Krysbass

[quote name='Coilte' timestamp='1407935605' post='2525480'] This hardly seems ideal....or fair. [i]Every [/i]band member has ( or should have..) his/her part to play with regards timing. It sould not be left to you alone. [/quote] [font=Times New Roman][size=3][color=#000000] [/color][/size][/font] [size=4][font=Calibri][color=#000000]I totally agree - in fact because of this I've already hooked up with another band of players who take more responsibility for their part in proceedings! I just need them to start averaging a couple of gigs per month for me to complete the move.[/color][/font] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]The new band also play “She Sells Sanctuary” as well as a load of other stuff that’s fairly basic bass-wise. But in this outfit no-one is hung up about keeping 100% to the original, so there’s plenty of opportunity for each of us to improvise a little and have a moment in the spotlight – which helps keep even the most mundane song interesting. [/font][font=Wingdings][font=Wingdings]J[/font][/font][/color][/size]

[size=3][color=#000000][font=Calibri][size=4]We do both “Chasing Cars” (Snow Patrol) and “She Sells Sanctuary” (The Cult). Unfortunately, despite the somewhat minimalist bass playing required on these songs I rarely get to relax on them because the drummer, guitarist and singer in my band all have a poor sense of time-keeping/rhythm, so it’s always down to me to be constantly on the alert to try and hold the whole thing together and avoid train-wrecks.[/size] [/font][/color][/size]

Always plug in your amp through a circuit-breaker. Despite the many horror-stories of musicians killed by electric shocks from their gear, I've yet to see anyone else use one of these. I've no idea why.

[sub] [/sub] I use superglue - the one sold in a small bottle with a brush attached to the cap when you open it. Yes - in an ideal world it would be nice if we could all find the time to play bass for a couple of hours per day to build up those calluses - but my job/family commitments mean that I usually only get to pick up my bass about 3 days per week. I daresay there are plenty of other “weekend warriors” out there in the same real-world situation. (And I also can’t play with a pick – so there’s no plan B for me there either). I play in 2 bands – so last Saturday after spending the morning on home practice, the afternoon rehearsing 2 sets with one band and the evening spent gigging with the other band; the superglue came in very handy. Once dry it really does help to massively reduce friction between strings/plucking fingers.

Just like to add my +1 for Ashdown amps. I'm still regularly gigging the Superfly 500 I've owned since 2008 - I still think this is a great, practical amp that needs very little EQ-tweaking to get a good sound. It has never let me down. I also have a Little Giant 1000, which has also been gigged regularly - again; no problems with this one. Have had compliments on the bass tone/presence at gigs - both when using my rig stand-alone or when DI-ing thru the PA.

+1 for the Westone Thunder. A 1A was my "first proper bass", but I still have my '84 Thunder III which definitely doesn't fall into the category of "first bass". - It'll be 30 years old next year and although it's no longer my main bass was gigged as recently as last night (Absolutely dire gig - but that's another story)

I've been using an LG1000 since 2010 - with two 4-ohm cabs, so I'd be in the same dilemma as the o.p. if mine let go. No problems so far and I've grown to really like this amp so I'd probably look to buy another one secondhand if it came to it. But one thing I noticed from the outset was that this amp gets very hot. The built-in fan spins briefly when the amp is switched on, but after that it never seems to kick in during use, so the amp would be very hot after an hour's use at volume. The cooling fan seems to work on a thermostat, but clearly the heat threshold for this is too high. The get round this, I soldered a PC cooling fan to a 12v power supply, put some self-adhesive rubber feet on the base of it and then I place the fan on top of the amp, so that the fan is drawing the heat out of the amp. A bit of a hassle per haps, but I can leave the amp switched on all night and it's barely more than hand hot. By the way - I also attached some self-adhesive rubber feet to the base of the amp itself, as this also helps cooling. Hope the above is some help to any other Ashdown LG (or Superfly) users out there.

I wouldn't advise against it from a volume point of view - because the volume is controllable and it's good to have the extra volume on tap if you need it - makes your rig future-proof if you find yourself playing a larger venue and can't go thru the p.a. But I would advise against it from a size/weight point of view - pubs come in all shapes and sizes and there have been many pub gigs I've played where my 4-piece band has only just fitted into the stage area and I've been so close to the drummer that one of the cymbals kept hitting my elbow! At times like this, my rig being just two 2x10" cabs stacked vertically comes into its own - plenty of power and minimum footprint.

As an owner of a rather nice 1984 Thunder 3, (and occasionally wrestling with the idea of selling it), this is the kind of news that my day-dreams are made of. I guess it may have been priced so high because of typical current prices for Japanese-made basses - for example; Ibanez or Yamaha? I hardly ever play my Thunder 3 now, so if I thought I could get that for it I'd sell without hesitation. I wish the seller the best of luck, but I'll be very pleasantly surprised if it sells at anywhere near the asking price.

