RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE

Sold Ben a pedal , with no problem or fuss ! Highly recommended . A pleasant transaction with a pleasant Basschatter 😼👍

The packing staff obviously never boxed clever . So it wasn't a rotosound espresso machine after all .

Jack

Would ordinary guitar ( not acoustic ) gigbags work? I got one for my headless Washburn status which fits just about .

Sometimes it's just best to take a break .

I'm in a strange situation regarding recording and inspiration . The funny thing in this topic , 3 of you have helped me and given me advice when I was trying to understand Midi 🙂 Back when I was in cover bands , I was working in not well paid manual office jobs always getting up at 5am , combining that with " socialising " etc . Yes, I know I wasn't the only one in this situation 🙂. Basically , I was a Bass Player , who plugged and play with an occasional basic effects pedal . Most of this was pre internet. Back in the year 2000, I purchased my first computer ..a lime green iMac . Trouble is , it was way too hard to get a grip of anything . This was because OS9 went to OSX . Anyway leaving that there for a moment, I got a Mac mini in 2007 . Unfortunately , I couldn't afford to buy one with much ram/ memory and GarageBand wouldn't run smoothly . A good friend of mine gave me a copy of Reason at the time , but that just looked like advance maths to me . I got a line6 audio interface ( toneport ux1) which I still have . I think the iPad has been an amazing leap forward . No extension crashes , buy apps as and when if wanted and much less hassle than what I've experienced above . This takes me to my present issues and annoyances .... 1. Soundcloud : have many " efforts " recorded on there . However , paying £10 isn't enough for them ! Everytime I log in, they keep hassling me to go pro+ . I am thinking of looking for an alternative , but don't know where to look . I do have a few artists I follow and vice versa. It would be sad to lose them . Plus of course , I have many followers who are just promoting theirselves . 😄 2. Using the 2017 iMac in general : Takes a long time to warm up . I have clean my Mac which is ok . Plus the software updates ! Plus when purchasing 3rd party Moogerfooger plugins, they disappear - then I have to try and get them back through Moog website . A complete pita . 3. GarageBand doesn't do midi ! 4. I have Reason 12 which I hardly use if at all . In the past software updates have stopped me being able to use Reason 11 . I hate software updates ! I have thought about getting rid of my iMac and recording on iPad solely . Even then , Launchpad for example keep bombarding me to join their subscription services . I have thought about purchasing Logic Pro for Mac . Having said that , it's now on iPad ( subscription also ) All of these things put me off , and spoil the moment and make me not bother at all . I have progressed I suppose , with a small collection of synths . I think it's more of a software v hardware thing . I want simplicity and not open university . Having said that, although hardware is my preference ( for now) , it takes up a lot of room in my small flat . I don't mind using headphones . Anyway, I'm going on . Just to say that I hope that anyone can advise on my musical mood swings and I hope things improve in your situations. I have a feeling you'll get your inspiration back 🙂

That SKOW Deep purple tribute looked good . I enjoyed that vid . Actually better than when I saw Deep Purple at Wembley back in the '80s. Gillan coughing more than singing etc . One truly awful gig . Another band that deserve a mention is The Iron Maidens . Unfortunately never got round to seeing them .

Ritchie Kotxen = monster . Lucky to see him with the whinery dogs . I have an instrumental,album from him somewhere . May have to give it another listen .

Sorry to hear this .. Regarding PayPal / eBay when I purchase something PayPal ask if I want to use credit or debit card to complete the purchase. It may be an idea to contact your card company / bank also to explain what happened . ( I'm not sure if that's allowed though , as you've already contacted PayPal ). when looking at the seller , I always check their feedback . Paypal and eBay have been very good in the couple of times I've needed their assistance , and 🤞that continues if needed. Hopefully , all will be well and you get refunded .

Good points ! I don't gig anymore , but tbh if I did I'd get a 5 string and have done with it . ( I couldn't properly focus on 5 string at the time due to moving around enthusiastically on stage 😬) One thing I remenber being in a blues band that played obscure tracks, was when the guitarists put hair bands on the 3rd or 5th fret when they 'down tuned ' ..

I'd imagine playing in standard tuning would probably seem odd to you initially . For me , all of the classic rock covers were in standard tuning . From what I remember , thin Lizzy and quo tuned down a half step although I stand to be corrected . Avoid hotel California imho, as for me it was tough and I couldn't do it in my ltd capabilities . Paranoid is easy Peasy , and wishing well was easy enough . My fave to play was black night . Maybe put the list on here if you're unsure of some ?

I've played a few of the above . 🤔Does I will survive count ? We did a samba version of that , which finished on a randy Rhodes guitar solo ( mr Crowley ) Always went down well . Thankfully , we never played White Rabbit . The blood from punters slashing their wrists would have been too unsightly and offputting 😬

Mmm...maybe goi into modular gear ? Euroracks can be a very expensive rabbit hole . Some of those basses would soon be sold 🙂

For me , if you're playing in a tribute band then you should look visually as near as possible to the artist(s) you're covering. It wouldn't work in an Elvis tribute if you didn't look like him or made the effort to. Must admit , I'm surprised that there's a joy division tribute band . They didn't seem to be around for long , and I do wonder how they'd fare against other tribute bands on a Friday / Saturday night at the dog and duck . Not exactly something sozzled punters to sing along to imho. I know that you are very talented @BigRedX , but unfortunately your talented ear in this occasion is similar to the beard twitchers who spot the mistakes , which others wouldn't notice much in the scheme of things . Fwiw, ( and no offence meant obviously ) , the clips I've seen on mainstream tv over the years of joy division live have been about 3 tracks of them playing raw and looking miserable . Repeat . I'm obviously missing something here . 😬 one of the best cover bands I saw , was a tribute to the '80s . I can't remember their name unfirtunatelly , but they had quite a following . They looked like New Romantics , but played a cross section from that era, covered all basses . They made the effort , which counts .

Love the colour

I remember reading negative comments in the bass magazines pre internet, especially the fender music master . Original ones are sought after these days . Then again headless basses were getting the same comments more or less back then. My, how things have changed .. I often think about getting a short scale myself , and trading one of my basses for one . What put me off most of the time , was the '60s look.( That's me being an old metalhead 😬) . I still don't like hofners, and never will,but I'm warming to the completion mustang replicas these days . They do look small to me , as I am not . Getting used to 20 frets instead of 24 is a bit of a head spinner for me . i should have got the badtz maru bass just for the fun value . If something similar comes up I'll nab it if I have funds etc Thar bass looks good . Each to their own . If you like it play it ..lots .

Good point , it brings me back to the '90s when the bass really cut through on a lot of metal albums . One other thing I just thought of , is the boom in active preamps in basses in the late '80s onwards . Even my Washburn status has that "clang " to it . Having said that, it's a marmite sound .

Playing devils advocate : why not change the precision for an Ibanez or Warwick ,or Schecter ? You may not need a pedal .🤔🙂

Might as well mention EDF again ! They have updated their app , making a simple thing as giving a reading complicated . Plus , looking for the billing history is not as direct or straightforward as it was . They have stopped pestering me for a smart meter over the last ...2 weeks so I'll say no more not to jinx things 🤐

I don't know if I can say Royal Mail, as I still use them from time to time . Renewed my passport the day before Good Friday . Got replacement 7 days later , so that's excellent . However, trying ( and failing ) to get compensation when a couple of vinyl records I sold on fleabay were broken deliberately makes me detest them ! Plus a couple I ordered went missing o turned up way later . Thankfully mutual respect from myself and fellow fleabayers kept my 100% feedback intact .