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Showing content with the highest reputation on 06/06/22 in all areas
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Gig #2 for me this Jubilee weekend with my acoustic duo. This one on Sunday afternoon was a lovely do in a village on the Yorkshire Wolds. Originally planned to be an outside event, it had to be moved inside due to the lousy weather. Felt really sorry for the organizers as they'd applied to have a street closed off specially. We set up in the hall, and were second on the bill to a lady doing face painting! As much tea/coffee and cake as we could manage as it was a BYO booze event, and they hadn't let us know! We just asked for requests from the off, and (as has been mentioned on BC many times before) were surprised by the range of requests, and how few of the older folk wanted 'old' old stuff, preferring 60's and 70's choices. We managed to play every one, including 'I don't want to miss a thing' by Aerosmith, ( which was suitably adjusted to a lower key, as it was a sitting down gig!). Again, used my Ibanez electro acoustic straight into our Yamaha / Bose PA. Very echo heavy venue, so had to keep things under control to avoid it getting too boomy. A lovely audience, dancing and singing along from the outset, and quite a few business cards requested so a job well done.9 points
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PRICE DROP TO £695 picked up or £750 delivered in the UK Tentatively posting what I believe to be a very rare Musicman USA Sub Sterling. This is not the cheaper Sterling by Musicman model - it was made in the Musicman USA factory. This bass was a little lockdown project of mine. It’s refinished in Sonic Blue Nitro and the neck has been stripped and finished with gunstock oil and is very skinny, smooth and fast. The preamp has been upgraded to Aguilar 3 Band with Switchable Mid and push/pull for passive mode by The Gallery. I’ve also swapped the pickup cover and knobs to white/cream although the originals of both are available. A rosewood fender thumb test has been added and the pickguard swapped to tortoiseshell, I have the original of this too. It’s very lightweight for a Musicman (4kg/8.8lbs) and is a genuinely great bass. I’ve had both flats and rounds on it and it’s great with both. Currently strung with rounds. I would consider posting but would much rather meet up in person. I’m based in a Chessington, Surrey/SW London but willing to travel to meet someone. Give me a shout with any questions. Thanks Dan8 points -
Yesterday, drove all the way to Bristol in hammering rain. Gig was in a cocktail bar specialising in blues/jazz and soul. With our friends and family we outnumbered the clients, and for most of our second set we were effectively playing to an empty house 😞 Staff were really apologetic - blamed the rain and the jubbly, as people had started off getting hammered on Wednesday night and were partied out by Sunday... Still, we sold a t-shirt, the few people who were in thought we were great and the staff were full of praise. Back for the next two sundays, so hopefully it will perk up! Tiny area to set up, so next week smaller PA and just one-carry bass, amp and cab setup for me! Still we got a good photo...8 points
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Classic case of reacting on the offensive rather than listening & learning re the points stated. As is ever, better dodged at this point than later on.8 points
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I've not checked the notation in this video, but a great opportunity to hear just bass and drums. What a rhythm section!7 points
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Nice 'n' Sleazy festival in Morecambe on Friday. Nice big room, decent sound. They asked nicely if I'd use the house drum kit, fair enough, but then as usual it starts to fall to bits as I'm playing. Still, we went down well. Back home at midnight Under The Castle festival in Bolsover on Saturday. A fairly big tent with a temporary stage. The main bit of the stage looks decent, but the drum riser is sloping backwards at a fair angle. The sound guy looked significantly worse for wear and I couldn't hear any guitar for the whole set. Still, as usual, we went down well and got paid. Back home by 1AM Curcus festival in Dorset on Sunday. We left stoke at 11AM and I was already knackered. 4 hours later we arrive at the festival and it's a lot smaller than I was expecting. It rained hard the whole time we were there, but the atmosphere was great. The crew were pros so the sound was incredible which makes a massive difference to me. Apparently we did 45mins but it felt like 20! Came off stage buzzing but a 4 hour drive in the rain back to Stoke soon wore that down. Back home by 1AM, up for work at 6AM7 points
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Allen-key-less string retainers on my bass, not headless but kinda … anyway - I’m not sure how useful that is to the thread but it will suscribe me to updates so that’s good!6 points
