Billleivers

I'm 72 and moved to North Dorset almost 3 years ago from Leicestershire, where I played in 3 different bands. My original plan was to carry on playing in my old bands and drive up for gigs etc - that didn't work out - 3.5 hours of ravelling and the A303 put paid to it! I wouldn't say that North Dorset is a hotbed of contemporary music excellence, but I decided that I didn't want to hang up why bass on the wall quite yet. I posted in on my village Facebook page, you know, bass player seeks musicians to make sweet music with, and eventually got a reply from a local guy. His band just lost their bass player and they were looking for a suitable candidate. Got together with them, had a chat and a jam and it all fell into place. Turns out to be a really cool band, some very tasty, funky original songs. I'm now playing the best gigs in my entire music career - just as I thought I was done! The moral of my story is: don't give up, you never know what's round the next corner - and age really doesn't seem to be an issue. In my experience, If you can play the stuff, make a good sound, are physically capable of playing sometimes quite arduous gigs and get on with people, there will always be opportunities out there if you look form them.

Not exactly amp-less, but I've simplified my set up recently. Having an active bass, a Sansamp in my pedal board train and an amp head, I felt as though my signal was drowning in different eq's! I now use an EBS Microbass preamp, outputting to a Phil Jones Bass PB300 250 watt powered cab. Nice clean sound, enough whooph, with pa support and great di.

Small festival in a field in Shaftesbury, North Dorset, with Jamarca. Good gig, nice pa, good sound guy and great sound. After our set I had a little chat with the bass player in the next band up - nice guy, nice G@L bass. When they started, he absolutely tore it up - Chilli Peppers, Sir Duke (with horn solo!). Ever been in that situation that you're super impressed, but hoping he makes a balls up somewhere along the line. Alas he didn't! Just as I hoped he wouldn't start slapping - there he goes! It also turns out that the band is an informal pick-up band who have barely rehearsed together. That's it - bass on eBay tonight!

Hi I play in similar mixed environments and went over to Phil Jones gear few years ago - never looked back! I have a 150 watt Flightcase combo which In use for acousticy/quieter gigs and add a PB300 250 watt powered speaker when I need more whoomp. 400 very genuine a clean watts is loud enough for any rock gigs I do, and for anything bigger, there's always pa support anyway. It's quite pricy gear, but very high quality and well made

Maybe a strings issue? I use D'Addario nickels on my Lakland and pops sound clear, loud and bright

Hi I went done the path of in ears a while ago. I went for moulded, as attenuation of ambient sound is also very important to me. I got a pair of ACS Engage, 2 driver mouldeds, £400. TBH I'm disappointed with them. Sound is not great, but neither is my hearing, so I may be doing them a disservice! The advice I wasn't given was go for min. 3 drivers for bass. In hindsight, that would be what i should have done, but shelling out £600 for something I wasn't sure was right for me was a bit of a risk, especially as mouldeds have nil resale value!

Never plucking fingers, but sometimes fretting hand - especially if I've been playing a lot of octave stuff. Curse you disco music and Bernard Edwards! Don't mean that - I idolise him!

It's weird how sometimes what is revving up to be a horrific gig turns out to be great. I did a wedding gig in Bath with Duncan Oakley a while back. It was is a posh marquee at the back of a posh house, home of the bride's posh family. The groom was a South African BMX rider and his somewhat feral family had flown over from Capetown. The speeches went on forever, and then food didn't arrive until gone 9.00, after everyone had been quaffing champers for 2 hours - so, diametrically opposite families, all whizzed, when we finally got on stage. Could have been carnage, but amazingly everyone got on great and then dance floor was full from first number. Abiding memory was looking up halfway through Tainted Love to see a dog riding past on a skateboard! Another wedding in Bristol started off bad and got worse. Location was a village hall and we had to set up and sound check during the meal and speeches behind the stage curtain. Ever tried sound sound checking without making any noise?! Second number, the American groom wanted to sing My Girl with us - just play it exactly like the Temptations he said. However, we got to the key change in verse 3 and changed key - he didn't, so we went back to the original key while he did the key change. It went down hill from there onwards!

