Dan Dare

I don't have a "sound". It changes depending on what the material calls for.

Yet another clip-on tuner. I'm forever losing them.

Love the "No returns for acetic reasons ". Rather an acid comment, eh?

God, that's bad. In addition to the bit of wood that's been stuffed in the access hole for the truss rod adjuster, there seems to ne a piece jammed in the channel for the wiring for the neck pickup. The knobs are class, too. No doubt the neck screw plate has been removed because it was stamped "Made in Japan". 38 bids? There really is one born every minute.

Have we had the Poo Fighters previously?

Ice Pube

The Polite

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

I've also discovered that a good drummer makes me sound much better.

A good drummer makes the whole band better and the reverse is equally true. Which is why the good ones are so busy/hard to get.

9 hours ago, Rayman said:

I thought you might say that 

You must be psychedelic. Or psychic. Or something.

15 hours ago, Rayman said:

If you want to get into this DM me

No point. You've said what you think and so have I. 

2 hours ago, Rayman said:

It’s a discussion mate, don’t get on your high horse.

It’s irrelevant when the act can’t do it any more?? Ha Ha, that’s laughable. That’s the exact point! That they can still do it. That’s why they become popular in the first place, because they could do something people liked. If they can’t do it anymore, they shouldn’t be doing it??

 

****

I'll stay off my high horse if you stay off your low one, mate. Yes, it's irrelevant. A lot of pop music was never all that great to begin with. Pop music is part of the paraphernalia of our youth, together with the fashions, friendships, etc, etc. Listened to critically, it's often not up to much. That's not the point of it, mate. For a lot of people, going to see the musicians they loved when they were young is an enjoyable trip down memory lane, a chance to reconnect with the days when they had hair and their face left an imprint in the pillow, rather than the other way around. If you don't like it, that's your right, mate. But stop sneering at those who do, mate. I guess you must be deeply unhappy and want everyone to be as miserable as you are, mate.

11 hours ago, Rayman said:

I think my point has been missed here

 

If a band can still do it, then absolutely they should. If they can’t….. they should stop? An athlete gets to an age when their ability compromises their performance, so they have to retire? Is it not the same for a singer who’s voice has deteriorated with age? Or do the paying punters just overlook the fact with rose tinted spectacles firmly in place.

 

I think a lot of paying audiences still go to see these bands because they are clinging on to their youth, much like the band they just paid to see.

And yes, I guess primarily I’m talking about vocalists.

Your point has not been missed at all. Whether or not anyone can "still do it" is irrelevant. So is the reason that people continue to go to see them. If they wish to "cling on to their youth", that's their business, not yours. If you don't like it, nobody is forcing you to buy a ticket. There are plenty of things I don't like (including acts that were popular 30 years ago who are still cranking it out), but I don't call for them to be stopped. It's a free country.

Who appointed anyone on here as the official arbiter of when musicians and bands should pack it in? If they want to keep going and enough are willing to buy tickets, it's their business what they do. Nobody is forced to go and see them.

I assume you're talking about the plucking, rather than the fretting hand. Two should be sufficient for most things. The ring finger is the weakest and, because it shares some tendons with the second finger, does not operate entirely independently of it. It may give you "more speed" in theory, but probably not in reality. I spent some time a few years ago attempting to learn to use it and found it wasn't worth the effort. YMMV.

Chic's Good Times has to be on the list, with that bootiful golden bass line from Bernard Matthews, sorry, Edwards. The song ain't much, but it's a killer bass part.

The loss of a partner is very affecting. It took me a couple of years to get my mojo back after it happened to me. If she was the person who encouraged you, then the bass is a reminder of her, so it's hardly surprising you find it difficult to pick it up. If you can stand to, I would suggest is making yourself do it, even if you're only picking up the instrument for a short while. The slough of despond is like quicksand. It can take some effort to pull yourself free from it. I hope this doesn't sound glib.

I think Neepheid has it right. I would be a little surprised if someone asked me to bring an amp to a lesson. An instrument and cable, yes, but an amp seems a little odd, especially If he has half a dozen. For low volume lessons, I would have thought you or he could use one of the guitar amps. You aren't going to blow it up at lesson levels. If you have one, take your SVT plus fridge along. It'll be a laugh getting him to help you lug it up the stairs.

Also,  the assertion that "tab is what is generally being used now" doesn't fill me with confidence. At the reading jobs I do, I am given conventional notation, not tab. I've never been given tab. I wonder whether he might he not be a reader himself.

1 hour ago, TimR said:

I suffered for several years wondering why I struggled to play material at rehearsal that I could play perfectly at home. Then we got a dep drummer in and realised where the actual problem was.

 

I left the band soon after and haven't looked back since.

 I feel your pain. The thing I really can't stand is drummists who add kick drum beats in the cracks all the time. They think it's clever, when in reality, it just bucks up the feat (to quote Dr Spooner).

On 26/10/2023 at 21:10, woodster said:

Are you sure? 😀

 

Thank you! 

I think so. three (plus 2 C4s) is enough to be going on with. Great cabs.

I do not need any more 4Bs. I do not need any more 4Bs. Even if the price is good and they're not too far from me. GLWTS.

I know I say this every time someone asks for advice on gear, but do go and try stuff, rather than buying on the basis of recommendation. Most people selling used gear won't mind if you ask to come and try it out (if they do, that's a red flag). Ditto retailers.

Having said that, the fact that you like your BFTwo10 makes their One10 an obvious choice and both will combine happily to give you a potent rig when the occasion demands it.

Being competent will do for me. As long as I play the right notes in the right order, I'm happy.

On 22/10/2023 at 16:05, Chienmortbb said:

Correct Bill. It drives me mad that because the rest of the band do not understand, I have to treat them like babies.

 

One of my favourites? We were having feedback problems, The singer's solution, "try a different mic cable".  I have tried to explain that mic/monitor positioning is that problem. Two of our onstage mics are cardioid and two Super cardioids. The concept that they reject unwanted sounds from different angles blows their tiny minds.

I feel your pain, although, tbf, my current band is an exception in that they are all PA savvy.

Re. feedback in monitors, I find it very helpful to use a decent parametric eq in the feed to the monitors to tame problem frequencies. Better placement is always the best solution, but sometimes, the size/layout of a stage (especially if it's a bit cramped) prevents you from putting mic's and monitors where you'd ideally like them.

I wouldn't say our playing is limited by our tastes. It's more that there are only so many hours in the day and it's very difficult to cover all the bases/become proficient at everything. It's pretty well inevitable that we will focus on what we like/wish to play. Over the years, I've picked up a reasonable variety of styles, but I don't see the benefit in devoting a lot of time to learning something I'm unlikely to ever use, although there are odd bits of technique that I've made the effort to work on because I felt they would be useful. 

11 hours ago, rwillett said:

o be honest a pair of decent wired headphones is £20 upwards vs £100 for Bluetooth. I know which I'd go. I have an expensive pair of B&W headphone but much prefer the cheap ones for playing with. 

9 hours ago, crazycloud said:

Likewise, I've been a NUX MP user since they came out and use some inexpensive Superlux HD681 cans, maybe 20quid. More than good enough for practice etc and I have a whole bunch of other (expensive) cans to compare to. Been using this end the earlier version for several years.

Good advice. Leaving aside issues such as latency, it's a lot cheaper to get quality results with a wired setup. Unless you practice whilst running around, the fact that you have a cable running to your cans is not a problem. I'd recommend closed rather than open back cans. I use a mixer to drive mine when practicing, which allows me to combine my bass with tracks and play along with them. A small, basic used passive mixer can be had for little money.