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Thanks for the positive comments, it`s making me feel a bit better about the way it went down. I agree that we dodged a bullet as he was just going to be trouble in the long run. Re the singers i pad. She stated up front that it is being used as a "safety net" at the moment but by the time we are ready to gig, hopefully she won`t need it. On a slightly more happy point, when I had the advert up, another guy contacted me about the guitar slot but this was after we had invited the first guy down. Luckily I kept his details and after speaking to him this morning, he has agreed to come along next week and have a play with us. The guy knows his stuff and I was on the phone for 50 mins shooting the breeze so fingers crossed!6 points
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Busy weekend... Friday - Cafe Drummond in Aberdeen with The Inevitable Teaspoons. A bit of a last minute gig (maybe someone dropped out, I don't know, I didn't organise this one) and very glad to get the 'Spoons off the mark in 2022 after COVID disrupted our previous plans in March. It wasn't super busy (Drummonds is quite a big room) but the folk that were there seemed into what we were doing with plenty dancing going on. Considering how long it had been since we played live last, I think we all played really well. Played the Epi JC Sig that night, and it sounded great. Saturday - The White Horse in Strichen with Nine Lives. After a barren May, we're back to a gig every weekend this month - feast or a famine! Was really worried at the start of the gig - no-one there apart from our entourage! Thankfully it did pick up and was pretty lively for the second set. Played a bit later than expected as some folk came in as we were finishing and expressed disappointment at this fact so we played a couple of extra tunes on the condition that they danced. I still don't get why people are surprised the band is finishing at midnight - I'm pretty sure the rules are there so that nearby homes get some sleep, but drunk folk probably aren't great at seeing the bigger picture. Played the G&L Tribute LB-100 and it was also excellent. Was going to take the G&L L-1000 but it needs some seasonal adjustment and I didn't have time/CBA to do it before the gig. Sunday - The Mormond Inn in Strichen with Nine Lives. Yes, a world tour of Strichen (a small village in rural NE Scotland). Outdoor gig, and we had a beautiful day for it. Unfortunately I think this was an attempt to eke the Jubilee weekend out to the end and it was all a bit too much for the hungover residents of Strichen. It wasn't very busy, played to maybe 20 folk on and off. We were also pretty tired (this being the drummer and I's third gig of the weekend) but we made a good go of it. Even though it was not very busy, one good thing came of it - a guy came across from one of the nearby houses, told us that he'd been listening to most of our set and thought we sounded tight (I'll take that, coming from a sober person), liked what we were playing and asked for a card as his daughter's 21st birthday was being arranged for later in the year and they were looking to hire a band for it. Hope that comes to something. Back to the Jack Casady for this one. It's Monday morning and I'm leaning heavily on the coffee this morning, but I'll drag myself through it This Saturday, back on it with Nine Lives and a new venue (for me, at least) - the Black Dog in Bridge of Don, Aberdeen.5 points
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OP's scenario was only a rehearsal. Can't see any issues here.5 points
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I work with a professional singer. She uses an iPad. So there's one of his arguments out the window. There's a saying: all you can do is keep your side of the street clean. You can't control how others react to you. Sounds like you have played your part quite correctly, the other guy was the c°ck.5 points
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For sale is my lovely Stentor Student 3/4 sized Double Bass (model 1950) with solid top and laminated back and sides. It's around 10 years old at a guess but is in overall very good condition apart from the odd chip (pictured). It comes with the original padded cover and bow. It has recently been strung with D'Addario Helicore strings which are a nice medium/low action and is being set up (including fitting a decent adjustable bridge) by those great guys in The Bristol Violin Shop. It's a lovely colour and not that awful fake tan, luminous orange colour that a number of entry-intermediate levels DB's seem to come in. It's a really decent DB for the money and has stood me in good stead but I have recently upgraded. I'm looking for £630 picked up from near Monmouth but am happy to travel an hour or so to hand this over. I'm happy to include a super Tom and Will gigbag for £700 all in if a potential buyer prefers.4 points -
