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Years ago, I was doing this regular Sunday lunchtime residency thing at a pub in Hackney. Let me cover the specifics; we're set up in the corner of the pub (The Cat and Mutton), three piece band, I'm sitting on a barstool, playing root notes doing covers (shudder), a 90 minute set in exchange for money, beer and a free lunch. One Sunday, there was some jostling at the bar over chicken wings and a fight breaks out. Now when I say fight, I mean a fight. It seemed the pub was full of two factions, both of whom were just itching to get it on and I'd say the place literally erupted and 90% of the clientele were punching the crap out of each other. Furniture is flying, people are on the floor hitting each other, glasses flying. It was like a brawl out of a cowboy film. Anyhow, let's get back on point. We're still playing. I'm laughing at the incredulity of what is going on, when I stand up and push my stool back closer to my amp to give the fight more room to breathe and from a selfish perspective, to offer protection for my gear. At this point, a bloke comes over to me and shouts, 'Excuse me mate, are you using that stool?' I just do this shrug and nod thing, he picks the stool up, runs into the melee and breaks it over someone. So there you are. The most ridiculous thing I've been asked is whether I was still using a stool.

Best one I heard about was Nick Fyffe when he auditioned for bass role in Jamiroquai. He had also auditioned for the same position in a Jamiroquai tribute band. On the day he got the job with Jamiroquai, he drove home from Jay Kay's place. When he got back there was a voice message on his home phone from the Jamiroquai tribute band, saying that they'd passed on him as they didn't think he was the right man for the job!!

Oi! I'll not sit silent while there is any hint of Tina bashing here. She's fine by me. I was interested to hear a bit more about her and less about David Byrne or Chris Frantz. What happened to Tina was a bit like what happened to me in Dublin at the time. I was pulled into a band before I knew it was something I'd enjoy by friends who needed a bassist. Behave yourself or I'll have her go all Mrs T on you.

That's subtle but very telling criticism.

Indeed not, because you and your ensemble have collectively, consciously and deliberately re-arranged the songs as opposed to the situation where nobody knows how the song goes and everybody tries to follow a guitarist who can't remember the chords. I mean, sweet Jeebus, this 'what comes next?' thing even happened to me in a bass / acoustic guitar / voice trio. In a band where there were only two instrumentalists (him and me) the guitard played each song differently every time which seriously screwed the singer because she was reading the lyrics off her phone. That one ended when I screamed at the guitard: 'Will you please make your f**king mind up what chords you're going to play and in which order?' and he replied 'I can play it alright on my mandolin'.

Drunk audiences can tolerate almost anything, it's true. But I don't agree about the "covers should be different". They CAN be different, and that's great when done well. However most people I hear saying "the cover should be different" or "we play our own version" really what they're doing is saying those words to justify their being lazy. I'm not saying that's what your attitude is, since I don't know you just stating my experiences

We all appreciate that (most) audiences can be indifferent to musical nuances within songs. It’s already been stated that a basic chord progression and vocal that resembles what they know will moe often than not suffice for having ‘a good time’. For me though it comes down to personal pride in what I do. I will try to learn from the originals as accurately as my abilities will allow and this always seems to be appreciated by my band mates. Hopefully that attitude has impacted their own attitude to learning new stuff over the years too. Although most of our recent issues have been down to the vocalists conveniently forgetting that they were supposed to learn the song... Whether the punters ever notice, most likely not. But if it’s worth doing then it’s worth doing well. Otherwise you might as well not bother in my opinion.

I just though it was great for the general public to have a little insight into what we do and it's importance in the music we play, rather than just thinking it's an easier version of a guitar. All this grumbling about not focusing on certain basses, I can't remember the drum programme focusing on any specific model of drum and yet the consensus seems to be that most enjoyed it more. Oddly, or maybe not, our drummer said last night that he enjoyed the bass one more than drum one. Maybe we're so into bass that a one hour programme will never include everything we feel important, but I reckon there was enough in it for non bassist to enjoy without feeling like they're watching a nerdy documentary for sad muso's. Anything that gets ordinary folks a little more interested in my passion is a good thing and if I need a far more in depth and drawn out history of bass, whether guitar, voice, brass, synth or whatever then there's plenty more for me on other Internet platforms.

On a cruise that's probably good advice.

