bassbloke

Never start again, no matter how painful it is. Major technical problems and nerves meant we fluffed the start of the first song of our recent Bloodstock set. It was painful and you could see that everyone was desperate to stop and start again but we kept going. By the second verse we had pulled it together and the few slightly bemused faces in the audience quickly forgot about the mistakes. If we'd have restarted the song it would have looked awful!

The idea of rehearsing once a month seems odd to me, especially if you want to sound polished. However, if everyone does their homework and goes through the material dilligently at home, it's certainly possible. Also, any decent guitarist should be able to nail that lot in a couple of weeks. However, you can't expect to rehearse to a sufficient standard if you're going to stick doggedly to your one rehearsal a month and, sorry to be blunt, but you're going to limit your appeal to potential new members in doing so. I would try and reach a compromise with your guitarist. If he screws up the gig, it'll make your band look terrible. However, it's a small world, so he would come out of the experience smelling of roses either. If he won't agree to rehearsing with you at least once before the gigs, I would concentrate on finding a replacement and accept that you'll have to rehearse more.

There's mistakes and there's mistakes. A couple of duff notes shouldn't be enough to throw our bandmates. Christ, I've been to plenty of big, big gigs where the singer has been flatter than Holland and the band have had to grin and bear it and get on the with the set. My approach to learning is this Get a CD, MP3 of the song and listen to it half a dozen times Write down the song structure Work out the key, if indeed it is in key Work out the riffs Finally, work on any fills, tricky runs, etc.... If you have to go back to your bandmates and ask them to show you a bit, it looks a damn sight more impressive if you've sorted out 95% of the material. Finally, once you have the song down you can look at embellishing your parts. As for your bandmates, they can help you and help themselves by playing through the material really slowly. I'm a firm believer in playing through stuff extra slow. It highlights mistakes in your playing that can get masked by speed. I auditioned for one band that kept screwing up a section in a song. This was my first audition and I had the part nailed, but they kept mucking it up, mainly because of the drummer and rhythm guitarist. I told them to slow it right down so we could nail it and they got the right hump - the drummer even said it wasn't possible to play the part slowly. I politely turned them down. I've mentioned on numerous occasions that one of the handiest tools you can ever purchase is a personal effects processor like a Korg Pandora. They encourage you to pick up your instrument and practice whenever possible and you can work on new songs without disturbing anyone.

[quote name='wotnwhy' post='623982' date='Oct 12 2009, 02:04 PM']bassist seem to be the most consistently reliable, able, enthusiastic and of course, talented of ALL the musicians.[/quote] Yeah, right! Either it's the class of people I keep or the kind of music I play, but othing could be further from the truth.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mid-80s-Hamer-Cruisebass-Rare-Bass-Indeed_W0QQitemZ270464832390QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item3ef8f5d386&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Mid-80s-Hamer-Cruise...id=p3286.c0.m14[/url] [quote]All original apart from paint job, which is somewhat ragged - could do with a re-finish[/quote] You can say that again!!! Have a look at the pictures. It's been butchered.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='619606' date='Oct 7 2009, 02:38 PM']I'd go straight for the County Court option. A CCJ against him is a right hassle - it'll scupper any chances of him starting his own business without a major arse ache. You need to send a letter first to prove to the court that you've tried avenues to resolve the situation amicably. So, rattle him off a letter giving him 2 weeks to return the bass or cough up, then file the papers. What you need to be clear about is if it does go to a hearing, where it will be held. Last thing you want is to be faced with the prospect of having to trek to Sctland over a £150 bass.[/quote] I'd also suggest checking their gig listings and contacting the owner/promoter at every single venue and advise them to padlock every piece of valuable equipment. It might not get your bass back, but you may as well do everything possible to make life difficult for his band, err I mean, warn other people of the possible risks.

I'd go straight for the County Court option. A CCJ against him is a right hassle - it'll scupper any chances of him starting his own business without a major arse ache. You need to send a letter first to prove to the court that you've tried avenues to resolve the situation amicably. So, rattle him off a letter giving him 2 weeks to return the bass or cough up, then file the papers. What you need to be clear about is if it does go to a hearing, where it will be held. Last thing you want is to be faced with the prospect of having to trek to Sctland over a £150 bass.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='617003' date='Oct 4 2009, 11:23 PM']I think I have to agree now. I play in very hot clubs normally, so I think a mega thin neck might be problematic. Ive seen a Geddy for £679, and an American Standard for £799.....might not be able to get it dead on £799, but for the fact you get a proper case, and all the other great upgrades kinda stops the GAS for 70s pickup spacing and block inlays...(wish they were real inlays!) Cheers for the advice. American Series P or J it is.[/quote] Completely different beasts. For me, jazz wins hands down for versatility and pickup position. For others, the sheer simplicity and unmistakeable tone means a P bass everytime.

