BigRedX

If you are a member of the MU maybe now would be the time to take advantage of their free legal advice service. Personally I wouldn't risk it without it being approved by some with specialist legal knowledge in music copyright and IP.

The best DAW to use is the one that most closely matches the way you want to work, or failing that the one that majority of people you collaborate with use. Other than that they are all much of a muchness these days when it comes to features, so I'll take ease of use and ease of transferring projects between different machines over everything else. I'm a Logic user because back in the mid 90s when I bought my first computer for music, the person I was mostly collaborating with, was also a Logic user and that meant it was simple to exchange song ideas. Left to my own devices I'd have probably chosen Studio Vision, because of all the DAWs I'd seen this was the one that most closely matched the way I'd like to work. Luckily I didn't because within a couple of years it was dead following Opcode's acquisition by Gibson - a similar fate that has recently befallen Cakewalk. TBH once you've got used to how a particular DAW works its becomes easier to use, and you are going to be reluctant to change hence... And that for me is the next most important thing when it comes to picking a DAW. How long is it likely to be around. Logic is pretty safe because it is one of Apple's core Pro Applications, as for the others it very much depends on the whims of their parent companies. The future for ProTools has been looking particularly dodgy for the last couple of years with Avid's on-going problems. Plus their reliance on the less than brilliant iLok copy protection. And that brings the last key feature - copy protection. Reaper doesn't need it because it's essentially free and if you are going to pay for it, then it is stupidly cheap. Logic is also relatively cheap (certainly these days the full version cost less than the price an upgrade used to) and is tied to your App store account so it doesn't really need anything more than that. Personally I'd be suspicious of anything requiring an iLok to function. Whilst the idea is excellent the implementation is less than brilliant, and if there is a problem with iLok it can render all your iLok protected software useless, as has happen several times in the past few years to large numbers of their user base.

It's a good idea, but I suggest that Ped and the other Basschat owners check that there are no copyright issues with any of the songs published. It would be a terrible thing if Basschat got closed down for IP infringement.

Unfortunately that's not going to happen with an acoustic bass guitar unless the only person you want to entertain is yourself.

3rds never sound properly in tune to me on the guitar so for instance in an A chord I'll always swap out the C# for a B.

I don't like 3rds (either major or minor) in my guitar chords so I always replace them with 9ths. Much nicer.

The original post mentioned the possibility of prizes. Any update on this?

IME you need some significant radio play to qualify.

You'd be surprised by what people try to cram into the lockers on budget flights. Just because there doesn't look as though there is any room in the locker won't stop someone having a go to get their bag in using the door to force it into place.

Actually someone posted a link to an experiment Fodera did with 3 identical (or as near to identical as you can get considering that IMO every piece of wood is different) basses one each with bolt-on, set neck and thought neck construction. Whilst there was a difference in the tone between the three basses in the clips they put up, it was extremely subtle and in the context of a band mix would be completely indistinguishable. IME the most important thing to do with a bolt-on neck is to get it to sit as deep into the end of the neck pocket as is possible and this is best achieved by stringing up the guitar or bass with the neck screws very slightly slackened off and then using the force of the strings to pull the neck hard against the end of the neck pocket before tightening the neck screws fully. Whether or not there is a shim in the neck pocket has no bearing on this in the slightest.

I certainly wouldn't want to be putting anything in the overhead lockers if it didn't have something like a Mono case as the minimum protection.

Bu if your are betting on the fact you'll never need to make a claim, you are probably better off not paying out for insurance at all (unless it is a legal requirement), because paying for crap insurance is definitely a waste of money.

IME you have to hit a royalty payment threshold in order to be eligible for this. Most bands that are just getting performance royalties from gigs don't manage it - certainly the Terrortones never quite made it even in our most prolific gigging years. However a band that I was in during the 80s recorded a 3-track session that was broadcast once on Radio Trent, which did generate enough performance royalties to be eligible for a (very small) share from the unlogged royalty fund for the next 2 or 3 years.

This. I'm sure that quite a few of the writers of the cover versions you do are not multi-millionaire superstars, while the few pence that your cover is going to earn them isn't much on its own it all adds up. After all if your band is earning money out of playing other people's songs isn't it only fair that you should report this - especially since the money they get won't be coming out of your pockets?

