Stylon Pilson

I don't think that the forum necessarily needs to be split, but I think that there should be more enforced use of the existing tagging system. If every single post had to either have a "4 string", "5 string", "6 string" etc tag before it could be submitted, then it would be very easy to filter to the ones you're interested in. At the moment, the fact that only 10% of posts have any tags at all makes it more or less useless. If there were a new automated rule that all listings had to have at least a certain number of tags (3? 5?) then it would be so much more useful. S.P.

On this subject - my band has finally got round to replacing our keyboard player, so on Saturday night we're going to be playing a bunch of songs that we haven't been able to do for a while. A couple of which I'm going to play fretless on (It's My Life by Talk Talk and Boys Of Summer by Don Henley). At my request, these have been placed adjacent to each other, to minimise instrument changes. They are #2 and #3 in our second set. I'm now considering also playing fretless on #1, which is In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, so that I start the set on the fretless and only need to change instrument once. I think I'll get away with it - what do you reckon? S.P.

Personally, for the sake of £20 one way or the other, I wouldn't let price dictate my decision here. The extra expenditure will soon be forgotten about, but the difference in playability will stay with you indefinitely. S.P.

I'm another that goes on the hi-hat side. On rare occasions I've been forced to the other side, owing to sharing a bass amp with other bands, and have coped perfectly well. S.P.

Two for me. Freddie Mercury first - I grew up in a family of Queen fans, and so it was something that really consumed conversation for quite a while. And secondly David Bowie - I'd always been a fan of his hits, but I'd spent the previous 18 months listening to all his albums in chronological order, spending a few weeks with each one to really get to know his past better. I finished the project on the 8th January 2016 and he died two days later. S.P.

You can get away with a lot of simplification when playing live. Obviously there are occasionally iconic bass riffs that people would recognise if you played differently (like Another One Bites The Dust or The Chain) but generally if you simplify a bass line, the only people who will notice will be other bass players, and most of them will appreciate that you did it for a reason. On the off chance that someone comes up to you afterwards and says "I noticed that you played the bass line wrong..." then just smile and say "yeah, I know. Crowd still seemed to enjoy themselves though, didn't they." S.P.

I updated mine in the last few months and apparently escaped the cull, so maybe that's relevant. S.P.

I've got a 20W Stagg bass amp. In fact it was my first bass amp, and is now over 21 years old! I'm afraid I can't really recommend it - that tiny little 8" speaker doesn't generate much low end at all, and while I concede that it's an improvement over not having an amp at all, it's no fun at all to play through. S.P.

There Is Nothing Left To Lose was recorded as a three-piece, but they had Pat Smear on guitar for The Colour And The Shape. And they've always had at least 2 guitarists when performing live. S.P.

I usually have mine on the floor next to my pedalboard (I don't go to the effort of laminating it or anything like that!) though I like the suggestion of taping it to the back of the PA cab - I might start doing that. S.P.

A smiling happy robot with a fine pair of jugs, no less. S.P.

I had a pretty good gig last night, a pub in Eton Wick with an enthusiastic crowd. But it was one of those funny occasions where different band members get a wholly different experience. Me and the drummer both thought it sounded pretty good, but the guitarist slash singer had a short shopping list of things that had spoilt his enjoyment, and so his one-word assessment of the gig was "awful". I've suggested we have a little debrief, because in my opinion, if one band member has a bad night, then it's up to everyone to work together to offer reassurance and figure out how to avoid those problems arising again. Had a bit of a panic when I got home and opened the boot and my amp fell out and onto the driveway. However I tested it today and it seems to still be working, so it looks like I dodged a repair bill there. I need to rethink the way that I pack the car. S.P.

And there goes the rest of my day... S.P.

A lot of youtubers make use of clickbait titles and goofy thumbnails. They're attention-grabbing, but invariably the actual video itself is disappointing or not what you expected to see. Nowadays, when I see those sorts of titles or thumbnails, I skip right over them. In my opinion, it's a question of trust. You can't keep over-promising and under-delivering, and expect me to keep trusting you. S.P.

I hope that you've taken appropriate steps to prevent yourself financially when things go wrong with your wife. If. If things go wrong. And I definitely wouldn't want that to happen. But, you know, that's what women are like. S.P.

At an audition or try out, if they're too loud then I'd politely decline and go my way. No need to tell them why, just a "good luck and cheerio". Same if they're consistently too fast. Occasional too-fastedness is something to then bring up delicately at the third rehearsal or thereabouts. Something like "I've noticed when we play MacArthur Park it's a bit quicker than the original. Can we try it again but a bit slower?" If this then turns into a blazing row then I clearly made a serious mistake somewhere and it would be best to cut ties sooner rather than later. S.P.

It's a complicated subject. It's definitely not healthy when band members fume silently instead of having an open and honest discussion about problems. But then there is also a certain diplomacy required when giving feedback that may be taken as personal criticism. In the examples you gave (too fast and too loud), I would agree with others that have said that if you point that out to someone and their response is one of defensiveness rather than "thanks for saying something, we'll check it out" then you should consider it a bullet dodged. But then there can be other situations where the way you phrase something can be the difference between skilfully articulating a subtle point, and making an enemy for life. S.P.

Sounds like a nightmare. Do you think you were under-rehearsed, or is it just one of those situations where your mind blanks once you're up there? S.P.

It's possible that her only previous experience was in a band with some poor schmuck who did all this stuff for her, and now she thinks that she is deserving of nothing less. S.P.

TheGroovyPlucker was not impressed and has sent theirs back - see here. S.P.

12 months ago I was in a very similar situation to you. What did I do next? I answered a "bass player wanted" ad, and got the gig. They're organised, active, everyone has the same expected commitment level, and we work well as a team. Good attitudes and competence all round. My old band had one gig still on the books when I left. They trained up a replacement bass player and did that gig, but since then it's been tumbleweeds on their social media. I did send one of the other band members (the only other one who put in as much effort as me) a message at Christmas but she didn't reply. I think they might have quietly folded. This does not come as a huge surprise. S.P.

Saturday night's gig was cancelled at short notice, which makes me sad. It had originally been booked in October, and on Friday we contacted them just to check in. They replied that (a) they didn't do live music any more, (b) they didn't have our contact details to tell us (which is clearly nonsense because they made the initial contact in the first place!) and (c) we never actually confirmed anyway (which is also nonsense and we have the screenshot of the conversation to prove it!) Ah well, not worth getting too bent out of shape about it. This is just the unfortunate cost of doing business - sometimes people are eejits. S.P.

I saw your post in Al Krow's topic - sounds like you're very happy with your choice! S.P.