Dan Dare

The obsession with chasing "the one" applies to a lot more than basses. There is no ultimate "one", just our current unattainable ideal. The minute we have it, we hanker after something else. It probably stems from our tendency to become bored once a desire is satisfied. As soon as what was previously a pipe dream becomes reality, it gets absorbed into our everyday existence. I guess continuing dissatisfaction is the reason humans no longer live in caves and hit things with wooden clubs. So it's not all bad. My old '72 J that I've had since the early 1980s is the instrument I always come back to, so I guess that's my "one".

Probably not that great in many cases. It depends on the eq/facilities different pre's offer. A channel strip type of pre will probably allow more extensive tone-shaping and have less of a baked-in sound. When I made the switch from pre + power to a head, I found a head that gave me results I liked with my instrument and cabs without my needing to do much with the eq. Of course, if my tastes/instrument/cabs change, I may have to change it to get what I want. As I'm pretty ancient and set in my ways, that's relatively unlikely.

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I used to run a BBE pre' plus PA power amp. Worked well, but was no better than my current Aguilar head (and a lot heavier/bulkier - a modern class D power amp would get round that issue). If your head has an fx return, you can run a pre' into that and bypass the onboard tone stack/preamp. The only way to find whether it will suit you is to try stuff out. In my experience, running a flat rig is nice at lower volumes, but it can get a bit lost when you need to push some air and compensate for venue acoustics, other instruments/amps, noisy stages, etc. If you want that studio monitor clean sound at high volume, you need to spend quite a bit of money.

Any bass rig that leans towards clean/hi-fi, rather than characterful, should do the job. The frequency range it needs to reproduce is pretty well the same, after all. A SVT would probably not be ideal, although I have heard excellent results on electric DB from a big Trace rig. PJB kit works well on DB (other brands are available). I use mine for both electric and acoustic bass. The most important thing is the pickup/transducer system you use. Garbage in, garbage out and all that.

I agree with Bill, unless you intend to move it on in the near future (I note you do a bit of buying and selling). If so, I'd go for whichever is in best nick and goes for most money used.

If you can afford it, it's wise to have your own PA. No worries about dividing the spoils when/if the band splits (worse case is that you end up selling stuff at a loss so everyone gets their share). A plus is that owning a PA makes you a more desirable addition to bands in the future.

I think it depends on the occasion. There's nowt wrong with wearing a tee with a band logo on it at a pub gig or similar, but maybe not at a wedding. I'll wear a suit or even a DJ and dickie bow if it's what's needed. Trying to be "cool" is for fashion victims who worry that someone might snigger at them. How many of the sniggerers are in a position to put their money down and hire the band? Few to none, I'd suggest. So ignore 'em. If wearing band kit helps make the name stick, I'm fine with it. I'm not ashamed of the bands I play in and have no problem with "selling" them. We often have a banner behind us and/or pull-up signs each side of the stage (again, depending on the event and what is appropriate). As long as we get gigs, I'm happy.

Bloke sounds like a custard (composite insult to get around the profanity block). Why leave, though? You say you enjoy the evening. Might have been better to just smile, say nope, stick around and let him worry about it.

A classic illustration of why you should never play in bands with relatives or partners. Too much spill-over into your personal life if you fall out.

That's fair enough if you are involved in something that earns you a good living. You can usually tolerate a poo sandwich if it comes with plenty of bread. However, the reality is more as follows for us ordinary mortals.

A major problem with playing in bands can be that those with the most ability do not always possess sterling personal qualities (probably because their talent has granted them a pass throughout their lives). So you end up torn between the fact that they make the band sound good but can be a PITA to work with.

There is fun to be had creating your own Frankenbass, but it's worth bearing in mind that buying a cheap bass that costs, say £100 - £200 and spending hundreds more on modding it can end up costing the same as buying a more expensive instrument. Resale value will not be high and you'll never get back anything like what you spend on it. A HB or similar will always be a HB or similar, regardless of what you do to it, in the eyes of a potential buyer.

And, of course, pickups are not microphones. They detect movement of a piece of tensioned wire in a magnetic field and generate a tiny electrical signal. They don't "hear" in the traditional sense, by sensing vibration of air molecules, in the way that a microphone does and nor do they detect vibrations of the instrument, in the way that a piezo does. So how can the unamplified sound of the instrument have a discernible effect on the amplified sound? I agree that it's pleasurable to feel the instrument vibrate as you play it. My old J bass is quite resonant. It also sounds great amplified, but I don't think the two are connected. It actually sounds better since I had the pickups dipped. They had become microphonic with age over 50 odd years.

