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Spending lots of time and money in local studIo recently. We rehearse there weekly and have always used his spaces. For a long time he’s had a modern player Fender Jazz on the wall and I recall thinking they were ace (the mk2/satin/switch version…) it’s always bugged me that it looked like it had crappy strings on it and half the pickguard film hanging off. It was basically unused wall art (owner is a vocalist and guitarist). A couple of weeks ago - went to pay for the session and noticed that cool bass was gone. Bah, nicked/sold/in a case? Didn’t ask any more about it. On Sunday we were doing tidy ups on some new tracks and I saw what I thought was a black strat body in amongst some broken gear (stands/drum skins). And then a neck,,,headstock down… so just heel in the air. Its the jazz. pulled the neck out…it’s gone semi Headless.. ”gah, that’s some tumble…bet the body is smashed to bits” pull it out. not a mark on it - just covered in dust. spoke with owner, negotiated a fee for removal of this “trashed bass”. And set about seeing what to do. Neck is bloloxed…chunks missing from the break (looked clean at first) and the lacquer is shattered around the break point like shards of glass. It will go in the bin wonderfully - I clamped and glued it but it’s an ex-neck at this point. A good luthier would charge £100 to make it work, £50/£60 to overspray and it would still bother me. So…UPGRADE TIME! Roasted Maple Fender Player neck on the way… Arrives in the next day or two.

#5,000 millennial bassists Googling Rumbelows

A few months before I even flirted with playing bass, I was getting into very different music to that i'd grown up with (hard rock/grunge) and bought on recommendation 'Dream Theater - Live Scenes from New York' in ~2001/2002. On bass, was John Myung, sporting a rather immense looking 6 blue string bass. I was utterly blown away by how well he played and sounded, and am still a Dream Theater fan today. A year or so later I got into bass, and my parents gave me a very generous £500 budget for a 21st birthday present, that ended up as a Yamaha RBX775 in Flat Blue, because it looks a bit like the RBX6JM, but it was cheaper. The years went by, and I still have it - just defretted and refinished (red goat leather, yes really). Anyway - late 2020, I see an RBXJM2 in Plum Pearl appear locally on Facebook market, for a decent price. I really wanted that turquoise RBX6JM, but this was the next best thing. It was a little messy, but i've replaced the rusty pickup and it's now sounding great - it's a 6 string Stingray at heart. April 2021, I see an RBX6JM in Turquoise appear on FB market, at a good price ! Quickly I message the seller...he replies fast. It sold 30 minutes ago to someone in Europe, but they hadn't paid yet. I offered a cash deal the next day (a drive to Bristol for me), alas he honourably sold it to the first buyer, after they paid him the next day _ don't begrudge it, but I was gutted for the sake of half an hour. OK - well i'll find another one ! The Bass Gallery had 2 on their website, both at £999. This is by far the most expensive i've ever seen these basses, gave them a call and they wouldn't budge more than £100 on price, I wasn't going to be robbed, so held out. eBay alerts, daily checks of the big (and small) websites second hand sections, online pawn brokers..... nothing. *10 months of checking daily later* Friday PM, I load up eBay on the morning catch up of newly listed items, scroll... scroll... oh man. A turquoise RBX6JM, at the right price, I contacted the seller and saved a few quid buying it outside eBay, it took a little while longer than expected to arrive. But it did, along with a genuine fitted Yamaha hard case (never seen one of these before) Behold - the bucket lister.

All perfectly true and logical. Unfortunately, when dealing with nerves and anxiety, logic plays no part. I can have the song lists, know the material inside out, get on stage, and literally can't feel my fingers, or I'm shaking so badly it's almost impossible to hold down a tight rythm. The logical part of my brain already knows that all of this is utterly ridiculous. But I'm sure everyone with any kind of phobia knows in their rational mind that it's pretty ridiculous. It doesn't stop them being terrified. Not that I'm saying I'm at the same level as someone with a phobia, only that's it's just as uncontrollable by applying logic to the situation.

Bring love, patience, tolerance and understanding to every gig, rehearsal and band meeting. How you get on with other people will always be more important and bring greater rewards than lessons, experience and gear ever can.