I'm currently learning a bunch of songs for an upcoming audition and have (so far) been impressed by the attention to detail. MP3 recordings of the band playing their arrangements, a breakdown of the structure they follow and, in a few cases, the previous bass player's own handwritten tab. Very professional and making me feel very concerned that I'll be way out of my league! As far as the original post is concerned, unless it's a tribute band, I don't mind too much if the band changes the arrangement - even the original artists will often change the way they play things - but there is a "minimum standard" that should be achieved if you're going to play it in public and hope that people will pay you to do so. Rather, my biggest bugbear is learning a particular version of a song to be told "oh, we play such-a-bodies version" or "we do the version from their live album with the extended bridge section".

There was a pub we used to play regularly and there was a fight of some description just about every time we played. We used to launch into Eye of the Tiger whenever we saw one start.

Whilst this is undoubtedly true of some (many..?) there are those that are passionate about Music, of whatever genre, and are willing, even eager, to at least give an honest chance to unknown stuff. Many of these folks are musicians, and will willingly play in a variety of styles. Not all, it's true but it's not at all rare, either. Just my tuppence-worth.

In the days when I still auditioned for covers bands I'd ask for the set list, the keys, which versions of songs (if applicable). I'd get the details, learn the songs, turn up and encounter exactly what the OP describes. So I started asking people in advance whether they did the songs as per the original arrangements or not. If 'as original', I'd learn the songs. If not, I'd tip up and busk the audition. The only problem was they'd all tell me they played the original versions when - in fact - they didn't. Because these people literally could not perceive any difference between the original and the half-arrsed racket they played. It wasn't that they'd deliberately rearranged the songs - they'd just never bothered to sit and listen to the songs from beginning to end, or to make notes and agree a structure and stick to it. This - along with the usual vortex of lies, madness and egotism - is why I f**king hate amateur bands.

Valves are voltage amplifiers, unlike transistors, that are current amplifiers. What this means in practice, that when you take a small signal of a bass and amplify it a lot with transistors, you end up with a low voltage and a hell of a lot of current, which is luckily what you need to put in a speaker. With valves on the other hand, you end up with not much current and a very high voltage, which is not what you can put in a speaker, so you need an output transformer to take it down to the sort of voltage and current you can put in a speaker, which obviously has to handle the full current of the output you want (and get rid of the heat). As you need a transformer to get the power for the amplifier in the first place it means you need two large transformers in a valve amp, which by their very nature are pretty heavy. And then you obviously are going to need a big bit of metal to mount them on.

I can sing. I can play. Although much improvement is needed on both, I feel I am getting closer and closer to doing both together one day. I'd love to carry it off well though. One of the things that is pushing me towards that goal is that I can't get to jam these days. It strikes me that I should use the time I have on my hands at home to get ready to solo at an OM when I can get out and about again. Gawd help the lot of you!

https://funkatopia.com/funk-music-reviews/20-best-funk-albums-of-2018/ I'm looking forward to working through these.

TBPH, I stuck with it for a few rehearsals because the singer had a great voice and I was (in an act of characteristic treachery) lining someone up to replace the guitarist. Then I discovered the singer didn't want to gig so there was no longer any point in concealing my displeasure.

I know what you mean mate, but it's not always being lazy when you change a song. You can change a song to make it more palatable to your target audience. Taking out a tedious passage or cutting short long outros etc, etc.

Bit late to the party, but this is my Lakland 4.94, hand built by Ed Reynolds in Chicago in 2004. It has a chambered body, birdseye maple neck and '65 Jazz pick up in the neck position. Love it. It plays itself!

Its nice to see that manners still exist in the middle of a fight though!

our guitarist plays 'his version' of some songs, I don't mind if it's the solo but he insisted on playing the repetitive question and answer bit on Whole Lotta Rosie four different ways, when I pointed out that this was such a well known part of the song people think he just can't play it right (which he can) he threw his toys out of the pram and refused to play it ever again, must be terrible to have such a low self esteem

Worst of all no mention of heft 😔

Played the Hard rock cafe in Glasgow last night. First time in there and the staff and the promoters, Shock city, looked after us very well. Free soft drinks, a meal, great sound guy and the place was full. Only drawback is it`s in the pedestrian part of the town and there is no back way in so we had to park the car and move the gear with hand barrows. And the parking is a nightmare. But you have to expect that in the middle of the city. Used my new Sandberg and was well impressed. This was our first gig for the promoters and they were so happy they payed us an extra £100!! And they will get us more and bigger gigs in the future.

I once learned 30 songs in a week in preparation for auditioning with a Jam tribute outfit whose bassist was leaving. On the Saturday night before audition week I went to see them play in a bar just to check them out. The band's arrangements were spot on to the originals, no problem there Unfortunately the 'Weller' could neither sing in tune nor play anything beyond the most basic chords nor enthuse the audience. The only thing he got right was Weller's driven charmless-ness.

