bassjim

This meter reader = idiot. Smart Meters: There was a program on radio 2 Jeremy Vine about these. They all have a compatibility problem from one supplier to the next. They don't work properly and the program highlighted several customers being overcharged by thousands as a result. (although they did get it sorted out). One expert they had on said the tech was already out of date and it would be too expensive to upgrade the whole network so that they would work satisfactory so the whole concept as it stands is flawed. So really its a "Not so smart meter."

Hi Mods Please can you help. I am unable to upload pictures. The process starts ok but then it goes red and says upload failed. Many thanks

[quote name='obi 2 kenobi' timestamp='1495119136' post='3301436'] Hi, how do you get a refund - what did you say to your bank ? I also paid by credit card with zero delivery. Thanks [/quote] Just call your banks customer service and tell them whats going on. They will ask you all the relevant questions and then turn it over to the dept that deals with it.

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1495034489' post='3300730'] Get in touch with your bank or credit card issuer. They'll refund you. [/quote] Thanks for your advise. I did this. My bank said they needed to investigate. Within 20 minutes they called me back and advised I had now been refunded. So in all....three weeks of phones calls here and there, put on hold for best part of half an hour just to get through to my bank, still no strings but at least refund (with the bank intervening to achieve this) and since gone elsewhere. If I were selling anything to do with bass guitars be it strings to straps or even basses, I would take into account the fact we bassists talk to each other a lot here, and even if we don't join in we still read what is said on this forum.

[quote name='JellyKnees' timestamp='1495033521' post='3300716'] I've used them a fair bit down the years and never had a problem. Last ordered off them a couple of months ago without issue. However given the current issues, I think I'll avoid them in future. Shame as they have always had a great selection of strings, in spite of the rather 'clunky' website. [/quote] Yes I think I may be with you there . Unless something tells me its a good idea to try them again, but until then...hello Strings Direct ect. Again shame as they were really good in the past but these recent reports here on basschat plus my own recent bad experience all add up to a depressing picture. If the owner is in poor health then I'm really sorry to hear it. Can't be easy.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1495031604' post='3300684'] Unbelievable. Did you pay using PayPal? Buyers protection is a godsend. I should have my money back next week. Even if they respond at the last minute offering to send my stuff I'll decline. I'm not doing business with people who treat their customers like that. [/quote] No I paid via the online card service so unless they do something the moneys gone. Thankfully not thousands lost but if they are that carefree about customers money no matter how small the amount then............hmmmmm.

With some great regret I have to say a very disappointed bassjim here. Three weeks this one has been dragging on. Ordered on line. Nothing saying my choice of string out of stock. Ordered a few sets. They took the money. Then nothing. Chase up phone call 1 and chase up phone call 2 had them contradicting themselves plus still no strings. After these phone calls just the one set turns up a week late, with a royal mail date stamp that again contradicts when they said the strings were sent. First missing order blamed on the post. More phone (from me to them. never them to me) calls and apologies made to me with promises of free strings plus refund. Nothing. Another phone call and am told a refund on its way same day. 2 days later .Nope. Again its with great regret I report this as they have been spot on up till now. Have since been elsewhere (cause like, y'know...still need some strings!!!! ). Oh dear. This recent experience doesn't inspire confidence for future purchases. A bit of honesty goes a long way. " sorry out of stock".= ok get elsewhere this time and come back next time around. Three week balls up = go elsewhere and stay there.

Hi all. My usual shop on line is having a few difficulties and so in the meantime I need to order a few sets. (I don't want to name and shame as I'm sure its just a blip) Who are you using for online strings that you are happy with on both price and service?

i liked it

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1494434652' post='3295983'] We play predominantly in Sussex area - East/West Sussex/Surrey/Kent borders. You're probably looking at £250 - £300 for pubs, some pay up to £400, but that's typically for proven acts who draw a crowd. Clubs can be more, some up to £500, but then smaller ones may pay half that. [/quote]this

