martin8708

Some of the best " gigs " I've played have been in my front room plugged into my Micromark and headphones and just sifting through Youtube with a glass of red on the side . I love live gigging , I ve done done fabulous gigs with great audience involvement , but there can be quite a lot of baggage that can come with a band , if you are blessed with a band of like-minded souls , hold onto them with both hands . I was mates with a bed-room guitarist when I lived in Peterborough , I called him " fast Eddie " , this guy was a phenomenal player , but had no interest in playing in a band . I just could not understand his logic of acquiring all this skill and technique with no intention of showing it off in a band situation , he seemed perfectly satisfied just jamming along to records and CD 's . I play for fun at home and in a band situation as well.

I have to agree with both Fleetwood Macs Albatross , and G&R Knocking on Heavens Door . Thankfully they are not in our current set.

Bought some DR neon strings from Milty , very prompt delivery and good communications . Very smooth transaction . Cheers Martin

All but one of my buying / selling experiences have been very straightforward , only once was I led down the garden path by a web of lies about an item being sent to me , this is possibly due to doing deals with the " old guard " of basschat who are well established and reliable folk . On the other hand , if I make an enquiry about an item , this does not mean I have agreed to buy it. Many of the listings are woefully lacking in details / pictures / location / delivery or collection , can these people also be included in the " time wasters " population . My view on things is the sale is only complete when the money is in the bank , and the purchaser has the bass/ amp in his hands .

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1389289729' post='2332469'] Mark is a really nice guy and can be very talkative when he gets the chance, bearing in mind he is a one man operation and always seems to be really busy. Beware that he is a man with very definite views, which may not be the same as yours! That is not to say that your way of doing things is wrong, but be prepared to be challenged a bit - he never read the memo about the customer always being right!! However, he does know his stuff and he may give you a new perspective on certain types of gear, etc... [/quote] Pretty much this . I live on the Isle of Wight , but I have made the journey 3 times ( expensive ferry and 250 mile round trip drive ) so that must say something . Avoid weekends if possible , as it's only a one man shop , it only takes 3 or 4 people in the shop to make it feel packed , and Mark,s attention is then divided . Considering that most music shops sell stuff that comes out of a container from China , it,s great to try out some quality bass gear .

A Markbass amp through a good non Markbass cab ( Berg / Vanderkley / EA ) seems the best combination for me . Only tried a TC amp once , seemed OK , but happy with MB at the moment .

Go snorkelling instead , there are some great house reefs in Sharm . Great food and weather to enjoy too! Your bass will still be there when you get home .

Byron bought my Yamaha BB1200 , very easy deal with good comms, even paid the asking price . Look after the yammie , it's a real gem . cheers Martin.

Reasons for being turned down for a band . 1) not jazzy enough 2 ) being too jazzy 3 ) too old 4 ) too bald 5) too quiet 6 ) too outspoken Being in a band is like being married to 3 -4 different people . ( never done any session stuff , though )

Been band-free for a few months now and I really look forward to staying in and cooking up a great meal accompanied by a nice bottle of red . Plus I get more time to socialize and get to blow the dust off the classical guitar . Probably start to miss gigging in a few months , but for now , it's no major biggie .

I bought a 212MNT about 2 years ago , I was in a two guitar band ( ie , loud ) and the Two Markbass 604's just seemed to get wiped out by the Marshall 's and the Mesa's . The 212 really cut through the mix and was a great cab for a loud pub - rock band . The band folded about a year ago , and most of my playing is now with duo / trio bands stuffed into small corners of pubs , and I felt as if I was barely getting the 212 warmed up , and althought the cab is only 25kg , it was quite bulky to carry around . With the 212 gone , I am the proud owner of a new 210MNT which is a far more manageable size and weight , the difference is only 8kg's , but it feels a lot easier to manoeuvre into tight spots in pubs and cramped venues . The sound is probably a bit more middley than the bigger 212 , the bigger cab did have a bit more "heft" to it , but both cabs respond well to small EQ changes , so dialling in a bit more low mid on the amp sorts out the sound . My current set up is Fender P-bass through Sansamp bass driver into Momark pure 250 or LM tube amp into the 210 , I have yet to feel as if I need anything more as there is plenty of volume on tap . I have found with the vanderkley's that I don't have to turn them up as loud as other cabs as the detail of the sound comes through (which can show up all the bum-notes ) The cab feels very solid , well finished and looks great , not cheap as you say , but I don't think I need anymore than this .

