Maude

No you don't want to be playing the originals of the songs you're going play later.

Oh yes why do wedding DJs do that? And they've usually got a lower quality PA than the band which they push beyond its limits. My other band has a wedding to do next Saturday with a DJ so we'll see how that goes. 😀

Much as @Silvia Bluejay, I have no idea. I've never been asked for a list for PRS in all the time I've been gigging. It does seem to be a free for all.

This is another very good reason. I had actually forgotten about the usual shouting at bar staff to turn the pubs music off, which they usually only managed by the second or third song.

@gary macWhen I joined the band I was really surprised by the scene, you don't really see it normally then at a gig I was like "Is Shane Meadows filming another 'This Is England' or something?" We're on the Cornwall/Devon border, two members from Liskeard and two from Plymouth. It's all largely based around the scooter scene which encompasses those genres mentioned earlier but there is a large amount of activity. Out of all of the sub genres N.S. is probably the smallest scene, Mod and Skinhead being the largest, but proper Skins into it for the music and clothing, not the racist (swear filter would break if I said what I thought) thugs. There's a complete cross appreciation across the whole spectrum of those genres but we mainly put on NS music pre and mid gig as the people that aren't there especially to see us will like it as well, we put in some classic Trojan and Motown as well. We've done a few scooter rallies and they are always really well attended. There's a couple from Torquay who DJ (Vinyl Avengers) with vinyl and play similar stuff to us but edge more towards Northern Soul, Motown, Stax and Trojan and not so much the Mod (60s and revival) stuff and they are well in demand and always pack venues.

Just to add to the above post, nothing clears/confuses a bunch of Ed Sheeran fans quicker than floor full of Skinheads dancing to 54-46 Was My Number 😂

This is the main reason we do it. We have a bit of a following and they're all of a certain type, although this 'scene' encompasses many genres, there's nothing that will clear Mods, Skins, Rude Boys/Girls, Soulboys/girls etc quicker than some pumping dance beats or some Ed Sheeran type stuff.

Just wondering really as I think it really helps get people in the mood but I've noticed a lot of bands don't. The Mod/Northern Soul/Ska band I'm in always get the PA up and running first and we have an mp3 player with a setlist of Northern Soul classics on that we play at decent volume while we're setting up. It gets people up dancing and sets the scene for when the band starts, a bit like a support band would do. Then in the break, we always do two sets, we put it on again (not the same songs) to keep folks interested, and again at the end until the PA gets taken down last. It doesn't take any effort once a setlist has been put together, it's not like DJ-ing, and means we are supplying music for a good four hours which the pubs love, and the main thing for us is that it gets people up dancing before we even start and they don't drift away in the break. I can see it would probably work best for a band like ours with a theme as it can become as big a part of the night as the band but I'd have thought any band would benefit from tailoring an mp3 set to their band for the reasons above. Yet I don't think many do. Even if using an installed PA with resident soundman there's no reason it couldn't be done. Personally I love seeing Northern Soul dancers enjoying themselves while we're setting up and it makes a tedious part of gigging enjoyable. So I was just wondering if we're in a minority doing this.

The tips thing doesn't really exist over here @Bluewine, not down in the Southwest anyway. An extra hundred bucks or so at each gig is a healthy boost 👍

How well can bassists read? Me? Not at all.

Gotcha 🙂 I took the 'resist' to mean a coating to resist tarnishing ie chrome, rather than something to mask/resist the chroming process. Making the whole post back to front. 🙂 Firstly any kind of chrome paint won't work, it's just paint and no matter how good it is the action of fitting strings and tensioning them will chip it off. In a similar way any oil, grease or other coating will just make your strings, and then your bass, messy. As far as I'm aware you won't be able to mask the bridge and only chrome the holes, but if it is possible to coat the bridge in something to stop the chrome salts being attracted to it then I'd guess it'll just be prohibitively expensive. Also a copper coat is often first applied before chrome (and nickel but that's standard so irrelevant), I think for better adhesion to certain metals, maybe to do with conductivity, and if this needs to be done then even more fiddly and time consuming. I would guess it's cheaper to just rechrome the whole thing which I'm sure can be done over the old chrome, but will need dipping to key it for the nickel and chrome plating. Hopefully someone who works with the stuff can confirm, or just ring your local platers and explain what you want and they'll advise you.

I'm confused 🤔 From your post I gather that you are going to drill 4 (or 5) holes through your bridge for the strings to pass through. Then radius, do you mean countersinking the hole, ie putting a bevelled edge around it so there's no sharp edge to damage the string. That all seems quite normal but then you want to strip the whole bridge and re-coat it but not get any in the new hole? Why re-coat at all if you don't want the new bare metal coated? Or is the original coating tatty? Rechroming is expensive BTW. 🙂

I'm gigging in Plymouth that night. I like Tavi Wharf for both performing and spectating. Mind the canal in the beer garden though if you've had a couple 😄

@Marvin We're South Devon/East Cornwall based. Those prices are pretty much all along the South from Helston and Falmouth up through Plymouth to Exeter and Exmouth, places don't seem to flinch at £300—350. Surely places like The Red Barn in Woolacombe must be paying that sort of money, aren't they? I couldn't give up gigging, it's too big a part of me, but I do want it to be worth my while monetarily so I know where you're coming from.