I use Spirocore Solos and tune to concert. Low tension, dead easy to play but still retain the Spirocore sound

Some great advice re switching etc. To be honest, I use a silent plug lead to avoid pops and bangs and ramp up the gain on my amp for the EUB. Works fine for me. Probably worth touching on dealing with the difference in scale length between EUB and bass guitar. It sometimes catches me out when I go back to bass guitar , ie hitting F sharp on the A string instead of E! Soon get acclimatised though!

Near Loughborough, Leicestershire

Thanks - yes, if I'm getting more ambient sound than I want, it might as well be low frequencies!

Yep. its a mistake to think that people aren't enjoying it just because they're not jumping around like maniacs!

21st birthday party in a village hall nearby. We played 2 sets and literally nobody responded to anything - no applause, no dancing, not even any heckling. When we'd finished , well whizzed off, the birthday girl came up to us and said we were great - so why the bloody hell didn't you acknowledge our existence?! Silver lining - birthday girl's dad booked us for a cricket tournament evening shindig and we've played it every year for 3 years now.

Thanks again guys for the advice.. Acoustic neuroma - thanks Skidder. I had an MRI scan to eliminate that possibility. TBH I'm terrified of a possible Menieres diagnosis, but if that's what I have, it's very atypical, ie no vertigo, and it's not episodal. Looking on the bright side, I can do everything I want to do right now, despite the tinnitus and distortion. Hearing aids help in normal life and I can get by with moulded ear plugs for most gigs. I've got hold of a pair of EX29's which are great and promising for live work. However, low frequency sound isolation is pretty poor, but I guess thats true of all over ear headphones. I just hope my symptoms don't get significantly worse, as that might well be game up. If that's the case, to quote a cliche, I've had a bloody good innings! I'm 67, been playing for 45 years and had some great times and played some amazing gigs. If you told me 45 years ago that I'd still be playing now, I wouldn't have believed you!

Bit late to the party, but this is my Lakland 4.94, hand built by Ed Reynolds in Chicago in 2004. It has a chambered body, birdseye maple neck and '65 Jazz pick up in the neck position. Love it. It plays itself!

Bit late to the party , but I often use my Sansamp as a preamp, driving a Phil Jones PB300 powered cab. Absolutely no problems and sounds great. TBH for most of my gigs, 250 watts is fine and it's mega easy set up.

Thanks again for the help and advice guys. I'm really grateful. I suspect my problem with distortion isn't helped, or even made worse by my ACS in ears. I will try a good pair of over ear headphones and see what happens. Getting a mix is no problem and other members of the band use in ears and we all have individual mixes/feeds. Been looking at Audio Technical ATH M50's - any opinions about these? I messaged with Dave Swift of Jules Holland's band and he swears by UE in ears and a Porter and Davies platform. Expensive options though! Cheers Bill

Cheers guys and thanks for the support. I'm using 2 driver ACS in ears at the moment. Not the best, but still cost 400 quid! I guess I'm not alone in facing these sorts of challenges, though sometimes it feels that way! My ears vary quite a bit and sometimes the distortion is less, however it's been pretty much the same now since July so not sure `I'm going to get any improvement. The only light tab the end off the tunnel is that, I gather, drugs are being developed to regenerate cochlea hair cells and therefore cure hearing loss and progress is looking quite hopeful. The treatment could be available in 2020. I live in hope!

