knirirr

As I mentioned here, the pros weren't able to turn up for their usual jam session so it ended up with my band depping as the house band.

This turned out quite well; there was a chap in the audience who organises music at local beer festivals and he seemed to like it. We played Spain at the end and I think we got away with it.

Once again, the TC Electronics BAM200 appeared to give good service - perhaps I won't need my Orange Terror any more (which I didn't even bring).

Twice now in the same pub a mother with small children has wandered up to the jazz jam area and said something along the following to her children:

"Do you know what that instrument is? It's a guitar! How about that one? It's a trombone! And what about that? It's a cello!"

11 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

I don't think it matters anyway, no-one notices the bass player

 

One drummer I play with prefers to be on the side with bass in the middle, if possible, which presumably gets a bit more notice for me:

Mostly, though,  it's drummer in the middle with bass to their left and keyboard/guitar to the right, horns in front.

52 minutes ago, MacDaddy said:

 

😲

Would not have expected that! 

What cab were you using?

It was an Orange OBC112.

I have a jam on Sunday and a rehearsal with a different band (and bass) on Monday. I'll have to see if it still holds up after both of those.

We got through a lot of material last night, in preparation for both a recent gig offer and the surprise need for me and our horn player to replace the pros (who have presumably been offered money to be elsewhere) at a jam coming up on Sunday.

It was also a chance to try out a new head, a TC Electronics BAM200. Everyone appeared to think that this sounded better than my Orange Terror so the latter might go up for sale (not that anyone will buy it ;-).

Short answer: No.

Long answer:

My school offered both music "theory" (how to read music, compulsory from 11-13) and classical instrumental lessons. I was encouraged to make use of these and wanted to, and although I was a bit bored by classical music I didn't hate it so I tried both violin and piano to start with, and, eventually, the highland bagpipe. It was not until I went to university that I found music I actually liked and also managed to save up for an electric guitar (anathema at school). I've not continued with violin or piano and gentlemanly conduct requires that I refrain from piping. Reading music was a useful skill to learn, but I had forgotten it all by the time I got that electric guitar.

Frustratingly, I found out years later that the head of music was in fact an arranger for BBC Radio Leicester's big band and her husband was a jazz bassist. A shame she couldn't have brought any of that into the lessons.

Edit as requested by @BigRedX - I am referring to the years 1982-89.

I was also wondering whether lower gain valves might help; the sound so far is reasonable, when it's not buzzing.

Thanks - I'll give that a try. 

3 hours ago, tauzero said:

Would a foam pad under the head to isolate it help?

That does appear to help.

But, it would be nice to fix it, if I can be certain of how to do so.

18 hours ago, solo4652 said:

 OK in a jazz crew, but not in pub dance band.

What the bassist does in this jazz context should be fine in a pub as well, I'd think. Cool outfit also:

When I bought my Terror Bass 500 it used to buzz on certain notes when sitting on top of the cab. Orange replaced it under warranty.

The replacement is now doing the same; an example, demonstrated by some guitar noodling, can be heard at: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hcz9oy9m2jy79s3m2ssq6/Amp-buzz.m4a?rlkey=dkdp2m9ocn71xmgqmvzorndjx&dl=0

Putting the head on the floor instead stops this from happening, though this is not ideal as it can get in the way. Perhaps I should just buy a longer speakon cable...

Could this be a dodgy (microphonic?) valve? If so, how hard is replacing them? I've seen warnings to the effect that fiddling with the internals of a valve amp is potentially fatal for the unqualified, but perhaps the Terror Bass might not be that bad having only a valve preamp.

It's been happening for a while, but I normally play unamplified at home and so only notice at the beginning of gigs/jams/rehearsals and have forgotten by the time I get home.

I could perhaps take it here:
https://www.oxfordpowershop.co.uk/pages/amplifier & Speaker repairs.html

...as long as I wait until I'm on holiday, as they only open when I'm working.

