bassjim

Worst gig?=.......Pub in the middle of nowhere.No audience. Just the bar staff. And a cab driver taking the numbers up to three briefly but apparently sent to the wrong pub. This is what can go wrong. Any thing else by comparison is welcome.

£100.00 (between the band) but wouldn't do it more than twice. it would have to be garunteed packed though. It would make up for the empty gigs. there are some venues we play that are always good because the pub is behind live music, the punters want live music and we want to be the best we can at providing that. the soul destroying gigs playing to an empty room usually due to a venue with either a bad rep, bad location, bad acoustics, wrong regular punters or somewhere trying it out in the hope they can have some of whats going on in the good places. But yes I do think this is appealling to less folks than it used to. When I were a lad you had three sh*t channels of TV that stopped transmitting by 1.00 am latest or you could go out. Pubs were 1. theres a band on or 2. there is not a band on. at some point in the evening punters went to one or the other. Now.......

just turn it down. I hate bad rooms with a passion. there is no cure. best advice is as above . keep it to the near and dear. nothing more garunteed to empty whats in there by hammering up the vol and making an awful din. If its that bad and leaves you down hearted after just dont play there again.

Most likley its going to be at a loss money wise. If there are 4 in the band its probably going to be about £2-2,500 each all in. You might pay that to go on an expensive holiday and just sit staring at a pool/beach ect for a couple of weeks and not know whats going on Eastenders. If you belive in the band and the music then I still say have a go. In terms of promoting the band the alternative is the usual avenues. £2,500.00 is a lot of lolly short term but long term its not reall worth worrying about. It could be the difference between lift off and standing still. The experience gained alone will be something to talk about for many years if nothing else. Great rock and roll stories and all that. I guess if one of the other band members wants you to fund their share then in this senario then of course, absoultley not. But............ If you dont buy a lottery ticket you wont win the lottery.

from personal experience.....we got an "advance" which we had to pay back. Out of the advance we had to pay travel and accomidation expenses or fund these things out of our own pockets. It was a small deal and not a lot of money up front so we part funded going on tour by doing deals such as sponsership from niche clothing companies. Most of our advance went on legal stuff followed by recording followed by bits of needed rather than wanted equipment. In hindsite if I could just throw my fair share of 6000 euros in and look at it as a busmans holiday that would have been better off in the long run. Most of the band at the time had day jobs so we were more or less doing this anyway. You havnt got some dick from the record company rolling around stoned out of his box making f***wit decisions on your behalf so this could be a great adventure for you and your band. You only live once so I would say go for it. Get your CDs ready and boxed, dont sell for more than £3-4 each ( no one will buy first time around CDs for any more IMO). Have your website and FB page ready (we had none of the above!!!). Book the time off work and get out there. If you lose your job, get another one when you get back. Its now or never. There are experiences to be had and benifit from long term that you will never get otherwise. If the band you are supporting have a big fan base you get to advertise yourself for what is a reletivly small amount. I'd say go for it. One day if things go well you could be chargeing your support acts to help fund your touring. Your money wont be going into the other bands piss up fund (well maybe a few quid!) but probably on the venue hire/pa/sound crew the list goes on. But yes.....go for it.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1479416986' post='3176463'] [b][size=3]U boy, Jaco Pastorius an' Oi be Larry Carlton. Now git orf moi laaand.[/size][/b] [/quote] !

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1479227099' post='3174891'] I like a low action and I always prefer a 7.25" radius and vintage frets. However, vintage frets can be quite tall unless they are well played in. Obviously the taller the fret the higher the string has to be from the fretboard. Ask a decent luthier to take a bit off the top of the frets and set the nut height. With vintage frets it can help if they don't try and crown the frets to a point- just flatten the profile a bit and level them out. You'll likely be able to get the strings a bit lower after that, with less relief too. With a decent fret job you can set the neck much straighter. I've had it done on a couple basses including my Road Worn P, which can get a crazy-low action. Too low! [/quote] All of this!!

