Nicko

Ouch!

If I can offer any advice it would be to make sure you get a proper amount of physio when it is healed enough to start.  I had an operation on my shoulder where they effectively cut the collar bone away at the joint.  I didn't get any physio, and it has never worked properly since. Shoulders are very complicated and you need to get it working properly not just working.  Good luck.

5 hours ago, stewblack said:

Kitchen table rehearsal 

and if I'd used my wireless bugs there'd be no cables at all.

 

Impressive, especially if you can actually use those foot pedals while it's on the table. 

On 20/05/2024 at 22:08, SteveXFR said:

Is it possible to do the foot on the monitor thing with a multi scale 5 string?

As long as you are wearing Spandex anything is possible.

In answer to the question my first experience of playing bass in a band was pretty much classic rock - my first gig was using a borrowed bass 2 weeks after joining the band and we did a 2 hour slot.  Never really struggled to play something that fits even if I can't actually play the song properly.  

I'm not actually sure what constitutes classic rock these days - in my head it's the 60s/70s/80s stuff but the average pub set list these days is playing 30 year old songs which surely must be classic by now.

Playing anything by Nickleback is extremely depressing but we did Rockstar anyway.  The punters clearly enjoyed it more than I did.

When September Ends by Green Day is pretty slow, as is Boulevard of Broken Dreams, but both went down well until I managed to convince the band to switch to When I come Around which went down better.

Hedonism by Skunk Anansie is slow and a pretty depressing song if you listen to the lyrics but used to get a good reaction - our singist did sing it particularly well though.

Under the Bridge?

Don't Look Back in Anger.

None of them killed the set.  We always thought it was nice to hit them with something quite hard, then soften it up a bit before going all out at the end.

The instrument I've owned longest is a 1994 Patrick Eggle NY, bought new from Project Music on the A4.  I still play it every now and then.

Bass wise I don't get the same attachment as I do with guitars (sorry for the heresy) and have turned then over more frequently.  I only have the one bass and it's a Squier CV70s P Bass. I guess I bought it around 2016 at Wunjo as a backup for my Fender P - I traded in a Indonesian Peavey Cirrus which was my first ever bass purchase for the Squier.  The US PB went a few years ago through BC Marketplace.

I only watched the first ten minutes and in that time he didn't really say anything worthwhile.

I think it's always been incredibly difficult to be a professional musician, and no doubt many of us here do it for fun only. 

Once we get good enough we might join a covers band doing pub gigs but the money you get for that will barely cover the costs to hiring rehearsal spaces, buying consumables and transport. You might just make a bit of money in a functions band.  As for originals bands I think it probably is harder now as the streaming services pay f*** all to the artist, there are less venues and I'm not entirely sure the yoof of today really want to listen to "performance music" in the way they used to.  I don't know whether the originals bands of the 80s and 90s found that touring generated income but at least they were able to make money from selling records and the tour was more for publicity.  

The moment someone mentions "not accessible to working class" really gets my goat though.  Pretty much everyone needs to work for a living.  I only know a few people in originals bands and they all have day jobs but that's nothing new.  

8 hours ago, Boodang said:

I think in this case absurdism is justified as 'real musicians....' is bit too much of a blanket statement. 

I think my point was that many musicians would just love a large collection of instruments, but few can afford it.

19 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

Real musicians tend to find and stick with a few instruments that we really like and change them relatively rarely.

Really?

22 hours ago, chris_b said:

 

Heresy!!!!

 

20 hours ago, peteb said:

 

 

While it is correct that a P bass is essentially a tool, there is a certain type of functional beauty about them! 

 

You have misunderstood me.  I'm a P Bass fan, but they are not beautiful.  Yes, they have an elegant simplicity.  The shape is odd, flat topped and just a bit dull, the headstock is ugly and the position markers (either block or dot) aren't much to write home about.

I also play 6 string guitars.  I have a Telecaster which again is elegant in it's simplicity, a Patrick Eggle NY Stage (which is everything a guitar needs and nothing it doesn't) and an Epiphone 339 which is beautiful.

3 hours ago, Misdee said:

 

 

Expensive Fender-style bass can be the most perplexing sub-category in so much as, strictly in terms of tone, a decent inexpensive model can be hard to distinguish from a boutique example, or indeed a genuine vintage bass.

 

I think it's a mistake  though, to assume that all people get from buying a bass is something they need to perform a practical task with.  Throughout history musical instruments have been regarded as beautiful objects, imbued with magical properties in many ancient cultures. Not   aspiring to the best quality basses for practical reasons doesn't justify dismissing  the aesthetic dimension of high-end basses.

 

It doesn't matter how much you spend on a P type bass, it will always be a tool and will never be beautiful. That is essentially the ethos of the design.

3 hours ago, theplumber said:

Tried out a Fender Nate Mendel in Merchant City Music Glasgow a while back. Terrible neck. Fret sprout everywhere! I mentioned it to the salesman who said yes a few mexican made Fenders have been like that recently. We will get our tech guy to sort it out before it goes out the door! I had just purchased a second hand Squier Classic Vibe for £200 and it was loads better in every way! By the way I wasn't going to buy the Nate Medel bass anyway.....it's too expensive and I am skint/too tight!!

