Dan Dare

It's usually about who people click/get on with best. Most bands would prefer a competent player who is good enough and a sound fellow to someone they don't like who "smashes it out of the park".

[quote name='Phil Adams' timestamp='1490266646' post='3263711'] Sex??? Yes I have a vague recollection! [/quote] Yep. I love getting old...

[quote name='chrisanthony1211' timestamp='1490254548' post='3263559'] Our drummer doesn't drive! And whilst it is a pain in the a**.....he's bloody good so accommodate. [/quote] This. If someone is bloody good and a sound chap/chappess to boot, a lack of transport may not be a problem. It helps to live near one of the band members, so they don't have to detour miles on your account.

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1490265553' post='3263701'] Well, they nearly all sound like precisions but the tones vary wildly. I tried loads in the last few months & the difference between all the basses I played was incredible considering they were all 4 string P's with the one split pickup! If it was a rock gig & they were all sharing a tubey stack that might have made them sound more similar especially as most rock bands try to find very similar bass tones as we all know what just works. Here's an example - you'll hear that the 70's one absolutely slays the others. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgzD3vcrExE[/media] [/quote] I've seen that, too. Whilst I wouldn't say the 70s P absolutely slays the others - the Jap gets quite close at times - it does sound better and has that lovely stringy edge the others lack (although we don't know whether all had the same strings, of the same age/amount of wear, etc, etc). It certainly proves they sound different.

Conan's detailed post is excellent advice. There are so many variables. He's also right that people can see pound signs at the mention of the word "wedding". I guess the bottom line is to decide what you and the band would be happy to earn, taking all that into account and not to fret about it if you find you could have charged a bit more.

I suggest most great musicians are best admired at a distance and not invited to dinner . Their eating and conversational habits may well leave a lot to be desired

I agree with Jus Lukin. A small meal and not too close to the time you have to perform is best. Remember those wildlife documentaries about lions in the Serengeti? They kill something, tear it to bits and devour it, then go to sleep under a tree for 3 days. You don't want to do that if you have to be alert and play.

What's a Metallica?

As others suggest, it's almost certainly to do with over-straining. Seeing a doctor is good advice, but it will not help long term if you are doing something to cause pain and discomfort (medic's refer to that as a 'maintaining cause'). Playing a musical instrument, whilst not a natural skill and something that needs to be learned, should not be overly physically demanding or require excessive force. If it does cause pain, you're doing something wrong. You refer to the fact that you have not been playing for long. Are you self taught? If so, some lessons to get you on the right track will be invaluable. A teacher will also be able to check that your instrument is set up properly.

Chromes work very well on my Jazz and have plenty of midrange growl when needed. I find rounds too clanky on a Jazz, which is already quite bright sounding.

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1489835094' post='3260171'] On another note then, what are people's thoughts on innate talent? I'm firmly in the camp of talent is earned & learned rather than born. [/quote] Talent and ability, potential or realised, are different things. If you have innate talent, which you are born with, you will make much quicker progress and be able to take things to a higher level than someone who is not so fortunate. It isn't easy to accept, especially in these days of "I can achieve anything I want", but some do have greater talent than others. A pal of mine is tone deaf. He just can't pitch accurately. He really wants to play and sing and works at it, but is always back to square one. Various friends have tried to help him, but it's like explaining the concept of colour to a blind man. He just doesn't hear pitch accurately. It's an extreme case, I know, but the principle applies to a lesser extent, too. Some just have greater aptitude for sport, music, painting, etc, etc than others.

Is it April 1st yet?

I think the same makes and models that are prized now will remain so. I doubt whether any mass produced instruments will become really desirable (apart from those - vintage Fenders, Ric's, etc - that already are). Scarcity has a lot to do with demand/desirability. The handmade, custom makes mentioned above will always be sought after. When I started out, 50+ years ago, there was little choice - you either got a cheap piece of junk or saved for a Fender (which wouldn't necessarily be all that great - some were dogs) or possibly a Ric', unless you could afford custom. There was no real middle ground. With the advent of CNC machining, vast improvements in materials technology and mass production techniques, instruments of amazing quality are available at virtually all price points. I recently bought a Mexican PJ, which is better put together than my vintage Jazz. It isn't as characterful and I don't love it like I do the old beast, but as a versatile working instrument, it's excellent and it was very affordable. I could have picked from an enormous range of well built, reasonably priced alternatives.

Nice.

Another vote for La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass (as used by Jamerson). I like the 760FL set, which is quite light (43-104), but combines the requisite thump with some nice stringy tones and comfortable tension under the fingers. I find D'Addario Chromes suit my Jazz better than my P Bass. They're quite bright for a flatwound string. Tried fender Flats (which look very like re-branded Chromes and sound similar), but found them too bright/clanky for that classic P Bass tone. The beauty of La Bellas is they last so well.

Picked up a used but very clean Bugera Veyron (non tube) yesterday. Very pleasantly surprised at how well something so modestly priced sounds with my Epi and PJB cabs. Clean and powerful and plenty of grunt, simple but effective eq. Intended it to be a backup, but will use it on a few gigs and see how it fares.

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1489599318' post='3258302'] If you decide that you occasionally could benefit from more power then pick up a used Behringer power amp or something for under £200. You're still way under the TH500 budget! I think you'd be surprised how far 350W will go though. :-) [/quote] This. Sensible advice.

Never got all this "Ex famous name, £145 squillion" nonsense. It's just a mass produced and ordinary amp, guitar or whatever. The fact that Spiggy Tope has dribbled over it makes no bloody difference whatsoever. Rant over.

I have a couple of Phil Jones C4s, which are quite remarkable for their size. Won't blow the windows out, but very clean and even and each is a cube just over a foot high, wide and deep.

I'd be surprised if any cab of even remotely portable size could reproduce the fundamental of a low B string at any significant volume. 31 hz is seriously low. Happy to defer to Bill and Phill on this if I'm wrong, but aren't most cabs producing mainly harmonics at those frequencies?

If forced to choose one, would have to be James Jamerson.

Bob Babbitt's bass part on Tears of a Clown.