Sean

Some interesting dynamics. For the last few bands I've played in I've been what a friend calls "a perma-dep". You learn the parts as per the originals plus any specific differences/deviations, you turn up, do your thing and that's it. No input, no involvement in band discussions, bookings or decisions, very little comms and no "ownership". It becomes "the band I play in", rather than "my/our band". It has its positives, it's like using a vending machine to get a snack compared to buying ingredients and making it yourself but at the same time you feel totally out of the loop especially when you're updated on something that has been discussed in detail by the others, like turning down a festival booking, the need for a dep for a month or someone leaving and getting a replacement. All these bands were long-established units before I came along, they had/have set lists that work, regular bookings in good venues, long-standing members, a band culture that grows from people operating together with a common purpose over a long time. I've been the new boy. I remember doing my 30th gig with one of these sort of bands and still feeling like a stranger. It's been about 10 years since I had what I'd call my own band. Where I was principal songwriter, vocalist, band leader etc. I'm at a stage again where this appeals and obviously understanding how others roll is interesting insight.

Following some interesting conversations with friends who play in bands and thinking about my own various dynamics with bands, what level of input, control or influence do you have in the bands you play in? Are you an occasional dep, turn up, do your thing and go home, are you the creative force and band leader that gets the bookings, makes all the decisions and leads from the front or, are you, as most of us will be, somewhere in between and if so, what does your "in between" look like? What's the dynamic? Where on the scale are you?

Yes, you can pretty much achieve those sounds with the right pickups, placements and pre-amps. You'd need some routing work done for the pickup and also possibly the battery for the pre-amp. It would require a new pickguard too I imagine. To do the job well and professionally would cost in my estimation: £50-100 - pickup £50-100 - routing £50-200 - pre-amp £50-100 - labour and then you'd have a Fender P that was no longer a Fender P and its market value and resellability would plummet. A used G&L Tribute L2000 at £350-ish would be cheaper, easier and more sellable if things didn't work out. There are low-cost Stingray alternatives out there but I don't know much about that particular style of bass.

Clarity and the ability to hear yourself when you're close to it in a full band situation. This text from the website sums it up... "engineered to operate at a low enough frequency to avoid the off-axis midrange suckout found in almost all commercial bass cabs. This midrange "dip" is why it is often difficult to hear your bass clearly when you're standing above or to the side of your rig. With LFSys, you experience exactly what you're playing, even when standing right beside your cabinet. No need for stands, tilting or boosting the mids – your sound remains consistent wherever you are. Your band members will hear you effortlessly and your audience will hear every nuance of your bass sound." That is what made the difference for me. It's like a secret weapon.

I'm committed to Monaco cabs now. One is plenty, the second one is for when I'm running the big boxes of bottles without PA support. Rarely. Having run a Big Twin 2 for years, there's a big difference between BF and LFSys.

Yes, I have loads of experiences in the workplace from the corporate centre of a FTSE100. I spent a lot of time with HR supporting reports and team members on incidents of racism, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, anti-tattoo views, general bullying. I call it out and fight all the way. One particular director managed to tick all the boxes but was defended because he was Chinese and "it's part of their culture" even though the company policy was that anyone's culture didn't override policy. I acknowledge that when you're doing anything for a living, have limited choices and need the remuneration, it influences decisions. Although prolonged exposure to those sort of environments takes an emotional toll.

I'd like to give Richard a 5* TripAdvisor review here. He gave me very similar advice, and it worked. I went into a new band earlier this year and got the jitters for the first time in years. I was overly self-conscious, scared of making mistakes, all that stuff. Following this very simple advice I managed to get into a mindset where it was just me playing along with the songs in the same way I do when practising. Good luck, cherish the experience and remember that there's so many people channeling good energy your way.

I wonder how many of the people here who have said that they'd just get on with it and play in the band, letting the other "-ist/-phobic" people have their opinions, tick any of the targets of "-ism/-phobia" boxes themselves? I cannot imagine that if they were gay, black, trans, or whatever that they would tolerate those bigoted people. For example, if you were gay, there's absolutely no way you're going to tolerate being in a band with a couple of openly homophobic musicians. I've been really lucky through the years generally and in my current main band you know you're in safe hands with zero tolerance for any of the -ist nonsense.

