chris_b

There are a couple of promoters my bands work for and it's all done on a personal level. If they like you, you're in. If they don't you're out. How good the band is is not always the prime motivation to giving you the gig. If the decision to end the relationship is made it doesn't matter how flimsy the reason, you didn't say the right thing when last you met, etc, it can be an arbitrary thing.

We rise through the ranks depending on our personalities, ability on our instrument and by being in the right place at the right time. My last audition was in 1985. Since then I've been solidly gigging thanks to the recommendations of people I've met or played with. . . . . or people who know people I've played with. IMO learning to network is almost as important as learning to play your instrument.

I've got cases for all my basses but they are kept in the shed. I use gig bags instead. Every lb saved is a god send.

Lozz, you need a trolley. Don't carry anything that you can pull.

Tonight I took both basses as usual. I played the Jazz in the first set and the PJ in the second set. Just cos I could.

Who? It's a Jazz bass! The blurb seems to be pushing the finish and the player. Apart from the colour and signature is it any different from all the other Jazz basses?

I've had amps and cabs fail on gigs, but so far, fingers crossed, I've never had a bass failure. I always take both on every gig and decide which will be the #1 and which will be the spare during the sound check.

I've just spent the evening as an honorary Yardbird. Does that count? Playing with Jim McCarty and John Idon at an Alzheimer's charity gig to celebrate the late Top Topham.

Promoter: That was great. Here's another £200.

Never lend your bass, even the crap ones, especially at a jam.

All live albums are remixed before release.

Really? I took a very cheap 5 string Cort to a jam last night and no one commented, not the band leader, house drummer or any of the bass players. I'd have been more surprised if anyone did notice. Take the bass you want to play.

I agree. The natural sway of the tempo doesn't have to be a bad thing, but the OP is about a click being a negative thing. I don't think that's true.

Darby used to come to our jam night, about 20 years ago. His style was special, even then.

If using one cab is verging on overloading it, then you need 2 cabs. . . . or maybe better a better cab to start with. I use 2 good 112's with a 5 string bass in some very loud bands. They are nowhere near overloading.

If playing to a click is robotic or a problem, then the musician is getting it wrong. Timing isn't about spontaneity, it's about keeping good time so all the musicians are playing together as one. A click is no different to playing with a drummer who has good time. It may or may not be a good thing to let your time drift in and out, but changing time in "response to the audience" is not something you should be doing. Apparently James Jamerson had perfect timing. Good musicians make playing in time sound good, bad musicians make playing in time sound robotic.

I don't have practice gear. Everything is interchangeable.

Do orange leads have an earth? I thought they didn't, so don't use them on stage. I use a 3m, wind up, 4 way from Waitrose, £9.99, when bought. Red top to the container and black lead and plug. Longer ones from B&Q.

IMO it's an interesting bass line. I like it. Well played, busy but not overplayed, and not your usual basic soul bass line. Thumbs up from me.

Most of the guys I play with use Fender tube combos, although last weekend the guitarist was deafening everyone with a Vox AC30. Also I see a lot of Session combos around.

Why would Alex want to build a big, heavy and expensive amp that very few people would buy? My guess is that any amp from Barefaced will be a top of the line D class amp that will be rubbing shoulders with the very best in that field. I hope he includes an HPF.

I'm lucky that I haven't had to sell a bass in order to buy the next one. For me every bass has to be an upgrade, ie better than the last one (or there is no point in buying it). That philosophy has worked well for the last 30 years. I worked my way through Fender, Wal and Lakland to arrive at Mike Lull and Sadowsky basses. I did make a few mistakes along the way, they were moved on very quickly, but so far I don't regret selling any bass.

All these 135 B's to try, that I didn't know about!!

I have TI flats on my passive PJ5, with a 136 B. Great sound. For rounds I use a 130 B. I always go for the largest gauge strings I can find, IMO gives a better tone. I use Aguilar amps and 1 or 2 112 Barefaced cabs. On most gigs my EQ settings are at or very close to 12 o'clock.