Gareth Hughes

Hey Paulo - welcome to the forum. Sounds like you're off to a great start - I know I wish I'd had a place like this to check out when I'd just started playing bass. Good luck and enjoy. gareth

+1 to using in-ears if it's possible. I say 'possible' because some gigs it just won't seem appropriate for various reasons. I've had great results running in-ears on theatre gigs, with my bass in one channel and a monitor mix in the other. This works fine for me because I'm not having to deal with loud background noise of punters talking and I have a dedicated soundcheck time and monitor guy. For gigs that don't have those luxuries, I wouldn't be bringing all those extra cables, power supplies, boxes, etc to my weekly residency's. As for fatigue - one thing that's helped me enormously lately is using a bent endpin - it shifts the weight of the bass away from the left hand drastically. I'm sure there are ways to stand with a straight endpin and achieve similar results, but for my height/posture this works best. I definitely believe that not hearing yourself properly can lead to overplaying which leads to fatigue. Sometimes it isn't about overall volume, but the volume of certain frequencies. I have a weekly gig with a pianist/singer where I was constantly struggling to get a clean sound. His piano wasn't too loud, my amp wasn't too loud and then I discovered the problem - there was a huge peak of low frequencies in his vocal, through the monitors that was fighting against my bass. You could see the input level light up immediately when he sang and I wasn't playing a note. Turning down wasn't an option so I moved the monitor as far away from me as possible and everything was sorted. On other gigs, I'll get the same problem with my bass resonating with each kick-drum hit. Sometimes that's what we're at the mercy of - but if you're aware of it, and have sympathetic band mates then a compromise can be met.

[quote name='dougal' post='1139813' date='Feb 24 2011, 12:10 PM']I want a bent end-pin, but I don't want to destroy my bass doing it![/quote] No need to destroy your bass at all. I just have a steel rod that has been welded and bent to a certain angle - bought fro George Vance. There's nothing fancy to it. A local iron welder was able to make me another one, for a different height, out of the same material he uses for making iron railings. Not the prettiest to look at, but so what? As long as it fits in the endpin collar, then you're fine. As well as taking the weight away from your left hand, I find that I hear more from the bass as the body is now angled upwards instead of directly away from. Do excuse the derail Fatback!!!

Sad reality about cover/tribute bands is that it's just down to supply and demand. As much as I'd love for the general, pub going, wedding dancing, beer drinking majority to be up for supporting original and creative music - they don't. Music to them is not what music is to us. By that I mean it's the difference between 'Last night a DJ saved my life' (the concept for real, not the song) and 'Music is what I have on in the background while I'm getting ready for work/going out/etc.' Once I got comfortable with the fact that playing in bars and at weddings was entirely about keeping the dancefloor moving and not making great music, I enjoyed it a whole lot more. Of course it's possible to get paid for playing original music, but your audience numbers do shrink drastically so you have to work a damn side harder for it. Having said all that - would I play for free? Not if everyone else in the venue is getting paid. Why should I? Given the music you're expected to play in bars, I'd get much more enjoyment jamming along to records at home than playing 'Sweet Home Alabama' for the 1000th time. But there are plenty of times I've played for free because of the people involved, the music or just because it was something I wanted to be involved in and there simply wasn't any money in it.

Cool - thanks for that. Yep, Jessie J is a very intriguing artist indeed. Something about her music, her attitude when performing it and her overall demeanor make me want to hear more. And her voice - I could listen to that for a long time.

I have the first of his method books but I haven't really delved into it at all. Still sawing through Simandl - which is more than counter-intuitive when you already have the pivot idea developed from playing electric bass. I'll definitely be digging the book out and working through it tomorrow tho - these videos are quite inspiring. I have the 'Art Of The Bow' DVD, which has a lot of the same stories/explanations. Rabbath is a great teacher for sure - he gets you excited about learning!!! One thing I did try - in an attempt to alleviate some back/posture problems I was having - is the bent endpin. For me, it makes a world of difference. My bass position isn't as cello-like as Rabbath's - standing behind the bass - but it's close. The benefit to me is better intonation, no left-hand fatigue from taking any of the bass's weight, and more strength in both pizz and arco with the right hand. I'm just home from a 3 hour gig and have little to no fatigue in both hands. I did the same gig last week with a straight endpin and had to change it after the first few numbers because my left hand was in pieces. Worth investigating IMO.

