EmmettC

I have Nordstrand in my Stingray, it is great well worth it if the bass turns out well.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1449871269' post='2927747'] Nice basses. Especially the status [/quote] I feel the opposite, all lovely, but I'm less fond of the Status. Horses for courses.....

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1454421958' post='2969572'] My recently acquired 1972 Fender Jazz Bass. [URL=http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/minuspilots/media/72_zpsazpogryg.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag101/minuspilots/72_zpsazpogryg.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1301.photobucket.com/user/minuspilots/media/72head_zps2jakehgv.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1301.photobucket.com/albums/ag101/minuspilots/72head_zps2jakehgv.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [/quote] That's stunning, same year and look as my Precision, if you ever want to sell it I would definitely be interested.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1457293921' post='2997131'] BTW, I never play the bass lines the same way twice. You don't have to. You can be just as creative with covers in some cases even more creative than with originals. Blue [/quote] I find the snobbery of "originals are better" kind of funny, I play with a singer songwriter from time to time, but the songs are all his, so to me it's still playing cover versions. No matter what I play I try to play what's best for the song, and it always sounds like me playing.

Done

I bring an EBS Microbass DI, so if my amp or cab go down I can just DI the bass, I prefer having an amp, but in an emergency it would be fine just DI'd.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1457265128' post='2996798'] We have an unspoken rule that no-one drinks until after the gig. If you rehearse sober then drink before a gig there's a good chance you're going to have some kind of problem, either with hearing or with memory loss! Everyone has to be on the same page. [/quote] I know myself I can't play with any more than one or two drinks, so I just don't have any. Generally we take turns driving the van, but I usually have my car at the lockup anyway so I don't usually drink at any gigs. I do like to hear myself properly though, I need to be able to adjust the tone for different songs and know it sounds right.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' timestamp='1457178407' post='2996035'] I use one of these TC Electronic Cip on tuners with my 5 String Lull. It's absolutely superb and very easy to read too [url="http://www.tcelectronic.com/polytune-clip/"]http://www.tcelectro.../polytune-clip/[/url] [/quote] +1 for these, pick up a B string too, most of the others seem to struggle with an E string.

Rotosound are great to deal with, and Nigel Clutterbuck is a lovely chap, though his playing seems to cause as many arguments as the strings, but I've never liked their Rotosound strings, I want to, but I don't like the feel or the sound, or the fact they tend to last me two gigs.

A decent switch will be £15 - £20, and I can't imagine any luthier charging more than £10 to fit it for you.

I would definitely go with the stinger preamp, and if the bass works well when it's finished it might be worth getting a Seymour Duncan MM pickup for it.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1457273096' post='2996897'] Thing is - a hard working pro bassist who has the battered well played fodera that goes everywhere with them... Are probably not likely to be on basschat much! [/quote] I'm not working as much as I'd like, but most of my time on Basschat is when I'm travelling to gigs, or waiting to play. I didn't resurrect this thread to bash Fodera's or even have other people bash them, I guess I was wondering if I should bite the bullet on a very high-end or custom instrument, or if I should get another good mid level bass which is replaceable or repairable if anything happens at a gig. I'm thinking a five string Precision and a Fretless Jazz would compliment my Stingray and Sandberg (Jazz) and would give me all the basses I need for any gig I'm currently doing, or would I be better off to sell what I have and get one super-bass. Edit to say I consider Musicman and Sandberg hight-end, but in comparison to Fodera they are mid-level at least in terms of cost.

[quote name='skelf' timestamp='1416521503' post='2611219'] To my mind there is a limit to what you can do with a bass guitar, a limit to the materials and hardware you can use a limit to how much time you can spend on a bass [/quote] Sorry to dig up an old thread, I was just wondering about Foderas and came across this, so when there's guys selling Stingrays for £700 in the marketplace and Maruszczyk are putting out amazing customs below £1000 why do people buy Foderas? Is anyone using a Fodera at a paid gig, like theatre work or functions? I'm not against custom basses, but I play in a function band so my Sandberg and Musicman seem perfect for me, so I'm really interested to see if any other working musicians are using really expensive or custom stuff.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1457239051' post='2996618'] Not my thing either,however I would join a good established wedding band in a heart beat. Thing is, and we've discussed this before. These opportunities that pay good consistent money are not open to outsiders. Blue [/quote] I joined a good well established band about 4 years ago, I was told about the auditions by a friend, but I had no other connection with the band. They emailed a list of ten songs and said pick any two, I learned all of them and let them pick the two songs we played, apparently I was the only person auditioning who learned all the songs, seemed obvious to me. I hit it off with the band, I am also a sound engineer, and I worked as a rigger for years so I had quite a lot of other transferable skills. I would say the ability to play is the most important, but working hard during get-in and get-out is a close second, no one wants to work with a musician who doesn't help with the gear, even if they are amazing.

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1457189343' post='2996173'] We're gigging tonight. We're not even loading in till 7pm but already I've got that little tingle of excitement and nerves, love that feeling. Good luck everyone gigging tonight! [/quote] I have a very rare Saturday night off gigging tonight, I have that little tingle of excitement. Good luck everyone drinking tonight!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1457177322' post='2996013'] I'd sell what you don't use, or only use infrequently. If you're gigging then I think you need 2 of everything [/quote] Yea, I think this is the key. I have quite a few four strings I'll never gig with again, but they're worth more to me than the amount of money I could sell them for, so I'll just leave them for now.

I only did a bit of function/wedding stuff when I was still living in Ireland, and wedding bands there are certainly a lot cheesier than in Scotland. I still have to wear a shirt and tie, but there's a lot less Enrique Iglesias and Garth Brooks, maybe I've been unlucky with what I saw in Ireland, but my sister's wedding band a few months ago were the cheesiest thing I've ever seen, great musicians, but awful songs.

I've had this problem a lot, it's particularly annoying when the item is not in the UK, to be fair it's usually my fault because I'm using the mobile site.

I assume everyone who is out gigging had public liability insurance, you get it free with MU membership, the insurance won't cover you if you're equipment isn't PAT tested. It's a big risk going out without insurance, there's such a large risk of someone getting injured because of your gear, particularly during get-outs.

I've always wanted a 5 string Jazz, but I never found a Fender that did it for me. The Sandberg is the first Jazz 5 that I've really liked, I don't mind that it's a copy it does what I want it to do. Is a 5 string jazz even a copy of a Fender Jazz, the original only had 4 strings........

If you have insurance for your band having a valid PAT test cert is usually required, they will probably never ask to see it unless you need to claim on your insurance.

I also have a heavy SR5, in fact most of my basses are pretty heavy, but I find them all fine for gigging as long as I have a good strap. I used a borrowed Yamaha at a jam once with a cheap strap and my shoulder was sore within 3 songs. Incidentally, and unimportantly, the heaviest bass I've owned was a Fender Modern Player Jazz 5, which is the cheapest Fender you can buy.

It's my full time gig now and I really enjoy it, the key is to get in a band who really want to be good. Get a very big set together, and know it inside out, get lots of medleys together, but keep them simple enough so a dep can follow the band without too much stress. In Scotland the standard wedding is 7-8 set up and 8-12 playing, so not that long a day compared to a job, though we do travel quite far, and overnighters are pretty common. Most Scottish wedding bands will do about an hour of Ceilidh spread out over the night, which is why we end up playing in England and Ireland fairly regularly if one of the couple are Scottish. As mentioned above, if you enjoy playing a really varied set, and don't get too upset at having to play Maggie May or Sweet Home Alabama it is a great way to earn a living, or at least supplement your earnings. It's all worth it to get to play the solo of You Can Call Me Al a few times a week.