Also, online tabs have a lot to answer for. Especially guitar tabs

Is that a modern version of the expression 'Get on your bike'..?

Ken Smith was the first to develop a 6-string bass suitable for playing ... Before, Carl Thompson tried it with little success. Then the others came ... Here is the story ...... ARTICLE-SMITH-BASS-by-José-Luis-Porras.pdf

Yep that's the tricky part playing that A. Took me ages to get that right by watching VID clips of Andy Fraser playing it. I just knew i was missing something until i saw him actually play it slowly on a documentary clip. He had a similar technique to Jack Bruce using fingers and thumb. Hugely talented bass player and songwriter. Dave

Which begs the retort: 'You can play it alright on your own, then..!'

Leave the neck white + where it is and the bridge black where it is. Take the neck black off and the bridge white off, join them together and tape up. Job done.

Managed to find some time to put the Beyma 212 into the cab and have a quick play today. First impressions are very favorable as it sounds fantastic to my ears in the confines of my house. The acid test is to use it with the band. If we have a rehearsal soon I’ll try it out then. Unfortunately though the rest of the band don’t like reheasals much, preferring to just turn up and play! Having turned the volume up as far as I dare, my feeling is that it won’t go loud enough for a gig with my amp as it’s 200w into 8ohm so I’m planning on building another cab... or getting someone else to do it as I have pretty much zero skills and equipment. I haven’t yet done a side by side comparison with my Ampeg 4x10 but from memory this cab sounds a bit ballsier. Can’t describe it any better than that. I was also surprised at the amount of top end it has, not having a tweeter like my 4x10. So for my use it won’t need one which is a relief as I won’t need to get drilling! I’ve ordered a grill as well, so all will be sorted when that arrives. Many thanks for the generous gift Phil, I really appreciate it and Will enjoy using it in the months/years to come. Just need to get a second one sorted out now! I’ll post another photo when the grill is fitted.

No problem - peak and longer horn it is then, you naughty thing

Right! You lot just sit around. I'll do it...

https://reverb.com/news/jaco-pastorius-on-how-he-learned-bass-and-composition-bacons-archive

The things you see when you ain't got a gun.

I can't sing and barely play bass, I dread to think what the two combined would sound like!

I was in Tenerife last week and watching a band, their bass man committed the same sin and then played slap bass during the solo

They gave you a shewee at primary school? I thought all the gender neutral stuff in schools was a recent phenomenon.

I think as long as a band is tight, they can get away with quite a lot. If a band has a good sound and is really tight, little things like playing everything exactly like the original can be forgotten.

Btw I love this video clip- had the CD for years, but did not know about the video. Recorded at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, featuring some very skilled dancers 🙂

Excellent and very interesting thread, thanks to all who've posted. In our covers jamming band we do both. On some, where there is only 'the one' version, slavishly following the original (eg a couple of Travelling Willburys songs), on others, where there may be many different offerings out there, we’ll do our own arrangement. But then we’re all retired old blokes just out to enjoy ourselves......

Yes - that was my reaction to reading this thread! Wiring a guitar is not hallowed ground, nor rocket science; if you don't know your SPST from your DPDT, then it's not a crime. Me, I used to think I knew something about electronics and UMIST even gave me a piece of paper saying I'm a bachelor in it. (Electronics, that is, not IT, because IT didn't exist then; however, that said, I do now work in IT!) My next wiring will be a 6-way toggle switch configured as 3+3 to do A/A+B/B for a pair of pickups in single-coil and humbucking, plus a couple of push-pull knobs do do things.

We record our rehearsals and have started a new keys player attending his first rehearsal with us tomorrow. We gave him the list of all our songs with keys and what versions. I also gave him a copy of our rehearsals to get the song endings and of course give him an idea of how we sounded. I also gave him my notes on how every song ended (regarded as the bible of notes in our band) As much information as possible to allow him to get up to speed as soon as possible with our current set of just 32 songs. Dave

Perhaps the band simply have a relaxed attitude to covers, perhaps its how they get the flavor of a song but do it their own way. Its rock and roll, there are no rules.

Lots of high end gear...my favourite to play is my Nanyo SGC 310. Thrown sackfuls of money at amps - can't beat that classic Trace Elliot tone.

I'm a bit OCD about measurements and suchlike and it just so happens I have a spreadsheet of pickup position data (attached for info) Pickup position.xlsx