casapete

I always keep my nails fairly short, not only because of the ‘plucking finger click’ thing but also

 because I can’t stand it when the nails on your fretting hand touch the fingerboard. 😖

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

The first one makes Noddy Holder £250,000 every Christmas!

I think it makes Noddy Holder and co-writer Jim Lea a shared £250,000 every year?

Still a nice pension though. 

4 hours ago, StingRayBoy42 said:

Have we all heard Dylan's christmas song?
 

You're welcome.
 

I actually played this on a gig last year! Was my mate in our duo who suggested doing it,

I wasn’t sure but it went down really well in the pub.  Alcohol is a mysterious thing…..

7 hours ago, Graham said:

I really like playing the Mariah Carey, it's a really fun song to play

I always wonder if the keys player could keep that opening figure going all the way

through the song….😆

46 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

nice to know I'm not the only one, ages in our band are 20, 35, 61 and 71, though I'm the one who gets lumbered lugging the PA around 😕

You obviously aren’t playing the ‘age card’ well enough then Paul! 😆

2 hours ago, tauzero said:

I think part of what keeps me, and possibly the drummer, going is that the other two are 25 years younger than us.

Same with my band - ages range from 70 to 25, and it's definitely good to have that mix of experience and

youth! Everyone respects each other, and it works really well. 

56 minutes ago, MrDaveTheBass said:

When I played with a drummer with an e-kit, I couldn't get used to not feeling the thump of the bass drum through the soles of my feet. I used to have to watch his right foot to try and guess where "One" was. I much preferred it when he played his acoustic kit, though that was much more of a pain in the donkey to lug about. Mind you, this was 20 years ago, so I would hope that e-kits have improved since then. 

With me it’s that thing of when I move nearer to the drummer onstage, the drums get quieter! Still

not got quite used to it yet after a number of years. 
(I’m the only dinosaur left in my band who still uses a wedge monitor, everyone else on IEMs….)

I’ve spent all my previous time in bands with acoustic drums. I’m not wholly convinced by e-kits, but

must admit they’ve got to a point where the difference is minimal. Our singer did insist on e-drums,

and for our band the different sounds that can be had are an essential part of how we do stuff.

I do like the fact that some gigs I can have the drums kicking if I want, then other nights just have

a quieter stage level to suit me. ( Never got on with IEMs, and am leaving the band in Spring 2024 so

whoever takes over from me will make the band 100% wedge monitor free.)

Final gig this year at my favourite venue ‘The Lookout on the Pier’ in Scarborough with our

acoustic duo. It was their Christmas party for invited guests so plenty of familiar faces and

song requests. We did a smattering of Christmas stuff, ( Run Rudolph Run, Please come home

for Christmas etc) but also plenty of others including’Happy Together’ by The Turtles (great 

tune I’ve never played before) and ‘It’s getting better’ by Mama Cass ( ditto!). Played two

sets, 1x45 and 1x70 mins, fingers aching a bit today! Used a little Rok Tek graphic eq for 

the first time which just cut an annoying touch of feedback.
We have two gigs a month booked in starting Jan 2024, so really pleased. 

(Sorry for the crap pics, too busy playing to take any others)

On 09/12/2023 at 13:25, BassAdder60 said:

412 ? Didn’t think they sold a 4x12 !

 

Ampeg did make a 4x12 bass cab for a while, around the late 90’s I think. 
IIRC the model was something like SVT412HE. Never seen one in the flesh though!

Reading some of the comments on here, I’m amazed at how some of the bands mentioned manage

to exist at all!
Imagine the scenario with say a sports team, who have scheduled matches against others and then one

or two of the players decide to arrive late / can’t make it / will only play if their other half is in a good

mood etc etc. The team wouldn't last five minutes. Surely it’s no different with bands.
Whether it’s just a hobby or something more serious, there is no point in band members having such

a lack of commitment. Of course things in life occasionally happen which mean changes need to be 

made to rehearsal schedules, but isn’t it funny how when a paying gig is on the cards then people

seem to be able to commit to them more readily? In an old band of mine, getting everyone to agree

on a mid week rehearsal was a nightmare ( mainly down to two band members who were also

full time teachers) but if we got a mid week gig offered they always seemed to manage it!

Are they generally light weight wise? 
Asking for a friend. 

29 minutes ago, BillyBass said:

 

I'm a Reverend convert.  I think you either like the look of Reverends or you don't.  I love the weird retro futuristic Jetsons look and some of the finishes-I like bright and flashy!  They also happen to be well made, sound good and come at a price point that I like.

 

 

Totally with you on all these points.

They’re almost Danelectro like in their appeal for me, albeit with more options and better built. 

5 hours ago, BillyBass said:

I would say so, but then I'm biased!  Unfortunately, here in the U.K. very few shops sell reverend kit, just a shop in Scotland and another shop to the east of London.  The Scottish shop are the main dealers of Reverend in the UK, I had to bribe my missus with a spa break in Scotland to get up there to try them out.  That was when I bought my Decision P.

 

I had this delivered, because I live over a 7 hour drive away, but I tried enough Reverends when I was there to be comfortable buying sight unseen.  As you say, it was likely to be one of the best in the shop.

That’s a great looking bass Bill.
Although not anywhere near as far away from Glasgow as you, it’s probably still why I haven’t managed to 

try out any Reverend stuff. One of those brands where I’m drawn to their entire range!

Tonight ( Friday 8th) at 9.15pm on Sky Arts - Carole King & James Taylor ‘Live at the Troubador’.

