gjones

Sounds like my ex drummer.

Don't be scared of the truss rod.

He likes to slap his bass. He slaps it all day long....... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqKTXBK3oPg

[quote name='Hutton' timestamp='1507289173' post='3384517'] Lulu is a very talented singer. I just wish that she wouldn't put on an accent when she speaks. Be proud of your roots and where you come from. [/quote] I think these days she puts on the Scottish accent. It doesn't sound very authentic.

You snooze.....you lose. That is my attitude when I'm buying something. If I make an offer I don't expect the seller to twiddle their thumbs while I get around to paying them. I always pay ASAP. If I did faff about and the item was sold to somebody else, I wouldn't blame the seller..

I've thought that I've played badly, in the past, but then listened back to a video of the gig and it sounds fine. Usually I get the feeling that things aren't going well, or I'm not playing as well as I can, when the sound onstage is dodgy, or we're not getting much of a reaction from the audience. I also feel that if I'm feeling positive, then the gig will go well.

For many years I gigged with a Ashdown EB 150 combo (one down from a MAG series). It did the trick. I'm sure the MAG combo you're looking at will be more than up for the job. Once the band is up and running and you're back in the saddle, you can think of upgrading.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1506696478' post='3380513'] Pah! That's nothing! I've played to zero people. Literally. There were no punters at all, so both the bar staff went outside for a fag. There was no one at all in the entire pub except the band. We just kept playing ... [/quote] I've done that. I was playing in a duo with a guitarist/singer. There was just one other person in the room and he was a drunk. About 20 mins into the set he started howling like a dog and eventually the pathetic picture, of a duo playing to an empty room, except for a howling drunk, just got to me and I put my bass down, went over to him, marched him to the door and threw him out into the street. Then I went back and finished the set. Astoundingly, the landlady asked us back the next week but we politely declined.

It depends on the type of gigs. I like gigging and a 4 gig weekend would be fine for me but am not keen on playing dodgy pubs, with a dodgy clientele (The Artic Bar in Dundee anybody?). Decent audiences, in decent venues, for decent money will always keep my enthusiasm levels up. And you can keep them coming - the more the merrier. The drummer I play with is so popular, that 5 gig weekends are regular thing for him and he also has a full time job and is married (he took his wife on a 2 weeks jaunt to Las Vegas recently, with his gig money, to keep her sweet).

The saying 'if you're the smartest player in the room, you're in the wrong room', is my philosophy. Although I seldom get the chance to play with really smoking players that push me.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1506444984' post='3378819'] But how do you know if your free? I know when I'm not free so that's fine I can tell you that. Whatsapp group, "gig on date x everyone free?" yes or no gets replied to quick enough. I've got too many hobbies which could result in a last minute booking to clear my diary for the band. [/quote] Sometimes, stingrayPete1977, I doubt your commitment to Sparkle Motion http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdZ1eE5uqBw

In these times of smart phones, that update all your diaries for you, there's no excuse for not remembering a gig. Even when a gig is just pencilled in, I'll update my diary and get it confirmed at a later date. If this kind of thing is an ongoing situation, with your drummer, then I don't think you came on too strong.

My names is actually gjones. I didn't feel the need to hide my identity on a site called Basschat. Now if it had been a site called Asschat, well that's a whole different kettle of fish.

Being the subject of ogling, is not just a female problem. As any, reasonably, presentable, Scotsman, who occasionally wears a kilt, will attest too. Sometimes it's amusing but many times it's not.

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1505295400' post='3370765'] I have a hypothesis about "road worn" or whatever you call them older instruments vs mint condition ones. If you had a few basses which were similar, you'd usually choose to play the one that sounded best. And as things like Fenders were mass produced with a somewhat variable eye on quality control, they do tend to vary in sound rather a lot. So generally, the most worn looking basses (particularly wear from playing as opposed to neglect) are likely to be the best sounding ones. I'm not saying that mint condition vintage instruments all sound bad - but do close your eyes when playing them so you don't fool yourself! [/quote] Eric Clapton likes guitars with a bit of wear and tear. He likes the idea that somebody has taken the time to wear them in for him. He calls them 'players'.

