KevB

I've had a Marshall 25B 1x10 combo for years in the spare room for practice, still going strong. Don't know if they still make them but if not they are probably easy to find second hand.

They do have a distinct sound (obvious Gong/Hillage influence) and some it sounds very samey after a while but when I'm in the mood there's plenty of good stuff to sift out. I first discovered them in a second hand record shop when there was a release of all the old (originally cassette only) stuff on separate Cd's as a box set 'vitamin enhanced' and I picked up all 6 volumes for next to nothing. The outer box had long gone but all the Cd's were in playable nick.

Yep we didn't take many bookings for November but that was partly deliberate as we knew up front we had a busy schedule in December and it was nice to have a bit of a rest in advance.

I really must stop clicking on these threads when I've only recently finished my lunch...

Done it various ways, the circle or semi circle with the drummer at the 'open end' works well as long as you can keep the volume down. Depends on what aspect you are rehearsing. If it is more musical side of things that are being worked on that's fine but if it's the 'show' side of things and you need to practice certain moves then presumably the 'as on stage' set up would be better. I usually find on the whole there is a tendancy for people to play far too loudly at these things. My current band leader seems to have a phobia of rehearsing so we hardly ever do.

Try pointing the extension cab [i]away[/i] from the window next time?

There's still no embargo on their discussion as far as I know. I'm sure it is still fine to post pics of real rics and possibly even fakes (well maybe not) [i]as long as they are not related to a sale[/i]. It would be silly to just try to rewrite history and pretend that they have never been copied, there was one on TOTP from '78 on the box just the other night (Hot Chocolate). As others have said, whether you like them or not they still have a certain [i]presence. [/i]I haven't used mine in the last 3 or 4 bands I've been in as the material didn't really suit the ric sound enough to take it along. However I took it to yesterday's jam session and everyone noticed it, even non musicians. I even let a young lad use it with his band's set as he'd been admiring it since they walked in and couldn't quite believe it when I told him to leave his bass in the bag and use mine, think it made his day. Spread a little happiness and all that...

Used to give valuable advice on here to those like me who were putting together band web sites, also met him briefly at on eof the early bassworld get togethers in Northampton. Genuine and thoroughly decent bloke.

Long long house band stint today at a jam session, wouldn't normally relate it but one particular set was bizarre. Asked to back a couple of guys playing guitars doing a few songs I don't usually do but happened to know them reasonably well. One of them sets off doing the songs fine, the other clearly didn't or had some kind of serious mental block. The bizarre thing was he evidently wasn't listening to either me or the other guitarist or even looking for guidance, seemed genuinely oblivious to the train wreck he was creating and ploughed along throwing in wrong chord after wrong chord. Utter shambles that seemed to just go on forever. Still, that's jam sessions for ya Felt like I earned my fee today...

This all assumes that there is a defined running order. The band leader (singer) in my lot has a scruffy bit of paper with all the songs on it we are ever likely to do and just calls them out as he feels fit through the gig. If we were all on ipads or physical sheet music we'd still have that delay whilst we all found the next song and loaded it up. I've discussed having a defined running order so at least we know what's coming next but it's never happened. Of course now we have a delay whilst the guitarist sets up his 'sound' for a particular song once he knows what we are actually playing next

Practically any cover of a Bob Dylan song but of course the obvious one is Hendrix.

If I hadn't got so much on at the moment I'd be sorely tempted to have a go at this, been a good few years since I played some of those on their set list!

Saw them at my local pub the other week. Decent pub band but surprised they get that much work that it could be turned into a full time occupation. They obviously got someone to do it though, really tall bloke who looked like he had ability far beyond what he was being asked to play. Very little stage presence as an actual band though which was odd considering how long they have been going.

