Roger2611

[i]Some interesting points in the above melee! I still firmly believe that if I wrote the next "Every Breathe You Take" I would still make serious cash from it as honest sources will still pay to buy and use such a song. As to the earlier point about who writes what....What made The Smiths the great band they were Morrisey's exquisite lyrics or Johnny Marr's fabulous guitar work or I guess the Axle Rose V Slash scenario, difficult one to answer. In the originals band I play in the Guitarist rights the initial tune and lyric his view is that without my counter melodies on the bass the songs are nothing....my view, without his ideas I have nothing to put a counter melody to....we get on well...would that continue if we managed to turn out the next "Every Breathe You Take" I wonder. Ooh me writings gone all slanty, I like it when that happens I just wish I knew why it happened![/i]

I still think you should do it.....you are never too old........but if you do, you can spare us the pictures, we will believe you

I imagine this is how Ben Stiller or Will Ferrell would act the part of a bass player

I know of a covers band that puts all of their song titles in a hat and members of the crowd pull them out and that's what they play, it seems to work well for them and might save the OP's sanity and desire to brain guitarist / vocalist

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1388943336' post='2327913'] I know from past experience that these threads about age can be very sensitive , to say the least, so I will try to tread carefully. Rock music is a middle-aged art form anyway- it goes hand- in- hand with watching Top Gear and wearing jeans like Jeremy Clarkson- so I wouldn't waste a minute of time worrying about whether you are too old to play that style of music, but when older folks have delusions that they could still be "cutting edge" and in-tune with what young people really like nowadays then things can get a bit awkward. Age is just a number, as people seem to like to say , but it's a number that lets people know how old you are, and, crucially, it doesn't really matter how older people see themselves in relation to younger people, the important thing is how the young see older people. And middle -aged people are just as irrelevant to the lives of young people now as they were when we were young. [/quote]There is nothing wrong with playing rock music - or indeed any kind of music- if you are of advancing years, but if anyone thinks that they are going to become commercially successful playing original material over the age of forty if they not already a musician with an established career then they are kidding themselves. It just doesn't happen . That is one aspect to consider. Well that about wee's on my bonfire then what's to say the world isn't going to change and older people will start buying more music....after all a lot of the kids these days have absolutely no interest in music at all. I honestly think what you say is true but I am not going to accept it because I am old and cantankerous....so there

If Les Paul was still gigging at the age of 93? I still have a few years left in me....anyway the originals band I am playing in currently is certain to be the next big thing....this time I am certain of it

Where to start! Welcome to the world of live sound A small PA in a big hall can't stop sounds bouncing off the back wall which will contribute to what ends up as a dreadful noise with the initial sound just bouncing back into mikes and feeding round again. If the Pa ain't big enough there is not a massive amount you can do about it other than give it as much room as you can, there is a formula out there somewhere that will indicate what sized pa you need for a certain sized venue and it is bigger than you would imagine! Get your amps raised high enough that you can hear them rather than aiming them at your knees (which don't have ears!) then you won't have to be so loud, then your vocalist won't demand monitors are so loud as to just add to the cacophony of sound you are creating. Unless your drummer is exceptionally loud he isn't going to drown out reasonable quality amps, he may sound loud where you are but probably isn't going to over power a large venue (again by getting your amps up higher you will hear them closer to you and maintain more control) I have worked with a good number of big live acts is some fantastic small venues and some awful big venues and stage control is everything, control your volume and monitor needs on stage and any sound man worth his salts will deliver a good sound out front and at least a half decent sound back to the stage. That said some rooms are just pigging awful I hope it helps

Another vote for the Superchamp XD, fantastic little amp

a lot of so called budget makers turn out some high end stuff as well, I guess they employ decent luthiers to oversee the standard production stuff and then let them loose to build a few special instruments. I have a high end Crafter acoustic which is simply fantastic, every time I pick it up and play a chord it puts a smile on my face, it sat in a comparable price range with low end Taylor guitars and some lower end Martin guitars, I preferred the sound and feel of the Crafter to either of the others. I am under no illusions that its future value will be a fraction of that of the Taylor or Martin but when I sell it the lucky buyer will get one heck of a guitar

Paging he who must not be named.......he who must not be named to casualty please

