Krysbass

My band covers this too and for me it's an excuse to switch to my 5-string for the original tuning. I personally think there are several better Bryan Adams songs*, but this one is a consistent audience favourite and the lack of bass on the first verse means the rest of the band can start it while I'm still swapping basses. (*but then there are so many other artists where I also loathe the songs that get the most airplay and prefer slightly less popular examples of their work - so that's just me.)

Perhaps part of it is relevance. By that I mean that in a typical audience, some people will have played guitar themselves , or sung a song, or tapped out a rhythm before - even if it's just on the "steering-wheel bongos" in their car. But few if any will have played bass before or even made an effort to follow what the bass is doing when listening to their favourite music. Then add that popular misconception that bass must be "easier" than guitar by virtue of the fact that basses mostly have fewer strings and the scene is set for why singers, guitarists or drummers tend to attract more post-gig compliments from audience members than the bassist. It's just how it is. But the fact that I've been playing bass for over 35 years hopefully indicates how little it bothers me. 😎

I agree with that 100%. But the problem is; there are too many out there who won't agree; some of whom will see it as their duty to take to social media to create as much of a s**t-storm over it as possible....😐

My excuse for not feeling the love for Laney gear is my experience with the vey first amp I ever bought; back in the early 80s. It was a Laney "Mighty Bass" practice amp and although it outwardly looked well built; unfortunately the casing buzzed, rattled and vibrated whenever I played through it, even at the most restrained solo practice volumes. As my first impression of this brand; it wasn't good and alas, rightly or wrongly; first impressions tend to stick. 😯

Not strictly "live" but I went to the 1 night only showing of Muse's "Drones" gig at my local cinema on July 12th. On the up side; I enjoyed it and would honestly prefer to see a concert this way than pay a small fortune to be sat too far from the stage in some oversized arena. The only disappointment was the sound quality, where it seemed that the eq was still set to emphasise speech; with the upper mids boosted - probably best for conventional movie but not for music. This made the low end seem that it needed turning up a notch or 2, - but maybe I'm biased there.😉

Keyboardists too. So they stand there giving the audience a preview of many of the songs the band will be playing in the gig. Letting the cat out of the bag like that is a big no no IMHO. If they really need to have some last minute practice on any gig songs; they should use headphones.

A drummer in a band I left about 4 years ago (largely because of said drummer) had an annoying habit of only setting up his own gear at gigs. So as soon as his kit was ready; instead of lending a hand with the PA or lights; he would sit at his kit bashing away loudly and randomly like an overgrown Duracell bunny with a stupid grin on his face. Meanwhile, the rest of us would still be busy trying to set up the rest of the gear, but unable to communicate with each other because of the racket from the drums. Another problem with this was that due to the noise; a large proportion of our intended audience in the room at the time would drift away - never to return.😕

Perhaps one aspect to consider here is that when gigging; pro players will generally be supported by a guitar tech, so if some songs need down-tuning to D or lower, it's feasible for them to be handed a re-tuned 4-string when required (luxury) instead of using a 5-string. But for mere mortals like many of us; playing cramped pubs at weekends, where there's a limit to the number of basses we can bring, a 5-string gives the instant ability to access those lower tunings and potentially cover a gig with just one bass if necessary. I've had to do this a few times, though if I'm honest I prefer playing 4-strings.

I don't get time to practice bass other than at weekends, so unless I'm away from home; I make sure I always squeeze in practice on Saturday and Sunday. Not a football fan, so the WC is no distraction, but my time will come next year when it's the rugby world cup.🤔

Just seen Jeff Beck at Liverpool Philharmonic. First time seeing him live and I enjoyed the gig overall, but I felt the pa volume overpowered the venue, so that when everyone in the band was playing hard/digging in; the sound was muddy and it was impossible to pick out any individual instruments. I wish I'd brought my ear plugs as that might have helped clarify things. The gig was bizarre in one notable respect; from start to finish not one word was spoken to the audience whether to introduce either songs or band members; so we came away not knowing who the vocalist or cello player were. But fortunately at least we already knew who the bassist and drummer were, so it wasn't a total mystery. 😎

As with all things bass-related; beauty is in the eye of the beholder. My first decent bass was a Thunder 1A in natural finish and what first caught my eye was the visible real wood - ie not hidden under solid paint or a plastic pick-guard. The other thing I liked was that it had its own look and wasn't a clone of an American design. Having enjoyed playing it for about 2 years I wanted to upgrade and a Thunder III was the automatic choice. Having owned that bass since 1985; I can only say that the build quality and components stood the test of time and I've never had any problems - the bass was 100% original until I did the electronics upgrade mentioned in my post above.

