oggiesnr

I use a metal banjo pick and so can squeeze it to shape. Steve

All of which is good advice except that the first rule in any H&S assessment is to eliminate the problem if psooible. In this case the problem would appear to be excessive noise. Volume [s]switches[/s] dials go down as well as up! If I go to a gig and need ear protection then it's too loud, if I'm playing and need ear protection then I'm too loud. What is the point of playing loud if all that's happening is that punters need ear plugs! Steve

I answered an ad for a folk/roots band looking for a multi-instrumentalist. Answered ad and got asked what I played so I gave them the list "bass, guitar, mandolin, melodeon, tin whistle to a reasonable standard plus a few other bits and pieces I can get a tune out of". "We'll get back to you". Nothing happened, left it a few weeks and got back in touch. Back came the reply "Well, we were really looking for a keyboard player!" To which my reply was unprintable. Steve

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1358932867' post='1947128'] Keeping a lid on the overall volume is an absolute must, I agree, I have left pubs when the band has started up becaus ethey are too loud. Its not big, nor clever to hurt your audience.... [/quote] I've left large gigs that cost me money for the same reason. Steve

[quote name='Basstroker' timestamp='1358881234' post='1946539'] Read this: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f31/outdoor-gig-16%B0c-dergee-cold-942342/"]http://www.talkbass....ee-cold-942342/[/url] [/quote] Thanks for the link and all the other replies, I'll report back in due course. Steve

I thought that the buzz word was "alt" as in alt-folk and alt-country which really means that it's the music from two generations back rather than the last one. Steve

My music is limited by the fact that I'm only slowly acquiring the technical skills needed to write down more than one part. I can "noodle" a theme on half a dozen instruments, I can slowly transcribe the best of that to paper. At that point the fun starts, a firm grasp of theory is a very useful attribute to have and I don't yet have it so it becomes a lot of trial and error and wincing at the dischords to get something that's halfway passable. I also tend to write within my playing capabilities so on double bass that's about grade 4 so it tends to come out on the simple side. On the plus side, it's fun and (I think) I'm getting better with each new piece. Steve

Just to provide a bit of balance in the sexes, Sippie Wallace and Victoria Spivie are well worth a listen. Like a number of the male blues artists they had two seperate careers divided by several decades. They started out recording in the twenties (with some of the biggest names in the business) and then were rediscovered in the blues/folk revival of the 1960's. I saw Wallace on tour with Bonnie Raitt back in the seventies and mighty fine it was too. Steve

I've some gigs coming up outdoors with my morris side in the next few weeks. Given the likely temperatures I'm wondering whether it is worth the risk to my bass. OK it's a laminate (AKA plywood ) but in all seriousness is there a temperature at which it's not worth trying and are there any precautions I should take before and after? Many thanks Steve

Some of the worst gigs I have heard have been where every "musician" was determined to "cut through the mix". They seemed to have forgotten it was a band and it had become a competition as to whom could be heard. So gigs where all that could be heard were drums and bass, gigs of screaming guitars and gigs so loud that ear plugs were needed and the vocals were filled in from memory as they were inaudible. These were not pub gigs but full on "professional" groups some of whom had been gigging for years (or decades). First and foremost, for me, it's a group, every instrument has a contribution to make and the trick is to work together to make that happen, once everyone wants to "cut through the mix" it ceases to be a group and becomes a mess. Steve PS I've got me coat.

Sounds a lot like late sixties, early seventies prog-rock without the bombastic keyboards and about as self-indulgent I'd approach it like I'd approach jazz, keep it fluid and look for the spaces. Steve

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1358764249' post='1944470'] I saw him on Thursday and he still does much the same, with nary a tuner in sight. I didn't feel it took anything away from his set, as he's mastered the knack of chatting to the audience while he tunes. [/quote] Last time I saw him he'd cut it back a bit and even made a joke about it Steve

I play DB with a motley crew of musicians playing assorted squeezeboxes, guitars, whistles and bangy things. For me the secret of being heard is to stay down low and slide underneath. If I get fancy and go up the neck I get lost in the mush. IMHO if you're going to play lead stuff up the neck then you need to work out your arrangements with the rest of the group very carefully. However the acquisition of an electic, five string fretless means that I can now play all those jigs and reels that go down to "D" on the bass end of the neck instead of venturing up to the twelfth fret and beyond and be heard without playing at insane volume. Steve

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1358704658' post='1943690'] Because I don't know what the knobs do..... [/quote] +1 I've just bought a new amp and it has all these buttons and knobs that the last one didn't have (mind you that was a Carlsbro Cobra that I'd had 30 odd years) and I'm clueless I've downloaded the manual and I now know how to turn everything off except the volume controls (what's with this input volume nonsense?) so I'm keeping it all flat and having fun. Steve

