peteb

All the gear that Jamie owns has a hard life, but will always play perfectly. I remember that he once resprayed it in a rather horrible black finish that his then missus restored back to CAR to cheer him up! That bass has done a lot of gigs, toured round Europe and met a few celebrities in its time…! I originally got a Shuker 5 string for what I thought was a bargain, but then ended up losing quite a bit on it – note to self, handmade basses by British luthiers do not hold their value. Then I was asked to play on an album by a keys based rock band that needed a 5 string. I borrowed a SR5 for the recording (another bass that I owned for about 5 minutes and then stupidly moved on), but I was then recruited into the band and they intend to tune down a whole step live. I ended up getting a 35” scale Spector Euro that looks the part and will handle being tuned down, but the Lakland would certainly have been my first choice…! Like you, I'm really a four string player at heart, but some gigs just need a fiver. It's useful to have one hanging around for when you need it...

Ray Jackson - credited on the album as "The mandolin was played by the mandolin player in Lindisfarne. The name slips my mind." Rod wasn't getting on with Ronnie Lane by the time Every Picture Tells A Story was recorded, so his big mate Ronnie Wood played bass.

Just seen this. I’m guessing that you got this from my mate Jamie? He offered it to me, but unfortunately, I had just bought not one but two five strings and was already trying to sell one of them. If he had decided to move it on six weeks earlier, I would definitely have taken the Lakland instead of the one I bought, decide that it wasn’t for me and then its replacement. It’s a shame really, as I always liked that bass but glad that it’s worked out for you. I believe that the original idea of the Lakland was to cover both the Jazz and Musicman sounds. Rather like Roger Sadowsky started building basses for his New York customers who wanted a 'Fender jazz on steroids', a lot of guys from Chicago were taking both Stingrays and Jazz basses to gigs and wanted one that could do both.

Georgia Satiliates - first and second album (especially the first)

I don’t know enough about Fenders of that period to comment. However, I can say that a friend of mine has an 83 jazz, which is an awful bass. I’ve never played a Fullerton model (to the best of my knowledge), but I’ve heard other people say that and I’m sure that you’re right. However, there was obviously a demand in the late 70s for Roger to improve stock Fenders and then to produce his own ‘Fenders on steroids’ basses. He seems to have created a market for high quality Fender type basses (Lakland, etc) that continues to this day.

I’ve been watching a couple of interviews with Roger recently and he said that he started building basses that sounded like ‘Fenders on steroids’ and he reckoned that the big difference was the original Sadowsky preamp. Remember that he first made his name modding Fenders and that at this time, you couldn’t get booked for a session in New York unless you turned up to the studio with a bass that looked and sounded like a Fender. The same is possibly true to an extent today; a Fender jazz or P still seems to be the reference sound for many producers. Also, the QC at Fender was very hit and miss in that period. The higher production standards and innovations that Sadowsky introduced must have made a big difference.

My go-to bass for the past six years of so has been an Xotic jazz, bought secondhand from here. Currently tuned down a half-step to cover all the rock (i.e. most) gigs that I do.

I’m afraid that I have to disagree. Once you learn how to set up a semi parametric EQ, it is relatively easy to sweep for / adjust one troublesome frequency on a gig compared to having to deal with just four fixed controls. I virtually never touch the EQ section on my Mesa mpulse, except to adjust the frequency centre of the low mids if there is an issue with the room. If I am using an amp without a semi parametric then its much more difficult to isolate a troublesome frequency or to boost if you need to cut through.

To me, the circle of fifths seems to more about how you write down a key signature on notation. I have never understood what it's practical application is beyond that. I can understand what it is, just not how to use it (if that makes sense)?

Cheers mate. I did find it actually - this is pretty cool as well, Sklar reminiscing with John Patitucci Fascinating stuff...

I don't suppose that you have a link for that?? Cheers

Signed and I would urge everyone to do likewise. What they are doing to the entertainment industry, pub trade etc. is disgraceful.

