tauzero

I'm now watching it on both my ebay accounts. The next stage is the Making of the Offer. Starting at £100 and incrementing by £1, how long until he caves in?

First gig for the new lineup of Spiral Six aka covers band A. We were a six-piece - one male and one female vocal, two guitars, and the drummer and I. However, the rhythm guitarist and female vocalist left (not band issues) and so we were four. Venue was the Grapes in Stafford, which is actually a music pub. Did a one hour set with no great problems - the bass drum hasn't got spikes on it so it migrated south, and speaking of South, if the South had moved as quickly as we did "Sweet Home Alabama", they'd have won the war. Just need to get a bit snappier between numbers.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1017694' date='Nov 9 2010, 03:36 PM']Regarding Silddx's reggae-playing comment, I think I have to agree to some point. When I first started playing as a teenager, me and a percussionist started a band. He was part of a local black community, so the band consisted mainly of Jamaican musicians, including his very charismatic saxophonist dad. These guys would often push to play reggae, and I was totally out of my depth. They had grown up with the music and had an unbelievable feel for it that would take years for anyone else to master.[/quote] Reggae's dead easy if you know the seekrit, which is that the bass player is too stoned to remember to play on 1, and by the time he remembers, he puts a few extra notes in to make up for it.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1016822' date='Nov 8 2010, 07:53 PM']But playing the correct notes doesn't need a knowledge of theory. Your ear should tell you if the notes are wrong.[/quote] I sometimes find, when I'm tired, that my ear tells me I'm out of tune when I'm not. Instrument tuned correctly, fingers playing correct string and correct fret [1], no-one else in the band is staring at me in horror, yet it sounds wrong. This'll tend to happen two or three hours into a rehearsal, and doesn't happen every time by any means. [1] I'm used to it when I'm playing fretless...

Have you gone into My Controls | Manage Attachments and cleared a few out?

[quote name='Mrs Tinman' post='1016018' date='Nov 8 2010, 09:01 AM']Who are these two 'really not bothered' peeps? They want rounding up and shooting!!! [/quote] You'll never catch me alive, copper.

I don't let it get to me too much, although I sometimes find myself concentrating too much after a mistake - I don't know how anyone else finds it, but once I start thinking specifically in note terms what I should be playing on songs that I know well and don't normally think about, my playing can suffer a bit. If we make a significant cockup (for any band except the ceilidh band), we will probably talk about it afterwards just to decide whether it was a one-off or whether we need to do a bit more rehearsal on the song. With the ceilidh band, we follow the melodeon anyway so even if she heads off into a different tune entirely (it has happened a couple of times) we'll stick with her. As for the little slips, one of the drummers I play with occasionally makes a slight fluff of a fill, and we will exchange glances (in a good way) when that happens.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1014314' date='Nov 6 2010, 02:42 PM']Read, schmead. Far better to devote valuable practice time to learning little dance steps, playing l/h hammer-ons so you can wave to the audience, that sort of thing.[/quote] Quite. I'm currently working on a major stage move - for the right hand, replacing throwing the goat \m/ or the peace sign m\/ with the Vulcan "Live long and prosper" sign \\// and it's pretty hard getting into position for that. Theory just doesn't teach you how to set a trend.

I was guitard last night but thought I'd do a little mention of the night anyway... It was an acoustic night (or "nite") in a local ex-night-club. I'd noticed that the line-up had a "TBC" on it so I'd asked if we (Mrs Zero and I) could do a slot if no-one had C'ed. We got it, Emma the organiser asked us to turn up about 8 for a sound check, doors open at 9, first act would be 9.30 and we'd be on 3rd at 10.30. So we turn up (first), get soundchecked, first act (Benji, a guitarist/songwriter who does sing too and Mrs Zero and I know) turned up next and soundchecked, headline act (singer/songwriter/guitarist a bit like Billy Bragg with a neutral accent and acoustic guitar) then turned up and soundchecked. It appeared the second band weren't turning up - they'd texted Emma to say they wouldn't be coming, then that they would, then she couldn't get in touch with them. Then, just after 9.30, when first act had been pushed back a few minutes to allow for them not being there and Mrs Zero and I were planning a slightly extended set, they turned up - four youths and a couple of dads. Benji went on, played till a few minutes after 10 (during which time the second band stood just by Mrs Zero and I, talking very loudly), then the second band got up and plugged in. No sound from guitars. After f***ing around for a while (including Emma asking them if their guitars were turned up), they got underway with a faint sound from one guitar and nothing from the other. A bit through their set (which was sort of hippy-meets-rap), the headliner wandered over to the silent guitarist and pointed out that the volume control on his guitar was set to zero. The other guitarist was gut-wrenchingly out of tune. Mrs Zero and I got up next and turned in our usual immaculate performance There wasn't a big audience, and it was made smaller by the fact that the second band all f***ed off partway through our set. Still, it's the difference between playing to an audience and having a sort of a musical conversation with them. Last on was Harry and his Heartless Sleeve - I'd seen him once before and thought he was rather better this time than he was then. Talking to him afterwards, it turned out that the time I'd seen him before was his first gig. Anyroadup, Emma liked us, Benji and Harry, and told me afterwards that the other band had asked for another gig there and she was, let us say, unlikely to have them back. Plus I should have secured another gig there for the originals band (for which I play bass, so there finally is bassist content). The moral of this long and rambling post is that soundchecking is a bloody good idea, as is not annoying a promoter/organiser. And don't piss around like the second band did when another person at the gig is another local promoter. And word about how a band behaves does filter out to other bands too, so if bands happen to organise a gig then they might have heard about that behaviour.

