gjones

As far as jam nights are concerned the best advice I can give you (having played in the house band of a few) is to go along and watch, get the general vibe then find an approachable participant and tell them that you really fancy a go but are a bit nervous (butter them up a bit about their own performance first). If you're game then someone will loan you a bass and away you go. Nobody will force you to get up and play but as you get to know people and what level they are at musically you'll find the thought of getting up and playing with them a lot less scary. I recommend you play along to some rock 'n' roll (chuck berry etc) and blues (bb king etc ) at home because these are usually the easiest to jam to. Good luck and I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun and maybe find another musical collaborator.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1339504648' post='1689389'] I usually say "Thanks, glad you liked it. Thanks for coming. Are you a bass player?" Then get into a massive argument over why I don't play a fender and whether the second note of the fourth bar in the third song should have been an E or a G#. [/quote] What's a WAL? Can you not afford a Fender mate?

The last time the band was introduced at our last gig by the singer. A member of the audience actually came up on stage and gave me a kiss. Unfortunately it was a bloke. I'm not really into stubble.

The band I play with will be doing our thing once again. [url="http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/music/blues"]http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/music/blues[/url]

[size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Primal Scream 'Rocks' that'll get them off their arses. The Black crowes 'Hard to Handle'.[/font][/size] [size=4][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The Spin doctors [color=#000000]'Little Miss Can't Be Wrong'[/color][/font][/size] [color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]The Red Hot Chilli Peppers ' Give it Away' [/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Or Reef .....Remember them?[/font][/color] [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2--ersHZzto"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2--ersHZzto[/url]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1339491078' post='1689066'] I think this too. I'm sure the OP is not an unreliable person but more than once I have seen second best musicians taken on because they can commit and the better couldn't - because they were good and in too much demand! [/quote] Very true.

Rubbish bass at a competitive price. Not mine by the way. [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/bass-guitar-cheap/104350896"]http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/bass-guitar-cheap/104350896[/url]

Peavey TNTs are really loud too and cheap 2nd hand.

Don't make the mistake I made when I first started out i.e. to go for new underpowered cheap gear (carlsbro cobra 90 watt combo anyone). Go for something secondhand with a bit of power. Ashdown EB 150 combos are very loud, sound great, are relatively light to carry and are really cheap secondhand. Laneys are good for the money too. Don't get anything under 150 watts because frankly once your drummer learns to hit those skins of his anything less will not be powerful enough.

That's why I never buy anthing new if I can help it because it never stays new for long. As Andy says it gives it character and really won't reduce the value by that much. Of course if you're planning on keeping it then it's not too much of an issue.

They mime silly...........just like cheryl cole.

[quote name='MrFingers' timestamp='1339180553' post='1685079'] Because I'm stuck now (waiting on lacquer to dry is as tense as [url="http://www.watching-grass-grow.com/"]this[/url]), and because I wasn't 100% satisfied with the made-up warranty card based on a 1962 model, I was browsing "teh interwebz". I found an auction from 5 years ago from a guy who sold is 1964/65 P-bass, with an original hangtag/booklet. The pictures were 200x450px, so not good enough to read what was on them, but good enough to get the basic outline. Since those booklets are generic (it says the same in every version, just the layout differs) I got to work with 2 manuals I got laying here at home. An afternoon in paint.net, word and typing later, this was the result... (is there a therapy for people like me? ) [/quote] Don't worry. The world would be a much duller place without obsessive weirdos. And I mean that in a good way.

[quote name='EmmettC' timestamp='1339144817' post='1684204'] +1 This also stops you just playing the same patterns over every song. [/quote] +1 What he said. And also listen to the bass in music you like. What's it doing? Does it complement the song? Is it bringing out the melody? Or pushing the rhythm? Or just filling out the low end? If you like what it's doing try to mirror it in your own music. And whatever you do...........don't overplay.

[quote name='gapiro' timestamp='1339156192' post='1684499'] For a laugh, I watched a few more videos.... Of note was lady marmalade.... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oOeyCoVtbE&feature=relmfu[/media] Hes playing with a punchy attacking sound and isn't bringing the main bass riff through on that.... [/quote] It needs something playing 16ths whether it's the hi hat or maracas or wee shakey egg or something to bring the rhythm together. Try it at home folks and all of a sudden they sound almost...er.... not crap. edit : it would also help if the brass section was in tune.

Sounds like Level 42 to me. You can tell I'm not into slap.

The originals band I play in were offered a deal, by a promoter, where we would support Alabama 3 at a decent venue in London but had to buy £300 worth of tickets (which we could sell at a 25% mark up to get our money back). Unfortunately the band all live in Edinburgh and we know very few people in London and therefore would have no chance of selling 50 tickets and getting our money back. But if you were a London band with a following it could be a good deal to get a bit of recognition for your band.

It depends on what you want. Some people want that honky nasal Jaco tone from a Jazz and some people want a rounder sound like John Paul Jones. There's a lot of love for wizard pickups on basschat because he makes 3 types of Jazz pickups and he can tailor them to your preferences. Check out his website [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://www.wizardpic...p?category=Bass[/url] I bought a set of DiMarzio 123 pickups because I heard them on someone else's bass and knew that was the sound I wanted.