Truckstop

Drummer in my band has no hole and we position the mic on the drummers side next to the beater about an inch away from the skin. I wouldn't be able to tell you if it's better or worse than mic'ing through a hole though, never had a chance to AB it! It's a small pain in the arse manoeuvring a boom stand around cymbal stands and the floor tom but we get there in the end! Truckstop

Try the Methany Meldau Quartet. I'm not a huge jazz fan but I found MMQ intuitive to listen to and introduced me to loads of musicians I wouldn't have heard of before. I'm not a huge fan of brass and the keys and guitar suited my listening tastes more than brass-led jazz does. Truckstop

Why don't you or your guitarist sing? It's only an open mic so you don't need to be awesome and you might end up discovering a voice you never knew you had! Your drummer will be an enthusiastic backing vocalist!! Truckstop

Hughes & Kettner 410h is very very very wide! There's a massive port in the middle and instead of making the cab tall they made it wide instead. Also very heavy, but extremely high quality and can be had for peanuts. I bought mine for £125 and sold it for the same. Too heavy and bulky for me unfortunately. Truckstop

Ha ha ha ha

Some silly sod's probably got it stashed in an attic somewhere without realising what he's got! Been on a Jamerson binge this evening, some Chuck Rainey might have also slipped through! Truckstop

Passive basses sound good through anything. It's active instruments that I've needed to be a bit more selective over! Truckstop

If I had £800 to spend on an amp I'd look for a second hand 2x10 combo. Probably Gallien Kreuger (RB range), Peavey (BAM or Pro range) or SWR (WorkingPro range) and then spend the money I've got left on decent strings, cables, mics and cases. I don't like lightweight Class D amps. I think they lack balls and character. Sure, they're easier to move around but every sod that has one sounds like every other sod that has one! Good luck and have fun! Truckstop

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1420217808' post='2646794'] Fender Duck Dunn http://basschat.co.uk/topic/250608-fsft-fender-duck-dunn-precision/page__pid__2646027#entry2646027 SWR Workingman 2x10 combo http://basschat.co.uk/topic/250678-price-drop-swr-2x10c-workingmans-combo-l215/page__pid__2646730#entry2646730 [/quote] Before I even finished reading the OP this is what I had in mind! Truckstop

Oh, bugger sorry pal, I'm sure a new opportunity will present itself in the future! Truckstop

I found wearing my bass a little higher really helped develop a consistent pick technique. Picking is really hard and takes a lot of practice. Took me months to get my upstroke and downstroke equal! After that I spent a long time working on triplets and string skipping. Muting was something that just sort of happened as I developed my technique. Just stick at it! Truckstop

Yamaha BB424/1024/2024! They have the old skool passive thing going on in spades. They look great, medium profile necks (somewhere between Jazz and Precision feel), terrific Yamaha construction and generally ideal for all situations. The 2000 series BB's are really quite special instruments. There's a couple 1024's on sale here at the moment I think? Truckstop

My gig was f***ing rubbish for a wide variety of reasons. Can't be bothered to list everything that went wrong and I think I'll be ringing the band leader in the morning to say that they need to pull their socks up if I'm to play for them again. Serious attitude and quality problems in that band!! Oh well, I've had a sip of sherry and a ham sandwich, off to bed now Happy new year everyone! Truckstop

Country pub in North Herts this year. 9-1, three sets about an hour each. £1,250 for a 5-piece band which I think is about right. I think musicians should be getting at least £200 a head for pubs and clubs, £400+ each for corporate/function. Pub's organised a lovely heated marquee for all the locals and regulars, should be intimate and fun! Truckstop

Basses in/out - None! Love my Yamaha BB424. Have no GAS for another bass at all and I don't think I ever will unless I get enough money for a 2024! Chopped and changed my amplification a bit though. Moved through small combos and amps/cabs before settling on a nice big Peavey Max700 and Peavey TXF 410. I think it sounds better Truckstop

God, Uptown Funk's so boring! And impossible to cover without a horn section. Truckstop

I prefer a 180' jack. This way it's turned in on itself and removes all possibility of malfunction. Truckstop

'All About That Bass' by Megan Trainor(sp?) goes down quite well with the ladies. 'Do It Like A Dude' and 'Bang Bang' by Jessie J work well if you take some liberties with arrangement and most Beyoncé stuff works. Crazy in Love and Single Ladies especially. 'Thinking Out Loud' by Ed Sheeran and 'Budapest' by George Ezra are slower but great floor fillers. Took me a while to realise, but older people love dancing in pairs and these songs really work for them. As JTUK says, it can be hard to get a set list perfect, but if you can play a song with enough conviction to really make it your own, then people will love it whatever the song is. Truckstop

Daisy Rock basses are totally ok to play! Good necks and light but had weird balance on the strap and underwhelming pickups. No more disgusting than relic'd guitars or other novelty shaped instruments. Truckstop