uncle psychosis

I've got no gigs planned but I'd try to head along to an Edinburgh based handover/gig (McNach??) if I was available. He's too nice to plug his band himself but Sea Bass Kid are really good, we should make a basschat event of it if possible!

Only broken a string once. The E string, on the first note of the first song. Thankfully a kind member of another band saw my predicament and handed me his bass without any prompting whatsoever. A true gent

Do you actually need an amp when you're in NZ? Could you make do with an excellent preamp/DI type solution?

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1386256397' post='2297801'] I've always been from the former type of bands, but both the guitarists are strictly from the latter. I told them that I can get us gigs & they're both giving it "we should learn this & that to cover" etc, which me nor the drummer agrees with. [/quote] [quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1386266228' post='2298032'] I was hoping to get the entire band to write as a collective, but I'm starting to wonder if that'll work? I've done a good bit of songwriting over the years, but as I'm not a singer, I don't do much in the way of lyrics. It's usually been me & the vocalist that have written all the songs. I think the drummer's the only other band member who's ever written a song. The singer is new to the band & bands in general, but he can sing & is willing to pull his weight. [/quote] It sounds to me like you're not all on the same page when it comes to how the band is going to work. Originals bands are hard enough without a definite direction for everyone to pull in. It doesn't really matter whether one person writes all the songs or whether its done collectively, but in order for it to work everyone has to buy into the process. My first band started as just some mates making a racket in a practice room, playing whatever covers we fancied. We had no intention of gigging, but eventually we did it. Then one of us started writing his own songs, the rest of us liked them, and we became an originals band with one guy writing all the songs and the rest of us having input into our own parts. My second band is again one songwriter, but the rest of us have a bit of input. Its all just a matter of what works with the guys you've got.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1386387394' post='2299646'] As for LaFaro, he's a freak and the fact that he reinvented the instrument that he played for just a few years shows he was a genius among geniuses. But it also negates the notion that no one gets good unless they start very young or play for X amount of years. It comes down to talent, desire and commitment. [/quote] Scott LaFaro started playing [i]music[/i] young though. He picked up bass when he was entering music college---he was already a very keen (and good) musician. I don't disagree with the point you're making, just that you've picked an example that doesn't best illustrate it.

[quote name='norvegicusbass' timestamp='1386262649' post='2297925'] I am another of those who played in his youth then put down the bass for decades only to rekindle an interest/love in later life. I am forty seven now and play much better than I did in my youth probably because I listen to different music now and not just punk The whole ten thousand hours thing used to dismay me a fair bit but now I just play for the enjoyment and dont worry about how I should be progressing too much. [/quote] I totally agree. The other thing to remember is that the original 10,000 hours thing was made in the context of Olympic athletes, world famous concert violinists, and sporting megastars like Tiger Woods. One of the beautiful things about music is that you can be making, writing, and performing some beautiful stuff without needing to be technically amazing. You don't need to reach the pinnacle of technical proficiency to enjoy it. :-)

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1386207695' post='2297322'] They say nobody gets great unless they start playing at a very young age. They say you can't be great until you surpass playing for 10,000 hours. [/quote] "They" don't say that, though, do they? The 10,000 hours thing comes from a Malcolm Gladwell book and like all of sociology's "rules" there are exceptions. I don't think its ever been stated in black and white that there are no exceptions to the rule. As a general guide its not a bad estimator though. Sure, if you're an absolute genius then you will reach the top quicker. But most of us aren't geniuses. Scott LaFaro is an interesting example to pick. He picked up the bass very, very quickly but he'd been playing other instruments for a long time. He had a bit of a head start

Get some D'addario EXL in 9s. Thats about as standard as it gets.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1386151124' post='2296331'] I've been thinking more about this and I'm going to do the same. I'm planning to end up with a pair of Marleaux 5 strings. So my 4 strings and my Dingwall ABZ5 will be going. It will be a bit odd, but the Marleaux gets all my attention anyway. The others just sit there and look pretty! [/quote] I'll believe it when I see it!

Personally I think that the PRS "bling" looks a lot better in bass form than guitar form. That green one on their website is beautiful. They're (re)entering the market at a very, very tough price point though. Will be interesting to see how they do.

[quote name='nugget' timestamp='1385913398' post='2293522'] Are there any other UK dedicated guitar forums worth trying to sell on? [/quote] [url="http://www.thefretboard.co.uk"]www.thefretboard.co.uk[/url] Its a very good forum and the marketplace moves at a high speed...

