tegs07

The hardest walk - JAMC

Fair enough just seems odd to hop on a thread where people are happily talking about basses they have just bought and then rain on their parade.

Well I have an aerodyne and geddy lee both MIJ both Fender. The reviews speak for themselves. I don’t need to defend what basses I choose nor would I discourage anyone else from buying whatever brand they like be it Fender, Yamaha, Ibanez or whatever. You seem to have a bit of a bee on your bonnet about sheep and Fender. Fine they are not your cup of tea but I don’t get the hostility. Edit: On the resale this matters to me as I like to buy knackered parts (bodies, necks. Pickups etc) and strip them down, get them back working as Bitsa’s or complete basses. Some I keep, some I sell. Sometimes I get a small profit but nothing to justify the work that goes into them. I have tried this with other brands namely Schecter and Warmouth but they were hard to sell on even at a loss. Hence I look out for Fender, particularly the early MIJ ones as I have found them to be nicely put together with quality materials that have already lasted 30 years or more before I get hold of them.

Destination zululand - king kurt

Heartattack and vine - Tom Waits

Your welcome to your opinion. I’ve not played a bad MIJ Fender yet and don’t see them as being particularly outrageous in terms of price. The signature models keep their value and from reviews I have read the Duff McKagan and Nate Mendel in particular are excellent. Though both are MIM.

FireStarter - Prodigy

You could say this about any number of brands. The iPhone being an excellent example. Same basic design each time yet massively popular because it does what it was made to do and set the benchmark for all that followed. If you buy one you know what your getting and if you change your mind you can easily sell it on as it holds its value on the used market. Love the look of the boxer btw.

The harder they come - Jimmy Cliff (veering into Sid James territory now).

Rockit - Herbie Hancock

Opus Dei - Laibach

Preacher Man - Fields of the Nephalim

Papa don’t preach- Madonna

I think the answer to that is no and is undoubtedly a huge benefit to music these days. Really great sounding albums can be produced at minimum cost and get exposure on many digital platforms. The issue is getting some one to pay for them to keep you going. Playing city venues is also great but cities tend to be expensive with very little cheap accommodation. I doubt there are many squats to crash in Notting Hill theses days. It also doesn’t allow people to tour that easily due to costs. I know of very few musicians making a living purely from original music these days. This is partly because I am older and more dull than 25 years ago, but the ones that are still doing it ditched the bands a while back (one still teaches to top up earnings another has a function band side line).

Bank Robber- the clash

Sweetest thing- U2

Indeed there are some. Kasabian are getting long in the tooth now but managed it. Royal Blood are 2 blokes though so maybe the books balance better?

This is all true but I do think bands need to tour a lot, be on the road and go through all the life experiences of touring as a band to become a decent live act. Simply reproducing a well put together recording live is not going to satisfy most mature audiences (they want a little more) doing so may even be a struggle if a band can’t afford the addition musicians on a live tour.

It’s all over now, baby blue- Bob Dylan

It’s not so much about filling stadiums but being able to survive long enough to get really good. If the chilli peppers are used as an example the first couple of albums were great in terms of energy and they were good musicians. They didn’t really come into their own as song writers until Blood, Sugar, Sex, Magic. The same could be said of U2 with the Joshua Tree being as breakthrough album. Surviving to album 3 or 4 historically has been really hard. I’m not really sure it’s even possible anymore even for signed bands, which is a huge loss to music.

Some good points @mike257 Personally I think the major stumbling blocks for bands now is financial. Lack of venues willing to book new music, “pay to play”, revenue streams lost like selling tapes and CD’s at gigs and little in the way of squats and affordable accommodation being some factors. Even when bands are signed and getting some recognition revenue from streaming and physical sales is fairly paltry compared with the cost of living. Surviving long enough to break through must be very tricky for a band compared to a solo artist.

Superfast jellyfish - Gorillaz

Nice thanks. My current project is a MIJ Geddy Lee and this will save me a little time and effort.

So is the secret to success be a solo artist, keep costs to the minimum and use digital platforms to reach your audience?

Paradise city - G&R