Leaderboard

Adam Clayton managed two gigs in a row once without a new signature model for the third gig, does that count?

BOOM! Got the job!!!! Band is called Fraudio btw. Absolutely stoked and in need of a beer or two. Now begins the hard work!

There's an interesting point here imho. The op, and most of the discussion, is about musicians who have been good and successful all their lives - indeed, why should they stop if they're still good and successful? But @StringNavigator is talking about the joy of coming to it late, or at least taking it up seriously late, and finding that it still flies. In my case - as said before on other threads - I wanted more than anything to play bass when I was 14, and my mother beat it into my head that I never could. For 45 years I would go to gigs and glue my eyes and ears to the bass player and go home and cry because I wanted to play bass and I knew I never would. It wasn't until I was about to turn 60 that on one of those nights instead of crying I got angry - life is too short not to do the things you really want to! - and went out the next day and bought a guitar and soon after my first bass. Thursday night I played a fairly high standard local blues jam. The three other bass players there were all very experienced, semi-pro and much better than me. But dâmn it, for 20 minutes I pretty much nailed some simple but adequate basslines at high speed and high volume to a packed (small - maybe 70 people?) and very appreciative popular local music venue. Joy. I'm re-training at my own expense for a new career in mental health care, and I'm seriously looking forward to at least ten years work (I hope) doing that, but to be honest if I was to be offered the choice between that and ten years in a real gigging band I'd choose the band. I wrote a song for my first bass - I was drifting through life like I'd lost my way / Had no original words to say / Road was empty and the sky was grey / Praying Lord, get me home tonight I was drifting through daytimes, not even trying / Long bitter nights of drinking and crying / Cursing myself for wasting my time / Praying Lord, let me sleep at night Now I'm playing 12 bar blues on a 5 string bass / Finally know I've found my place / Electric adrenaline, state of grace / Singing Lord, let me play all night Blessing 🙂

It sounds like he is a control freak , if the band is a multiple album selling outfit earning you a great living, then he is also a great guy to play with , if you are pub covers band, he is a knob

Just start making suggestions to the guitarist about their tone and gain staging. Then after they have played their solo suggest that you don’t think their delay settings are quite right to accurately represent the song 😂

What music is your fave style? Find a scene of originals on that circuit, and get known. When we started our originals punk band our expectations weren`t that much at all, Tues night multi-band gigs playing to just the other bands, no money etc. Way different, there`s a good punk scene and we`ve managed to put out 3 albums, played 8 different countries so far (ok, England is one of them), done festivals etc. So find that scene, talk to the bands, keep an eye on them on Facebook, when an opening appears go for it. I`ve had more fun, and achieved more in this band than in all of my others put together.

Being "picky" about what you are willing to play is fine, but if you are sitting at home waiting for something "great" to turn up you're also getting rusty and dropping further to the back of other musicians memory banks. When playing you are meeting different players, you're networking, you're keeping match fit. There are possibilities you don't get with something like JMB. A band might be temporary and not your ultimate aim but IMO most playing is better than not playing at all and better opportunities present themselves when you are "out there" and part of a music "scene".

If you're playing in the band for fun, and it's stopped being fun, it's time to leave in my opinion. Life's too short. That's not to say you should bolt after one or two bad gigs or rehersals, but if it's become the norm, what are you getting out of it? If the band forms a significant part of your income, then that's a bit different...

The lead guitarist probably thinks that his is an important , integral part of the song...….he is wrong. I played in a band where the lead guitarist left and we just carried on playing gigs. We even carried on covering All Right Now...with no lead break. Nobody ever made any comment ...they just all sang along with the chorus as usual and we continued to get re-booked. In short…..ignore him.😜

I think the first thing to do is to tell the guitarist you're going to use your own judgement from now on when it comes to how the bass sounds, and let them pull faces. If they can't live with it then it's time to consider options.

At least the jack and lead will be protected and let's face it, if you're playing Jambalaya, Blanket on the Ground or something by Coldplay or Dire 'effin Straits then it can't be a bad thing eh?

We should start a thread to discuss the type of helix thread we would find most useful. "if you could only choose one Helix thread"

Many thanks for the podcasts guys, really enjoyed them. The Wal discussion has ramped my gas for another up to dangerous levels 😍

In essence: if your wireless charges through the jack socket and if your Preamp is wired at the socket to use a jack to switch it on and off in one specific way - there are other ways.. then: (actually the above picture is not representative - you just get an odd buzzing sound and no output but I couldn’t find a picture of that)

I do it because I've seen other bass players do it, and I think it will give the illusion that I'm quite professional. 😁

I always do it as I,m forever stepping on my lead. I always wrap the other end round the speaker handle too, just as a precaution.

