gjones

My niece has a record contract for her band, with a fat (ish) advance, and has just toured the states from LA to Tennessee (ending up at SXSW in Texas) . Last week she was touted as 'a band to watch' on BBC online and NME, and her single is presently on the playlists of both Radio 6 and Radio 1. Her album is out in July. When she got back to the UK she was chuffed to bits that her employer had kept her job for her, working behind a bar. As far as she's concerned, there's no shame in working full time AND playing in a serious professional band. Of course the band always comes first but money is money and the gas bill will always need to be paid.

Cheap Chinese copy, photographed very professionally. The winner will probably be disappointed when it arrives in the post and it doesn't look anything like the photos.

The moral of this tale is, when in doubt.........do nowt.

I've been looking at some reviews of these combos. I noticed one where the same thing happened with one of the reviewers amps. He noticed a funny smell and then his horn stopped working. When he opened it up he noticed that a resistor leg attached to the circuit board had got so hot it had melted some other components. He tried to get a replacement part but found it so difficult he just cut the legs off the resistor, and continued playing without the horn.

Tighten the truss rod and it will straighten the neck. Loosen the truss rod and it will put a bow in the neck. Sometimes adjusting the truss rod is not enough and you also have to adjust the saddle heights as well. In extreme cases a shim in the neck pocket may be needed as well. It really depends whether you want a really low action or you can live with a higher one.

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1397034843' post='2419865'] Folks, I've managed to secure some slots for my new band at the July Foodie festival at Tatton Park. Large, managed stage, thousands of people in the audience, press coverage etc. Big opportunity for us. No gig fee, but we have been offered "expenses". I've no idea what to ask for. Some more info; We're a 5-piece covers band We all live within 30 mins drive of the venue We'll be doing 2 X 40 minutes slots on the Saturday and 2 X 40 mins slots on the Sunday No need to take any backline with us, but drummer has to take his kit What would you regard as reasonable expenses to ask for, please? [/quote] My brother in law played the Edinburgh version of this festival, in 2013, and got paid. His usual fee is about £150 for a solo spot. It's not a particularly large festival (a cordoned off area about 100 metres by 100 metres) and it was a pretty small stage as well. At least make sure you get some free food out of it, if nothing else.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1396955294' post='2419021'] Hi there, I'm beginning to convince myself to bite the bullet and buy "the real thing" to cut the nut slots deeper. Which would you buy out of the 2? Or would you just take it to a luthier to get it done, after all how often do you have to do it? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/AxeMasters-Guitar-NUT-SLOT-FILE-SET-KIT-for-BASS-Saw-Rods-Luthier-Tool-/350585724150?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item51a0899cf6"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item51a0899cf6[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HOSCO-Nut-Slotting-Files-Bass-Guitar-/151271227451?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item233877c03b"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item233877c03b[/url] [/quote] I've used needle files on my nut but it's a bit hit and miss. If you do buy the proper files I'm sure you'll be able to do a decent job with much less hassle.

It's a harp not a bass.

If it's brand new and you bought it from a shop in your area. Go back and speak to the manager. Tell him what happened, have a bit of a rant and say you are seriously thinking of taking it back (as is your right). Then see what he'll offer you as compensation. You could get a decent credit note or discount off something else you fancy. Alternatively, if you got it online from a shop miles away, just get the superglue out.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1396467298' post='2414100'] Ah... another one (like JBG) that tends to get overlooked. The bassline on the Hendrix version is something I've never heard played in the wild. I keep promising myself I'll tackle it, but... [/quote] It was played on a electric guitar by Noel Redding not bass. I used to play it that way on bass, but inevitably ended up getting cramp before the end of the song.

You had me til I looked at the photo. Then a wee lightbulb appeared above my head.

He is a genius.

Compressor/limiter a bit of chorus,and brand new light gauge Rotosounds, would be my guess.

I was thinking of buying a barefaced or Markbass cab. Then realised, in the last 20 gigs I've had, I've played through the venues own gear because it's much more convenient to turn up with just a gig bag, than to have to manhandle my amp and cab to the gig as well. But of course now I have to ask myself, what's the point in forking serious money out for a rig I rarely get the chance to play?

Great stuff. I'm surprised that your new Phil Jones wasn't loud enough without using the Laney as an extension cab.

If I can't get a seat up front, or it's standing with a big crowd, I can't be arsed. I'm not a fanboy, I don't go to a gig to swoon over my heroes. And I don't hang around if the sound is sh*t.

I have a Frankenfender P bass with a 1980's, Mighty Mite pickup, stuck in a Squier body, attached to an old P bass neck. I've not been able to put it down since I put it together a few months ago. I play it in my Ska band and it sounds epic. It also sounds great recorded. I thought I hated Precisions, what happened?

[quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1395616176' post='2404485'] Ah, I was not so clear on that. It still works, but smells like burning electrical devise. I never really liked the sound so much, it sounded "twangy" if that is the technical term. Not juicy lows, just not-very-nice sounding mids and highs. [/quote] That might be the speakers that are giving you a bass light sound, not the amp. In my experience (from switching cabs and amps) the cab has more of an effect on the sound of your bass that the amp. Which means you may buy a brand new amp, and it'll sound just as middy though the Laney speakers. But if you want to recycle your cab it's pretty easy. I checked the manual on Laney's website and your speakers have a combined impedance of 8 ohms. I fitted a speakon connector in an old combo I had, so I could use it as an extension speaker. It was pretty simple and a speakon connector is cheap, at about £4 on ebay.

I ended up starting a new job last week and had to break the news to my band, that they were going to have to do the UK tour without me. That was a difficult conversation . Luckily they managed to get a dep. Thurs they were in London, Fri Nottingham, Sat Halifax, Sun Harrogate. Next week they do it all over again (without me). They're back in Edinburgh this Saturday so I'll be able to play that one........unless they prefer the new guy over me.

I wonder what the story of this is. If you don't play an instrument, why keep it in the back of a cupboard? It looks like a 62 reissue, and looking at the age of the case it's likely to be one of the early eighties US ones rather than a Japanese. 6 days to go and already at £399.

Join the club. Bass is notoriously difficult to get a good sound for. Just ask any live sound engineer. It's because the sound of the bass guitar depends as much on the room as it does on your gear. If it's really sending you around the bend, my advice is to get a wireless system and stand out front while adjusting the EQ on your J Retro. You will probably find that the EQ settings that sound best from 30 ft away, sound crap while you're standing next to your bass but that's bass guitar for you. And in the end you want the best sound out front, not necessarily onstage.

I personally don't have that problem, but can understand why some may feel that way. Live music in Edinburgh sell stuff on commission and I think Mev Taylor Music do too. It may be worth your while seeing if they would sell it for you?

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1394838701' post='2395958'] I'm typing this from the Balmoral Hotel. For anyone coming up from a southerly direction along the M6/M74, I should warn you that there are quite a lot of roadworks. For some reason, someone was letting off fireworks a bit earlier, and at 9:20 a pair of local lovers could be heard under our window screaming romantically at each other such endearments as "what the f*** are you going on about" and "why don't you just f*** off". Had haggis, neeps and tatties a little earlier and it was jolly nice. That's a lovely giant wicker man they've got in the back garden of the hotel. [/quote] People are constantly setting of fireworks in Edinburgh. If it's not for the festival it's for Hogmanay.

It sounds absolutely gorgeous.

It's a scientifically proven fact, that the more expensive the bass you play, the better your playing gets.