DaytonaRik

I have invisible cables!

I absolutely detest this with a passion. Sure, I forget a few lyrics now and again - but I'll make light of it and be brunt of my own joke.

I've trodden both the orignal band path (as a guitarist) and came close to getting somewhere but not quite, and the popular cover band path. find that although I enjoyed immensley the feeling of writing my own material, there is nothing like the feeling of being appreciated and a crowd responding to your efforts. We played to full rock clubs (Bradford Rio's, skate room at Rock Cit etc) and it was brilliant, but it could be hit and miss, with some great crowds, some indifferent. Some venues didnt want to entertain original bands and those were hard work as the punters expected the old favourites. Personally, creativity is great, but there is nothing like the feeling of being appreciated and a crowd responding to your efforts.regardless of who wrote the material but having written it yourself was the icing on the cake.

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1416660302' post='2612386'] I was born in 62 and have already written to the National Lottery asking them to fund a YOB bass [/quote] Being born in 1966 I share your pain! I did find a '66 Thunderbird on eBay but sadly the $7600 price tag is a tad prohibitive!!!

I've actually had this in my possession for a little while now but have only got around to posting this thread! I picked up a pre '82 lawsuit era spaghetti logo Tokai Hard Puncher from Tobiewharton and I'm really pleased with the purchase, and I'm finding it surprisingly easy to play a 42mm neck after getting used to the 38mm of the Schecter and T'bird It's 30+ years old and has been previously enjoyed by a few folks. It's definitely a player, not a wall ornament with a few battle scars, scuffs, dings but it's got a mojo aplenty, great feel and tone and fits in so well with the Thin Lizzy sounds - hell, it's basically a vintage late 70's/early 80's P-bass. So, head over to the [url="https://www.icloud.com/photostream/#ACJ0DiRHG03qwB"]Tokai Hard Puncher[/url] gallery for a few pics of the new addition to the stable [attachment=177666:thp1.jpg]

Just bought an early law-suit era Tokai Hard Puncher from Tobiewharton - the bass was exactly as described, great communications and throughout the deal and he even made a trip across the peak district to deliver the instrument in person. A top bloke to deal with.

Small pub in Derby - Thr Smithfield. Odd space to play, a wall obstructing half of our 'stage' area so we were basically playing in a box Very odd boomy on stage sound with some obscure resonating frequencies but all good out front...I'll take that! Got to use my Tokai Hard Puncher in anger thanks to Tobiewharton driving over to deliver and finish the deal. Another great response to the Thin Lizzy material so we're doing something right. A few weeks off then back at it!

Have to agree with the whole 'layer' thing - I asked our guitarist who was near our 01V desk to turn down the Aux 2 master on the weekend as it was on the point of feeding back - I just got a blank look!!! Great IF you're VERY familiar with the layout/operation but a potential nightmare if things go badly pear shaped mid-gig!!!

I do it because there's no other feeling like it, or being told "that was great...where are you next week 'cos we'd love to come and see you again!

We keep It simple - a pair of PAR 56 LED panels either side of the stage and a pair of ACME colour changers either side of the kit, all programmed through Chamsys MagicQPC on a laptop. Job done!

Debut gig for the Thin Lizzy cover band - it's never going to be a "tribute" in the whole imitation way. Anyway, a great pub gig once we shoehorned ourselves into the space we had and played to a crowd that really wanted to hear the Lizzy classics and a few gems. Had 'em clapping along, singing along and up dancing - job done!

