Kev

Tell you what, I wouldn't stop at a refund with GuitatGuitar, put a formal complaint in and target compensation for all this ridiculous messing around!

Effectively, if you are playing a gig for free, or if the total cost of petrol etc for all band members isn't covered by the fee, then you're paying to play. I imagine most have done this at least once during their playing life! Its just about weighing up what the gig is worth to you. I would never pay a fee to play any venue/festival. In originals band, depending on the gig, I'd accept a loss after costs, price you have to pay before you're successful enough to demand more. Tribute/function band, the only time I'd ever play a gig where costs are not covered is if there is a well paid one right alongside it that pays enough to cover both. At the end of the day, I just want to get out there and play music and making money is never an aim, but if I'm playing gigs where the venue is making a tidy profit on the night, I'm not accepting a loss.

Me too.

That's odd, I always thought the Sterling had a slimmer/narrower neck, or is that just the 4's?

Amazed at how many of you think a random person on the street would know McCartney is a bass player, before we even consider anyone knowing who Jaco and Victor Wooten are! 😅 It's not even a slight against bass players. At a real stretch, people may know some singers as well as band names, but that's it.

Just out of interest, are they holding your money or have they refunded you? As it sounds like they had information to give but didn't bother reaching out to tell you about it...

Not if you're one of my 4 strings 😉

Thankfully, I have never had the misfortune of a bass going wrong during a gig. I have in rehearsal though. Broken string (not since I stopped using DR!), failed strap button and failed jack. I also had an odd situation with silence from a preamp once that never recurred. I use pretty decent gear and baby it, but these things can still happen. I'd never take that risk during a live performance of any kind, and given both my current live projects are played to a strict set time with backing tracks, I wouldn't have time to change a string or diagnose mid set, however easy it may be to resolve in rehearsal. Quickly switching basses keeps the show running and the professional image intact 👍🏻

So just to be clear, if you didn't take a backup bass, your bass went "wrong" during the first track and you had to sit out the rest of the gig (or the band had to stop performing), you would expect to get the full fee? And you wouldn't worry about any damage to your reputation?

A bass is the easiest thing to bring a backup of and remains fully in your control. Any other failure, amp/cab/pedals etc, it's more than plausible that the sound tech can cover you for that, even if it's just straight DI to FoH, depending on the type of gig. If it's a gig where you are running everything, then yes a backup line needs to be drawn somewhere, but ultimately if something in your control fails, I assume you would not charge for the gig. Re the PA example, obviously any equipment that isn't yours is beyond your control and responsibility, so doesn't really enter into it.

By important gigs, do you mean paid gigs or just gigs you consider bigger/better? What I mean to say is, if you're playing a paid gig that isn't that important to you and something goes wrong rendering your bass unplayable, you're comfortable just sitting out the rest of the job? And would you still expect to be paid the full fee?

Fair enough, it just sounded like a retort rather than agreement with my opinion on it, apologies it seems for misunderstanding you 😅 but yes, me too, and I'm sure a hell of a lot of players will! Good business for Fender from what I can see.

I think the you may have missed the tone of my post

But surely no-one is buying it, who IS she?!!!!!

Ah, this old chestnut. Yes, always take a backup if you can. Too many individual things can go wrong with a bass, however unlikely, and its the easiest thing to swap quickly if it happens, so why risk it? To make load in/out fractionally easier?

I do feel a lack of ability to memorise and retain information is being overlooked in a lot of comments here. If a person has a fantastic voice and performance etiquette, I don't think they should be stigma'd away from performing because of a lack of memory skill. If its laziness, sure, but I'm not sure how anyone would ascertain that without asking.

Vocalist in one band I work with has a tablet on stage with lyrics, doesn't bother me at all. Its out of sight and quite discrete. It would probably bother me more if it was fully visible in an ugly way to the audience, from a looking professional point of view, but its not a big deal. I'd much rather they do that than forget lyrics mid set, one certainly looks worse than the other.

Yeah, until I saw it in the flesh I never really picked up on the notably bluer edges, it really is lovely! And the neck is lovely all round really

There seems to be a somewhat surreal belief that in 2024 playing ability and fame are directly connected. They aren't. I'm not sure they ever have been, to be honest. But today, love it or hate it, "making it" as a musician is more about social media presence and reach than any other factor, by a country mile. Naturally, the big brands are going to react to that accordingly, and have done for a while now. Fender isn't giving a signature bass to some nerdy virtuoso who has no idea what TikTok is, because they won't make any money off it. Getting a signature bass isn't a reward for all your hard work becoming the best at playing bass. It's a business transaction, for the mutual benefit of the company and you, like any other endorsement deal.

Can I just quickly ask, what's the main reason you're looking to switch to 5 string?

When I first saw the pic, I thought it had been refinished because of how that forearm "contour" looked, but saw close up it's still the textured finish, and thought it unlikely! Mine definitely didn't have any kind of rounding there, very much the slab body, not that it ever bothered me. Only a Ric's binding does that to me...

Oh absolutely, no mistaking that bit of ebony figuring on the board! 😍 I thank your past self for its decision to move her on 😎 she's in safe hands!

This week I welcomed this absolute stunner to the stable! A 2016 PDN StingRay, key features of this one being the stunning Starry Night finish, roasted Birdseye Maple neck and an unmarked Ebony fingerboard, apparently the first run of 'Rays to not have inlays! I've wanted one of these since they were released, I grabbed a Charcoal Sparkle a couple of years ago but it just wasn't the same. It's a beauty, and transforms depending on what light is on it! HUGE thanks to Mick (@MM Stingray 62) for his patience with me over this, kept him waiting for two months whilst I scrambled the cash, all without a grumble. Cheers buddy!