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[quote name='Low End Bee' post='586922' date='Sep 1 2009, 09:13 PM']I've learnt from employing at work that people can get better but they very rarely get nicer.[/quote] That is a superb piece of in a nutshell wisdom! Thank you!

[quote name='ironside1966' post='586807' date='Sep 1 2009, 07:50 PM']My advice would be keep it simple and professional stay sober. Make sure the musicians auditioning get the information and a copy of the tracks in plenty of time. Make a short questionnaire for them to fill in on arrival, name Age, where you live, gear, previous experience, you know the sort of thing Maybe take a digital camera to put a face to the form, make comment forms for your band to fill in.[/quote] I have to say, no disrespect, but you say keep it simple and 30 minutes with three songs. Then you say questionnaires, photoshoot, comment forms .. Firstly, by the time that's over with, you'd be left with three bars of Flight of the Bumblebee in double time. Secondly, no-one I've ever heard of has ever been to an audition like that, have you? Thirdly, I would walk out immediately thinking I'd NEVER want to play with people like that. Audition anyone who asks for one, the great ones will stay in your head, no mistake. If they're all sh*t, repeat the process.

I love this. I am going to get me a white / black / ebony board Precision fretless one day

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='586565' date='Sep 1 2009, 03:08 PM']They used to have Trace stacks and Marshall JCM 900's.[/quote] They certainly did! They still have Marshall guitar amps, and Roland Jazz Choruses, but the bass amps are behringer. They're ok for rehearsals. Oddly, they have been proven to be more reliable than the Marshall bass amps there which often blow fuses. Sorry, totally OT. Apologies.

[quote name='bassbloke' post='586558' date='Sep 1 2009, 02:59 PM']and don;t be afraid to poach band members from other local bands. Asking them to 'help out for a bit' is a great starting point.[/quote] Ooohh, sneaky!

I'd give them two songs to learn. One of your easy ones, one of your more difficult ones. The first will show feel and motivation to play simply, the other, feel and technical ability. I'd give them an hour, no chit chat, go straight to the music. If you like them have a chat for 15 minutes after. In my recent audition, after playing through the one song I had to learn, I had to jam over some really unfamiliar changes and over a improvised thing in 7/8. I just did some spastic walking bass and chucked in some wickid punchy polyrhythmic lines in the 7/8 thing (the drummer gave me a cool wink during that . It was a good test and it brought out my strengths and my weaknesses, might be pretty rough on a nervous player though. Not sure where to advertise but forums seem to work well as far as I can tell. Where do you rehearse? If you're in the Brentford area, Survival Studios in North Acton is good, cheap rates (about £24 inc. drums for three hours), decent clean rooms with mirrors, drums, decent amps (although bass amps are behringer and a few marshalls), mics, desks, PA / monitors, etc. I reckon it's a good place for an audition. Done a few there myself and it's nice and comfy and spacious.

It's a lovely satisfying feeling getting the gig eh! Congratulations NGH!

Thanks guys. "Grainburst" is where it's at

[quote name='bumnote' post='585904' date='Aug 31 2009, 05:44 PM']Why did you choose acrylic rather than a halfords car spray? I have a bass Im contemplating doing[/quote] The Halfords paint is acrylic too. For me it was purely logistical, I don't have a Halfords near me but a hardware shop up the road sold the Plasi-Kote. I called Plasti-Kote to make sure it was acrylic before going ahead.

Thanks fellas Not bad for an amateur. The odd blemish feels better than letting go of £250. Cost me about £20 to do it.

OK, Finished it. Starts with sanding the stain off. I'm impatient so I started with 200 grade to get through to the bare wood and progressed to 800. I also only went to the bare wood on the front as the back and sides were to be solid colour. I roughed up the rest of the body to provide paint key. I used Plasti-Kote Super Satin aerosol. It's acrylic. I built up the body edges first, filled in the back the lightly faded out the front wood grain until only a little showed through. Sort of "grainburst". Anyway, I cocked it up by being impatient and spraying a few coats of clear acrylic over the white. I was warned the paint may crinkle if I didn't leave the white to dry for at least 36 hours and sure enough it did here and there. I lightly sanded it out after a few hours of letting it dry then sprayed a few more coats of white to cover up blemishes. The result was that less of the grain showed through than I would have liked but it's still nice. I let it dry for about 24 hours before clear coating it with about eight coats. I let it dry another 24 hours. Today, I wet sanded it 600, then 1000 until it was as flat as I could get it. Again, I messed up by sanding through the white somewhat on the contour edge on the front, but hey, it's now subtly reliced so am I bovvered? I finally dried it off then used Rustins polishing compound to buff it to a high gloss. So, it's now finished and ready to be put back together when the black hardware arrives from Warwick. The paint job isn't perfect, there are the odd blemishes here and there but for me, it's about 90% ace, and I'm very happy with it. I really like the way the grain shows through even on the solid colour areas. I need to let the paint harden thoroughly as it's still slightly soft. When it does it should be pretty hard wearing. Cheers.

