MarkW

Ha ha! Thanks guys! I sometimes fluff the twiddly bit at 'Every woman, every man' - it's pretty much 50:50 whether I get it right or not. More practice required! I'll be sure to tell our guitarist that he's a tosser though!

OK, this really isn’t very good, but having made it for a family member who wanted to hear it I thought I’d post it for all the good folks here. Ignore the trifle interlude http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLU8WESyVoE We stuck this in our set list a few months ago, and our guitarist never misses an opportunity to tell me I’m crap, so you’re not going to hurt my feelings if you want to tuck in Happy New Year to one and all!

My only bass purchase in 2014 was just a few weeks ago - a Cort A5 Custom SP. I have an old A5 that my wife bought for me about 7 years ago at a time she could ill afford it, and because of its sentimental value I never gig it. But it's a cracking instrument, and despite owning Musicman, Warwick, Fender and Clover basses it's still my favourite to play. So when I saw the Custom SP recently I snapped it up! First gig using it was last weekend, and it was astonishingly good - lots of great comments from band mates and punters about how it sounded. Consequently I think my bass collection might get a bit of thinning over the next few weeks!

I moan about my band mates using stands, but then to be fair only one of us has played Don't Stop Believing in F when everyone else was playing it in E...

I don't really give a damn what anyone else does! I was a classically trained musician, and if I were playing in an orchestra I'd have a stand. Similarly, when I play in the big band I have a stand. But when I go to a pub to knock out the same set list we've been playing for the last couple of years (and that's another issue right there) I don't see one good reason for any of us having one.

OK, OK - I take it all back ET! I want one of those!

A 100-piece symphony orchestra using stands to perform classical repertoire is one thing: five blokes in a pub who can't remember the chords to a handful of cock-rock covers is something else entirely. I always think it makes us look either under-rehearsed or just lazy, especially as our pro guitarist is the worst offender ;-)

Interesting thread. I play in a pubs & clubs covers band, and there's only me and the drummer who play from memory: guitar, keyboards and vocals all have stands. I think it looks bad, especially as I'm a crap bass player who only picked the instrument up a couple of years ago after a lay-off of 20 years, and if I can manage to remember the songs then anyone can.

Saw him playing at the WOTW show in Leeds last night. We took the kids as a surprise - they've watched the DVD of the show hundreds of times since we bought it for them a couple of years ago. Amazing night! I had a nice surprise when I first played the DVD - I used to play in the Staffordshire County Youth Orchestra with the guy who was their principal cellist!

Brilliant - thanks guys. Loads of useful info, and those Shep articles were really interesting. Ta!

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Hi guys[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Having just ordered an MXR pre-amp, my little collection of their pedals has now got to the size where I can consider nailing them onto a board, and as my birthday is fast approaching it seemed like the perfect excuse to get a Pedaltrain Jr. Or rather, to have my wife get one for me [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]So – in what order should I connect them? Apologies if there are loads of discussions on this already and I’ve just been too lazy to look for them, but any thoughts would be much appreciated. This is what I’ll have:[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]M81 Pre-amp[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]M82 Envelope filter[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]M83 Chorus[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]M84 Fuzz[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]M87 Compressor[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]M288 Octave[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I seem to remember that compressors are supposed to go earlier in the chain rather than later, but I could have just made that up. I’ve also got a Boss line selector that I may as well chuck on there, if for no other reason than that it looks quite cool and is something else to press. [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Cheers![/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]On Saturday I finished a week-long run of The Full Monty with a local musical theatre group. Great fun with a fantastic bunch of performers and musicians, and sold out every night. Also the first time I’ve had to play off a bass score since 1991! The last night was full of exuberance and silliness: guitarist hammering on the fingerboard like an amphetamine-driven typist, silly slap-bass with OTT envelope filter in one of the funkier numbers, and two female cast members constantly trying to put the band off by coming backstage and flashing. Happy days [/color][/size][/font]

Hi Ambient I've been really pleased with Fender's roundwound strings after years of other brands, and although I'm new to flats theirs seem nice to me. The thread is a bit of a naff green though, but then I hate thread of any description on my strings - I'd much rather have them bare as nature intended :-)

I have Fender flats on my Cort A4 fretless, and really like them. I recently put them on a couple of my fretted basses too, and the transformation has been pretty cool - lovely sound and of course silky smooth under the fingers. If they did a 6-string set I'd have put them on my fretless Corvette, but I had to fork out for a set of TIs instead

Well how about that. Taking on board what folks have said about flats on fretted basses I've just strung my Fender Precision Delux (which has always been a bit jangly) with a set of flats, and now it sounds superb. So I carried on and did the same with my Cort A5, and that sounds even better! Another 5-string set is on order for the Clover Avenger. Should have tried this years ago! Thanks guys!

Yeah, I'm sorely tempted Fionn! Just another quick question: where are people getting six string flats from? The only couple of companies I've found so far are charging silly money

Does anybody have an opinion on the Warwick Corvette Standard fretless before I contemplate the long journey south to check one out? It's the six string on the Bass Gallery website if you fancy a gander. It ticks a number of boxes for me: I've fancied owning a Warwick since about 1988, I have been contemplating a six string for a little while, and it's within my budget - just!

