Dan Dare

1 hour ago, Cat Burrito said:

For years we've been trying to lose the drummer's girlfriend... any tips much appreciated!?!

Is the drummer one of those who is trying to lose her?

2 hours ago, Stylon Pilson said:

Similar to this, I've heard theories that the expensive item might actually a placeholder for some other illegal goods, and the person buying it would know (via other channels) that it's not actually what the listing says.

S.P.

Makes a lot of sense and explains a those ludicrously priced items on Amazon, eBay and the rest..

I often wonder about these ad's. They're clearly not going to attract any buyers. Are they some kind of coded message? Dark forces at work, etc?

1 hour ago, anzoid said:

It's got extras!!! A case *with leaflets*, a set of Rotosounds (worth... um...£25?), SD pickups and a GOTOH bridge 😮 And don't forget... the same strap as Mani from Stone Roses used at a gig once... will make you sound and play just like him... guaranteed /sarcasm

Worth every penny

If it will make me play exactly like him, I'll pass, thanks 😜

Nice looking rig. Assuming you can't keep it just because it looks good, trust your instincts and keep the cabs you like, which appear to be your 12s. 2x10 plus 1x15 used to be the standard set up, but things have moved on.

Got asked for Duelling Banjos once. I explained it was tricky to do without a banjo player. Punter said "Just play it anyway". 

9 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Pukka? I had the 100w version many years ago - purchased from our very own @aDx no less.

Don't remember the model name. It had a single 15 and, within its limits, sounded great.

8 hours ago, thebrig said:

Apparently Sparko developed rheumatism in his hands in 1997 which meant he could no longer play, so I think my mind is made up, I will do it my way because I already suffer from a bit of arthritis in my fingers and I certainly don't want to aggravate it 😮

Wise move. We have the physical attributes we have and, whilst we may be able to develop on them a little, we can't change them substantially. You will never make your fingers grow. If you have smaller hands, a short scale instrument is the logical way to go. No point in aggravating things.

Same here. I've had and got some nice (and expensive) toys, but a little Ohm 60w combo I had once sounded as good as any of them. I've always wondered whether I should find a small amp I like and just buy multiples of it. In a way, I've done that, in that I use small PJB cabs and just take out more of them and extra amplification if I need to be louder. It's a bit of a faff, though.

1 hour ago, oZZma said:

There is. But I haven't had a good experience with it. 

People who could remotely be interested in the kind of music I want to play (noise/math rock) are either PROs already engaged in touring successful bands, or feel anyways too entitled to play with a 41 years old beginner, and everyone feel too cool to even greet back when I met someone I already had known

Honestly, the scene here makes me sick

My chances are very thin, I'm stuck with the only decent (as for musical taste) drummer I could find who wants to play with me (as a hobby when he has nothing better to do)

 

 

If you are a "beginner", I'm afraid you have to learn your craft, serve your apprenticeship if you will, before you can expect to play with "PROs". They are not being "entitled", they simply want to work/play with others who are at their level. It simply isn't reasonable for you to expect or demand that you can jump straight from nothing to playing at a high level. Could you go to your local hospital, tell them you are a "beginner" and expect to be made a member of their surgery team? Would the doctors (who have worked and studied for many years to gain their skills and knowledge) be behaving in an "entitled" way if they refused to work with you? I'm sorry to be blunt, but that's the way it is.

This may be helpful - it has been for me. Never invest all of yourself into one thing - playing music, job, even family. If you do, it becomes your sole reason for living and if anything to do with it goes amiss, the effect on you is profound. 

That's the problem - it's tricky to narrow things down to a meaningful steer, really. All we can give is our personal preferences. For example, I'm a big fan of Phil Jones speakers - I run 3 of his cabs - but they're not for everyone. They do that vintage P bass sound wonderfully, but you'll probably need more of them than I have in a loud classic rock setting, so I'd hesitate to recommend that option to you. Markbass is a good, solid choice. If you like it, go for it. Re. cabs, 15s are out of fashion these days, but they do that classic rock/old school bass sound very well. The most well rounded bass sounds I've heard seem to come generally from 12s. I'm not that keen on 10s, unless in large numbers, but that's just me. Although it means taking a day out, a visit to somewhere like BD (preferably with no set ideas/shopping list) could save you a lot of time, not to mention money, in the long run.

It's very difficult to describe how something sounds and we all like and look for different things. If you're thinking of spending proper money, you really need to go and audition stuff. Don't take anyone else's word - have a look at all the recent, high quality kit that's for sale. It's all good, but obviously didn't suit people, so they're trying to move it on. A day out at Bass Direct or a similar retailer who has all or most of the decent brands in stock will pay dividends in the long run. I went to BD to audition heads and ended up buying something I had barely considered because I found I preferred it to the ones that were on my short list when I tried it out for real. 