Strings and technique make the biggest difference. Sure, a 35" or 36" bass will help with tension, but if you play too hard and too near the neck it'll sound like a mess. If you're a fan of Ibanez basses, look out for an ATK.

In addition to the points mentioned, the standard comes with the option of through body stringng, the high mass bridge, lightweight tuners, straplocks and a decent hardcase. You also have the option of rosewood or maple board and a variety of finishes.

Beautiful collection. Bags of colour and character throughout. What more could you ask for?

[quote name='DanOwens' post='613421' date='Sep 30 2009, 11:11 PM']So one of my bands has decided to release a single ourselves, but the question we can't answer is [b]'What needs to go the CD?'[/b] We've got some weird custom cases made that are clear so nothing will go on there. That means that everything has to go on the CD. We won't need barcodes, we already have track listings but [b]what else?[/b] Any of you printed your own CDs? Anyone know what copyright info if any? Any codes? Thanks guys! Dan[/quote] I'd always print the following Logo at the top or on one side - depending on size and shape Track Listing Website address and myspace page and contact details - e-mail, etc... Print the copyright information around the edge of the disc

He uses an automotive airbrush paint. Very hard wearing. He rubbed it down gave it umpteen base coats of gloss black then the purple layer again using airbursh. Don't quite know how he got the effect, but if you look closely at the bass - not possible in the pictures - there are all sorts of shapes almost like skulls, etc... that are unintentional, but v v cool. He had some problem when he lacquered the bass, so had to start again, unfortunately. So for the final lacquer it had to go to a 3rd party. It's had several coats of automotive lacquer and been baked. So, the finish is rock solid - much stronger than the old polyeurathane finish and much much glossier. My other jazz is getting the same treatment, but I'm torn between a deep green and bright red for the effect. Perhaps I should open this up to the floor. Opinions?

I'd be inclined to have a look in the small ads or ebay for the shittiest, most embasrassing kit imaginable. It's shame because I actually had such a piece of junk sitting in my garage but took it to the tip before we moved house. Once your drummer has suffered the indignity of performing with such a kit, you can do what you like to it. P.S. Your bandmates sounds like utter arses. Leave.

Just got home from playing the London Tatoo Convention at Tobacco Dock. Dream gig. Secure parking opposite the load-in entrance, so hear stright through a nice big set of doors and into set up area opposite the live room. Stage sponsored by Marshal, so 2 stacks and a VBA bass rig provided. Nice and simple. Great soundman and lighting guy and really good organisation. Then again, the guys in charge of the live music for the event normally do festivals like Download, so this was a doodle for them. 10 minute line check then 30 minutes set. I honestly couldn;t tell how many were watching us as the light were so bright, but we played a blinder of a set and got lots of compliments afterwards. I then spent the next hour getting nice and merry in the bar before wandering around the convention looking at the some of body art on show. Some of the women were absolutely stunning! Then toddled odd to Tower Hill district line to get the train home. Happy Days

I reckon you're looking at around £155 all in - preamp, shipping, duty and admin fee - for a standard JZ3. Not a bad price for a very good preamp. I paid around £130, but dollar was a LOT weaker then.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='604303' date='Sep 21 2009, 10:26 AM']Its cheese: the voice of corporate America. Has nothing whatsoever to do with the creative energy behind rock as an expressive art form and has everything to do with the tin pan alley, 'line 'em up and pick em off', 'tell me what you want and how much you can pay' method of songwriting. The eighties was full of this watered down stuff, the rock equivalent of ready meals. High on sugar content and short on nutritional value. Me no like.[/quote] Yeah, that's the bits I like.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='603351' date='Sep 20 2009, 09:14 AM']Very very nice Never thought of having that done to any of mine - Hmmm...[/quote] Wasn't that expensive. £120 for the prep work and custom paint job and, although on this occasion, he absorbed the cost of the lacquer because he had a problem ont he first attempt, in future that would be another £51 as it would have to go to a specialist workshop. I'm really not a fan of exotic wood finishes; alder bod and a lovely maple neck is enough for me. I'm taking my precision in to him in a couple of weeks for something equally striking but with a dark green theme. Will of course post picks up when it's finished. If I can make it tot he South East bash, I will of course bring it along.

An old bandmate of mine has started up his own custom art business and one of the services he offers is guitar resprays. So, as a birthday present, my wife encouraged me to get my number one bass a unique paint job. So, two weeks ago, I took it apart and took the body down to him. I picked it up this morning and re-assembled the bass and re-wired the electronics this afternoon. What do you think? [attachment=33148:033.JPG] [attachment=33149:035.JPG] My photography really doesn't do it justice - the purple is fantastic. If you are interested, check out [url="http://www.insanarty.co.uk"]Insanarty art[/url] fr more info