KevB

I started off as a (not particularly good) lead singer in a band with schoolmates, just jamming (got replaced before they did a proper gig, not for my singing just daft internal politics but I digress) so i had a bit of experience of what my voice could and couldn't do before I ever picked up a bass. However I didn't sing anything while I was teaching myself how to play. Then I started jamming with a mate who played keys and sang a bit and then I started sharing vox. It was all very gradual. I definitely have to be able to play something pretty much with no thought of what I'm doing to have any chance of singing as well. The bass has to just take care of itself automatically then I can concentrate on the vox. Simplify the bass a bit if you need to, an audience will notice poor vocals before a few left out notes every time. Build it slowly. There are plenty of things I still can't sing and play the proper line at the same time so you need to know your limits but its surprising what is possible if you are prepared to put in the hours. No quick fixes I'm afraid unless you are a real natural, I'm sure even Geddy has to work on things when a new batch of songs is ready to be recorded and gigged.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1402236468' post='2471202'] There`s a thread on here with a vid-clip of someone playing one of Daves basslines. Very complex, and considering he sang - harmonies as well - on many of the songs whilst playing those lines, well shows a great talent in my view. Will have to add a C&D CD to my collection methinks. [/quote] Looking at the recent TOTP reruns of Gertcha it doesn't look like he's miming anything like the line that's being played on the backing recording unless my eyes/ears are playing up again. Great player though was Dave.

Well by the miracle of modern technology..... http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b045y0yn can't recall just where it was played, second hour I hink but if you hunt round there's probably a playlist knocking about on BBC site.

Anyone hear Brian Matthew play that really early version of Fountain of Love (apparently predating the one on Ruben & the Jets) yesterday on Sounds of the 60's?

But is he really a musician?

Bear in mind they are also auditioning you

Have a great gig, if it was a bit closer I might have been tempted. I hope you are doing the full tribute and going off to play big chunks of the album later at a studio as well

Coincidentally I was checking out a jam night at the same venue last night so I was playing on the same stage you'll be on. It's a smallish room but has a lot of hard surfaces so the sound pings about a bit, with enough bodies in there to soak it up it'll be alright though, have a good 'un Mike. There's also the advantage that they run their own little music shop counter in the venue so if anyone needs strings, leads etc they will have something suitable to flog you on site.

Used to have a 1x15 combo linked to a 4x10 ext speaker but for the sake of my back i downsized to a 2x10 and kept the 1x15 combo, sounds fine to me. I used an Ampeg head with 2 4x10 ampeg cabs at a jam session last night. Thought it sounded a bit rubbish tbh considering the ridiculous size of it all. One size def not fitting all in the backline dept as usual.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1401955852' post='2468570'] Exactly my thinking some years ago, Kev, which is why I bought [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fishsense-Weighlite-Fishing-Scale-and-Measure-Weighs-Up-To-65lb-With-Batteries-/350846649199?pt=UK_SportingGoods_FishingAcces_RL&var=&hash=item51b017036f"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item51b017036f[/url] [/quote] Yep that's the sort of thing I had in mind. You could even just hang it on that with the strap then you'd have a proper 'gigging weight' with strap included. I still suspect with WOT's issue that GG just don't want to get it out of its delivery packaging to check.

How about those spring loaded jobs that fishermen use? You wouldn't expect them to be miles out (unless they were sold to provide 'enhanced' weights ) They must use decent ones when they are having proper competitions and the like. You'd think a good size carp would be in the ballpark of a bass (no fish puns please) so they might be in the right range?

As others have said its probably due to the company being box shifters. They buy in from manufacturer, they put new shipping labels on and they send it back out again to the customer. Any faults are then either down to manufacturer or whoever transported it from them to box shifter or from box shifter to customer.

Unless you stock particularly exclusive or unique stuff you'd probably run into some of the same issues as with instruments though: Customer likes look of t shirt, tries it on, comes up with excuse not to buy and goes home to order it elsewhere online for 20% less including postage.

