TimR

We are currently doing Foo Fighters Times Like These. It's a bit random as to whether we all start together at the moment. The guitarist starts but if he doesn't do a count beforehand the drummer gets lost, even if I play the slide on the 7. But he can play in 7/4. Not like the guy who used to count: One-Two-Three-Four-Five-Six-Se-ven.

I've not run that one yet. The Paris marathon is a big event. 40k people, but it isn't barrierd off like London. Had a woman ride straight across the road in front of us once. Surprisingly it wasn't carnage and no one complained. Vivre le France.

Mabe. The phrasing always covers 2 bars of 3/4 then. Takes no difference he couldn't play 3/4 either.

Standing in? Root notes, important bass riffs, smile and get it done.

It's because they have no friends, and definitely no friends who enjoy being with them and playing their music. That would make me sad too. Might be a catch 22 situatuon though.

Have seen these guys several times in Holland. They like a good marching (or cycling) band.

QReminds me we had to play Moon River for a 50th wedding anniversary. Rock drummer with no concept of 6/8. "That's 2/4 init?" Anyway, he bought us in in 4/4, and the guitarist somehow managed to play it in 4/4 as well. Car crash, how they managed to dance to it I'll never know.

Mine should arrive Wednesday...

Double bass and amplifier: http://bicycletruck.blogspot.com/2010/08/lindseys-bass-trailer.html

Me. On Bass. Poking your singer in the eyes with the ends may be desirable in some bands but not the ones I currently play in.

Creep. The audience love it.

Wow. That's a steal! That's exactly what I'm looking for.

25 years ago I turned up to a dep gig with a Jackson Chavel SB, complete with pointy headstock. I was about 20 years younger than anyone else in the band. I'd never met any of them before. The band leader looked at my bass and said "Watch me for the changes and X on rhythm guitar for the chords. And keep it simple, nothing flashy."

There was an Ibanez on Facebook marketplace, not only did it look like it had been used as a spade, it looked like it had been run over by a large tractor and left lying in the mud for a decade. I looked at the photos and decided £10 would have been too much to offer for it. You have a good catch there, assuming the neck stays stable and it stays in tune for a song at a time.

As well....

I'm tempted to pop out and get one tomorrow. If only they weren't so heavy. And didn't sound like 70s Fenders. 🤣

I think a lot of the time, sound engineers are not interested in making the bass sound interesting and different or stand out in the mix. Obviously there are obvious exceptions. But it's easier for them to set the desk how they usually do and concentrate on vocals etc. Hence 'Just use the P bass mate.'

Was it less than £1500?

Unfortunately I got rid of my 80s spandex trousers. They'd be worth a fortune now.

It also makes more sense to just hire an instrument for the big gigs and let other musicians hire it for their big gigs. A lot of money tied up in an instrument you only play a few times a year and have to worry about storing it in a controlled secure environment and insure it.

I wonder if this is part of why these old Fenders are worth so much now. People who now have quite large funds chasing their childhood dreams amd buying instruments they've never been able to afford before, regardless of quality or sound.

The first bass I bought in 1989 was £350. That would have been close to my months take home pay as a school leaver. I think I was paying 33% tax on £6kpa.

They're Germans.

It's not just Chinese, and that labour is no less skilled than assembling any other product. Chinese wages are rising the same way as wages all over the world. China is certainly not a 3rd world country. Luthering by hand is probably a skilled and dying art, many people seem to buy a bass and send it straight for a setup. But I'd have thought any fret levelling, setup, etc, that needs to be done after a few years is a skilled job. But I don't see why it's any different having an in house person doing it at the assembly line.

Yes, but also its no longer taking a month to make the bass.