I think 4000 has hit it on the head . In the pre- internet days of music shops , customers were treated as a minor inconvience to the shop staff daily ritual of showing off on the latest Ibanez Jem / snoozing behind the counter / crafty fag break out the back of the shop / boring everybody with tales of how their band almost got signed by a major label . ( Denmark Street the case in point ) I still prefer to support local business , but the availability of reasonable bass gear is limited to say the least . I have expressed interest in a few items in our local music shop , for example , a nice little 40 watt all valve bass amp with no price on it . I was told that they would phone me with the price , but of course there was no phone call . A second visit to the shop for a price on the amp was met with same shop assistant still none the wiser on the price .( not a difficult thing to ask for , the price of an item in a shop ) Shops are now competing with the internet , shops can up their game by providing better customer service than the faceless internet shops , people still like good customer service and dealing with humans . Shop staff lying to customer's is business suicide , I would certainly let the owner / manager know I am unhappy with his poor standard of customer care , both the shoddy set up and poor handling of the amp does not instill any confidence in the OP's experience with the said shop . Hope the issues are resolved soon Martin .

Bought a very cool Sansamp bass driver from Daniel , smooth transaction and great PM's . It does exactly what it says on the tin . Many thanks Martin

There is no shortage of bass players down here , may be due to the fact that Mr King is a local boy , and we have a small music college which turns out students with a diploma in " walking round the town centre with a gig bag over my shoulder looking cool " . A lot of these gunslingers tend to be guitarists who can play a bit of bass. I also come across musicians who can play numerous instruments , including bass , so I suppose they must also be counted as bass players , even if it's not their favoured instrument . These multi-instrumentalists tend not to spend too much money on a bass as they would rather spend it on guitars / keys . Having been in 3 recording / rehearsal studios on the Island , I notice that the studio guitars and drums are pretty good level instruments , yet the studio bass / bass amp is of poor quality , maybe bass player are expected to bring their own gear ( which I do ) , but it's just seems to indicate that bass is the last thing on people's minds when it comes to music .

Pub gigs , landlord waddles up to you and says , " you guys can go on when the football / rugby / cricket / darts has finished on the big screen TV . This tends to be around 10.30 pm . " Can you guys stop at 10 ish , we have to do the meat draw " " don't worry about him , he's harmless " the landlord says referring to the very large , very drunk , very tattooed , guy in the corner that keeps staring at you whilst setting up.

I have considered moving to guitar as here on the Island there are a plethora of bass players ( thanks to Mark King and Platform One music school ) and tons of lead guitarists thanks to Youtube. Rhythm guitarists are pretty rare as everybody wants to be Slash / Jimmy Page or some plank spanker on bass . I figure that as some one with a good knowledge of chords and a decent sense of rhythm should find a slot in a band .

Listening to someone practice bass guitar through a wall must be similar to listening to a dentists drill for a few hours. If you were playing piano or a bit of classical guitar , it would be a more harmonious listening experience , but the " thud , thud " of a bass can be pretty mind numbing , ( or even worse , slappity ,slappity ,slap slap ) even if it sounds great to you . I live in a semi-detached house , my neighbours are in their 80's and hard of hearing , but they can still hear me play an acoustic guitar and sing , so sound does travel a bit more than we think. headphones as previously mentioned .

Can't really comment on the bass front , but out of six Stratocasters that I own ( 3 vintage , 1 Custom Shop, a 25 th Annaversary, and a JV Squier that I picked up from the local ads for £200 ) the JV is one of the most playable Strats that I own . Yup , I keep looking at some of those JV basses as well.

Being sacked ( by e-mail or text ) is pretty cr@p at the best of times , even if the band is going no-where. I would not reply to the e-mail , or just a short acknowledgement of receipt of the e-mail is all that is required . Just enjoy the fishing and keep an eye out for the next musical opportunity , as Lance Mountain said " if you can do the work , there is always a job out there for you " Best Wishes .

If we all did our own set-ups and minor repairs, would we put MDPhillips out of a job ?