[size=4][color=#000000][font=Calibri]“Pay to play” is endemic in Manchester’s Northern Quarter too. Until late last year, I was in an originals band and we gigged in several well-known venues in that area – in all of these we had to sell a quota of tickets. Invariably we didn’t and so ended up paying for some of the tickets ourselves. [/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]The main reason I left the band was that when I added the cost of the tickets to travelling expenses and exorbitant parking charges in NCP car parks, I was effectively paying through the nose for the “privilege” of entertaining people[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]Fortunately, I’m not a career bassist, so during a lengthy break in gigs I asked to be replaced, but I do feel sorry for bands who are trying to get off the ground and make a living out of it when this kind of exploitation goes on. The band I was with is still going strong - good luck to 'em.[/font][/color][/size]

I drive a daily round trip of just under 50 miles to work. My car manages 50+mpg, but if I began to be charged an extra £1.30 per mile, at nearly £300 per week it would no longer be financially viable for me to work. There are no public transport services I could use as an alternative. Taxing per mile takes no account of each person’s ability to pay or their need to use the road. This is why I believe the government should have the honesty to base more of its tax revenue on the ability of each individual to pay it (ie; income tax) instead of sneaking stealth taxes under the radar.

A company called "Leathergraft" make a 4" wide bass strap. It's padded and has suede on the underside - very comfortable but best of all; it only costs around £22. [url="http://www.gamlinsmusic.co.uk"]www.gamlinsmusic.co.uk[/url] are stockists. I've had mine for about 4 years and it's still holding together well. No point in spending more than you have to

I saw Brit Floyd at their initial UK gig back in January 2011. - This was at Liverpool's Echo Arena and was filmed - I think the DVD may still be available from their website. The ticket price for this gig was a pittance by today's inflated standards and I went with no pre-conceptions whatsoever. I came away absolutely blown away by the sheer quality and attention to detail of the whole performance. They opened with "Shine on you crazy diamond", this and the next few songs being played in the same sequence as the "Pulse" DVD and it sounded so close to that it was easy to forget that this was just a tribute band - helped by me sitting in a fairly good spec right at the back of the arena. In the "second half" they did a full performance of Dark Side of the Moon and the expected "Wish You were Here", "Comfortably Numb" and "Run Like Hell". I've never seen the Australian Pink Floyd Show before, so I can't compare them. - TAPFS's tickets seem to be going for about £33.50 right now for the same venue, but strangely when I checked out Ticketmaster about 3 weeks ago it had the tickets at a whopping £79!! Anyway; I can wholeheartedly recommend Brit Floyd.

[quote name='leftyhook' timestamp='1328811972' post='1533120'] Brand X? I thought the guy who started this thread was just getting to grips with a fretless??!! Percy Jones.....!! [/quote] It isn't all difficult though - check out "April" on the "Product" album - that's some really melodic playing and it isn't blindingly fast either. And since Brand X is well off the radar with most people, don't be surprised if you hear "I like that - what is it?" or similar when you randomly happen to drop it in at an idle moment during a band rehearsal .

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1328896123' post='1534605'] Can we cancel rehearsal next week as its Valentines Day. [/quote] As previously mentioned; the singer in a band I was in actually had the nerve to blow out a gig that had been booked for 6 months for exactly that reason. In my experience singers and drummers are by far the worst offenders for lame excuses - anyone else noticed anything similar?

[size=4][color=#000000][font=Calibri]Got to go to Crufts with my girlfriend[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]Water pipe has burst at home (he still lives with his parents)[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]Left my pa in my car overnight after the last rehearsal and both pa and car have been nicked from outside my house[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]Been on a course at work all day and not feeling up to it.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]Just flown back from a break in the USA and not feeling up to it.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]I forgot.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]I thought we all agreed to miss this week.[/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]Some original ones there and please feel free to make whatever jokes you like about the first one (woof! Woof!) [/font][/color] [font=Calibri][color=#000000]But the best thing about all these is that they were all made by singers. In fact; most of them were made by the same singer who went on to the “lame excuses hall of fame” by cancelling a gig that had been a firm booking for 6 months and ultimately causing the band to split with the following offering……[/color][/font] [color=#000000][font=Calibri]“It’s Valentines Day on Sunday, so I can’t do the gig on Saturday because I’m going away for the weekend with my girlfriend.”[/font][/color][/size] [size=2][color=#000000][font=Calibri](Edit to increase previous stupidly small point size)[/font][/color][/size]

