gjones

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1423380386' post='2684034'] There are a pile of them but here's one that I noticed the other day [media]http://youtu.be/zkD-xIUYPq8[/media] [media]http://youtu.be/6rPVszLc7n0[/media] [/quote] Maybe they were ripping of Joe Jackson not the foo fighters http://youtu.be/6TzKSFbsh2Y

Get gigging. Turn up at some open mic nights and get up and play. There's nothing like the possibility of looking like a fanny in front of a pub full of people, to make sure you put the practice hours in.

One of the bands I play with, was 'offered' a gig down in 'That there London'. The deal was that we paid for £300 worth of tickets 'at a discount' and sold them 'for a profit' to our HUGE London fanbase. Since we didn't have any fans in London (because we're from Edinburgh) we said thanks but no thanks. This is probably the deal that your band can expect.

By the way, the Thomann bass ukuleles are in stock once more.

Stick a John east J retro in a Jazz, and not a lot can beat it for versatility.

Big stages are fine, but not if there is a huge gulf between you and the drummer, Which means if you step too far away from your monitor, you can still see him drumming but you can't hear him.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1423459517' post='2684950'] I hate it, but if I'm doing really quick position shifts or any kind of slurs/slides, I get that heinous EEEEK and it makes me sad/angry. What should I do with my fingers to avoid this? It seems impossible to take them completely off the strings then shift them to the next fret in the sequence and put them down quickly enough to play smoothly and flawlessly. I watch videos of good bassists playing unaccompanied and I don't hear a single EEEEEK. How in the name of all that is good and pure is this possible? I get EEEEEEK constantly! [/quote] A tweak of EQ to eliminate the high frequencies that are causing the EEEEEEEEK should do the trick.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1423385801' post='2684065'] I. too, would also be quite concerned about how you could blow a 212 cab..!!! That cab should be rated 500w at least...and I think it is a poor show if its blown. I'd be tempted to think, just unlucky with a duff unit, but it would also make me lose confidence in the quality of units they use..?? Depends what amp you run with it, but I wouldn't look at a 15 if 2x12 aren't man enough..?? [/quote] I used to have one of these cabs. It's rated at 250w. It was great at low/medium volumes but turn it up loud and it farted like crazy (large crowded venue with insanely loud guitarist). But saying that the next week I brought my Ashdown ABM rated at 400w and it did the same with crazy loud guitarist. The moral of this story is don't get rid of the cab.......get rid of the guitarist.

I'd go for band two if I wasn't worried about the money. I hate bands who have no time for rehearsals and throw unprepared songs into the set. There's a certain age when it gets embarrassing to sound like a school band. But no need to make a decision just yet. Make sure the new band is viable and everybody is committed, before saying bye bye to the old band.

A pro rate, with a 'name' musician (not mega famous), is about £350 per day + £50 per diems. But these days session guys are not touring 24/7. Guy Pratt had to turn to writing books and stand up comedy because the session work had dried up. But he recently did a tour with Brian ferry, so this months gas bill probably got paid.

I had a drunk woman come up to me once and ask if her husband could sing the song 'Cocaine' with the band. I said no. She then said that here husband was the head of London Weekend Television and that we would never appear on his channel if I wouldn't let him sing with the band. I still said no. And guess what? We never did appear on London Weekend Television.

[quote name='Delberthot' timestamp='1422843431' post='2677521'] It's quite hard to get used to but I sleep on my side with my arms straight kind of like a seal for want of a better description (as I found having my arms bent for long periods can aggrevate it). I still move during the night and get the numbness but I just stick my arm out of the bed pointing to the floor and make fists and it soon eases off. I came across [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTxQqu9USC4#t=178"]these exercises[/url] and they seem to help when it starts to bother me. Plus I can do them when at work sat at my desk. I drink a lot of water, use low sodium salt and take multivitamins + iron and a cod liver oil capsule daily I badly want to avoid the surgery as it's 6 weeks where you can't do anything with that particular hand and from what I've heard from others and read, it's no guarantee that it won't come back. [/quote] Don't worry. I was playing bass within a week (it was my left hand). It's a tiny little cut and took the surgeon 4 mins. Numbness was gone by the time I was wheeled out of the operating theatre. I had carpal tunnel in both wrists but only had operation on the left wrist, as that was worse than the right. In bed at night I wear splints and if my right hand goes numb while playing, I use a wrist support that I bought from poundland (which can also stop numbness at night) [url="http://www.poundland.co.uk/neoprene-wrist-support"]http://www.poundland...e-wrist-support[/url] I went to St Johns Hospital in Livingstone for the operation.

I turn the amp up and the volume on the bass down. I always like to keep some volume in reserve, just in case the guitarist goes mental. And you've got to admit, sooner or later they all do.

This how, I think, it's supposed to work. [media]http://youtu.be/GBwZ69L6v0w[/media]

Surely only Conan The Barbarian could ever tame such a beast.

The trick is to play at pub A under a different name to pub B. My band goes under 3 different names so nobody gets upset. It keeps everybody happy

Probably not. But the tunes wouldn't sound anywhere near as good. Think of a Muse song with all root notes. Or many Motown songs that are transformed by a groovy bassline.

I bought one recently but have only used it once (as most of the time I'm using venue's amps). At low volumes it sounds fine.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1422042365' post='2668212'] Amazing how much faith people seem to be putting into streaming services. I'll always be able to listen to the music I have on vinyl and CD as long as I have something to play them on. If my favourite artist decides to pull their music from Spotify then it's gone and you want to be able to listen to it again. If you haven't downloaded the tracks using one of the paid for accounts then you are totally dependent upon having a network connection to be able to listen. Also Spotify won't be around forever. Something better/different will come along and then you'll have to start all over again building up your playlists/collections. [/quote] Good point.

The little f***er!

This looks like it might what you're looking for. http://www.markbass.it/product_detail.php?id=61

I regularly listen to the Bladerunner soundtrack. It's very atmospheric. [media]http://youtu.be/2x3UNHNo1LA[/media] Oh and don't forget The soundtrack to 'Superfly' by Curtis Mayfield. A work of funky genius. http://youtu.be/9hBE6NL3KWg