Early eighties – I was living in a student hall of residence in Islington with Ezee Studios on one side and a big old-fashioned boozer on the other. We all became quite blasé with the number of superstars we would be propping the bar up with on any given night of the week. One Saturday, me and a friend were looking for a mate before setting off for a big night out after a few early beers and a couple of other, ahem, liveners. I was leading the way and headed into the back room, bumping into a short haired bloke playing pool who had then fell into his fellow equally shorthaired, short-arsed pool players. The bloke I had bumped into looked up at me angrily, causing me to look down and laugh before heading off to try and find our missing drinking partner. I enquired as to what my mate found so amusing? He said ‘you’ve just played skittles with various members of Madness’ (Suggs wasn’t there, so I just didn’t recognise them) …!

There are a lot of Americans (and guys from other countries) who want to play the UK because this is where the Beatles, Stones & Led Zep, etc came from. In the same way, British blues musos all want to play Chicago or in Texas. In reality, the music scene in the UK has declined and there are better countries to play in (both in terms of the audience and the money). If you do come over, I'm sure that there are guys on here who would be happy for you to sit in for a few tunes on their gigs...!

Hi Daryl I'm afraid that it is vastly different, in fact the fair and festival market that you know doesn't really exist over here. And as Dave says, I'm afraid that you are unlikely to cover the costs of your plane ticket. I do know some Americans who occasionally come over and do it, mainly doing the blues circuit. They are generally visiting muso mates over here who will lend them gear and book a string of club dates on their behalf. If they have a bit of a profile and have the right contacts, they may get on the bill of a blues festival. If they have a much higher profile, they may do it legit and get the right permits and play a European club tour. There are certainly more opportunities if you have some contacts in mainland Europe. They also have more small-scale music festivals than we do in the UK. Pete

Quite a lot of money, not to mention getting work permits etc. Remember you are only likely to pull £250 - £300 (less than 350 USD) for a pub gig and you are unlikely to get any festivals unless you have some sort of a name in a specific genre. If you have any contacts to book gigs, you might have better luck in northern Europe.

I must admit, I find it difficult to take him seriously after reading his autobiography. As talented as he is, it was fascinating (in all the wrong ways) to see how someone who has been lucky enough to have had such a fortunate life could whinge so much about virtually everything and everybody...!

You mean the more they invest in you, the more they feel that they have to look after their investment! Who would have thought...

Generally, there doesn't tend to be a rider when you're playing pubs IME

That is the problem with playing gigs for free - you have put a value on your services and that value is zero! If they had committed to pay a couple of hundred quid (or whatever the going rate is) then it is the venue's interest to make sure that they act professionally and keep you reasonably happy as they want to make their money back. If it's not costing them anything then why should they care? I'm not saying that you should never play for free, but it has offer something significant to make it worthwhile. For example, a support to a semi known band in a club where there will be a couple of hundred people there - you still may be treated badly, but at least it has put you in front of a suitable audience that may help your band to establish a following / sell merch, etc. As far as free drinks go, some places will give the band free sodas all night and many (but by no means all) landlords will buy you a beer at the end of the night. I would be more concerned about playing an unsuitable venue where they aren't bothered about having a band, but doing it anyway because it's not costing them anything.

To be fair, Sixx & Simmons have done what they have done and although I'm not a particular fan of either band, they are each responsible for more than a few good tracks. By all accounts, Nikki Sixx is a pretty decent human being these days now he's sober. The thing is that they are just treating fans like marks. These are the people who made them what they are and trying to exploit them in this way just seems a bit cheap. Beller is a proper musician (rather than a 'Rock Star' like Sixx & Simmons) and seems to appreciate his fans and how they have made his career possible. I saw Pat Travers about tens years ago at a half full club in Leeds. At the end of the gig, he said before the last song that they would be going to get changed but if anyone wanted to have a beer or to chat or get anything signed, him and his band would be at the bar in twenty minutes. He may not be as big a star as Gene Simmons, but I know who I have the most respect for.

That's because Beller has a level of class that Sixx and, especially, Gene Simmons could never begin to understand...

But there is a world of difference between him and a genuine semi-pro like me who gigs regularly and makes some money from music, but has a full time 9 to 5 day job.

I think that tells you pretty much how Brexit is going to work out for ordinary British workers! The real question is, will there be a tariff applied when the blue passports are imported into the UK??

I'm afraid that there is just no more room in our house for any more physical books - me and the missus have both got kindles and never looked back