woodster

The South's number 1 2-tone tribute, Orange Street, are playing at the home of 2-tone ska, 2 Tone Central in Coventry, this saturday 26th Feb at 8pm. Join us for a night of moonstomping tunes and maybe even a 'Special' guest..... www.2tonecentral.co.uk

[quote name='Rich' post='1132151' date='Feb 18 2011, 01:06 PM']If memory serves me correctly, Goggle once formed a DnB duo with the rapper Titchie Tallent. I believe they went under the name 'Norfolk 'n' Tallent'..?[/quote] Later, in a bid to widen their appeal, they were joined by trombonist Tommy Still, but they were Still, Norfolk 'n' Tallent

No worries buddy. Believe me, I've spent many hours behind the wheel, on stage in the middle of nowhere or sat on the floor of a studio struggling for inspiration thinking "why am I doing this?". But then I have an amazing gig or great session and I know why!!!

[quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1128757' date='Feb 15 2011, 07:19 PM']Few things I'd like to respond to - mainly because I'm reading a lot of negative comments here.[/quote] My post was not intended to be negative, I love my job. I was just trying to illustrate that it's not ALWAYS fun. [quote name='Gareth Hughes' post='1128757' date='Feb 15 2011, 07:19 PM']All of the above quotes can be said of ANY job.[/quote] Thats what I was saying, being a pro musician IS just like ANY job

I also can't speak highly enough of John or his products. The P Retro in my Overwater developed a fault 2 days before Xmas so I rang John expecting to leave a message for after the Xmas period. John answered the phone and after discussing the issue and asking when my next gig was, invited me up to East Towers on the morning of my gig 29th Jan when he assured me he would repair or replace the P Retro while I waited. The fault turned out to be a loose wire but the welcome and service I got from John were above and beyond.... Both my Overwaters have got East Pre amps and it's only a matter of time before I'm shopping with John again. Take a bow Mr East!!

Some really good, valid posts in this thread... From my own experience, [b]You CAN earn enough to pay the bills[/b] - but be prepared to put the hours in, including travelling, homework or lesson prep if you teach. [b]I spend many hours alone in my car[/b] - driving to sessions or gigs which may be miles away can be a lonely business. [b]Your family DO suffer[/b] - I've had to cancel many family events over the years. NOT 'coz i just HAD to do the gig/session but 'coz the money was too good, or too needed, to turn down. Also the early morning school run is not ideal if you only got home at 4am after a gig. [b]Money is ALWAYS an issue[/b] - unlike 9-5'ers, you can never be sure where the next paycheck is coming from. There have been good points made about letting down bandmates, or them letting YOU down. If your saturday night, £400, corporate gig gets cancelled coz your guitard's car broke down, there is a very good chance that money has gone and there's no way for you to get it back. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, but it's just like any other job.... Sometimes you have to go 'into the office' when you don't want to or work with people you don't get along with. Previous posts have mentioned the lack of sick pay, holiday pay and pension benefits, If I don't work, I don't earn, simple as that. Turning your hobby into something you HAVE to do is a big step so be sure before you leap.

[quote name='Wilco' post='1126463' date='Feb 13 2011, 09:29 PM']Another +1 for the Powerstation (small, silent & in my experience reliable)[/quote] And another +1

Here are my weapons of choice..... Models are in my sig...

Don't overplay, relax. If you can't sing what you're playing without running out of breath, you're playing too much. As Charlie Parker once said "if you leave some space, maybe some music will fall out"

[url="http://www.overwaterbasses.com/ow_tanglewood.html"]http://www.overwaterbasses.com/ow_tanglewood.html[/url]

[quote name='hubrad' post='1118704' date='Feb 7 2011, 11:09 AM']A valid point, JTUK, and this was also my first reaction when I heard about it. However on reflection I think that, as long as the quality works out as Chris May intends, these will complement the UK range nicely. I'm an Overwater convert anyway, and to me they're really worth the money. Most folks I know are as follows: 1) "Tried them, love'em, got one (or more)!" 2) "Tried them, love'em, but can't afford one" 3) "Tried them, doesn't work for me" 4) "OverWHO?" I personally think these are aimed at cat.4: if the name is better known rather than being some mystic whisper never backed up by playing the real thing then more people are likely to move towards the other categories, hopefully cat.1. Chris seems to have had a very close involvement with this project and is very much putting his name behind the basses. I am heartened by this! He's going to be checking and setting up at least the first couple of batches himself. Also, if the previous paragraph works as a concept, it could actually increase the second hand value of the UK basses, as the problem with their resale value (I'm not interested in selling mine anyway!) is lack of brand awareness, IMHO. Onwards and upwards![/quote] I agree totally. I've got a OW J5 that looks pretty much like the blue Tanglewater but cost consderably more. These affordable models will bring the Overwater name and brand to many more players out there, who will enjoy the instruments and hopefully progress onto the big brother models.

When you say "the very best wireles system"... it depends on your budget. Both Sure and Nady do some high end systems...

