phil.c60

The simple laws of physics suggest that trying to adjust the neck under tension is just wrong. The increased friction on the threads of the truss rod/nut under load  for one thing, especially as they don't (usually!) get adjusted that often and are therefore probably a bit sticky. The less load on the threads, the more likely they will move easily (or at all) and so the less likely you are to round out the truss rod nut. The less load on the threads, the more easily they move, and easier it is to tweak the adjustment a fraction at a time. If you don't have the patience to slacken the strings and then re-tune after adjustment and then check the neck relief, fret buzz, action etc.and repeat as necessary you should probably just give the job to someone else.  

One thing worth a mention: Don't use cheap tools. Cheap Allen keys (or "wrenches")  round off very easily: good quality ones ("Unbrako"  or similar) are not that expensive and are a world apart form the cheapo variety. They fit the nut better, and don't twist so easily or lose their edges.

"stuck in the middle with you."

Hardly a simple repeating pattern, surely.

Stand By Me

I'd Rather Go Blind

Run Through The Jungle

17 hours ago, SICbass said:

Excellent value 👍

Thank you! We think so. If it doesn't make it a sales thread you can find it at www.railroadband.co.uk  under the "Delivers The Goods" tab!

We very recently recorded an EP,  Railroad - Delivers The Goods (covers, no our own stuff but hey...) which was selected today by the Independent Blues Broadcasters Association as one of their four Pick of the Month albums. 

Can't tell you how absolutely chuffed we are, especially considering that Catfish and Jimmy  Vaughan are two of the others!

On 10/05/2019 at 17:36, YouMa said:

You can create your own Glastonbury festival at home. Pitch a tent in your garden,put on radio 6 Then get whizzed and stoned out of your mind. Don't forget to steal your own shoes and urinate  up the side of your tent.

And for the full effect don't forget to ask your neighbours and any passers by to throw their rubbish into your garden too.

Exactly. My issue was really about the fact that (like most of us here) if you give me a set list and ask me to learn it I will. If you don't want to play those songs any more, don't ask me to learn them - let's agree on some others! Putting that much effort in over a relatively short space of time and then being told it was wasted is very frustrating. My protestations about this did not go down well (I felt we should gig the set we now had at least a few times and make changes from there) and it was clear to me that they were not going to make it out of the rehearsal room any time soon and rarely. It meant it was clearly not the band for me. It was a side project for me alongside my main band (which they new - that was not an issue) and they had specifically told me when I auditioned that they were looking for someone to learn the songs quickly so they could start booking gigs. 

First audition for a covers band I learnt 5 songs. As in learnt, ie turned up, 1,2,3,4, we played the 5 songs.. Got the job.  We met again a week later, ran through the same five, tried some others from their set list and decided on the next five,  next week played ten songs and decided on the next five..... you get the picture. Week 6 we've got 20+ songs, I ask about putting them in order and polishing the arrangements and get "Well the thing is we've been playing some of these songs for a long time and are getting a bit fed up with them - we need to swap them for some others...." " Yeah, but you asked me to learn these 20+ songs quickly so we could start booking gigs?" "Yeah, well we need to change some of them before we do that....." It didn't end well. They still don't gig (well they have played three gigs in the last 18 months to be strictly truthful).

8 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Assuming that this is a serious question and not just trolling...

Using your ears is fine for practicing at home where there are no other sonic distractions, and TBH is good skill for all musicians to acquire. However at a gig, tuning should be done quickly and silently. That's only possible with an electronic tuner. The "tuning song" is one of the most unprofessional things a band can`inflict on their audience, and having an electronic tuner solves this problem simply so you be stupid not to take advantage of it.

Plus when playing along with fixed pitch instruments  (like a harmonica) if your ears are even slightly dodgy it will sound off. Electronic (Korg Ptichblack) all the way for me.

12 hours ago, jimmy23cricket said:

This chap surely.....

Some interesting lessons by him out there

 

And you win today's star prize!

Not sure what the etiquette is around this, however I can say it's none of the suggestions above (and it was never going to be Ed Friedland. I mean come on,  seriously?).

An American bald gentleman springs to mind....

11 minutes ago, Maude said:

An alternative, more visually pleasing approach would be to tie a large, colourful helium balloon to the headstock. The more neck heavy the bass, the bigger the balloon. Thunderbirds generally need a giant rainbow coloured unicorn. 😎

Or an anvil.

Err, it's as clear as daylight to me. For the first umpteen bars it's just the bass, a shaker, and the vocal! Even with the whole string section it's still up front and audible. Simple enough but I love playing it. It's a feel thing......

1 hour ago, Teebs said:

Many years ago... when my band was just starting out, we added 'new wave' style versions of Hit Me Baby One More Time (Britney Spears) & Wonderful Tonight (Clapton) to pad out the set list.

Gulp

May God forgive me for my sins...

One of my son's mates does "Hit Me..." as a party piece (he's a great front man anyway, he has that "x" factor that makes people just want to watch him), just him and an acoustic guitar and it's great. He really pulls it off with style. Sometimes it's not what you do, it's the way that you do it.........oh God, here comes Bananarama.

2 minutes ago, chris_b said:

Yep. . . . plus Have You Ever Seen The Rain.

Whoops, that's one of ours..........

8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Mixed feelings about that. If someone said to me 'to be honest I don't like the music you play, but I'll help you out' I wouldn't be upset!

If they moaned publicly in a way that identified the band it would be rather unkind.

To the first part: no he didn't. To the second part: Yes he did. It was quite short notice and he did help us out of a spot which was great but my general point is that you should respect the  band that you are dep'ing for and keep your opinion to yourself. That's just good manners. Anyhoo, this is a bit "off topic" so I'll refrain from further comment as hijacking the thread is also abit rude!

17 hours ago, paul_c2 said:

Did they also ask you to slag off their setlist on an internet forum? If you don't want to do it, don't do it let someone else dep for them.

A guy dep'd for me when I was ill (and he knew how ill I was.....) and then moaned about playing in a blues band  on Facebook as he apparently despises the genre. Needless to say despite being a good player he went down in my estimation to the bottom of the pile. Or even underneath it. It's just bad manners if nothing else.

Facebook 23 mins ago:

"So, ladies and gentlemen. It is with huge regret that we are now officially able to announce that The Pier Hotel is no longer.

After huge amounts of structural damage sustained over the winter and dwindling customer numbers, we are no long able to sustain the venue.

I, personally, would like to take this opportunity to thank every single person, every single band and every single act that made the venue what it was over the past 2 and a half years. We took a huge gamble with the place and despite our best efforts, it could not continue.

I've got it in my hand right now! I have a copy of the book with the CD in the pocket inside the back cover. PM me your address and the whole thing is yours for the price of the postage.

"60% of us want recommend what we have" -  because we know it works! Most of us are honest enough to admit it's shortcomings though.

Anything Yamaha and you're good. Mid priced, not overly technical for set-up, reasonable sound and generally bulletproof.

5 hours ago, TheGreek said:

12 bar blues - man, do I hate that stuff.

Man, do I hate folks who say "Man, do I hate that stuff".  Chcacun a son gout.

I think you will find that it's the Gaylord VI that's on trend at the moment. Especially on Twitter. Whatever TF that is.

We used to call them Parcelfarce. They once insisted that they had tried to deliver four tyres for a race car on a Friday "but no one was in". Presumably they failed to spot the two guys in overalls in a workshop with the shutters open who waited until 5.00 before making frantic phone calls. That was twenty five years ago. Glad to hear nothing has changed. How they are still in business is beyond me.