phil.c60

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1442681816' post='2868757'] I'm perfectly happy with my MIA P have no wish to try any other bass (unless someone can find me a left handed one with a maple neck), mind you, being cack handed my choices are limited, I think the fact that the bass you see most amongst professional bass players is a P says it all [/quote] I bought my 1999 Hot Rod P when I was looking for my first "proper" bass as it was the best left handed thing I could find at the time (great Ebay find, I gave £600 for it), and it's still the bass I gig and rehearse with week in, week out. It never goes out of tune during a gig - so much so that unless I know I've clouted it while playing I rarely check it after tuning up. Maybe (usually, now I think about it, just out of habit) before the second set. I've just got it out of the bag and it's still in tune from Friday's gig (except the G which is the tuner that catches when it's in it's gig bag). It's never let me down and I think it plays better than I can, and I get regular comments that it sounds great. This is clearly why Fenders are rubbish, and I'm obviously deluded or I just made that all up. I've also got a '79 Jazz that I bought from a guy who cam up to me at the half way break at a pub gig and said "Your left handed - want to buy a Jazz bass?" I like it, it's got black tapewounds on it now but by all that's holy is it heavy compared to the P! (which is why I don't gig with it but play it sitting in the comfort of my house).

Either that or your "bass face" makes you look like an axe murderer.

Apologies for resurrecting this thread, but last night I had a long rehearsal with a dep drummer for a gig we're doing at short notice on Friday, our regular guy is not available. He's a really experienced guy, and a drum tutor at a music college. I've known him a while but never played with him. After a two and a half hour marathon taking him through the entire set we finished up and were chatting about what a lot of fun we'd had, and I hoped he was OK for tomorrow. "Sure," he said " you're a really solid player, so it's easy to play with you which makes it great for me". I'm always worried that my stuff is a bit simple, but he would have none of it: "You play enough for what these songs need, you're really solid and your timing and feel are great. I'm looking forward to Friday". I'll take solid from a guy like this every time.

Something made with an otter - isn't that what tarka dal is?

[quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1441897959' post='2862775'] Albatross - my favourite two notes. [/quote] D'you get a wafer with it?

Mustang Sally? (.....runs away and hides from the incoming barrage)

"Eat It" by the inimitable "Weird Al" Yankovich, along with many more of his ouvre!

...and do you guys who dep regularly (whispers........)use a music stand for your charts?

No, the OP is being asked to dep for free. He wanted to know if that was reasonable if the band has accepted a non paying gig. The answer seems to be "No it isn't", it isn't his band, he's a dep, so the fact that they wan to do a free gig should be none of his concern and they should have factored into their thinking the cost of his participation.That is not the same thing as trying to decide if your band should be doing free gigs, which is what we were in danger of being drawn into yet again.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1441140445' post='2856462'] I would rather you had directed your comments to the person who bought the subject up. I was only answering his question. Thanks. [/quote] I would rather not have to go over this stale old topic yet again, with the same participants marking out the same territory and hijacking a thread that has nothing to do with it, but hey you cant always get what you want....wait, didn't someone already say that?

So why don't you just put a figure on it - just think of how much fuel you'll use, add a tenner for a dodgy burger and a cup of coffee, call him back and tell him that's how much you want and for that money if it is the afternoon slot the dog can even sit on the stage. I said sit, there are limits. At least he can't complain to the others that he doesn't know if you'll do it or for how much.

And I was just trying to point out, as I did in an earlier post, that this topic (bands playing for little or no money, festivals, charity gigs yadder yadder) is still running in another recent thread so do we have to do it all again. The OP's original point was that even if the band wanted to do the non-paying festival type gig should he, as a dep, still get paid. The general feeling seems to be that the answer is yes unless he chooses to waive his fee, which is his choice not theirs. The wider point about free, charity, festivals etc etc is not relevant as he, as a dep, has no part in the band's decision to take the gig unpaid - he should just be another expense like travel etc. for the band to consider - and just drags the topic down a very well worn road. If the cost of having him as a dep causes them to reconsider, or ask him to play for free as otherwise they can't (don't wan to) afford to do it, it's his decision what to do. Do it for expenses (fuel etc.), do it for free, or insist on his regular gig rate that they usually pay him. Not an easy one, but his decision none the less.

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1441111975' post='2856100'] Weirdly as some one else has pointed out - I did all three of the original choices in a wedding gig a few weeks ago and the punters loved it! oh well. [/quote] Yeah - I'd put Oh Well on the list too.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1441033503' post='2855504'] Because too many people are prepared to work for free. [/quote] Here we go again......

Does their regular player do "freebies" as well, or does it always seem that they need you for them because he's not available?....you can see where I'm headed with this. Apart from that, they should expect to pay a dep, and if it's local, a "free" gig (and let's not get into all that again, there's still another thread running at present doing it to death yet again) and the dep decides to say"that's OK I don't mind doing it for petrol money" that's a bonus. Not to be expected though. We're playing a festival gig next weekend, our drummer can't do it: the fee is minimal (but at least it is paid) so by the time we've paid the dep there's not much left for us, but that's [i]our[/i] decision. We all want to do it, so we have to take the hit, not the dep.

Take the gig. Try and bring on some new songs if you can - do you rehearse regularly? If so it shouldn't be too difficult to find some you can put together fairly swiftly. If not, book some rehearsal slots now!

Same for me - I am by no means a flashy player, and tend towards the "less is more" approach which on occasions makes me wonder if I am lazy or just not very good! Current guitarist tells me off if I get to too down on myself about not being able to charge up and down the fretboard at wiill: the word "solid" was used as was "you're a groove/in the pocket type player which is great for me because I always know where you are" (I think he means he always knows where he is because I'm always (!) in the right place). Both of these things were all I aspired to when I started playing so I'll gladly take them as compliments.

Can't see this mentioned, but the Squier P Bass Special is a PJ bass, so a P bass body + the extra pickup, with a Jazz neck so I'm sure someone would be interested in a straight Squier P with a Jazz neck. I certainly would have been but now I have a Hot Rod P and a straight Jazz so that's got it all covered!

My gigging bass is a Fender Hot Rod Precision bass from the late nineties, the bass that everyone seems to love to hate. Natural ash body, original pick-ups, still Vol Vol Tone. I usually run 95% P, a touch of J and the tone rolled off ( I like that thunpy sound) and with monel flats. Works for me. I've never had anyone say anything negative, but plenty of people (mostly guitarists, to be fair and what do they know) say it sounds great. It's also quite light, especially compared to my '79 Jazz.

I've got A '79 Jazz (left handed, obviously) which, in tune with a recent thread has D'Addario black tape wounds on it. Block inlays, edge bound rosewood fretboard - sounds great to me with these strings (and to a lot of other people who tried it, mostly right handers playing it upside down but that's their problem! - at the last SE Bass Bash - if you can find Bluejay's report there's some great photos). Apart from that it's standard, although the chrome covers aren't fitted at present but I do have them, and I suggest that apart from trying different strings, leave yours alone!

Or try Mike Still in Lancing - top bloke and really knows his stuff. Google MJ Still or look on Facebook. He does repair class D stuff although he reckons that when it goes bang, a lot of it really goes bang, if you follow me, to the point of frying boards. Didn't put me off buying a LM3 though!

What's worrying me is that it's mic'd up.........

Not again, no.