leschirons

I think a lot of all this is down to preference and set-up. By way of comparison, yesterday, on the way back home, we stopped by a huge guitar shop near Poitiers. I'm after an electro acoustic with no particular budget in mind. If it feels perfect at the nut and sounds good, that would be the one for me. Like most purchases, I'm attracted by the visual aspect at first, then all the other issues. Maybe like most, I will not buy the best sounding / constructed / playable bass or guitar if it's ugly (to me) I picked up and played a €400 Yamaha, used €500 Alvarez, a new €800 Martin and a €2,000 Taylor. The Alvarez won hands down. I guess the point of this is make sure you check out all the non boutique stuff as well as there is some seriously great stuff out there for not a lot of money. I could see the Taylor losing 25% of it's value straight away. If it's the same for the Alvarez, it's not too much of a problem.

+ 4 so now 1704

[quote name='OldGit' post='530229' date='Jul 2 2009, 08:48 AM']Sounds brilliant .. This has to be a contender for a Basschat "Explain this picture" contest [attachment=28114:King_of_the_blues.jpg][/quote] I guess it's not everyday you see Tudor royalty with a Godin acousticaster. i seem to remember reading they were Fender men in the 16th century. I suppose as it's Fairport, they're allowed to be a tad eccentric.

Nice one, congrats. hope it all goes really well for you.

Myself and Mrs leschirons just got back yesterday from Nantes in north western France where I had the good fortune to meet, and chat to, a couple of bassplayers I'd always admired. Fairport's Dave Pegg and Les Holroyd (Barclay James Harvest) The gig was a rock opera based on the life of Anne of Bretagne. It was one of those quite special nights as it was set in the centre courtyard of the chateau ducs de Bretagne (fabulous backdrop) We are pals with the French rock guitarist Pat O'may who was doing all the lead guitar parts and ended up in the front row of the VIP area (free beer and pancakes) Both guys came across as really nice and down to earth and with time to chat despite being obviously knackered (gig was three and a half hours and they were all in full period costume) Sorry, no pics of them as camera battery was flat at this point but here's a few other shots. (Mrs leschirons showing off her VIP pass, James Wood and Chris Leslie on stage and our mate Pat in full rock pose. Dave Pegg was on bass for all of the night and Les Holroyd was playing Henry the seventh so was vocals only. The other UK players were Chris Leslie, James Wood, Gerry Conway and Simon Nicol. There was also some serious stick bass playing from Bob Callero. The "opera" was written by Alan Simon and was performed by over 60 musicians throughout the evening. The only concern is the threat of a few "bevvies" with Les Holroyd if we go to Paris in October to see BJH with full orchestra. Might have to go on my own.

I dug out Truth by Jeff Beck last week. Simple, bluesy and seriously good.

This only becomes an issue when you want to play with different musicians or move on to different type of music. In addition, your opinion of how good you are is always different to someone else's opinion of how good you are. If you're able to play all the stuff you enjoy playing, then you're doing great. If you'd sh*t yourself if Larry Carlton or Steve Lukather asked you to get up and jam, then you're not at their level. Why worry. I have no doubt when you listen to other bassplayers in clubs and pubs etc, you subconciously know what level you're at.

[quote name='ahpook' post='513500' date='Jun 14 2009, 05:59 PM']i love my jazz bass (1987 MIJ btw) but i only ever use the neck pickup, never the bridge. to my ears it's a much fuller sound. but each to their own of course !![/quote] Weird ain't it. I love the bridge pick up with the tone rolled back for that Chic sound.

If I were you, I'd get the band to drop that one and just throw in a couple of Leonard Cohen songs.

Calm down, calm down. Would it help if I bring in a lawnmower comparison slant to things?

Not renowned for having the greatest build quality or tone but it'll do the job and for the price, not expensive.

Nice one Zoe, a great pic and I'm sure a nice memory to keep. Cool to meet a bit of a legend once in a while.

Welcome back, also from France. Nice basses.

Welcome to the forums. Interesting user name, don't suppose there's a slim chance you're into metal is there?

Never picked up one of the basses but have owned two Parker guitars. Both were absolutely superb in tone, playability and build quality. The added bonus that they weighed about 3 ounces made them a pleasure to play.

[quote name='neepheid' post='504029' date='Jun 2 2009, 04:38 PM']Practice, practice, practice. And plenty of practice as a band - don't do what I did and do my first gig off the back of only 3 whole band practices. Try to relax. If you make a mistake, keep calm and carry on - join up the song as soon as you can. Try to enjoy it. It seems like you've got a reasonably relaxed gig for your first one with probably a supportive and captive audience. Good luck.[/quote] This is all top advice. The only thing I would add is to book into a Travelodge, trash the room and sling the telly out of the window.

Most bassplayers will probably admit to becoming one by default having started out on a different instrument when young. I think it's great to have an insight into other instruments (drums and guitar in my case) it certainly makes you more musically aware in band situations although possibly more critical of the other members playing those other instruments too. I know it does with me.

High Score has hit the nail on the head. I have been to a couple of mate's studio / rehearsal rooms here and the problem is always humidity (too much water vapour in this case as they both use oil heaters) They've found amps that are wet to the touch etc. Especially if, when you go in, you up the heat for comfort. A thermostatic heater is good for temperature control but I have also bought a fairly cheap dehumidifier and have no such problems. You'd be suprised how much water I have to empty out each week but it does the job. You can pick up a reasonable unit for about £40.

That's a bummer but I'd say you're better off without them. I assume they're not professional so, in that case, at least 50% of the reason for being in a band should be the enjoyment of being with the other musicians. If they can pull a stunt like that (Ritchie Blackmore, Rod Evans and Nick Simper spring to mind here) You don't need it. Find a band where you all enjoy the music, each other's company and put people first. Fair enough if you're about to be signed to Sony or constantly playing £3,000 gigs but I assume that's not the case here. Be interesting if you find out that they'd found another bassist before you got pushed out.

Stick to the UK for buying at the moment. Although I had no problems getting my bass from Bass Central (great company to deal with) I did get caught for the full TVA (VAT) and import duty. The bass would have been about a grand dearer here or in the UK at that time so it was worth it to me then, but it's still a bitter pill to swallow when you have to give the delivery driver another £500. I'd asked Bass Central at the time of purchase, what happens if it gets damaged and was told, although there is insurance in place for that reason, it would still have to be sent back to them. So, until the £ recovers bigtime against the $, stick to the UK.

Were you playing for free as a wedding pressent, or was it a paid gig? If it was a payer, you've made the right decision to pull out and maybe you could help her find another covers band for the day. If it's a freebee, it's more difficult as she now has to fund a band and weddings are expensive enough already.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='501755' date='May 30 2009, 03:37 PM']I'm impressed with how easy it is to lower the action. All you need is a tenon saw, a clamp, a selection of files, some sandpaper in different grades, a paintbrush and some varnish. Why did Fender never come up with something like this?[/quote] They did, it's called a Precision.