Hey rikodriko - welcome to the forum. In my experience the problem with recommending for or against any double bass pickup is that they really do seem to respond completely differently from one bass to the next. They seem to interact with the individual bass a lot more than pickup on an electric bass do. (This isn't a scientific observation, just a gigging one). I had a Realist that sounded great on my Eminence Portable Upright (all laminate construction) but sounded muddy on a £3.5K fully carved Romanian bass. When the Realist died (and most of them seem to after a while) I replaced it with an Apt-Flex pickup - similar design but far superior tonally, IMO. One problem you might be experiencing is that a fully carved, gorgeous acoustic toned bass does not always make for a good amplified tone. What I found with my fully carved bass was that all those lovely vibrating pieces of wood were just vibrating too damn much once an amplifier or drum kit was nearby. In the end I sold it and replaced it with a £700 hybrid bass from the Hora company, via Thomann. Whilst it has about 85% of the acoustic tone that the fully carved one had, it is so much more useable live - which is where it counts for me. Another aspect is amplification - I had both an Acoustic Image Contra combo, and a Focus 2 head, and found that they never had any life to them, or were any good at dealing with midrange EQ problems. (The Hi-Pass Filter is a truly wonderful thing tho). Right now I'm using a Genz Benz Shuttle 3.0T combo and I'm having the most satisfying tone I've ever had. One design feature of these is that there's quite a steep low end roll off built into the preamp, in order for it to maximise the cabinet it's coupled with. It seems to have removed all of the unusable but feedback inducing frequencies that made my gigging life miserable before. As for a preamp with the Realist - I don't think it will help. For one thing - the Acoustic Image heads are designed to take Piezo pickups, so you're already getting the impedance load you want on that pickup. Sometimes it's about getting the right impedance, as I'm only finding out now. For years I was using a Fishman Dual Parametric DI because it had a 10 Mohm impedance which I thought was best - get it as high as you can, or so I thought. Right now I'm getting the best result plugging my Apt-Flex directly into a Boss TU-2 tuner, which has a 1 Mohm input and it sounds so much better. It could be that the 10 M-ohm input was letting in too many low frequencies, and highs too possibly. I could be completely wrong in all this - but I know it's working a lot better than it did before. Here's something to check out about the importance of getting the right input impedance: [url="http://contrabassconversations.com/2008/06/28/cbc-85-bass-gear-with-steve-rodby/"]http://contrabassconversations.com/2008/06...th-steve-rodby/[/url] And here's a link to Jonas Lohse's store for the Apt-Flex: [url="http://www.kontrabass-atelier.de/pickups_e.html"]http://www.kontrabass-atelier.de/pickups_e.html[/url] Where abouts in the world are you? If you're in the US you might not be able to get the Apt-Flex (assuming you wanted one) as it is similar to The Realist which has a US Patent protection. The Apt-Flex is made in Russia so the patent restriction doesn't apply. Hope that helps a little. And good luck!!!

Just dive in and watch the guitarist's hands for chord changes. And keep your ears open. Best piece of advice I ever heard was: you have two ears- one for you and one for the band. Don't worry about not being ready - you'll learn so much more in one night's rehearsal with a band than you will by practicing on your own for weeks.

John - check this out: [url="http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=127302877305858"]http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=127302877305858[/url] Might be an idea to look into to get back the rest of your fingerboard.

Loving the look of that John - fair play. Quite a bit of planning in that, I imagine. Any soundclips?

I had this same model - lovely bass indeed. Sold it tho as my Am Std Jazz 5 in Oly White does most of everything I need. And.....I'm waiting on my uberjazz to come back to me in Oly White after being a natural looking mahogany with a rosewood cap bass for the last ten years. The neck is from a 1995 Squier and is to dieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee for - skinnier than the Am Std -just feels too sweet in my hands. It's actually paining me to be away from it for now. Anyway - sorry for the derail and turning this into a J-Bass LoveFest. And welcome to BassChat!!!!

