mrtcat

I started with some tabs from a bass magazine and also by playing along to cd's. I found it really important to do stuff I enjoyed to help me fall in love with playing bass. Once I was able to play a handful of songs I started a band with mates at school(we must have been bloody awful) it really gave me good incentive and helped me keep the enthusiasm up. Only then did I start to worry about theory. Only then did I take lessons to help me understand theory etc and it made masses of difference and gave me a nice solid platform to build from. I'm the kinda guy that hated school and although I'm not thick I hated having homework etc. That's why I had to make playing about enjoying and not schooling. If I'd started with lessons I know for sure that I wouldn't be playing now cos I would have resented being set homework and jacked it in. Once I was really into playing tho I found I actually wanted the lessons cos I could see it would make me a better player. I guess what I'm saying is (if you're anything like me) worry about enjoying it first and then when you know you love playing take some lessons to open even more doors. Oh yeah listen to anything and everything. Don't be embarrassed to learn anything if the bass line grabs you even if it's a nursery rhyme or the Brittney Spears or something. It all helps to add to your arsenal of styles. Good luck

Last year was our first year together and we managed about 6 pubs from August til end of year. This year so far we've done 22 pubs one corporate event and two beer festivals. A decent improvement I reckon but it hasn't come without heaps of pushing for gigs. Pubs have been reluctant to take on bands they haven't used before and as usual a few have stiffed us over money. We have had to keep pestering landlords and landladys but the good news is we have been rebooked at all venues. Punters wise it's been a mixed bag. Some venues have been dead as a dodo but some have been heaving. It's always the nights where you expect a flat crowd that they surprise you. Beer price really hasn't helped and neither has the fact that a few pubs have gone bust due to breweries screwing tennants. To be fair tho my experience of landlords / ladys is that many of them couldn't organise a p*** up in their own establishment.

Zsa Zsa Poltergeist - The Hamsters - I love his driving bass lines and as I teenager I used fake ID to get into pubs to see him play. Marlowe DK - T'internet - Again not famous but he has such amazing feel and lets face it the lessons are free. Neil Murray - Whitesnake - So imaginative and slick..................................IMO

When we started my current band two years ago we took on a singer who had only ever done a bit of karaoke before. He was ok at best and rehearsals worried me a bit. In the end I started recording rehearsals on a Zoom mp3 recorder and emailing them out weekly to the rest of the band. It seemed to help everyone with their own playing but especially helped us pick out which songs would need to be played in a different key to help the singer. It also meant he could not hide away and had to confront his own ability and be honest about his limitations. Before our first gig he was really nervous but it was like a total Jekyl and Hyde scenario when the lights went down. Two years on he's the star now. People regularly say he sounds like Rod Stewart and I'm so chuffed to be in a band with him. As stated by others tho, the concern is his temperament. If he's prepared to take criticism onboard you stand a fair chance of seeing improvement. If not then forget it, you'll all be tripping over yourselves to push him off the front of the stage eventually.

Saw someone wearing a "Bass Players Are Sexy" t-shirt so thought I'd better give that a whirl as nothing else was working for me as a teeneager. 19yrs later I'm still not sure it's worked but love playing bass too much to give it up and start something else that may or may not make me sexy.

Great to hear the gig went well! Really pleased for you.

For me it depends whether I'm learning purely for my own entertainment or to play with the band. If its for my own benefit I just play along as it's usually something I've heard a few times and thought "that sounds like fun to play". If it's a bit tricky I may dig out a tab from t'internet to help but 9 times in 10 the tricky bits are wrong on tabs anyhow. With the band we tend to add tunes in batches so usually I will have 10 - 15 to learn in a few weeks. If that's the case I'll print off a pile of tabs at work on my lunch break and take them home (I only go for ones with 5* ratings as the rest are usually poor). Then I'll start with the songs I'm most familiar with and start playing along. I'll keep the tabs handy for chord progressions etc but never stick to them completely. I don't stick on one song too long as I find it sticks better if i put it down and pick it up a few times. Making the bass part my own is very important to me tho so I'll often ditch the original bass line in favour of my own. When doing this tho it's important to listen a few times and be prepared to admit when the original is better.

