Stylon Pilson

Use doodle. If there's no date that's mutually agreeable, then determine the person who has the highest unavailable:available ratio, and replace them. Repeat until a date is found. S.P.

Well, the question of whether a backup amp is even required is another situation-dependent thing. Situation 1: an originals band, playing a multi-band night with 3 or 4 other bands. Space off-stage is at a premium, so it's just not practical to bring a spare bass or amp. If one of the other bass players had an amp or bass fail on them, then I'd happily lend them mine (as long as they seemed like someone who would treat it with respect). Situation 2: any other band playing with PA support and decent monitoring. You probably want to take a spare bass, but as you point out uk_lefty, you can cater for an amp failure scenario by going direct. Situation 3: covers band playing pubs with no PA support. No-one's going to save you. If anything in your chain fails, then you need to have a spare, or you'll be going home early and your band probably won't get rebooked. S.P.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was asking about lightweight compact amp heads, not 15kg combos. S.P.

You kids these days and your euphemisms for masturbation... S.P.

Who said anything about publishing? Slide me a PM. I promise I won't breathe a word. S.P.

I'm sure you still have that link floating around somewhere... S.P.

I don't have anything to add to this thread at this time, but I want to bump it to keep it alive. I love reading peoples' stories of cringeworthy auditions! S.P.

Don't get me wrong, I carry a spare power lead to gigs! But if my backup amp uses non-standard cables, then I need to take a third power lead, and a third speaker lead. S.P.

If I was doing weddings or some other high-paid function gig, then yes I think I'd get something that fulfilled those criteria. However, I'm just looking at pub gigs at the moment, so if I did have to bring the backup amp off the bench, I'd be willing to make compromises (less headroom, maybe ask my bandmates to turn down a little, if required). Small and inexpensive are my priorities right now. S.P.

I'm currently using a 1/4" -> Speakon to connect my RH450 to my cab anyway, so wouldn't be an issue. On that subject though, I think that the speaker cable is the one item that I don't currently carry a backup of, so I should really get a Speakon -> Speakon cable and then I'd be able to keep my existing one as a backup which works with either. S.P.

Interesting suggestion. I checked out their website and it certainly does look tasty in terms of size and weight. However the non-standard connectors on the back are a bit of a turn-off - I'd prefer something that uses the same power and speaker leads as my main amp. S.P.

That does sound appealling, but the problem is waiting for one to become available on the 2nd hand market. I'd quite like something that I can move on now. S.P.

I'm considering getting a small amp head to carry to gigs as a backup. The three I'm looking at are the Trace Elliot Elf, the TC BH250, and the GK MB200. The BH250 is the cheapest (but not by much), and I'm using an RH450 as my main amp, so there's a certain appeal to getting another TC. The Elf, however, is crazy small and crazy light. Are there any other options I should be considering? UPDATE: rubis offered me a barely-used BH250 for a great price, so my issue has been solved. S.P.

Last night was my first gig with the 80s covers band that I joined a couple of months ago (c.f. "Number of songs for audition" thread). It was at the Maiden's Head in Maidenhead - decent venue, easy load-in/out, the crowd picked up over the course of the evening. However I did have to deal with a situation that I'm not sure I've ever encountered before, but which is probably going to become a regular occurrence: hollow wooden stage with no PA support. The EQ that resulted in a good sound out front meant a little area of extreme boominess within a radius of about 2m of my bass amp. My new bandmates were absolutely elated with my performance and the way the band sounded as a whole. I made a few flubs, but well within my range of acceptable tolerances for a first gig with a new band. I also got to wear a shirt that I bought about 15 years ago, but have never worn because it's fairly hideous. Yet perfect for an 80s band. S.P.

I, find, that I, can talk, as long, as I, do it, in time. S.P.

Jonti Thruxton - Jonti Thruxton and the Financiers S.P.

The big issue I can see is if you get fired from the best band because your unavailability is holding them back. S.P.

You know how the common counter to "music was better back in my day" is "there was plenty of bad music back then, it's just only the good stuff is remembered?" Well the '94 Reading lineup is hard to argue with. Sure, there are a few bands in there that have rightly fallen by the wayside, but for the most part, I look at that lineup and drool. S.P.

I had a Comfort Strapp for many years, and loved it to bits, then left it behind at a gig. I've been making do with a lesser strap, but I should really replace it. S.P.

How many bands you can juggle concurrently is dependent upon a number of factors, including how frequently they gig, whether they use deps, how much of your time you want to spend on music, how efficient you are with your practice time, and many more. It's a simple fact that some bands just don't want to use deps, and so if you want to be in one of those bands, then it had better be your only gigging project, or your bandmates will soon start resenting you when you have to decline a date because you've already got something in the calendar. I've been in five bands over the last decade with a small overlap each time. When I start feeling like one band is winding down, or I don't want to do it any more, I'll start looking for something else. So, in answer to your original question, I suppose I fit more with the third option: run the two in parallel until I'm sure that either (a) the new one is going to stick, or (b) I really don't want to be in the old one any more, whichever way things go with the new one. S.P.

My first band did a cover version of "Whole Again" by Atomic Kitten that mutated into a sort of double time mockney knees-up style version halfway through. That confused the girls on the dancefloor, let me tell you. S.P.

I've only quit two bands in my life. The second was just a few weeks back. My list of reasons to leave runs to 14 items. First time, I phoned the band leader. This most recent time, I told everyone at the end of a rehearsal. S.P.

I am currently using a plastic toolbox for carrying these sorts of items. I have my amp head in a separate bag which goes over my shoulder. S.P.

My first bass was a red Precision bass copy with white pickguard, made by Jim Harley. Not a bad piece of kit, all round. As to what happened to it - I'd heard so many people sighing wistfully and saying "ah, I wish I'd never sold my first bass..." that I decided to never sell it. S.P.

This is so true. I've recently joined a band (covers) and am able to get up to speed on the song structures really quickly because the drummer is telegraphing the changes to me. S.P.