How far is it to the next village? Three miles, but if you run you can do it in two.

Devon and Cornwall, rural and city pubs/clubs, £300-£350.

I actually had to have a think myself when you said four 🤔🙂

I think HKH's comment was more about 5's having an extra five low notes. 😉

Hi Chris, I made the same transition 6 or 7 years ago, so whilst not being a lifer with a font of knowledge these are a few things I've realised since starting. They might not be right, it's just my opinion. Firstly, as long as you're prepared to give doublebass a proper chance it's brilliant. Completely different to electric bass yet similar enough to not feel out of your depth. It's easy to think a lot of bass lines would just be easier with an electric bass but I like the way a DB makes you play differently. 1. A second hand bass will almost definitely give better value for money, but I bought a new one (Gedo) because I knew nothing about DB and while used represents better value for money, a couple of repairs that weren't spotted could be costly. That said a new bass will benefit massively from a proper set up which will cost and you will need a decent set of strings as the ones that come on any budget bass will be horribly off putting, Innovation do a fantastic range of strings at excellent prices, sub £100, strings can get eyewateringly expensive but second hand is also an option as they can last years. If the option is available then an adjustable bridge is helpful for a beginner as you can experiment to find a height that you like. String height preferences on DB can vary wildly. If you are amplifying then a cheaper ply bass can be better than a lovely fully carved bass as it'll (usually) be less resonant so will have less tendancy to feed back. Obviously the tone will probably suffer but what good is incredible tone if it's howling with feedback? Also a ply bass will probably stand up to a bit more abuse if dragging it around venues. Now I have a little bit more knowledge I would definitely buy second hand over new, unless money really wasn't an issue. 2. I think any online resource that you can get along with is fine. No point trying to follow something that you can't get on with because someone said it was better than something else, use what works for you. I know it's frowned upon but I stuck some side dots on mine to start with, for reassurance mainly when on a loud stage. Ignored them mainly but a quick check every now and then helped I found. 3. The thing that was hardest to comprehend was why hadn't I done this sooner. It can be as easy or as difficult as you want it to be and I threw myself in at the deep end by gigging almost immediately. There's a bit of a story I'll spare you from but I just played simple lines to start with and as confidence built I expanded the complexity of the lines, essentially learning how to play on stage. 4. I haven't got one for sale 😁 As I said at the top of this post, these points are what I, being in your situation, have discovered in the fist few years of playing and are by no means 'right', and will probably change as I progress but hopefully will be of some help. Good luck with the new avenue of music 👍

Our drummer's son works in the producing side of music and uses lots of strange stuff to get the sounds he wants, which reminded me of an old drum machine I had years ago that I used as a metronome to practice with when I started out. I said it was still in the loft and if it works he can have it. I've just dug it out and it's an early 70s Eko Rhythm Maker, plugged it in and it still works fine. Did a quick Google and it turns out OMD used to use one, namely on 'International'. This isn't mine but its the same one. Probably not quite what this thread is about but, hey, it's a drum machine 🙂

Surely the main point of a 5 is to change how you play, not what you play? But if you want songs that use notes below the bottom E then, from memory of doing them a long time ago, Frankies 'Two Tribes' and QOTSAs 'No One Knows' need a lower note.

How do you tune it? I don't know which is more mad, this or the bass balalaika our mandolinist keeps trying to make buy

D'addario ENR72 half rounds (50 - 105) are my string of choice. I like the strong fundamental of flats, the punch and bite of rounds but don't like the sparkle of new rounds, I also like reasonably high tension, these tick all the boxes. Due to my, let's say brutish agricultural technique, I can generate quite a lot of string noise and fret clatter with rounds but not with these. I'd say they're closer to used rounds in sound but with that lovely solid bottom end of your average flat, you can still get a good grind going on with a pick but back off the tone and you've got a great Motown vibe. I'd also say they feel closer to rounds than flats as well. If flats are 0 and rounds are 10 then these are around the 7 mark rather than a mid way 5.

Couldn't agree more! Where's the Susa.... Souza.... Soosa.... Souza.... Tuba section?

I think the drums are perfect as they are. They totally drive the song in a Ministry or Therapy? kind of way. Not comparing it to either of those bands though, I don't much care for comparisons, "ooh it sounds just like so and so", f**k off, we spent ages making it sound like us. Even better on further listens.