Newfoundfreedom

The Smart Harmony is one of the built in effects on the M13. The M13 does the whole job, other than splitting the signal. That's where the ABY comes in. It has one button which switches between A and B ( let's say A is your faux guitar and B the bass ) and another button which switches both on simultaneously.(Y) So say for example you want to do a guitar only intro. You would hit button 1 so A was lit up then hit button 2 when you want to bring in the bass.(Y) If you wanted to do a bass only intro then you would hit button 1 until B lights up. Then hit button 2 to bring the guitar in.(Y) While both are active (Y mode) you can press button 1 to toggle between A and B which gives you the option of dropping out of Y mode (both instruments playing together) into your choice of either either A or B (i.e bass or guitar). It's difficult to explain but it's actually really easy to use in practice. Basically you can play either "instrument" on its own, or both together, and also preselect which of the two plays when you come out dual (Y) mode. I'm actually thinking of getting another one to further split the guitar signal and run to a second guitar amp for a full on 2 guitar plus bass "band". That would allow me any combination of bass / guitar 1 / guitar 2, but I'm still trying to figure out if there's a better way to do it with the gear I already have.

I do pretty much the same thing with a Fender ABY pedal and my Line 6 M13. The ABY pedal splits the signal. One goes to my bass rig, the other to the M13 for the dummy guitar. This gives the option of switching between bass / guitar, or bass and guitar simultaneously. On the M13 I run an octaver, then tube distortion, then smart harmony, which basically gives me a power chord on guitar when I play a single note on the bass. This then runs out to my Vox valvetronic guitar amp where I can add amp simulation and / or numerous other effects. It works quite well and is pretty much indistinguishable from an actual guitar playing power chords, although it's obviously limited to playing the same notes as you play on bass, which means it only really works well with simple bass lines. I've also just sent for a BeatBuddy (drum machine pedal) so I can add drums into the mix while I'm playing bass and guitar parts for a modern day one man band. At least that way, if any of the band members are going to turn up for practice p!ssed and unrehearsed it will be me. ☺️

Utter dross. I've never been a massive Who fan. They were a bit before my time. But if that's the best lyrics they can write after 50 odd years of making music, it's time to pack it up.

It's definitely worth the money, being a limited addition "base" guitar.

Mine's barely a practice amp.

Not much danger of that happening to me.

Sound like a bloody boring band to me. 😉

I wasn't even the most reliable bass player in the band.

I actually get it, and have myself done it. While the wording from the OP comes across as a bit "throwing your teddy out of the pram" I don't think that was the intention. If you are no longer getting enjoyment from doing something, and genuinely believe that the enjoyment has gone for good, then why sit on a load gear, clogging up space and gathering dust, when you can sell it and put it towards something else? I also understand how a person might be lured back into it by a friend and a bit of rose tinted glasses mentality, only to rediscover why they'd had enough of it in the first place. Sounds perfectly reasonable to me, and it's not like he's the first person in history to use this forum to have a bit of a rant and blow off some steam.

Oh yeah. I'd forgotten any this. It would be good to get an update from the OP as to whether the gig went ahead and if so, how it went? @shoulderpet

Sorry to hear that mate. But from what you'd said it was looking like it was going to be fairly inevitable. At least you know where you stand now. Fingers crossed that you can find a replacement.

I'll be honest. The band name put me off a bit and I almost didn't listen. But I'm glad I did. Some really good stuff there.

I agree with this 100%. I was, and am in the latter category, and was perfectly upfront about that fact before our band even got together. I'd also be in agreement with the O P's guitarist and bass player. Although I wouldn't want to be cancelling gigs. I wouldn't want to commit to a gig months in advance either when holidays often work around booking them at the right time and at the right price, which is sometimes last minute. But I also wouldn't expect the rest of the band to put themselves on hold if the band is their priority, which is the reason I left my band. It would be different if it was a living, but if it's just a hobby or a bit of pocket money? As Chris says above. Oil and water. Other than not taking bookings more than a couple of weeks in advance. Sadly, I don't think there's really a way forward when everyone is on a different page. Trying to get everyone in a band to agree is like simultaneously herding cats and plaiting fog. This will be me at my next gig.

