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geoham

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Posts posted by geoham

  1. I was hugely saddened by this news.

     

    My dad has been a huge Steve Harley / Cockney Rebel fan since his teenage years, and didn't ever miss a show in Glasgow. I started going to the gigs with him in 1999 when I turned 18, and became a fan myself. I probably managed to see him a dozen times, maybe more. Two particularly special shows were the Human Menagerie / Psychomodo shows at the Birmingham Symphony Hall, then a couple of years later at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. The rock band backed by an orchestra and choir - spectacular!

     

    Steve was always quite open that his big hit paid the bills, and enabled him to make the music he wanted. He seemed to keep touring because he loved it.

     

    While 'Make Me Smile' is one of the most popular songs ever recorded and obviously what he was best known for, I'd recommend that everyone listen to his other material - there's a huge amount of depth there. Sebastian and Death Trip for example, are both rather epic, verging on prog.

     

     

    On 18/03/2024 at 17:59, probonopublico said:

    Also, the bass player died on flight 103 over Lockerbie 

     

    Sadly, a few Cockney Rebel bass players died prematurely over the years. Original Cockney Rebel bassist Paul Jeffreys in the Lockerbie disaster, like you mentioned. George Ford in 2007, Lincoln Anderson in 2014 and Kuma Harada last year.

     

    George

     

    • Like 2
  2. On 06/03/2024 at 10:27, musicbassman said:

     

    So true.

    Doubtless, some well meaning person from the council will tell you that everyone should be walking or taking a bus or cycling...........

    Walking? - usually too far.

    Bus? - unreliable or simply non-existent unless you're in a big city.

    Cycling - your bike will definitely not be there when you return.

    - and as for musicians doing gigs in city centre venues, must be almost impossible sometimes.

    I used to play function gigs in Central London back in the '80's, it was extremely difficult then, so I can't imagine how musicians manage now. Anybody on this forum do this kind of work? How do you manage it?

    I work in Glasgow city centre for the day job. I mostly take the train, but cycle when the weather allows - about 14 miles, so a fair trek for an overweight bloke in his 40s.

    I actually could manage to gig travelling by train - I don't use an amp, just a Helix and in-ears - however, the train service is poor after 6pm and finished by midnight. So like most others, I drive to my city centre gigs.

    • Like 2
  3. On 03/03/2024 at 11:43, jezzaboy said:

    Glasgow is the same and now the council in their wisdom have decided to extend the parking meters form 6 pm till 10 pm and it costs a bloomin fortune to park on the street. The now closed Hard Rock cafe on Buchanan st was the same. no access to the front after 10 am and you couldn`t get access to the front until after 7 pm.

     

    Still that`s no longer a problem as the feckers let the staff know on Tuesday that the venue wouldn`t be opening and if punters wanted to try their overprice fair there was one in Edinburgh!

    I genuinely think this could kill off my city centre gigs.

    We’re hobbyists and don’t make much, playing pubs for little more than beer money.

    I think it will cost £12 to park for 2 hours now. And the 2 hours maximum isn’t long enough.

     

    I priced the multi-story near McSorleys (a regular spot do us) - about £27 to park for an hour either side of the gig.

     

    It’s almost as if the council are trying to kill off what’s left of night time industry.

    • Like 2
  4. Symphonic metal. A fairly recent discovery for me, someone who doesn't really like metal - especially when it has harsh, indecipherable vocals. I could probably pick my top three bands from just using the first band, but I'll mix it up a little!

    First up, is Nightwish, with Ghost Love Score. It's a little long, but stick with it until the end, interesting time signature and key changes, a really nice orchestral arrangement and their delightful vocalist Floor Jansen nailing it. It's worth watching just to hear her final note!
     


    Next is Epica, featuring Apocalyptica, with Rivers. Not really their typical style, but a beautiful performance.


    Lastly, Within Temptation. Coincidently featuring Nightwish's previous vocalist!



    Have a listen, hopefully find some of you find these enjoyable!

    George

    • Like 1
  5. 3 hours ago, Pinball said:

    Looks like a great buy for a gigging musician. 

    Overall, it's a great gigging bass. I've found it very versatile, the tonal options can cover a lot of bases, which I've found useful when playing in covers bands. I personally don't deal very well with having to detune my bass - either for something that needs it like Fat Bottom Girls, or when a lower key is required to accommodate a singer - so the low B is really helpful here.

     

    Thanks,

    George

  6. 3 minutes ago, sammybee said:

    If it is struggling, the very least they could do would be interested in potential customers ... and maybe keep the shop floor looking a bit better? Those two thing they can do for nowt!

    A very fair point. I worked in retail when I was young, a large clothing chain. We were forever cleaning, sorting stuff and rearranging the floor when it was quiet. My wife and I often notice that shops now often look like they haven't been dusted for weeks, and and too often there's nobody available or interesting in serving customers. 