Just IMO and IME. Some basses with flat fingerboards you might like and some you might not. Same with radius necks. Lots of variables so its a bit try it before you buy it, or, buy it and either you will or wont like it. My fav jazz has a slight radius but I prefer this to flat on THIS bass. For low action: ( Get a guitar seterupperah/ tech that can if you don't have the knowledge or skills. Or this could be a good place to start sorting these things out by your self?) A little cut at the nut can make quite a difference but untill you have the neck in your hands you wont know if it needs it. String gauge: 45-105 I can get a lower than low action but more fret buzz especially up the dusty end. 40-100 I can go a bit higher. Because the gauge is not as hard on the fingers, and less effort strength wise, its easier to play and I get a better tone like this, and.... get rid of the fret buzz! If you play a heavy gauge now, try this. The lower gauge sounds a bit twangy at first so you have to spend a week or two playing till you adjust to it. Yes there is going to be some tone difference but you might like it. Personally I like it. If you do not go back to 45-105/ heavier and accept the compromise of a few buzzy frets. Flat vrs radius I think is a bit down to preference and a bit depending on the quality of the bass. I have right now at home a very nice expensive bass with a flat/er radius and I really don't like it. The next guy to play it might think its the best thing ever ever ever. The action on both my fav jazz and this one are more or less the same with the same gauge strings and low action.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1479142377' post='3174281'] Get out. Ha ha. [/quote] I'll get me coat..........

Mrs Bassjim knitted me some "Bass Mits". Think of a fingerless glove but.. On the plucking hand : Whole thumb is exposed. Allows you to slap without restriction. On the Fingers: No half fingers like "finger-less gloves"but one large hole for all four fingers which has a slight elastic quality so it covers all four fingers to just below the first knuckle joint. Repeat for the left fretting hand but thumb is covered up to just below the thumb nail. Because none of the fingers are joined they allow a better freedom of movement whilst still doing the job of a finger-less glove. Its the best I have so far. Plus 1 to all the other garments and tips mentioned above. I hate playing outside , even in the summer if its a bit breezy as for me cold hands = cant play or at least play my personal best. In the winter indoor venues with none or hardly any heating are just as bad. Miserable. One of the singers I gig with does Winter Wonderland In Hyde Park (I think?) which is 5 days a week. She told me that the guitarist and bassist suffer for their art and then some for the first few weeks but then start to acclimatize to it. So thats ok if its a string of gigs but the odd one off could be harsh.

Sometimes.......even if it seems like madness.......turn the subs off and just use the tops. Take everything out of the PA bar keys and vox and maybe just a tiny amount of kick drum. Just use the backline and turn it all down.

Back in the day a bass amp/cab/ combo was a Trace. A few other brands would come and go but for quite a while it was Trace Elliot. I think I used to just get on with it a lot more back then. You plug it in, sort of a seagull/ double hump with a drop in the middle bit on the graphic and that was it 9/10. I didnt complain about the weight because there wasn't really anything readily accessable to compare it with. Kinda what you dont know sort of thing. All retailers had it in stock cause it sold really well. Then Hartke turned up out of nowhere on mass with their Transporter cabs and shiny must have cones. And that I think was the beginning of the end......

Depending on what I'm playing, this dictates how the tips of my fingers are employed. Its not necessarily a conscious thought process though. I did for many years have a bad habit of always flattening just my ring finger on my fretting hand, using more of the fleshy part rather than the tip, whilst all the other fingers were more in the traditional bent over and only using the tips. Although I've corrected this I find years later, I can use either or. Because I'm self taught I think the first 10-15 years were more of a pursuit to just getting the playing done to a point it was as fluid and effortless as could be. I think that most of the "correct" (if this is officially correct,I dont know to be honest?) tips of the fingers style has just naturally evolved over the years as well without any determined effort on my part. It has to a degree,just sorted its self out. If you cant touch your little finger with your thumb on the same hand? I think that's weird. As in it sounds well.....weird!! Maybe you do have something different to every one else which forces you to do something that works for you. I know a guitarist that has really small hands. When playing up the dusty end he has to bring his thumb forward and not round the back of the neck. Works for him. As usual if in doubt ask a professional medical person.