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1494258328' post='3294431'] This. Or it's a sign that your strings are knackered! bassjim, you've made me genuinely curious: do you actually find that your strings are noticeably out of tune between songs? Before my own setup became more elaborate, I used to tune up just before going on, and could just leave the tuner in my pocket for the rest of the gig - and I don't exactly have a gentle playing style. In fact, so confident was I of the robust tuning on a bass, that I only added a tuner to my pedals because I realised there was a combined tuner and A/B available (Korg Pitchblack Plus) so that I could swap between 4- and 8-string basses more easily. Unsurprisingly, I find it's always wise to check the tuning of the 8-string since those thinner octave strings are more likely to deviate. Admittedly, the tuner at your feet is a convenient safety net to have, especially if you don't want to interrupt the flow of a gig with an emergency re-tuning! But unless your strings are actually getting on for a quarter-tone out, I'd have thought most people would struggle to hear any minor discrepancies, especially when the whole band is playing together. [/quote] No its not noticeably out of tune. Its me wanting to be as profesh as possible..... and its probably a bit OCD. It doesn't hold up the gig any and causes no disruption. I think because the gitard seems to be happy to carry on regardless to the point I wonder if he can even hear it, and I dont want to be like some gitard.aint nobody got time for dat so I like to keep it in check. But I wonder...if I just left it alone, how far out it might be at the end of a set.

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1494257809' post='3294417'] My bass is never far out, but like to keep it spot on. Must say though that the accuracy of modern tuners make things look a lot worse than they sound, a few cents adrift appearing to show up as way off! [/quote] I think this accuracy has led to my OCD on tuning!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1494254872' post='3294371'] This is a Segway... The word you're wanting would be 'segue', I think..? Just sayin'. [/quote] segue.

Probably been done already but latest band grief is this topic. On an average gig down the dog and duck, I personally do a tuning check after each number. I have a tuner on the floor which is on permanently. A quick step on the mute of another pedal and its all over in 3-5 secs max. If a tune starts with,for example, a long keys intro I will take a bit more time but my aim is to stay in tune as much as possible. New strings or old strings, i treat the tuning the same and constantly check it. During my tuning time you have clapping from the previous number or a bit of vocal banter with the crowd going on so apart from segways where obviously I don't tune between songs, I cant see the problem with it. I'm probably faster than it takes the keys player to change patches. On drop D and Eb it may take me a few more seconds. Occasionally. Gitard for what ever reason on the other hand seems to take ages.......but thats another story/debate/rant. So folks , how often do you check your tuning during a gig and how important is it to you to stay in tune? Would you rather keep going from one song to the next, out of tune, when you know you are out of tune for the sake of sounding "professional"? Remember I'm talking about the dog and duck pub here not some wedding,function or touring situation.

Yep still got my thermals and bass mitts the misses knitted for me. Any advice on where to get the silk gloves? I'd like to try em out. As I said, I'm a right pansy when it comes to playing outside. Unless it was a xmas market type thing with a good crowd I'm not keen. There have been a few bigger stages where the stage lights have warmed things up nicely but I'm crying about the UK in the summer! The gig I was dreading this Saturday just gone turned out to be inside. The Elton John tribute act just before us played out side during the warmish daylight. We set up in the nice warm inside whilst he was still doing his thing. The girl from the pub running the event even said it was always the plan as punters will be to chilly come later on. At last I thought, taking off my outer layer of clothing. Someone with common sense running the entertainment. I'm so delicate.

Funny thing is you don't realise just how bad it is until it finally happens. The band becomes a mask. The OP may find a lot of the winging it guys may be doing the gigs as a way of getting out the house as a priority over the music itself.

I would recommend getting a cheap precision/jazz copy. Take it to bits. rebuild it. Mess with the truss rod. Mess with the bridge. Get to know these components and the limitations, if any, on the cheap bass. You may even find you improve a bass and start to experiment with what works for you. Get your hands dirty and if you break something, no biggie. At least you know how far to bend or turn something before it gets dangerous.