[sub]Interested by the comparision Blue, esp concerning the new Epi Classic IV vs Thunderbird IV as the older Epi's were bolt on and definitely built to visually resemble the 'real deal' while in no was getting close sound-wise. Would like to know how the thru' neck Epi Classic IV stacks up sound-wise agianst the Gibson as I could be tempted by one as a spare. Has anyone been able to copmare them side-by-side?[/sub]

I've always made sure that there is both a physical presence before and at gigs (posters, flyers etc.) and an online presence pushing the band online, be that the web site or social media through FaceBook and Twitter. I'm a believer in the schmooze factor at gigs - keep the landlord/promoter on your side, make sure they're happy and mingle with the crowd at the interval and afterwards as much as possible - the aloof "I'm in the band" look doesn't do you favours imho

I'd go for a DMX interface (ENTTEC Pro) and use Chamsys MagicQ PC to run it all Once you've set up the chases/sequences you can either run the show in stand alone mode or get a mate with a mouse if you want to be all creative

Hello and welcome from sunny Barnsley! Nice to have someone on the doorstep so to speak. A good bunch in here with loads of sage advice and experience aplenty!

Can only echo the sentiments above...try to relax, have fun and don't worry if you drop a note. Once you're done have a celebratory beverage of your choice afterwards to welcome yourself to the wonderful world of gigging musicians

I had a DRP-1 - it needed a lot of EQing to get a good sound out of it. The JMP-1 made huge inroads into the Marshall DI'd sound, especially with the speaker emulation outputs.

Relationships with members in both of my current bands are on a strictly professional level i.e. we play and rehearse together and that's about it. Sure, we may be 'friends' on social media but that's where the connection starts and ends although I will offer moral support for personal issues. I have absolutely no problem in being utterly blunt about musical or personal issues with either band. In the covers band, I'm much more of a father figure - I'm 21 years older than the next eldest member and have considerably more gigging experience so perhaps I'm looked to for guidance/advice anyway. In the tribute act, as I'm newer to the material I've actually taken the time to learn it properly, including both guitar parts and bass lines rather than having grown up as a fan of the material thinking I already know it! If something isn't right then I'll tell it like it is.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1414102220' post='2586017'] I've never played in a rock band so I've never had this problem. I've never seen what draws bass players to do rock bands tbh. [/quote] Ermmm...perhaps because I like rock music? Basically it's the same reason why I [b][i]don't[/i][/b] play in a Motown band!

Rather than phone calls, one of our bookers (for the 'tribute' band) actually turns up to the venue with a promo pack - live and studio stills, posters, flyers, some samples of recordings 'as-live' - they don't have to be full tracks, a selection fading in and out does the trick, Are there any established rock venues in your area? Get onto the bill for all-day events as that can lead to support slots leading onto bookings.

I'm currently experiencing both the good and bad - both bands have twin guitars, in which guitarist 'A' is excellent, space appropriate volume, good tone at different output levels etc. Meanwhile, guitarist 'B' thinks everything should be on 11! I've suggested they stand opposite their back line, not on top of it for rehearsals so they can experience what the rest of us have to put up with for themselves!!!!

A self taught guitarist becomes a self taught bass player...I probably have every bad habit under the sun and then some! Back to the OP - I'm still learning so much so that everything I learn in a step in the right direction and whilst I'm not the most technically advanced bass player out there 25 years of playing (mostly) rhythm guitar means I have a good feel for what I'm trying to achieve and understand my role in the band. I try to learn new and different things - auditioned for a country/blues band which put so me far out of my comfort zone it was untrue but I felt I achieved and learned something new which hopefully I can put to use at some point.

Generally the rest of the band can be a little 'preoccupied' and 'static' - as you say, worrying about the next bit. Sure, if it's a tricky run or phrase I'll look down to make sure I've got it nailed but then heads up, lots of eye contact and smiles and it's onto the next bit! I've always been accused of playing a pub like it's a stadium but is that a bad thing? I'm there to entertain so I make sure that the focus of my attention are the folks I'm playing to - I move around whenever possible, try to elicit responses, get folks to clap along/join in - I try to be entertaining rather than a mannequin or a cardboard cut out. I agree that how you engage with your audience is more important than how you look, but for myself making the effort to look a bit like a 'rock star' and playing that part when I'm performing is all part and parcel of my role as an entertainer.