northstreet

Guys thanks for all the responses - really appreciate it. I'll pass on the suggestions to the rest of the band and see where it goes.

[size=5][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif][sub]An interesting post. This is a long story to say something quite mundane but bear with me. Got my first bass in 1974 (that's 37 years ago - Good Lord!). I'd recently bought Quadrophenia and those basslines had a profound impact on me. So I spend hours learning them, and stuff by John Paul Jones, and Jack Bruce, and Roger Waters et al until I thought I was ready to play in a band. So I start auditioning, and there's me with all the fast runs, fancy riffs and alternative modes - and a sharp slap in the face from the reality that most bands just want (and in fact just need) someone to hold it all together - simple and tight being the watchwords. And over the intervening years my real respect has been for the guys who can do just that - play for the band, and make it sound good while keeping control of the natural urge to play more than is absolutely needed. So no, I can't do all the fancy stuff - but can I [i]really[/i] play bass - well that's for others to judge, but that's what I aspire to. [/sub][/font][/size]

You can break bass strings?

[quote name='Rimskidog' timestamp='1319056180' post='1409511'] What's your budget? [/quote] £1500ish

My originals band are thinking of recording some decent demo tracks. I said I'd ask the wise souls on Basschat if they could recommend somewhere suitable. We're a 5 piece (2x guitar, bass, drums, vocals) playing indie-ish rock, all based around the Wood Green/Enfield area of North London. Aiming to record maybe 3 tracks. Budget would cover probably 2 days recording plus mastering. This would be the first time in the studio for most, so we're looking for somewhere who wouldn't get phased by some complete novices. So good, friendly, reasonably priced and based in North London. Not much to ask for, really! But seriously, any recommendations would be appreciated.

I'm almost ashamed to say that I want the ELP version of Jerusalem played at mine.

A friend of mine bought the Laney amp zephead advertised on this site. No problems at all I'm told - one happy customer.

Like many of the posters here, I've played the odd pub gig to the bar staff, but the worst one was a wedding where even the bridie and groom (who had booked us after hearing us a previous gig) left the room as we started to play. Think we played most of the evening to the sound man and a couple of old dears who were too doddery/drunk to move. Got paid OK but a very odd evening.

[quote name='bethnalgreen' post='824499' date='May 1 2010, 12:01 AM']Just had my Ashdown MAG C410T-300 repaired. North London (Edmonton) - MPH Guitars - Malcolm 020 8372 2901[/quote] Can vouch for Malcolm. Just fixed my Crate combo. Good work and very reasonable rates.

I did a long car journey yesterday and had Radio 2 on as company most of the way. After a while I noticed (to my ears anyway) that the bass sound on nearly all recent stuff is very similar - very deep and full but with no edge or crispness at all. The contrast to various bass sounds in the oldies was striking - you could hear picked Precisions in the Motown stuff, the much brighter tones of the late 70's-80's punk/funk/pop tunes, the hollow Ricky sound every now and again etc etc. I'm wondering if it's due to the popularity of listening to music on netbooks, iPods, music phones etc. Perhaps the producers are mixing the sound for small, tinny speakers or cheap in-ear headphones rather than hi-fi speakers and that's the bass sound that works best. But it's very boring.

Looks like my covers band is going to open on the Saturday. Just wondered if any other Chatter was playing, or even thinking of going along? Here's a link if you want to know more about it [url="http://www.efestivals.co.uk/festivals/others2011/woodfest/"]Woodfest[/url]

Had my Geddy Lee for over a year now. My bass GAS has completely gone. You get CIJ build quality, stunning looks (especially after I replaced the white scratchplate with a black one), to me the best bass neck out there, and the epitome of the jazz bass sound.

What icastle says. The only other comment I would add is that the volume control needs to be turned up higher than you'd expect, and to my ears isn't linear, so at less than 5 or 6 it's really quiet, 6 to 8 it's loud, and then at about 8-and-a-bit it goes hyper.

Did a charity gig with the newish covers band last night. It was something we arranged and promoted ourselves, and although it was bit of a pain to organise, it went very well on the night. Hired a really nice hall in Sawbridgeworth, Herts, and had about 120 people in (mainly friends and family). Also gave us a chance to try out lots of new songs in preparation for putting them in our main set. Generally went very well, lots of positive comments. There were a few mistakes here and there, but the band's geting experienced enough to cover for them rather than letting them throw us. Very happy with the sound from my Geddy Lee Jazz through a pair of Hartke 15"cabs - a nice warm growl. And we've made nearly £300 for the local air ambulance trust. So a good evening all round.

My originals band (Random Patrols) were at the Dublin Castle in Camden last night. For some reason I was expecting the place to be a bit grotty but it was all right - a real mix of people in there too. It was a four band night and we were on second, so only got 30 mins, but it went very well. The audience wanted us to play for longer but the sound man said "No!" politely but firmly. My wife came along (first time she'd seen this band play live) and she said we were "OK", which is praise indeed. Incidentally, if you've ever been to the Dublin Castle and used the toilets you'll know where our name came from!

I've done the same to mine, looks the dog's whotsits.

[quote name='gary mac' post='1281423' date='Jun 24 2011, 07:49 PM']Glad it was a good 'un and you turned a profit. How did it go being my substitute?[/quote] You'd best ask the others that question! Couple of missed changes but nothing too obvious. Some good songs, too.

Turned out to be a really good gig. Venue is small but can't fault it otherwise, good soundman and Dan the owner/promoter seems decent enough. As I've said we ended up effectively promoting the gig ourselves and actually turned a small profit. Admittedly ours was a slightly unusual set of circumstances, but I'd be happy to recommend the venue to any band looking for a gig.

[quote name='gary mac' post='1279684' date='Jun 23 2011, 02:58 PM']Sorry North Street, looks like you will be playing in both bands. I'm having yet another sofa and hot water bottle day. Typical really, I've not had a gig for what seems like ages, then two come up this weekend and I can't do them. [/quote] Sorry to hear that. Better start learning the songs - might be few bum notes tonight!

[quote name='Doddy' post='1279549' date='Jun 23 2011, 12:35 PM']f*** that! If they are hiring a sound man and a door man it's the venues responsibility to pay them,not yours.[/quote] Normally I'd agree but we're keeping all the door money - so we're effectively promoting the gig ourselves. Should turn a profit with a bit of luck.

[quote name='gary mac' post='1278952' date='Jun 22 2011, 07:43 PM']This must be the gig that Steve from the support band wants me to play at. So we might get to meet.[/quote] Sound check's 7.30. See you there.

My band Random Patrols has been down to play The Fiddler's Elbow in Camden, North London, this Thursday (23rd) for several weeks. Got a text today saying it's been cancelled as the other bands have pulled out. Which is disappointing in itself, but really difficult as we've encouraged lots of people to come and watch us, many of whom we can't contact to let them know. Anyway, after some negotiation, the gig's back on with just two bands. But to do that we've had to guarantee to cover the cost of the sound and door people if not enough people come along. Not ideal by any means but we'll put it down to experience and hopefully get some useful promotion. So if you're passing...........

Bought mine last year. Ended my bass GAS for good. It's the best thing I've ever played.

A sax player I work with occasionally is looking for a bass player for his band. As the description says, it's for a longstanding mainstream 6 piece jazz group playing standards - swing, blues, latin and ballads. They're based in North London, and rehearse near Alexandra Palace. Apparently they do have a fairly regular bass player at present but he lives in Maidenhead so he's not able to commit long term. I don't know Julian that well but he seems a decent sort. He is very good, though, so I imagine his band is very proficient. If you're interested please contact Julian directly on 020 8366 5456.