peteb

For me it would be the gig with someone like Whitesnake - great players, big gigs, touring & getting to see the world in a certain amount of style and a touch of fame without the intrusion. Not sure if the money would be as good as you might hope, but it would raise your profile in the business that would pay off in the long term! The new bass player, Michael Devin, used to play in in Kenny Wayne Shepherd's touring band - another gig that I wouldn't mind!

Kinda like a superior Saturday afternoon in the bass section of a music shop in the 80s!

[quote name='arthurhenry' post='1036875' date='Nov 25 2010, 08:19 PM']Who needs tab? You can look up just about any song you'd need to learn on youtube and learn it by ear. Probably quicker than using tab too.[/quote] Very true - looking at a decent tab first just makes it a bit quicker!

I will sometimes use tabs off the net to save time if I want to learn a cover quickly, but the problem with sites like these is the accuracy of the transcriptions (this is the same with tab or squiggles)! I quickly looked up a few tabs on this site – some were quite good, some were overly simplified and some were just plain wrong! On the other hand, where would you find such a wide selection of transcriptions in standard notation on the net for free??

I bought a very nice Mayones jazz 4 string off Mark recently using this scheme I was going to save up some money from gigs towards such a bass but I saw the right guitar and because of the scheme I could get it straight away when I needed it and it is now paying for itself thru the gigs I use it on! You have to take responsibility and work out if you can actually afford anything you buy on credit, but if you can (especially if you were going to save up for it anyway) why would you not take advantage of interest free credit? It's giving you free use of the money in effect and therefore daft not to........... By the way, Mark is a great guy to deal with & really knows his stuff - even if he will disagree with virtually everything you currently do, he will make you think about things you take for granted and give you different ideas!!

No one has said the obvious - in the 60s & 70s there was limited choice (only ricks, gibson & hofner - all pretty flawed basses) & Fender was the industry standard bass guitar Then in the 70s, Leo put the MM stingray on the market and people became aware of Alembic and a different take on quality and then come the 80s there were so many companies that just started making much superior quality basses! The Fenders of the era were not too great & suffered badly by comparison Fenders still retain a certain charm & are the reference bass guitar sound for many, but you can buy so many much better sounding & put together basses!

It is the bog standard pub that seems to have been hit the hardest! Most established music venues seem to have held up recently well as have the better run real ale pubs, etc. Punters seem to be happy to make the effort to go out for anything that seems to be a bit of an event but will stay in & drink at home rather than go to see a band they don't know playing in a corner of a small pub!

Generally yes... a bit! The recession has generally hit all gigs over the past couple of years (not to mention the smoking ban) and there have been poorer turnouts as a rule, thru not at the gigs that we have always done well at, they seem to have held up OK! My rock band hasn't played as much as usual due to guitar players work commitments & the singer's problems with his voice, so we've tended to stick to places where we know we are going to do OK - the new blues rock band has played to a few pretty empty pubs but the bigger gigs seem to have pretty well attended....! How have yours been - I imagine that you will generally play the bigger curcuit gigs??

[quote name='JTUK' post='1021366' date='Nov 12 2010, 01:20 PM']We can ( collectively ) get a tad too anal... [/quote] That is certainly true!

I'm afraid that women rarely have the stamina to maintain the long term geek factor required for prolonged posting on an Internet forum!

[quote name='Conan' post='1021308' date='Nov 12 2010, 12:44 PM']Without going over old ground, is it just a teensy-weensy bit possible that their disappearance coincided with a sudden increase in avatars featuring semi-naked women? Naaah. Couldn't be that.[/quote] To be honest I very much doubt that would be the case with Sarah

Just a thought, but I would guess that Dood is one of the most technically accomplished players on here and is a professional musician. I have no idea whether he can read or not but I wonder how often he is called upon to read a score?? I’m guessing that he doesn’t do many orchestra pit gigs so I wonder how often he uses any reading skills he may have?

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='1015924' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:04 AM']Jeff Berlin, theory master, was able to write out and perform Chris' parts with just a few days preparation. I would wager Chris would not be able to do the same for Jeff's parts on the Bruford albums.[/quote] That's hardly the point - whether you like it or not Chris Suire has created memorable and influential music and sold million of records without making a great deal of compromise to do so! Jeff Berlin is known as a technician, appeared occasionally as a sidemen when the original artist was unavailable and appeared on niche jazz albums of questionable merit and some bleedin awful solo ones...!

