Huge Hands

You called? I would like to point out that I am definitely not the subject tinkerer of this thread. I did defend him earlier in the thread as I thought people being snidey about his level of actual playing went too far as there are all levels of ability in this forum. However, I have no issue with his level of dodgy bodging being highlighted to protect others. Interestingly I would be interested in a guitar with wide spacing as I have tried to play guitar before but struggled due to the size of my banana fingers. I think I'll pass on this gentleman's products though....

Have told this story before, but without a doubt - Paul McCartney. I originally played drums but watching the "I Am The Walrus" bit in Magical Mystery Tour made me realise that Paul looked so much cooler than Ringo (no offence Ringo - I love you too) and without doubt meant I would pull more girls if I played bass. 28 years later, I'm still waiting for the ladies to fall at my feet.....

Welcome back. Hope your band mate/BFF is ok. Sounds horrible.

I love the worn look on my basses, but that is because I can point at most dings and say "that it where I clipped the doorframe in '92 when getting on the bus with it", or that is where the strap broke in 2004 and I caught it, but still did that". It tells our (mine and the instrument's)" story, especially around how clumsy I am. When I see old basses for sale covered in dings and scratches, I love to imagine what those stories might have been with their previous owners. I'd feel I'd been cheated if they were faked and added on. Of course, this is only my own opinion, no criticism of others intended.

Totally agree. To continue further, maybe not all read music, but many have a copy of the script and make notes about who comes in where, which effects get played when - basically anything they want. I have done a few theatre shows in my time and the script was vital to remember everything. I have also done FOH on many band gigs and had notes written on a copy of a set list - I.e. which effect number to dial in for a certain song, remember to turn guitar mic 1 off in that one etc. I worked in a venue mainly, so didn't really get to know bands well enough to write scripts - that was probably the "playing by ear" analogy. I don't think there is anything new to be invented here, although you youngsters probably have it all stored in a digital desk now....

I play in a concert band with lots of wind and brass instruments. I learned to read with this band (they were very patient at first). As Bilbo says, you only get faster and better at sight reading the more you do it. I still struggle with anything faster than quavers! In terms of the rest of the band, there are a lot of players whom I've noted can read well, but can't adjust if the timing goes awol or hear that the incidental they are playing is flat. As the only bass player (the tuba players are intermittent at showing up) I like to add a little improv to my lines if it is a non-classical more modern piece to try and get the rhythm right for the original. I think that is my right unless the MD notices it and tells me off. He recently thanked me for adding bits to an Elton John arrangement to make it sound more like the recording. I'm not sure many of those that have only ever read and play ensemble instruments could do that as all they have ever done is read. I also note where many use dots to learn a piece - in our case, although we rehearse to learn the hard bits, I I doubt any of us would be able to play any of our pieces (no matter how many times we've played them) if the music was suddenly removed and we had to play from memory. It is almost like a different technique - you whizz through the music without really taking a lot of it onboard.

We eat at our local PE a lot. You can exchange your Tesco Clubcard vouchers for payment for the meal, so regularly eat a £60+ meal for the price of drinks only. I think this constant allowance of vouchers and discount deals is reportedly what is making their business fail. Not sure I'd be happy spending the full price for a pizza meal, but there you go. Coincidentally, I was asked to dep in the Soho one later this month by my old band but wasn't available. It is their first time playing there, so can't comment on what it's like, but as others have said, parking nearby is a nightmare/impossible.

Thanks WoT, of course this all just my personal opinion! I was on the side of tBBC against Janek's huff all them years ago, so I am probably not consistent.....

Agreed, which is why I choose not to post any videos of myself (although others have from my gigs) but in the interests of this being an inclusive forum with a wide spectrum of playing abilities, I would hope this forum would know better than to be a slag fest against other bassists playing and own music, I would have thought it doesn't encourage beginners to want to stay around if it is all a bit elitist. Perhaps the Youtube vid itself would be the better place to comment on that sort of thing if someone really wants to have a direct pop at his playing.

I was feeling the same as @ahpook when I read this yesterday. I think highlighting his dubious work and claims around what he is selling is fine, but slagging him off for his playing and music went a bit far for me. I must admit, if a young beginner I knew was sucked in by one of these eBay sales and bought a dodgy instrument with his/her paper round money, I'd be livid, so glad these get highlighted. However, I don't see how that relates to taking the Michael out of his online playing vids, however good or bad we think they are. There by the grace of God, go I.... which is why I wouldn't post a video of myself playing!

I think the point is I don't treat them badly in the sense of coiling them too tight, knotting them or twisting the connectors around, mine is more from clumily stepping on them or putting my amp down on them when I'm struggling to set it down with my dodgy back in a tight space. I think I bought one as an emergency purchase with no other decent choice and it worked for me so I got a couple more. That is about it really, no more science than that.

I cut my teeth in studio/live sound and learned how to make, coil and treat cables properly. Unfortunately I'm also a heavy clumsy short sighted, bad-backed oaf who often accidentally stands on them, rests kit on them, trips over them, traps them in zips and spills drinks on them, even though I always try my best not to. I even managed to wreck a couple of @obbm's lovely cables he made me within 5 years. I've settled on the stiffer braided Fender type ones for now which seem to hold up to my level of accidental abuse a bit longer....

Not sure if it was the same version of the Sweet but my mate used to tell the tale of doing sound on a gig with the original singer (Brian Connolly?) just before he died and they pretty much had to wheel him out strapped to a sack trolley to get him on stage, he was so ill.

I remember in the early 2000's, when a sound engineer on the holiday camp scene, dreading the 60's weekends. The "original member" always seemed to be someone like the keyboard player or rhythm guitarist who either left just before they broke big time, or joined just after they broke up. The talented one who wrote the big hit would doubtlessly be lying on a beach in Miami on his royalties, whilst guitar 2 and his bunch of mates who weren't good enough to be in the lineup the first time around hoofed their way through the one hit played at the end of the set. I would also find amps would be cranked painfully loud because they were all deaf from years of poor sound. The opposite example would be the "star" who couldn't sing the high stuff any more that would bring his beloved son along as a bass player and watch fondly with an awkward smile as the son turbo-slapped his way through a classic 60's track on a coffee-table-top 5 string. ...and I'm saying that as a 5 string player (not really into bespoke coffee table basses though.....)

As far as I understand it, this is not the "Funk Machine" (that is still missing), but another that he owned and gave to a friend on permanent loan. It was sold recently at auction based on it being Jamerson's but the friend had mainly owned it and played it since the 60s.