jonny-lad

I try to find out what people want from a band when I first get involved - If they all want different things, they'll need to compromise, and if they can't, I'll walk away...I still give things a chance, but I think it's important to look after what you want yourself. I think it's good to keep your options open, play in a couple of bands, or if that's too much, have one main commitment and occasional jams with other musicians, then if anything goes wrong, you haven't lost everything - you can keep playing and keep motivated. I suppose it's quite easy for me to say that, as I'm in several bands, but out of those, only one is ever really busy at any one time. They all know my situation, and they accept it. If they didn't, I'd have to accept that I couldn't play in that particular band, but I've got other options that I can focus on. I hate the politics thing, and I've spent a few years developing a way to deal with it that works for me...I think it will always be a problem, even in a good band, I think it's how you deal with it that really makes the difference. Hope this helps.

[quote name='Bobo_Grimmer' post='448718' date='Mar 29 2009, 03:27 PM']What i'm not feeling much of in new young bands now is 'feel'.[/quote] +1 I'm 22 and one thing I often find lacking in young musicians is the ability to work effectively as part of a band. Being able to listen to what's going on when playing with a band and adapting to different drummers differences in style, locking in with the rhythm section, and fitting in in the mix seem to get overlooked a bit. I think technology, access to backing tracks, tuitional aids, recording equipment, drum loops and so forth means that there is less emphasis placed on live playing with a band and therefore less emphasis on developing good feel. Of course, all these advances have positive uses aswell, but it's still important to play with real people just as much to develop as a musician. I also find that there are great young musicians around, but they often aren't the ones getting all the attention because that's not what it's about for them...they are often out doing their own thing, improving themselves, working outside their local area, meeting different people on different scenes and constantly finding new challenges.

I've got the Gear4music Deluxe double bass, i think - it's the one with the solid top. I took the bridge down myself and sanded the fingerboard a bit to reduce some string buzz. It sounds alright and I've got a K&K bass max for it that sounds great IMO. I would never dare to do that with a more expensive bass, so it's been a great introduction to double bass for me. I'll get some new strings when the budget allows, and maybe an adjustable bridge to improve it some more. If you know they'll need some set-up work doing and include that in your budget, they're good. The hard-case is a great bonus too - whether you keep it or sell it!

I've got a Peavey TNT - one of the newer ones. It sounds great!!

I had a minor problem with mine when I used a new speaker cable. It had unbranded speakon connectors which weren't making good enough contact in the speaker output that accepts both speakon and jack leads - if I wiggled it about the sound would come on and off. There was nothing wrong with the speaker cable other than the fact that it wasn't well suited to that type of socket (it worked fine in regular speakon sockets). I was lucky in that I had used the amp without any problems for a while, so I could identify the cause easily. It would be worth trying some different speaker cables before sending it away for repairs.

Thin Lizzy was a 3-piece when they started out so Phil played rhythm guitar and Eric Bell played lead on Whiskey in the Jar. Everything else they played was guitar, bass and drums as far as I know.

Hi Keith! Thought for the new year I'd join some of the forums I've been lurking around and play more bass too! I've been trying to save some money, what with xmas and all that, but I'm definately interested in Cooper's on Thursday...are there any tickets left? I'll give you a call if I don't speak to you on here before then - I'm off to see me sister tomorrow so might not get to a PC! Are you off to the bass bash in harrogate on 15th Feb? See you soon!

Hi! I'll look out for you! Hope to see you at the bass bash too if you're going!

The bass bash sounds great to me - It's in the diary! I've not really got anything exciting to bring, but it will be great to meet some of the people who can make it! My bass world is pretty quiet at the moment - I'm practising lots but all my gigs are on guitar (sorry!..be kind!!). The plan for the new year is to be playing more bass though, so I'll be rounding up some troops and seeing what I can sort out! I'll see you all soon!

Thanks for the speedy response!!

Hello everyone! Thought I'd introduce myself...I tend to lurk a bit without posting, but I thought for the new year I'd try to play a more active roll on some of the forums I visit! Hope I can be of some use! Jonny.