musicbassman

What's with this obsession with tuners? Don't you trust your ears?

Here's something from a couple of months ago on another thread: So, for a covers band, always try and join an already well established band with solid gig and personnel history If a recent 'audition' for a new start up covers band I went to is anything to go by, I'm going to be looking for decent gig for a good while yet.................. So, I turn up on time at the audition, having learnt (or refreshed my memory) of numbers the bandleader says he wants to run through for my audition. - Drummer listens to song for first time ever, and starts trying to work out drum parts. - Keyboard player announces he might already be leaving the band because of work pressures (!) - Lengthy argument between drummer and guitarist about someone else's wife, and what she did or didn't do. - Huge sulks from keyboard player when I merely suggest that one of the chords he's playing might not be correct? And these are guys in their 50's, who apparently have been gigging for years in various bands...................a complete waste of time, they're never going to be gigging.

London, late 1977. I’ve been working as a ‘pro’ bass player (not having to get up in the mornings) since ’73, but am frustrated at having to keep on taking gigs just because they’ll pay the rent, to hell with finding a band with talent or potential. So here’s yet another band doing the smarter end of the functions circuit – well paid work in those days – looking for a replacement bass player. They don’t want to give me a set list – fair enough, they want to see how quickly I can learn a number on the spot, including quite complex harmony arrangements. So I’m asked to go to rehearsal studios in Walthamstow. The band seem OK, although the front singer seems very intense, to say the least. The audition is pretty demanding but going OK, until it comes to ‘Jive Talkin’ (BeeGees) The bass on this is all synth bass, and has a low C as a root note (first fret on the B string on a 5 string these days) Back then I was using a standard 4 string like pretty well every other bass player, and after they’d played the song to me on a tinny cassette player I said I’d obviously have to play it an octave up from the record…………..whereupon the singer suddenly goes absolutely apoplectic, throws his mic down, calls me a useless c*** and storms out the room. It all goes a bit quiet, and then the guitarist says………”yeah, all the bass players we’ve tried come unstuck on this one”………………………… turned out the vocalist was insistent that the bass should ‘sound just like the record’, and had vowed to keep searching until they found a bass player who could make a bass guitar sound like a Moog bass. Tall order. – I mean, why not just get the keyboard player to play it? Cheap mono synths were readily available by then. I never quite understood what was going on there, and needless to say I was relieved not to get to gig with a possibly slightly unhinged singer. .

Regardless of whether you're playing an upside down RH bass or not, the 'one finger per fret' concept is pretty well essential, IMO. So if you have a smaller hand, you'll really need a shorter scale bass to make progress.

............and platform shoes...................

I was gigging pretty solidly throughout the early '70's in various bands, but have very little photographic evidence. Similar story for other musos of that era I know. Such a shame, I really regret this now. Why no pics? - well, buying a roll of film and then having it developed was quite a big deal financially, and there were usually other more important things to spend gig money on - like food, and petrol for the Transit.

That 'lesson' with Carol Kaye.....................is he for real ??? Jawdroppingly appalling and clumsy technique - and he allows someone to put this up on Youtube ??? Carol Kaye is so polite.......like to imagine what she was really thinking............................

No changes seen here - Windows 10 + Firefox

Some PP9's are made up of 6 x AAA batteries, others are made from 6 flat cells. This might explain the slight difference in size. https://www.quora.com/Why-is-a-9V-battery-made-of-6-AAA-batteries

Thanks for your thoughtful remarks, SpondonBassed. Well, chris_b, that sounds a bit harsh to me, and I don't think they'd offer me the gig on those terms - I'm sure they won't want to be phoning round trying to get another bass player if I feel like missing a gig or three. The material is quite tightly arranged and they would expect someone who had learnt the set fully and was absolutely familiar with it - segues etc. I think I would have to offer the band a good potential working arrangement - and then they would want to approve the other bass player (i.e try him/her out on a couple of gigs) before committing to this on a permanent basis. PS - I have already had a couple of BCers contact me about this - they fancy the idea of a job share also!