  7. I've never been to a PMT, there's not one near me.
    However, I visited Guitar Guitar in Glasgow a few weeks ago. In the not too distant past, the downstairs section was all basses - but now one of the walls has been invaded with six-string guitars.... definitely a significantly smaller selection of basses this time. It felt a little understaffed for a busy Saturday, just one guy in the bass department - who to his credit was very knowledgeable and helpful. 

     

    I think overall, retail is struggling on a few fronts at the moment. In particular, rising costs, decreased footfall and much tighter margins to remain competitive against some of the online giants.

    • Like 3
  8. Lakland 55-01 in antique white. Here's a few points of note:

     

    Bartolini MK-1 pickups

    3 band Bartolini NTMB preamp, with active/passive switch and midrange switchable between 250Hz and 800Hz. (Upgrade to original preamp)

    New Ernie Ball Group IV flatwound strings, 45 to 135 gauge. 

    35 inch scale

    19mm string spacing

    Currently has Schaller strap lock buttons installed. I can also throw in the strap part of these if needed.

     

    I'm now at the point of simply having too many basses, so it's time for this one to go.

     

    I've owned it since new in 2015. While I've used it in plenty of gigs, it's overall in great condition - no significant dings, chips or anything else I can find.


    I'm in Airdrie, near Glasgow and collection is preferred.

    I do however have a box, and am happy to ship this at cost if required.

     

    Any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments or direct message.

     

    D049A9AD-FAA5-4FC4-AEDB-D59FE84529B6_1_102_o.thumb.jpeg.8550c45a0277262c86dbaee7493e8ddf.jpeg

    6AB0A178-5354-405C-A6C2-38D9C4C2DF3F_1_102_o.thumb.jpeg.cfd98747858a3a15ee99d840302d834a.jpeg

    90F1FD36-8C3B-4997-B900-75F00591575D_1_102_o.thumb.jpeg.f994c56b1e9a9ce8c59c4446ebf6313c.jpeg

     

    I had someone ask about a video, so I made this. Thought I'd be as well sharing this here for the rest of you to see too.

     

    • Like 4
  9. 5 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

     

    I've had it said about my choice of amplification and cabinet at auditions.

    More than once. 

     

    "Looks old. Will it be ok/enough?"

     

    I don't bother to rise to it.

    They may not be the Emperor's  new lightweight compact clothes, but Messrs Ampeg, Markbass and Schroeder put everyone right back in their places. 

    Reminds me of my old cover band when the drummer laughed at my 1x12 TC Electronic setup. "You'll need something bigger than that to keep up with us".

    He humbly ate his words afterwards to be fair!

  10. 15 hours ago, White Cloud said:

    I'm genuinely surprised about this. Honestly, I've played gigs forever and nobody's ever cared a jot about my gear. Maybe it's because of my playing 😂

    I like to think my Jazz bass is a little eye catching. A nice blue colour with a red tortoiseshell scratchplate. I've been gigging it for over 20 years, and a couple of times when I've got chatting to folk about it, I've had the question. Once after an appearance on the second stage of a minor festival, once after a pub gig. Not exactly hitting the big time!

     

    It's Mexican made one. While there was never anything wrong with it, it's been upgraded along the way. It was my first 'proper' bass, and has been a real workhorse. It's country of manufacture is so far down my list of priorities.

  11. 1 hour ago, Jono Bolton said:

    I had a couple of snide comments at gigs about it being a Squier but I never let it bother me.

    I've had a few of those even with a Fender headstock. "Is it an American?" followed by a judgemental look of disappointment at my response!  

    • Like 1
    • Haha 1
  12. For the past couple of years, I'd been looking for a lightweight 5 string bass. My current 5 string is a little on the heavy side for 3 hour gigs where I often dance about like a prat. I've been mostly just sticking to my 4 string 'P', weighing in at 4kg and tuning down when required. 

     

    Overwhelmed by internet research, I popped in to Guitar Guitar on Saturday to actually try some and get an idea what I wanted to buy. I was expecting to find something like a Spector to my liking, and to make the purchase down the line a little. I've got a steady enough income that I don't need to scrimp on something substandard, but dropping four figures on a bass isn't my top priority at the moment.

     

    I browsed the bass department - which was a little less well stocked than my last visit - and nothing jumped out at me. I was on my way to the exit, when a sales guy offered assistance. I explained what I was after, and he convinced me to try a £370 Ibanez SR305. I seen it when browsing, but didn't even consider it - a 5 string costing so little couldn't be up to the job.

