teej

Glad to hear that other folk have problems with those back-pack straps - I'm 5' 2" and I thought it was just me!

[quote name='padmavyuha' post='580237' date='Aug 25 2009, 02:08 PM']I'm looking out for a more winter-proof soft case for my bass - the one that came with it is pretty flimsy, and as I live out in the countryside, travelling about with the DB will involve sharp changes of temperature.

I'm looking at [url="http://www.tomandwill.com/productdetail.asp?ProductID=SAA-BS34-GB&title=tom+and+will+SAA-BS+3%2F4+size+Premium+Double+Bass+Case+%2825mm+padding%29+in+Grey+and+Black+%3CFONT+COLOR%3D%22%23FF0000%22%3E6.0Kg%3C%2FFONT%3E"]Tom & Will[/url] gig bags. For the price (₤155), they look like the most sturdy and adaptable - 25mm padding, wheels, backpack shoulder straps all sounds very useful to me.

Does anyone have any experience of these - durability etc.?[/quote]
Sorry I've never tried these, but I've seen them in use and I'd be concerned about those wheels. I can't imagine they'd be usable except on very flat level surfaces, like indoors on a tiled floor. And what happens if/when they break?

I've got a Ritter, which is the best I've had, and which a lot of other upright players have admired. It's pretty tough and certainly showerproof. Lots of handles, which is good for maneouvering, but they do get caught on things sometimes.

I'm out. Wedding, yes - Oxfordshire, no...
...Andover

guitarist plays it on slide

Red Jackson are fairly evenly balanced, democratic maybe - it's all a question of roles, suited to the strengths and talents of the band-members. I'm the guy on the end of the phone/email and deal with website and paper publicity, so I get a final say in this stuff, but after consultation. Frontman steers the musical direction, calls the set and the arrangements on the fly, but often asks and is open to suggestions: I certainly feel like I have plenty of input. Drummer deals with weather/transport issues, general tactical/strategic issues, sage advice and darkly humorous morale-boosting, as well as doing a bit of promotion now and then, but again takes our views into consideration.

A lot of stuff will be decided after we've all talked it over: set-list for this 30 minute showcase at a festival; cover art for the new album; where we're going to busk next Saturday. None of this usually delays us and we've never had anything like an argument.

We're very like-minded individuals and get on extremely well: there's a lot of laughter involved, which is just as well seeing as we could be together for something like 15 hours on a Saturday.

[quote name='PaulKing' post='579192' date='Aug 24 2009, 03:57 PM']I have an identical bass ... it's beautiful, one of the warmest, easiest playing, nicest basses I've ever owned (of about a dozen so far, including two vintage Kays). Mine's been refinished in blonde, sweet. Yours in original fiish? I've never seen one in decent conditon, what's it look like?

But I've no idea of the exact year. Where did you get that from or is it an educated guess ... certainly late 60's is closest I can get, and I spoke to the Czech woman who was in charge of exports to B+H in the 60s!!
FYI I reckon it was made at the factory which is now Strunal.

Anyway. Sounds like you're struggling on with the wheels...
First advice would've been to lie bass flat, loosen strings, pop bridge down, hook tailpiece off end pin, whip out end pin assembly, file or cut retaining lugs off end pin, put back together... but you've sorted that one.

Next tip - 8mm pins are pretty poor usually. Thomann stock a pretty affordable, cork-lined 10mm end-pin assembly ..though you'll have to pay someone to fit it, or risk some woodwork fitting it into your end block. But in the long run they're much more solid, no rattles, no bending... but cash. That's double bass eh?[/quote]
I stripped mine myself, the varnish just fell off it almost from the moment I first took it out and gigged it, and after 4-5 years it was looking shamefully tatty (you can read about that and see some pics on my [url="http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=96193816&blogId=246561590"]myspace blog[/url]). I'd always wanted a blonde bass, so I finished it with 7-8 layers of shellac instead of french polishing or similar. It's not got any structural problems but it's far from 'decent condition' - it's a well-used hard-worked bass that sees action in the street regularly, all year round.

'69 is when the original owner bought it, brand new. I had read about the Strunal connection, on here probably.

Yes, I figured that in the long run replacing the whole end-pin unit would be the way to go. Maybe in October/November between the craziness of summer bookings and the madness of Christmas - when I send it off for another little job I want done: 8 ebony feet on the sides to lift the edges off the ground when it's at rest.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' post='578160' date='Aug 23 2009, 12:39 PM']Do you want to name n'shame the broken bass wheel? I'm curious as to which sort it was and how it broke...[/quote]
Well, it was the £34 wheel on the vivaceviolins website (I'd pay more for a better wheel, but this is the only one I can find with an 8mm shaft) - it's the one that you posted in my bass wheel thread on a German website, made by Dick.

