FinnDave

Not long back from playing an afternoon gig in a field near Cirencester. Very well organised and very much a celebration of all things Grateful Dead on the 50th anniversary of their live in Europe album. My current band Franklins Tower were the opening act, two hours on a good spacious stage and a very decent PA run by professionals made it a real pleasure. Good crowd who were up and dancing as only Deadheads can from the first note.

Very good Americana duo on after us (guitar & banjo/bass drum) with classy vocal harmonies. Seemed a strange choice at first, but in fact were perfect as a palate cleaner between us and the Grateful Dudes (top UK GD band).

I had a Selmer T&B 50 valve amp from the mid 70s until the mid 80s - never left me down and always sounded great.

9 hours ago, Lowend soldier said:

Your comment got me thinking of my times sat out front in the crowd and I,m off too start the new BC debate/free for all on how much better a backline of folded horn cabs are better than going through a pa 🤔😉😂😂😂  Hows the classic going sir....

The Classic is going just fine - set of Rotosound flats and it sounds gorgeous. Played a US Standard P today (GHS flats) and that was just right for the Grateful Dead set we played at a Deadhead festival in the Cotswolds. 

Used my ABM 500/2x10 combo - sounded wonderful on stage, was DI'd and mic'd through the PA.

I have an Orange Little bass Thing and Trace Elliot Elf as a back-up, with a light Super Compact cab. Nice and light and easy on my back. But for today's gig I shall be taking one of my 20 year old ABM combos (or possibly two of them) as they simply sound better, and not just to my ears, but the rest of the band all commented on how good the bass sounded when I dragged one of the heavy combos along to a rehearsal.

1 hour ago, Supernaut said:

I'm not against old people - I am against anyone who believes that because they're older, they must know best. 

I'm getting on a bit, and like the music I have always liked - but I wouldn't tell someone else that they should like it just because I do. Young people liking music from 40-50 years ago suggests a lack of progress. I certainly didn't like the music my dad listened to, and still don't.

55 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

How to sound ancient in one sentence. 

Still right, no matter how it makes anyone sound. Getting old is a privilege denied to many, we should be proud to have survived, not ashamed. I was at some great gigs and festivals in the 70s, and I am playing at a festival tomorrow. 

True free festivals are a thing of the past, killed off in the mid 80s after the battle of the bean field. I mourn their passing.

I've bought (and then sold) at least 4 JCBs, the look of them keeps bringing me back - but I find them awkward to play. I must learn not to buy another!

Great basses, well made, but don't seem to suit my anatomy and/or playing 'style'.

I used to find Chromes felt sticky and 'grabbed' at my fingers - but when I switched to LaBellas they had no grabbiness at all. Rotosound flats and GHS Precision flats are also non-grabby for my fingers. 

Judging by other people's posts above it seems to be a matter of finding the right strings for your fingers.

8 minutes ago, Japhet said:

They Call Me the Breathe - Lynryd Skynyrd   JJ Cale, surely?

When I went to the free festivals in the 70s, I hitch hiked there from Stockport - small world.

I've been to Glastonbury Fayre/festival only once - mid 70s, no name bands, no tickets, no security - just a few hundred stoned hippies making music to entertain each other. I preferred the 70s Stonehenge festivals held over the solstice (Glastonbury is always the week after Stonehenge as most people drifted from one to the other). I think I saw some of Zorch playing and probably Here & Now who played most of the free festivals in those days. Maybe Nik Turner as well - it's a long time ago and there were many other small festivals back then - Deeply Vale & Ruthin come to mind. I've probably forgotten more than I remember now, must have been something in the water

1 hour ago, ern500evo said:

I’m not pushing the product, I have zero affiliation to the product or it’s makers. It was just a product I saw, that I’d never seen before, something I found to be a bit quirky. So I thought I’d post it here to see if anyone else had ever seen anything of the same ilk. 

I failed to notice that you had started the thread, I assumed it was started by by the manufacturer/originator of the product, so please accept my apologies for inadvertently accusing you of pushing the product. 

Definitely something I haven't seen or heard of (or even imagined) before, but good luck to them if they can create a need for them.

Just now, ern500evo said:

The explanation of who the product seems to be aimed at, is up there ☝️ 😊

I read that, but why push the product on a bass forum if it's aimed at guitarists? Can't say I've ever met a guitarist who has felt the need to raise or lower his strap mid-song, or even at all after an initial adjustment.