[quote name='Brave Sir Robin' post='584091' date='Aug 28 2009, 10:05 PM']damn, if only it was black [/quote] I know what you mean. I myself am a black man.

? Cinq

[quote name='Stu-khag' post='583708' date='Aug 28 2009, 04:18 PM']I bought a banjo a couple of months ago from the Chris Bryant shop on the corner. I cant say they had much in the way of bass stock but I was really happy with the service in there. didnt feel pressured at all, was welcomed to try whatever I fancied and had a pretty good deal on the banjo with hardcase... I found Wunjos to be quite welcoming but the other shops were awful. When I was younger I always fancied working in a guitar shop- thank God I didn't as I bet I'd end up like one of those cynical grumpy b*ggers. Their hearts must sink when they hear some songs for the umpteenth time![/quote] They're not too bad actually.

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58932"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=58932[/url] Sorry I know it's probably cheeky posting this here too but I thought not many people would think of looking in the FOR SALE: Other musically related stuff section. MODS, feel free to remove if you think it ought to be. Cheers, Nigel

Didn't they play in Brixton last night?

[quote name='arabassist' post='583341' date='Aug 28 2009, 10:58 AM']I'm just curious to know how people on BC would 'rank' the different fender Jazzes (4 strings). I mean for example, mine is a Squier VMJ with CV neck (bought off DanOwens ) and i find it a hell lot better than the standard squier jazz you get for £180ish retail. However, how much better does lets say, a MIM compare to it, or an MIJ and an MIA too? I believe one BC'er (might have been talkbass) said the mexican ones are not that much better than the VMJs, and therefore not worth it. How do they differ anyway? Better electronics? Wood? Never seen a japanese one and haven't touched a true american one yet I think i'm GASing the aerodyne model (probably just for its looks :blush: ) Where would you rank that one?[/quote] The Aerodyne is really skanky compared to most Jazzes. Great for slap but little beef.

[quote name='mrcrow' post='583556' date='Aug 28 2009, 02:01 PM']they are lookalike gimmicks which retro freaks like to have they add weight and get in the way[/quote] Agreed, they are completely pointless and a waste of time and money. They get in the way but look really lovely.

[quote name='Fraktal' post='583440' date='Aug 28 2009, 12:21 PM']I dont want to start a flame war here, but I think that wasnt an opinion, more like a common sense fact. Lets go back to 1960, when the Jazz Bass was released. Now think about the clothing people used to wear back in those days. Think about 1960 furniture, cars, electrodomestics or anything else. Would you say those designs arent outdated? Would you prefer to use "old-fashioned" as the word here? The designs of that age (late 50's-early 60's) are outdated from a technical/design/engineering point of view. On the aesthetics side, they are old-fashioned. Some of us may like old stuff, but that doesnt transform it magically into contemporary/new/modern stuff. An opinion would be more like "the Jazz Bass looks crap" and I never said that. Again, please try to understand that is not my aim to bash Fender, neither trying to impose my personal opinion above anyone's else. Im just saying its a late 50's design.[/quote] This is purely your aesthetic mate. You want things to move on. For me, a lot of the basses you allude to look like a monkfish's arse. For me, a white/black Precision is a thing of beauty. I use Warwick because thay have taken the Fender blueprint and completely moved it forward in terms of everything. Loads of people hate them. It's personal, don't start telling folks their choices are backward or unsophisticated.

[quote name='Fraktal' post='583141' date='Aug 28 2009, 02:29 AM']I have nothing against Fender basses, and I fancy the Jazz Bass tone, but the looks and the design are clearly outdated. I mean, come on, its XXI century, time to move on, maybe?[/quote] I hope your home isn't painted magnolia.

[quote name='Davo-London' post='583122' date='Aug 28 2009, 12:52 AM']In a similar vein try this: [url="http://www.pagelli.com/e/2instrum/image/gross/bg_gold_g.jpg"]http://www.pagelli.com/e/2instrum/image/gross/bg_gold_g.jpg[/url] Davo[/quote] That looks like something I did this morning.

[quote name='edstraker123' post='582970' date='Aug 27 2009, 10:19 PM']Thought I'd have a look at Jon Shuker's site this afternoon and came across the 4 string Uberhorn. I don't think I've ever seen a bass as beautiful as this. [url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/stock.htm"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/stock.htm[/url] What do you think ?[/quote] Funny, and wonderful how everyone's aethetic is so different. I think it's a bit ugly looking to be frank. Sorry mate.