Great replies folks, and reading them is a very welcome distraction from the decorating! I'm definitely going to start experimenting much more with different strings on all my basses - I'm really curious about flats on the Sterling and half wounds on the fretless. We shall see! I started out on ss strings, but I moved over to using nickels exclusively a good while ago now. Interesting comment on the Lakland strings - I was using DR until fairly recently, but switched over to Fender and didn't notice a huge difference (other than the price!), which probably says something about my playing... A couple of years ago I saw a gorgeous custom Warwick 5-string fretless in blue stain up for sale on E-bay, but I wasn't quite ready to take the plunge. Regretting it now!

So, having never owned (or even played) a fretless in my life, I bought one a few weeks ago out of curiosity. It's nothing fancy, just a basic Cort 4-string, but it has been nothing less than a revelation. I have played it exclusively for the last couple of months, and it's the most intuitive bass-playing experience I've ever had. The notes just seem to fall under my fingers, and the feel of flats is gorgeous! Now I know that hitting the right notes is just the beginning, and I still have a hell of a long way to go when it comes to tone control, but here's the thing: I picked up my beloved old MM Sterling this evening, and HATED it. The strings felt unpleasant - so coarse and rough - and the frets felt clunky and really obtrusive. Will I ever be able to go back I wonder, or am I going to end up having to put my collection of fretted basses up for sale? I'm kind of curious what flats would sound like on a fretted bass. Crap, probably. Is it worth trying? :-(

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Thanks for the advice guys – some great food for thought there.[/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I should perhaps have mentioned that I’m based more than 100 miles away from where my friend lived, so we’re not going to be able to rely on any support from his local venues. I did a very well attended charity gig in aid of the British Heart Foundation a few weeks ago with the aim of raising enough to install a couple of defibrillators in local venues, which we did, but it was mostly friends and family of the deceased who turned up. Logistically we’re not all going to be able to get down to Stoke, so I guess we’ll have to set more modest expectations for this. [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]If we get this off the ground I’ll certainly let people on here know, although I’m not sure how wise it is to expose myself to the wider bass playing community! Mind you, as good as it is to seek out better players to have something to aspire to, sometimes it’s also good to watch a complete no-hoper in action to make us feel a bit better. [/color][/size][/font]

[font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Hi everyone – I’m on the scrounge for advice I’m afraid![/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I’d like to organise a charity gig with our band to raise some money for a foundation that was set up in memory of an old friend and fellow musician. I’ve never done anything like this before (to be perfectly honest I’ve never organised a gig of any description) so if any of you has any experience of this sort of thing I’d be really grateful for your advice.[/color][/size][/font][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]I guess the key things are going to be selecting the right type and size of venue, advertising the event (are local radio stations willing to promote this sort of thing?), the money stuff (sell tickets, or have free entry and ask for a donation?), anything else we can do that’s likely to increase attendance, and of course the best ways of coercing people into doing things for nothing![/color][/size][/font][font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font] [font="Calibri"][size="3"][color="#000000"]Thanks in advance folks, and all the very best for 2014![/color][/size][/font] Mark

Cheers Gary - I felt like a right dickhead. Thankfully the band are used to my general incompetence and found it hilarious, and the punters were too far gone by then either to notice or care!

There's a large bloke who regularly turns up to our gigs, gets hammered immediately and then spends the rest of the night standing at the back yelling 'GIVE US SOME SLADE!' between every song. Very irritating. At a gig over the weekend our guitarist came closer than he's ever come in 40 years as a pro to fisticuffs with a member of the audience, who needled him relentlessly about The Proclaimers. Usually though, we have a handy and honest response to audience requests: "Sorry mate - the bass player doesn't know it."

[size=4][font="Calibri"][color="#000000"]It was a two-gig weekend for me. On Saturday we played to over 200 people at a charity gig in aid of the British Heart Foundation. We were on absolutely top form with a fault-free blistering performance, and the punters had a fantastic night. Unfortunately last night’s three-set gig at a local social club wasn’t quite so spectacular. [/color][/font][/size][size=4][font="Calibri"][color="#000000"] [/color][/font][/size] [size=4][font="Calibri"][color="#000000"]For a start we were all knackered from the previous 2 am finish, severe jetlag had just caught up with our keyboard player after a fortnight in LA, and I was suffering from a horrendous head cold that made everything sound as if I had my head in a bucket. The main problem though was the mix on stage, which was atrocious. In fact atrocious doesn’t even begin to describe it. The only thing I could hear all night was the drummer and the odd bit of vocals – nothing else, and crucially not a single note I was playing. Despite this, everything was going swimmingly until we launched into ‘Don’t Stop Believing’, which we’ve done dozens of time before, and every time in E. For some reason that I still can’t fathom, last night I did the whole thing in F. Could hardly be worse really, could it? As the only one who couldn’t hear it, I was on stage wondering why the rest of the band weren’t giving it their usual grunt. I assumed that because it’s the bass line that drives it and I was feeling out of sorts I probably wasn’t giving it enough welly. So I really dug in. God alone knows what it must have sounded like to the punters out front, but given the hysterics the rest of the band were having I’m assuming not too great. [/color][/font][/size][font="Times New Roman"][size="3"][color="#000000"] [/color][/size][/font] [size=4][font="Calibri"][color="#000000"]Ah well – as one of my old band leaders used to say: If you’re going to make a mistake, it may as well be a big one.[/color][/font][/size]

Now that would have been an even greater disappointment to the punters than my playing