There's one horrendous piece I used to hear on repeat over and over again in the mid 90s when I worked in a lab where someone insisted that they couldn't work unless a radio was on.

I know it as "the naa song" but I think it might be called "here comes the hot stepper".

Still available.

In case anyone asks, it's a soft padded gig bag not a rigid one.

I've got a spare gig bag exactly the same as this:

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/tour-tech-20mm-padded-gig-bag-for-dreadnought-acoustic-guitar

I did in fact buy it from PMT for the £39 mentioned (at the time of writing).

This is now surplus to requirements and so is available for £20, plus postage if you can't collect locally. It's barely used - I took it to one jam to which I had to walk about 100 yards.

My first bass (an Encore unlined fretless P) and amp (Trace Elliot BLX-130 combo) came from ABC in Oxford.

I must have bought them in 1993.
The Encore was sold to by an EUB a few years later but I kept the combo until Covid (sold via this forum).

The jam earlier this week was interesting.

- Bass and drums.

- 2x horn players.

- 2x acoustic guitarists.

The guitarists wanted to call gypsy jazz tunes and the horn players were more into modal hard bop stuff, which the guitarists struggled to play as chugging chords doesn't really work on that sort of thing.
 

On 15/03/2024 at 16:57, Kevsy71 said:

I've just had my bow rehaired by Rob Bray at http://www.braystrings.com/bow-rehair/  , with postage and return via a dedicated cardboard bow tube I bought from thestringzone.com.

Fast service and I'm pleased with the coarse-black rehair, and the bow was cleaned too. Recommended!

By what means were you able to send the bow?
I suspect that Royal Mail/Parcelforce won't be keen given that mine would cost £800 to replace if they break it.
If there's reasonably cheap and insured postage this sounds like a good service. I'm finding it difficult to track down coarse black hair.

5 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

I think there’s bound to be some people who can’t make up new music in their head (

i.e. make up a tune and ‘hear’ it, similarly there are people who say they can’t visualise. 
 

My other half claims to be unable to visualise anything (a shame, as it's a useful ability), yet to constantly have music playing in her head.

I am able to enjoy both the internal music and also to visualise things.

This one may perhaps be entertaining (I enjoyed the lyrics):
 

FWIW I've gigged with two different pianists who also happen to be physicists and are notable enough to have Wikipedia pages.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hopkins_(musician)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Marshall_(academic)

It definitely needs to coordinate. I spent a while choosing this for a new instrument (apologies for it being a guitar). 

This one:

It's got a neck and body by WD Music with Villex pickups. The strings are currently Labella gold tapewounds. It sounds awsome and I even have a T-shirt with it on (a gift)...
It rarely gets out these days because, inevitably, everyone wants double bass instead.

17 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

 

That middle one could also be a rootless Em9 with the b3 at the bottom, IIRC. A favourite of mine.
There's lots of fun to be had with jazz chords!

Samsung. Years ago I bought a Galaxy Nexus. After a couple of weeks it stopped connecting to 5GHz wifi, and other owners found the same thing. Samsung's customer services were slow and incompetent, simply reinstalling the operating system (a task I could easily do myself) and returning the still-broken item to me - three times.
More recently, my parents mistakenly purchased an oven/grill from them. It was so bad it could barely even make toast, and never worked well even after several visits from a technician.
Also, their "smart" televisions are a bit dodgy when it comes to privacy.

Personally, I have never liked the B string, not even on a bass I had with a 38" scale (it did make playing some tunes easier, though).

I ordered a set of custom strings from Pyramid (E-C) for the other half's 5-string (23.5" scale) Bee and took these to a good tech. When he handed it back he said something along the lines of "amazing tone from the B string on that bass. I'd never have guessed it would work on such a short scale."
A look at the packets (which I'd never bothered to open) confirmed that Pyramid had ignored my instructions and sent a B-G set instead.

IMO the B string is unimpressive on this small bass guitar, but at least that tech liked it.