[quote name='skej21' post='1016729' date='Nov 8 2010, 06:57 PM']Just because you can find a different permutation of the three power chords you know, doesn't make it original or interesting.[/quote] Come on - that's rubbish mate! If you can find something genuinely new or fresh with those three chords, then that CAN make it very interesting indeed That is where the real talent is my friend....

New Mayones jazz bass [attachment=63071:mayones.JPG]

I would have thought that being able to play fifteen billion notes a second with your fingers would be a very worthwhile technical exercise - you don't have to actually use it in a song!

Jacket has now gone to Hit&Run (Andrew)...!

[quote name='silddx' post='1004502' date='Oct 28 2010, 10:39 PM']Guys, guys, GUYS! I am NOT knocking sight reading, no sir. I am saying you have to have priorities. It looks to me like this guy wants to be in a band and he's a relative beginner. He's asking if it is necessary for a rock and blues band. It IS NOT! At this moment he has other priorities, like developing his ear and technique and other necessaries required of him in a band situation, yet you persist in saying that he should learn to sight read now, while he's young and at the beginning of his bass career. Is this when YOU learned? You are putting the OP in situations he is not going to come across for years. Trashing a trumpet solo, in a well rehearsed amateur rock blues band? Give this guy a bloody chance to get started. He's not even played in a band yet and you are wondering what his career chances are when he f***s up backing a trumpet solo at Ronnie Scott's. Stroll on sunbeam. I find it incredibly galling that some of you think I am trying [b]discourage [/b]anyone from sight-reading. THAT is bullshit. I think that reading music is one of the the best things a musician can do. But get this, you learn it when you need to. We are constantly told how easy it is with practice, so learn it when you foresee a NEED to. I can read a bit of music, I know the basics, I will step that sh*t up if, and when, I need to, and book ten lessons with Jake. Until then my limited theory, my ears and my attitude will serve me. Please stop thinking everyone wants to be a pro session musician or a pit head. Some people just want to have fun playing in a band and have a day job. They don't need to be like YOU. Christ, it's like being in the military for some of you isn't it. I can't believe some of this regimented attitude to the arts.[/quote] BTW - good post!

Just to add to the old debate that I have played for 30 years in a variety of all types of rock bands (metal/prog/pop & blues) with loads of musicians, many of whom can sight read and have been to music college, etc and have done plenty of deps andf I have never been asked if I can read or been handed a sheet with dots on The OP would be better to learn all the notes on the neck and learn a little about modes - that will make it easier to learn parts than reading in most band situations.....

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='996796' date='Oct 22 2010, 10:31 AM']I don't know about tribute bands, but I reckon most players will end up playing covers at some point in their musical lives.[/quote] Of course they will….. When I was in my 20s I devoted all my time and energy to trying to put a successful originals band together, to the detriment of career and relationships. I was not alone in doing this, nor do I regret it and I would expect anyone of that age who is serious about a career as a musician in a band to do pretty much the same! As I got older and was obviously not going to be a superstar what was I supposed to do?? Not play anymore or carry on banging away playing to smaller and smaller (and younger) audiences? Like most musicians who found themselves with more day job & family commitments, I started playing in covers bands. Many of these have been quite successful on their own terms; I've played plenty of memorable gigs & had loads of fun playing with mates who are really good players! After all, when it comes down to it we're all glorified song & dance men who want to play to an audience who want to watch us……….

[quote name='Soliloquy' post='984791' date='Oct 11 2010, 07:44 PM']They were both professional teams, so I should imagine that their individual technical abilities were somewhat better than the average player. I can't imagine a coach on the eve of a big match saying to his team, "Ok lads, we won't practice ball control, or penalty taking, or dribbling or whatever today, just play with a load of passion and we'll win" [/quote] Kevin Keegan???

Actually, Tery Uttley is a pretty good player & a brilliant singer! He was in a band for a while with a couple of very well known players who are as good as it gets in rock terms - unfortunately they didn't get the record deal they wanted so never made it beyond the rehearsal studio...........