I'd really appreciate some advice guys. It's a long story, but after 40 years of playing, my hearing has been a huge issue for me over the last 2 years. My previously good ear (left) suffered some sort of trauma - maybe noise exposure or infection related , or could be onset of Menieres disease and has left me with debilitating hearing loss. The biggest issue is distortion and poor interpretation of lower frequencies, which makes listening to and playing music quite difficult. My right ear is not great , but I can hear lower frequencies quite well in that ear. I have continued to rehearse and gig but it has been a big struggle and very distressing, compared to how I used to be! I have already given up playing in loud bands as my ears just can't cope with high stage volume. I have good moulded ear plugs which are OK in some circumstances and moulded in ears, which I am having difficulties with, as it seems that the nearer the sound source to my ear drum the more distortion I get. I'm toying with the idea of using high quality headphones on stage, as the distortion seems to be much more manageable when I practice with headphones. Anybody tried using headphones on stage , or any other ideas that might help me? I know it might look a bit weird, but I'm happy to look weird if it means I can carry on playing! TBH I think this is my last throw off the dice before I reluctantly bring my 40 year playing career to a close. I'm desperate not to, but sometimes I think the battle is too hard. Cheers Bill

Yep, playing too bloody fast did it! In reality, utter stupidity. Getting underseal off a campervan with a heat gun and white rags with white spirit. Doh!

Thought I'd update you on my original post guys. Without sounding over dramatic, things got rapidly worse soon after. ENT appointment revealed that I have sensoneural hearing loss on my left ear to go with the hearing loss I've had for years in my right ear. So, though very late in the day, had a steroid injection which amazingly brought back a bit of hearing. Shortly after this, i managed to set fire to my left hand (don't ask!) and suffered 2nd and 1st degree burns to most of my hand. It doesn't rain but it pours! So, for two reasons, ice not been able to play or rehearse for 6 months. Now the good bit! My hand has now almost fully recovered and I've kept almost full dexterity in my fingers. A musicians glove helped me with initial tentative playing but is now unnecessary. Just recently, miraculously, my hearing suddenly improved, I know not how or why, and I can now hear music in tune and hear bass frequencies much better. I have fantastic hearing aids which help everyday and moulded ear plugs and in ear monitors for playing and rehearsing. I've been rehearsing with no problems and playing my come back gig on Saturday with an acoustic set on my upright. I survived a 2 hour rehearsal on upright this week and my left hand was fine if s but achy. With the moulded in ear monitors, I get great attenuation and can control exactly how much sound I hear, even with the band playing st high volume. So, I feel as if I've come back from the dead! I thought my hearing problems were terminal as regards playing, ditto my injured hand. I guess I underestimated the body's recuperative powers! Just hope my hearing doesn't regress, but no sign after 3 weeks. I'm being ultra careful from now on and taking no risks. I guess the moral is- don't give up, don't lose hope. It's bloody amazing what the body and the brain can do!

Another weird thing for me is hearing different notes in each ear at some frequencies. Not sure which is the right one! I've not tried playing upright for a while but I'm sure getting intonation right is gonna be a nightmare. Just listening to music is impossible because its complete discordant mess.

Thanks guys. It's definitely not outer ear wax build up. Just gonna have to get a private ENT referral so there's a fighting chance I can get it sorted it time to avoid total meltdown!

Not sure if anyone else is going through what I'm going through right now but any help/support would be appreciated! I've had hearing problems and tinnitus in my right ear for years and lived with it quite happily. However, my left ear had been blocked for 3 weeks now and it's driving me crazy! Massive tinnitus sounding like a waterfall! It's been diagnosed as Eustachian tube dysfunction and I've tried everything advised by doctor and online sources (and some not necessarily advised!) but no solution. Both ears seem to blocked and it's robbed me of almost all of my hearing in my good ear. Lower frequencies are just a mush and distorted (which is a bit of a bugger for a bass player!) so it's uncomfortable listening to music and impossible to play. I've got a lot of rehearsals and gigs looming with my 2 bands but can't see me being able to do any of them at this rate. Band mates are so far very understanding but this can't go on for much longer. Will get to see the doc again as soon as poss but it will be the same message - keep on with decongestant spray and inhale steam. Thinking of getting a private ENT appointment as NHS appointment I gather could be 8 weeks. Having trouble seeing any light at the end of the tunnel right now and getting really uptight about it. Anyone else had this problem and if so, how did you resolve it? I'd really appreciate any ideas/support/advice as I'm starting to contemplate life as an ex bass player, something I dread.