solo4652

I'm meeting up with the guitarist this coming weekend to run through some of the songs. He knows both singers pretty well. I'll see what more he can tell me about whether she has a history of no-shows, and whether he knows anything more about her illness and prognosis. I'll also say that, in my opinion, her husband isn't a good enough singer to take over the lead singer role. See what guitarist says. In the meantime, I'll start checking the Bassist Wanted ads. Again.

The problem is not to do with her throat or voice at all - it's a gastro-intestinal issue. No gigs are booked because the band has been out of action for quite a while without a bass player.

Six weeks a go I joined a new band. Two things particularly attracted me; - Lots of promises that songs would be agreed and people would learn their parts before rehearsals. - Lead singer is/was a very good vocalist with a degree in popular music, loads of band experience. YouTube videos of her singing with bands were impressive. I like female-fronted bands. I'm in. Important point; female lead singer lives with male backing singer/band frontman. I [i]think[/i] they're married, but I'm not certain. Turns out that female singer isn't too well, bless her. She hasn't made it to any rehearsals yet, so I haven't met her. Apparently, she needs a couple of operations. Could be quite a lengthy process. Her partner - the band's backing singer and frontman/MC - is starting to suggest songs that he could sing lead to. In my opinion, he isn't a good enough singer to take over the lead role. A good frontman, yes - a good lead singer, no. The female lead singer may be OK in a month. She might not. Nobody knows, but early signs are not promising and I'm concerned that her husband appoints himself as lead singer in her absence. Am I being too impatient? Wouldn't be the first time.

Delusional singers who can't sing. Testosterone-fueled blokiness Too much volume and, my pet hate - people not learning their parts at home before rehearsal. That old one.

Funnily enough, Status half-rounds have been my favourite strings for many years. Because of the supply problems at Status, I decided on a change, and bought the Brite-Flats. Dannybouy is right - the Brite Flats aren't quite as smooth as the Hotwires, but I could live with either.

Thanks for your replies. I think I may have sorted it out. I bought two packs of GHS brite flats from the same supplier at the same time and assumed they'd be the same. One set went onto the 424, the other onto the 1024. I've spent the last two hours swapping strings around all my basses (the third is a BB1200) and I think one of the new sets may be duff because, no matter what bass I put it on, that bass is quieter than the others.

I have a BB424 and a BB1024. With exactly the same strings of the same age on both basses, the 1024 is noticeably quieter, to the extent that I'm almost at max volume on bass and amp (GK MB500 + Tecamp 112 cab) at rehearsal. With the 424, I'm on half volume on bass and amp. I've raised the pickups on the 1024 as much as I can but it doesn't seem to alter the pickup output much. Pots work properly, pickup selector switch is fine, jack socket seems secure. Any thoughts, please?

[color=#282828]@RolandRock. I can definitely hear the similarities between Steam and the Bamboos' Step it up. The Bamboos are another contemporary soul-funk band that I really like. The band's line-up seems a bit, errr, fluid, with quite a few different lead singers. Alice Russel, to me, is the stand-out best. Here's my favourite track with her:[/color] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77R3ErvQ9F4

Thank you! Is Stevie playing that bassline on a synth?

Yep - Laura Vane's a fine funk-soul-blues singer. The Vipertones are mainly dutch, I think. I played for a short while with a fledgling funk band that wanted to play Steam. I couldn't find chords or tabs online so I had to come up with something myself. It was my first ever attempt at writing a bassline tab from scratch. Playing it now, my effort doesn't accurately reflect the original, but it does fit the groove. Sort of. Laura and crew play funk-pop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYyLvG_b1pE and soul-blues (be aware - long guitar solo...): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=805vcPvFw4o Edited to seperate the Laura Vane stuff from Bamboos.

Good for you! I remember my first gig - Whitefield WMC in Lancashire. The main thing that got me through was knowing that I'd put in the hours to learn my parts beforehand. Train hard, fight easy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEDNa-jS5fs

I really enjoy watching Beverley Knight's cover of the song because; She is a fantastic singer She puts on a show and gets the audience going The backing singers (I'm making the assumption that they're not pros and they've been recruited from the audience) have a great time https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g95R6-c6Z8g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jig4yfBeg84

I'm on the lookout for a good, cheap fretless to see how I get on without frets. I generally find P necks too wide, but J necks too narrow. Currently, I'm playing the Yamaha BB1024 and the neck is spot on for me - 40mm at the nut, I think. I also really like the P/J pickup layout and the simple Volume/Tone controls (as opposed to V/V/T) So, based on that, my shopping list for an ideal fretless would look something like: Passive, not active Side dot and fret markers P/J pickups Nut width somewhere between P and J Probably secondhand to get better VFM Budget: Up to £250 ish All suggestions gratefully received, thank you.

Yep - Lozz has it covered. Biggest thing is make sure you can play the songs! I've just joined a band that sacked the previous two bassists because they didn't learn their parts and wasted everybody else's time at rehearsals. Turn up on time, play the basslines properly, don't show off. Job done. Hope you get the gig!

I like the comment below the video; "..how can 3 musicians play 7 songs at once?"

I'm a groove-a-holic, and this groove was about as taut and defined as I've heard. I just felt that there could have been some melody on top - icing on the cake, maybe.

https://flippa.com/6301596-musofinder-com

Hmmm. My favourite music style is funk. These guys can lay down a [i]tight[/i] groove, that's for sure. However, for me, I was waiting for the piece to develop a bit more - to go somewhere else and come back again. Maybe I'm too used to listening to and playing pop-funk, but I found myself listening for the hook in that video. After a while, I found myself thinking: - Yes, that great. What happens now, then? Lots of Meters in there.

Bolt-on vs neck-through? In relation to string life and tone, could somebody explain this a little more, please? Same strings (Status Hotwire halfrounds) on my through-neck Yamaha BB1200 generally seem to sound more thuddy, and die sooner than those on my bolt-on Yamaha BB424.

I've been using the Status Hotwire halfrounds for a while now. I especially like the very smooth feel of them. Quality can be a bit variable, however. Before I order some more, Is there an alternative that feels as ultra-smooth as the Hotwires without sounding dull or mushy? So far, I've tried: D'Addario ENR72 - Feel too rough for me. In fact, I have a brand new, unused set in the For Sale forum. Picato 766 - Not bad at all. Good punchy sound, but not quite as smooth as the Status Hotwires. Status black nylons - Sounded dull and pretty lifeless to me. Also, not as smooth feeling as the Hotwires Ideally, I'd like something that sounds like roundwounds but feels like the Status Hotwires. Any suggestions? (I have searched older threads here, by the way)

Thanks folks. Sounds like the hum from my 424 is par for the course, then. It's not a problem at rehearsals or gigs - it just irritates me at home, especially since my other basses (both P-type) are dead quiet. I'll not go poking around any more in the cavities because I'll probably end up doing more harm than good. Having sold my Fender P yesterday to make room for a BB1024, I'd better check; Does the BB1024 suffer from the same humming?