But is Chris Squire using the same brand strings he was using in, say, the early 70's? Did he sound any less like CS then and realistically how much of a difference to his sound through the years has actually been down to his choice of strings? Half the time we can't even be sure which bass he was using never mind the strings on it

Despite the received wisdom of many other players I still feel that for what I do the influence of the strings is absolutely minimal to my overrall sound. First a couple of qualifications. I'm talking about like for like in terms of types (rounds v rounds, flats v flats) and my 'overrall sound' is what the audience hears in a band context, not me noodling around in my spare room straining my ears for the tiniest differences in sonic profile. And its mostly down to feel, I don't hear much difference in roundwounds from lots of manufacturers covering reasonably wide prices. Through the years I've used Roto's, Ernie Ball, Elixir, Elite, Fender and no doubt a few others. My rig still sounds like my rig and it still sounds like me playing it. If I'm comfortable with the feel of the string then I'll play with more confidence than something that doesn't quite sit right under my fingers irrespective of the apparent 'superiority' of that brand. The fact that I've mostly been in pub covers bands knocking out rock/pop plays a part too, if I got into heavy dub or something I'd have to rethink what strings to use just as I would the EQ settings on my amp. But it wouldn't make me rush out and buy any particular brand of string any more than going out and buying another amp. I'm currently gigging quite a lot and usually the same bass. I've been using some £5:99 jobs and gigged heavily they last 6-8 months and I'm using a pick most of the time. I've had some very complimentary comments on my tone from both band members and audience. How many of the different brand strings we buy actually start off in the same factory and just get packaged and priced for whatever the 'name' company thinks they can get away with?

Like 'shell getting to an age where I can't see half of what I'm doing on stage anyway. I guess if i had my reading specs on and it was in decent size font on an ipad secured to the mic stand in one of those clips I might get away with it. My guess is by the time I'd figured where I was the song would have moved on anyway though! I've tried working from notes thrust in my hand at jam sessions in the past and usually it's a nightmare. Much rather be prepared in advance and at least have a fighting chance of an approximation of what I'm supposed to be doing. I think I'm getting close to my limit of what I can reliably commit to memory though. Stuff I was fluent with at jam sessions a couple of years ago if they cam eup out of the blue now without warning I'd struggle with, It's the regular repetition stuff that sticks so I can recall everything my current band chucks at me now no probs (only about 25-30 songs so no big deal). Doesn't mean I don't make mistakes but at least I'm sure what I [i]should[/i] have been playing Never used charts for a proper gig ever to my recollection, but I hardly ever do deps.

Currently on my ipod is Fusion Orchestra 2's 'Casting Shadows' featuring a BC member on bass. Shame my download via Amazon got screwed up so I ended up paying for the album about 1.5 times more than I should have

Interesting. If it came in butterscotch blonde with thru-body stringing I'd be quite tempted for some low end thumpiness which I'll admit I tend to avoid usually. I think I'd have to move on my US P special deluxe whatever its called first though.

Not sure I've come across the Cabronita anywhere yet. What's it like tonally? one trick pony or room for a bit of variety?

No talk of a basschat onesie then? Actually in all seriousness if there was a fleece beanie in high vis material with a black bass clef on the front I'd probably get one for cycling into work with, quite a few cyclists on here.

I don't think my lot (and i hold myself partly responsible) have ever really cracked the vocal harmonies in the middle ('I got soul' etc) bit but by then it's usually turned into a crowd singalong anyway.

If being prepared, organised and knowing the difference between learning songs and a band rehearsal on your part is 'taking it too seriously' then i suspect the band is going absolutely nowhere. You're better off out of it.

Maybe they are going down the Vapor Trails route and intend to remix it and sell it to us all a second time in a few years I didn't go to any of the shows so I will probably put it on my xmas list if any of my mates wants to get it for me but it won't kill me if it doesn't turn up. There will be a load of them available cheap S/H or at discount prices new within a year as with most releases these days.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1385019665' post='2283424'] Bloody hell, with the amount of godawful "novelty" songs being posted as examples of good covers in this thread I'm surprised nobody has posted a clip of the Barron Knights yet. [/quote] I was going to mention this in my original post (not the Barron Knights bit) that a lot of 'quirky'covers and the bands that turned them into their own style (Hayseed Dixie and Dread Zep spring to mind) soon do in fact start to sound like novelty bands. I think with those, both bands were always playing it firmly tongue in cheek though so it fitted that 'cabaret' ethos. Always liked Nazareth's vs of This Flight though I don't think Joni was overly impressed.

Sorry folks, the vast majority of examples posted so far for me have been the best arguments you can get for leaving the songs just how they were... Always liked stranglers vs of walk on by though, classic cover.