I have two straps, both of exactly the same length (49") between the button holes (or whatever they're called). All of my basses are either Fender Precision or Jazz basses so they all hang at exactly the same height. I never change the height at which I play my basses, so I fail to understand the need for this product.

That's my logic too - minimise the risk on dodgy gigs (to be fair, the main problem I face is the weather at outdoor gigs). 

2 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I suppose I`ve been lucky, but having purchased from PMT (Bristol & Northampton), Coda (Luton & Stevenage), Giggear (Harlow) plus numerous other standalones such as The Music Dept in St Albans I`ve never encountered any of these horror stories. 

My experience with PMT has always been very good - they have even diverted staff members on their way home to drop stuff off at our house. Hard to improve on service like that!

My dealings with Peach have only been via their website and on the phone. They went out of their way to sort out a Vintera Jazz I bought last Autumn, and they rejected the first two replacements that Fender sent them - the one that satisfied their standards was then given the full plek treatment (usually an expensive option) and arrived in perfect condition. 

I would certainly use them again (the Jazz was the third, possibly fourth, bass I have bought from them in the last few years. Only wish they weren't so far away!

All of my basses are fitted with Dunlop strap locks, I did try the rubber retainers but found them tricky to get on/off until they got so easy they just fell off. I also tried the the Schaller but found them a little more difficult than the Dunlops to use. 

You can buy just the strap button part of Dunlops (and probably Schallers) from suppliers like All Parts - otherwise you are paying for the full kit for every bass you own - pointless unless you have a different strap for each one.

Picked up my RCD from screw fix this morning. I told my wife to look after the receipt so that if I am electrocuted on stage she can get the £7.95 back. She wasn't amused!

Good thread - I read it and had ordered from the link before I'd finished it! RCD is now waiting at the local Screwfix ready for me to collect.

Remembering to use it, though, is a different matter!

Well, I took both basses to the rehearsal but the old faithful 2012 US Precision stayed in its case - the sunburst 2010 with GHS flats sounded just perfect, even though it was only going through a TE Elf and Super Compact. I will try a back to back comparison with the 2012 US Standard that has LaBella 760 FLs on, but both sound wonderful.

6 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

I love the GHS. To me they’re interchangeable with the La Bella 760FLs, with maybe a little more going on in the upper mids.

Well, that makes me even more eager to try them this afternoon - the spare I will be taking is a similar Precision with 760FLs so it will be easy to compare the two.

9 hours ago, Bagman said:

 

I use the 105 E set

Got some last year as emergency back up given New Zealand susceptibility to freight crisis 

 

Very impressed bought a couple more sets. 

 

Not as tight or old as LaBellas 

Not as bright as Chromes

 

A nice variation of a theme. 

Good balance string to string. Smooth without being dull. 

I’m using on a Fretless Jazz

I have a rehearsal this afternoon and will take the Precision with the GHS flats on (and a spare, in case the sound doesn't fit the band). 

I have just fitted a set 0f .045 - .105 GHS Precision Flats to a US Standard Precision, not tried these strings before so will be interested to hear them once I've finished setting the bass up.

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Altho i dont specifically need the money i am finding that i dont want to play gigs these days where i just "break even". I guess that's more money driven than anything else which is a slight change for me. The more i play the more profit i want to see. Maybe its because i'm working more. 

 

I feel the same way - I have been playing for 45 years or more, have spent money or decent basses and amplifiers including back ups, have a larger car than I need simply to be able to transport my gear around - so when I am asked to play somewhere miles away for a free beer or two, I refuse to do so. 

I am also in two bands at the moment, one used to gig every weekend until the drummer left and then Covid struck - we are still trying to find time when all three of us are able to rehearse so that the new drummer is up to speed on the set. I could do with getting that band back to regular gigs as the money was useful.

Other band is a six piece Grateful Dead covers band, based in Oxford, which often plays at multi-band afternoons arranged by a 'promoter' who gets paid by the venue, but the 4-6 bands he talks into playing for him don't. I simply do not understand why anyone would play under those conditions. For me it means driving 30 minutes each way, parking invariably means paying for the privilege, and I am supposed to be grateful for the 'exposure'.

I always think that anything is worth what you pay for it. When the blues band goes out for a decent fee, we are treated well by the venue as they are investing in us. When I have played free gigs, the bands are usually treated as worthless because they are costing the venue nothing. I have never had a paid gig cancelled because the venue will lose money - but I have schlepped my gear to free gigs and back several times and been told there is no time for us to play - thus wasting my time and money for nothing except increasing anger and bitterness about the whole process.