Diablo

Ah - Dean taxi bass, I didn't twig the pics were the basses in the signature. Shopping time....

arghhh.... why does this happen. I've now got serious GAS for the yellow and chequer hollow-body a few posts up. Google time - what is it - Gibson? Must have. Need now.

It is almost "To go off and things" by the Cardiacs, but their line is "Squalor is at large in tidy suburbia". Is that it or not?

My son is 11 and for the last 6 months been learning 6 string electric guitar. He has a half hour lesson once a week and has been learning basic chords, 4 bar riffs (smoke on the water, 7 nation army, knocking on heavens door, Beatles stuff etc) and some scales. He seems to be losing interest in practicing and I can understand why, he cannot actually play any song through, just lots of bits of lots of songs. I thought it might motivate him somewhat to jam along to a full song with me on bass, but I don't play 6 string so would not know what works as an easy starter song, in the rock or blues genre, for me to work with him. Suggestions welcome, lead or rhythm! Cheers, Rich

^^ is that drummer naked..! I like the common theme, but not looking identical idea.

Loud clothing bring back memories of the bassist on the video of "Jump" http://youtu.be/ap2J9RbXaP4 I like the Hives look, but all the same is it a bit too Robert Palmer? I like Vintage Trouble but of course its been done, and no way will I get the other guys out of denim and into trousers. BigRedX - I was worried for a minute that you where the guy in the shorts strangling the guitarist...! I've got plenty of leather jackets, but don't you get too hot in all that kit? One would not be wanting betty swollocks half way through a rendition of teenage kicks? Cheers, Rich

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1397080442' post='2420558'] if you don’t know what a scale is the chances are you are pretty cr*p… [/quote] major...minor....pentatonic...err... gets coat and leaves

I play in a very much jeans and T shirt rock covers outfit, and there is no dress code at all, I don't think it has ever been mentioned. Personally I like to appear to have made some effort so I wear decent jeans, leather shoes and a smart casual short sleeve shirt. Feel good - play good that is my motto. When racing I always try to bring the best presented and well prepared outfit, and I suppose that mantra is still evident with music. Now I'm not talking about looking like Murph and the Magictones, but I'd like to lift the appearance a little and at least get the other guys out of T shirts and into shirts or polo's. For myself I am thinking about getting a couple of shirts made, plain black but with white buttons and black/white chequered collar and highlights. A bit of a nod to my car/bike racing and the 60's rocker movement. It got me onto thinking - I don't think I've read anything here about what people wear and why (music style, personal preference, gig promoter request, can't afford clean clothes etc) and what gives that appearance so punters think that at least the guys made an effort. Or is the point to look like you haven't made an effort..? Cheers, Rich

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1396975890' post='2419375'] In fairness, Silverstone Circuits Ltd is a loss-making business currently owned by the British Racing Drivers Club, itself a not-for-profit membership association. Silverstone is not part of Mr Ecclestone's Formula 1 organisation with whom it has until recently enjoyed an adversarial relationship. Far from being a rich player, Silverstone is pretty much on its uppers and- rather like the impecunious pub landlord - will seek to cover its costs in any way possible. In the last couple of years Silverstone and the BRDC have attempted to cover the circuit's enormous debts by selling certain parcels of land for commercial usage. The BRDC is now alleged to be in discussions with an un-named party to sell the track; the purpose of the sale is presumably to reduce the financial drag on the BRDC's other activities which include race driver educational programmes. In any event, the situation is the same as might pertain elsewhere. If one does not wish to play for free, one may politely reject the invitation. [/quote] Can you please stop posting common sense, it spoils an entertaining but ultimately misguided thread. Silverstone PAY F1 to be there, not the other way round. All it needs is terrible weather and it turns unto a huge loss-making exercise for them (not BE or course) which takes years to recover from. Oh - like a couple of years ago. Cheers, Rich

done!

I'd certainly say go and see them - it was only £7 a ticket last night, cheaper than the local RnB club here in Darlington. I don't understand, the quality of the Toseland performance was very high bar the couple of issues with the mix/levels. I would have thought they would be playing bigger places, but I suppose they have only just released their first album and I think it charted last week at no 64. "The Road Is Long" as the Righteous Brothers once said. Cheers, Rich

Was at the Toseland gig last night at the Academy in Newcastle, probably around 2-300 people there I'd guess. They changed bassists some time last year and Roger Davis is the current guy. http://www.acm.ac.uk/roger-davis/ They put on a great show. Roger was playing a Spector and I think he played with a pick all night. Running that into an Ampeg ST Pro head and an 8x10 Ampeg classic stack each side of the drummer. It was good to watch and listen to. He ran a wireless setup so could move around the stage easily. With a guitarist each side he moved well, covering the stage and either dropping behind the lead singer, one of the guitarists, or with the drummer as the song and atmosphere required. He was also not afraid to move to the front occasionally and give it some front of stage. It was one of the best bass performances I've seen for a very long time. I spoke to him afterwards and he said he was fully cranked and still having trouble being heard, he had to stand in front of one of the two stacks to hear himself! I could never image running out of headroom with that kit, but they seemed to be struggling with mix a bit at least at the start of the night, something about a new digital desk playing up. I contrast this with one of the support bands who shall remain nameless and committed so many faux-pas events I went home thinking my bands efforts are actually good enough to hold our own. I've always been told, and with the guys in my band too, we never ever stop if someone messes up. Just keep going, lock back in, and it is likely that at least half the punters never even noticed. This band played the intro to their song (their own material so unlikely anyone had heard it) then just all stopped. Singer turns to audience and says he forgot the words to go in with. If the band had carried on and rolled the riff round while singer remembered, I'm sure no-one in there would have noticed. Why on earth did they stop? The major crimes against music were committed by the bass player. He spent half the gig gurning and pointing his PJ at the ceiling whilst standing legs akimbo or up on a monitor. You couldn't hear him, he was totally lost with a little Ashdown combo going up against a fully mic'ed up drum kit and a big Marshall lead stack. Now pulling faces and doing all that stuff can have its place, but you will all know where a bass guitar sits when you stand in a normal playing position. Yes it covers your belly button and crotch area. Now picture the scene of a bassists going for it, one foot high up a monitor stood front of stage pointing the headstock at the ceiling, lapping up all that attention the crowd are giving you. The only snag here is that no-one told him his flies were undone and every time he pulled this cool stunt he revealed his Y fronts to the assembled mass. Now do same stunt 5 times a song for a half hour set, it does NOT look cool any more... So, go and watch Roger Davis if you get chance, and always check your wardrobe before going on stage. Cheers, Rich