The guys behind vivaceviolins have agreed that it should perform better and I've sent it back to them so they can talk to the manufacturer.

The shaft itself broke, not the welding.

[quote name='teej' post='577959' date='Aug 23 2009, 12:28 AM']Broke a string. Slapped one on in the dark afterwards ready for tomorrow (a Christening!); but I'm pretty sure that it's a fat A, not an E. Tomorrow will tell... [/quote]
It was an E! Not sure what sort of string it is but quite like it (a flattish disc end and blue wrapping, anyone?).

Christening gig was ideal for a Sunday afternoon after working all day Saturday: in a lovely leafy garden outside a charming cottage to about 15 chilled out people. Nice food and cold drinks. Tried out a couple of new grooves and rehearsed some material for the new album. A little jiving at the end from the proud couple and their parents brought it to a very satisfactory conclusion.

Hmmm.... Well, bass wheel broke on Tuesday after a little over 3 months use.

It was probably doing 2-3 miles in a quiet week and double that in a busy one. There have been more busy weeks than quiet ones though, so the average would be high. I'm not sure if that's unreasonable or not for these wheels, but Bridgewood and Neitzert (who I have returned it to) agreed that the wheel should perform better.

B&N sent me a new wheel in 24 hours ready for the weekend, but I've paid for it and am waiting to hear from them after they've tackled the manufacturers.

Just to clarify: this is an 8mm shafted version of the £34 wheel [url="http://www.vivaceviolin.com/pp/Accessories/Bass/433021.html"]shown here[/url].

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='547235' date='Jul 22 2009, 03:17 AM']I'm torn over MXR gear. I love the fact that their pedals are always really quiet and well-built, but they just don't sound very exciting. I mean, EHX's pedals generally behave quite badly, they're either cheaply constructed or have weird power requirements or the bypass sounds awful, but when you switch them on they usually do something batshit-insane. You've got to admire that.[/quote]
Oh the joy I had many moons back when, as a foolish youth, I had hair, a Ric 4001 (still got it in fact), and a Bass Balls. I loved it to bits but oh how the band lamented when my foot approached the little silver box...

Yeah I'm with you on this one. I don't use effects anymore, but if I did: 'batshit-insane' is exactly what I'd be looking for. Preferably completely random and quite beyond my control.

EDIT

oh crap - i just realised, this thread is about stuff we hate and i've just been waxing all fond and positive... errr... well, I'm pissed off that my bass-wheel broke after not even 4 months use! Grrr! (how's that? angry enough?)

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='577864' date='Aug 22 2009, 09:19 PM']I didn't think that Community Support plods had any official authority? I know you are under no legal obligation do anything they say.[/quote]
Well, that's my thinking too, that's why we didn't do what he wanted but what worked best for us . I guess if you really get up their noses they'll call big brother or something tho'...?

Saturday 22nd Aug: Street Performance, [s]Salisbury[/s] Winchester
It's been one of those days today. One of those rare days that test your moral fibre to breaking point and yet you come out smiling and triumphant. I love my job!

Headed off bright and early (up at 6am) to get the pitch in Salisbury, not one of our A List towns, but we've got a wedding tonight in Andover (and you REALLY don't want to busk Andover). Arrive at the pitch and my great friends and main professional rivals, The Huckleberries, have beaten me to it. It's time for a brief exchange of pleasanteries and I turn tail for home (Winchester). My fellow band members are coming up from Brighton and will get there before me now - but it's touch and go whether or not they'll get there before the Peruvians or any number of other chancers. Lo - they make it! And we're on for a day's work.

First hurdle in Winch is a bunch of excitable twenty-something longhairs who have clearly been out all night and are threatening to head off and get their djembes and jam along with us! But, frankly, there's not much danger of them doing anything that organised, and we get about our business unmolested. It's a busy day with lots of tourists about (not always a good thing, but these are a generous bunch). We play a fairly lazy (relaxed, laid back) set and sell loads of CDs, albeit subtly (we've heard of a new WPC in town who's cracking down on outfits like ours). So far so good. We do another set, with no sign of said WPC and decide to do another with the CD display out. No problem. We leave it out during our break and that's when she strikes! Of course

Well, it's all about what you can get away with, not what's allowed, so we do one last short set without the display, but still manage to shift a decent number before heading off to the wedding.