I had exactly the same experience at Wunjo a few years back.  Loved the colour of the Mendel but ended up buying a Squier 70s CV. 

1 hour ago, TimR said:

 

It's not just Chinese, and that labour is no less skilled than assembling any other product. Chinese wages are rising the same way as wages all over the world. China is certainly not a 3rd world country.

 

Luthering by hand is probably a skilled and dying art, many people seem to buy a bass and send it straight for a setup. But I'd have thought any fret levelling, setup, etc, that needs to be done after a few years is a skilled job.

 

But I don't see why it's any different having an in house person doing it at the assembly line.

I'm not sure that there is much skill in the general assembly of a production line guitar, and it all boils down to the QC department at the end of the day.  I vaguely remember adverts for guitars in guitar magazines stating that Fenders are shipped without having the final setup and that it's left to the merchant to do that.  Don't know if that is a) true or b) still the case c) applicable to other manufacturers.

Chinese QA/QC on industrial equipment is definitely not as good as most industrialised places.  When I was working we would insist on resident inspectors, up the non destructive testing and the like if we were buying from China

9 minutes ago, Misdee said:

As horse racing enthusiasts would say, there's very little value to be had in the market at the moment.

 

What bass could you say offers good value for it's current U.K retail price? The other day I was contemplating a Mexican-made Fender JMJ for £1250. Still a lot of money but might be an affordable treat if they are as good as people say. I could buy one and pretend I am still trendy and "with it". Then I read on Basschat that I would have to shield it myself to stop incessant electrical hum. I have enough problems already. 

 

The higher up the price range you go, the harder it is to find a good deal when it comes to new basses. All this with the caveat that in many cases it's the exchange rate which is killing it. Even with British-made basses. Companies like Wal can charge whatever they like and then close the order book because they are inundated with orders from the USA taking advantage of the weak pound. Other less feted bass makers are having to pay more for parts and materials. Everything has gone up, and prices won't be going back down in any foreseeable future.

 

I remember back in the 1990s being shocked at how much imported basses were in Australia compared to the UK because of trade tariffs. Now we are like Australia was in terms of prices and I'm not sure who or what to blame. 

The £ is weak against the us$ and the Euro, but not that weak against the Japanese Yen,  Korean Won or Vietnamese Dong.  If you are looking at Far Eastern manufactured instruments there really isn't an excuse for rises in the last 5 years aside from "market forces".

Similarly the £ vs the Mexican Peso IS down significantly in the last 5 years.  But - and it's a big but, the exchange rate is roughly what it was in the 90s with the £ having rallied against it 10 years ago and then losing the gains in the last 5 of years.  I do not recall Mexican made instruments becoming cheaper between 2014 and 2020 so it seems when the £ is strong the importers are ripping us off and when it's weak they use it as excuse to up prices.  The big F of course has a habit of moving production somewhere cheaper and maintaining prices - so a Standard P Bass used to be MIA, and is now MIM, the Squier brand used to be  MIJ and is now MIC.Indonesia but they never reduce the prices.

1 hour ago, LukeFRC said:

I was asked what I thought of a 90s squire Korean p bass someone had seen for £300 

nothing special, a starter instrument from the 90s - what I find odd at the low price bracket is the disconnect from the prices of cheap but good now compared to then…

 

from vague memory Squier starter bass in early 90s -£100ish? 
harley Benton starter bass now £100ish, nicer Sire thing, £300 ish 

- how do you map the older basses into that?

I fail to understand why anyone would value a 90s Squier Korean P Bass more than a new Chinese one.  Some vintage instruments get better with age but I'm not sure that's true for the vast majority and certainly not for cheap mass produced items.

3 hours ago, TimR said:

 

While the Eurovision/Ant and Dec/Come Dancing demographic are at home.

 

It seems a bit odd that musicians, who are calling for a bigger audience and bemoaning the lack of decent venues, are now complaining that there's no decent Saturday night TV. 🤣

Oh man, where to start with that?

You may have noticed that EV is quite a thing for the LGBTQ+ community who are hardly known for being shy about going out and having a good time in their own special way.  The whole point of EV is that it's supposed to be an inclusive event that is worth watching.  

You won't get more people in pubs by putting ever worse stuff on TV, and let's not forget that we actually pay a license fee not only for the Beeb to screen this nonsense but to fund it to the extent that Olly Alexander's excuse of an entry goes straight (if that isn't an oxymoron) to the final.

FWIW I normally go to the pub on a Saturday but I don't like eating early so generally I go early evening and I'm home by 8.30.  Unless there is a band on the pub is normally almost empty by 10pm. Bands are generally on Friday and I'm out doing other things on a Friday but when I get home I can normally hear the end of their set when I'm in my living room anyway.

47 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

I'm talking about viewer demographic. 

Are middle aged straight men incapable of listening to interesting music then?

I assume they make up the sizeable chunk of the audience at most of the gigs people here play.  

