Martley

15 for my first gig on Bass, but had been performing prior to that in a Drum and Bugle Band. Now 66, and ironically this weekend's gig has my oldest friend playing alongside me again - he was there leading the band when were 15 year olds playing a local Church Hall

I've suffered with Osteo Arthritis in multiple joints for more than 10 years, but am still managing to gig. However I am not as fast as I was, and really struggle on faster numbers, some of which I now only play at half tempo. Happily my band do not insist on every line being played exactly as the original, provided the Key riffs are good - we do take some artistic licence! I switched to 30" Short Scale basses (Fender SS Jazz and Mustang) and class D amps. I find it important to keep warm although the first couple of songs always hurt my hands, it does help to do warm up finger exercises before going on. Sometimes my fingers are hurting really badly whilst playing, and I wonder if I will be able to continue, but if I play though it so far it has always eased as I continue, although my fingers do become a little numb. The following day I am always very stiff and sore, and find I have to relax the days before and the day after every gig. It's not just the hands though - my shoulders and spine hurt too. I use a good wide strap, and try to move around on stage to keep mobile, though there isn't always room to do so! We are a Function Band, and often have a lot of hanging around before and between sets. Occasionally I will take pain killers if I feel really sore, but usually the adrenalin will get me through Both Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have very arthritic hands but it doesn't stop them playing stadiums, and I take some comfort from their lead

My band have both - and perhaps get asked once or twice a year. However to my recollection nobody has actually checked when we arrive to play...

I had this issue last year, having bought a damaged Stagg - the end pin had gone up into the body and smashed the pre amp A local Amp Tech installed a G-201 preamp (they are less than £10 online) and it works great and sound good. I did lose use of the headphone out, but my practise rig uses headphones from my amp anyway...

When I was younger I did 20 years as a Kayak Coach - I changed my Kayak every few years, but found if I kept to the same colour the change wasn't noticed. It's what ladies notice about cars too right?

I run a Decorators Merchant - part of an Independent Chain, selling most brands of paint to the Trade and general public. Been there 20 years, and been in the Paint Industry most of my life other than a couple of years when after Redundancy I went selling Insurance for "The Pru"

This was from last year, whilst the black and white was over 40 years ago. The lead guitar player is the same bod in both pictures too...

We passed ours on to some young folks just starting out. They paid a small amount for the full rig, but we were happy to see it put to use and to help the youngsters out. We began gigging at 15, and now in our 60's can still remember how tough it was to get gear together for a full band...

I have a Spider case which is a good fit for my Mustang and Musicmaster basses http://www.spider-engineering.co.uk/industry/product.asp?item=spider-bass-hard-guitar-case-11579-3980

I am another 60 year old who resumed gigging 2 years ago after a long break. I had also been playing at home for a few years - Guitar, Bass and Cigar Box Guitar - after my son decided he wanted to learn to play guitar. As others have said learning resources are much more readily available now via the internet, and the quality is great, so learning is much accelerated. As for the health side of things, I am arthritic and have been for many years. This did concern me when I was asked to audition for a working function band. My solution was (as others have mentioned) to switch my basses entirely to short scale, and my gear to lighweight class D. Yes it hurts to play a gig - particularly the first couple of numbers, but I still love it. I may not be as fast as I once was but I still have a good feel for timing. Like anything else you have to pace yourself, but only you can decide what is right for you

Sadly I am another arthritic old crock, who regularly takes pain killers to get through a working week, and have to be careful to pace myself I have also switched to light weight gear (Fender Rumble) and short scale basses. However I find that that I can usually get through gigs without taking anything - the rush of performing is better than what the medics prescribe!

Several comments here have referred to the principles of "Deliberate Practice" - which research has shown to be the methods adopted by top performers in classical music and some sports (and other fields) In summary - you have to have structure and good work ethic to steadily push the boundaries. There is an excellent book on the subject - "Peak" by Anders Ericsson & Robert Pool.

Seems like there a few of us quiet old timers up here in the grim North! I'm in Burnley...

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1507883103' post='3388488'] Do you think it would be loud enough to jam with a couple of acoustic guitars, without distorting? [/quote] Yeah I have one that I use exactly like that - for vocal rehearsals. I also use it for my home silent practice rig - headphone out from my laptop into the Blackstar's mp3 input then into cans for me to hear the full playalong