I had some of this and I posted up a thread in the bass guitars section. I improved the situation by lowering the action on the J, and you can wind the pups up a bit too. My p and j are within a few % of each other now according to the amp input LED's. Cheers, Rich

I personally make my living from Engineering and, not wanting to sound too cocky, am pretty good at it and companies & individuals pay me decent amounts of money for my knowledge and skills. I don't Engineer for free as I know I can earn good money from it. Now lets talk about playing a bass. I am somewhere between average and slightly below average. I do it as a hobby, I learn more every day, and I would guess a min of 50-60% of people reading this play better than me. So when I play live, I generally expect that I can get away without paying to be there. In the last 6 months I've achieved the level of not having to pay to play, ie they let me play for free. I play open mics, rehearsals and deps, and never ask for any money. I am delusional if I think I'm going to earn money playing bass. Now reverse the above scenario where I post about playing bass on an engineering forum. There are guys down the pub on a Wednesday that I often visit who are retired and have a machine shop. They do jobs for people for free as they have nothing better to do all day and enjoy just doing it to keep busy and out in the workshop instead of getting ear-ache from their either half. Sounds familiar...? Do I blast them out for undercutting me...? What I'm saying is this whole play for free vs play for a fee thing is as much about competence as anything else. I play for free, but I'm not a pro. I would not expect a pro to play for free. So how about we all accept that there is no answer, it is based on personal situation, profession, and skill. The highest skilled people get paid handsomely, the hopeful amateurs get nothing nor expect anything. Tomorrow I will be mainly machining pistons so I can pay the band beer and rehearsal fees ready for the next gig! Cheers, Rich

Wow, who would do such a thing! Almost makes me want to buy it and refurb it properly to save the poor little fella from a life as kindling.

just caught the end - looked like a big stack, 8x10 or something..? However, Paloma Faith, as bonkers as an 8 legged wallaby, but good to see the double bass stuck out at the front of stage. I think Paloma has her very own genre! Cheers, Rich

[quote]Fair enough eBay charge selling fees, but to take 10% on whatever you charge for postage takes the piss a bit. [/quote] But with such widespread abuse by sellers cutting item costs and hugely inflating postage, what were they supposed to do? I can't see how they had any other choice really. I've not seen any alternative suggestions....

Is it not the same as an open mic? Musicians play for free and the bar/food makes the money for the venue? I've booked to do an hour tonight with me band, we use it as a free rehearsal room as much as anything else. A large hall for free to practice in is much better than £8/hr for a stinky cupboard at the local music place in Darlo. I'm sure we'll also end up at the bar at some point too! Suppose I'd better get on an rehearse! Cheers, Rich

[quote name='stoo' timestamp='1396607620' post='2415595'] +1 on that The main thing that irks me about ebay is the fixed, published finishing time and the last minute snipe bidding. Would like to see an option to extend the auction finish time in the event of a last minute bid. I suppose there'd have to be an increasing minimum bid increment to stop it dragging out too much. [/quote] That is how Bidspotter works for industrial and machinery auctions. I think it is 30 mins from last bid after a set time before the auction ends. It stops the sniping completely. I suspect ebay just earn so much they don't care really. Pretty much the only stuff I sell on there now I use fixed price which stops all the malarkey and silly buy it now offers.

If you sold your gear through a general or specialist auction house you pay at least 15% on the hammer price - about par for the course I'd suggest. You have to balance the extra costs vs. the potential extra market visibility (therefore higher hammer price) and decide if it is worth fleabay taking a cut. Cheers, Rich

I was in this exact same situation running a single 2x10 combo which had a 300W amp and ~200W speaker output as it sat. I was just lost, and if I turned it up far enough to get heard it distorted and just sounded wrong. Going over to a much better/more powerful combo with a 750W amp, ~200W of built in speakers and adding the 2x10 as an extension cab fixed it all in one swoop. Running the ext cab just gave enough volume to run the amp just over half volume so it was still nice and clean, and both sets of speakers running in their comfort zone. I just stack them both on top of each other and stand a few feet in front. Cheers, Rich

This month I will be mainly playing blues, and 1000 thank-you's to all who have posted up at least a years worth of learning in this one thread. I've got the books of Amazon and the stuff in this thread. I'm now off to get learning. Red House will be mine, all mine! Cheers, Rich

I've been henpecked but never henstacked .

You should all stop this constant ribbing. The mods will chop the thread as the steaks are getting high.

"Call Me The Breeze" by Lynskyn is a fine 12 bar blues tune with a simple ascending/descending riff between the main changes. For the main part the A is an octave up, played on the D string 7th fret. If you want to practice something that that is a nice easy one to have in your pocket. The instrumental in the middle of that song drops from a straight to a swing beat and in those 12 bars you can again change your style and play the A on the 5th fret of the E, and with swing style. Cheers, Rich