Fender CS '62 Jazz Bass Relic Very nice Custom Shop Fender Jazz in aged candy apple red relic finish. It's a lovely, well built bass. The neck feels great and allows low action. The sound is classic jazz bass. I'd say it sounds a bit warmer than my 65/66 jazz. She sounds great with either flats or rounds. She will be sold strung with Fender nps rounds. The bass is in good condition. Of course it's a relic model.. Everything functions like it should. The weight is 4kg on my kitchen scale. The original brown tolex hardcase is included, as well are the certificate, chrome covers and some other stuff. €2.750 I am located in the Netherlands. Local pickup is preferred, but I am willing to ship at buyers risk. I am also interested in trading for a 1965 or older jazz bas(max 4kg, Brazil fretboard & clay dots). Refinish or some minor parts exchange aren't a dealbreaker.4 points -
Quick update - thanks for the interest in this and apologies it’s a UK only sale (rosewood - lots of it). Given commitments, if there’s no further interest, I’ll need to withdraw on Sunday evening (12th June) and send this off on consignment. Please just drop me a note if you’d like to own a pretty unique electro-acoustic and we’ll see what can be arranged over the weekend. I always try to avoid hyperbole in ads - you'll probably know what this and will have seen/read the plaudits. Apologies for the images, absence of light in Manchester isn't unusual but it's a particularly grey and dank afternoon for taking photographs (and this is exacerbated by minimal skills). Please note this is of necessity a UK only sale - there’s a lot of rosewood in the bass and I can’t verify species or source for any CITES declaration. Absolutely rock-bottom price. I got this on a great deal I'm passing it on. This Gillett model retailed for £2200 when the basses were in production. This is the J pickup only version. The wood working is just extraordinary. I showed the bass to a carpenter mate and he really couldn't work out how some of the jointing and carving had been achieved. A lot of hand-carving by the look of it. Closest sound to an upright I've heard, especially when played close to or over the board. It's a bit spooky. Details are here in a pretty stellar BGM review (Gillett also won best bass in show at NAMM 2019 apparently): https://www.gillettguitars.co.uk/content/large/documents/slimline-review.gillett.pdf In short, 31.75" scale Fretless, Rosewood Board Rosewood facings Gillett designed preamp (really impressive in my opinion) Bareknuckle J pickup 1.5" nut C profile neck - fairly substantial Condition is excellent, though there are a few headstock scrapes and three very minor impressions as shown: two on the bottom of the lower bout and one on the headstock end. The images make any cosmetic marks look rather more dramatic than they are (cosmetic condition really is very good indeed). Hardware is phenomenal (it's very light though I've no idea of the materials) and a lot of it bespoke to the bass as far as I know. Playability is very good too: I had the bass fully set-up to my taste on receipt. Comes with original Rotosound strings tapewound strings and a truly lovely snakeskin (effect) hard case with a very plush white interior. Collection in Manchester. Shipping is probably a nightmare, though I may have a box of sufficient size. If shipping is necessary (and I'd really rather avoid it), this is to be arranged by the buyer and at the buyer's risk. Shipping is also unlikely to be less than £50 - big case, big box. I'm advertising for a short time just in case - the bass should be off on consignment by the close of the week if there's no/little interest. Any questions, please just ask.4 points -
you did the right thing, absolutely. I have let people go in bands, once or twice, it's never a nice thing to do but it's necessary I was once sacked from a rock band I'd joined. I'd had enough and wanted to leave. At the band meeting the singer and drummer (lovely guys) said, sorry Mart, we're going back to a 3 piece. I said that's great as I wanted to leave anyway and we're still friends and occasionally get to play together due to various deps There's no need to be sh1tty with anybody4 points
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OK - I have a bit more time to explain where I'm coming from in terms of the double ball ends. Leastways, that's what I was going to do. Until I thought about it I'm sure most folks are ahead of me on this, but have a rest while the old fella catches up If you really want to use double ball ends** : - It's only the saddles that need to be multi-scale. - You could use standard headless tuners in or on a standard block - Fix that at the very back and square to the string runs - Take the saddles out - Set up individual floating saddles or a custom saddle block (3D printed with fret inserts...think Hofner Violin Bass "Extreme") incorporating the multi-scale Then the string runs are equal length and double ball ends can be used with same length strings (bear in mind, they will still probably be customs because of their length). **When I did @Jus Lukin's headless wonder, I timed how long it took me to fully string, including cutting to length, a new set of strings on the Nova system and bring them all up to pitch... ...2 minutes. Just sayin'4 points