1 hour ago, Monkey Steve said:

I always struggle with originals bands that don't want to play their biggest hits - Nirvana not wanting to do Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Robert Plant being bored of Stairway To Heaven. 

 

Spot on. I bet Nirvana and Plant don't get bored by the royalty cheques that roll in every month...

12 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

We often get drunk people asking for Oasis, I am sure it irritates the others in the band that I won't do them.

What's the problem? It's 3, 5 maximum, minutes out of your life and if it makes people happy...

Guitar amps respond well to swapping out the tubes in the input stages for lower gain versions, too. It helps get rid of that on/off switch effect, where it either sounds filthy or clean with nothing in between. 

Nothing, not even playing a musical instrument, is the cure for all ills or the one thing that lifts life from the mundane. Any job (including playing a musical instrument) has its repetitive, even dull moments. I agree with those who say the bass (and by extension every other instrument) should serve the song. You gotta take the rough with the smooth. If a roomful of people want to hear Dance the Night Away or Cocaine Superwally, why argue with them? You're more likely to get booked back if you keep people happy. 

49 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

He sounds bloody awful most of the time, why would anybody want this?

 

[runs away]

It's quite difficult to make a '72 Jazz sound awful, too...

Magellan is a nice amp. Try an Aguiilar AG700, too. I bought one after I found I preferred it to the Magellan when I was looking at heads.

Pointless indeed. There's always good stuff (and bad).

There are a variety of similar systems - sub plus small array top box - to the Evox. I'd audition them against some of the alternatives, such as Bose, FBT Vertus, Fohhn (which is what I have), HK Elements, LD Maui, EV and others. In general, they offer a clean, hi-fi type of sound, but, as casapete says, the smaller ones tend to be better for playing recorded material and lack the clout needed for live work at any volume. Best to try before you buy to avoid an expensive mistake. Line array systems aren't cheap. 

His other feedback is all for bric-a-brac and antiques. I suspect he hasn't a clue what this is worth (about £3) and is trying his luck. Note he doesn't describe it as a Fender - obviously covering his @rse.

1 hour ago, Monkey Steve said:

I have the opposite, a mate who cannot play the guitar to save his life, but has bought eight of them over the last 30 years (five amps, a load of pedals and effects and loads of recording software) and likes to make out that his is a musician despite no evidence to support this, and quite a lot to the contrary. The last time I saw him play a couple of years ago he could barely make a 5th chord, and had to stare at his hand to get his fingers arranged, then stop playing and repeat when he moved the 5th chord shape down two frets.  His girlfriend of three years, who he has been living with for the last few months, has yet to see him actually play the guitar - he always has an excuse of why he doesn't want to play it right now, he doesn't feel like it, or he's working on something and it's not ready to show her yet...

However, he knows a lot of people who play in bands, some at a fairly decent level, and seems to think that he is in the same class, and that we all want to hear his opinions on the string gauge he uses, his picks, effects pedals, and his opinions on guitars and amps.  All of which we ignore because we know he cannot play. He seems to genuinely be sure that he is as talented as everybody else, it's just that he needs to sit down and practice a bit more  to turn his undoubted talent into excellent guitar playing.  After all, it can't be that difficult if everybody else he knows are in bands and playing gigs.  So at some as yet to be determined point in the future he will be just as good as those in his circle who are playing European festivals and US tour dates. 

And he is quite dismissive of my bass playing because basses only have four strings (regardless of the fact that mine have five) and so are easy to play compared to the guitar.  In fact he's quite dismissive and belittling of any of his mates bands, going out of his way to find criticisms, as though his standards are much higher.

I know someone almost exactly like this. Being an architect, he has plenty of the folding stuff and can afford to buy fine instruments/kit, which he does. He appears to believe that ownership of half a dozen Gibsons and Martins makes him a good player, despite the fact that he cannot carry a tune and has appalling time sense (when he sings, we call him The Banshee - he may not be completely tone deaf, but it's close). He's a decent bloke and doesn't disparage others (unlike your pal), which makes it worse in a way, as you feel guilty for disliking his wailing and ham-fisted strumming and not asking him up on stage when he turns up at gigs. Oh to see ourselves as others see us, as Burns famously put it.

Tuning? I'm a bass player, fer Chrissake

Making a guitar out of pencils?A bit like building a model of St Paul's Cathedral out of used matchsticks. How empty does one's life have to be?