IainS

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1480799501' post='3187271'] Top and bottom of a pub's business model isn't it? [/quote] Absolutely. I played a gig last week where we were paid £250 and only ten people turned up. I say turned up; they were already there and they didn't leave. I don't imagine the pub made too much money that night.

[quote name='mikel' timestamp='1481562724' post='3193313'] We look out for each other. Even if the guitarist pulls out a subtle three note motif that makes the song sound better I will let him know I liked it. We get on as mates even though we met a couple of years ago answering a band startup add. Lucky? You bet. We respect each other as musicians. [/quote] This is so important. The interpersonal element often gets missed when thinking about what we do, even though it's always there (unless you're a solo act) I normally end up mediating between other band members when one or two get a little over-enthusiastic with their expression of what should be played and how it should be played. And I play bass.

A £25 album is a nice occasional treat but I'd rather spend a bit of time sifting through the boxes of vinyl in charity shops. It's mostly Barbara Streisand and similar awfulness but occasionally there are some absolute gems that aren't scratched to pieces. You never know what you're going to find and you'll rarely pay more than a couple of quid. But I can see the appeal of digital downloads in that you can find and download almost any piece of music in seconds, which is really handy for learning new songs.

Our guitarist always has two guitars that he swaps back and forth throughout the gig. We're an uptempo party-type covers band and the constant delays between songs used to drive the rest of the band mad and clear the dance floor while people waited for the next song to start. He's much quicker at changes now but it's still the reason I stick to one bass per gig.

Good article. Thanks for posting that. I think it's definitely worth trying a short scale bass if you've never played one. I made the move a couple of months ago after 25 years on a long scale and I love it, although you might find you hit a few duff notes at first, especially if it's a move from long scale fretted to short scale fretless. (To be fair, I'd probably still be hitting some bum notes even if it was a long scale fretless.)

There's some really good advice here on technique that I'm going to consider taking up, myself. I had a fifth metacarpal fracture that turned out to be a tumour that needed removing, involving bone grafts etc. Very painful. I also struggled like mad to do the stretches that we need to do on bass. A couple of things worked for me. The first was taking a long time off playing (two years) which was frustrating but undoubtedly helped with the healing. And then I bought a bass with a much smaller neck (Precision Lyte) so the stretches were easier to make. Still a few twinges now, twenty years later, so I bought a short scale bass recently and a stretch doesn't even feel like a stretch.

He's a bit of an artist, too. He created the cover for Woodface. This really is turning into the Nick Seymour appreciation thread.

Listening to Woodface right now. It's so good. What did he play? Was it a Spector?

Couldn't agree more. After listening to and playing nothing but metal in the late eighties and early nineties I was amazed to discover tasteful melodies and songwriting via Crowded House. Love them. Think I might stick one of their CDs on when I get home...

'Teach Yourself Rock Bass' book, then listened to hours of The Jam and The Police and tried to copy it, then joined a band. I'd say joining the band was the most helpful as playing with other musicians opened up a whole world of learning how to listen carefully and really feel the music.

My dad and older brother played guitar and I wanted to be everything my brother was but slightly different/better so I saved up from my paper round and went and became the owner of a bass guitar. Dad was awesome and went with me to buy it as I was a painfully shy teenager and would never have done it on my own. He still comes to gigs to watch whenever he can now. I think the fact that there was almost always music playing at home, rather than having the TV permanently on, could only have been a good thing. It was all rock and roll (Dad) and country and western (Mum). It was all about the roots and fifths!

[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1475100911' post='3143150'] I just weighed the Steinberger again on my fishing scales - it's a smidgen under 7lbs. When I fit the strap extension I'll post some pics. Frank. [/quote] [quote name='Wilco' timestamp='1475105373' post='3143171'] I used to have a Steinberger Synapse which on the scales weighed exactly the same as a Fender P I had - both came in at 8.5ilbs. However on the strap, you could definitely feel the Fender but the Synapse felt almost weightless - perfectly balanced I guess. Those Synapse's look a little fragile - until you get your hands on one & realise they are built like brick outhouses too! [/quote] Well now I really am intrigued. And I used to be in band called Synapse so it seems like fate, or something. And if I buy one, they're small enough to hide from my wife so she won't know I've blown a few hundred quid on a bass.

I kept meaning to try out one of the Steinberger cricket bats to see if it will help my knackered spine, so I'd be interested to hear about any mods that make it more playable. That is surprisingly heavy for its size and shape though, isn't it? I play a Precision Lyte now, which if I remember correctly is 7.4lbs, so about the same as the Steinberger, but it would be good to try something a little different.

25 years ago. We played a girls school in Ashford. It was going well until the drummer stuck his stick through his snare and then the PA blew up, leaving just my Badger amp to be the only thing on stage making a noise. Bass solo. Cool.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1474976531' post='3141937'] Mostly riding my bike, avoiding homework and playing computer games on a Spectrum. I wouldn't pick up the bass for another 6 years. [/quote] Me too. 1985, and I certainly wasn't as good at anything as that kid is, apart from maybe avoiding homework.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1474988575' post='3142082'] [pedantry] Well, mathematically, we can. If everyone was the same, any one would be average, as would any other one.[/pedantry] Not that it matters a jot, of course. [/quote] I'm no mathematician, but what is the chance (or is it probability) of us all being the same?

I'm no mathematician but surely we can't all be average. We need some above and below average players to chip in here so we know what we're measuring ourselves against, although I don't really know how you measure the quality of bass playing. For me, I just really enjoy playing and I've never been chucked out of a band for being rubbish, and that's all I need really.

We tend to stick to the rule that if the audience can't sing to it and/or dance to it then we don't play it. The slower songs can lead to a nice bit of arm waving and a bit of a singalong, so we'd never rule them out, but always put them in when their more likely to sing and dance. i.e. when they're drunk.