I use one in the studio AND live and i get some great results. I don't tend to use the amp modelling but the modulation effects (chorus, flanger and phaser) are definitely usable with a little patience and tweaking. Although 'out of the box' it can be a little generic sounding, some time, patience and experimentation can result in a really great, compact and usable system.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1112152' date='Feb 2 2011, 11:23 AM']True. No one who's [i]really[/i] famous plays bass. Like -say - Barack Obama, Jackie Chan or Bill Tarmey.[/quote] Nice choices.....

[quote name='matski' post='1110951' date='Feb 1 2011, 01:33 PM']Fellow Basschatters, An interesting point was raised following on from a light-hearted jest from me on another thread. Let's suppose you are a professional, jobbing bass player who needs to have regular income from your work - would you play with absolutely anyone just to meet that requirement? If you were asked to play with an artist who you have no respect for and whose music is really not your type of thing, would you just grit your teeth....[/quote] I would and often do..... In order to pay the bills, I often have to play with, or for, artists who's music and/or personality aren't to my liking. As long as the band members are competant and we can produce what is required (in other words, it's not sh*t), I do the gig. Even after 28 yrs, I still learn something evry time I play.

[quote name='mep' post='1108506' date='Jan 30 2011, 07:17 PM']I must admit I use mine as a backup and not everytime. They only support the neck so the bass could still fall if you are not careful. Best not used near the public or on a small stage. Generally I use a single stand that is stored in our drummers hard case as it's his. I have one of those stands that holds 4 guitars and don't always bring it to a gig unless I've got my fretless with me. Sometimes our drummer forgets the stand and I have to get my C-Stand out and it gets me by. If the worst happened and it snapped you'll only be left with the plastic leg stuck in the amp which should be easy enough to get out. I've been luck and careful over the years and have not had any accidents. To be honest I would get the Markbass Basskeeper, a more modern ans secure version of a small stand. [attachment=70440:markbasskeeper.jpg][/quote] +1

[quote name='pietruszka' post='1104460' date='Jan 26 2011, 10:06 PM']I have Musicguard, never made a claim but the cover is pretty thorough. My gear is covered; In the house. In the studio. In the venue. In the car (covered up). The latter 3 are for up to 72hrs as well and any where in the country to. I also have public liability of £1m, have a replacement when needed and have an option for hire cover if any thing goes wrong. £3k's worth of kit for £90 a year, worth it as I see it, I'm playing alot more now to so I don't feel I'll be taking the risk. I agree with you, if you can afford to replace the gear, insuring it won't really be necessary. How ever if you cant afford to replace it? Dan[/quote] +1 for Musicguard.... I've been playing for 28 years and never broken anything until 2009 when (allegedly) a roadie at the O2 stood on my Stingray 5 and broke the neck! Musicguard were brilliant! They liased with Musicman regarding an equivalent replacement, came and collected the busted bass and all in all took 2 weeks to get a new bass.

[quote name='digitalmetal' post='1102079' date='Jan 25 2011, 01:27 PM']As i mentioned before my head has transformer balanced DI outs so its pretty isolated from PA mishaps, and if my amp goes down im gonna stop playing anyway so no difference there really.[/quote] So if you were mid-set and your amp went down but you were still coming through FOH, you'd stop? and do what...?

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1101974' date='Jan 25 2011, 12:20 PM']Another thing to think of is how any sound will be through the house pa speakers. "Your sound" is your amp through your speakers. If you change your speakers, from a 4x10 to a 1x15, the dynamics of the sound will change quite a lot, so the sound coming out of pa speakers will be quite different to that out of dedicated bass speakers. The last gig I did through a house pa was also through an amp that was hired for the day long event, an Aguilar set-up. All throughout the day, the bass had sounded great with every band, each using different basses. Yet when I plugged into it I thought it sounded weedy and uninspiring, however, as I knew it sounded great out front, I was happy to go with it. The bass is probably one of the most difficult to get exactly right through a pa, and, unfortunate though it may be, is also probably the sound that most people in the audience don`t either know, or care about. Unless the bass has effects, or gain, in which case DI-ing the amp is necessary, usually a sound engineer will get a good sound that fits whatever way they do it.[/quote] Spot on...

He's also covering his backside in case your amp fails.... Most soundmen don't know you or your equipment, whether you look after it or not so he's guarding agaist every eventuality.

Welcome to the OW family!

Im sure it is. I've got the 'old' mp3 version and i use it all the time.

If you want a headphone amp with built in effects, how about the new Tascam Bass Trainer? [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/tascam-gb-10-guitar-bass-trainer-and-recorder--80202"]http://www.dv247.com/guitars/tascam-gb-10-...recorder--80202[/url]

I guess it depends on the goods or services being purchased. If I've already located the goods and the best price, I'm hardly likely to walk out and possibly drive somewhere else or go back to the Net to locate an alternative supplier just coz I didn't want to wait a few minutes for the salesman to be available. Maybe I would with common goods with mass suppliers and an outlet on every corner but that's a little different.