musicbassman

.....and don't overlook the simple and basic engineering principle in use for a standard tuner - this is the worm gear drive which is self locking by nature - otherwise string tension could never be maintained. There are other engineering solutions but they are only marginally better and cost prohibitive e.g. Rick Toone's wet dreams for engineers as above!

Geez, I can remember having to do gigs like this - where you're playing through gritted teeth and praying for the performance to end, 'cos you know the band will NEVER sound any better than it does at that moment, and that's so depressing............

Sounds like it's time you sat down with your BL or whoever is (or was) a significant driving force in the band and tried to find out where they see the band going from here on.

Maybe they've just lost interest in the current format and are more interested in the new project. Is it original material you've been doing in the current band? How has it been going down? Negative audience response puts a dampener on things more quickly than someone's slightly ropey playing, IMO.

Whatever you do, plan your strategy carefully! Best of luck.

Interesting...........

Generally, I never tell people that I used to play bass professionally back in the day, as they'll usually say something dumb like "Well why weren't you famous then".

And as for actually playing/performing to prove that this is really what I can do, I agree with Barking Spiders and Marc S  - play something well known but not exactly technically demanding and they'll wet themselves with awe and wonder...................

Oh dear, that was supposed to be a gif. What have I done wrong?

Here's the link to original -

http://izismile.com/2018/02/09/daily_gifdump_30_gifs.html

- Just a little Sat morning amusement for you......................

Well, respects to Scott (who does get a bit of stick from some people) for admitting he can't quite get this technique right, and asking for other peoples suggestions.

I can't offer any suggestions, but it certainly is a bit Victor Wooten-ish.................

My 1982 Squier '57 style Precision (yes, one of the very first, with the large Fender logo) is 43mm, so very slightly less than the expected 1 3/4"

..........and it's very nice to play, thankyou!

This is an ad showing on Join my Band at the moment (Hampshire)

I feel sorry for the guy if this really is the case. But I'm glad to see he still shows the usual bass players natural sense of stoicism and humour.

Yup, Sibob beat me to it -  they'll certainly be very loud, but they'll put an extra load on the neck so I guess you're very likely to need to adjust the truss rod to compensate.

But I disagree with Sibob about 'not much tension difference' - you might find you need a new set of fingers as well.......................

31 minutes ago, peteb said:

I’ve just agreed to do a bit of work with a band over the next few months who take a different approach. Their advert (if they had needed to put one out) might have read: 

“Well established high energy R&B band need experienced bass payer to cover gigs for a few months while our regular bassist undergoes medical treatment. Must be able to cover a relatively easy set with no rehearsal. A variety of different types of gigs are in the book for this period, all with reasonable pay. Don’t worry if you have other commitments as we are happy to use more than one bass player to cover these gigs”.

What would you think of that advert and would you be interested?

I know this is a metaphorical ad, but fat chance of any opportunities like this coming up around here (South Coast UK)

It's apparently a gig desert in this location, so even if a band wanted to play more than 5-6 gigs a year they may struggle to manage this.

7 hours ago, Bluewine said:

I'd love this type of opportunity.

I could care less about alcohol.

Blue

Dear Blue, you're obviously a lovely guy, but....................... 

Can someone explain the difference (if any) between flatwounds and tapewounds?

I've always used roundwounds so this is a bit of a mystery to me.

That looks an interesting buy.

Care to give some more details?  - about the bass and also the auction site?

17 hours ago, Barking Spiders said:

Weren't  the basslines to Hyperactive by Thomas Dolby and  Frankie GTH's Two Tribes done on a Fairlight? Quite difficult to get the exact sounds on tha bass

I think Hyperactive is more about the exact muting and note length than the exact sound.

And as for Two Tribes, here's Trevor Horn doing a pretty fair job.................

Oh, that is so delicious!

Never heard that track before.

Yum yum.

9 hours ago, thepurpleblob said:

Are we talking covers? It takes a reasonable amount of effort to learn a full set. With a bit of experience, you can do it in a weekend but the experience really is knowing what you can leave out. 

The trick, I think, is to keep it moving. It's VERY easy to get stuck practicing the same five songs. 

Having said that, I now avoid startup bands like the plague. I'd much rather join a gigging band.

This.

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 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 band say they want 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.

3 hours ago, Fastra said:

I use one of these, and it works perfectly....

https://www.gak.co.uk/en/vox-amplug-2-headphone-amp-bass/103325?gclid=Cj0KCQiA-ebSBRC8ARIsAGuxJIqIx_8Z28xdqBUpRmDKuhIMbGWpiIhWa7E3NfwoKLnuyNdLq6yFEPoaAvFsEALw_wcB

Yes, I also use one of these all the time. So simple, and with a line input and a rhythm box also.

With a decent pair of 'phones it's difficult to fault.

That's a labour of love - well done!

Are you planning on labelling them all, or is it a chance for bass players to see how many  of these they can name?

In my first band (1968) I was playing 'rhythm guitar' on a Watkins Rapier 33 and the bass player bought a brand new Domino bass. I think it was £75, and was an absolute bottom of the range beginners bass.. A take home wage for a manual worker would have been about £15 per week then, so equal to five weeks wages.

Obviously by current standards this instrument was almost unplayable, and now you can buy a perfectly playable instrument for less than one weeks take home pay.

Yes, there might be some slightly dodgy labour practices (viewed from our Western sensibilities), but I would guess it's more down to modern machinery and economies of scale than anything else.

Too cheap? Well that's the laws of supply and demand. But if beginners can start on good playable instruments then surely that's no bad thing.

Take great care here. I would think it really is worth using headphones, otherwise it could become an ever escalating war of words/volumes with your neighbour, until you reach the point where your 'right' to make a noise becomes more important to you than the actual practising.

Also, if you are an owner occupier you are legally obliged to declare any disputes with neighbours when you come to sell up and move on - and a poor history here can create major problems for you, regardless of whether the disputes were your 'fault' or not....................

A little bit of New Year magic..............

Ha ha, just so painful to watch on many levels - the guitar 'solo' is pure shred.

 -- and watch this on YouTube and read the comments from the usual collection of useful idiots saying stuff like "What's wrong with this anyway? - I think it's just fine" and "Much, much better than the original"............

OK, so I'm just working through The Whispers  'And the Beat Goes On'.

There's quite a few interpretations/demonstrations of the bass line on YouTube, and most players play the main riff using an open D, like Huw Foster does here. I personally find it more difficult to get accurate damping with the open D, so I'd choose to play this starting on the B on the E string, so it's all fretted.

Have a listen, and maybe try this. How would you choose to play this ?