I think I can relate to the OP from when I used to run my own functions band. It was when I finally split with my ex wife some years ago, that I realised why I was doing all the running around organising the gigs, moving the PA, putting up with muso based grief ect. It was so I could get out and away from her! I wasn't confronting the real problem. When we finally split up, I had so much more time on my hands. There I was loading/squeezing the PA into my car at 1.00 am whilst the rest of the band, now paid, had skipped off home as usual that I suddenly thought "why am I doing this to myself ? What as things stand, is in it for me?" I'd been silently and without realising it ,putting up with a lot because it was better than being at home. Like the OP I made a split decision after this gig and that was that. Started deping for others and just folded the functions band. I told them I couldn't be bothered with it any more and If anyone wanted to take the reins its fine but I'm done. Never looked back. Some of those deps blossomed into greater things. Since then I have gigged consistently and joined several bands along the way where the PA and gig getting is down to others. I have taken a few not so good gigs with not so good players along the way as "stop gaps" rather than nothing but never gone back to doing the admin. Just turn up with me and my gear with the set learnt. I always offer a hand with load in and out, offer appreciation where ever I can but don't get involved with the office work. Maybe its a break from the admin and bad attitudes and not the playing that you need.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1494018344' post='3292709'] My favourite, slick, upbeat version of this classic. The drumming, the sax and keys solo's are just superb. Everything about this is great. Fantastic music. Such a great groove. imo [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnNyxy7XPfs[/media] [/quote]playing this one tonight

So I'm a big girls blouse when it comes to playing outside. Here in England its still cold as far as I'm concerned and an outside gig at this time of year fills me with dread. Whats the lowest temperature you are happy to play outside? For me anything below 20 degrees= artic conditions where my hands are too cold to play well. Beer festival in a pub garden under a tent with the cold wind blowing at you for example. Even in the height of summer here , come the evening when the sun has gone down it starts to get a bit chilly and I don't look forward to it at all. Yes I know, man up , but ....would you avoid or even cancel a gig in these "freezing" conditions?

To avoid getting sacked if joining or deping for an established band: Be confident in everything you play ( and because all your learning was done at home ,you are). Know what you are doing. Be friendly. Go with the flow. Don't join in with any existing band politics. Be on time. Offer help with load in/outs. Keep it humble. Don't be afraid to ask for directions but only give em if asked. Fit in. Be clean mentally and physically. Get a sense of the image dress wise and go with (within reason). ie: dont turn up like your going to a football match for a wedding gig. Be adaptable. Avoid sacking from an existing band: Same as above but keep the moral high ground at all times. Only let someone else know about where they are going wrong if,and only if you have your house in order. I was in a band with a right ego on guitar, which was a very regular and very well paid gig. The guy was a dick and not going to change, so I either accepted this and got on with it or I could of kicked up. Kicking up would have = sack. The benefits outweighed the egotistical challenges so I adapted accordingly.

old ford lane studios

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1493299146' post='3287267'] i think this is just brilliant. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhUsnoP4e38[/media] [/quote]yeah.I like that

And then that opens up another can of worms......yes I agree a good player winging it could be better than a not so good player that actually knows the set. But this is probably down to the fact the not so good player stands out as such, possible irritates and grates, so anyone that sounds like they know what they are doing by comparison is going to be a breath of fresh air. I think the beef here is players that show up hoping to wing it and by the time you realise they cant, its too late, as opposed to those who comfortably can.

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1493361137' post='3287686'] So, a dep turns up with clean Guitar sounds for your 'Funk, Disco, Soul Covers band ? But you prefer Overdriven sounds? Is your band, AC/DC does Chic? Sorry, the vision you created just made me giggle. Carry on. [/quote]No you misread .....normally a guitarist (including mine)makes a racket and goes through 10 minutes of over driven sounds before anything else is checked. Then sorts out the correct sound for the gig, in this case a clean sound. What I was saying there was,this guy instead of obsessing with fuzz goes straight for the correct tone for the gig. Personally I am not a fan of overdrive, especially used in all the wrong places, from a guitarist on a funk soul cover band gig.