1 minute ago, TimR said:

Anyway, it's not aimed at middle aged straight white men. If it was, we'd get an incredibly boring song that would sit comfortably on a CD of driving songs sold at Christmas and Father's day with a photo of Jeremy Clarkson on the front. 

 

 

Are middle aged straight white men incapable of an exciting song then?

As for Eurovision this year I didn't bother, possibly the first time in years I haven't seen any of it.  From what I've read I didn't miss much.

24 minutes ago, pete.young said:

 

That's a fine example of what I'd expect to see labelled Americana, but to me it's not a bluegrass band. No fiddle, no 5-string banjo, no mandolin.  The definition for bluegrass is pretty narrow and doesn't include accordions.

I'm not that familiar with the technical differences between what they play and true bluegrass but it sounded like it to me when I saw them play a few years ago - although I don't recall them having either the accordion or the dobro then.  Despite the main photo Pete plays 6 string banjo and mandolin as well as guitar. 

My mate's bluegrass band seems quite busy - although it's strictly second job territory.  Not really my cup of cha but whatever floats your boat

https://www.thedustbowlsinners.com/

1 hour ago, MiltyG565 said:

 

Most of the worst offenders are driving used, ex-fleet models because they can't afford new ones 😅 Worse still are the ones driving ones that are 10 or 15 years old. The brand attracts some of the worst people, and I'm sure the salespeople in the dealership probably get on quite well with them, as many car dealers themselves are dead behind the eyes, and solely motivated by commission. Funny thing is, VW and Audi belong to the same parent company, and both dealerships were probably part of the same complex, meaning that your money likely went to the same places it would have done anyway.

Audi and VW are both part of the same group, but the dealerships in question were not in any way related.  I was actually looking for a second hand car but ended up buying brand new so yes, the most of the money ended up with the Porsche family. I wasn't sure my bass gear would fit in the Audi anyway.

Audi.  When I was looking for a car a few years ago I couldn't get a single one of their sales staff interested in even acknowledging my presence after spending half an hour trying.  I went next door to VW and dropped £30k with them instead because they couldn't have been more different.  I've come to the conclusion that Audis are driven by very pushy people because they are the only ones who can actually get to buy one.

Dyson.  Just because he's a dick (he did a guest lecture at a uni thing and he was just the most arrogant tw@t I've ever had the displeasure of listening to).  His vacuums are extortionately priced and don't work very well either.*

ABDN.  I'm currently transitioning away from them as they have been promising an update to online access for 5 years and still haven't managed it, having preferred to waste time on removing the vowels from their name.

Weatherspoons.  Generally crap pubs and they have a blanket ban on dogs, even outdoors.  My dog behaves better, and is considerably more hygenic than many of their customers.*

Courage beers (now Scottish Courage?).  I worked for a company that supplied them with equipment.  I know how they make their beer.  I don't want to drink it.

Levis.  After 40 odd years of trying to get a pair of jeans that fits properly I now buy something else.

*The B thing has nothing to do with it.

On 21/04/2024 at 18:23, sadders said:

Hi all. 
I am an intermediate bass player in what you can describe as a mid life crisis dad band. We generally play punk, ska and rock covers. Vocal, drum, bass, rhythm guitar and lead guitar. The usual thing. 
we are all mates and it’s generally for fun plus the odd small gig. 
unfortunately our lead guitarist is poor. Never gets through a solo without messing it up. 
what I am after is songs in those genres without solos or very easy solos. 
Any ideas?

ty

Tell him to practice more?

Paranoid by Black Sabbath is pretty easy to play, straight pentatonic in two positions. Most of Iommi's solos sound more complicated than they are.

A lot of Nirvana songs have little more than a one line melody as a solo on one string Come as You Are is probably about as easy as it gets.

If you want to up your bass game Californication or Can't Stop by RHCPs are both pretty simple.

I grew to hate playing Are You Gonna Go My Way by Lenny Kravitz, and now can't stand listening to it.

Rocks by Primal Scream is almost as bad.

Anything with gold hardware or light up LED fretboard markers.

21 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

No. My original comment wasn't to the OP. It was to the Greek, who wanted to flood social media.

That's what I said.  TheGreek told the OP that he should flood social media you said he shouldn't. 

You see, that's how easy it is to spread false info on a website.

16 minutes ago, TimR said:

That's what I said didn't I? 

Your original reply to @TheGreeksuggested that the OP should avoid posting a bad review. I'm glad you have now changed your mind and agree that he is perfectly within his rights to name and shame them.

34 minutes ago, TimR said:

 

Maybe, but it's still Libel. 

No.  Libel is a false statement.  The "libel" must damage the person or businesses reputation.  The OP is perfectly within his rights to post on social media what happened, and if the venue want to take it further they would have to prove the review did actually damage them. 

23 hours ago, Supernaut said:

The Brickhouse in Slough is the pub in question. On my avoid list. 

Slough has been on my avoid list for years - Betjeman was right about it

.  Don't know the venue personally and it's not somewhere that came up when I was playing in and around that area.