peteb

VH stuff is always lots of fun to play - I'd do it if you have the time!

When do ever see a pro guitar player not use a tuner live these days?

[quote name='Musky' post='171786' date='Apr 7 2008, 09:33 PM']Free - Mr. Big (live version) Anyone even thinking about doing a bass solo should listen to Andy Fraser's effort and remember the words Simplicity, Phrasing and Melody. And then promptly forget about ever taking a solo. [/quote] Or alternatively, listen to the Billy Sheehan version and think technique, speed and how the hell does he play that and don’t play a solo until you master it (if ever)! Also, Tony Franklin on the Glenn Hughes’ LA Blues Authority album if you can find it…..

Dream Theatre always strike me as a bunch of Berklee students who just couldn't decide if their favourite band was Metallica or Rush! Technically very proficient but very po-faced and also pretty poor writing – if you must be pretentious you may as well take the Yes route and occasionally write outstanding pieces of music…

‘Jaco’ by Bill Milkowski is a good read but pretty dark, ditto the Stevie Ray Vaughan bio ‘Caught in the Crossfire’ (I think that’s the title – I leant it to my drummer 4 years ago and still haven’t got it back) Have to disagree with most people here about the Guy Pratt book – I enjoyed it! He seems to be well aware of his faults and of his good fortune and as someone said, they are good stories! For real glorification of substance abuse you need to read ‘The Dirt’, if only to marvel at how incredibly stupid Motley Crue are! The Aerosmith book (‘Walk This Way’) is also OK, a bit like the Crue one, but featuring people with IQs actually higher than room temperature…

Not many hard rock players mentioned here - and after all the 80s was the decade of spandex and big hair! How about: Billy Sheehan Chuck Wright Tony Franklin Rudy Sarzo Jeff Pilson

Tony Franklin comes to mind

Always stage right (bass drum side)! Virtually all of the big rock guys (Billy Sheehan, Michael Anthony, Chuck Wright, Rudy Sarzo, whoever is in Whitesnake this year, etc) stand stage right (assuming right sided drummer) with good reason – you can hear / feel the bass drum right up your backside regardless of how the loud the guitar player is, how bad the monitors are, etc…

Not having BVs has always held me back and has cost me a couple of decent gigs along the way. It’s not that I can’t sing and play at the same time – just that I can’t sing very well! If I was starting again I would definitely have more singing lessons, ear training, etc Fortunately I now play with a drummer who has very good harmonies, which kinda lets me off the hook a bit – I only ‘sing’ a couple of very simple parts Funnily enough, I’ve never had any trouble talking and playing at the same time – we do it all the time (laughing at fluffed intros, girl in the audience, etc). The only trouble is that the guitarist can talk ok to us when he’s playing but seems to have a problem with listening to anyone else Mind you, he’s like that when he’s not playing as well….

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='138429' date='Feb 11 2008, 07:43 PM']Even if the cables do make a difference are you gonna notice once animal starts bashing away. I dont think you can go wrong with Neutrik and Van Damme and spending more is probably wasting your money. I bet studio's and PA companies dont use exotic cables - probably use mains cables for speaker leads - I know we have on the PA for the last 27 years.[/quote] I went and paid quite a large amount of dosh for a couple of monster cables on a whim. I did an A/B test with my old leads and yes, they do make a considerable difference! And Mr Ferret, I’m afraid that you have lost your bet – pro PA companies use top quality cables as a matter of course…

I was about to post a long reply about why the EU is a good thing but my missus has just informed me that I'm getting a bit sad and need to spend less time at the computer and I'm beginning to think that she may have a point....

[quote name='kdphysio' post='135388' date='Feb 6 2008, 11:14 PM']welcome pete. nice hoard, i mean collection of gear!! karl ('soft-southern-sh**e' )[/quote] Fortunately it’s all kept at four different locations, otherwise you would need a stage pass to get into my rather ‘bijou’ residence Glad to hear that someone has actually heard of us after nine years of gigging – fame at last…!

Allo there I’m based in Bradford, thru born in Essex and lived in London for a fair few years – been gigging for 30 years on and off since I was a kid, mainly hard rock bands of various sorts… Got way too much gear these days, mainly due to the perils of eBay! At present the inventory consists of: Warwick Streamer Stage 1 Warwick Streamer LX Musicman Sterling 70s US Fender Precision (heavily modded) Ken Smith Burner (all basses are 4 strings – never got the hang of that 5th one) Mesa Boogie mpulse 360 Hartke 3500 SWR Goliath II 4x10 SWR Big Bertha 1x18 SWR Goliath Snr 6x10 Eden 2x10 cab (new) DHA rack overdrive unit Korg DT-1 rack tuner Yamaha SPX90 EXS octabass pedal For the past 9 years I’ve been playing in a band with the subtle moniker of ‘Spank The Monkey’ – never let a drummer name a band!! We play mainly local pubs and quite a few of the decent sized bike rallies throughout the north of England – somehow we also managed to get on a circuit of corporate gigs a few years ago, which culminated in a bizarre gig at the Café Royale in London with Chas & Dave ‘supporting’ us…! I have also of late been playing with a band called ‘Streetsleeper’ that appears to have run out of steam just recently, not to mention many many others over the years… Over and out….

[quote name='Linus27' post='133520' date='Feb 4 2008, 12:02 PM']Thanks Birdy but a bit out of my price range. Good luck selling it though. Does anyone know what the Hartke VX115 speaker is like? Its a paper cone, can handle 300W at 8 ohms and is only £165. My other option is the Hartke 115 XL but this is only 200W at 8 ohms. Would Hartke be a better option that Ashdown?[/quote] IMO go for the Hartke every time! Good sound, very loud (and therefore plenty of headroom) and a decent easy-to-use compressor – I used to gig one for years with no major problems and still take out one as a spare I would also get a cab with as many 10” speakers as you can afford / carry (it’s no coincidence that most top pros use 10s live) I would also say that 300w is the minimum power that you should go for – remember that when you are playing in pubs you will not always be going thru a big PA as you would be at a bigger venue, so you need an amp powerful enough to cut thru a band and be heard at the back of a room And of course, when you do get to play on a big stage you will already have enough volume to cope As far as being able to afford it – that’s what eBay is for…!

Once had the (not particularly) mighty Chas & Dave 'support' my band at the Cafe Royal in Piccadilly Fame of some strange kind indeed...!

In defence of the Bass Centre can I just say that the service I got from them was always way beyond the call of duty! Over the years they: • shipped a SWR amp up to me in Bradford on approval then took it back when I couldn’t get on with it (after about 5 gigs); • fixed an amp for me free of charge as they used spare parts and I was a regular customer • advised me on gear I was buying from someone else • chased up Hipshot when I got a ‘D’ tuner from the states and the company sent me the wrong model and wouldn’t answer my emails • swapped the aforementioned ‘D’ tuner for the correct model from their own stock and fitted it for nothing when I brought in another bass to be set up • not to mention that they would generally do deals / discounts and were a laugh to deal with - even gave me free magazines for the train journey back home! I know that the shop itself was much never the same after they left Wapping, but I seriously could never fault the service / advice! A sad day It’s the way the business is going now – lets hope that the Bass Gallery has better luck....

[quote name='Thunderthumbs' post='110386' date='Dec 28 2007, 10:46 PM']My current rig, although it'll all be up for sale pretty soon. Already replaced the Ampeg SVT III Pro with an EBS TD650, and replacing both SWR Goliath II 4 x 10s soon too. [attachment=4358:Current_rig.jpg][/quote] Thunderthumbs - do you still have the SWR cabs?