Keith Richard's 'Micawber' Telecaster. https://www.fender.com/articles/gear/iconic-mods-the-legend-of-keith-richards-micawber

Sorry to perpetuate the OP's embarrassment, but I've just been directed here by a mod.

I forgot to add ...no problems

I bet you were playing 'Wooden it be Nice' at the time.

I would still talk it through as a first option. If that doesn't get anywhere then you can decide whether or not to leave. Alternatively you could try to drive your guitarist mad by replacing the strings in his packet of spares with cooked spaghetti or adjusting his guitar tuner up or down from concert pitch

Why is quitting the first advice that is always given in these threads. Is this guy the band leader? If he isn't then nicely tell him to stick it. If it is his band then the rules are different. I'd still try to negotiate the end of this micro managing, but either way you've got to come up with interesting parts that show you can be trusted to think for yourself. Quitting should only ever be a last resort and be way down the list.

Willie Nelson and his Martin?

Nile Rodgers' "hitmaker" Strat must be getting on a bit.

OK, I'll bite. The clip below is a video describing the patch I made up to perform sound on sound (Frippertronics). Made for the Floor but I'm sure it can be adapted for the other platforms. And the download on Customtone site. https://uk.line6.com/customtone/tone/4067668/

@KingPrawn, @CameronJ, @GisserD, @mingsta, @Bearfist, @CalDeep, @milford59 Gents - a number of practical and useful tips and suggestions starting to come out now that our pedals have landed. But I suspect these may get lost / be difficult to find in future if folk have to trawl to page 17+ to get to them? No desire to create duplication but would it be worth setting up a separate thread "Helix HX Stomp Owners Club - Tips & Ideas" to capture this stuff plus any patches that we're finding work particularly well? If you'd prefer to just run with this mega thread, that's fine by me too.

Put them in 20 or 30mins before you play, acclimatise to the volume drop! Louder things being ‘better’ is obviously just psychoacoustics. Si

Last night was a club held in a vegan cafe in Cleethorpes... Another enjoyable gig - modest, but enthusiastic audience. This is so much more rewarding than our previous Dog & Duck gigs. We've got a great rapport with Eliana and her band who are travelling with us, and hopefully we'll be doing some more work with her next year. We've now picked up some really nice support slots and festival dates care of the promoter, who not only likes our music, but also really appreciates our attitude. Two valuable lessons last night - Carry spares. My IEC for the Fender went missing at the Keighley gig - it is an unusual fitting, more like those used for high powered computer servers. Fortunately I have my Carvin with me. Second lesson learned, no. You don't need weight for great sound. Everyone agreed, the Carvin sounded different, but either felt it was as God or better than the Fender. Amps for sale section here I come!! Manchester tonight - Night & Day club.

Back in the BB gang. Keeping an eye out for older Japanese ones too, still want to replace my red BB300 which was my first proper working bass.

I bought a GT-1B about a month ago.... so I foolishly thought that I didn’t need a Stomp....... do you honestly think THAT stopped me buying one ? Of course not - I got the discounted deal from PMT Music and my Stomp arrived today....