Thankyou for your valued contribution, fleabag Maybe we should all heed this sensible advice from The Serendipity Singers:

Well, this is either really quite sensible or absolutely bonkers, depending on your point of view................. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-43571144 ...................."acoustic shock", eh ?

Well, this is a bass players forum, and bass players are practical and realistic people, so we can easily agree that we're really just doing 'a job' Playing in a pub or a bar is mainly about entertainment, you're not playing a b*****y Arts Centre. And don't forget some bands or individual band members might like to view themselves as strictly 'musicians' or 'artists' and regard the grubby business of whether the sums add up for the venue as completely beneath them. And as a result have a problem accepting that their jazz noodlings in 7/4 aren't likely to bring that many punters in ..........................

No, it's early days yet Les - I'm just depping with them at present. They may not offer me the gig in any case, but I don't think their current bass player will be returning - he's very ill indeed (Big C). It's rather a delicate subject - he's been in the band a very long time, and the guys are very upset about the situation........... I'm just trying to get some feedback from BCers about the pros and cons of job sharing if I'm offered the gig. Most responses have been along the lines of - yes, if you and the other bass player are super organised, then this should be good. And all bass players are super organised, aren't they ?

The problem is, bazzbass, (and I expect many other BC'ers would agree) - it's pretty tricky finding a regular reliable well established gigging covers band, whatever style, and I would certainly rate playing 60's covers way above C&W or strict tempo. So I'm very pleased to be offered this gig, and quite happy to do it, but it's really just too many gigs to do without erasing most of my social life and the patience of Mrs Musicbassman. I know some peoples social life revolves around their band in any case, but I'm not one of these.

Thanks for your input, guys. Obviously I'll have to make sure that I don't pick someone who wants to hoover up all the gigs - but hey, I was there first - and I can't imagine mature old musos like these either wanting or needing to do this. (FYI stewblack - band mainly works Crawley/Redhill areas) Yes SICbass - exactly - it all sounds so sensible to me - but I don't know what they'd make of the idea - might think it a bit odd. They've been together for many years, and might find the idea a bit new-fangled. You know what old people can be like.....................

So, after a lot of searching for my first gig after a long lay off I've picked up a dep gig with a decent 1960's covers band, and it looks like they'll want me to join permanently. Their old bass player cannot gig any longer due to health issues. They're all v.experienced players aged 60-70 and great people. 1960's music is not really my cup of tea, but they play it very well. This is all good, but they've got far more work than I want to do - they're doing 35-40 dates a year. I'd be happy doing about 20-25. I was considering whether to suggest to them that I job share this position with another bass player (of the same standard) as a permanent arrangement. So this wouldn't mean putting a dep in, but sitting down with another suitable bass player and deciding who was playing which gigs for the next 6 months or whatever. Has anyone experience of this arrangement? Sounds fairly straightforward to me, but other ideas/warnings may be on offer from your good selves.

I played on the USAF bases in Spain in the late '70s We did 6 nights a week, 6 x 45 minute sets per night. Jeez, that was hard, not just for the band but for the equipment too. ......and as for the poor vocalist.....................

So, you want to learn to play 'Rocket Man' on this ?.......... By Thursday?

Bass for sale, heavy reliced finish, mint condition, never played.

1000 Brownie points for your thread title......................... Nick Fyffe was the bass player. Great phrasing, this should be on every developing bass players 'to learn' list.

Blimey, I hope I never come across a Bass Boiler ! Still, at least the strings would sound brighter afterwards.......................

We really need to get some well paid pub gigs..................

Lots of common sense and sensible advice in this thread. I'm a 'one' player - One bass One amp -and err, one pedal (comp). Bass is early '80's PJ. Just about b****y perfect for me. Combining the tone range of this and playing in different styles (both fingers and pick) means I can get most of the way to whatever 'that' sound I want for a particular song is, and no one else except me is going to notice that last little bit of difference. Mind you, I must admit that looking at any quality pics of well worn '60's Fender basses is pure gear porn for me..........*blushes*

Absolutely stewblack, no responses here just because we are all speechless......... ( Actually, must admit that is pretty neat! )