[quote name='pete.young' post='1012677' date='Nov 4 2010, 10:30 PM']I think the punk band got the sh*t end of the stick - only one minute 20 of their excellent stuff in order to make way for a second turgid Clapton tune.[/quote] "Only"? That's enough time for three Ramones songs! Punks these days just aren't up to it... Every now and again I watch Later. I then stop watching it until I forget why I don't bother watching it.

You don't know about the rattlebird, that shakes its tail feathers making a rattling noise to warn off possible threats? Oh, hang on. Snake. Rattle[b]snake[/b]. As for Chris Squire (who presumably dreams of being promoted to Chris Knight), he had Rick Wakeman (ex Royal College of Music) to help him with the theory if he needed it. Among Yes's contemporaries were Focus, and a lot of musical theory didn't stop Thijs van Leer and Jan Akkerman from, er, rocking it out, baby. Akkerman is IMO one of the greatest guitarists who have ever lived, and certainly the best one that never gets into lists of "50 greatest guitarists".

[quote name='DanOwens' post='1012685' date='Nov 4 2010, 10:37 PM']You'll see mine and BigRedX's posts have common themes. Reading both of these and (if you're serious) MIDI for the Professional [[url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/MIDI-Professional-Paul-Lehrmann/dp/0825613744"]CLICK[/url]] will make you an expert![/quote] Dammit, that's just cost me a fiver...

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1010889' date='Nov 3 2010, 03:15 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Indie-Bass-Guitar-Rickenbacker-/120642590525?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c16dbd73d"]Indie with bizarre finish.[/url][/quote] If you put it down on a kitchen worktop, you'll never find it again.

[quote name='elephantstone' post='1012229' date='Nov 4 2010, 04:06 PM']does the synth player having two synths affect this plan, or is it a case of just getting a feed from both synths into a headphone amp that can take 2 inputs and feeding it to the headfones?[/quote] Small cheap mixer with headphone output? You should be able to turn that up somewhat.

Left hand - I can have them up to 2mm before they start being an issue but I'll probably have cut them before then as 2mm is too long for guitar. Right hand - I've just measured them. 3mm, and that's just about the right length. I don't pluck just with the nail, I pluck with my fingertip but the nail is definitely involved because if I break a nail, my playing with that finger is thrown right out.

I started on guitar, and still play it (doing a gig tomorrow night, in fact). Went to university, put a band together with another three students in our hall of residence, and sort of got relegated to bass. After dropping out of university, didn't do anything for a while, then when I moved to Tamworth I put up an advert saying "Lead/rhythm/bass guitarist available". Got recruited as bassist by one of the local bands, and that has been my main instrument ever since - I'm definitely a better bassist than guitarist, though I enjoy doing both.

[quote name='elephantstone' post='1012106' date='Nov 4 2010, 02:35 PM']Yes it does have a headphone output.[/quote] Just plug some headphones into the headphone output then. See if that's any good for the drummer. If not, you'll need a different approach, but (assuming someone's got some headphones) this experiment doesn't actually require any equipment to be purchased.

[quote name='elephantstone' post='1011874' date='Nov 4 2010, 11:52 AM']Am i right in saying that we could take a lead from the midi output of the synth plug it into some sort of headphone amp then in turn to quality headphones???? would this be the right solution or am i completely wrong?[/quote] No, not from the MIDI output, that will be outputting MIDI signals. Has the synth got a headphone output?

I've just found an article on the subject - [url="http://content.yudu.com/A1pppt/MIPNOV2010/resources/30.htm"]an interview with Chris May about the Aspiration series.[/url] But dammit, they don't exist without pictures...

Little? I'm 175cm and nearly as much in circumference...

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1011674' date='Nov 4 2010, 08:53 AM']I've just read through some of the original post with Janek getting slated. I honestly don't think he deserved it.[/quote] He does come over rather differently in real life than in print. There's something in the way he writes that makes him seem rather egocentric, but he doesn't seem at all like that in real life - more like someone who knows he has accomplished things and is proud of them but not boastful about them.

<waves hand> Could I be next please?

What's parking like round there?

Looks aren't the be-all and end-all to me, but I will ignore just about any J, P or MM shaped bass. I like the swoopy look - Ritter, Sei Flamboyant, that sort of thing, and to a lesser extent the Peavey Cirrus and Grind. Playability does trump all though - when I bought my Thumb, it was because it was the most playable bass I'd ever picked up, though it looked rather odd to me (after a Hayman 40/40 and a P).