, however there's actually a side dial accessed with a small Phillips screwdriver that increases the lows which I think some folk might not necessarily have come across. Besides, that should not be an issue for you with the T-Bird. The HGBM is both transparent and on the 'dirt spectrum': warm-valve-->overdrive-->distortion-->fuzz goes from warm valve to mild overdrive. I'd actually like it to be able to do even 'dirtier' but from what you've said, it could be perfect for you? For me the Mojomojo was great in not lot losing low end but it came with a trade off not being particularly present at the treble end. The HGBM is significantly better at the upper mid / treble range than the Mojomojo, but doesn't have the very high end fizziness that you will get in abundance on a Zoom B3n with most of its dirt sims (and I assume also its sister pedals) or on DG pedals or the Two Notes le Bass. Another solution would be a B3K or Two Notes le Bass with a LPF. I had the pleasant surprise of very recently discovering that the "Tone" control on my DG M900 Microtubes engine is in fact a variable LPF, which means that the B3K on my M900 is starting to be used a lot more by me (and why my TC Mojomojo has just been moved on). EDIT: caught up with @krispn after posting the above and both of us agree we're not sure where the concern about the HGBM losing low end is coming from. Certainly both our experience, each having lived with this pedal for several months, is that is not the case.

They're still not interested in it. No-one is.

Cheers guys. Yeah. Without doubt the white components are not the same colours but they look fine next to each other

That could work Marc - send the low bass DI int the PA, especially if you've got decent subs.

To keep a level head

Fender really need to start looking at what other builders are doing. The likes of Maruszczyk, Sandberg, Lull, Sadowsky, Moolon...the list of builders who seem to make better Fenders than Fender themselves at competitive price points is as long as my arm. There’s little incentive for many of us to buy a brand new Fender and the sale of used models obviously brings no new revenue in for the company. Out of interest, anyone know how Fender are doing, financially?

That's the thing with Fender, ain't it? No matter what they do, they're accused of being either too outlandish, or too dull...

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Ive found that a lot of the time if youre not lucky to find 4 driven musicians, you need one person leading or bossing the direction in order for things not to just fizzle out.

There's a very amusing video of Iron Maiden on a foreign TOTP-style program, where they consistently swap instruments and then the 'roadies' start to take parts of the drumkit away

I thought hey were brilliant, one of the best two fingers performances ever.

Not sure they're addictive - however if you can get on with them they're good. However, there are flat wounds and flat wounds - I was put off them when I bought some of a certain make and once fitted put me off playing the instrument largely because the string tension made it feel like arm wrestling. Probably OK if you're a double bass player wanting to play a bit of bass guitar. Since then I've found several types that I really get on with including TI, Roto Solo bass (actually not fully flat wound but half ground), EB group 3 and EB cobalt slinky flats. These all have one similarity - string tension more or less the same as round wounds. The cobalt flats are absolutely amazing and are permanently resident on my Stingray Fretless whilst TI flats are a current fixture on my Classic Stingray. Im not sure about wearing them in - the first set mentioned resulted in the bass not being used very much. Strings are such an important part of an instrument, I don't think anyone should have to compromise - choose strings that compliment and suit your playing - we are all different and one person's utopia is often another's anathema - including flat wounds - you have to remember flat wounds were really a thing of the 50s, 60s and to an extent, early 70s (when bass was not really heard that much in pre hi fi days - at least in the UK) - ok they are popular currently but it is largely a retro thing in my opinion. I personally love Pino's Precision sound with John Mayer using flat wounds - and am convinced Bernard Edwards used them on his Stingray for some of the famous stuff in the late 70s (based on flatwounds being the only way I can create his popped string sound on We Are Family plus Stingrays shipping with them till mid 78). However Pino is probably one of the world's best bass players - I am not and however much I aspire to play like him I probably won't and I doubt flatwounds would be that much help in me getting there anyway - it's more about technique, knowledge and feel.