martin8708

I suppose you will be judging all new applicants against your existing singer , who sounds fantastic, so you’re probably setting yourself up for disappointment if you’re looking for a direct replacement . As others have mentioned , perhaps try nurturing a less fantastic singer who may surprise you a little further down the line . Talking from personal experience , I’m a middle of the road bass player who has stepped into far bigger shoes than I deserve, but I offer other skills such as backing vocals / PA supply and set up , band promotion /getting gigs which previous bass players did not offer .

We have keyboard Tourette’s currently , but have been party to guitar / drummer Tourette’s as well. The new (ish) keyboard player always breaks into Bruce Hornsby’s “ The way it is “ , but just the intro between songs . We asked if he could play the rest of the song , umm , have not learnt it yet . We collectively decide to learn the song for the next rehearsal, come next week , he has not got round to learning it , despite the rest of us learning the track . Bruce Hornsby on the shelf , suddenly it’s the intro to “ Don’t let the Sun go down on me “ Do you know the song we all ask ? , No , just the intro is the reply . God knows what it will be in a fortnight.

Sold my Squier CV Mustang bass to Lozz , didn’t even haggle on the price ( a bit of Life of Brian there ) Many thanks for a smooth transaction . best wishes , Martin .

Albatross- Fleetwood Mac . ARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!. Not a fan of You look wonderful tonight by Eric Crapton .

I think Warwickhunt has pretty much nailed it . If you’ve paid off your mortgage , have few / no dependants , a partner who is a hedge fund manager , then I would say go for it . I myself am not 100% happy at work , but it keeps a roof over my head , food on the table and occasional musical treats / purchases. I would rather put up with the stress of work , than the stress of wondering when my next gig / pay check is going to be . I do admire those who pursue their dream of living from music / art / acting .

In the old days (pre-pandemic?? ) , the second hand market value of instruments seemed to be approx 1/2 to 2/3 of new retail price , with factors such as condition / scarcity/ demand nudging the prices a bit higher or lower . Second hand prices are now a lot closer to retail price , and there seems little difference between private sale price and second hand from a music shop . I have been scanning the market for a nice second hand 000 acoustic guitar , and it’s the same guitars for months and months that sit on reverb /fretboard / eBay ( shudder ) and the music shops that I consider to be too expensive , nothing changes , nothing sells .

Just the one P bass , never had a bass fail me or break a string in 38 years . Regular inspection /maintenance is definitely a plus . Blown a few amps in gigs though .

I am happy to sell low-dollar items myself , but I am increasingly using shops/dealers for higher value items . I find it quite frustrating when deals are made , then radio silence with expensive instruments , or ridiculous low ball offers which take the p*ss. Andy Baxter achieved an excellent sale price for my 66 Hofner beatle bass , far more than a similar instrument listed on Basschat and some sold through Gardiner Houlgate .

As above . Ian Gillan from Deep Purple . And of course Freddie Mercury , the original Iron Man of vocalists

The second hand Vintage V4MTB Tony Butler signature Bass at GAK for £279. Looks similar to the Fender 57 AVRI that I’ve used for the last 20 years . ( I have no affiliation with GAK )

King of Pain - The Police .

I played in a duo for 10 years with a Singer/ guitarist with me on bass / backing vocals . He took two thirds of the gig money , but he was an established musician who had a diary full of gigs and he owned the PA. I was perfectly happy with this as my playing improved dramatically, played some great gigs , met loads of other musicians , so getting paid less was no big deal . If I was a more accomplished bass player , I would have asked for more money .

Just bought Dans JMJ Mustang , which he kindly sent to the ( not so ) sunny Isle of Wight . Prompt replies, super fast delivery , 100% recommended seller . Many thanks again ,Dan . Cheers , Martin

My mother is my major influence , early Stones , Beach Boys , Neil Diamond , Dave Brubeck , Gerry Mulligan . My Dad , James Last . My brother : Status Quo. Apparently my Grandad was a saxophone player in a trad jazz band that gigged around the Cider festivals , but he came home inebriated one night and Grandma took a hammer to his sax .

Been through this numerous times , especially with the current band . We all agree to learn song X and Y for next week , and when I arrive at the next rehearsal the singer and guitarist ( who are an item ) throw song A and B at me . I now just learn the basic song structure , if the song stays with the band , I will invest more time in it .

Bought some TI flats off Tom ,strings promptly sent and a perfect fit for my CV Mustang . As above , great seller , buy with confidence . Many thanks .

I cut my bass teeth on Yamaha BB1200’s , it was my first bass ( going cheap in a Yamahamusicland in South Africa , bargain price ) This was my mainstay for 20years of gigging /rehearsals , got me into numerous bands / gigs / deps / party’s , a great bass . A slightly drunken evening bid on eBay for a early Fender AVRI 57 bass resulted in said P bass arriving on my doorstep in the next few days . That P bass has been my go-to bass for the last 18 plus years , had numerous offers from other bass players desperate to buy it from me . ( Shuker / Wal owners ] , but you will have to prise it out of my cold blue fingers before I part with it . The neck is a Herbie Gastelum neck , and it’s got that glorious P bass maple neck growl . I have another 6 precisions ( two 63 ‘s ) but the AVRI is the king of the hill . I have also had MM stingrays , golden era Warwick streamers , an Alleva Coppola , Steinberger XL , so the Fender has had some stiff competition, all sold apart from the AVRI .

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Bought Tim’s Markbass 802 , Tim’s an absolute gentleman, paid Monday night , the combo was sitting in my office Thursday morning , and was kept informed at every step of the delivery . 100% recommended seller , just like all the previous feedbacks . Many thanks again , Tim .

I have not played in a tribute band , but as a resident of the IoW and frequent goer to the Isle of Wight festival , one of the best bands I saw was the Australian Pink Floyd show , I was too young to see the original line up ( on my own ) so this is the closest I got to a Floyd gig and it was bloody brilliant . Nick Mason thinks their great too .

Turning up for the occasional rehearsal . Turning up for gigs . Not being in hundreds of other bands as well . Plus , all of the above .

Bought some TI flats from Martyn , arrived promptly despite a Royal Mail strike . Many thanks Martin .