     

    I immediately noticed it was very light, and I was blown away with the quality of it. Active preamp, nice sounding dual humbuckers with a coil tap - very versatile. A really slim neck with no high or sharp frets. Well set up too - intonation bang on, just enough neck relief and action only a tiny bit higher than I'd have liked. (In contrast to the Fender Vintera I bought a couple of years ago, which wasn't set up at all and had to spend hours on it)

     

    Anyway, I left the shop with the bass. I had it at a rehearsal last night, and I was very happy with it. I'll need to tweak the pickup height a little to balance the volume across the strings, and maybe tweak the action - but other than that it's good to go. I've not weighed it yet, but it's a similar weight to my Strat - around 3.6kg.

     

    I've learned a valuable lesson!

     

    George

    • Like 23
  13. Clearly prices have increased on lots of things recently, and lots of reasons for this.

     

    However, thinking longer term... I think that basses are cheaper in real terms.
     

    In 1999, I bought a Tanglewood Rebel 4K (my first bass purchase) for about £180. It was a great little bass, and seemed to be the best new bass I could get for my money then. However, I know that I can buy something of at least equal quality for less money than that today.

     

    I upgraded it to a Fender Jazz Bass in 2003, a new standard MIM model. If I remember correctly, it cost me £425. I still gig it today!
    Back then I was working at the bar in a night club, earning minimum wage at £4.20 / hour - so roughly 100x my gross hourly rate to buy the bass. Minimum wage today for someone aged 22 (as I was then) of £10.18, and a Fender Player Series Jazz is about £750  - someone in a similar position would need to work fewer hours to buy one today.
    On a similar note, we used to charge £2.40 for a pint of lager then. I probably pay double that or  more in the city centre these days. The price of a MIM Jazz hasn't quite doubled in that time.

    Going even further back... a Facebook friend of mine recently shared an old invoice for a Fender Precision purchased from McCormack's Music in Glasgow in 1979. It was £400. According to the Bank of England's calculator, that's about £1,880 when adjusted for inflation today. 

    George

    • Like 2
  14. Trying to properly learn 10 songs is too much, although if it's mostly songs that you all already know and just need to get them together as a band then it might be feasible.

     

    To use my own band as an example, when we formed a few years ago - some of us had played together before in other bands. We had to get it together quickly, as we already had gigs in the diary - inheriting the diary of two members' old band.

     

    We came up with a list of about 30 songs as our initial setlist, and we did get through about 10 per week. However, we had a fair amount of standards in amongst that - Honkey Tonk Woman, All Right Now and nonsense like that. It got us out gigging if nothing else.

     

    After that initial phase, we started adding some more interesting numbers - normally 3 to 5 at a fortnightly rehearsal. That's definitely the optimal number for us. Typically we'll know after one or two run throughs whether a song is going to work.

     

    George

    • Like 3
  15. My band don't do many weddings, but play a mixed set in city centre pubs. We have two Sam Fender songs that go down well - Seventeen Going Under and Getting Started. I think they're the only really recent ones we do, and always go down well. We also throw in the Fratellis' version of Yes Sir, I Can Boogie when Scotland are on form... 

    • Like 1
  16. 6 minutes ago, Matt P said:

    I'm sure someone else will b long with some dimensions soon, but I'll measure the one in my study when i get home this evening

     

    they're the best hangers i've come across so far.

     

    matt

    Thanks! I do like the freestanding ones, so this seems the obvious choice for a wall hanger.

  17. I've recently moved home, and want to attach some guitar hangers to a wooden beam that previously supported a fitted wardrobe. Much easier than trying to get it down, and easier than trying to attach to the dot & dab plasterboard walls underneath!

     

    I'm struggling to find the dimensions of the back plate on the Hercules ones (like this: https://herculesstands.com/international/products/fretted-and-bowed-instrument/guitar/wall-hangers/gsp38wb-plus).

     

    Can anyone help? I'm hoping they are less than 95mm tall!

     

    Thanks,

    George

  18. I've had many courier related issues over the years.  A 'lost' designer handbag, last seen when scanned in to the local depot and never scanned out. A case of craft-beer that was out for delivery, then 'delayed' on a Friday afternoon, never to be seen again. I could go on!

     

    In my experience, complaints from those receiving deliveries from them are rarely given the time of day - because their customer is the company sending the parcel. Assuming DPD have messed up a delivery somehow - I'd suggest you'd have a better time contacting the company who sent it. Obviously it's very different situation if it's another private individual. 

     

  19. I wonder why your friend even went along to the audition. My anxiety would be through the roof in a situation like this! I can think on my feet and have done so in the past - but trying to wing it on bass rarely works out well.

     

    The auditioning process can be pretty poorly managed from both sides. I remember auditioning with a band years ago, and I was given a setlist of about 60 songs. Upon asking what I should audition with, the response was 'just the setlist.. I had an hour with the band! I knew a load of them already thankfully and got through the audition.

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