PaulWarning

actually I've just thought of a band that's doing very well without a record deal and some older looking members, Ferocious Dogs, the first unsigned band to sell out Rock City, wonder how they did it? nothing too original, bit like the Levellors

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1473084676' post='3126727'] I don't think that songwriting is the problem. There's at least a couple of decent songs in every originals band. And remember that very few "signed" bands are much better. How many albums (that aren't greatest hits/best of) do you own where every song is a classic, and how many times have you bought an album on the strength of a great single only to find that is the only good track on there? The problem most bands have is that they simply don't have the ability to perform those songs in a way that is entertaining to an audience. The number of times I've seen bands struggle to project beyond the edge of the stage or simply play as though they are still in the rehearsal room and the audience might as well not even exist. And with the "product" now being the live performance it should be easier than ever to be able to hone your act so that it entertaining on stage. After all you just need to use your rehearsal room time properly. That's relatively cheap compared with what you used to need in order to make a recording that could compete with what was in the charts. [/quote]no, it's not just the songs, or the performance, and I agree with you about putting on an entertaining show, (although it didn't seem to do Oasis any harm) it's exposure as well, right place right time and all that, and the right age, although I know you don't agree with me on that one, you say you've been gigging all over the place for 6 years, putting loads of hard work in, and fair play to you, but do you really think you are going to progress any further? I know other originals bands who travel all over the country playing gigs and they've got their hard core support but then it's like hitting a brick wall, they never seem to get any further, you need media interest, and I'm not sure what that is anymore apart from TV (Jools Holland?). I've said it before, apart from Sea Sick Steve how many unknown bands 'make it' past 30? But if you're enjoying yourself, great, that's all that counts at the end of the day edit, it depends on what your interpretation of making it is, I suppose mine would be earning enough money from the band to live on without having another job

I'm afraid the majority of newly written music is not very good, as a bit of a songwriter myself, I know, we all think it's good, but it probably isn't, I don't know what the 'x factor is' nobody does otherwise we'd all be writing good songs, as an open mic friend of mine put it as we were watching the performance of a particularly tedious song, "most singer songwriters aren't" doesn't make much sense but I knew exactly what he meant

what's the age of your band? I'm afraid with very few exceptions bands tend to attract the same age group as themselves and older folk, generally, aren't interested in new music, I've said it before, but as rule of thumb, if you've not 'made it' by the time you're 30 it's very unlikely that you will. That's not to say you shouldn't make new music, but it'll be only for yourself and a few followers, my band are working on our next CD but I don't really expect to sell more than a few hundred.

as with a lot of tabs on the web, it's a useful guide but nor entirely accurate, I generally have a look at several, decide which one is most accurate then listen to the song on audacity with it moved up an octave and slowed down by about 33%

Drummers eh? it's finding them, when you do get good one he's probably in about 4 other bands, what do the crowd think? our old drummer was great, or so I thought, kept it relatively simple bought us back in after a solo stuff like that, our new drummer (to me anyway) overplays, puts fills in funny places and everybody says we're a better band with the new drummer (so what do I know). I do open mics with my partner on drums, she's only been playing about 2 years (got to do something when you're retired she says) with very limited bass drum technique, she does keep good time to be fair, and she's been offered a couple of gigs with bands, what's the saying "Drummers never fail auditions"?

so the answer to the OP's question is no

[quote name='Stylon Pilson' timestamp='1472832340' post='3124651'] It uses a lithium battery that lasts up to a year. The important thing to note about this device is that it doesn't work the way that you (probably) think it does. It communicates using bluetooth. So it will only report its location if you, or another person with the TrackR app on their phone, is within bluetooth range of it. Otherwise, your bass stays lost. S.P. [/quote]what's that 100 metres? that's not a lot of use is it? apart from finding your glasses or keys

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1472830947' post='3124629'] Can't count Love Song in that hopefully, but then again that's Algy on a P or was it Lemmy! [/quote]Algy or the Captain on a P I think, although Algy was the official bass player I seem to remember reading somewhere that Sensible played most of the bass, I think that's why Ward left, or got the sack, take your pick, I know I once got pretty close to the intro with a P

tbh I've never liked the sound of the bass on the PG Damned albums, they seem to lack bollocks (or is that heft?) to my ears,

does it need a battery?

