Roger2611

[quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1421453547' post='2661632'] Great, thanks guys. So long as it does the job! I'm not keen to spend too much as I can't help feeling that singers should have their own gear like the rest of us! Still, sometimes better to provide a solution than moan about it. [/quote] Remember you will get what you pay for! I would recommend a used Peavey XR pa head, they are pretty much the industry standard as they are pretty much bullet proof and bang for buck are louder than anything else rated the same power, we have an XR600 for smaller gigs and if we need more channels we have an XR800F for the bigger gigs. We have gigged both constantly over the past 6 years and have never had a failure from either amp, they get serviced every other year and just seem to be totally reliable

I wonder if many previously successful music shops have become disheartened and have largely given up, I have two formally excellent music shops, one lost it Fender dealership status years back and now only stocks cheap cheerful Gear 4 Music type stuff and has a bunch of 2nd hand Encore stuff...sadly I have found nothing worth buying from there in 3 years or more......the second shop has kept the Fender dealership status (I think) up until summer last year.....the owner was complaining back then at the stock levels he was being forced to order to allow him to maintain the dealer status, I have not seem any new instruments come in since last summer so, as nothing has changed I have not been in for a while, I nipped in last week and said "hello" what's new......his response...."nothing new, nothing has shifted" So Fender/ Gibson are putting increasingly difficult demands on smaller dealers who desperately want to hang on to dealer kudos and once gone what else is there to offer? I can see why they may have given up. And the knock on from that......PMT....walls of new Fender's, Gibson's and Ibanez a few other specials (most probably owned by Fender or Gibson) no decent second hand stock and little interest in taking trades I am with Milty on this, look after your local shops you will miss them once they are gone...sadly I think it is too late for many, they are already in terminal decline

Hopefully I am ok to post this knowing the sensitivity over Rickenbacker's on here, if not I apologise and understand if the post is removed. Anyway I went to see Leicester City play today and on my walk to the ground came upon a music shop, hanging above the counter was a 1977 4003 fretless in plain finish, It was a beauty of a bass but it did get me wondering whether it was a genuine fretless, the board had the shark tooth inlays but no signs of frets being filled in, the board also lacked the usual? glossy lacquered finish, it also had a brass nut fitted. Anyone come across a fretless Ricky before? Not sure what it would sound like, the thought of a Ricky fretless somehow sounds wrong!

We usually end with James "Sit Down" but now we have our original drummer (and his backing vocals) back we are reviving Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" which always went down a total storm but had to be the final drunken song as we don't have a Freddie in the band that can deliver the full vocal power

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1420813298' post='2653772'] Haven't you tried licking it? [/quote] Licking your I Phone....does that work?

I picked up a used Delano off here recently, it's fantastic, I also put a John East preamp in as well, fantastic combination

Where the mark up prices are made to look bad is when you look to trade something in and the dealer starts quoting "I only pay this much for a new one so can only offer you a quarter of that" Perfect example, I recently wanted out of my (totally mint) Hiwatt High Gain 100w head (current sale price between £900 and £1100) I wanted to trade for an Ampeg Pro 7 SVT (current sale price around £699) I was expecting to chuck £200 at the deal.....not a chance, PMT offered me £300 for the Hiwatt against an ex demo incomplete head, Richtone could only manage £200 against an ex demo, both shops quoting "it's what we can get them for and recent sale prices on Ebay" so exactly what mark up had they got in a £1000 head that only allows them to offer £250 as a trade in? Neither shop got my business, I sold the Hiwatt for £400.00 and brought a mint used, fight cased Pro 7 for £350.00, not been back to either shop since and now have no plans to, a big loser for PMT as I have spent close to £10.000 in there over the past five years (I know that because the guy inadvertently showed me my account screen!)

We too are a general pop/ indie / rock covers band in our 6th year together, now back as our original line up after a couple of drummer changes, I have insisted that we cut back on the gigs this year with no more than two a month, we are struggling for decent venues but have enough to fill the dates we wanted, musically the guitarist and drummer have come along way as this was their first band....we were dead lucky? with our singer....much as he is still a pain in the butt he is also probably the best vocalist around here playing in a covers band and, he was the first guy to answer our add for a vocalist as well

We simply will never agree on songs so we now choose in turn, it's up to everybody to learn the chosen song (after all it will be their choice again before long) we then give it a try, if we can play it then fine, if we can't we bin it, the criteria is that it should be a song that suits the band, a well known chart hit and something that our audience will enjoy.....to me we now have a complete mishmash of a set with songs being chosen for self indulgent purposes...however in spite of my feelings towards half of the set we are still one of the most successful covers bands in the area! Just to illustrate, the last 4 chosen songs were The Bangles version of Hazy Shade of Winter (my choice) Back of my Hand, The Jags, Counting Stars by One Republic (which I can't stand) and Love me Again by John Numan (which again I can't stand) however we play them all very well so they will go in the set and live or die by audience response