For bass guitar it's a plain old office chair. For the upright it's this: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/km_14052_stehhilfe.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/km_14052_stehhilfe.htm[/url]

[quote name='woodster' post='1128828' date='Feb 15 2011, 08:09 PM']My post was not intended to be negative, I love my job. I was just trying to illustrate that it's not ALWAYS fun.[/quote] Apologies for singling your post out to respond to - nothing personal. And I completely agree with you - it isn't always fun. But what is? Expecting music to be fun all the time is completely unrealistic. The two hours onstage are fun - the rest varies. My concern is that I don't like thinking of that as a factor for not doing it. It's a very personal decision to pursue anything in life. For me it boils down to 'what works for me might not work for you and that's cool'. I consider myself equally blessed and cursed that I have the temperament and disposition that makes the life of a gigging musician something that is very attractive to me. For me, I just know I don't have it in me to do anything else. Here's how I summed it up with my dad when I was 17 and he was constantly asking 'what do you want to do with your life?', seemingly ignoring the million times I told him I wanted to play music. I said 'Ok dad, I'll go to university, get a degree and work towards getting a good secure job'. Slight pause while he breathed in a sigh of relief. Then 'And then you'll die and I'll be stuck doing something I hate. Sound good to you?' We never argued about what I'd do again. My point is that if you want to do this, and feel it's the only thing you can do that makes you happy, then there's a lot of ways that it can be done.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1128770' date='Feb 15 2011, 07:27 PM']Raising or fathering?[/quote] Raising.

Few things I'd like to respond to - mainly because I'm reading a lot of negative comments here. [quote name='thumperbob 2002' post='1128283' date='Feb 15 2011, 01:10 PM']What you may love now will turn into something you will hate- the gigs are ok- its everything else. Definitely a young single mans game.[/quote] With respect - I disagree, and I'm glad I can. You're right - what you may love now might become something you hate. Is that a reason to not do it? I had a lot of great relationships that eventually ending up sucking. I still loves the women. And it's most definitely not a young single mans game. A guy I've had the pleasure of working with just retired from the road, after raising [b]NINE[/b] kids solely on a musicians wage, and has toured the world many times with many huge acts - chances are you've seen him play but you'd never know his name. And he's just turned 65. It's like anything - be good at what you do and you'll keep doing it. [quote name='woodster' post='1128384' date='Feb 15 2011, 02:29 PM']From my own experience, [b]You CAN earn enough to pay the bills[/b] - but be prepared to put the hours in, including travelling, homework or lesson prep if you teach. [b]I spend many hours alone in my car[/b] - driving to sessions or gigs which may be miles away can be a lonely business. [b]Your family DO suffer[/b] - I've had to cancel many family events over the years. NOT 'coz i just HAD to do the gig/session but 'coz the money was too good, or too needed, to turn down. Also the early morning school run is not ideal if you only got home at 4am after a gig. [b]Money is ALWAYS an issue[/b] - unlike 9-5'ers, you can never be sure where the next paycheck is coming from.[/quote] All of the above quotes can be said of ANY job. The first three apply to my mum alone - and she works for the education board!!!! As for money - sure it can be an issue, and I worry about money a lot. BUT I keep telling myself - you've been worrying about this for 13 years now, so stop bloody worrying because the bills have ALWAYS been paid. My dad used to worry about what I do in the early days. He was a teacher all his working life. That's fine - in his day (early 70's) if you got a teaching job that was a job for life. Today's teachers? I'll bet a panto run lasts longer than some teaching jobs. This had been the most enlightening perspective here yet: [quote name='purpleblob' post='1128235' date='Feb 15 2011, 12:33 PM']...might I just make an obvious point (if it's not been made already) that playing music for a living is not much different to becoming a self-employed plumber, software dev, cleaner or whatever.[/quote] It is a job - and that is something that seems to deter folks, or make them think they'll lose their love for it, or the magic will disappear,etc. I totally respect that. Maybe that will happen to me someday, but it hasn't so far, and lordy knows there's been enough opportunities for that to happen.