Start up bands are the hardest thing to get up and going. No one feels like they have lost any thing by not bothering from the go hence the abundance of time wasters. The best players around are usually already busy so quite often its the fed up what they are doing now, inbetweeners or the not very good and inexperienced that find themselves on the pages of Gumtree and Join My Band. We would all like to walk into an up and running success of a band but if it were that easy even the "only play at home" guys would have a venture out (I reckon!). You just have to keep looking and searching. The right people wont let you down so although this recent episode was annoying I think you dodged a bullet. But yeah, the folks that didnt call to say its off = tossers!

If you are head and shoulders above them all talent wise and have experience as a seasoned gigger: Do they acknowledge this? Would they be prepared to allow you the MD seat? Would you want the MD seat? In these situations in the past, before I know whats going on, I've just taken up this position out of an inbuilt urge born of frustration to lead the way. People get a "why are you telling me what to do?" vibe quickly because it hasn't been discussed before. " Because you are sh*t" is the answer, or words to that effect put in a much more diplomatic way. So..... If it can be, establish before you enter into any band bonding that you are MD and in charge of rehearsals, telling em' what needs to be done as homework and whats to be expected at the following rehearsals, and that this is the deal. There will come a point when if all goes according to plan and if they (the new band) are up for it and enthusiastic the need to MD will become less and less. You end up with a good band. You are not there for the good of your health so tell em' this is how it needs to work if you are on board. You have nothing to lose either way. Once its agreed you are in charge no one gets the hump. Best outcome = great new band thats hungry for it and it will be a good year or two at least before the egos and apathy set in. (maybe even longer than that. Remember one of them has a guitar) Worst case= No matter how much work they put in they are hopeless. And/Or.. You find you are not suited to MDing. All goes in the "my little book of experience". Win win.

Maybe you were over- qualified? You were too wise and all knowing. The fractions of the band that have deluded them selves into thinking they know it all felt threatened by this and swayed towards someone that can be told what to. If they were really young then image means a lot to them. More than the music in some cases. Although its an ego bruise, you may have got away just in time.

The way i used to use it was as a "slap sound". I had this foot pedal that came with it and every time I wanted to slap I engaged it. By setting the graphic/falt slider at the right point you could make sure the pre shape gave a boost as well. It didnt do any thing for a fingers tone so for that I used the graphic on its own to varying degrees of success. Usually not very good but the sudden "slap presence" worked good in the middle of a tune.

I have an EBS 112 neo available (sorry if this is the wrong place to mention it!) great cabs. I used to use 2 of these but now I have a 2 x 10 that I use with one of them. Perfect combi. 112 goes to rehearsals then add 2x 10 on gigs. Very small rooms use just a 112.

For me its there to be played not stared at. If it gets a ding here and there along the way its fine. I wouldn't be happy about it falling down a flight of stairs but my concerns would be more about it becoming non functional rather than cosmetic.

personally, although they did sort out an issue on a staff problem (whole other story: fender bass, idiot staff, nearly didn't buy,good manager steps in and rescues situation, blah blah blah) I have been back since and............just don't feel "welcome". I've never worked in a music shop so I guess there must be a high percentage of time wasting know it alls that help to create the "not really bovered" atmosphere. But that's not my fault. You get the same sort of vibe from McDonalds. High turn over staff that would rather be earning more else where. I know some staff are really trying but its short lived. Big stores buy more and sell for less which pushes the smaller enthusiastic guys out. When I were a lad ect ect. I would only use them now if it was entirely necessary or the deal was such that it made up for some predictable messing about.