Depends about how critical you are about being 'in tune' I guess. If I tune my bass, play and leave it a few days then I doubt any of my basses would show [i]exactly[/i] the same readings from the same tuner when I picked it up again, so in that sense no. Are they so far out that I can genuinely hear it and notice it's out of tune when playing along with something else? often no, so it that sense it's still 'in tune'. Of my 4 current decent quality basses it seems the Rick actually is the most stable but I think that's just because it doesn't get out much and experience variations in temp/humidity or me playing it a lot. They are only minor tweaks (barring the tuning peg getting 'flattened' as it goes into the hard case) required before the start of a gig so it doesn't bother me. I'm always waiting for others to tune up but then they have more strings to contend with

My Am P deluxe is older (about 2003) so all active. Although the bass and treble boosts make no real difference to the overall volume (but obvioulsy change the tone) there is a noticeable change in volume when altering the mid boost knob. To my knowledge this is not a fault, they were designed that way as there is an online demo of one showing exactly this. Probably doesn't really answer the OP but if part of his issue is with a change in vol when greatly increasing the mid boost (the knob closest to the jack input) it isn't faulty.

Use what the song requires. Rounded tone with little or no attack needed? use fingers. Sharp attack on th notes required? use a pick (either held plastic or 'home grown' via your own finger nails). Nothing wrong with mixing the two in different parts of the same song, watch Chris Squier. Heard bass players ruin songs both ways by choosing the inappropriate option doing covers. Doubt whether more than 2% of the rest of the audience would be bothered though. But we're straying back onto a topic that's been done to death.

I remember it when it was 'Tonight [i]Leslie[/i] I'm going to be...'

Played a few Straits tunes at jam sessions, a young lad used to turn up and that's all he wanted to play for a while. Sultans was already done by others so I knew that but ended up doing Money for nothing, romeo and juliet and one that I particularly like basswise was Down To The Waterline, lovely bassline on that as in all the others it just fits in with the song so well.

He was always a bit more feminine than Gaga is but a decent effort.

Just a quick bump as it was a while ago that I started this thread, reminder its on tonight at 10pm

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1401273454' post='2461835'] I've left quite a number of bands because one (or more) of the members turned out to be lazy bastards. I'm not going to put effort into a team thing if one or other of the team aren't putting in at least the same (if not more) effort. Two rehearsals in fifteen months? That band only exists as a concept! I can understand infrequent rehearsals if you're gigging a lot, though? [/quote] Its certainly not a 'concept'.Probably the busiest band I've been in. Fully functioning by the time I joined, I came in to replace the outgoing bassist. I think the most we did was 7 gigs in 1 month last Dec when there were parties on, its usually 2-4 a month. There really should be time in the quieter months to book rehearsal space but the band leader seems reluctant, being a tightwad basically. It puts a bit of pressure on though when the first time you do a song is at a paid gig. Usually the part that takes longest is for bandleader singist to actually remember the words properly!

So it's a two grand bass with the [i]wrong bridge [/i]on it? poor show, that.

Oddly enough I think Ozzy advertising Dove soap might just work...

Just book him! [url="http://www.francisdunnery.com/house-concerts/"]http://www.francisdunnery.com/house-concerts/[/url] I'm not his agent btw and have no idea what he charges...

[quote name='leschirons' timestamp='1401453997' post='2463807'] The only issue was reliability. It lasted 18 months before dying completely so, probably just a component quality control thing rather than totally inferior. [/quote] This is a very good point, long term reliability is going to be a bugger to test. If it fails after a year or two and follows the 'buy cheap buy twice' philosophy then its always going to be a false economy. I still have the ones I bought 6-8 years ago S/H on eBay and have always assumed them to be the real deal but I have no way to be certain without an expert inspection. I've replaced the metal pop shield on at least one of them with a non-Shure generic one so I guess that will make them slightly less authentic.