4-string-thing

I used to be in a 6 piece folk-rock band where 3 of us turned up at every rehearsal and the other 3 used to turn up when they felt like it. They always turned up for gigs though and got paid an equal share. Nobody, apart from me, booked any gigs, but the fiddle player was very quick to moan about the quality of the gigs despite never actually looking for any herself.

I left one band because they were sending me deaf, 2 guitarists each with a Blackstar 200w stack and no idea how to use the master volume control....

I left another because the guitarist said that if someone asked us to play Brown Eyed Girl, we should (I don't do requests)

I bought a s/h one of these a while back, did a very similar thing with the headstock (though I also added a cheeky Telecaster decal) I also had to countersink the holes on the scratchplate and file a little bit away next to the neck, to make it sit flat. I bought some ashtrays from the states too, to cover the bridge and pup, which look a bit modern. Total cost was about £120.

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:165037]

It's Dave Mattacks or Buddy Rich, I don't need to look at the list to tell me that!

I bought my (now ex) girlfriend Ronan Keating tickets for Christmas a few years ago, thinking she'd go with her daughter or sister.... Nope she insisted I went with her, and I have to say apart from seeing thousands of women watching it via their camera phones (that really bugs me for some reason) I really quite enjoyed it. His band were excellent and put on a really good show.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1458644471' post='3009286']
making an effort to dress up a bit helps IMO, nothing worse than seeing a band looking like they've just walked off a building site (and the regulation black T shirt with some bands name on, scruffy ill fitting denim jeans and dirty trainers isn't much better) makes it look like you really can't be bothered
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^ This ^

I think a lot of it is that JMB is full of timewasters, though I found our guitarist on there... If you're after an originals band, then they will probably want someone younger but that may depend on the genre? I consider 53 to be in your prime (but, I would cos I'm also 53) but a metal band may think it's past it. A folk-rock, blues, country or bluegrass type band might not.

Our drummer and I are both 53 but our guitarist/singer is much older (he played his first gig in 1962) and he has more energy and enthusiasm than both me and the drummer put together! It will take a while but you'll find something eventually.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1458568227' post='3008621']
Perhaps you should try a 5-string?
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I hate the thought of a five string almost as much as having to drag myself down to The Whore & Strumpet on a Saturday night to play Mustang Sally to the 9 drunken idiots who are too stupid to go home!

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1458551541' post='3008402']
Er... do something else..? Life's too short to be gigging if you don't like it.

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Luckily, we don't do many. It's the pub gigs I tend not to like, always found them to be more trouble than they're worth. Festivals are ok, mainly because I can turn up, play through whatever rig is provided and bugger off straight afterwards. Much more my kind of thing....

If you're after the garden flood type, pop in to your local electrical wholesaler and they will more than likely give you a demo. 2 30W cool white floods should give you plenty of light. But they might need to be quite a distance behind you to get the full effect.

I always look like I'm bored, hating every second of it, and would rather be drinking the contents of my own bladder, than be on a stage playing bass. Mainly because I find it boring and I hate every second of it....

Seriously, I hate playing most gigs.....

And of course, this one

http://youtu.be/fanHzHJin8E

Pretty much anything by Sandy Denny or Richard Thompson, but I'm finding this particularly moving at the moment....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwEL0_NBOp4

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1457872106' post='3002492']
Zodiac Mindwarp - Prime mover got a top 20 I think.
Loved it when it came out. Comedy value

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtnCcWOS7y8[/media]
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Great tune, it was my previous bands opening number for a good while!

[quote name='timhiggins' timestamp='1457680498' post='3000842']
Thanks for the replies fellas...
sounds promising..did the mustang pickup make a big difference from stock one ?
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It did to my ears, but I'd be pushed to say how.... maybe just the placebo effect? It's a humbucker though, so I guess that should make some kind of difference?

Really Free by John Otway and Wild Willy Barrett. (yes, I know Otway had a second hit 25 years later, but I count that as MY hit, not his )

I recently modded a Bronco, fitted a Fender Mustang pup, scratchplate and control plate. It looks great and sounds amazing, it's now my main bass.... Definitely worth having a go, they're cheap as chips and readily available....

[quote name='rushbo' timestamp='1455820254' post='2982760']


Not everyone likes them and that's fine, but go back and look at what they did. The world was changing when they were around. But part of that change was inspired by or highlighted by that band.

...and Liverpool is great place to visit whether you like the Fabs or not.
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I actually do like them, but for me the early stuff was not quite as groundbreaking as people seem to think....

The Beatles were just a band, they didn't change the world, the world was changing at that time anyway and they just went along for the ride.

They rehashed 50's Rock n Roll to start with and their own early songs were pretty banal pop songs. Compare the lyrics from She Loves You, or I wanna Hold Your Hand to Dylans Mr Tambourine Man or Blowin in The Wind and you'll see that (lyrically anyway) they were nothing special really.

Heroes is brilliant, but in my opinion it's mainly because of Robert Fripps guitar playing. 5 Years is one of my favourite songs ever.

Before I read the thread, I thought of The Chain....

Never much of an influence on me (well, not in a bass playing sense anyway ) but a great bloke who you could genuinely call a "rockstar" Things won't be the same without him.....

I love it, and have found it very inspiring..... How does it sound? (besides loud) Seeing as oak and pine are not really recognised as "tonewoods"

If someone showed me pictures of Jack Bruce, Flea, Chris Squire and Jaco (without their band, basses etc) I'd probably only get one of them....

Mind you, I've only been playing bass for 39 years!

Think I've only bought two albums this year, Still by Richard Thompson and The Spirit Moves by Langhorne Slim & The Law.... Both excellent, but I think LS just nudges it....

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1449412080' post='2923275']
That list of 50 songs is what the house band will be playing for eternity when I'm in Hell.
[/quote]

Yup!