Having played in a few function bands, I wouldn't say the work is 95% weddings. There are plenty of parties, birthday bashes, corporate entertaining, etc, etc throughout the year. The problem is that you are unlikely to get much dep' or stand in work (which is mainly what you will be looking at if you want to go and play cruises in summer) and will need to be a full-time band member. So driving, playing in care homes, occasional teaching, retail (joy of joys) and similar it is...

Back in the 1970s, everything seemed to be orange - cars, domestic stuff, etc, etc. I read somewhere it's reckoned to be a "buy me" colour (how true that is is anyone's guess). In Ian Dury's immortal lines: "Another thing that blockheads seem to acquire is black and orange cars. Premature ejaculation drivers, their soft top's got roll bars".

Excellent points, in particular that a good degree course (it isn't specific to music) will teach transferable skills - critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, research and writing and so on. A degree also demonstrates to a potential employer that a person is capable of achieving a high level of educational attainment, which is not specific to the subject studied. Degrees in STEM, professions (law, medicine, etc) and similar are usually requirements for entry into a particular field, but they don't necessarily limit you to it. If a person has an aptitude for a particular subject, they are more likely to get a good degree in it. A first or 2.1 is a valuable thing to have, almost regardless of subject. There's an old maxim - training is for plants and animals; education is for people.

For passive boxes, I find Palmer to be decent for relatively little money. I'm sure a Radial or similar would be better, but whether I'd notice the difference I don't know. Orchid make good reasonably priced active boxes.

I like Chromes on my fretless. They're a little brighter than many flats, but still smooth. I tend to put them on the fretless new and then switch them to a fretted when they've lost some brightness and acquired more of a traditional flats sound. I like the fact that they don't wear grooves in the board the way rounds do.

If you go this route, get the most powerful amp you can (within reason of course). You'll get a cleaner sound with a lot more headroom. You won't blow your cabs up unless you do something really silly. Most speakers will tolerate short bursts of up to twice their rated power provided you're not putting large amounts of LF into them. Speaking of which, if they're for vocals mainly, use a high pass filter at 80-100hz between mixer and power amp to lose the mud and increase power handling and efficiency. You won't notice the difference and you will make better use of amplifier power if it doesn't have to push a lot of low end.

RCF is a standard recommendation for reasonably priced PA speakers. You can't go far wrong with them. If you go for larger ones - 12s or 15s, don't cheap out on stands. Avoid lightweight aluminium and go for K&M or similar. Look for something with long legs that opens out to give a wide base. You don't want them falling over when some drunk punter who's dancing a bit too enthusiastically crashes into them. The power stage in a well designed active cab will have been specified to drive the speakers optimally. Modern power modules don't add much weight to a cab. Power amp plus passives often works out cheaper, but that's about the only benefit.

I wouldn't defend Pay to Play, but I can see how it's come about. There are a lot more aspiring bands than there are music venues. Some venues try to cover themselves by asking unknown/untried bands (especially those playing originals) for some sort of fee in case nobody turns up to see them. They don't do it every night of the week or for all bands/musicians - the ones they want to book get paid. Back in the day, I played a few places that operated like that. The first time we played a venue, we paid, but subsequently and once they'd seen we went down OK and didn't empty the place, we got paid when/if we were booked back. Not a lot, maybe, but something at least. In our case, we didn't pay the venue, but the PA operator. It may be different now, but many venues didn't own the PA, lights, etc. They got someone in to take care of that and we paid him. Given that we didn't have to carry, set up and tear down our own PA, etc and that the amount we were asked for wasn't astronomical, it seemed fair enough at the time. He was doing a night's work and wasn't a charity.

This, I'm afraid. Those without issues/baggage (also applies to the male of the species) are even rarer, ime. Memories are short. People may say "She's not as good as your previous singer" a couple of times, but that will soon end. The sensible answer, of course, is "She's finding her feet. Rome wasn't built in a day", etc. You are unlikely to find someone who can spring, fully formed, into the job immediately, unless yours is a pro' band that can offer all the perks. In your shoes, I'd look to find someone with the right attributes - voice quality, appearance, attitude, etc - and work with them to grow into the role. It's either that or re-invent the band, which would probably involve just as much work.

Not up to me. Funerals are for the living. Whatever they want to hear.

Sensible.