Bassfinger

11 hours ago, Bluewine said:

 

The gigging experience is different for all of us. I love gigging but I would never perform for free. I do benefits and charities from time to time however those are also paid gigs.

 

It's really a matter of principle for me. I've seen too many young musicians being taken advantage of.

 

Blue

Aye. Im at the opposite end of the spectrum. Covers only, no talent to write anything original, financially secure and independent, and long past the age where anyone is going to give me a break anyway. 

Im happy just for the opportunity to show off and enjoy the experiencr, but I can quite see where you're at with youngsters at the opposite end of their musical career from me.

But we also support two uupcoming local bands in their teens, and where the venue is suitable will often insist that if they want us to play for beer - which we will sometimes for friends who have pubs or clubs - then they have to allow one of these bands to do a set before us.  The older of the two acts are now all 16 and the exposure of their playing for free and being associated with us on the regional circuit has got them noticed and they're starting to be offered proper paid work.  Rather than being taken advantage of they used it as an opportunity for free rehearsals and dry runs, and it's paid off. It's all down to how its handled as to whether it becomes a pith take or a genujne opportunity.

I love gigging.

Somehow us bunch of middle aged farts have got to the point where we can each earn £400 or more per gig (we did a gig for the horsey set, they told Crispian and Portia, who told their chums, word quickly spread and we have at least one high class private booking per month through to next November), but that's just a fringe benefit.

I enjoy it at a level I can't begin to describe and would happily play for free (and we do indeed play select charity gigs for free) just so long as there is an audience.

Were it not a moot point now I would have suggested the Squier Classic Vibe 50's Precision. Single coil, transition shape, not too weighty, sounds very convincing, and very pretty with the vintage tinted neck finish.

The Sapquier

On 23/11/2022 at 17:50, Paul S said:

Looks like it is the '54 P bass body I am after, didn't realise the distinction until I did a bit of reading this afternoon.  I 

The so-called 'transition' body. Eeeess nice.

Thomann are great, their customer service first class.

The only issue I had wasn't really their fault. I had pre ordered a bass, but stock didnt arrive as they had been promised. It dragged on for a few months and in the end I found one elsewhere so cancelled the order. My Amex Centurion black card (platinum is for peasants) was refunded in full within an hour of me cancelling. Really can't fault them.

Certainly the pub and club audiences do, and we give them Slade and get it out of their system.

Tadley, originally T'adley, named after Tony Hadley who once stopped at the Happy Eater there for 8 burgers in 1985. 

11 hours ago, machinehead said:

I played guitar for about 20 years before discovering that I enjoy playing bass guitar far more.  Neither instrument is more or less difficult than the other- just different.

Frank.

 A nasty arm break in 2008 left me with damaged nerves and I can no longer feel my outside two fingers.  I moved away from guitar as this made fingerpicking nigh on impossible and I wasn't content to just strum along or pick a tune.  In that sense a 4 string bass was less difficult, as 4 string can be covered pretty well with a just the 3 remaining digits but 6 was nigh on impossible at the time.

In fact I'm not sure that 'less difficult' is correct, it takes just as much skill but with a third less real estate for the right hand to cover with 40% less working digits. 'More achievable', perhaps?

I still play guitar and this last year in particular have started to somehow figure out fingerpicking properly again and, somehow, and I'm closing on where I was.  Id always played bass with a pick when on stage because of that, but I'm confident enough now to play fingerstyle live as well.  I practice both regularly though, be daft to confine myself to one style when a little bit of application and time allows me to maintain a diverse skillset.

It was someone sort of mid 60's, Hermans Hermits or someone of that ilk and era. Wracking brain...

The was a suggestion by Gene Simmons a few yesrs ago that when KISS call it a day they might licence their name and act to a younger band to carry on with.   Sounds daft and I'm doubtful it'll happen, but it is Gene Simmons. While he's a bit of a berk he has a fair track record for turning one shekel into two, and the sheer notoriety of the whole thing would likely generate enough interest to pull something like that off.

9 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

In general I’d say once there are no original members left, however when you look at some bands some replacements have been in the bands far longer than the person they replaced. Becomes a tad difficult then to make the call. 

There was one 60's band - I forget which - where the tribute band had more original members of the actual band than the official band itself.  

I refused to play Last Christmas last year, and fortunately the band agreed.  I've heard car alarms of greater musical interest.

10 hours ago, binky_bass said:

Isn't there a thread about that somewhere... 🤔 

Maybe they have, but "I want to learn to walk but don't want to have my amputed legs replaced" is somewhat limiting and observers are correct to point out that the restrictions they have placed upon themselves may well incompatible with their goals? 

So long as folk are polite and constructive its up to them what they suggest.

Generally I'd say the green, but that looks a little bit tooooo far removed from seafoam for my delicate sensibilities, so ill plump for the pink (no sniggering a the back!)

On 30/11/2022 at 11:11, fretmeister said:

Sandberg are 39.5mm at the nut which is 0.3mm difference to your archaic units.

They are quite full front to back though - certainly deeper than many J's I've tried.

Archaic? It may be old, but 9 fathoms and 31 cubits at the nut is perfectly clear and understandable!

Whereas I was unimpressed by the Ignition. Nothing actually wrong with it, but the Epiphone sounded better and the Harley Benton was equally well finished and - at that time - cost half the price with a hard case included.   Of course, neither said 'Hofner' on the headstock, but when Im only using it for one Beatles song per gig I decided to live with that wee compromise.

What I'd really like is a proper 500/1, but sadly at that price level there are other basses in the queue ahead of it for me to acquire, but its turn will come.

They're significantly different in detail to instruments sold domestically by Dame, they aren't simply sticking a different headstock transfer onto existing designs. Nevertheless, they certainly plop off the workbench in the same shed.

I would tend to say precision.

But then a few minutes on my Geddy Lee and I would say jazz.

Love them both and really couldn't choose.

Never been in to the PJ style though. To me it's an answer looking for a question.

Our guitarist has one for noodling at home.  A little weighty, alder body(?), but I have to say it sounds fantastic.

I recently turned down a £2k offer im a '69 precision, completely original aside from the strings and a fair bit of patina.

Yours is unlikely to be in worse condition than mine and has the original case, so id say perhaps 3 or more gees.

Me.  

By day I'm  a cardigan wearing, pipe smoking retiree.

On stage im a 6'5", podgy, bald, Geddy Lee wannabe who struts about like John Travolta in Night Fever. It's exhausting!

I've gone the other way of late, back to 4 string for live playing and going up a bit for the drop notes. Can never really make up my mind if I like 5 or not.

My new christmas song, "Putting Up the Tree on 1st September", is going to make me minted. 

"Taking the Presents Back To Marks For a Refund on Boxing Day" will be the surprise summer hit that sets me up for life.

Tascam GB10. Headphones. Lead. Batteries. Sorted.

4 hours ago, Grimalkin said:

They wrote great melodies, lots of them. Two great writers competing, that was the chemistry of it. 

Cough. Three. Cough.

5 hours ago, mowf said:

Perhaps not a surprise that a guest at a horse riding event has got that kind of cash… I doubt you’d have had an offer like that if you’d been playing to a bunch of pigeon fanciers.

Yes, we do 2 or 3 gigs a year at different events for this lot and they pay very, very well indeed.