gjones

My first gig was on the 8th of December 1980, aged 17. It was at my school 'Rock Nite'. My band was called Peach Melba (named after a flavour of yoghurt) and we chose the lead singer, because he was the best looking guy in the school. Unfortunately he was also the worst singer in the school. We got booed off. This is my second gig, at the sister of the guitarist's 21st birthday party. That bass cost me £50 (We were a bit better at this one, we'd been practising). Oh and we'd got a decent singer by then. Yoshi was Japanese and she had a Led Zep obsession.

My Barefaced Compact is the loudest cab, with the lightest weight (27lbs), I've ever owned. I can drown out a loud drummer, pairing it with my GK MB500 amp (I never do, of course, but I could if I wanted to). I also own a Barefaced Super Compact, which is light(23.5 lbs), and sounds excellent, but can't compete, as far as loudness is concerned, with the Compact.

I have a Super Compact and an older style Compact. I played a loud gig with the Super Compact and my GK MB500 amp, and it just about managed the gig with gain and master as high as they could go. My old Compact is definitely a louder cab, with the same amp. So I bought a secondhand GK MB800 and, hopefully, more power will allow me to get significantly more grunt out of the Super Compact. It was either that or buy another Super Compact, which defeats the point of my buying one in the first place (ie downsizing).

Looks like an ABM 500 in an ABM 900 case?

I always tune G,D,A,E. Except on a Wednesday, when I tune E,A,D,G.

One of the reasons I have a John East Pre amp fitted on my Jazzes, is for this very reason. I boost the low mid, significantly, and it means the bass cuts through really well when it's through the FOH PA. It makes it easier for the sound engineer to provide a decent clear bass sound out front, rather than subsonic mush.

The only reason I can see for a 'Best female bassist' list, is to encourage women and girls to take up the instrument.

Is this the one with the semi parametric EQ - i.e. The original model with knobs and sliders. I have one of these and it sounds great. Ashdown discontinued it because bassists couldn't quite understand the controls (we're a simple lot).

In the end, if you are a pro musician, It's down to what the client wants. If they want a P Bass, they get a P Bass. End of story.

Best to check basschat, ebay, facebook instrument market places, etc. You'll then get a decent idea of a fair price. Based on prices I've seen recently, the going price is around £800 to £850.

Just because it's a little confusing for the f*cking bass playing element!

Best: A secondhand G&L Tribute L-2500, was my surprise best bass purchase. It only cost me £360 - definitely a bargain. It's a really well made bass and also has classy looks (a tobacco sunburst paint job). I originally bought it mainly because I thought it was time I owned a 5 string bass, so I looked to buy one on the cheap. I have some very nice pro level basses but when I started playing it, it's quality surprised me. The B string is very clear and audible, not at all flabby or woolly. I love the Swiss Army Knife vibe of this bass. It's active and also has two big humbuckers that can be switched to single coil mode, so you can get a very wide range of sounds from, from Jaco to James Jamerson. Worst: Fender Elite Precision. I didn't get the chance to play it and ordered it unseen new. When I got it I didn't like the neck (too chunky). Pre amp doesn't have a parametric mid control (which it needs) and the controls are not very smooth (bit scratchy/gritty compared to the controls on my John East J retro). It's pretty heavy. We haven't bonded. I think my expectations were too high after seeing the reviews.

Your basses are fine. I would upgrade your amp, as a 100 watt amp does not have enough power to compete with a loud drummer. Something like a Fender Rumble 500 would be perfect. It's light, loud and costs under £500 new.

In my experience, if you don't have a decent bass cab then everything else is irrelevant. I've had some cheapo bass cabs in the past that really couldn't keep up with a loudish drummer. I slowly upgraded to TC Electronics then Ashdown ABM cabs. But it was only when I bought a Barefaced Compact, that I then had a cab with the fidelity and power handling capabilities that allowed me to reproduce the sound that was coming from my bass and amp, to my satisfaction.

Buy a bass in London, when you get down there, do the gig and take it back for a refund the next day. Tell the shop you don't like the colour or it's got too many/too few strings..

Bah humbug. I'm an easy going kind of guy but I can get very irritated when keyboard players go anywhere near the bass end of their keyboard, when I'm playing. Two musicians playing the bassline, is one too many.

I'm the opposite. If I'm asked to do a dep gig I always do a lot of preparation beforehand. The last major dep I played, I had to learn 34 songs in 2 weeks. I made up cheat sheets for them all, just in case they were needed. In the end the band only played about 20 of them. Sometimes I'm better prepared than the bands I occasionally dep with. Sometimes they have to use my cheat sheets

I think we will all need to start playing care homes for the elderly. There's a willing and captive audience, who were in their prime in the 60s and 70s, and who are sick of daytime TV, and bingo. My band play a mix of rock n roll and blues. We were playing in a venue during the Edinburgh Festival, and after the show a guy came up to us and said he wanted to book us for gig at the Nottingham Theatre Royal. A few months later, when we arrived at the venue, we found out that it was for an over 65s group that meets once a month in a room at the Theatre, to listen to various genres of music. Tonight's genre was Blues and Rock n Roll. The good news was that it was a full house of 150. The bad news was, that when the audience arrived, there wasn't one that was under 75. Well we played our usual set and our female singer flirted with an eager looking 85 year old, who was sat near the front. The old codgers loved us, and we got a standing ovation (well from the ones who could stand without help) at the end of the gig. I'm telling you, the over 75s are desperate for a good rockin night. Whoever taps this vintage seam of oldies but goldies who are growing old disgracefully, will make a packet.

I know the feeling....

I hate wedding gigs but have reluctantly played a few. I remember once turning up at the venue, to find out that it was the estate of the groom's father (filthy rich banker). We went up the grand steps to the front door, to be told by the housekeeper, who opened it, to go around to the 'Tradesman's Entrance'. We were told that we would be having our tea with the housekeeper, groundsman, cook and various maids, in the kitchen of the big house. I remember it well, it was stovies and a cup of tea (look up stovies if you aren't Scottish). The guests and the bride and groom were all obnoxiously, brash, filthy rich and privileged. Eventually, after one pished, braying, stockbroker type, in the obligatory red braces, clicked his fingers at us one too many times, while asking us to 'play a f***king fast one!', or ' Play a f**king slow one', we went on strike. Packed our gear up and headed off, but not before we grabbed our cheque from daddy. Who was lying pished in his bed. I have no problem with the seriously posh, they usually have very good manners, and are usually quite poor (distressed gentry) but the nouveau riche bring out the Bolshevik in me.

Make sure you tell us if you buy it!

I was in Rudy's in October. Lots of very expensive vintage stuff. Including this Precision, which was in suspiciously good nick for a 56 year old bass. I think it was going for about $7,000. http://rudysmusic.com/used/vintage-1964-fender-precision-bass

And a very good job you did as well

I have a drummer friend, who told me about a gig he played at a social club, where they wanted a trio but the guy who hired him only played guitar and sang with backing tracks. He'd played the week before and they told him they wanted a band the next week. So he hired a drummer and guitarist to just stand and mime all night. Whilst he sang and played over his backing tracks, exactly as he had the week before. Nobody noticed.....

Buy a secondhand John East J-Retro and forget about the pickups. Let the J-Retro pre amp do all the work. Just slot the loaded control plate into your bass. No soldering. All connected up in 15 mins. Trust me, your bass will sound epic.