musicbassman

Has anyone still got a Bells catalogue? I can remember getting overexcited about WEM PA columns...... and the Audiomaster....just look at all those knobs !!! Just 48 payments of £13/8/6d a month !!!!

I think what you are playing is spot on. F# G A F# E D C

I think you've slightly missed the point, mikel.

Well, here's a few ideas from the pros...

Well, assuming that it's a four string bass then the E string is tuned getting on for a quarter of a tone sharp ? The weird thing is that sometimes it sounds worse than other times. The bridge part of the song based on Bb just confirms it's only the E string that's out. We can surely only speculate as why nobody picked up on this. Maybe the studio air was so thick with waccy baccy that it interfered with the soundwaves... 😵

I wouldn't bother moving round here - i live near Portsmouth and I've been looking for a decent covers/functions band anywhere within a 30 mile radius for over 12 months now. It's not that I'm not passing auditions - there simply haven't been any good quality established bands looking for a bass player, apparently. And I advertise myself everywhere I can think of incl. FB.

Yup, come across this many times at auditions. The worse thing is there's always ONE member of the band (the guitar widdler or keyboard player) who will take your polite suggestion that their particular choice of chord is.... er... 'unusual' as a gross personal insult - so you won't get the gig anyway - you're obviously going to be a threat to their status in the band.

British legion Club, 1990’s. Gig on the Sat night before Remembrance Sunday. Band in full flow. Committee Chairman comes on stage shouting: “Turn it off” !! Me (in the middle of singing harmony part): “What” ?? Committee Chairman: (purple face like thunder) “Turn the music off !! All of it! Now!!” I indicate to the band to stop playing, the drummer the last to catch on, as you might expect. Committee Chairman: “You’ve broken the Remembrance Day Plate, the one we put the Ashes on, on Remembrance Sunday” Turns out that in the bands break, the drummer had gone into the dressing room and tried to switch on an electric cooker in there, to warm the place up a bit. But he’d only succeeded in switching on a high level grill which he’d unknowingly left on full blast and this had eventually shattered a large ceramic platter which had been sitting directly on top of the cooker. Realising we’d made some dreadful faux pas relating to the Remembrance Sunday Service memorial proceedings we were full of the most humble apologies . It was only later when talking to another Committee member I realised the Chairman had actually been shouting “the one we put the sandwiches on, on Remembrance Sunday” I wished my apologies had been a little less profuse.

For those technophobe BCers like me not suffering from perpetual GAS, please could you explain what this is, what you hope it might do, and why it's important ? I'm not being sarcastic, I'd genuinely like to know.

I was 16 at the time and I was certainly doing it wrong

Year: 1970 Place: large youth club in the wrong part of Exeter. Job: Dodgy local band with a stand in lead guitarist as we'd had a massive row the previous day and regular guitarist had flounced off, taking his homemade Les Paul copy with him. It became clear soon after we shakily started the first number that we were really there just to provide some background music whilst there was a massive brawl between two rival gangs of skinheads which soon took up the entire dance floor. It was serious stuff and we were close to trouser soiling in case the rival gangs decided to vent their frustrations on the band instead. We stopped after four numbers as the police arrived. I've never been so glad to have a reason to stop playing. It was the bands first and last gig.

It's a generation thing also - some people of my age (60's) both male and female are still unreasonably impressed if they find out I play bass and follow up by asking the usual rather naive questions. Whereas kids in their 20's or 30's who find out the same thing are completely uninterested. Or in one case looked up from her phone and said "Well, if you were playing in bands in the 1970's why weren't you famous ???" I didn't sleep well that night... 😳 😳 😥

Yup, this thread is turning into a secret confessional - oh, the shame we feel when we discover we've been doing it the 'wrong' way. It's like discovering that some people stand up to wipe their bums while others remain seated...

You lucky, lucky guy ! I, (and I guess many other BCers) never had any teachers even remotely like this at their school

Isn't it good to be on a forum where people can openly admit to possible gaps in their musical knowledge and don't get immediately crucified and name-called by others ? Meanwhile, I shall continue trying to avoid hearing "Top 10 Eurovision Songs You Won't Believe You Don't Know ! ", or something similarly clickbaity on YT...

Totally groovy !

Jeez - these guys must be about 40, and here they are still 'rebelling' against their parents with their stoner rock. C'mon lads, give it a rest, lay off the drugs and maybe try listening to some other types of music with what's left of your hearing.

Some of you may already know of Nahre Sol and watch her videos. I know of her via Adam Neely. She posted this piece yesterday about YouTube negativity - she has quite a large following and it would seem that the recent performance piece she posted didn't ...er...go down too well with some viewers The comments make an interesting read also.

I suppose that must also apply to an event that took place on 23rd June 2016...

Many years ago I came across an Irish heavy metal band called 'Third Effect' ...Oh, go on, say it....

It's just a form of pointless verbal vandalism. People who have no status or influence in their lives can resort to this - it's all they have to offer. It's a bit like local yoofs beating up the bus shelter, throwing litter around or throwing stones at fire engines - it's the only way to make them feel like they are getting noticed or are important. Apparently having your face tattooed is another sensible option sometimes chosen... .

So, here's Ced Mitchell doing a great bass cover of 'Make Daddy Proud' by Blackbear. Excellent playing - great phrasing, musicality and feel. And then, if that wasn't good enough, along comes Dunkan Robertson and does an even more incredible arrangemnt of Ced Mitchells' arrangement... Lots to like here, methinks, and anyone ever says bass playing is stuck in a rut, here's evidence to the contrary. Enjoy.

Thanks to everyone for their sympathetic and thoughtful replies. Well - I've bitten the bullet and joined Facebook. I have to wait to get access to 4 FB groups I've joined, I will report back when I've had a chance to see what's about. They each appear as if they could be useful, but will the reality live up to the expectations ? Watch this space. 🤞

Because I had gigged constantly for 30 years I must admit it's something I really missed when I stopped. For decent function work, it's not really an income stream I'm looking for, it's more about the satisfaction of playing live in nice venues and being appreciated, and equally it's the delight of working with quality musicians who really know their chops and are absolute professionals in their attitude. So, no Dad rock down the Dog and Duck for me, thanks, and also I don't really want to be in a band where I have to tell the keyboard player he's clearly playing the wrong chord.

If only it was that simple, HappyJack. I gigged continuously for 30 years in numerous different cover bands 1971 - to 2001, then I'd had enough and stopped playing for 16 years. I retired 18 months ago and decided to take up playing again. But the world I left in 2001 was mostly pre digital and many of the bands, musicians, agents and venues I knew have closed, retired...or, ahem, are no longer with us. It's a different world out there now. I'm confident my playing is back up to scratch and I'm sure there's a bass gig out there somewhere, but I feel I'm not sourcing it. Which is why I'm on here asking for advice.