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John Deacon, along with Jack Bruce is the reason I started playing bass 30 odd years ago after childhood years of playing clarinet and keyboards. Inventive playing with a keen sense of melody and harmony, and always serves the song without getting in the way. My band had to learn "You're my best friend" for a wedding some years ago. Sounds like a simple little pop song, but that bassline, wow.4 points
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John Deacon is an absolute master. The common consensus out there in the public that hes average is mind boggling. Try learning then play along to something like 'The Game' and you'll see just how inventive and brilliant he was. Fits the song superbly and is indeed all over the fret board.4 points
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Guitarists, especially average ones are ‘ten a Penny’. Decent, professional singers are not. You made the right choice.4 points
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We had to 'let someone go' once. I was chosen as the bearer of the news and rang him up to explain (generally poor attitude and specifically refusing to play an encore at a nicely paid club gig because he didn't like the song). It wasn't pleasant, mainly because he hadn't seen it coming and was upset, but we owed him the courtesy of a phone call. Years later I met him again at one of our gigs and he ended up taking photos for us. It's always good to take a professional attitude, deal with issues early and regardless of the problem, treat the person as you would want to be treated.4 points
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Was booked to do a solo acoustic guitar/singing gig at a country pub in Leicestershire on Saturday along with a few other acts - one of which wasn't well enough to play, so I extended my set to do 5 x 45 min sets to cover both of us! Actually worked out pretty well - under a big beer garden gazebo which kept out the rain showers, and a decent crowd of people up for a few afternoon beers and barbecue. My voice held out nicely (my main worry) but my finger tips are still hurting today. Decent result though.4 points
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I now have the front grill and back plate. Chrome corners and leather handle still in the post. Just put the last coat of blue on, I shall coat it in matt varnish tomorrow hopefully.4 points
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We are re forming our tribute band and needed a new lead guitarist. Had a guy down a couple of weeks ago and he was not to bad and seemed like an alright guy. There was just me, drummer and rhythm guitarist present. During the week past, we had him down again along with the female vocalist. This time the guitarist was all over the place playing wise and had a bit of an attitude towards the singer who uses an i pad for lyrics as she is just learning some of the songs. He was a bit vocal about the i pad saying it was unprofessional and generally acting like he was a seasoned pro and she was listen to him. After the rehearsal, the drummer was ready to give him both barrel`s and the rhythm guitarist wanted him gone because his playing was so bad. After thinking about it for a few days, I made the call and let him know we had spoken about the events the other night and that he was out. He asked why so I told him but he didn`t accept the way we saw it and why would he?. He then tried to stir the sh*t with the singer saying he didn`t meant to offend her and telling her we wanted shot of her which isn`t the case. In the end up we blocked him and hopefully that`s the last we will hear from him. This is first time I have ever sacked anyone from a band and it wasn`t a nice experience. I thought I was doing the right thing by calling him and telling him the reason but after the call I came to the conclusion that he is just full of himself and no matter what I said, he would still feel aggrieved. All we are looking for is someone to play the parts and be a decent guy but it seems that is hard to find.3 points
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Beautiful 2013 Fender Road Worn Jazz Bass for sale. Fiesta Red nitro finish. Bass was manufactured in Mexico. The road worn Jazz Basses that Fender sell these days, are priced at over £1200. So this bass is a bargain. Pick up from my address in Edinburgh, or can arrange delivery via courier. UK delivery only.3 points -