For anyone who hasn't seen this/may be interested:

In my forty years of gigging experience I’ve learnt a few tried and tested rules… the organisation and provision of angling is essential cultivate an atmosphere of sociability and promote the principles of fair angling join in with other angling bodies in furthering angling interests adhere strictly to the statutory closed season on Club waters, the suppression of unsportsmanlike conduct and illegal practices The renting or purchase of water for the use of its members, and the management of these waters and their fish stocks is encouraged appoint a Club bailiff to preserve Club and other waters fished by the members and to assist in the detection and prevention of river pollution and the preservation of wildlife promote good conduct at competitions for the encouragement of the sport and the benefit of its members promotion of, support for and opposition to legislation affecting anglers and angling and the use of its influence to improve existing laws the promote the arts of angling by instruction, demonstration and good example

´69

Always check your route. I once arrived for a gig at Blues At The Farm, Billericay when I should have been pulling up at Blues On The Farm, Chichester!! So I was 100 miles and 3 counties away from where I needed to be!! I was 3 hours late for the gig. Fortunately it was a festival and the other bands agreed to change the running order!

Ace of Spades - Motörhead

Infra Penny Slade

I regard myself as someone who doesn't suffer from performance anxiety. I know people who do and it's not pleasant to witness, let alone suffer from. The closest I'll get to being a little twitchy will probably be about this time next month having accepted back to back gigs with a band I've not played with before, won't have rehearsed with before and I've not played about 50% of the songs in their set before. Should be interesting.

SO Having got the bass back from my tech this afternoon, a lesson has been learnt. He thinks the pickup has either been removed and put back (reversed upgrade?) Or, the active/passive switch was faulty. The toggle switch has been replaced and the wiring has been checked. Bingo, it sounds great. Glad I didn't dive headfirst into some new electrics.

Another thing that people don't seen to be getting, is that the anxiety is nothing to do with the fear of getting something wrong (not for me at least) I can quite easily laugh off mistakes, as others have said, nobody dies, it's just not that important. But that doesn't stop the anxiety being almost crippling. The only part of I gig I really enjoy is the very last song. It's almost a feeling of getting away with it. There's something called imposter syndrome. Where you always feel like you're winging it and getting away with it, rather than actually doing it on your own merits. For me, it's more akin to that. It's like waiting to be found out.

Bloody hippies!

The mini board has also had an update.

Use black mains extension leads. Use white ones and you look like a Rumbelows shop window.

Always remember (unless you are a solo artist, which is unlikely given that we play bass) that people are not there to see YOU. You are not the centre of anyone's universe (save perhaps your own) and an audience will focus its attention on the frontman/woman. Unless you are the main or only singer in addition to being the bass player, you will be largely ignored. Concentrate your attention on your colleagues and ensure you work well with them. Mistakes happen. Once they have, they're in the past and there's nothing you can do about them, so forget them. Don't obsess about them and screw up the next thing because of it. The only times I am nervous when performing are occasions when I know I'm not familiar enough with the material and I'm winging it. The solution to that - more/better practice - is obvious. Use charts/music if necessary or if you are doing a last minute job where you have not had a chance to learn the stuff. It doesn't have to be on a visible music stand. Charts written large can go on the floor at your feet or on a monitor wedge in front of you. An aide memoire placed on top of your rig, which you can glance at between numbers to remind you what's coming next, is helpful, too. It's music. It ain't brain surgery and nobody will die if you get it wrong.

After the gig donate your sweaty clothes to a charity shop. You can buy them back on Monday for 50p, all clean and crisply ironed. If you have a band member called Steven you can ssve time by calling him Steve. Take pork pies as a mid gig snack. The excess jelly can be used as a string lube. Wear a miners helmet. No only will you be able to see if there should be a power cut, but it will protect your head from items thrown at the stage.

Very well described. This is exactly how I am. As stated by you, and previous posters, it has absolutely nothing to do with ability or how well practiced you are. My band does our own original material. We practice every week, and we've been together for two years. I know the songs inside out and it still all goes to pot as soon as it comes to public performance. For some people, nerves and adrenalin ups their game, for others it's absolutely crippling.

I’ve always suffered dreadfully with performance anxiety/stage fright. I’m glad you’ve pointed out that it’s nothing to do with preparation, because I’ve continually read people saying that if you’re prepared you’ll be fine, and speaking personally it has absolutely nothing to do with it. There have been many instances where I could play everything I need to in my sleep, back to front and inside out, and yet soon as I get on stage I’m a complete nervous wreck and everything goes out of the window. It is absolutely about managing the heightened stress, which for people like me can be off the chart, completely out of proportion to what is actually happening. I’ll add that I suffer with chronic anxiety and PTSD anyway. I’d be interested to know what worked for you because I haven’t found anything yet - other than the aforementioned alcohol, which I try to avoid as much as possible - that helps. Breathing exercises, actual pre-gig exercise, meditation; none of them work for me. A couple of years ago we did a local gig as a support for something that was being filmed by the BBC. We weren’t shown in the end, but I was utterly terrified. I was frozen. I could barely move my fingers and the experience was hideous. How I got through it I don’t know. I’ll add here that I hate anything to do with adrenalin, which makes me feel physically ill. The buzz that most people get playing live is not what I experience at all, it’s more like being in a car crash.

