Woodwind

Years ago, my then drummer spent a lot of money on an amazing large, dark ride. I can't remember the make. We'd gone together and spent hours trying cymbals while I played my double bass looking to find a combination that sounded magical. That ride transformed his whole kit, consolidated his drumming and I miss hearing him play.

This is a good question. When bass guitar was my primary instrument I had manageable gas. When the double bass took over as my main instrument I was always saving and looking for a better bass, but every time I tried basses I decided to up my budget to get something appreciably better. This went on for several years and was driven by deliberate ignorance to the fact that my bass was not the limiting factor to my playing. Now my primary instruments are woodwind and I can't ever afford to get "better" ones. I'm fully aware that the instruments I own are not the limiting factor. I just wish I could practice even more. However, despite my bass only being used for composing, I'm always looking at what instruments are around that offer something different/better etc etc. So, a drawn out way of saying, my bass guitar gas is perhaps greater now I practice and play the instrument less.

This is exactly the path I'm taking. When my music has been played on BBC radio3 there's a noticeable spike in traffic to my website which then trickles down to bandcamp sales. I would only want a few tracks available to stream and the rest exist as the full version physically for those that then come to my shows etc

They are both OK and it was an observation ward rather than ICU, but the whole experience really shook them up!

Nice one Paul, I will check out Soundrop. I've lost momentum a bit as mastering is taking a while. My plan is to have the full Ep available on bandcamp and one track from it as a single on Spotify et al.

I will delete my post if it's seen as too negative, but just as a word of caution for all - I personally know of two people (one a musician, the other at my workshop building) who both had to go to hospital for a few days after catching coronavirus recently. They both had coronavirus last year and this was far more severe. One is double jabbed, the other one jab. The former late 40's, the other mid 30's. Please everyone be very careful out there!

If you're in the south I seem to remember Laurence Dixon doing this work for people, but I stopped playing double bass 10 years ago so he may well not do this anyore. Best give him a shout - https://www.laurencedixonbassplace.com/

Another big fan of Phil Jones equipment here. I'd be inclined to go with 2 cabinets than one larger, but that's just a reflection of the practicalities of traveling to and from my shows (first floor flat etc etc). If lugging one 26kg cabinet around as opposed to two 13kg cabs presents no problem then go for it. I would imagine an Orange little bass thing through eight 5" Phil Jones speakers would sound wonderful.

Thank you @mcnach I hadn't heard of Emu Bands before. I'll be putting a two track "single" on spotify released in October so will need roughly 6000 plays to recoup the £25, I shall investigate further, cheers

I really like the P bass body shape. My guess is they'll be comparable to the cheaper Sires.

Well to answer my own question, as it may be of interest to others, I think I'm going to use Routenote as an aggregator. They take 15% of Spotify payment, but no upfront fee or annual subscription. I'm happy with the percentage cut as I'm not imagining I'll get a huge amount of plays - I want a track on Spotify as reference and to catch people who wouldn't hear of me otherwise.

Thought I'd Necro-dredge this thread rather than start a new one. What's the current state of play with aggregators for Spotify these days? A few years back I signed up with Distrokid, but the whole thing was an absolute disaster. I was linked to another artist with the same name, which neither spotify or distrokid could do anything about. Between the two of them they mucked about with the two accounts over the course of a year with the end result being I became the other musician permanently... All my music vanished and I was sent his monthly figures. I can see I need some music back on spotify so will be starting the whole process again. I will not be using distrokid. I don't want to pay an annual subscription. Who is everyone using? Cheers Thomas

I'm not seeing a weak player here at all. I'm seeing the essence of a really good band bass player, a supportive player. These are qualities that will always get you into bands despite or irrespective of your technical ability. And Experience is one thing, ego is another. I've played with many experienced musicians and they exhibit a humility despite their knowledge and technical excellence. I've played with some musicians who have been going a long time, but due to their enormous egos I wouldn't call experienced at all. Being aware of how you want/need to improve is an asset in itself. Take confidence in this. We can always improve, no matter how long we have played or how "experienced" we are. Your approach sounds great! This!!! And once again that word talent is relative. I would want to play with prepared musicians, not musicians who are prepared to wing it because their ego makes them lazy

First show of the year properly confirmed now. 1st of October at Kings Place supporting Ex-Easter Island Head A band I like a great deal and a venue I've wanted to perform at for a long time, so I'm especially happy. https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/contemporary/ex-easter-island-head-kelly-jayne-jones-thomas-stone/ Fingers crossed London isn't back in a tier system by October 🤣

Great combos, but heavy by today's standards. I've seen a few on reverb (there's a Polish seller selling a 12 and a couple of 15s) for around the £320mark. With postage, VAT and import etc etc that gets towards 400quid which is a lot of money for an old 100watt combo. In theory these amps are infinitely more repairable than modern class d offerings which is something to seriously keep in mind and could offset the weight penalty. If you could get one in the UK for around £300 I think you'd be happy. Also one to look out for, but will go for considerably more than the workingman, is the Baby Blue. Another really great amp.

The squeaking bass drum pedal on James Brown's Sex Machine makes the track unlistenable for me.

Is that doubling up/repetition of my life is brilliant a mistake? I had no idea.

Absolutely love the look of your bass! Did you make the body yourself or did you buy it? If so may I ask where you got it?

This Evening I orderd, what I imagine are, exactly the same plugs @stewblack got from ebay, then a couple of hours later I discovered a load of extra power cables tucked away in a box on a high shelf and I wished I'd just cut all my cables in half and rejoined them 90° to 90° just like your cables. Ah well. more cheap ebay plastic in the world.

Space my friend, space. I need 90 degree terminations on both ends of the cable to get pedals to sit where I need them 😎

Well worth a look. Multitracked for the album, but creates everything solo live: https://ottolindholm.bandcamp.com/album/alter

I was thinking of cannibalising cables I already own, but they are all integrated moulded plastic so a) the end result will look awful and b) the worry of hooking one up with the polarity the wrong way makes me think I'll start from scratch. I'll investigate ebay now, cheers Stew

Has anyone on here made their own power cables for their effects pedals? Hooking my board to an isolated PSU and I'd love right angle connectors at both ends and be able to shorten the cable run from each pedal. Anyone done something similar? If so where did you purchase the cable and connectors?

I'm no longer in musical contexts where gear sharing is common, but On a couple of occasions where I've been traveling long distance to perform I have had to borrow equipment (usually a drum) from one of the other acts. I liase with the relevant band member long in advance and offer a cash deposit up front. This comes from years playing in rock band settings where gear sharing happened regularly (usually me lending) and it was always rubbish - Crap attitudes, entitlement, disregard for the borrowed equipment. I treat those I borrow from as I would like to be treated.

Most of my bass playing has been on stingray or stingray type basses. I like the sound and look etc. But £3k is absolutely bonkers for a factory instrument. for that money You could get a second hand model, add a status neck, ultra light tuners, maybe try a different pre or pickup and still have most of £1k left. I know which one I'd rather be performing with.