[quote name='Rustyhornpipe' timestamp='1388576260' post='2323490'] Be careful dude. Don't drop anything until you know the funk band is strong enough to take things forward I.e if you can't get a decent singer etc and you are left with just drums and bass. You will soon regret sacking a tight band that regularly gigs and has an established name to get more gigs easily. Starting from scratch is difficult and things can burn out before really getting going. I would try and run both and then drop out of rock band if the funk is working. [/quote] I totally agree with the above, I play in a good covers band, it keeps me gig ready and on my toes and I love doing it, I am also working on an original band which over the last year has produced some really exciting songs, but a year down the line we have gigged only once and are now only just about at the stage of having a full original set that is strong enough to take out. We have had promoters chasing us to play off the strength of rehearsal recordings but we have held off until we feel ready to push it further which we will do this year, but it will still be a gradual build (unless we turn out to be the next U2!) I know exactly where my heart lies but had I walked away from the covers band a year ago I would have gone stir crazy by now. Stay with the rock band and develop the funk band until such time you are happy the funk band needs your full commitment. Happy new year

I worked briefly with a guitarist who had recently auditioned for a short tour with an X Factor loser who throughout the rehearsal didn't speak to any of the musicians, everything was done through the manager like "tell the guitarist he is not playing what I want" and "tell the bass player he is too loud" he didn't get offered the gig but with that attitude I would be very surprised if any gig went ahead, had I been there I am sure she would have been rushed swiftly to hospital for a mike stand removal procedure!

[i]Whenever anyone asks me anything at a gig, I just point them towards our guitarist and say "he'll answer any of your questions" another tactic is to wear a t-shirt onstage with "I like you, I will kill you last" emblazoned across the front, that also keeps the armchair critics at bay[/i]

I briefly owned a Gibson 335 but couldn't get on with the Nitro finish (sticky neck syndrome), I replaced it with a Tokai with Bare Knuckles pickups fitted, the Tokai sounded and played fantastic but it wasn't a patch on the Gibson, other than the Nitro finish the guitar was as perfect as I could rightly expect any guitar to be.

I think the Precision Bass is the Model T Ford, it was the car that brought motoring to the masses as the Precision brought bass playing to the masses, I can also see the Warwick / Porsche connection and not just because both are German, there is definitely something reliable but more than just run of the mill about Warwick as with Porsche and both attract the same love em / hate em debate. Musicman basses = BMW M series, fast, aggressive, solid but at the end of the day I personally can't see the attraction!

I to am a musician, I am just most proficient on bass

In: 79 Precision Warwick $$ Corvette Rockinbetter Bass TC Electronic RH750 TC Electronic 2x12 cab Mark Bass 115 Traveller cab Ashdown Little Bastard head Hiwatt valve head Out: Ashdown Little Bastard Head MM Stingray TC Electronic RH750 TC Electronic 2x12 cab Usa Fender Strat Not a bad in / out ratio but I will have to sell more stuff this year

Santa brought me a nice light 79 Precision and a not so light Hiwatt 100 watt valve head, Mrs Santa now insists many articles are sold to pay them

I like it in the White just not £1500 like it

I think on any other forum the Blockheads without NWR is probably no biggie but on Basschat it's like Christmas without [s]Jesus [/s]Cliff Richard, I feel your pain

I think one song that was a massive sonic step forward for me was Donna Summer's I Feel Love from 1976, I have to admit I had been smoking something naughty first time I heard it but boy the stereo mix was like a sonic headf**k I still think it sounds huge today

I have three questions, why? Why? and for heavens sake why?

The higher the bass the less cool you look versus the lower the strap the more your back hurts.....do you still look cool hobbling round like an eighty year old because you did a Peter Hook the night before. I realised I stopped being cool at least ten years ago (if I ever was cool) so I wear my bass for maximum comfort...I may go onstage next year in a dressing gown and carpet slippers

My worst bass was a Warwick Rockbass $$, it played fine but didn't have a decent sound anywhere to be found, I now own a genuine Warwick version which, as you would expect is worlds apart and is a fantastic playing / sounding bass. Warwick, why sell a bass that is such a poor cousin to the real thing? It is not going to make someone think...."oh that was crap, I am sure the more expensive version will be better, now I will buy the real thing", I ended up with mine as part of a trade, otherwise I wouldn't have touched another Warwick with a bargepole!