Saturday 22nd Aug: Wedding, Andover

Not much to say really... We've had some great weddings this year: this wasn't one of them. Nice people. Crap venue. Decent money. Broke a string. Slapped one on in the dark afterwards ready for tomorrow (a Christening!); but I'm pretty sure that it's a fat A, not an E. Tomorrow will tell...

wotcher gaz, welcome to basschat

[quote name='paul h' post='575265' date='Aug 20 2009, 10:56 AM']Page one of Google search results for "robot t-shirt"

Awesome!

Thanks again Si.

[/quote]
Result! Well done!

Welcome to basschat Josh, must say I like Eastbourne...

[quote name='silddx' post='575798' date='Aug 20 2009, 05:04 PM']Sorry, wasn't aimed at you either teej, i know you have more than enough experience of seeing acts with crap backing tracks or who can't play with them.[/quote]
Hey, I didn't think it was either, but you just left a door open for me

[quote name='silddx' post='575774' date='Aug 20 2009, 04:47 PM']The problem with this thread is that there's a lot of theorising and philosophical crap being said without any practical experience, just based on a theoretical POV. If my local jazz festival is anything to go by, there are no BTs there, loads of improvising and solos, and it's about as exciting as a snail sleepover.[/quote]
Believe me I have plenty of experience of seeing solists with BTs struggling in the street while we draw in the punters and their money

There's no theorising in the street, you get to see instantly and brutally what works and what doesn't.

[quote name='lowdown' post='575776' date='Aug 20 2009, 04:48 PM']Teej,

I keep forgetting to mention..
I love 'The Ukes of Hazzard'
You've Got a Friend is tops dude.


Garry[/quote]
Aww thanks Garry (but did you have to pick the one song they recorded before I joined?)

[quote name='ironside1966' post='575766' date='Aug 20 2009, 04:42 PM']Looks like we have got are wire crossed
The guy wants to get out of the cheap dog and duck type gigs and move on to the better paid venues for cover bands, but these well venues want a band to sound good and entertain.
The audiences in these venues don’t care if you use tracks or not they want songs the can recognize to sound like they should and believe me there are some good bands competing for the really good money gigs.


Also the kind of tracks a band would use its totally different it’s like having a keyboard player that’s all[/quote]
I get all this, I really do - but what they need is an angle, more than backing tracks: even with BTs, they'll still need something to mark themselves out as different and memorable.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='575737' date='Aug 20 2009, 04:23 PM']“That's kind of my point - suggesting ways to get out of playing in venues like that”.

What’s wrong with venues like that?[/quote]
Well, excuse me, but I got the impression that they weren't paying the OP enough ££

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='575716' date='Aug 20 2009, 04:11 PM']The worst offenders I've ever heard were buskers with more gear and bigger PA than the average pub band doing earsplitting panpipe karaoke to backing tracks. Terrible.[/quote]
Oboy! These guys could be the biggest contributors to my personal dislike for backing tracks. And a good illustration of what I perceive as the true public perception of their use. As a regular street performer with a small band we can build a big crowd, hold them and get their money, while the soloists and duos with their minidisc backing get just a few stragglers. I see it happen nearly every week.

[quote name='lowdown' post='575702' date='Aug 20 2009, 03:59 PM']Each to their own and what works in their situation.
Pretty much sure 99% of an Audience in a pub would not know or care less
What you did - as long as 'Valerie' or 'Who let the dogs out' was in the set list. [And Mustang Sally]

Garry[/quote]

That's kind of my point - suggesting ways to get out of playing in venues like that.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='575664' date='Aug 20 2009, 03:29 PM']My 2p:

I've played in a band that used sequenced tracks before (despite having five instrumentalists, two vocalists and a DJ on stage). While it always sounded good live, it was a fairly boring experience for the band. No real room to mess with dynamics, no space to improvise or play the crowd, every song was basically the same every night.

So yeah it did "work" and I don't think the audience even noticed they were using sequenced tracks but I think everybody involved would have preferred it if they'd approached their live stuff in a different way. Luckily we never had any technical problems on stage but we did in rehearsals and suffice to say when a computer goes down it's a lot worse than a musician fluffing a part![/quote]
I think this lack of spontaneity and flexibility is what bugs me the most.

[quote name='tayste_2000' post='575631' date='Aug 20 2009, 03:08 PM']Cajon

Literally spanish for box

Pronounced Ka Hon[/quote]
That's the one, thanks, I knew it was something like that that, but not to be confused with cahones

I'd like to make it perfectly clear that I was just attempting to offer what I consider the best advice to the OP in my professional opinion, and doing so because he doesn't sound totally decided on his course, nor do I get the impression that he's totally comfortable with the technology. I don't expect anyone to follow my advice. I don't even really want anyone to follow my advice. It's better for me if acts continue to bang out the same set lists as each other and rely on technology to help them along with it - it makes the contrast between myself and them that much stronger.

