chris_b

I've played in cover bands and original bands and many that are a mixture of both. It's all music and if you play the songs right they are both equally satisfying.

Ah OK. On our jam night, all jammers bring their own instruments and drumsticks. As a result of Covid, we are now requiring singers to bring their own mics. No one touches my bass. If you don't bring your own, you don't play. IMO by eliminating people who just want to get up and play on the spur of the moment, you get a better bunch of players turning up, and it's a better evening for all.

Why are you worried about taking a bass to jam nights? I'm in the house band for a local jam and take my regular #1 bass. No one else plays it but I have no problem using it myself. Basically the only guy who is guaranteed to sound good is the house bassist. It's his gear, so that's to be expected. Very few jammers sound great. They don't know the amp and are usually flailing in the dark when they try to adjust the eq, so it's all about what they play rather than what they sound like.

I have both, a passive PJ5 with specially designed Seymour Duncan pickups and flats and an active 5 string Jazz with Sadowsky single coils and rounds. IMO the PJ sounded better at low volume, and was the bass I played the most during lockdown, but the Jazz, on a gig, has more dynamics. After lockdown I've also decided that I prefer the PJ through my Aguilar TH500 and Super Compact, while the Jazz sounds better through my Aguilar AG700 and any combination of SC, BB2 and SM cabs. I'm also dedicating basses to different genres, something which I've never done in the past. The blues and soul bands mostly get the PJ and everyone else gets the Jazz. Although that can change depending on the band line up and the room. 2 pickup basses can sound scooped if you have both pickups on full. I turn the bridge pickup down 10% or so, and the "scoop" goes away.

I'm very happy with the sound of my active Sadowsky Jazz bass. Would it sound the same without the preamp? I very much doubt it, so there is definitely a place for active basses.

No matter how many times. . . it all comes out like me saying it.

After 50 years common sense kicks. You play 50% less notes and sound 200% better.

Ag-u-lar - as pronounced by Dave Boonshoft, ex owner of Aguilar. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz4GadmRPW0

I get a man in to do that.

Yep. My first gig bag was a Sketchley Cleaners plastic bag.

I played the St Moritz several times in 1968. It was a dump even then, but they liked a bit of Soul and Blues so the gig was fun.

I wouldn't buy a bass because it was active or passive. That would never be on my list of preferences. Currently I have one of each, a passive P and an active J. It's all about the tone of the particular instrument.

The biggest lesson I've learnt from gigging. . . is that it's the biggest turn on, greatest fun, most satisfying thing that I've ever done. Selecting your gear, practising the songs, loading the car, driving around the M25 at 20mph, putting up with drunk punters, the drive home, all worth it for a good gig.

Which ones?

Don't forget Bob Blackman. . . .

I remember when tank tops were cool.

There are many good humorous songs. By Monty Python, Charlie Drake, Tommy Cooper, Bernard Cribbins, Paddy Roberts to name but a few.

I had far more issues with valve amps than I've had with SS and D class put together. D class is a mature technology. You haven't heard a major touring band that hasn't been running D class powered FOH in 15 years. If D class didn't hit the spot in every category those PA guys wouldn't be using it. D class amps are the new standard for bass for a reason, they are reliable and sound good.

I don't do many auditions but on the most recent I was the only one who knew their material. I was even having to prompt the guy who wrote the songs!! The audition before that I was hanging around for an hour before anyone else bothered to turn up! 99% of what I do is word of mouth. It's a much better way of doing things.

If a heavy bass is bothering you now it will only get worse. IMO modding this bass is money down the drain. Sell it to someone who doesn't mind heavy, and find yourself the bass that fits your requirements out of the box.

I was driving home after a gig and found myself in a forest somewhere in Berkshire. It wasn't the way I came and I was very lost. I couldn't read either of the maps, because I'd left my reading glasses at home!!!

Always check your route. I once arrived for a gig at Blues At The Farm, Billericay when I should have been pulling up at Blues On The Farm, Chichester!! So I was 100 miles and 3 counties away from where I needed to be!! I was 3 hours late for the gig. Fortunately it was a festival and the other bands agreed to change the running order!

I was going to watch, to see if anyone I know is playing, but decided I see enough old fogies when I'm gigging.

I learnt. . . . If you think something is too loud it definitely is. The right time to get moulded ear plugs is when you don't have hearing issues. If you think something is heavy, it's probably too heavy. Heavy does not sound better. Play like every gig is an audition for your favourite band. 100% is the only acceptable number when you are playing. You'll meet a lot of idiots and aholes, so be nice to people, even the ones who don't deserve it. Prove you are better than them. Networking is more important than tone. It doesn't matter how good you sound if you ain't got a gig.

I like good melodies. IMO the best 2 lines in Rock are; She was just seventeen. You know what I mean. Shakespeare would have been proud to have written that.