Which ever one you dislike most will be the best front man for you, self centered, arrogant, opinionated gits seem to make mighty fine singers, ours turned up with a vocal PA set it up in the kitchen (we were set up in the workroom) and then set about singing to a backing tape rather than letting us play and him joining in.....six years later he is still a great singer and still a pain in the ass

Roll on the return of the Phillips Laser disc 2000, my mates dad had one, it was the only one I ever saw, actually come to think of it my mate had a mullet at that time

I have to agree regarding Joss Stone being just too much and both Mrs2611 and I thought Wilco needed a front man, it was nothing until he stopped the singing and started playing the guitar then he came to life, we switched over in the end and watched the Queen gig instead......that was OK I guess

I love Nice and Sleazy....but still can't play it properly.

At 15lbs in weight you would need to save some money for a replacement spine as well!

Out 79 Precision Status series 3000 Bass Collection SB320 In Lighter 79 Precision Sterling Ray 34 Eastwood Classic 4 What have I learned.....No matter what I do to a Jazz bass I don't like them.....The pre-amp in a Musicman Bass makes all the difference and despite being a cheap poorly built bass the Eastwood looks ace, sounds good and is very gigable

Get our 2nd track played on national radio....play some bigger festivals.....continue to enjoy what I do....that's it

I fitted the John East 3 band to my Sterling along with a Delano pickup, totally transformed the bass to what I always thought a MM bass should sound like.....possibly doesn't help you a lot as you don't know what I thought a MM bass should sound like in the first place........so basically....brought Sterling....disappointed with the sound....fitted pick up and pre-amp.....happy with sound Hope that helps

From a covers band doing The Jam, Green Day,Mighty Lemonheads and a bit of the Cult, the recent selections have been Counting Stars by One Republic, some song by John Numan (who doesn't appear to be Gary Numan's son) an INXS song and the Verve's Lucky Man.....I am feeling like I ought to be taking some puppies and sweeties to future gigs to try and woo what appears to be our future target audience.....I am also feeling that my days in the band may be numbered!

I have a feeling I have seen that description on Ebay before a couple of years back, I would guess it has scammer written all over it!

Is it a [s]Balalika[/s] [s]Balaclava[/s] [s]Ballystringything[/s] Balalaika, I know it's a wooden instrument thing!

RIP Joe.....another great gone

I started aged 15 on six string as at the time I couldn't afford or find a useable bass, my mates were all out nicking motorbikes and getting arrested, I decided my time was better spent mastering bar chords and playing along to Stiff Little Fingers songs....anyway eventually one of my aforementioned friends decided he needed to sell his bass (no doubt of dubious origins) to pay a fine, from memory! It was a stripped back Precision copy, I never looked back......I guess I did the really hard work starting out on six string, so switching to the bass was so much easier (at first) and as I became reasonably competent fairly quickly I enjoyed it more so stuck at it....it also annoyed my mum as she always said I never stuck at anything.....well mum 35 years on 2 albums and 1000's of gigs later, I can officially say she was wrong!! I am still totally passionate about music and playing bass, I cannot imagine that ever changing now

I only own two Hip Hop records, this and White Lines! I never came across any others after that that worked for me, the more the genre turned to Rap, being gangster and popping a cap in someone's ass the less it appealed

Just to add to the above, I have just brought an Eastwood Classic 4 in white.....well it's the closest thing to a White Falcon this side of £2000.00! I wasn't expecting a great deal for a £300.00 outlay and build quality wise it isn't fantastic, one of the tone knobs is broken and will be a pain to change if I decide to, the gold is already tarnished and well it just feels a bit fragile like. As the OP put the wiring is something of a mystery but to me that just makes it more Gretsch like as their wiring has often been illogical in the extreme. I was really just looking at this bass as a bit of fun however, through a decent amp it actually sounds pretty good, plenty of thump on the neck pickup but just enough bite to cut through a mix on the bridge pickup and with both pickups selected it is a decent mix of bite and thump, I decided to give a go live, use it for a few numbers then switch to one of the "better" basses, well I have now used it for two entire gigs, it's light, pretty well balanced, stays in tune and looks awesome, I have had loads of comments on how it looks and sounds, I really cannot fault the plucky little fellow, as for £300 it punches well above its weight, I did try a Gretsch Electromatic bass but at nearly £900 I wasn't impressed enough to consider buying it. So if you like the look of em, realise they are a cheaply built bass and don't expect the world from it you certainly won't be disappointed and it will leave you with a smile on your face....now where can I find an Orange one!