My back hurts just looking at the picture.

I recently made a cheeky offer on eBay. The item was listed at £250 so I put in an offer of £200. To be fair I didn't think I'd get it at that, but you've got to start negotiations somewhere. The seller came back with a counter offer of £245 and made it clear that this would be his final and only offer. Very generous I thought.

I'm kind of on the other side of this. It all depends on what level of professionalism, expectation and life commitment the various band members are wanting from the band. I've just left (broken up) my band for similar reasons. I made it perfectly clear before we even got together and played a note that to me it was nothing more than a hobby and I didn't want to be out gigging every weekend. Which at the time everyone was fine with. Then a few months in the goal posts were moved, 12 gigs in 10 weeks plus weekly practice in between and I'd had enough. I just couldn't maintain that kind of time commitment, even if I had wanted to. So it's all well and good making the guitarist the villain in the story, but it just sounds to me like he's retired and wants to chill out. Why should be put his life and retirement on hold for the band if he can get a last minute cheap cruise to the Bahamas and enjoy his retirement? I think holiday dates are the least of your problems. You need to sit down and have a serious chat about what everyone is expecting from the band, because if you're expecting to be booking gigs months in advance and everyone to build the rest of their lives around that, it sounds to me like you're going to be looking for another guitarist.

I've never seen the point in gigging (or even playing with) expensive gear. I mean if you want to go out and pay top dollar for boutique stuff, and you have the funds to do so, then fair play. But there's absolutely no "need" to. You can get a great sounding rig for very little money these days. My whole setup cost me about £750 (which to me is still not by any means cheap) split fairly eventfully between bass £250, amp £250, cabs £250, and it sounds superb! So in answer to the original question, absolutely! If it sounds good and gets the job done, use it.

I totally get that. For me that would be the ultimate buzz, but only if the song I was playing was an original. I can't imagine a better feeling than hearing a crowd singing back lyrics that came out of my head. Something that didn't exist until I created it. That would be superb! If they're just singing along to Wonderwall or some such, I may as well just be a CD player.

Maybe that's why I don't enjoy it. I'm probably not enough of a narcissist. I don't like being up there in front if a crowd at all. I find the whole thing extremely uncomfortable.

In glad it's not just me. It doesn't look any worse than any other Fender I've ever seen.

Fender ABY foot switch. You can pick them up for around £15 - £20

It worked for Alice Cooper. Although it still took him many years to get over using alcohol as a crutch.

People who met me would no doubt say I'm an extrovert. But a lot of that is due to the mask I've been wearing for so long that I don't know how to act any other way. I suffer terribly with anxiety and depression. But no one outside of my close circle of friends and family would know it or believe it. When you see me I'll be wearing my mask of confidence. If the mask slips, you won't see me. I guess that's partly what I find so difficult about gigging. I never know what mindset I'll be in on the day, and once a gig is booked there's nowhere to hide.

Thanks. That's exactly the way I've been looking at it. The band members are all good friends, so the last thing I would want to do is drag everyone else back and cause bad feeling. It's all been extremely amicable. It had just become obvious that we all wanted different things from being in a band. It's been a great experience and for the most part I've absolutely loved it. I just couldn't continue at the pace we were going. We played our final gig as a 6 piece on Sunday afternoon and it was great. Outdoors, walled hotel beer garden, sunshine, swimming pool, charity auction. It was a really nice afternoon and a great way to wind things down. I will actually miss it. The hardest part was explaining to the compare that this was our final gig when he came over to congratulate us on how good we sounded. He just couldn't get his head around us packing it in when we were such a "great band" (his words not mine)

A general hatred of the great unwashed would certainly qualify.