The build thread for this bass, which covers all the specs and relevant build info, can be found here: For those who are interested, here's a short sound demo for the bass though. I start with a short burst of one of my favourite sounds so far, then sweep the filters with each pickup solo'ed to give an idea of the huge variety of tones available. It's got that typical, full, throaty Wal-type sound, and basically sounds pretty awesome all over. I can't say I've mastered the preamp yet but I'm starting to get there. Enjoy - and forgive the playing, very much 'make it up as I go along'. EDIT: Forgot to add that the bass is just plugged straight into a Focusrite Scarlett Solo AI, and recorded (along with the vid) via the Camera app on my PC. So, no DAW software, pedals or processing of any kind.3 points
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Watching Queen: Live at the Rainbow on Sky Arts - it'll be repeated... John Deacon doesn't appear to drop below 7th fret very often. And he's a lunatic, all over the stage and his body is bopping to 8ths for the most of it. What a player. He's definitely one of my early influences. Now left wondering if 70s sound systems couldn't do the bottom end with any power, or whether something else is going on.3 points
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From my bath chair parked in the orangery, I would just like to take this opportunity to raise a glass and say thank Bog for these technically-minded artisans working all this stuff out with slide-rules and such and crafting beautiful instruments so know-nothing drunkards like me don't have to dirty our hands in a workshop or wherever you can-do building types do your stuff. So cheers *waves a brandy in the air*3 points
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To me, the 70s bassists were just a different breed. Even just with Queen - its music on a more full level. Not just playing wise, but creative wise. Just a different level. Listen to some of the funk songs of the 70s, pop songs, the major hits, minor hits. It's like a different way of playing that's been forgotten. It's easier than ever to pick up on these with YouTube and isolated tracks, but it seemed quite obvious to use the full 20+ frets of all 4 strings, whereas nowadays (massive generalisation I know, but...) it seems just to be playing in a certain safe area. But seriously, if you have a spare day and want to tab out a song, do The Game by john deacon and play along to it. It was never one of my favourites, but once I'd done the bassline it really opened the song up and it's a joy to play, and gives you a real insight into how to create even over a simple song.3 points
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I’ve not changed the strings on mine yet… but3 points
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Have bolt-on, neck-through and set neck. It doesn't make enough difference for me to care.3 points
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I have a similar interest in component weights. Here are some weights that I've collected over the years including a few pickups.3 points
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There's no such thing. It depends entirely on how they're manufactured. Tight 15's and flabby 10's are also available. The science from acoustic engineers on here have, for many years, dispelled all the sad myths about drivers.3 points
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I bought a second hand Rockboard 3.0 about 18 months ago. Absolutely perfect for my needs. Robust, but not massively weighty and came with a great gigbag. I haven't gone down the patchbay route as I made an IEC input myself using a bit of old tort scratchplate material - I'll post a pic if I get a chance. I tried a few boards (including some rather unusual, home-made variants) until I settled for this one. I love it and unless some large and swanky multi-fx catches my eye, I think this is my rig for the duration.3 points
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3 points
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This was a great takeaway from the documentary Sidemen: Top 3 Rules: 1. Be good enough 2. Look the part 3. Be easy to get along with It applies to you, it applies to them. Simple.3 points
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Smack My Watch Up ～ The Prodigy3 points
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Really as new, unmarked, even original display sticker on top. I have gigged this a few times (pre-covid) but no live work so sadly must go. It is honestly the best head I've had ever (maybe the old all-valve Trace was also up there). Personal taste but I'd been through TCs, Aguilar, Ashdown - I like this one best. Ran it mainly with a GK 410 btw, then a GB 1208. pre-amp gain works really well - very progressive warmth, valvy sound. Everything works perfectly, silent pots, all front lights - and the backlit Genz panel lights up a very tasty blue. Basically nothing to report - it's a right good un. Complete with GB custom bag for the 900 - fits perfectly with pouch at front for mains and Speakon. Has original box it came in. Not after trades, sorry!3 points -