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386085098' post='2295512'] Think I'll try that. Can't do any harm, can it? Cheers [/quote] I had an identical problem with a Japanese telecaster---An "S" series that was clearly newer than a 94/95. They were able to tell me what it was.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1386081442' post='2295440'] So is there any way I can find out when it was made? Not that it is earth-shatteringly important, but it would be nice to know! [/quote] Email Fender with the serial number. They'll probably be able to help you out. Sam

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1386072674' post='2295235'] If you cant turn up to a gig with instruments, amps and cables you are not a band. [/quote] Thing is, in many gigging scenarios gear sharing is expected and, often, necessary. The trick is just to make sure that everyone 1) knows in advance of the gig that gear will be shared and 2) is on the same page when it comes to how that gear should be treated and used. I deeply sympathise with the OP but I personally wouldn't have leant out an amp that had too much power for the cab. Just too risky. As for what can be done now, I'd politely contact the band and hope they do the right thing. Failing that, I'd maybe publicise something via social media (although not making a massive deal out of it) and then chalk it up to experience.

Cor, that looks tasty. Nice work.

The nile rodgers one is fantastic.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1385554192' post='2289530'] Interestesingly my current guitarist's long time guitar hero is Nile, and he does [i]that[/i] feel particularly well. He's never been too bothered by playing lead, and has spent years really getting into rhythm guitar. It certainly shows! [/quote] Nile can do a mean solo too, when the mood takes him. When I saw him during the summer it was just him and a guitar and he did a couple of fairly extended solos. He's insanely talented.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1383401750' post='2264089'] GHS Pressurewounds are a wonderful string. Well worth a try. [/quote] I'm really itching to properly try some pressurewounds. I put some on my BB414 but the truss rod is stuck and now I have fretbuzz so its not a fair test. My Yamaha TRB is too long a scale length for the GHS ones, so I've ordered some Ken Smith Compressores which I'm reliably told are essentially the same strings. Since I had a relative working in the states over the last few months I put together a massive strings order which he's bringing home to me, problem is that I've got impatient waiting now....

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1385464144' post='2288486'] My bet is its the rhythm guitar, why? Because in twenty years I've only met two really superb funk/disco rhythm guitarists, and about a hundred who think they can do either but cant. [/quote] I think I've only ever met one superb funk-disco guitarist. Having said that, he's not too shabby at all. Goes by the name of Nile Rodgers. ....sorry, I just had to do that. I still break into a huge grin when I remember that I have shaken his hand

Well at 50% off they didn't last long, did they!

I see that the Korg Pitchblack tuner is in the upcoming "Amazon Black Friday" lightning sales today. Starts at 1915 this evening and if the other deals are anything to go by it won't last long. Don't know what the discount will be but I would have thought at least 20% Go to the Amazon homepage, click on the "black friday" link and then you can see the upcoming deals.

Great stuff. I went to lessons with Jen for a while, she taught me loads. She clearly loves what she does.

[quote name='1970' timestamp='1384966850' post='2282925'] I'm guessing no-one here was a regular on Musicradar because it was neither polarised, a niche, or filled with kids. A few annoying gear sharks, but that's about it. Excellent marketplace. It was really successful imo. I got just as much good advice and just as much good gear over there as I get here. (ie none you useless bastards lololols Just kidding you guys are ok) [/quote] I was on Musicradar---and I'm on its replacement [url="http://www.thefretboard.co.uk"]www.thefretboard.co.uk[/url] too. MR was a great forum but it did have more than its fair share of prats too (thankfully they kept most of their nonsense to the OT threads). Some of the behaviour over there would definitely not be welcome at a forum run by me, thats for sure. But yes, on the whole it was a very good forum for guitar related chat.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1385079502' post='2284381'] You can all go on about how rude I am -- it gives everyone a free shot to insult me. That's fine. But you may not want to reconsider being a musician if you can't take the slightest bit of direction. [/quote] You may want to consider your use of the written word if you can't "take a little direction". See, I can play that game too!

I'd like to have a proper go on a rick bass again. The only time I've ever played one was when I was a total beginner for about five minutes in a shop. In terms of aesthetics and style I think they're brilliant. I also think it's great that they're so different to fender designs. I would really, really love one of their 12 strings but I just can't get on with how narrow the fretboard is :-(