[quote name='Marvin' post='1128474' date='Feb 15 2011, 03:46 PM']Well said. It's all very unbasschat like as well. Pull yourself together Nigel. [/quote] Yeah, they really are crap, lets be honest In truth they've converted me from an all passive guy for - well, forever since I've been playing bass (bar an unsatisfactory dalliance with Audere pre's). I have an ACG EQ02, designed and made by John, in a Fender Am Std Jazz 5 and I love the thing to bits - it really has given me the tone I've heard in my head for years, and the flexibility to make one bass far more usable than it already was. Because it's not a standard boost/cut pre, I think of it more in terms of changing the basis of your passive sound. Amazingly flexible pre's, IMO. Excuse the slight derail - just wanted to share my joy of John East, via ACG, with you all. Ohhhhh, group hug anyone?

I haven't read through all of this so forgive me if I repeat some things already mentioned. In offer of support for you to do this - it can be done. It's all I've ever done, through good and bad times, and whilst one (not necessarily me) could make a lot more money doing something else, I've made enough over the years to buy a nice house, run a car, not fall behind on bills, get a lot of gear that I'm happy with - and I'm married and have a little kid. Whilst the touring aspect of playing took me on tour for a month when my kid was four weeks old, I'll wager that I get to see him a lot more than if I had a day job. I certainly see him a lot more than my wife does - something she is more than jealous of. It's all possible - you just have to work damn hard at it. That doesn't mean you have to be the next Victor Wooten, just competent in doing the job that is required. Maybe trying to make one cover band work is a putting all your eggs in one basket. Sure it's good to have a regular band but it's more useful, IMO, to be able to play with a lot of different folks. Most of my work this year so far is with a guy I only started playing with on January 2nd. I think there's a misconception that you have to be perfect BEFORE you go out trying to make a living playing music. I disagree - in my experience it's been mostly learning on the job. Which is why a dentist can sub for me but I'll never sub for them If playing freelance sounds appealing do this - go see the the bands you'd like to be playing with, record their set or at least write down the songs the play, go home and learn them (Not necessarily note for note unless it's a tribute band) then go back to their bass player when you know you could cover for him/her. Introduce yourself, explain you're a bass player looking work and that you know their set pretty well and if they ever need a dep you'd love to do it. Sure you might not hear back from 9 out of 10 of them - that's ok, it's a job application in that sense, you won't get everything you apply for. I know this is easier said than done. I was bricking it the first time I called up a very reputable bass player here that I had heard was looking a dep for a show he was doing. In my head, no matter how polite/sincere I spoke, all I could imagine he was hearing was 'I WANT YOUR GIG!!! GIVE ME YOUR GIG!!!! Well, 12 years later he still gives me work, and vice versa when I can. I know that when I need a dep for something I want a list as long as my arm of competent and willing players. Sorry if this was a slight derail. Best of luck with whatever you decide.

That's a trick question, right? Seriously - I'd flip that around and say there's plenty of bad songs I play, but I like all the bass lines. Chances are I'm not playing the original bassline tho - and that's how I stop myself from disliking them. 'The Gambler' by Kenny Rogers? I like that a heck of a lot by the time I'm finished with it.

Great to hear that - about the amp working out, not the journey there of course. I love my 3.0 combo a lot - especially when I prop it up on a stool. The detail coming out of it is....satisfying. That's the best word for it.

Oh yes indeed - tho I'll always pine for one when I've been playing the other too much. It's easy to fall for the upright - standing there with your arms wrapped around it all day. There's a whole lotta lovin there.

A ha - see, I'm a high-school drop-out, I knew I missed something. Thanks for that. Any idea about how these strings bow?

Try Crehans in Glasnevin, Dublin. Not a supplier as such, but a great shop and I'm be surprised if they couldn't sort you out. Or try Tom Barrett in Galway too. [quote name='fatback' post='1126009' date='Feb 13 2011, 02:54 PM']Does anybody know a supplier of rosin in or to Ireland that charges less than €15 for postage (Thomann )? I'm just trying to avoid that ripped off feeling.[/quote]