SpondonBassed

Yes. I had a set of 5 light intermediate round-wound double ball ended strings from them. I find them okay although I am no string connoisseur. I liked that they were ready two weeks before Rattle and Drum rang me to say they'd got some for me. I had to turn theirs down. I find it objectionable that a local shop is unable to get strings in quickly enough and blames it on Internet suppliers. Come on guys, you aren't even trying.

It's as if there were no other choices. Bah! Humbucker!

I've always thought of a rhythm section being a double act. The two play off of each other. It isn't a race, If you are trying to meet your drummer half way (you've gone further than that by what you said) and he isn't there to meet you, how can you ever feel confident? I agree with the "walk away" comment because you have not mentioned any support coming from the other band members. It's a hard lesson for them but a good one.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1463678133' post='3053338'] Stage time for bar bands is "golden" use it to improve your chops and understanding of the business. [/quote] I can see your point. I'd imagine that your bookings are more exciting than rehearsed sets given that you are all poised to find out what the band leader is going to call next. Some degree of spontaneity is a desirable quality for any performance

Good point. High Fidelity has not yet been satisfactorily replaced by High Definition.

I wanted to modify my Ashdown Toneman 300 combo by installing a pair of side handles. I messaged them from their website to ask if they could advise. A few days later I got an email asking for my address so that they could post me a detail drawing AND some handles! I rang to pass on my details and asked their correspondent how much I owed them. The reply, in a fine Sheffield accent, was "Nowt mate, we're happy to help." Lovely.

[quote name='thebassist' timestamp='1463747583' post='3053802'] I don't really see the point of this? [/quote] Um, perhaps it is to sell more Fenders.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1463645304' post='3052979'] Don't worry that you're "blagging" - I think many musicians feel this way [/quote] I'd dare to say that most do to some extent. If not, they're not really trying. You hear of musicians getting jaded doing the same old stuff. In Blue's thread about four hour gigs elsewhere he describes long bookings where instead of a set list, the band leader calls the tunes and they all crack on. No two nights would be the same in that scenario. It makes sense. You might have to remember tunes that you've not played for a while making each booking unique and therefore more exiting than a "fixed" set list. Quite a good strategy for time served musicians as opposed to "hacks". PS, I am a born again bassist myself - no religious inference intended. It is much better for me the second time 'round.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1463609788' post='3052876'] Wot - this thread's really about a long-term schism within the Tory party culminating in a power-struggle between a pair of loathsome, (allegedly) pig-molesting public-school toffs? [/quote] Which adjective does the "(allegedly)" belong to? Loathsome or pig-molesting? Even the loathsome politicians were "better" in my youth. Remember Cyril Smith and Jeremy Thorpe? These were people you could really feel creepy about.

[quote name='operative451' timestamp='1463493747' post='3051778'] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSNSTerj2Kc[/media] [/quote] I take your point. That really WAS rubbish.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1463482180' post='3051645'] No, but I've played clubs where a chicken wire barrior wouldn't have been a bad idea. [/quote] Don't tell me you've had chickens thrown at you...!

I suppose you are right if you can't find a couple of like minded musicians in that there London. I wouldn't give up if I were you however. It's always hard to find the better things in life but once you do you wonder how you ever overlooked them. Milton Keynes - does it work for ANYONE? [Puts up an umbrella in case anyone from MK chucks a concrete cowpat this way]

Hi Blue Have you ever played a venue with netting across the stage to catch flying debris? I'm still not sure if that scene from The Blues Brothers was in any way representative.

[quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1463433807' post='3051374'] nobody wants to do progressive material anymore. [/quote] Is this actually true? I mean, from this thread there is certainly a strong interest. For what it's worth, I think Progressive Rock is all around us. It is not a cult any more when lots of young bands are routinely pushing the boundaries. Remember that bands who dared to step outside of their promoter's business model were rare. Today it is the norm.

[quote name='Sparks' timestamp='1463410936' post='3051107'] Have initially come on the forum for help as I'm basically blagging at the moment! (or 'getting up to speed'). Actually toughest thing is trying to sing backing and play bass - I can do either ok at the moment, but my brain is struggling to do both [/quote] Welcome Mark (Sparks) You've come to the right place. Blagging is part of the routine here, I think it would be fair to say. In fact I'd go as far as to say the ability to blag is an essential part of the toolkit. You'll fit right in. Enjoy.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1463313477' post='3050355'] It's not 'Schlong!' is it? Or something like that. I used it for a bit, advertised a phone and some guy wanted me to drive across London to deliver it to him in person. Er... no. [/quote] I'm still laffing at the image of you crossing London to deliver "schlong" to some guy! Would it be appropriate to ask for er, travel expenses in that instance I wonder?

Lovely. I love the simplicity of it.

Good point. I'll get my coat.

Yup. Basschat definitely needs a fetishists section.

I remember progressive rock. IIRC live performances were attended in part by lots of, let's say zoned out individuals with extraordinarily pungent cigarettes. We will never witness the likes of that again. Not sure if it's a good thing or not. Anyone else know the album Visitor 2035? I lost my copy of the LP but found it again on yooboob recently. Wow, the memories that brought back.

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1463153988' post='3049135']A friend also has the two part goo for making moulded ear plugs, I'll find out where he got it from because it was a fraction of the price of the branded kits. [/quote] Yes please. I might even be able to take my own impressions and make some DIY dentures by up-cycling teeth from local road kill. Anyone fancy running over Tom Cruise for me? Seriously though, yes please.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1463183619' post='3049436'] I want to hear what it sounds like in capable hands [/quote] I know that feeling well. I also want to be the one to get those delicious sounds from my instrument at will. Just now I get aural "glimpses" of the extraordinary things the Steiny is capable of. It's bringing me on to chase those sounds.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1463182182' post='3049427'] 4 hours is the standard for bar bands in the States. Blue [/quote] Yes quite. I was just making the point that you are asking in the wrong country since we are merely allies of your nation, not clones. It is interesting to hear how you go on though. Thanks for that.

[quote name='DiMarco' timestamp='1463123836' post='3048734'] I can hold my own pretty well but when at a jam session or playing songs within a band I usually hold back, reinforcing the kickdrum and letting the snaredrum breathe with what I do. I am very concious about making the drums work well with whatever it is I am doing on the bass. No flashy stuff, just breathing air into the music. [/quote] I like your style.

[quote name='Blink' timestamp='1463143389' post='3048974'] I'm not an expert but I thought that Tinnitus and hearing loss are different things. [/quote] That is correct. My last hearing assessment showed a healthy hearing response across the frequency range well above the average. I have always thought of Tinnitus as hearing too much rather than being deaf. It is why I never mention it in conversation because folk then tend to speak at you VERY loudly. I have inherited it from my mother's side of the family and I believe that many years of motorcycling at motorway speeds for hours at a time has conditioned my brain into wanting to listen for sounds above the background noise. Trouble is, without wind noise my brain seems to want to introduce fictitious sounds... Everything I have looked at says that my sort of Tinnitus is incurable. Other types can sometimes be treated by severing the main nerve associated with the ear. I feel more sorry for those sufferers than I do for myself however. I don't always have it and sometimes I can take control of a situation to avoid a full blown "attack" when I see it coming, so to speak. I always used the hearing protection provided because of the regular noise from jet engines where I worked. I have no hearing loss other than being unable to hear bats as I could in my youth but I believe that is normal. One of the very high frequency noises that I am still aware of is from televisions. I believe it is made by capacitors but I have never measured it to determine its value in Hz. Can anyone elaborate please?