If it helps I use one of these and really get some nice results. [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Light_Snake.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...ight_Snake.html[/url] Used to use a sans amp into an external soundcard which was very very good but with so many really good software bass amp simulators I really like this option. I've been using a free sample piece of software that i picked up a few years back from Ampeg. Sadly none of it makes me play better tho

Hey, People have pretty much covered it I think. Personally I know how you feel I've been there before too but it's quite right that at some point you need to get out of the rehearsal rooms and see what happens. It's not easy as you clearly care about having a good product but as you already admit you are a perfectionist do you think you may not ever feel 110% ready? If it was me and I had some doubts I would be thinking about how much I could learn about my fellow band mates by getting on stage with them. They might really surprise you. I would however be concerned that my worries might be reflected in my performance. You know you're going to do the gig (and fair play to you for standing by your band) so do yourself justice by forcing the worries to the back of your mind and concentrate on enjoying it and let your band members see you being positive. This will probably count for more than a few extra months in the rehearsal room as they'll feed off your positivity - especially if you're more experienced cos they will look to you for inspiration. I wish you the very best with the gig and I'm sure it'll be great.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1014797' date='Nov 6 2010, 09:53 PM']Probably moving your cab would've been better than messing with EQ. If I get boomy sounds I just pick up the cab and march it a few feet and see how it sounds, repeat. Sometimes there is no good place to put a bass cab but more often than not it'll solve the problem.[/quote] Thanks thisnameistaken, I did move it away from the wall as it has big rear ports and I thought this may be causing the booming but even tho 2m forward was better it was still wallowy. Will defo try moving around more if i struggle in future. [quote name='wateroftyne' post='1014828' date='Nov 6 2010, 10:45 PM']Here y'are: [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Auralex_Isolation_Risers.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...ion_Risers.html[/url] Best £40 I ever spent. If you're playing on a wooden (not not solid) stage, it tightens the sound up a hell of a lot. The best way I can describe it is that it's like comparing an out-of-focus photo to a well-focussed shot.. you get all the detail. Now I use it all the time regardless of the stage's construction...[/quote] Wow this looks really interesting. I have had several gigs where the raised stage has caused problems. I'm ony 20 mins from Bass Direct so may well pop in this week. £40 is nothing really in comparison to the cost of buying amps etc so seems like a really good value solution. Thanks a lot!

GRAMMA pad keeps it to a minimum, tho... [/quote] ??? Tell me more!

Hi fellow bass players!! Played a gig last night at a pub in Oxfordshire and no matter what I tried I simply couldnt get a good sound. Just wondering if anyone else has had this problem??? I'm an experienced player and was running a 75 re-issue jazz thru a tc electronic head and a bergantino AE212. This is a new-ish rig to me but have gigged it 15 times and on all other occasions it's been really really easy to get a good sound. I don't go for massive low end just plenty of punch and growl. Last night however I really struggled to get a sound that wasn't booming. I had bass at -4, low mid at -3, high mid at 0 and treble at 0 but still it was booming. We were on a raised area with pillars and a low ceiling. All other band members sounded great except me. I must admit I've seen other bands here and have always thought that the bass players have been turned down too low. Maybe they all had the same problem??? I would welcome any advice or reassurance that I'm not the only one to struggle with this problem. Cheers

Hey all! Just wanted to let peeps know that my band Crude Measure (based in Bicester - Oxfordshire) are now up and running and our gigs have been a walloping success. We're now in the fortunate position of being "wanted" by loads of venues. We're a simple rock covers 4 piece playing old and new rock classics. We seem to be a bit better than many of the other covers bands around and our singer is really really good. My Dad, Pete, has just taken over getting us booked and we now seem to be booked week in week out. We're in Abingdon this Friday at The Midget which is a great venue so it would be ace to see some of you fellow basschatters there. www.myspace.com/crudemeasure Thanks for looking

[quote name='bobbytodd' post='1005514' date='Oct 29 2010, 05:38 PM']well it looks like im keeping my old set up for a while.they took me into the office this morning and told me they were cutting my hours to 20 a week [/quote] Very sorry to hear that. If it helps I sold my old kit to fund a TC Classic 450 and paired it with a Bergantino AE212 and it has wiped the floor with everything I've ever owned previously (which is a supidly large range of kit). The good old "Arts Council" are still offering 0% over 10 months to pretty much anyone.

Hey fellow bass lovers! My band, Crude Measure, are doing a fundraising night on Sat 4th Dec for Help For Heroes. It's our first ever charity gig and organising it has been a learning curve. It's shaping up to be a great night and if it's the success we hope it's gonna be we'll be doing a bigger and more extravagant one next year. It's at The Star pub in Bicester - Oxfordshire - and it'd be great if any fellow basschatters could pop along to offer support. Thanks for looking! Join our facebook group to help spread the word [url="http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132713633447066"]http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=132713633447066[/url]