My nomination was an occassional bass player, the late Dave Brady. Primarily a singer (Swan Arcade) he also played bass, concertina and guitar. At one gig I was watching from the sound desk and I and the soundman agreed that the bass was great but something seemed wrong. It took a while for our brains to process what we both new, Dave only had one arm! He played exclusively with his left hand, hammering on, pulling off or using his pinky to pluck the string below his fretting finger. Awesome to watch and an awesome guy. Steve

Stolen from Dick Gaughan who maintains that if you want to see perpetual motion give a guitarist a guitar and let them tune it until they are satisfied that it is in tune, then pass it to a second guitarist who will check the tuning and retune it until it's in tune to them. Then pass it back to the first guitarist who will immediately retune it etc etc. In day gone by one of the sights of the folk scene was Martin Carthy obsessively tuning his guitar between songs, sometimes it took longer than the songs! Steve

You're paying about a tenner for the "privilege" of having Royal Mail deal with the custom's paperwork. I've been caught out like that before as well. Steve

There's a group who busk in York who use two of these, each one takes a guitar and vocals and is loud enough a) to compete with their drummer who thinks he's trying to fill Wembly Stadium single handed and secondly p**s off any trader who's trying to make a living within fifty yards of them! Steve Edited to remove unwanted smiley

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1358367694' post='1938031'] I have took the foil off it to get at it is that right? Such a noob I am sorry [/quote] Take the foil off and score the top with a key or something similar a couple of times to break the surface. In the days when I tried to play violin there were long and complicated rituals for the first rosin of a bow, these days all I do is make sure that I rub the first application in very heavily and I probably over rosin for the first few times. In theory once you've got the hairs well covered then each time you only have to apply a little to renew the grip. It's very much a "feel" thing, if your bow is skating across the string and making little sound you probably need more rosin (or adjust the tension of your bow). Have fun Steve

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1358341567' post='1937247'] Offering a different train of thought....For big gigs, you don't actually need big gear as chances are you'll have a lot of PA support.You could easily do them with your head and a small cab like a 2x10 or even a 1x12 (which is my current favourite).To be honest, I've played large gigs (a few thousand people) with a 100 watt combo. [/quote] The original Hyde Park gigs were played with Vox AC30 backlines. The first ever 1000 watt rig in the UK was probably the Isle of Wight Festival. IMHO somewhere the world has gone mad. Back in the seventies 1k rigs used to be deafening so either we've changed the definition of a watt somewhere or gear isn't what it's rated at or we've all gone deaf! I've played 500 seater venues with 100 watt vocal PA, backline of 100 watt bass and guitar amps, drums with one overhead mike (through the vocal PA) and been asked to turn it down! Rant over Steve

That's as great an advert for non-classical players learning to play arco as I can think of. I would imagine that keeping in thumb position for more of the fingerboard than usual helps the fluidity rather than having to forever change. Steve

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1358249703' post='1935407'] Can somebody explain to me please what a loss leader is? [/quote] It's where they sell a product at a loss to get people into the supermarket in the expectation that whilst they're there to buy that product they will buy other stuff as well and the supermarket will make an overall profit on the deal. Steve Cross posted with the above. PS it's also often the case that the loss is not being made by the supermarket but the supermarket has twisted a supplier's arm to supply at below cost price, usually by holding out the promise of more trade (or under the threat of not renewing a contract if they don't play ball).

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1358169823' post='1934078'] I'd on Sibelius first and loving it. If you need to produce pdf files for posting online then why not just do a screenshot and tidy it up in a photo app? [/quote] If you need to produce a pdf then download a program (I use CutePDF) which acts as a printer option ie when you go to print you select cutpdf as your printer and it then asks you where to save it and under what name.I regularly produce music and artwork for off-site printing this way and I've never had a problem. Steve

Get thee down to a decent guitar shop, take your amp unless you're thinking of replacing it, and get playing. Not all guitars, even the same model are created equal, so play the ones in your price range and when you find the one you like by it. The temptation is always to go home, go online, and buy it for less. Doesn't always work, because not all guitars were created equal . Been there, decided the model I wanted but didn't buy it, went into another guitar shop, saw the same model, tried it and it stank! The other temptation is to go to yet another shop because they may have something "better". This is a good way never to buy a guitar (been there as well). If you find one that does what you want, feels right, is the right price (is you can afford it) then why waste more time? Steve

I'm another musescore user. It works fine although it has it's indiosyncracies, the MIDI playback is really useful and the fact that it was free was a big bonus. Steve