[Long-winded old-man alert!] Reading this may alter your mind. "Retirement" is only a modern-day phenomenon. We've forgotten that in past centuries, people never retired. They belonged to guilds as shoemakers and blacksmiths, ...etc. When they became old and feeble, they simply cut back until they could no longer pass muster and hopefully, they were wise enough to save for their twilight years. Or successful enough for apprentices to take up the slack. Perhaps retirement was born as a military contractual benefit, to entice men to join such a thing. But, everyone else couldn't just stop working and "retire", as their work, proprietary profession and business was certainly their only means of livelihood. No cushy pension schemes. Life was short and brutal. Most people dropped dead on the job, before they could worry much about "retirement". You bopped till you dropped. Today, most of us work as employees for corps and gov't. Retirement schemes abound. Even doctors and lawyers are salaried, now. Of course, it's a ponzie scheme waiting to collapse as demographics invert. Hence, the big push for immigration. Soon, we'll all witness abrubt and impending retirement upheavals and the fallout of lowered expectations. If you can still command an audience, carry on. Back in the 1980s I watched Peter Noone (aged 71) performing Hermin's Hermits songs for twenty-five people in an open-air park at the CNE fair in Toronto. While sitting on a park bench, I had to wonder how this could be. But I was still young. You're all in for a surprise at 52. That's when you find out how stupid you really are. Things get better after that. By the way, he's still performing. I'm 64 and have long moonlighted as a BP. I have no intention of working the careers that I chose to raise a family and earn a living. But last week I joined a bar band. Why? Because bass playing is my passion. Knocking those four strings about makes me feel like I'm flying. I know that I'm a denizen of the far tail on the BP bell curve and can shake a dance-floor better than most. So why not? (I'd rather recline, drink coffee and watch House MD, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Law & Order and Tommy Cooper; but I seen 'em already. Besides, the actors are really the ones having all the fun. A bar band provides human interaction on a grand scale.) Why is age a factor? Is it youth that is the real commodity? Do you go to a concert to see youth or hear music? Dancer or lurker? That's the part that makes no sense. Mass youth was simply a property of the post-war baby-boom. It's not a religion. Why would anyone seek after a youthful face when they really just want musical entertainment. It's not a romp in a cat-house. It's only entertainment for bar hoppers and pub punters to immerse themselves in a joyful noise and dimness so they feel more secure as they seek a buzz or a mate or give the baggage a good shake in public. Those who like music based on the Fender bass have grown-up and aged. But they still like this music. Look at the Stones. Look at their audience. The sixties was not just a youth rebellion. Most of us were not rebelling. We just liked to hear the drum kits, the Fender basses, the 'lectric guitars, and the vocalists with colourful voices and magical, meaningful lyrics. Trump is 71. Merkle is ? McCartney? Richards? I'd bet that even Elvis would still be gyrating today at 83. Why do they do it, the OP asks? Because there is a public need... Because passion rivals money... Because they can... and they're good at it! Satisfaction trumps waiting to die. Live the life you love... till it's time to die. Let's not call it a disorder. It's a blessing.

I have one on each wrist, one on each ankle and one on my cóck. And another one up my àrse!

I must be double-pro then, as I wear two (one on each wrist, two on one wrist would just be eccentric).

10 holes and only 2 screws. Just like my last visit to a swingers club. Looks very nice though.

Those moments when you get a roar of appreciation from the crowd as they recognise the next song from the first two or three notes - that feels so good.

'RollingStone Syndrome'?

It is all clearly explained in this video, with graphs etc

I heard a couple of those on 6Music a little while ago @darkandrew - I was blown away with how good they sounded.

Prince played his Hohner Tele for over 3 decades. Not continuously of course!

G4m showing delivery end of February.

Builders wipes will shift just about any grime ,I definitely wouldn’t get the neck and fingerboard tooo wet , it may twist or bow , as Norris says ,Damp , cloth and dry off immediately using an old t shirt 😀

Because every block is affected by the blocks before it, think about what each block brings to a sound. For instance if you put a compressor before an autowah, it wouldn’t work well, but the other way round is fine etc

Last night was brilliant, our singer's been away for a few weeks so we were all looking forward to getting back to it. It was an office Christmas party in the function room of a pub, so a decent sized crowd who were up and dancing from the start We played great, the guys were commented on how much they liked my playing, the singer's new 15" tops and Behringer wireless mixer worked really well and the crowd were enthusiastic and very happy at the end of the night - can't ask for a lot more than that.

Doesn’t stop the sudden lack of bass guitar for the audience though (actually promotes it)?! 🙂 Quite like the idea of booby trapping the guitarists rig with one though

As suggested above, new songs in genres that are not what you normally play. Another idea would be try 5 or even 6 string bass or fretless if you haven't played them. When I switched from EB to EUB and then to DB I had to learn a whole lot about bass playing and have become a much better and much more confident bass player and I am playing things that for years I thought were way beyond my ability.I should add that I started on EUB about four years ago and bought a DB this year after many years of playing guitar and the last 30 years gigging on bass. I am 72 and having a blast learning all sorts of new material and techniques and playing in two gigging bands playing jazz standards with very good musicians and that has forced me to up my game.

Probably worth taking the strings off, removing the truss rod nut, grease the internal threads with some vaseline or machinist wax and either move to low tension strings or round core strings. - That is if you want the bass to serve you well for the next however many years & to keep it within adjustment. Dunlops may be worth looking into, if not I’d recommend Tapewounds/Low tension flexible flats from La Bella, if rounds are your thing DR do some great Round core low tension rounds. Hex core strings like D’addario, Ernie Ball etc always tend to be quite a tension on the neck, especially with 5 and 6 string basses. This has always been a problem to me, which is why nowadays I won’t buy a bass without neck reinforcements, because the amount of tension on a bass neck determined not only by string gauge but the core & materials can be a massive strain on the wood, especially when travelling and leaving your bass in tune. Id recommend to keep your Maruszczyk in tip top service moving to something lower tension, not necessarily a lower gauge 😊

Ooh thanks for letting me know....I have just sent you an order.😉😂