I'm also not anti-tech, I've seen and enjoyed Gotan Project and Massive Attack, and I reckon I'd really like silddx's outfit by the sound of it, but the OP is not talking about massive sounding ambient global grooves but pop songs in small venues.

Sometimes a niche is an excellent place to be in: far from being a restriction it's a neat way of knowing exactly how and where to market yourself. 'Do one thing and do it damn well' is an excellent business model (Twitter, anyone?).

Here's a perfect example of what I was talking about: I just got back from a shopping trip into town and saw this act busking, they're called Davis. Never seen them before, but this is a band with their angle pretty much sorted out. OK, the guy could do with working on his look a little perhaps, and you can't hear them, but please take my word for it when I say that these are 2 excellent singers (the girls), with perfectly competent acoustic guitar and a great drummer (what are those box things called?). I heard them do Redemption Song (a busking cliche but done well) and Crazy. They've got a couple of gigs coming up in town, not in 'The Dog and Duck' but in a smart olde worlde food pub and a trendy wine bar. Busking in the right pitch in the right town, they could easily make what 'The Dog and Duck' would pay for a covers band, each. I know, because that's exactly what I do.

I have to say that here I'm generally with BarnacleBob, Happy Jack and Bilbo et al, but I'm also impressed that the OP seems throughout the thread a decent person and is struggling here. So I'll try and keep off the rant, tempting as it might be.

Sorry, I can't help you with the backing track issues, I've never used them and cannot imagine doing so for the foreseeable future. What I'll try and do instead is explain why I think it would be a mistake to go that route, for practical not ethical reasons.

As I see it, to do more than merely survive in the competitive live music business you need an angle (or 2), that marks you out as different, better maybe, but different and memorable certainly. Backing tracks may fill out your sound, but they'll cast you in the same mould as countless unimaginative covers outfits working in the same places as you, with backing tracks, I'll bet there are loads of soloists and duos already doing just that. You need to break away.

You need to break away because your goal must be to get out of these low paid gigs and by conforming to what they expect you're delaying the day when you can do that. I can't say exactly what your angle should be, but it sounds as if it's likely to be very much about the vocals. Look to your strengths, and sidestep/eliminate your weaknesses (my main band travels light with minimal kit - but we're not a band that can't play loud, we're band that [b]can[/b] play at low volume, and there are lots of low volume gigs out there, restaurants etc and the big gigs provide a pa/sound-engineer).

Now, it may be that your choice of material (and I understand your reasons for that choice) conspire against the kind of approach we take, but I would reiterate what others have posted, that a good song should work with just a guitar/vocals arrangement - maybe you need to weed out some weak material.

I'll offer a couple more examples from my own career.

Red Jackson, a guitar/vocals, drums, bass trio, have the same instrumentation as you. Now we don't do pop songs, but we do a bunch of jump blues/swing numbers originally performed by much larger bands with horn section, piano etc. The front man, having been playing guitar seated in true bluesman style, puts the guitar down, stands up and blows harmonica into the vocal mic cupped in both hands, pacing around the stage (possibly even wandering into the crowd) - he also has a cow bell attached to his mic stand, and a samba whistle hanging from it; and I slap the upright like a good'un. Instead of attempting to compensate for the lack of horns and piano, we strip the song back to its groove and jam on it, free to bring it down, back up again, and segue into another song if we feel like it (try doing that with backing tracks). These tend to be amongst our most successful numbers. We do play a few pubs, and a lot of weddings, but this year also played the main stage at Winchester Hat Fair in front of 2-3000 people.

The Ukes of Hazzard are a quartet, and we do some big band stuff, like Duke Ellington's 'Caravan', with 3 ukuleles, 3 voices and a double bass: again we make no attempt to replace the missing instruments, the arrangement of the instruments available conveys enough of the original for it to be recognizable and makes it ours, hopefully in an entertaining way - we're a cabaret/comedy act. We rarely play pubs or weddings, but get gigs at retro clubs (gypsy jazz, burlesque etc) and festivals, including Glastonbury where we've performed at Lost Vagueness and Albion.

I cite these examples partly to demonstrate alternative approaches, but also [s]to show off[/s] because the best gigs we do, and the even better ones we aspire to would be barred to us if we used backing tracks.