Barking Spiders

Bottom line is the average punter doesn't give a monkeys left tit how technically good players are as long as they sound good enough together and know how to entertain. Quite a long time ago I went to see G3 n Brum with Fripp joining Vai and Satriani, praps the most boring gig I've ever been to. In my row we were all stifling yawns and looking at our watches. A week late I went to an ageing Stiff Little Fingers gig and it was a blast but without fancy schmancy guitar heroics. It was a lesson well learned.

Too busy rushing away from mobs of fans in a limo back to my hotel ever to be able to find out . Other than that apart from my 9 year old daughter I don't recall anyone being that interested tbh

Directionless and all over the shop . Yup anything goes pretty much as long as I'm not doing a Bill Wyman stuck in some murky corner. As well all know, deep in their hearts punters know that without the bass, music generally sucks.

9. do you have Jack Daniels Honey Bourbon and chipotle chicken on the rider?

At age 11 if I saw a bass guitar I'd have thought it was a violin or summat. Had zero interest in music then and that would remain the case for the next five years! I was getting wayward then and would've probably been either nicking traffic cones, trying out cider or dousing Airfix planes, in paraffin, lighting them and then launching them out the bedroom window. Not my bag but that lad's very good though. Kudos.

Gotta say that having just read the reviews of the re-issued Area SB-1000RIB in Bass mag I'm sorely tempted to blow most of next month's salary on it. Kids might have to make do with beans on toast for a month

I recently went into a store in Stratford where normally they have blokes who know their stuff but on this day they had two young giggly girls behind the counter more interested in You Tube whatever. I asked for a pack of flatwound strings but one of the two looked at me as if I said summat in Hungarian. I could see they don't know their arses from their elbows and went elsewhere.

Metallica and metal aren't my bag but I respect his ability and like the tone of the low notes

Well I can't and don't wanna play improvised solos. A while back I set myself a target of being able to play 100 fave bass lines off pat which I now can do including a fair few Stevie Wonder, Level 42, Jacko and Japan tunes, several JJ Motown classics and bass classics like Too Shy and Rhythm Stick. Could I jam along to unfamiliar Vic Wootten, Billy Sheehan or Stanley Clarke numbers? Not very well! Do I wanna improve? You bet. Next target up, Stu Hamm's 'Country Music'. A big ask but you've go to aim high even if you don't get there.

I live in Leamington Spa at weekends and often nip into Bass Direct. I'm always tempted but sense always prevails. I've yet to spend more than £500 on any baas or electric guitar.

I started playing flamenco guitar before taking up bass and have never known any other approach than arched . How can you get speed if your fretting hand is parallel?

I've always liked to try out different ways to experiment with my basses including using just 4 strings, all the same gauge but tuned differently, mixing up flatwounds and roundwounds, downtuning all strings to several notes below standard tuning and pulling the strings up and letting go to get a 'thwacking' sound and using them like a hammered dulcimer. I don't always get a great sound TBH so has anyone else got any suggestions for getting interesting noises

I thought being guitarded is having a guitar but unable to play it or being great on Guitar Hero but clueless when presented with a real guitar. I think when peeps talk about too many guitars that INCLUDES basses. They are a type of guitar after all.

I speak as a drummist (as well as a bassist) but what about getting a drum machine instead, seriously? There've been a good number bands with guitarists, bassists and vocalist that used machines e.g. Sisters of Mercy, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry , Curve, Big Black, early Echo and the Bunnymen, Sunn 0)) and I believe quite a few speed metal bands use machines as mot drummers cant keep up. Purists may complain about lack of human touch but you can get that from the singers and guitarists

As mine all came in under £500 I'd only get a few tenners for each so it'd be a waste of time trying to sell 'em. Hypothetically I would. If I had a proper Stingray or a John Taylor type Aria Pro II SB 1000 the answer would be nivver! Don't agree with Daytona Rik who says there are more important things in life. Viz any cherished things, it's not what they are but what they do for you.

Aye, I too thought Sting's stuff was just discarded outtakes from his Police days. Never cared for KoL but I liked the basslines on the tunes they played. I quite liked Banks though methinks Roisin Murphy does this kind of stuff better.

Good choice there with the Brass Construction nom though I' d say a 1980s cover by 400 Blows is even better although the bass is done on keys

I'm far removed from my senses and while I've downsized pretty much viz all other possessions I'm a bit bonkers about instruments. I could cut my basses down from 5 to 3 but I can't bring myself to do this. If space gets tight one of the kids'll have to go. I've got a spare so that's not a problem.

Yes I've seen that clip of the ZZ Top cover. Ha ha, the bloke in this vid is priceless. Mind you, what's with ABC gold lame jacket look? Doesn't really match the music. Anyway, a good explanation by the guy in the OP's clip. As drummer myself I can't stand Keith Moon's playing nor Mitch Mitchell's nor Ginger Baker's. Too busy for the songs and too loose. Give me Ringo over them any day.

I'm no fan of Yes or Rush but I do like Squire's and Lee's tones. As I mostly play funk and general dance stuff though these would never fit

Not a fan of P basses meself. If I were only ever limited to owning one bass it's a toss up between the EBMM Stingray and the Aria Pro II SB-1000. I need three basses at a minimum - my Sterling SUB Ray 4 for funk slap n pop, my Peavey Cirrus BXP 4 for fingerstyle and my Cort B4FL for fretless stuff. The Peavey is good for slap but not as powerful as the SUB. For fingerstyle the Peavey is better as I can rest my digits on the pickup which I cant do with the SUB as it's closer to the bridge.

Afro Celt Sound System in Brum In November. They were also the last band I saw . Then Underworld at Ally Pally next March and errm that's it.

I'd say that the lines for Reach Out and Want You Back are for the more advanced player than what 'every' player should be able to manage

I guess we're nomming stuff that are among the best known riffs but also less tricky to suss than famous but harder to master lines like Rhythm Stick, I Wish, The Real Me etc?

I like playing guitar and bass equally but is there anyone here that used to play or tried out the guitar but preferred the bass. If so, what swung it for you?