Celebrating 50 years of the club, with the original band who played with them too. 

Had a lifetime of shifting reasonably heavy bass stuff around, and now at 65 I’m amazingly not

too bad in the back department. Getting a Barefaced Compact in 2009 has certainly helped with

things as have class D heads, and for smaller gigs my Fender Rumble 100 combo has been a godsend too.

Used my Precision Lyte on all my theatre gigs for more than a decade now, which at 7lbs hasn’t 

given me any trouble in my shoulder / back. I do struggle to put PA speakers on stands with 

my acoustic duo, but fortunately my guitarist mate is younger and fitter than me.

I do take more care not to pile in and try to lift stuff that would be daft for a man of my years,

and don’t do any stupid lifting round the house etc. Hopefully I’ll be able to keep gigging for

many years to come, if other circumstances allow.

Just got tickets for Sheryl Crow next June. One of the few of my favourite people I’ve never

seen , so really looking forward to it. Her band are just amazing, especially both guitarists - saw

them on TV playing at Glastonbury and was blown away. Should be a great gig. 😊

 Got to be the best ‘bang for the buck’ rig advertised on here at the moment - GLWTS. 

1 hour ago, dclaassen said:

Anybody else find a difference in straps? I have a wide solid leather strap purchased in 1975. Never slipped off a bass and still going strong. I bought a padded one last year and had to get those cheap plastic twisty locks to keep it on.

I’ve used mainly Jim Dunlop plastic strap locks / retainers for over 30 years now, and never had any

problems with them. They are secure, easy to use, don’t cost an arm and a leg, easily transferable 

to all my instruments and don’t need to change any of the fittings on any them either. ( Did have some

red ones too which are a lot easier to find when you’ve dropped one on a darkened stage.) Personally

I’ve never understood the whole thing with metal strap locks, just too much faff and expense.

I’ve also used Grolsch swing top bottle washers occasionally, again with 100% positive results. These are

still available in larger supermarkets, and I do like the beer too. Again, easy to find if you drop them. 
Not as easy to secure as the Dunlops, with larger strap buttons being sometimes difficult. Fender did

some similar ones a while back , as did Basschat too. 
 

4 minutes ago, Mickeyboro said:

To put it bluntly, classics appeal to all ages. The newer you get, the bigger the risk of losing half your audience. 

Agreed, but bear in mind that the other half may be the bride & groom and their friends? A few good

recent tunes can help please everybody.

The real gift for wedding bands is when old songs become known by younger audiences, often when

used in films etc.  I’m thinking of all the Blues Brothers / Commitments stuff which made classic soul

more popular, all the Glee stuff, Shrek (I’m a believer), Peter Kay ‘500 miles’  etc etc. These songs 

work on multi levels, ideal for weddings. 

Just now, casapete said:

 

 

 

Double post, soz.

Being in a wedding band involves having a set list to cater for probably the widest audience

demographic you’ll ever encounter! As you point out, the most often played stuff is in the safe

zone of classic pop/ soul/rock which appeals to the widest section of the guests, but IMO you

shouldn’t ignore some newer stuff for the younger people ( maybe even the bride and groom!)

as well as having a few old tunes up your sleeve for the older folk or those guests who may

want to show off their ‘Strictly’ moves. This is especially important when there isn’t a DJ to

cater for these guests.

In my old function band, we’d maybe start with a bit of Sinatra ( so the older guests could have

a dance or two), then go into the pop stuff for the rest of the first set. Second set would be

gradually getting more current as the younger guests would often be the only people left, and 

usually hammered by this time! 
We used to get a lot of wedding work because we catered for all ages, which many bands could not.

It helped being an 8 piece with a brass section, enabling us to authentically cover most eras. For

us the hardest stuff was often the most current, but done in the right way we managed to 

pull it off. With the majority of couples getting married (and their friends) being late 20’s to mid

30’s it would be foolish to ignore their preferences. 
 

Just now, cd_david said:

 

Wowsa - didn’t think it looked plastic! Any more details?

Nice pics - which one is the mad Russian plastic bass from the 80’s though? 

Interesting stuff on Sky Arts this evening (Saturday 2nd Dec)

6pm - Jeff Beck: Live at Ronnie Scott’s

8pm - The Who: Classic Albums ‘Who’s Next’

9pm onwards - The first 3 episodes of ‘Greatest Guitar Riffs’ series.

12.25am - Alice Cooper: Live at Montreux 2005

22 hours ago, Mykesbass said:

Sticking very much to the 'eye of the beholder' comment, a track that I'm no big fan of, but surprised it hasn't shown up yet, George Michael Careless Whisper. An incredible pop song, and written when he was still a teenager. No idea what makes it great, but I would argue strongly that it is.

Although I disagree, I accept that the song is widely considered to be great!
The same 4 chords throughout, and the trademark angst laden vocals which GM used on virtually

everything make it a tedious listen for me.

I think what we’re saying in a lot of these posts is that ‘great’ recordings are those which reach out and

speak to the individual in any way. For me , it’s probably the lead vocal that is the main requirement -

it needs to sound like they ‘mean it’ and is ‘from the heart’ for want of a better phrase. Something that

just connects somehow and because we’re all different then we’re all going to react differently to stuff,

hence my aversion to George Michael!
That’s why I’m not great with angry / shouty/ miserable  stuff, or virtuoso / widdly / 100mph solos played

on anything. A few notes by someone like BB King speak more to me than any amount of frantic playing.