thunderbird13

If he's anything like most of the drummers I've played with then I suspect that he isnt aware of his problem so talking to him about it might make him feel defensive and be counterproductive. If you record your sessions and its obvious that there is a problem then you could suggest that just you and him have some practice time together thats when you could bring a metronome. TBH I've found that with most amateur drummers they're time keeping is good enough until they start playing beyond their ability and doing things such as drum rolls, cymbal crashes and singing ( why do they always want to sing !) so that might be the cause of his problem. But I would keep with him because finding even a half decent drummer is hard work

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1326192426' post='1493440'] I'm not sure that making music is SO important to me, but music is very much part of me. Making it has really been just a natural extension of my love and fascination of the stuff. [/quote] This ( which is why I prefer to play covers) Also its given me a wonderful oppurtunity to meet and play with some of the biggest idiots I have had the displeasure to meet

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1322591788' post='1453303'] I think this goes to show how similar being in a band is to being in a romantic relationship. I had a parting of the ways quite recently from a ROCK! type band. Despite being pretty unsuited to it anyway and never really happy in it I have still found myself stalking their Facebook page to see what the new incumbent is like. Apparently they have a really good bass player now and I am resisting admitting to myself that I am jealous even if nothing would actually draw me back. [/quote] HA HA - thats exactly what I do ! And I thought that I was the only one

Looking good on Andriod - "like"

[quote name='blackmn90' timestamp='1321444632' post='1439131'] are you using floating thumb technique? [/quote] No a pick - it seems to suit what I play better - although floating thumb is my favoured technique - might go back to that

[quote name='blackmn90' timestamp='1321443399' post='1439100'] What do you do when you practise with it? Its possible that your practice isn't sufficiently allowing you to build knowledge of the lower string, so when it comes to performance time your focusing so much on getting stuff on the B string right that your going to make mistakes because your not relaxed [/quote] Actually I should have said - its not the B string that gives me the problem - its A, D and G !!

Not that exciting of course - but at rehearsal last night I realised that I'm really struggling playing a 5 string. even playing simple stuff I make too many stupid mistakes ( hittting the wrong string, not hitting the string at all etc)., I've been playing one for about a year now and I would have thought that that should be long enough to get to grips with it ( although if I've never played a gig with one) The annoying thing is that I'm OK playing by myself but the added pressure of playing with other people makes me make more mistakes TBH the only reason I play a 5er is because the singer always drops the keys lower and its really helpful for me to change keys So what should I do - stick with it , give it up and go back to 4 or should I spend more time using string crossing excercises ( as opposed to practicing the set for my current band)

Great - now my paranoia means that I have to comeback to check all my previous posts every 5 minutes just in case someone has added a neg vote - DAMN YOU !!!

[quote name='paul h' timestamp='1321267698' post='1437012'] There are a handful of quite aggressive and highly opinionated posters who form the basis of most of the controversial threads. I see this as a good way to express displeasure with their posts without getting dragged into an argument. [/quote] I disagree with this

Emm not sure why this is needed is is a control thing and is there going to be a limit on a persons neg score so say if you got 100 negs then you get a warning , 200 suspended etc ? Is there a right of appeal ? just thinking out loud

lol - I never noticed that before !!

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1320827787' post='1431806'] I had the same problem and still spend plenty of time checking I'm playing with the bass drum. The bass drum sound can often get lost in a busy drum pattern or smothered in the mix on records. Part of the problem is the bass should be playing a note right on top of it. I often watch the front skin of the kick drum or if this doesn't move the drummer's foot. You should be looking to almost beat him to it. Imagine that the pedal's defective and you have to fill in for it. The good news is that as you learn how the bass and drum parts fit together you can judge your timing by the snare beats as well, although these can vary from drummer to drummer. When I concentrate on matching the bass drum it tightens things up, but not always. Sometimes the song requires a loose feel. When I started bass I would over-compensate, veering across the beats. The feeling you want is a tiny bit more snap. a tiny bit more punch, and when you're 'on beat' the bass drum can disappear like being in the eye of a storm. Part of it is developing an ear, not just for the drums but also bass sounds. Recordings have all kinds of clever cheats like using a synths or horns to carry the 1 swamping the drum and bass 1. [/quote] This is pretty much what I do - the only thing I would add is that I have started really listening to the drummer and what riffs he plays during the song and then trying to fit my riffs onto his. One thing which has helped me is when I listen to music I really try to listen to the drums and try to filter everything else out.

I went to see Hawlords last Thursday in Chislehurst and they were totally amazing - it felt to me like I was watching a new band instead of guys who had been doing it for 30 + years . To cap it all I managed to have a chat with Adrian Shaw at the end of the gig who turned out to be a really decent chap and we discussed the various merits of Gibson vs Epiphone as he just uses a epi on stage now

Thats a real pity for me - I only live a few miles from him at the moment. Great guy with a real passion for what he does

I hate to say it and - yes they do look like bellends and the performance is totally OTT- but I think they have something.

Like a lot of bands we are in the unfortunate position of looking for a new drummer and as usual there don’t seem to be many around .The inevitability of this is that as soon as we find some who can keep time, has their own kit and doesn’t appear to be an idiot then they’ll get the gig. Anyway last night I sat down with Guitar Pro and muted all the instruments apart from drums so that I could practice our set list so that whenever we auditioned drummers I could focus on what they are playing. Then I had a realisation – in most of the covers we play ( Free, Cream , Clapton etc) the drumming on the record is very sparse and leaves a lot of space for everyone else. However almost every drummer we’ve had seems to play as much as possible ( and as loud as possible) with pretty much the same riff going most of the time with the occasional stop. This would be like a guitarist soloing all the time or me slapping triplets all the way through “Cocaine” Now I can’t imagine another instrument where this would be allowed [size=2]So have I been unlucky and never played with a really good drummer or is it just that there are a lot of mediocre drummers out there and I keep meeting them because they’re the only ones who audtion ? Or am I being too critical [/size]?

I dont want to dishearten you but I think it has a string missing apart from that it should look really nice once its done

[quote name='Ian Savage' timestamp='1318444082' post='1402293'] even though it's (I suppose) a legitimate contraction of 'plectrum', anyone using the word 'plek' for one p!sses me off. [/quote] I call them picks - is that better or worse

I've been in your position so many times , and if like me you only do it for fun then there's no point in hanging round. By the sounds of it the band is going nowhere so there's nothing to be gained from staying with them. Are you friendly with any of the members or is it the usual thing of only communicating when you in the rehersal studio ? Its the only way you can salvage something.

[quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1317994877' post='1397084'] Bands unfortunately are never straightforward. You have to endure many many hours of musician searching, auditions, dreary boring practices which you just wish would end so you can sit down, lugging your gear about, arguments with members over what songs to play, all that kind of sh*t, just so you can enjoy that few seconds of those few gigs where the crowd is cheering you on. Hardly seems worth it sometimes. [/quote] Since you put it like that its probably not worth it - shall I resign now

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1317989448' post='1397011'] "our previous bass player(s) used to play this one better/sound bassier/look better/do something really cool on this tune/smell better/better in bed etc, etc..." It's to be expected I've only been in the job for two years. [/quote] I could imagine that Jason Newsted heard this every day for 15 years

Well it seems I spoke too soon. I just had a phone call from the guitarist who wants to carry on, apparently he has a drummer lined up who is keen to do it and also seems to have found a saxophonist as well. So we could be back in business again ! Why can these things be straightforward ?

I would say good luck but since I seem to curse every band I'm in I wont say anything