We play at a venue where we get money knocked off to pay the sound engineer and the person, on the door, taking the money. The owner of the bar was on his hols and the responsibility, for paying us at the end of the night, was given to a barman. He was unaware of the arrangement we had with the owner and just gave me all the ticket money, which included the money for the ticket person and the sound engineer. I don't usually collect the money, it's the guitarist who does it, and was unaware of the agreed payment arrangements. So I was firstly astounded at how much the barman gave me and secondly, immediately came to the conclusion, that the guitarist had, previously, been pocketing the difference,between what he gave us at the end of the night, and what the bar owner was actually paying us. When the guitarist explained the situation, we had to own up, and give a 3rd of the money back. Does any other band on Basschat have this weird arrangement, where they have to pay the venue's sound engineer and ticket person out of their cut of the ticket money?

I'm playing the video through my hi-fi, which is connected, via bluetooth, to my laptop. I can hear abso.....lutely no difference. In a live context, playing with a band, I doubt anybody would. Interestingly, recently I turned up to a gig and the amp provided had two channels. I didn't like the sound much, so twiddled with the EQ and eventually found a much better sound from the amp. Just before the second set I had another look at the amp and realised that I was plugged into channel 1 and I had been adjusting my sound with the EQ of channel 2. I could have sworn I was hearing the sound change when I was adding more bass and reducing the treble but in reality, it was all a figment of my imagination. I suggest that, if people were not made aware that Ed had swapped the amps, they would hear no difference at all.

[quote name='Merton' timestamp='1504942971' post='3368414'] I sold my BF cabs because I needed money. I'm now in a situation where I want to get them back again - I have started the ball rolling with a One10 and I'm now weighing up the options of a Super Compact, a One10, a Two10 or a Four10.... [/quote] Like you, I needed the cash so sold my Compact. Then ,after some experimenting with cheaper alternatives (Hartke, Ashdown), I went and bought another Compact. It ticks all the boxes, compact, light, loud, and whenever anyone records us, I'm always amazed at how great the bass sounds out front.

[quote name='BigLicks67' timestamp='1504946069' post='3368445'] Anyone had any experience changing the pickups on a MIJ Tokai Jazz Sound Bass, are the pickup cavities the same size as a Fender? The reason I ask is that I changed the pickups to a generic set a while ago and found the neck pickup did not sit very well in the cavity and was a bit of a job to get it to fit. Now I'm thinking of upgrading to a better set and don't want the same problem. Many thanks in advance for your learned replies. [/quote] Sometimes the trick is to swap the old Tokai pickup cover with the new pickup. You may then find the new pickup fits.

I record rehearsals and distribute them to the country band I play with. The other musicians in the band, are definitely not pros. With my other band I play about 70 gigs a year, with this band I've played about 4 in the last 2 years. I feel it's not my place to criticise their playing or singing, as they're all grown ups, but I do hope they listen to the recordings and figure out for themselves where they can improve things to make themselves and the songs sound better. We're recording a demo next weekend and have 3 gigs in the next 4 weeks (one of them a festival where people are actually buying tickets to see us). So we will have to be up to speed, because the audience will be expecting us to sound like we know what we're doing.

I wouldn't stress about it. Stick a bit of foam under the string at the bridge, turn the treble down and your active Stingray will sound pretty P bass like. It's pretty unlikely that your P bass will spontaneously combust, or be run over by a steamroller, in the middle of a gig.......hopefully

I think that, as it's no longer in original condition, you should go for option 3.

My favourite string. I just paid double this for a set.

This has occurred to me, when I play a dodgy bar. But if I only took my decent gear to posh venues, I would never play it. Off course my gear is decent but not boutique or custom shop stuff.