martin8708

I like a bit of Nylon . Apologies for the low grade picture .

I have a Tube 800 MB amp which is used to power a Vanderkley 212 cab , my Markbass cabs seemed to struggle in a two guitar rock band. Use a AE whizzy 12 with a Momark 250 for smaller gigs , nice compact and full sounding rig .

Bands - Queen , unless by some miracle you have found another Freddie . Song - Hotel California .

Welcome to my current band . So far so good , but I do charge extra for taxi service's and relationship councilling .

Things haven't improved since , Neil Young was the Sunday Headliner for the Isle of Wight festival a few years back , reports were everybody starting leaving early and the fireworks that normally close the festival at 11 pm went off at 10:30 ..

I am slowly becoming a convert to using shops to sell any high-end gear on commission sale . Takes all the hassle of low-ballers , tyre kickers and people who go " radio silent " once they've agreed to buy your gear .Quite often the better price the shop gets offsets the commission they charge . I do think the market place is a lot tougher than it used to be , too many guitars and not enough guitarists ???

Many thanks to your replies , especially to BigRedX for his encyclopaedic knowledge the bass vi . It sounds like it's neither bass nor guitar ,but a different instrument in its own right . The squier seems to be the best way to enter into the world of bass vi without breaking the bank , Many thanks Martin

Sorry , my mistake , heading corrected . cheers Martin.

Any one play one ? I am in a standard 3 piece band ( bass/ guitar / drums ) and just looking at bringing a fuller sound to the band , are they a viable alternative to a regular bass , or are they more of a guitar type instrument ? I play some guitar as well , so looking to throw in some basic chords as well. I have watched a few YouTube clips , most seem to play them through guitar amps with distortion pedals as they would a regular guitar . Would a Squier bass vi be a good introduction to the instrument ? All comments welcome .

It helps if you play another instrument . When I'm not in a band , I pick up my Acoustic guitar and work out new songs , my only audience is the cat and my deaf 94 yr old neighbour .I find it helps to keep my brain musically engaged .

I would love some Mesa stuff , but looking at the specs of the cabs , they weight about the same as my car , Interested in the 1x15 , but 35kg is a bit of a heft ?

Hey ,it sucks when you are given the elbow in a band , especially for some rather random reason like getting the old bass player back in. These days bands seem to chop and change members at the drop of a hat , wrong bass, wrong image , wrong hair ( in my case , no hair ) . As difficult as it is , try to stay on good terms with the others , as soon as the band implodes ,they may be getting in touch with a " new project "

I tend to agree with this sentiment , and agree with some of the points lemonstar raised. Sure ,it just a pub band , but musicians tend to be a fairly close knit community, and word gets about who's reliable and easy to get on with , and who's a bit unhinged . Life is loaded with rejection , sure , it feels pretty lousy , but sometimes you can turn it around to your benefit . Good luck which ever way you go .

Similar thing happened to me , I was "released " from a band that still had one large gig to play , rather than throw my toys out the pram , I just sucked it up and played the gig and took the money and run . I'm in a new band now , but more importantly ,I m still very good friends with one of the previous band members , who is a great singer / guitarist who has helped me out by recommending me to other musicians looking for a bass player .

I find playing acoustic guitar (classical ) keeps my interest in music alive . Another vote for acoustic guitar .

Good choice . Sultans of Swing - never tire of it . More than a feeling - Boston , I know it's cheesy , but great riffage . Its my life - Talk Talk . Still love the bass line.

A bit late to the party , but I was a dyed in the wool Markbass amp and cab user until I joined a two guitar band , ( loud ) . Suddenly I just could not hear myself at the gigs so I did the pilgrimage up to Warwick and got myself the VK212MNT . What a difference , suddenly I could hear myself I the band despite the best efforts of Mr Mesa Boogie and Mr Marshall to drown me out , It was punching through the mix like Mohammed Ali. I quit the loud rock band , it was playing havoc with my hearing , and I downsized to the 210MNT ,and I have done loads of gigs with a single 210 and never found it lacking ,even some seriously loud pub gigs . It bearly breaks into a sweat in a normal 3 piece pub rock band ,so I can only imagine 2 to be more of a good thing . Still use the Markbass amps , they seem to go well with the VK cabs .

When I was 17 , many many years ago ( and playing guitar quite badly ) someone showed me a recording of Duran Duran live on a VHS tape . Watching John Taylor play Rio in front of 1000's of screaming women convinced me bass was the way to go.

I have to admit that when the band phone up and say "we have a gig " a small feeling of dread comes over me .I work on the weekends ,so getting home at 1.00am on Sunday morning having to get up 5 hours later to cover a Sunday Clinic doesn't really float my boat . Yes ,we get £30 ,but factor in fuel costs and a drink ( no free drinks ,) and your not exactly going to be much better off. I think the audience has changed as well , as well as landlords attitudes to musicians , years ago there was a bit more appreciation and respect towards musicians .When you are playing to a room full of people who are more interested in watching Football on TV, I do sometimes question why we are doing the gig .

Standard gig set up protocol is drummer goes in first to set up kit at back of stage while PA is set up in front . Next the guitarist sets up with huge pedal board and stereo amp rig , and the vocalist claims her space with mic stands and pedals . Last is bass , as it takes me 1 minute to set up , normally in the corner littered with gig bags / left over lead bags / general junk / coats that the band can't be arsed to take back to their cars . The last gig we did they dumped a monitor speaker in the exact space I was supposed to stand . Yes , it's infuriating , but I'm just too meek and mild to say anything . ( until I tell them they need to find themselves a new bass player that is more suitable to their gigging requirements ) The only time I have been given space and shown consideration as to stage layout is when I play in duos with an acoustic guitarist .

I tend to go where I'm told , the drummer and guitarist seem to need the whole stage to set up before the bass player is allowed on . I'm normally left with a tiny space , currently stage right , but I've never really thought too much about it .

I have a small collection of vintage instruments , but these were purchased 20 odd years ago when I had more disposable income and the market was not so overheated and rife with instruments of dubious origins . There is no way I could ever afford these instruments now , so I guess my collecting days are over , so I must have made some gains in these instruments . There are far better ways of investing money ( and getting regular returns ) , but you cannot gig shares in Royal Dutch Shell. Like any form of collecting for investment purposes , condition and originality is paramount .

It's no big deal if the drummer is not present , it gives myself and the guitarist time and space to work out all the nuances of some of the more difficult songs . Without a vocalist or guitarist , not much point in rehearsing .