Just for pedantry, by no means all components are made in China, although I'm sure almost all commodity parts are made in low-cost countries. Nexperia make MOSFETs in Stockport, although I don't think they're the sort you'll find in your bass amp. On-topic, everyone seemed to have Trace gear back when I started playing out in the '90s and I never thought I sounded good through it, although the quick-witted will note there could be more than one explanation for this.

Thanks! Your procedure is pretty much what I like to do. My memory for detail is not good until I have played the whole list live a few times. I've been out of action for quite a few years, and it feels good to be playing again.

Had it's first outing tonight. I ended up on the neck pickup with the treble rolled off most of the time.

BL just called back and wants me in…pretty stoked because they seem like a great bunch of guys. Now I’ve got a big set list to learn.

Remember that bum note you played? Yeah, no one else does. Forget about it and enjoy the rest of the gig.

If its the kind of gig where wives and girlfriends are welcome, always remember its an either/or situation never invite both.

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It has everything to do with it. Whatever we do, we take it all with us. All the emotional baggage, all the trauma, everything that we carry around. People may try to tell themselves that they can compartmentalise their existence, but it simply isn't possible. There's always what psychologists refer to as "leakage". We may be able to put things on the back burner when we go shopping or do something that demands little of us, but when we play music or create art or do something that matters to us, we tend to feel vulnerable and not in control because we are putting ourselves on the line. And that's precisely the time when it happens. If we are looking to music (or anything else) to be "one of the few things that makes everything else bearable", we are asking too much of it. It will never make up for what is wrong in our lives. Nothing can. This thread may be getting a bit too heavy or being derailed, but the short answer is (imho obviously) that there is no quick, easy fix for what we call "performance anxiety", because it's a manifestation of what lies within us.

Body cut out on the bandsaw, used the spindle sander to clean up the lines. Getting there!

Pear shaped?

Thanks Guys, 40 seconds to "see it on PC" , and screen not so tempremental now ! Pete

Yes, there's a tipping point where the nervousness stops being of positive benefit to the performance, and starts to have a negative effect.

Enjoy yourself. And if you're not enjoying yourself, make it look as if you are. Its a performance for Pete's sake. Earlier bands I've been in have won BOTB competitions against technically superior bands because we looked like kids on blue smarties in a bool pall and they looked like they were at a funeral. Unless you're in The Cure. Then the opposite is true

In my job I have to do presentations at director level, trying to persuade investors to put money into solar energy projects, and also have to face down angry locals who object to them in their back yard at public consultations. I'm fine with this, no problems. I'm considered outgoing and sociable, but playing bass or guitar on stage is another matter. I don't gig anymore but always used to need Dutch courage. I think it's because unlike regular (non entertainment) work, where you can emotionally detach yourself, with performing it's a lot more personal as you've picked something you hope to get good at. If you're judged negatively it can cut to the quick and undermines belief in your own ability and even make you think about taking up another interest that doesn't involved public performance. I did way more gigs as a drummer, which wasn't so bad as being upfront as I was partly hidden away at the back of the stage and didn't have to try to make eye contact with the audience but focused on parts of the kit instead.

For pub gigs, unless spending a lot of money for the specific purpose of putting the whole band through the PA, usually the PA is vocals and possibly kick-drum (for a bit of presence). As such I`d agree, a 410 or 212 and a 500watt head will be plenty to handle the bass for the whole venue/audience. In general a 500watt head will put out 300/350watts at 8ohms so I`d be looking at an 8ohm 410 or 212 that is rated at 400watts or above. Depending on sound required and budget there`s a great load of gear out there, Ashdown is my fave, and available for not much dosh if getting used gear. Similar is Hartke, Peavey, Laney, all be picked up for reasonable funds and all more than good enough for the job - I`ve toured all over the UK and a fair bit of Europe with my Ashdown gear and never had any issues at all. Re the rigs through PAs, well unless the PA has very good monitoring, or you decide to go in ear monitoring, then your rig is still your on stage sound. Unless you can wholly trust the PA & monitors it`s nice to have a rig that is sufficient for the whole band to hear on stage.

You might mock him, but they're going for £1.55 now, so who's the real winner eh??

Good tip. By contrast, one should be cautious about drinking pints of Coca-Cola. The barmen put so much ice in them. One time I had three pints of Coke in quick succession then went on stage, felt really ill and started literally shivering with cold. Which was both very unpleasant and quite funny as our set list included Shakin' All Over.

According to the BC profanity filter, our next gig (18th March) is at the Fighting pink torpedos in Kingston

Aren't they for erectile dysfunction? I think you're slapping your bass wrong. 😳