Gareth Holder aka Brian Helicopter from the Shapes is who I think about when someone mentions the Ric Sound http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrAEkvWuK8A

most of the Ricks I've heard sound very knocky, so boost the mids around 600 Hz, having said that Macca's didn't sound like that and most people want the opposite, hence the smiley EQ

[quote name='Sammers' timestamp='1472726130' post='3123656'] Was it like this 1? [url="https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0242600503/electric-basses/fender-modern-player-jazz-bass-satin-2-color-sunburst"]https://www.anderton...-color-sunburst[/url] If so I don't think they are 5 string pups, it's just that the pole pieces are between the strings rather than a pair of pole pieces directly under the strings like a traditional jazz. I'd imagine unless you find someone either parting out a modern player or someone who can custom build you a pair it'd be pretty hard to get a hold of those spec pups off the shelf! [/quote]yep that's the one, shame I'm a leftie, again , you could be right about the pickups, presumable they're not a Fender stock item

possible, but I might be looking at some 5 string humbuckers, don't know what difference it will make but they must have put them on the Modern Jazz for a reason

the Dimension series doesn't seem to be available in cack handed versions either, think I'll keep my eye out for a second hand Squier VM with a view to having twin humbuckers installed, it'll mean routing out the body but might be worth it, risky though, God knows what it will sound like

heard a guy playing one of these at the weekend, loved the sound he got, turns out it's got 2, 5 string humbucking pickups (it is a 4 stringer) instead of the 2 single coil 4 string ones. The bad news is they don't make them anymore and they seem very rare, and there doesn't seem to have made any lefties at all, Anybody know if there is anything close to this set up

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1472064432' post='3118175'] This shows that with a sound man, it's not really an issue. Most pub bands don't have the luxury of a dedicated sound man and rely on one of the band setting levels ( if you use a PA that is ) You also rely on someone in the audience letting you know " how it's sounding" I'm the singer as well as being the bass player and I am tied to the mic stand and struggle to get out front to hear how it's sounding, so have to rely on others This annoys me because I want to know we have a balance as I don't trust our guitarists opinion of a good sound. He once told me bass should be felt and not heard. There is nothing worse than hearing a decent band with a poorly balanced sound. It can make people think they are bad when they are not. A loud band can be off putting to the audience, but if the stage sound is too loud it puts off the members and as I said earlier, your ears will compensate by blocking certain frequencies. We played a small pub once and decided not to use our PA. just back line. What a difference. It was one of the best sounds we have ever had. We realised we needed to be quieter but it lasted one gig, then it was back to loud as hell. [/quote]we always have a couple of partners in the crowd they let us know if somethings not right, surely all bands have someone at gigs to tell them if something is wrong, we never mic anything up except vocals and the bass drum, me and the singer are also wireless so we can make sure the sound is ok at sound check, of course if you have a guitarist who thinks bass should be low in the mix you just have to ignore him, I agree with you about bands being too loud, that's why we don't mic the drums up

at a local pub venue with in house PA, the sound guy just turns up the guitar in the guitarists monitor when he wants him to turn down, (after he's asked him nicely) says it works everytime

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1472033531' post='3117811'] In fairness, I don't think the drummer is the problem, as he is a comparatively light hitter. As I mentioned above, I dished out a fair amount of money on custom plugs (15's filters) but they did not "do the trick". The problem is the [u]combined[/u] band volume. [/quote]well you mix must be awful then, can't you get someone out front to tell you if someone's to loud?

another do you mic up the drums? if you do, don't ( maybe a bit of bass drum if you must) and set the other levels to match them, can never understand why bands mic up the drums for a small pub gig

A guy I know at open mic uses one, and I don't like it to be honest, can't put my finger on it it but it just sounds false to me, but that could be because I know he's using one

[quote name='sharkboy' timestamp='1471777846' post='3115744'] Thus topic has come up a number of times of late; once, about 13 months ago, raised by me after out guitarist's PRS custom came off second best to gravity. My research revealed a number of horror stories of people that had relied on home contents insurance to cover damage at a gig or in transit only to be rejected on the grounds that their gear was not covered as it was used to generate income and therefore professional equipment that doesn't fit on a domestic policy. The research sent me straight to Allianz's specialist music equipment insurance. £13 a month for £10k worth of peace of mind is a bit of a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned. Insurance is only a waste of money until you need it. If your gear isn't that expensive to replace then, sure, you might want to forego premiums and just pay out from your own pocket to replace/repair damaged or lost items. If, however, you might be glad that someone else will give you the couple of grand to get a new custom bass to replace the one that was stolen, then I'd suggest that specialist insurance is the way forward. [/quote]as with all insurance it's your attitude to risk, some people like to have every angle covered, others, like me, think "well I could afford to replace it out of my own pocket so I'll risk it" the chances are you'll get away with it otherwise insurance companies would go bust

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1471777540' post='3115740'] I don't think it would. Ambient mics put the room sound back in but don't give you the control over the mix between instruments that you'd want. Like the annoying snare and cymbals that cut through everything. [/quote]I take your point, but if it's on the mic stand it would pick up what your ears would be hearing more or less, but yeah you've got no control, apart from what goes through the PA, wonder if anybody's used one and can tell us?

I use my home insurance too, my P bass is listed on the policy, I did use Allianz for one year, but the only time it would get nicked really is if it's in the car and it's got to be locked in the boot or the glove box?????? to be covered not much use if you've got an estate car, I know some people will say never leave it in the car but sometimes it's unavoidable, you look a bit of a dick carrying it into the gents at motorway services for instance