Recently stripped out all of the original electronics on my '84 Thunder III and replaced it with Bartolini P and J pickups and 3-band active eq. While i was about it; i replaced the original tuners with Gotoh lightweight items which has gone a long way to reducing the neck dive. The pickup blend control instead of the original pickup switch and the 3-band eq are a huge improvement on what was possible using the original controls. I've owned the bass from new and as i wasn't playing it much decided to give it a new lease of life. Delighted with the results.

Any song originally sung by Morrissey. Anything else I can live with.

Totally agree. The music and playing standard should always take priority over the visuals in my view. If anyone in the band happens to look like one of the original band members; then that's maybe just a small bonus.

That's how it is with me too. I seem to be able to recall melodies or even the sound of a voice quite easily. But I'm useless at remembering how many films end; even if I've seen them a couple of times before. I'm not great at remembering faces either, so I'd be a lousy witness in court if I was required to identify someone - especially if several weeks or months had passed since the incident.

Agree that each member of the band is only allowed 1 veto - 2 at most. Hopefully it means they'll use it wisely. My only veto is anything where Morrissey sang the original. That works well for me and I'll happily play anything else.

As I only play by ear and have a very wide taste in music; my home practice regime has always centred around playing along to random cds, mp3s or records - wherever my mood takes me. Thats in addition to also learning songs for whatever band I've been in. I have over 200 "favourite" songs just on the mp3 player I mostly use for song learning and there are many other songs that I know apart from these. But then I've been playing on and off since 1982 so have had a few years to build up to this.

Just watched it on iplayer. It has always amazed me that when some TV channel decides to do "top 10 guitarists of all time" - or variations on that theme; JB is rarely, if ever, included. But he is clearly held in high regard both by his peers and anyone fortunate enough to have worked with him. Was a fan of JB back in the 80s - especially the There and Back album featuring Jan Hammer. But he dropped off my radar until that Ronnie Scotts live DVD a few years ago - the one with Tal Wilkenfeld on bass. Got tickets for his gig at Liverpool Phil. on 16th June and practically counting the days.....

Attending gigs as a member of the audience with today's typically expensive ticket prices; I never cease to be amazed at the many people who spend most of the performance either talking among themselves or making repeated trips to the bar; clearly intent on getting themselves bladdered on overpriced beer in plastic "glasses" and missing much of the performance as a result. It's absolutely beyond my understanding, as I generally wouldn't want to miss a moment of the gig; but each to their own I guess.

I recently faced this dilemma with the completely original, 9.5/10 condition Westone Thunder III I've owned from new in 1985. I love this bass, but for a few reasons hadn't played it for nearly 8 years. Yet I couldn't bring myself to sell it; both due to the attachment I have to it and because the second hand market would be unlikely to pay much more than the £350 it cost new. With the bass worth so little; I realised that keeping it original served no useful purpose, so replaced the electronics with a Bartolini system - P and J type pickups and a 3-band EQ. I have also fitted lightweight Gotoh tuners to improve the balance. I now have a great sounding and looking, very playable bass that I will be gigging with again in my mostly 80s band. I'm not saying that what I've done is right in every situation, but in this case it seemed better to me than letting the bass remain as an unplayed museum piece.

And worse still when the keyboardist has two amps pointing at his head plus he wants to go thru the pa - and therefore the floor monitors too, but he then can't grasp why the rest of us are saying we're struggling to hear what we are playing.

Played bass since 1982 but never played guitar or had the urge to. In my early teens I briefly tried saxophone then settled on clarinet; learned to read music and played in the school junior orchestra, but gave it up after a couple of years. It was much later, aged 19 that I took up bass and never looked back. But I've long since forgotten how to read music and never felt the need to re-learn. I don't use tab either so only play by ear, but find that I can memorise melodies and improvise pretty well. But above all; I still derive an incredible amount of enjoyment from playing bass on my own terms.

Thats one hilariously ironic comment; given that the bass seems to be so very low in the mix on the few Kiss records I've heard. Crazy Nights is a prime example. The lack of bass just left me wondering what all the fuss was about.

I've been using earplugs for all rehearsals and gigs for the last 10 years. In that time I've been astonished at how many other musicians I've crossed paths with resolutely refuse to wear ear plugs or take any other precautions to protect their hearing. On a couple of occasions their attitude has even been that ear-plugs are not "rock and roll" or "macho"!?!? Since my current band is one that I started with my son; we've both been at pains to talk to the 3 other band members on several occasions about the wisdom of wearing ear protection and sharing useful information, but as Stan Laurel once said; "you can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead" .

So on the above definitions of semi-pro vs. Hobbyist/weekend warrior; last year I reckon I just edged into being semi-pro. But unless the gig outlook for 2018 improves massively; this year i'll almost certainly be a hobbyist / weekend warrior.