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1328782241' post='1532467'] Ok, I'm gonna stick my neck out in good faith... what exactly is a chord chart?! I'm entirely self-taught, electively nil-by-theory and play completely by ear, so maybe it's not surprising that the first time I encountered the term was when I joined BC, but to this day I still don't know what it is that I'm missing, how one would use such a thing, or why it'd be a source of such ire to other musicians if I failed to provide one! When I try to employ Google, I get pictures of either guitar chord 'boxes' or just the note positions on pictues of a fretboard, neither of which help much. I'm guessing that I'll never find a use for one given that I haven't needed one in the last 15 years, but I'm still genuinely intetrested if anyone can enlighten me... [/quote] [size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]For me that question just hit the nail on the head.[/font][/color][/size] [size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]I’ll add to it by saying I’ve played bass since 1982 and in 30 years not only have I never used or needed a chord chart, but neither have I needed tab, nor to resurrect my long-since-forgotten ability to read notation.[/font][/color][/size] [size="3"][color="#000000"][font="Calibri"]I play by ear and have never done it any other way - I find it easy to learn new songs. Even when I briefly played in an originals band I just made up bass-lines on the fly (I never write anything down).[/font][/color][/size]

[quote name='MB1' timestamp='1323430853' post='1463233'] What about aria basses, weren't they "rocktastic" in the '80s? I was only a nipper in the 'decade that taste forgot' so I wouldn't really know, and I can't be arsed to google it. MB1. As Used by Cliff Burton ,Jack Bruce ,John Taylor. [/quote] Good call - I also seem to remember seeing a Whitesnake video from that era where their resident bassist (not sure which one) was playing an Aria SB.

My first proper bass was a 1A and the best recommendation I can give it is that the only bass I wanted to upgrade to after that was the Thunder III that I still own. To put that in context - I could have had a new USA Fender Jazz for about the same price. As with the previous post - I doubt if anyone would pay the kind of money I'd want to part with it.

[quote name='Linus27' timestamp='1317733541' post='1393821'] The other issue with the 40+ age group is most of the people this age who like going to see live music have settled down, with kids and houses and can't be arsed or afford to go out and see bands anymore. Thus making it more frustating for those still playing as they play to a venue of 3 people. Plus there are less venues these days having live music or original bands. Its just more things stacked up against bothering. [/quote] +1 This is definitely part of the problem my band faces. It's even a slog to get my better half to most of our gigs, because of the hassle and additional expense of booking babysitters etc. We did a headline slot at one gig in Manchester in August and we weren't on stage until 24:15 - by that time most of the audience had gone home and we just had 8 of our own supporters there. Somehow it's still fun though.

I'm 50 next year and am in an originals alternative rock band. It's clear from most of the multi-band gigs we've played (where we usually headline) the teens and 20-somethings are typically into "Arctic Monkey clone" type of bands and haven't much time for us, other than maybe some curiosity value! The problem for us is turning the favourable responses at gigs we get from people in the 30's+ age groups into the kind of support that will tell their friends and buy tickets to see us again at other venues. It also means that we often can't sell all of our ticket allocation at the "pay to play" venues we've gigged at and have to fund the non-sales ourselves. Just as well then that I've never had any aspiration whatsoever to "make it" or be in any way famous - for me it's only about the music - but sometimes it feels like a very expensive hobby.

The Carvin BX500 also goes down to 2 ohms. I haven't yet tried one myself, but this could well be my next amp, as I want to keep using my existing 4 ohm cabs. The link is here for more info... [url="http://www.carvinworld.com/bassamps/bassheads.php"]http://www.carvinworld.com/bassamps/bassheads.php[/url] I've been using an Ashdown LG1000 for about 18 months now for all my band rehearsals and gigs and never had any problems with it. I use it with 2 x Yamaha 2x10's (stacked on end of course).

I'd have thought it's always a case of the player endorsing the product - not the other way round. But you don't need to read too many interviews in Bass Guitar Magazine to see how many players (some of 'em quite well known) who'll say "I'm endorsed by.........." Not too sure whether that's deliberate or a genuine error?

Sadly, I think this is one more consequence of the bankers' gambling habit on the economy. A year or 2 ago my local had bands on most Saturdays (I played a few of 'em) and it was 6 deep at the bar. But I went in a few weeks ago and it was so dead - I'd say only 30% (at best) of the chairs had anyone sitting in 'em. I play in an originals band these days so we have to endure the "pay to play" scenario, which generally means we're busting a gut whipping up support and even subsidising our gigs, which to my mind detracts from the important business of focusing on the music. So I have to say that even if this new deal at the pubs becomes widespread, it wouldn't put me off wanting to go back to playing in a covers band. KB

I've been using a couple of Yamaha BBT 210-S cabs (now discontinued) vertically stacked since early 2008. As they are 4 ohm cabs, each having 250 watts continuous power handling they were perfect to pair up with the Ashdown Superfly I originally used. I currently use them with an Ashdown Little Giant 1000. Main benefit is bags of power but small footprint - so perfect when having to compete with a loud drummer and 2 guitards playing cramped stages. And I'm 6'6" tall, so having the top of the cabs at least attempting to get somewhere in the general direction of ear-level with me is pretty essential too. Never had any problems with the cabs toppling, or anyone behaving in a manner likely to topple 'em - but then, as I said before; I'm 6'6" tall and zealously defend the wellbeing of my gear!