Bu as I said previously in the past amps were considerably less powerful, and jack plugs and sockets were (and still are) fine for 100W and less. These days I would consider any new bass amp or cab that wasn't fitted with Speakons as a serious piece of kit.

If you are the only band playing, the £6.00 is divided between the songs submitted in your set list. If you play 12 songs the royalty will be 50p per song. If those 12 songs are made up of 8 originals and 4 covers, you will get 8 x 50p = £4.00. The other £2.00 will got to the writers of the cover versions you played. Also that £4.00 will be divided between all the song writers at 50p per song. If you are a 4-piece band and all your songs are credited equally to all 4 members, then you’ll get £1.00 each. Obviously if the songwriting credits are different for each song then it gets much more complicated. Also if you have a publisher they will also get a cut of your performance royalties dependent on what your deal with them is. I hope that all makes sense!

It depends on the gig. There is a specific category for Pubs & Clubs which is a fixed rate of £6 a gig divided up between all the songs played. And yes you could potentially get more money than the other bands playing that night by doing lots of short songs, but IME bands at the Pub & Clubs gig level rarely bother with submitting set lists to the PRS, so usually the full £6 goes to the one band that does and is evenly distributed between all the songs in the submitted list. You are supposed to fill in the details of other bands on the bill in the section where you put in the venue details but it isn't a compulsory field to complete. There is a completely separate rate for "Concert Venues and Festivals" which requires filling in an XLS spread sheet and this might take timings (if known) into consideration.

Song lengths are only important when it comes to performance royalties for the playing of recorded music (usually on broadcast radio or TV) where the length of the performance is a known quantity. Yes the PRS ask you for the length of a song when you register it with them, but you don't need to fill it it, and it can only be accurate for a particular recorded performance. They don't ask for specific song lengths when you supply a set list for a gig. Therefore they don't know where you have added another couple of minutes to a song for extended solos or repeats of the final chorus or conversely have removed a minute or so by trimming off the atmospheric recorded intro that doesn't work at a gig. From looking at The Terrortones royalty statements, it is obvious that we have been paid by number of songs as all the songs played at a particular gig have attracted the same amount of Royalties, irrespective of the length we have submitted for the recorded versions.

From analysis of my PRS statements, song length isn't important when it comes to Pubs and Clubs gigs, just the number of songs played. Because it's a live performance there is no way of knowing if the version of the song is going to be the same as the recorded one with regards length and therefore it isn't taken into consideration. PRS payments are for composers only. If you are not one of the song writers you won't get any PRS royalties.

Yes it does. The standard Pubs and Clubs royalties are based on a single payment of £6.00 per gig which is distributed between the number of songs played by all the bands playing on a particular night. Unless the on-line form has changed since I last had to complete one, they ask for a list of all the songs that you have played (both originals and covers) and also the names of any other bands that played on the same night. Of course it depends on all the bands submitting a set list, and IME if a band doesn't submit a set list then they don't get included in the payout. In the past The Terrortones have played gigs with 2-4 other bands on the bill, but when we've looked at our subsequent royalty statements it is obvious that we've received all of the £6.00 payment for some gigs even when there were other bands on the bill and we have included them in the gig details.

I would check that the mailbox hasn't filled up and is blocking the receipt of any emails. IME these types of accounts have very limited email facilities and although they can be set up to automatically forward and then delete incoming email, the process is less than straightforward. A deluge of emails from a popular thread could well have caused your mailbox to reach its maximum.

But that was from the days when an instrument amp rated at over 100W was a very rare beast indeed. Times have moved on, and now when 300W seems to be the entry level for a gig-worthy bass amp, it makes far more sense to go with an updated and up-rated connector.

Lovely!

I remain unconvinced about the tonal qualities of low-scale strings tuned higher than G. I just about works for the B and E strings on a 30" Fender Bass VI, but on longer scales the high C and above string always sound like a cheap jazz guitar and don't sit properly in the bass register/tonality.

What colour is the back of the neck? Both photographs have cleverly avoided showing it.