martin8708

Lovely stuff. I had both the tobacco burst and natural BB1200 , the TB was my very first bass , Yamaha Musikland was selling them off cheap .( 40 years ago ) Really regret selling it , I was convinced a Fender P was the bass to own

I have been playing bass for 32 years ( I’m sure loads have done it for longer ) I was blessed to be in a great band for 10 years , a few other stints in good bands for 5 years or so , so I consider my success rate about 50% . I have been in countless projects / start ups / get togethers that don’t go anywhere , you put the effort in , learn the songs just to watch the guitarist or drummer fumble around at at rehearsal. Being in a good band with all the musicians of equal skill and motivation is akin to the aligning of the planets , happens once in a blue moon .

Hopefully not tempting fate , but at 59 , the back is still OK . I am lucky to live on the outskirts of town , so I walk to work ( 30 mins ) walk to the shops , walk to school drop off . We try to limit using the car , only long for longer journeys ,etc. I try to eat well , do lots of physical outdoor work , and have a 17kgs Vanderkley cab to carry around .

I was at a mates house in the 1980’s and he had VHS video of Duran Duran . It was the song The Reflex , I just watched John Taylor strutting up and down the stage with 1000’s of women screaming at him ( for him? ) That was the precise moment I knew i had to be a bass player . ( Still waiting for the hoardes of women , though )

Sold a Squier Mustang Bass to Sinky , he was very patient and tolerant with me when I addressed the package to his neighbour instead . All came good in the end , great communication and prompt payment . Welcome to the Basschat community / marketplace , it’s a great place place full of great people .

Before the days of eBay , internet , Basschat , I had 1 bass , 1 amp and my Ovation Balladeer . I didn’t want for nothing , because there was no temptation. I’m actually envious of you .

Some bass lines just seem to make sense , even if they are complex or busy . Some three chord songs can really mess with your playing if they don’t follow a natural progression . Knowing the song in your head helps massively .

There’s a few instruments I regret selling , two stunning Yamaha BB1200’s , a 72 Tele and my Larrivee OM3-R , ( for some reason I felt I had to have a Martin acoustic ) , man , I miss the Larrivee. Playing wise , possibly just the regret I did not practice/ push myself more . The day job meant I was never meant for the bright lights of stardom . My only niggle is that I did not learn to play drums as well , I always felt I could possibly been a better drummer than guitarist .

My Dad - numerous James Last Albums My Mum - early Stones , Dave Brubeck , Chris Barber ,Acker Bilk and Neil Diamond . Hot August Night is still one of my favourite jam along records . I owe a big debt of gratitude to my mum .

Bigger gigs - use a Little Mark Tube 800 into a Vanderkley 210MNT Smaller gigs - use a Momark 250 into a EA Whizzy cab . Home noodling - Markbass 601 combo . I do have an Ashdown Stubby which I haven’t really used much , but that’s just down to lack of time / being lazy .

Pub gigs run at about £120 to £160 a gig for the whole band here on the Isle of Wight . So £40 a person for a 4 piece band . Christmas / New Year / Cowes week will pay more , but in over 20 years of local gigging there has been little increase in gig money . We do have quite a few live venues , but we have lots of bands chasing those gigs . We get a lot of retirees moving to the Island who used to be in bands looking to start gigging again and a local music college pumping out kids looking to live the rock and roll dream , so competition is fierce ( and landlords know this ) A few of the more serious professional bands won’t gig locally and choose to do Mainland gigs only .

A guitarist who doesn’t read music , hence the tabs .

If I’m not in a band , I will rarely play bass at home , I much prefer to pick up a Classical guitar and play that until I manage to wheedle my way into a band as a bassist . As previously said , there is always the natural ebb and flow of playing music , I don’t think you can sustain 110% effort all the time without some burnout or disinterest. My current band suits me very well , we mainly gig in Summer, our rehearsals are very low stress social events , lots of chat and cups of tea , lots of varied and unusual material to try , we all know we are never going to play Wembley , For me , the key is to enjoy music / playing bass.

Bass direct is on an industrial estate in Warwick , which probably has zero footfall compared to the guitar shops in Denmark Street where everybody come in has a twiddle and then leaves without buying anything . Most people who visit will have driven there with the express purpose to buy , or at least be interested in something the shop has to offer . For myself , it involves an expensive ferry crossing and 300 mile round trip , but it’s worth it to try out the different amps and cabs which are not available anywhere else and get some forthright advise from the proprietor of the establishment. ( most of the people who worked in guitar shops in London were wannabe rock stars who were only interested in themselves , hence there lack of interest in the customer ) I agree 100% , if the support staff are not up to the job , find someone who is .

If I’m in a band where there’s lots of show -off guitarists /keyboards / singers , I’m generally safe , as I can chug around most songs in time with a ( decent ) drummer keeping the song together . ( this has got me a suprising amount of gigs ) If they want solo’s / Wootton / Jaco / Sheehan type stuff - I’m stuffed .

When I joined Basschat in 2010 , the marketplace was a veritable free for all with instruments seemingly flying off the shelves ( and sometimes being relisted soon after) I remember fondly the starwalds of the marketplace ( Clarky / Beedster / Bouvier / Chilliwailer ) and many others who I apologise for not mentioning . Interest rates were low , the economy was doing OK , the world was at relative peace . Fast forward to today , we’ve been through the Pandemic / Ukraine war / Liz Truss / interest rate hikes / cost of living Crisis , I guess most of us are feeling a little less secure and less inclined to spend money on what are essentially luxuries and focus on the more important financial commitments to keep our heads above the water

I spent 6 months in the States some time ago ( Dallas ,TX) and I bought a Steinberger XL at the Dallas Guitar show . On my arrival at Heathrow , customs were much relieved it was a music instrument and not a gun , so I was waved through . Haven’t bought anything too dodgy recently , just the occational jumbo box of Golden Virginia for a work mate , still waved through.

Ska bands definitely seem to be the landlords favourite genre, maybe there’s something about Madness and working in a Pub . A lot of well established bands have venues all sewn up , so even if we do a sudden cancellation gig , there’s no room in the diary for any further bookings .

We have noticed this in some of the “music “ pubs on the Isle of Wight . Our set list comprises of eclectic/ oddities from the 70’s and 80’s which most people know but have forgotten about , so most people say how different and refreshing our gigs are , but they don’t seem to sit well with the landlord’s expectations of what a pub band should be . If we played Ska or Dad rock , we would have loads more gigs , but we enjoy being on the fringe of popular music , so we just play where we are welcome , even if they are low paid or freebies .

I owned a 66 Hofner bass. Struggled to play it . Struggled to sell it . Certainly don’t want it back .

Same hear , ( here ) Eddie and David at their absolute best .

I responded to a wanted ad for an empty 2x12 cab , Peter was very patient with me as I sorted the packaging and postage of the cab , and kindly put a few extra £’s in as well to cover the cost of the packing tape . Very smooth transaction .