My Aguilar Chorusaurus is used on at least half the songs in the rock covers band I play in. It's set up with quite subtle settings. Examples are: Don't Stop Believing (obviously). Boys of Summer Crazy Train The Power of Love (Huey) Message in a Bottle (the guitarist doesn't use chorus). Pour Some Sugar 99 Red Balloons Dude Looks Like a Lady Hold the Line Sometimes I forget to switch it off and no one has complained...

What happened to that BB2024MX you had?

Brilliant! Nice job. Well done.

That pink one is lovely. I'd love a 4 with non-X JJ pickups. You know, just to have something different 😉

The next evolution of my Nano Rock Covers pedalboard: R-L 1. Korg PitchBlack XS Bass Tuner. 2. Microthumpinator v2 (underneath). 3. Grimalkin. It's like a posh fuzz that does so much more. It's very cool. 4. Origin Effects DCX Bass sparkle box. Makes Spector basses more Spector than is appropriate in most circumstances. 5. Origin Effects Cali76. A compressor that I actually understand and get to work for me easily. 6. Aguilar Chorusaurus v2 analogue Bass chorus. It's lovely, so much so it's turned me into a Chorus-whore-us. I can't turn it off. Edit to explain signal path: It all runs through a PedalSnake, which keeps it really neat on stage. What you can see in the photo is RHS=guitar cable, Middle = 9v supply to board when not using the PedalSnake (at home), LHS = the PedalSnake tails. The power comes down the power connector of the Pedalsnake. It’s a TrueTone OneSpot 1700mA. The Chorusaurus goes through the send/return loop connection of the PedalSnake. You can see the red/white connectors on the top. The others go straight in the front of the amp via the black PedalSnake connection. Sometimes I go cable straight in to the tuner from the bass and sometimes I use wireless bugs.

This deviates from the Spector recipe a lot IMO. The Bolt with the Aguilar pups is Spector trying to appeal to a wider market. Not my thing. It's all about thru-neck and EMGs.

As a Spector fan and Euro LX 5 player, always play one standing up with it on a strap before committing to buy.

🍿 Fab. I love these sort of threads. It's like asking, "What delicious cake should I buy?". There'll be those that swoop in with their definitive answer, those that swear scale length is everything, then there's the String Gauge Brigade (I'm an honorary member) who say to use a 145. Roger from New York will be mentioned. I'll be playing my own game of BassChat Bingo. Good luck. I've got 2 5s. Both fab. Both very very different in construction, electronics, scale, sound. I got there by years of trail and error...

We're going to be doing some J pickup A/B testing at the SE Bash. If anyone wants to bring their Toneriders along that would be fab. Obviously, loaded in a bass 😄

Class D versus big iron? Valve amps versus not valve amps. I've got a GK Fusion 550 and a GK MB Fusion 500, same preamps, different power sections. I've got some big boxes of bottles too.

Is this plus Stevie's post, the seed of a Bass Bash talk? There's a lot of quick win handy hints for the gigging bassist.

Bang for buck, I highly recommend Toltec pickups https://www.laverackguitars.com/toltec-pickups You can phone up and have a proper conversation with Lee Laverack about pickups and all things techy. He handwinds pretty much whatever you want. He's done a few for me. He's very reasonaly priced too considering the quality of the parts and workmanship. He also covers the pickups for life. He's based near Leeds and is a gem. I reckon £110 for a pair of J pups done to your exact spec/liking. I've got a set knocking about here if you'd like to try them out. Not for sale but happy to let you borrow to try.

I'm bringing my ebony board 4 to the SE Bash if you want try it. The ebony makes it even more gritty and zingy.

Gorgeous. I've dropped similar wedge on something else with EMGs, otherwise I'd be booking a ferry ticket! 😀

It was behind the PA tower, band members, monitors and had a wall 12ft in front. This is all really useful. I'm making notes and putting them in my gig notebook. Thanks chaps.