Ashdown retroglide 800 watt bass head .. great condition only purchased as backup .. inc uk postage Hand built in the UK Custom Shop the Retroglide is an 800 watt funk powerhouse with hi & low impedance instrument inputs, 12-band graphic EQ @ 30hz to 15Khz + ... Effects send: Impedance 22k Ohms, level 0dBu nominal Line Output: Impedance 1k Ohms, Level 0dBu nominal DI Output: 600 Ohms balanced / Level -20dBu nominal Speaker Outputs: 1 x Jack/Speakon sockets3 points -
There's a book written about management called 'the no *rsehole rule', where they don't care how good you are, you're not getting employed if you're an *rsehole. If you're doing a band for fun that rule applies.3 points
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As the thread seems to have gone on this tangent - the last two shows I went to (Peter Hook and The Mission), both singers used iPads. They didn't perform to them, they were simply there as a safety net. Nobody cared and we all enjoyed the show(s). I kind of grow tired of all these pious statements (aimed at the guitarist in the OP and a few pompous friends on FB) about iPads on stage, clip on tuners on headstocks etc. Does it *really* matter? If the performer is glued to the iPad or the musician is loudly tuning up through the PA, fair point, but otherwise...3 points
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Sounds like you've dodged a bullet. The scene after a couple of rehearsals is going to be significantly less than 6 months in a band with a guy like this. My experience is that some people take it as a relief, some people are fine but get a bit sulky afterwards and some people get silly from the off. I guess your true personality comes out, depending on how it is done. Sounds like you've been more than fair and he's shown is true colours.3 points
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Buyer pulled out. Word of advice people: Always get your other half on side before committing to buy something. Also interested in trades for a Fna jazzman 5 or corvette $$ 5 if there's anything out there. Thanks3 points -
I've done it a couple of times. Kicking someone out is never a pleasant task but you went about it in a respectful and dignified way. The way the guy responded, with neither respect nor dignity, emphatically shows you made the right decision. Onwards and upwards.3 points
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Haha 🤣. All the gear, no-idea. I lost thousands during that period from buying new basses then moving them on a few months later. I was definitely searching for something. I apologised to my dear wife a couple of years ago when it struck me how bad it must have looked from her point of view. Are you still driving BMW’s? I might still have had my beloved Soarer when you came to MK, or maybe the 530d? Thank you so much Jack. I really appreciate everyone’s warm welcomes. 🙏 I also love that you’ve kept Spiderman dancing all this time. 👏3 points
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I've never fired anyone from a band, but I think you've went about it the best way. You've given them feedback on why & it's entirely up to them on how they want to take it.3 points
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Sounds like you've done well to get rid early. I recently learned the hard way that the audition process has to take weeks, it's when people think they're "in" that the bad habits and personality issues surface, or you see they're just a one trick pony. Well done on the phone call too.3 points
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Perhaps he never spent years as a bedroom player, tweaking his technique and tone in isolation, and developed lots of good habits as an ensemble player from the very start?3 points
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Probably his awareness that if he’s playing low once the guitar solos there’s a bit of a gap, whereas playing up a bit that gap isn’t quite so pronounced. Clever chap John Deacon, I watched some of it too and was impressed when it came to said solos how it didn’t seem to empty out.3 points
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I'm just delighted to find that @Flanker is still with us. I still remember buying your Alleva Coppolo LPB5 in a lovely complicated part-swap deal involving the Powersoft Digam that I'd bought from @Dood. That AC then got swopped back and forth with @Clarky for a while before being sold to a Basschatter on the Isle of Wight. I also remember how shocked I was when I heard about your stroke. Great to hear from you again.3 points
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